Official Candidates for the 2014 STYP Election

President

Dorollo Nixon, Jr.

“I am passionate about motivating people to achieve their full potential. I also believe in bringing all talents into action to build a stronger community. My six years as an attorney have taken me on a journey to fascinating cities like New York, London, Paris and Dubai, where I have worked and played with the world’s most talented professionals. Those years taught me that any organization stands or falls based on three elements: its people, its vision and its values.   If elected president, I will motivate STYP to expand its vision as a professional organization to become the premier place for young professionals in the Binghamton area to network, develop further their professional skills, socialize and have a good time. STYP is full of talented people with creative ideas for changing our great community for the better. STYP members have voiced their wishes for more professional events and partnerships with other business organizations. For too long, fresh ideas, new directions and innovation have been squelched. With your help, we will unleash this potential in 2014 like never before! Come out on January 23, and make your voice heard.”

Gregory Roberts

“STYP saw a big year of growth in 2013 and it is my goal to continue the growth into 2014. There are a few areas I want to focus on, including a membership structure and marketing review, community partnership expansion (especially with other local YP groups), and as always helping to strengthen the internal operations and institution knowledge of STYP. I have been a member of STYP for 5 years serving as Treasurer for 4 years and Vice-President for 1 year.”

Vice President

Sean J. Britton

“I am excited to announce my candidacy to be the next Vice-President of the Southern Tier Young Professionals. STYP is an invaluable organization within our community because it draws together a scarce and precious resource; young professionals. STYP provides a hub through which ideas can be shared, service can be provided to the community, and new professional contacts and friendships can be established. As a growing organization, STYP needs professional and passionate leadership to facilitate its development. Sean J. Britton is a Nationally Registered Paramedic with clinical practice privileges at Superior Ambulance Service, Harpur’s Ferry Ambulance, and UHS Hospitals. He was previously the Program Coordinator of Emergency & Trauma Services at UHS Hospitals, where he specialized in trauma program development and performance improvement. He is currently the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Broome County. He has served as a Board Member of the Susquehanna Regional EMS Council for six years.”

Treasurer

Matthew Feldman

“Sitting Treasurer. Would like to work to see STYP as the go to organization for young professionals in the Southern Tier for social, civic and general knowledge of the area and what’s going on in the area. I am also endorsing Dorollo Nixon for the new STYP president as I believe his leadership experience can bring about changes that we need to this group”

Secretary

Stacey Bender

“As a “transplant” to the Southern Tier, the Southern Tier Young Professionals has been a great way for me to meet other professionals in the area. I believe that STYP cannot only be a great way to network, but an outlet for young professionals to make a difference in our community. I envision STYP increasing its presence in the community and fostering relationships with other local institutions, to encourage other young professionals to work and live here. I have previously held executive board positions such as Class Representative and Community Service Chair for the Undergraduate Nursing Student Association as well Secretary and President of the Graduate Nursing Student Organization. I am currently a Pubic Health Nurse at the Broome County Health Department and coordinate the Immunization and Tuberculosis programs. I hope to become more involved with the Southern Tier Young Professionals as Secretary for the upcoming year. Thank you for your consideration. ”

Executive Commitee Board Members (9 Positions)

Mary Gorski	“I see STYP as a social/civic group.  I have been a member of STYP almost since the start.  I would like to be part of the voting and decision making.  I remember coming up with the idea for Summer Celebration and having it at Uncle Tony’s.  I know the good places we can go to for mixers and other activities.  I would like the Dinner Club to come back.  I would like to see the Wine Club revived.  It would also be great to have some non-alcohol rated events”
Garet Simpson	“As a transplant to the Binghamton area, STYP has proven to be my most effective tool for social networking.  I know all too well the challenges of making friends in a new town.  My passion is to seek out and greet those who are interested in checking out STYP.  This year I took on the role of content provider for the website to ensure it was always up to-date with our latest news and events.  I would like to continue smoothing out the technical operations of STYP.”
Christine Stezzi	“I would like to continue my involvement of Southern Tier Young Professionals as a Board Member in 2014.  Our organization has grown tremendously in the past year and I would like to carry on that growth in 2014.  I plan to continue strengthening our ties within the community through civic projects and collaborating with other groups in the area.  I also plan to complete our rebranding process in this next year.  We adopted an amazing new logo in 2013, and it’s time to really push it out there!  I plan to produce promotional materials for the group to help us reach out to other YPs in the area and get some fun items as well, such as running shirts for all our active STYPers.  Our reputation in the community has become very positive and I want to foster that in the coming year. ”
Ryan Snyder	“I, Ryan Snyder is interested in running for executive council for STYP. I would like to assist in the future development of the organization and with my background I feel that I am a great candidate.”
Danielle Britton	“I am running to be a part of STYP’s board for several reasons. The Binghamton area has a lot to offer young professionals, but many choose not to stay in this area. I believe STYP can be a catalyst to encourage talented young professionals to feel welcome in the community. The best example of this is Binghamton University, a large school where most students do not stay in the area after graduation. Some stay for a few years but feel there is nothing for young people to do and move on. I have been involved as a BU Alumni Volunteer as well as with their young alumni engagement program, Bearcats of the Last Decade (BOLD). This is a partnership to cultivate to encourage graduates to stay in Binghamton. I am the Director of Education at Roberson Museum and Science Center, and in my time there I have a lot of experience with event planning and working on committees. I also have many connections within the community to help with implementation of new ideas for STYP events. My time in STYP has resulted in great personal and professional connections, and I look forward to being a part of STYP’s future success.”
Spencer Smith	“I was born and raised in Broome County and a graduate from SUNY Cortland while commuting from Binghamton. While my degree is heavily focused on Marketing and PR, I spent most of my working career in the facility management business. Recently I have decided to put my college and work experience together and start my own facility management business right here in Binghamton. I feel I would be a great asset to the STYP team not only because of my love for my home, but because of my experience in the work world in business development and marketing. I know that my experience aligns with many of the new goals the STYP has for 2014, and I would love to be a part of the growth of something great.”
Jonathan D. LaChance	“As a relatively new member to STYP in the past year, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of a young professionals group in a community. The Southern Tier has a lot to offer its citizens and visitors, but unfortunately many opportunities to get involved are not taken advantage of. STYP allows the young professionals in the area to collaborate with other organizations, businesses, and local events to promote engagement of the public in the community. As a member of the board I will utilize my personal and professional experiences to enhance STYP’s position in the community.Professional Experience: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Binghamton University, 2012 Ph.D. in Nursing and Healthcare Administration, Binghamton University (in progress) Incident Commander for Critical Care Services, Broome County Disaster Drill, 2012 NYS Licensed Registered Nurse (Clinical Charge Nurse), UHS Wilson Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, 2012 to present Chairman, Greater Binghamton Advisory Board of the Northeast Kidney Foundation, 2011 to present Founder and Chair, David LaChance 5k for Kidneys in Ithaca, NY ($38,000.00 raised to assist needs of kidney patients), 2010 to present STYP Board member, 2013”

Thank you to all the candidates for their services to STYP.

Official voting rules are summarized in this post.

Due to the short nomination period, candidates may continue to self nominate to nominations@styp.org until January 17th.

The deadline has passed to be added to the absentee ballot.

Absentee ballots can be downloaded here as PDF and here as docx.

STYP Annual Elections for officer and board member positions will be held during the Annual Meeting on January 23rd at the United Way.

Positions that will be voted on include:

• President
• Vice President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Executive Committee Board Members (9 Positions)

Nominations:

To nominate yourself for a position and officially be on the ballot for the January 23rd elections, send the following information to nominations@styp.org by 5PM on January 10th.  

• First and Last Name
• Position for which you are running.
• If you are running for an officer position, also indicate if you want to run for a board member position in the event that you do not win the officer position.
• Vision for STYP / Reason for running / Related experience.  Please limit to 200 words.
• Headshot photograph (optional)

Nominations with above information will be published on the STYP website for members to review by January 11th and will be included in an information packet on election day.

Nominations will also be accepted during the meeting.  These nominations will be treated as write-ins.

All candidates must be current (2014) STYP members.

Voting Rules for January 23rd Annual Meeting:

• Every candidate will have three minutes to introduce themselves.
• Only current (2014) STYP members can vote.  Members will be required to sign in to receive a ballot. Memberships can be purchased at the Annual Meeting or on the STYP website. Renew your membership now!
  
• Voting will occur in one round.  Candidates who run for both an officer position and a board member position will be removed from the board member ballot in the event that they win the officer position.
• Absentee voting is allowed by mail in ballot.  It is recommended to mail ballot 10 days prior to election to ensure delivery before the Annual Meeting.  Ballots received after the meeting will not be counted. Further instructions and absentee ballots can be downloaded here as PDF and here as DOCX.

Start the new year with STYP!

• Mixer at Zona & Co. Grille on Wednesday, January 8th at 6:00pm
• Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 23rd at 7:00pm (Mixer at Sliderz after meeting.) 
• Mixer at Greek Key Restaurant on Thursday, February 6th

T-Shirts with our new logo will be available for purchase at all events.  We accept cash, check, and all major credit cards.

Shirt Prices:
Members: $15/shirt
Non-Members: $20/shirt