From The Blog

Help Build the Board on the KICA Nominating Committee

KICA is looking for a small group of members to serve on the Nominating Committee, to help build and maintain a board that has the skill and diversity to provide effective governance
for the community.

In just a few short months, the association will begin preparations to replace two board directors when their terms end in March 2018. It is important to have a board whose overall make up provides necessary skills and experiences, with varied perspectives to provide KICA with highly-functioning governance. KICA spends nearly $15 million annually to provide security, maintain infrastructure such as roads, bridges and landscaping, and provide amenities. KICA needs effective governance to maintain investment values and ensure all members continue to enjoy this beautiful location.

Serving over 8,000 individual members, the board must work to ensure KICA works in the interests of everyone. Having skilled directors representing the spectrum of property owners (houses and condos; residents and non-residents; club members and non-club members) will ensure the various perspectives are appropriately considered as KICA executes its responsibilities.

The nominating committee will have two main tasks:
Identify and Solicit Candidates – It is not easy to build and maintain a board whose directors have the skills and range of backgrounds required to provide effective governance for a community like Kiawah. This committee will work to identify qualified candidates who will consider running for a board seat.

The committee will work with the board and chief operating officer to develop a list of the most important qualifications and characteristics needed for the incoming class. For example, if retiring board members have unique skills (i.e. finance, legal, engineering, etc.) or if a segment such as full-time residents or club members are over (or under) represented, the committee will seek candidates with these skills and characteristics, to build an appropriately talented and diverse board.

Interview and Recommend Candidates – The committee will meet with potential candidates and explore their skills, experiences and qualifications for the board. It will also develop a sense of whether candidates have the best interpersonal skills to work in the board setting. Individual perspectives are critical for a strong board, yet to be effective, the directors must be able to disagree without being disagreeable. The committee will provide its recommendation for candidates it considers the best potential members.

Potentially, more candidates will run than there are seats available. In that case, the committee may provide recommendations for all or only some of the candidates.

All members may file to run for the board, with or without speaking to the committee, and all candidates will be afforded similar exposure to the community in the Kiawah Island Digest and any public forums scheduled. The committee will not express opinions on candidates who choose to run independently. However, we hope all candidates will participate in the process, which will help provide important feedback for candidates and uniform information for members to make their voting decisions.

Committee work for the 2018 election will begin with the appointment of the committee at the July 10 Board of Directors meeting. Times and dates of meetings will be determined once the committee is established. September and October are anticipated to be the most active months.

The deadline to volunteer for the Nominating Committee is Monday, July 3. To read more about the Nominating Committee and its work or to find out how you can become a member, visit kica.us/board.