Dear ALAC Colleagues, As I posted on May 18th, we are now accepting Statements of Interest from persons interested in serving on the At Large Advisory Committee. Two representatives will be appointed from this North American RALO. See my prior message here: http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/pipermail/na-discuss_atlarge- lists.icann.org/2007-May/000738.html The Statement of Interest period will remain open for 10 more days, until June 22nd. Some have asked me what this position entails, and while I have responded privately in personal emails, I thought I would take the opportunity to post my own thoughts publicly here on the list. Jean, Wendy and John, each of whom has served in this capacity in the past, also may have some thoughts to share. You will be the eyes, ears, and voice of these North America At Large Structures on the At Large Advisory Committee. In addition to the work you do with us here, you also will become a member of all of the ALAC mailing lists. You will be expected to participate actively in both groups, on mailing lists and in conference calls. You also will be funded to travel to all public ICANN meetings. Currently, ICANN has three meetings each year, at various locations around the world, and each meeting last 7-8 days. Over the course of your two-year term, you should plan to attend at least 4 of the 6 meetings. While I don't wish to scare anyone away, this is a significant undertaking, and you may well find that the three weeks of annual travel, plus service on various ICANN standing and ad hoc committees, takes a month of your time each year. While the demands are significant, I also found that there are numerous personal rewards in service. You will meet and work with an outstanding group of individuals from around the world, and the contributions you make will have the potential to benefit every user of the Internet. When we were drafting the Operating Principles, one of the reasons we adopted consensus processes for elections was that we did not believe that we would receive more than one or two statements of interest each year. The demands of the positions are such that most people cannot devote this sort of time to travel and participation. Still, we need two! Perhaps it's you. Think about it. If this is something you're considering, you might wish to post a short note to that effect to the list. Then, after feeling out the group on your interest and ability to make this significant commitment, you can post the formal statement of interest later, if you're still willing. See my prior message for the formalities. If you have questions, also let us know on the list and we can all discuss for the benefit of everyone. Bret