**Appointing, Managing and Maintaining Delegations - The Campus Alliance of La Raza places an emphasis on coalition building and unity with other organizations on campus and in the region.  We send representatives to various entities and try to maintain open lines of communication with them.  The Vice President of Delegation and Latino Affairs is responsible for appointing delegations to be official liaisons between La Raza and these other organizations. 

Appointing: As the VP of Delegation and Latino Affairs, you should automatically assume that the Delegations of the previous year are interested in continuing to serve as a La Raza liaison.  Contact these individuals after you are elected in the spring, throughout the summer, and in the fall to see if they are willing and able to continue to serve.  Remember, it is okay and preferred to have multiple delegates to a single organization - however, you must approve each request in order for an appointment to be official.  LASO meetings and La Raza Community Meetings are great forums that will yield an overwhelming response to your request for delegates.  Also, coordinate with the Public Relations Officer and have he/she create a flyer for wide distribution to residence halls, student centers, and Bulletin Boards around campus. Make sure you engage freshmen - being a delegate puts the individual on our board, which as you already know, opens many doors for social and intellectual growth.

Managing: You should instruct your delegates to contact you with any relevant information that needs to go to the La Raza board.  If an organization wants to work with us in a particular initiative, use your liaison to coordinate and communicate with the entity in an effort to get all the relevant information.  We don't expect you to have personal relationships with 25-30 organizations.  Don't overwhelm yourself - you are a student first -  that's why you have Delegates.  They already have the contacts and relationships in the respective organization - so work closely with them.  When you are ready, you can then bring the initiative to the board for discussion and vote if you deem it a worthwhile endeavor.

Maintaining:  Continue to recruit delegates all year - the more the better.  La Raza enjoys being connected with other organizations and we all benefit with close relationships with each other.

**National and Local Conferences - You are expected to identify at least one conference per semester that La Raza should consider participating in.  You should definitely push to have our members attend The NCLR Annual Conference.  In 2004 - The NCLR Conference took place in Phoenix, AZ - in 2005 it took place in Philadelphia, PA -  in 2006, Los Angeles, CA - and in 2007 we will all go to Miami, FL.  Conferences, especially our national conference with the NCLR, are excellent ways for our members to grow socially, by networking and strengthening bonds with fellow La Raza members, and intellectually.  The NCLR annual conference should be Priority One on your list.

Selecting & Funding Individuals To Attend Conferences On Behalf Of La Raza:  As The Vice President of Delegation and Latino Affairs, it is your responsibility to select who will attend conferences on behalf of La Raza.  This is highly significant because you decide, based on money available, who receives funds from La Raza to subsidize the costs of participating in the Conference.  Coordinate with the Vice President of Finance to determine how much money you are being allocated.  Make your funding determinations based on the following criteria:

How active is the person within our organization? - Priority for subsidizing costs should go to members of our board and those active within our organization.

Age and year: Each trip should arguably have a balance between "old school" and freshmen/sophomores.  It wouldn't be a sound investment to fund 10 seniors for a trip if they are graduating in a few months.  Make sure you invest in our organization's future by sending people who will likely be around for a a few years - place an emphasis on sending a mix of upper and underclassmen.

**The CALR Retreat - As the Vice President of Delegation and Latino Affairs - it will be your responsibility to work with your assistants to plan the CALR Retreat.  Pick a city that is preferably holding a conference - register as many members as possible for the conference, especially people on the new Executive Board.  Reserve 2 UD vans, secure a hotel with 2 rooms (coordinate with the Vice President of Finance and Development to see what your budget looks like) and host Strategic Planning sessions.  Strategic planning sessions are long Executive Board meetings where everyone comes together in a board room of a hotel, a hotel room, or some other private place to discuss the focus and agenda for the organization during the next year.  It will be up to you, your team of assistants and the new and old Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents to facilitate the meeting.  The retreats have been the highlight of many college careers - 4 days packed full of fun, bonding, and growth.  Financing the retreat is primarily up to the Vice President of Finance, so stay on him/her to come up with effective fundraising ideas.

**Recruiting Assistants - As an Executive Board Officer, it is your responsibility to recruit several assistants - preferably freshmen and sophomores.  La Raza places an emphasis on pulling each other up and passing the torch.  Assistants will not only give the next generation of Latino leaders at West Chester University a sense of ownership of the organization, but their insight and assistance will make your job much easier while simultaneously strengthening our organization and ensuring its healthy longevity.

.....

---