Our Association is governed by state employees and retirees who represent geographic regions. These volunteer leaders not only oversee OPEA’s operations but they are responsible for guiding the direction of our Association. The Regional Directors are elected to two-year terms by OPEA members. They are accountable to the membership and also serve to coordinate and grow OPEA membership in their Region. They also comprise OPEA’s Board of Directors which meets approxametly six times per year at our offices in Oklahoma City.
This year, OPEA will conduct elections for directors Regions 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and Retiree West (Retiree West Region is West of I35). The filing period begins June 15th and will conclude June 28th. Elections will be held in early August and the winning members will be announced at the Annual Convention and Delegate Assembly, August 24th. If you wish to run, and live or work in one of this year’s regions, please email your name, position sought, home address, and home telephone number, agency, agency address and work telephone number to tomd@opea.org. You should also submit a 300 word biography and head-shot photo for publication in The Advocate and online at the same time. Please review the Summer 2019 Election Rules for all eligibility criteria.
OPEA is a grassroots organization and it is critical we have active and engaged members as leaders since any organization is only as strong as its leadership. By having state employees and retirees as members of the Board of Directors representing the members in their geographic region, we have established a structure where members can communicate directly with their Regional Directors. It also provides many opportunities for Regional Directors to know their region’s members and communicate regularly with them to understand the needs of members in their part of the state.
OPEA members who want to make a valuable contribution to our association are encouraged to consider running for Regional Director. You can find the Summer 2019 Election Rules here as well as an OPEA Regions Map. If you have questions, please contact tomd@opea.org .
