[NA-Discuss] ALAC Members from North America

[Bret Fausett]

Dear ALAC Colleagues,

As I posted on May 18th, we are now accepting Statements of Interest  
from persons interested in serving on the At Large Advisory  
Committee. Two representatives will be appointed from this North  
American RALO.  See my prior message here:

	http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/pipermail/na-discuss_atlarge- 
lists.icann.org/2007-May/000738.html

The Statement of Interest period will remain open for 10 more days,  
until June 22nd.

Some have asked me what this position entails, and while I have  
responded privately in personal emails, I thought I would take the  
opportunity to post my own thoughts publicly here on the list. Jean,  
Wendy and John, each of whom has served in this capacity in the past,  
also may have some thoughts to share.

You will be the eyes, ears, and voice of these North America At Large  
Structures on the At Large Advisory Committee. In addition to the  
work you do with us here, you also will become a member of all of the  
ALAC mailing lists. You will be expected to participate actively in  
both groups, on mailing lists and in conference calls. You also will  
be funded to travel to all public ICANN meetings. Currently, ICANN  
has three meetings each year, at various locations around the world,  
and each meeting last 7-8 days. Over the course of your two-year  
term, you should plan to attend at least 4 of the 6 meetings.

While I don't wish to scare anyone away, this is a significant  
undertaking, and you may well find that the three weeks of annual  
travel, plus service on various ICANN standing and ad hoc committees,  
takes a month of your time each year. While the demands are  
significant, I also found that there are numerous personal rewards in  
service. You will meet and work with an outstanding group of  
individuals from around the world, and the contributions you make  
will have the potential to benefit every user of the Internet.

When we were drafting the Operating Principles, one of the reasons we  
adopted consensus processes for elections was that we did not believe  
that we would receive more than one or two statements of interest  
each year. The demands of the positions are such that most people  
cannot devote this sort of time to travel and participation. Still,  
we need two! Perhaps it's you. Think about it.

If this is something you're considering, you might wish to post a  
short note to that effect to the list. Then, after feeling out the  
group on your interest and ability to make this significant  
commitment, you can post the formal statement of interest later, if  
you're still willing. See my prior message for the formalities.

If you have questions, also let us know on the list and we can all  
discuss for the benefit of everyone.

        Bret