ASWSU president-elect Kasey Webster sat in the senate office Monday preparing a meeting agenda on the computer.

“I’ve got meetings all the time,” he said.

He and vice president-elect Tommy Simmons will be in Spokane on Friday meeting the presidents and vice presidents of the WSU branch campuses.

Despite the busy schedule, Webster and Simmons are focusing on building their administration for next year. After spending last week at Services and Activities Fee Committee hearings, they are now aiming to build their ASWSU executive staff.

“Our No. 1 priority is getting the executive staff hired before the end of the school year,” Simmons said. “We’re trying to get the word out on that and get everyone to apply.” Applications are available at the ASWSU office in the Administration Annex and are due April 6.

“We hope to have the whole exec staff hired and figured out by mid-April at the latest,” Webster said.

In contrast to the current administration’s 14 executive members – excluding President Zach Wurtz and Vice President Janeen Heath – Webster and Simmons plan to hire only six. They’re planning for a chief of staff, director of campus relations, director of legislative affairs, director of multicultural affairs, administrative affairs coordinator, and special projects and marketing coordinator.

“They’re the core positions we know we want to have,” Simmons said.

Six hard-working staffers can accomplish just as much as a larger staff, Webster said. The small executive personnel would also allow for growth if necessary.

“We’re just going to hire the best people we possibly can,” he said.

The smaller number of open slots ensures a high caliber team, Simmons said.

“We want to make it as competitive as possible,” he said.

Simmons said he and Webster want to hire a diverse staff consisting of students of different denominations and backgrounds.

They will be looking for experience in student involvement and qualifications pertaining to the different positions, Webster said. Previous ASWSU experience is not necessary.

Webster said the two main projects he and Simmons are preparing for are the annual multicultural fundraising dinner, which takes place each February, and the Cougar leadership retreat, a tradition that began in September.

Although the leadership retreat was primarily for ASWSU and the multicultural community this year, the event next year will reach out to additional student groups such as the Greek community, Residence Hall Association and Residence Life.

“We’re trying to get everybody represented on that,” Webster said.

Webster and Simmons have already contacted incoming WSU president Elson S. Floyd as part of their goal to establish a relationship between Floyd and the students, Simmons said.

In addition, he said, their goals include promoting campus unity and bridging the gap between different student communities through programming, which Simmons said is his forte as current director of the Student Entertainment Board.

Webster said they want to promote not only ASWSU programs, but those of other organizations and offer financial support to various student groups.

They also hope to increase accessibility and visibility to the students, Simmons said.

“[We want to] make it easy for students to come to us, ask questions and voice opinions,” he said.

They want to do this through a possible radio segment on KZUU.

Simmons also hinted at upcoming projects with details he did not reveal.

“We got a lot of great ideas,” he said. “They’ll start to unfold to you as summer comes.”