First up for election this April is the position of President, currently held by Brother David Ebner. When asked about his position, he provided the following:
There is no checklist of responsibilities for the President of the DZAA. The position is really what you make if it, and in turn, the association is what you make of the position. The DZAA operates like a machine that includes a few gears that constantly roll over one another. The President is maintenance, the resident applies the grease.
Directly, the President oversees all officers and chairman, which in its current rendition, includes the Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Technology Chairman and Archivist. He works closely with these officers on their individual roles and on special assignments. I would estimate that each officer and chairman operates about 90 percent of their time in the realm of special assignments. There should always be a lead on an event, like the Founders Weekend and the Scholarship Scramble, sometimes that will be the President, sometimes it won’t. It is, however, the President’s job to work with the event leader to plan out the stages of the event along with the assignments leading up to the event. Planning is the President’s chief responsibility. Luckily for the DZAA, we have top notch officers and chairman that charge head on into their duties and are reliable and diligent. This will make the job of the President ever so much easier.
In addition to the officers and chairman, you will need to work hand-in-hand with the Chapter Advisor, the University Administrators, the Chapter President and the National Office when situation permits.
As noted above, as long as there is a goal and the calendar is planned out in advance, the President is primarily a paper pusher and motivator. As far as a time commitment goes, you can expect to expire 5 hours a week to the positon. This number increases when events are approaching and decreases when proper planning is executed.
The President of the DZAA is a fun and very rewarding position. I cannot recall all of the compliments I have gotten from our membership and returned to the other board members. It takes us all to carry the DZAA up the hill, but many hands make little work. It’s the President’s job to find the right hands and fill them with tools.