Volunteering

How can you help?

Get involved today!

Volunteers are the energy that drive CWIS. We have a variety of ways for members to be involved, from short-term task force projects to ongoing committees and longer-term board service. With every new volunteer, CWIS grows more energized and with a stronger voice, more diverse and inclusive, and better equipped to reach our common goals.

At the conclusion of the 2022 Annual Summit, several committee positions will turn over, affording our members the opportunity to get involved. If you are interested in volunteering for a committee, please fill out the volunteer form before the deadline of Sunday, January 2 by 23:59 Mountain Time. You may volunteer for as many positions as you would like, but are ultimately only able to serve on one committee at a time.

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Committee members are expected to participate in committee activities, including conference calls, in-person meetings held in conjunction with the CWISummit (if applicable), projects, and other assigned tasks to complete the goals and objectives of the committee as per Board expectations. Committee members who do not participate may be replaced.

Click here to submit your application

Click here to see current CWIS volunteers

The CWIS By-laws state as follows:

Section 10.2.2.3. Process for Nominations and Elections

The Nominating Committee is responsible for tracking, identifying, and filling positions within the Society that will become vacant at the conclusion of the annual Summit. It is the purview of the Nominating Committee to nominate members for these open positions based upon either a call for volunteers or a decision of the committee itself. In the case of the former, an electronic mailing to the membership will be sent soliciting interest in specific positions. Such calls for volunteers should be circulated to the membership at least sixty (60) days prior to the annual summit. The Nominating Committee shall adjudicate the volunteer candidates' applications and, after consultation with the Board, the Nominating Committee shall recommend a slate of candidates ("Slate") to the voting members of the society. The slate will be provided electronically to the voting members of the society at least thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting. The voting members of the society will then have no less than seven (7) days to vote electronically on the slate. The slate will be ratified by simple majority of electronic votes, provided that a quorum exists. Unless a greater quorum is required by law, ten percent (10%) of the voting members of the society shall constitute a quorum. Alternate nomination petitions by any member in good standing may be submitted during the electronic voting period and will be entertained if affirmed by no less than twenty percent (20%) of the total number of members eligible to vote. In the case of affirmation, the slate nominee and alternative nominee(s) shall run against each other by electronic vote, with the winner being determined by simple majority, provided there is a quorum as defined previously in this section. No member of the nominating committee can nominate themselves to any position.

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If you have a specific preference and/or questions about committee engagement prior to volunteering, please feel free to reach out to the Committee Chair as noted on the CWIS Leadership webpage or email SarahAnn.

Committees Seeking Volunteers

(positions currently available for these committees)

Board of Directors (5 year term, 2 members needed)

Section 7.1. Powers and Duties

The governing body of CWIS shall be the Board of Directors. The Board shall manage the society's affairs in its sole and absolute discretion.

The Board shall: (1) direct CWIS so that it supports the purposes as defined in ARTICLE II of these Bylaws, (2) approve committee activities prior to implementation, if applicable, (3) monitor cash flow and approve the annual budget, (4) be responsible for CWIS assets and, when deemed advisable, revise CWIS assets, (5) appoint ad-hoc committee and committee members to consider special projects or issues, as necessary, (6) be responsible for ensuring that current contractors are in place for hosting and maintaining both the CWIS web site and the Chest Injury International Database (CIID), and (9) meet regularly as defined in these Bylaws.

Without limiting the foregoing, the Board: (1) may invite members and other individuals to participate in its discussions in a non-voting advisory capacity at any meeting; (2) shall receive and approve the reports of all Committees and Taskforces as requested by the Board; and (3) will review and approve the report of the activities of the Committees and Taskforces prior to presentation at the business meeting.

Section 7.3. Qualifications

In order to serve as a Director, an individual must: (1) be over the age of eighteen (18); (2) be dedicated to advancing the Society's purpose as outlined in ARTICLE II of these bylaws; (3) be an Active Member in good standing; (4) be independent (as defined in this section), except for the executive director; and (5) not have a business or family relationship with any other Society Director, officer, or employee and (6), maintain a current Relevant Financial Relationship disclosure form, as outlined in section 10.2.10.3, during the entirety of his/her term.

A board member may not serve in another leadership position within the society (defined as committee or taskforce chairs), unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws, and with the exception of the society's officers who are, by definition, officer directors. An individual shall be considered independent if: (1) the individual is not compensated by the Society as an employee; (2) the individual does not receive total compensation or other payments exceeding $10,000 during the Society's tax year from the Society; (3) the individual's compensation is not determined by individuals or organizations who are compensated by the Society; (4) the individual does not receive, directly or indirectly, material financial benefits from the Society except as a member of the charitable class served by the Society; and (5) the individual is not related to anyone described above (as a spouse, sibling, parent, or child) or reside with any person so described.

Any Director who, in the Board's discretion, fails at any time to meet the qualifications set forth in this section, shall be considered to have voluntarily resigned from the Board provided however that no notice of said resignation by the Director is required, and the effective date of said resignation will be determined by the Board.

Executive Committee - Secretary/Treasurer (2 year term, 1 member needed)

The Secretary/Treasurer shall serve as an Officer of the society and may serve as a liaison or facilitator with other committees.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall be the principal financial officer of the society, and have charge of and be responsible for the maintenance of adequate books of account for the society. He/she shall exercise general supervision over all aspects of CWIS reports and minutes. The Secretary/Treasurer is responsible for keeping minutes of all meetings of both the board and executive committee, as well as the annual society business meeting, circulating these minutes to the members, and documenting approval or changes to the minutes from the prior meeting. He/she shall be responsible for maintenance of the Society's bylaws in accordance with ARTICLE XV. He/she shall advise the Executive Director concerning billings and collections and management of all funds received by the society. Financial records and bank accounts shall be under the direction of the Executive Director, who shall compile financial reports at least quarterly.

Education committee (3 year term, 2+ members needed)

Membership committee (3 year term, 3 members needed)

Under the direction of the Board, the Membership committee is tasked with monitoring and growing the membership of the society, to include both creation and selection of member generating events and media and advertisement of the society. It shall be the duty of the Membership Committee to solicit applications for membership in the society. It shall be the responsibility of the Committee to evaluate each application to ensure that the applicant fulfills the requirements as defined in the Bylaws. The Committee is also responsible for reviewing all membership applications at least monthly, and granting Provisional Membership Status as outlined in Section 5.3.1. Furthermore, the Membership committee is tasked with monitoring the status of current members and addressing delinquencies in payment of membership dues. The Membership committee will maintain a current membership directory, to be listed on the Society website. Finally, the committee is tasked with determining the categories of membership and their relative contribution to the makeup of the society. To this end, the Membership committee may propose to the Board the addition or removal of categories of membership to the Society.

Development committee (2 year term, 3 members needed)

Research committee (3 year term, 2 members needed)

Under the direction of the Board, the Research committee is tasked with creating, adjudicating and enacting research projects in the interest of the Society. The committee is responsible for maintaining the research idea online submission form, as well as proposing to the Board the allocation of Society resources to conducting and supporting research endeavors sponsored by the Society. Finally, the Research committee is responsible for managing all CWIS fellowships, to include call for proposals, adjudication of applications, and selection of recipients to be ratified by the Executive Committee.

Patient Education committee (3 year term, 2 members needed)

Database Committee (3 year term, 2 members needed)

Publications Committee (3 year term, 1 member needed)

Under the direction of the Board, the Publication Committee is tasked with (1) organizing and executing CWIS driven publications/guidelines, (2) monitoring the literature for member-related publications, (3) maintaining a repository of chest wall-related publications by CWIS members, to be displayed on the Society's website, and (4) maintaining all aspects of the Society's relationship with sister Journals, including the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and the Journal of Thoracic Disease. To that end, the Publication Committee is responsible for soliciting manuscripts from work presented at the annual Summit, as well as adjudicating said manuscripts with selection of those manuscripts for inclusion in the annual CWIS issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

Other Committees

(no positions currently available for these committees)

Ethics Advisory committee (2 year term, 0 members needed)

Nominations committee (3 year term, 0 members needed)

The Nominating committee shall be responsible for soliciting, qualifying, and nominating individuals for election to all CWIS positions, including Officer-Directors, At-Large Directors, chairperson of the board, officers, committee chairs, and committee members. In making each nomination, the Nominating committee shall seek individuals who possess the requisite backgrounds, education, training, and experience that will best serve the Society's purpose as outlined in ARTICLE II. Prior to making a nomination, the Nominating committee shall: (1) confirm the qualifications of any potential nominee, including compliance with the Society's Conflict of Interest Policy (section 10.2.10.3); (2) make available to all potential nominees copies of the Society's applicable governing documents, including without limitation, the Society's Bylaws; and (3) inform potential nominees of the position's duties and responsibilities. The Nominating Committee shall make nominations within the time period specified by these Bylaws, or, if not specified by these Bylaws, as specified by the Board. In addition to the foregoing duties and responsibilities, the Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties and responsibilities as the Board shall assign from time to time.