Dear Colleagues,
You’ll soon be receiving your ballot for the upcoming slate of officers and directors for the AAEC, with a recommended change of tenure for the AAEC President to two years (this will not apply to my current term which ends December 1). This change to two years will bring the term of the President and board members into line, and enable them to plan farther ahead and follow through on decisions that affect the association. It will also necessitate some further changes in the structure of the organization in the future, so stay tuned.
Due to this potential change to the executive office, and other factors, it was decided by the board of directors that the office of President-Elect will remain vacant for the time being, so there are no candidates to vote for next year.
It’s clear that the AAEC is at an inflection point. Continuing business as usual is not sustainable. In Sacramento the Board formed a “Reboot Committee” to look into ways to expand our membership and lay the groundwork for future growth. In the current climate recasting ourselves as an association dedicated to defense of the First Amendment is certainly one direction to go.
The Board also recognizes that we need to expand our fund raising efforts. There have been plenty of good ideas pitched to me over this last year that deserve to be put into action, but they didn't take off due to a lack of resources. Ideally we need an office manager/development director who will be dedicated solely to the business of the AAEC. Wanda Nicholson will be stepping down early next year when she officially retires, and this gives us an opportunity to reshape the manager's position. The AAEC will be working with our sister organization, Editorial Cartooning Initiative, to get our fundraising off the ground to make this position possible.
We have opportunities for growth through greater inclusion. There are a lot of younger cartoonists doing great work out there—they just don’t know they’re political cartoonists. Our partnership with CXC next year will expose us to a wider field of scribblers and it is my recommendation that we make ourselves welcoming to them.
We’re open to entertaining your ideas on ways to go forward. Shoot me an email pfbagley@gmail.com.
Pat Bagley
President, Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
