Presiding Officers

Legislature 

Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House for the 3 color Chambers. The Lt. Governor will preside over the Senate and the Speaker of the House will preside over the House. These students will lead all Legislative Sessions, set the tone of their chamber and also have roles in the Opening and Closing Sessions. 

Red/White chambers include all 12th graders and 2nd year 11th graders. Candidates for Red/White positions must have attended at least 1 prior YIG conference. Blue chambers include all 9th and 1st year 10th graders. Candidates for Blue positions may be 9th or 10th grade delegates.

Qualifications for Candidacy

Red/White	Blue
Must be in 10th-12th grade	Must be in 9th or 10th grade
Must have served in at least one year in the high school legislature	Prior MYIG experience is recommended but not required
Strong verbal communication skills including the ability to speak to large audiences	Strong verbal communication skills including the ability to speak to large audiences
Strong knowledge of parliamentary procedure and a willingness to teach it to others	Positive attitude and ability to work well with others
Demonstrate the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility	Demonstrate the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility

National Issues Forum

 The NIF Presiding Officers will preside over the National Issues Forum third committee and General Assembly. These students will set the tone of their program area, preside over proposals and the docketing process, and also have roles in the Opening and Closing Sessions. 

Qualifications for Candidacy

Must be in 10th-12th grade

Prior National Issues Forum experience is required

Strong knowledge of parliamentary procedure and a willingness to teach it to others

Strong knowledge of parliamentary procedure and a willingness to teach it to others

Demonstrate the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility

Fall Conference Election Requirements

Each Fall Conference will hold elections for the all Speakers of the House and Blue Lt. Governors. Each candidate will go through a Parliamentary Procedure skit and have up to 3 minutes for their campaign speech. They may be introduced with a 1 minute nominating speech from another delegate.

Lansing Conference Election Requirements

Each Lansing conference will hold elections for Red and White Lt. Governors and National Issues Forum Presiding Officers. Candidates will campaign throughout the Spring Conference event with the final election occurring at Closing Session. The follow campaign opportunities are available to all candidates.

• Each candidate will have a table for candidate materials throughout the conference.
• Give a 3 minute campaign speech. They may be introduced with a 1 minute nominating speech from another delegate.

Youth Governor

The YMCA Michigan Youth Governor race is comprised of a primary election in the Fall and a General election in the Spring. Each year YMCA MYIG will elect two Youth Governors to serve. Each Youth Governor serves a 1 year term beginning at their election at the end of Spring Conference and ending at the election of the next Youth Governor.  

The duties of the governor include serving as the Chief Executive of the YMCA MYIG Spring Conference, selecting and leading a Governor's Cabinet, setting the tone and tenor of the Program Year including leading the Leadership Team and representing YMCA MYIG together with the other Youth Governor for a number of events and occasions throughout the year. 

The following are the events where the Youth Governors' will represent YMCA Michigan Youth in Government.

• YGPA Governor’s Conference 
  
• YMCA Conference on National Affairs
  
• 1 - 4 Fall Training conferences 
  
• YMCA MYIG Middle School Lansing Conference 
  
• YMCA Michigan Leaders Conference in Lansing
  
• MMA Leadership Breakfast
  
• Legislative Appreciation Breakfast 
  
• YMCA MYIG Advisory Board meeting if possible
  

Primary Election

Each Fall Conference will hold 2 Primary Elections and send an early and a late Youth Governor candidate to represent their district. At FTC each candidate will have up to 3 minutes for their campaign speech. They may be introduced with a 1 minute nominating speech from another delegate.

Qualifications for Candidacy   

Must be in the 11th grade

Must have served at least one year in the legislature before serving as Governor

Knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the legislative process

A knowledge of state issues and possible solutions to state problems

Strong leadership skills including the ability to follow through with long term tasks and projects

Excellent verbal and written communication skills including the ability to speak to a large audience

Positive attitude and the ability to work well with others

Demonstrate the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility

General Election

Each Primary Election winner will advance to the General Election as Spring Conference. Candidates will campaign throughout the Spring Conference event with the final election occurring at Closing Session. The follow campaign opportunities are available to all candidates.

• Video commercial created with the Press – 30 seconds
• ¼ pg. advertisement for the newspaper with the Press
•  Campaign space on the advertising board in the Lobby to hang up posters, flyers, etc. (if materials not done before conference, must be completed on leadership training day).
• Meet and Greet Wednesday evening with the Lobbyists, NIF Chairs and MJP Presiding Judges.
• Gubernatorial Town Hall – Opening 1 minute in each district room, answer questions (should prepare for some common questions and answers ahead of time that delegates may ask).
• Closing Session – Introductory speech 1 minute, candidate speech 5 minutes