Become a Boardmember

Board openings

From time to time, SORO NC Board seats become available between scheduled elections (our Board page lists our current vacancies). According to our bylaws, open seats can be filled by majority vote of our Board. If you're interested in being considered for an open seat, please fill out the Board application form and send it back at least 10 days before our next General Board meeting.

Have questions? Email us at candidate@soronc.org.

Why you should get involved

Simply put, serving on the SORO NC Board is a chance to give back and help shape our community.

What does the NC do?

Advocate and represent our community’s wants and/or needs to local government officials and entities; build partnerships with government so that government is more responsive to local needs; foster a sense of community; and decide how to spend the City’s annual financial allocation ($37,000 this year) for priority community activities and projects.

What are the Board’s responsibilities?

Help in outreach to community members; represent our community to government officials; make decisions that will affect our community; and participate in at least two meetings each month (the General Board meeting and a committee meeting of your choice). The more active you are, the more rewarding you'll find the experience.

Helpful skills

Of course, all qualified candidates are welcome. In particular, we seek enthusiastic, hands-on candidates. And if you have other skills, this is a great place to let them shine: community organizing, web development, communications/PR, writing, design, video production, land use and planning, event planning, bookkeeping, law, emergency response and preparedness, transportation planning, etc.

Our representative seats

We have five types of seats: Zone Reps, Business Reps, Organization Reps, School Reps, and At-Large Reps. Most seats have four year terms, although appointments to vacated seats are only good until the next scheduled election. With the exception of the Student School seat, you must be 18 to apply.

Zone Reps come from each of our ten residential zones. You must live (i.e., a resident homeowner or tenant) within the corresponding zone of the council boundaries. You can see the SORO NC zones on our Boundaries page.

Business Reps must own, operate, or work in a business or own business property or residential income property within the Council boundaries. There are five Business Reps.

Organization Reps must officially represent organized groups of stakeholders, including (but not limited to) non-profit, faith-based, or service organizations within the Council boundaries. We have four Organization Reps.

School Reps have two different types. The first is someone who works at a school or represents an official school booster organization within the Council boundaries. That single seat has a four year term. The second School Rep is reserved for a student who attends school within our boundaries. Unlike our other seats, the Student School Rep is appointed by the Board to a one-year term, and must be between the ages of 15 and 18 at the time of the appointment. 

At-Large Reps have a looser definition: you simply have to be a SORO NC stakeholder (defined as those who live, work, or own property in the neighborhood as well as those who declare a stake in the neighborhood and affirm the factual basis for it.)