National Committee Service

Committee service is a rewarding professional growth experience, providing members with opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding of the issues facing the profession, to meet and learn from colleagues, and to influence the future of the organization and the profession.

If you are appointed to a standing committee, you are usually committing to at least one year of service and will be requested to:

• Be present at required meetings. Most standing committees meet in-person for a one to two day meeting (typically in May) near the CMAA headquarters in Alexandria, VA; CMAA covers the committee members’ costs of travel, lodging and food for this meeting.
• Participate in conference calls and online discussions as needed.
• Prepare for all meetings by reading relevant materials in advance.
• Complete assignments such as gathering information, surveying colleagues and making presentations.
• Respond to requests for feedback by the requested deadlines.
• Attend the World Conference if you are asked to serve on an at-conference committee. These various service committees are held in conjunction with the World Conference (between January and March) annually and require about 2 - 4 hours of your time on site.

All Professional/Alumnus members are eligible to serve on national committees. At the discretion of the CMAA National Chairman, National Board or national staff, exceptions may be made to this policy. Appointments to certain standing committees may require prior or current service.

Committee chairs oversee the work of the committees, prepare for and chair committee meetings, and report to the Board of Directors. As a general rule, chairmen are current National Board Members and designated by the CMAA National Chairman.

Each committee is assigned a professional staff liaison who supports the committee’s work by preparing background materials and assisting in the planning and implementation of meetings and programs.

Responses to the Committee Service Volunteer form are due by December 31. Committee appointments will be made from the pool of members submitting committee service requests. To develop an inclusive rich pool of candidates, CMAA national and chapter leaders are asked to identify potential applicants and encourage them to submit the required volunteer information. There are close to 150 national volunteer committee, at-conference committee, and special group openings anticipated annually.

In order to appoint the most representative and effective national standing committees, the Association strives to develop a large pool of qualified members from various sectors of our membership. Expertise, professional experience, as well as CMAA and local chapter experience will be considered in the appointment process. Appointments are made by the CMAA National Chairman and approved by the CMAA Board of Directors to achieve balanced representation from members, chapters and regions, club types, gender, age group, skill sets and experience. 

As national committee placements and needs vary annually, CMAA cannot guarantee selection of all volunteer applications in a given year. Typically, more requests to serve are received than there are committee openings. Therefore, volunteer forms of members not selected will be maintained, with permission, for consideration the following year. You may also wish to look into getting involved in your local chapter.

Additionally, per CMAA policy: After accepting the CMAA Chairman’s appointment, national committee members who do not show for planned in-person meetings (i.e., National Committee Week in May and/or conference call or online meetings [excused family and/or club emergencies excluded]) are not eligible apply for national committee service consideration for up to three (3) years post attendance violation.

Remote participation is not an applicable option for in-person national committee meetings should a committee member(s) not be able to attend.