Engineers Without Borders Officer Election

EWB Officer Election, September 29, 2010

The Northwest Arkansas chapter of Engineers Without Borders elected a new set of officers for the 2010-2011 school year and organized the first few, local projects.

Elections for President and Vice President had two candidates each, while the positions secretary, treasurer, international project chair, local project chair and website manager had only one candidate running for each officer position.

Even still, the candidates without opponents were not automatically instated to the organization. They were asked to share briefly why he or she is the best person for the job.

Nikki Lorenz, Engineers Without Borders Vice President-2010, ran for presidency and won.

“I’ve been here basically since we started EWB two years ago. So, I know what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “I know what we have to do to get funding from ASG, which sounds really simple but it’s not.”

Aside from having skill sets pertaining to EWB specifically, Lorenz said she would work hard for the organization on all levels.

“I think I’m reliable and easy to get in touch with. If you email me, I’ll be pretty quick to respond,” Lorenz said. “I plan to work really hard. No matter what (officer I am), I just enjoy working with this organization.”

International Project Chair, Ben Marts worked with Lorenz on several projects in EWB last year.

“Anytime something needs to be done, she’s been there,” Marts said. “I don’t know how she does it—I couldn’t. But anytime we have something going on, she’s right there, reminding me.”

Zach Beaver ran for Engineers Without Borders presidency against Nikki Lorenz.

“I’m not opposed to co-presidency,” Beaver said.

However, he did come to the meeting with a strong presidential campaign.

“I have a strong work ethic. I’ve tutored at an elementary school… In high school, I ran Students Taking Action Today,” he said. Beaver explained that Students Taking Action Today is an organization helping younger students understand the national elections.

“I also raised $10,000 for a band trip,” he said. “I just really want to make a difference.”

Beaver was not established as a co-president because the organization found him as a valuable resource for fundraising and named him the Fundraising Chair of EWB. With this title, Beaver will organize fundraising events based on all the ideas generated from the group and contribute valuable information from his past experiences.

Sebastian Mena ran for Vice President against Cody LaBarber.

“I’ve been working for four years in Miami, on my own business. I know Spanish and French. I’d make a good addition for Engineers Without Borders,” Mena said.

Opponent LaBarber had a broader focus to his ambitions as Vice President.

“I want to get involved and I think it’d be cool to help the president out,” LaBarber said.

EWB members agreed that both Mena and LaBarber have very different skill sets, both of which are vital to the organization. The organization voted Mena and LaBarber into a co-vice presidency, to which the candidates seemed glad to accept.

Jenny Doyle ran for EWB Secretary unopposed.

“I would like to be your secretary because I already have all of your emails added into my account and all the notes from EWB meetings from the past two years,” she said.

After a light-hearted chuckle from EWB members, she was voted in unanimously.

Gavin Smith ran for EWB Treasurer unopposed and was voted in. Smith said his experience working with a property manager outside of the states earned him the expertise necessary to be EWB Treasurer.

Ben Marts ran for International Project Chair, unopposed. He explained that he had a headstart on the international projects because of his involvement in a service project in Belize over the summer, along with his other EWB involvement.

Marts was voted into International Project Chairman.

Sarah Beth Dalby ran for Local Project Chair, also unopposed.

“I’m a junior engineering student,” Dalby said. “I’d like to get involved and I’m already going to the cleanup on Saturday, so I’m ready to get started.”

Dalby was voted in unanimously as Local Project Chair.

Halley Malle ran unopposed for NWA Engineers Without Borders Website Manager.

“I’m a senior engineering student and I built the website last year, so I’m planning to continue that this year,” she said. EWB members voted Malle to keep her position as Website Manager.

The next NWA EWB events are participation in the Lee Creek Cleanup at 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. on October 2, at Devil’s Den State Park, selecting a service project for Make a Difference Day on October 16 and the EWB Regional Conference in Dallas on November 15.

Students wishing to participate in these events should let officers know as soon as possible. They can reach President Nikki Lorenz at nlorenz@uark.edu.