Election of Officers and Directors
A Review of the Association’s By-Laws
By Tony Cerovski, Director
Recent Inquiries and Confusion 2015-2016:
On occasion over the last two years, questions were asked concerning the length of a new Director’s term. The short answer is “It varies.”
By careful examination, the historical records of the Meeting Minuets and By-Laws it is clear that all three newly elected Officer’s serve new three year terms each.
Why it Varies: When a current Director is elected to a new Officer’s term, three events happen.
- The new Officer also serves a new three year Director’s term.
- If the new Officer was an existing Director or Officer, the old Director term is vacated.
- A replacement Director is elected to fill that vacancy.
Officer and Director Terms 1961-1995:
Historical research here is referring to the original By-Laws in use at the Annual Meetings from 1961 to 1995. In 1996, the
By-Laws were changed, more on that later on.
1961-1995: Using the By-Laws, the members were instructed to nominate and vote for the officers after old business concluded.
A President was elected 1st, then a Vice President 2nd, and a Treasurer 3rd was elected. Normally, there were no further Director elections, being that the previous Officers remained as Directors until their terms expired. Back in the day, it was usual for the new President’s wife to serve as Secretary-Treasurer, and hold a three year directorship position upon election.
In the following years new elections, the President’s wife (aka Treasurer) could step down and “vacate” her remaining Directorship term if she had no further interest. A new Director would be elected to fill her remaining vacated term.
If an Officer or Director resigned or perhaps passed away, it was a simple matter to elect a replacement Director to fill out the remainder of that term.
By-Laws Changed Executive’s Term’s 1996:
In 1995, it was proposed that the Directors make a change to the By-Laws. In 1996 those changes went forth to the membership for ratifying the By-Law changes in 1996. Those changes were ratified.
What changed? The Executive Officer’s service term length changed from one year of service to two consecutive years of officer service. The Officer’s three year service as a director remained intact.
Case in Point. Two years ago, Tom was elected President at the 2014 Annual Fall Meeting. This caused him to serve as a President for 2015 & 2016 and additionally as a Director for 2017.
When Tom was elected as Vice President at the 2016 Annual Fall Meeting he automatically vacated his remaining 2017 term and acquired a new term running to 2019. Dennis Powers was elected to fill Tom’s vacancy, and it runs through 2017. Similarly, it happened again with Janet’s re-election as Treasurer. Rick Carnegie was elected into her old vacancy running to 2017. Mike Cuffe was the outgoing Vice President and retains the last 2017 Director position.
In Summary, there are three Directors in a year. No more, no less. Tony Cerovski