Applications will be available each January for students interested in running for a National TSA Office.  Those interested should contact Mary Jo Patterson, Program Manager at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org.  Below are the national TSA officer candidate qualifications, the application procedure, and candidate information.

National TSA Officer Candidate Information Overview

(updated on December 8, 2011)

National TSA Officer Candidate Qualifications

1.      The candidate must be a TSA member.

2.      No more than three TSA members in good standing from the same state delegation may compete for a national office in the same year.

3.      Only current TSA members (active) in good standing are eligible to run for or hold a national office.

4.      Candidates must be holding, or have held, an elected chartered state delegation office for at least one year.

5.      A student cannot be elected to a national office during his or her senior year.  He or she must have at least one year of school remaining at the time he or she runs for national office.

6.      A TSA member must have completed the eighth grade to be qualified for a national TSA office.

7.      A candidate may seek only one national office per year.

8.      A candidate should have a thorough knowledge of parliamentary procedures and the TSA bylaws.

9.      A candidate must be a member of TSA for at least one year before seeking a national office.

10.  All candidates should have the ability to express opinions, make decisions, and be neat and business-like in appearance.

11.  All candidates should read carefully the section in the TSA bylaws about national officer qualifications and duties, and, specifically, the responsibilities of the office they seek.

12.  No individual may serve more than one term in the same national office.

13.  Candidates must attend all national officer candidate meetings at the national TSA conference.  Failure to attend all candidate meetings may result in removal.

14.  Any candidate elected as a national officer at the national conference may not hold a state or local TSA office concurrently with his or her term as a national officer.

15.  If elected, a national TSA officer will miss approximately five school days during the school year to fulfill his or her duties and must be able to travel alone and independently to all required events.

16.  Additionally, the elected TSA president will be required to attend the TSA, Inc. Board of Directors meetings in the fall of 2012, March 2013, and June 2013. No exceptions.

17.  If a school district, or the officer’s parents, requires an adult travel companion, it will be at their own expense. The companion will not participate in the officer program.

18.  The qualifications to be a candidate for national TSA office restrict persons not legally residing in the United States of America.

       National TSA Officer Candidate Application Procedure

1.            Those members interested in running for national office can contact Mrs. Patterson, Program Manager at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org beginning January 3, 2012. In your e-mail request, please include your name, home mailing address and home telephone number. You will receive an application packet by email. 

2.            Candidates must complete the “National TSA Officer Candidate Application” and the “National TSA Officer Candidate Agreement Form” from the application packet and scan or mail these, along with their photo (preferably their school picture), and a one-page resume to their state advisor by the suggested date of April 9, 2012 (postmarked).  The information provided along with your school photo becomes property of national TSA and may be published in print or electronic format. 

3.            State advisors are responsible for selecting a screening committee to check each candidate’s qualifications and to interview the candidate for the purpose of determining his or her capabilities to serve as a national TSA officer in his or her desired office.  After screening and approving the application, either the state advisor or the candidate needs to scan or mail the candidate’s forms to National TSA by May 11, 2012 (postmarked).  If there is no state advisor from a candidate’s state, the candidate should send the forms directly to National TSA by May 11, 2012 (postmarked). Also, at this time a color, digital photo (jpeg format) of the candidate dressed in official TSA attire must be sent electronically to Mrs. Patterson at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org. This photo will be used in the national TSA conference program. 

4.            National TSA will notify officer candidates by email of their eligibility around June 1, 2012 (postmarked). 

5.            Candidates must attend the national officer candidate orientation meeting at the National TSA Conference on Thursday, June 21, 2012 from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, 28000 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214-1200. Candidates may bring one adult guest to this meeting or they may attend alone.  No other persons may attend this meeting. (Please do not wear official TSA attire to this meeting). 

6.            All newly elected officers are required to attend a one-hour orientation meeting immediately following the awards ceremony of the national TSA conference on June 25, 2012. Candidate’s travel plans need to accommodate this request. 

                                  National TSA Officer Candidate Information

National TSA Officers are to be elected by majority vote of the voting delegates at the national conference and consist of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, reporter, and sergeant-at-arms.  Individuals elected as national officers hold office until the close of the next national conference.  Upon being elected, all travel/lodging expenses of the national TSA officers to approved events are paid for by National TSA.

See the National TSA Officer Candidate Qualifications and National TSA Officer Application Procedure sections found on this website for information about running for national office.

Conference Program Photo - You are required to provide a color, digital photo of yourself in official TSA attire to the national TSA office by May 11, 2012. The photo should be a jpg, 300 dpi, 4” x 6” from the chest up with a white background. This photo will be used in the National TSA Conference program. Please email this digital photo to Mrs. Patterson at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org by May 11th.

Campaign Materials – All campaign materials must be pre-approved by Mrs. Patterson at the national TSA office before purchase. Please contact Mrs. Patterson at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org for approval no later than May 21, 2012. Following the national officer candidate meeting on Thursday, June 21st, you may begin handing out campaign materials. Campaign materials (buttons, pins, pencils, pamphlets, etc.) are allowed pending approval by national TSA; however, candidates are responsible for ensuring that handout materials do not cause litter or safety problems. No posters, banners, etc., may be adhered to the walls of the conference site/hotel(s) or be free standing. Also, campaign materials may be distributed only during the Conference Kick Off and at the campaign booth. Campaign materials may not be distributed in general sessions, delegation meetings, in competitions, or in the sleeping room area of the hotel. No water bottles, candy, mints, gum, or any edible items will be allowed. No raffle tickets are allowed. No tattoos may be distributed. No helium or other types of balloons are allowed. Students are financially responsible for any campaign materials shipped to and from the conference and cannot store their campaign materials in public areas or service hallways of the hotel.

Campaigning - Prior to the conference and at the conference, no campaigning may occur before attending the national officer candidate’s orientation meeting on Thursday, June 21st.  This includes any campaigning or announcing your candidacy on the Internet.  Failure to observe this policy could result in the candidate’s removal. Throughout the conference, candidates will be able to greet attendees entering the general sessions and will also be available following the general sessions to greet attendees. However, campaign materials may not be distributed at these times. Candidates are not allowed to attend state delegation meetings except their own.

Campaign Greeting and Question - At the first general session of the conference, Friday, June 22nd, each candidate will be given the opportunity to come to the podium on stage to state their name and office they are seeking. At that point, each candidate will be asked a different question by a moderator. Each candidate will be asked a different TSA based question from the next candidate. Examples of possible questions to be asked are: What has been your greatest TSA accomplishment? What does being a TSA member mean to you? etc. Each candidate will be allowed 30 seconds to respond to the question. The responses will be timed.  The questions asked of each candidate will be approved by the National TSA Program Manager and the National TSA Executive Director.

Campaign Booth -Each candidate will be given one 3’ x 6’ foot skirted table at the Meet and Greet taking place from 1:00pm to 5:00 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2011.  This tabletop will serve as your campaign booth. The candidate may place a tabletop display (no larger than 15 inches deep, 3 feet wide and 4 feet high) on the table top and hand out campaign materials from this table. No signs or banners may be hung from the front of the table. Candidates may incorporate a laptop as part of their campaign booth; however, no sound will be allowed and the laptop must run on battery. There will be no electricity allowed. Only one person, you or a representative, will be allowed to “staff” your campaign booth at any time.

Campaign Speeches - Candidates are allowed a specific amount of time (2 ½ minutes) for campaign speeches at the second general session at the national conference on Saturday, June 23rd and must follow specific campaign regulations.  No one, other than you, may participate in your campaign speech in any way. No props are allowed. All campaign speeches must be emailed to Mrs. Patterson at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org by June 13th for approval.

Any questions about running for a national TSA office can be directed to Mrs. Patterson, Program Manager at mjpatterson@tsaweb.org. For information about the 2012 National TSA Conference, please click on http://www.tsaweb.org/2012-National-Conference