Officers
Muster
1MC
Wardroom
Liberty Call
Secretary
U. S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
Recently I forwarded to you the Board of Trustees slate for the spring 2006 elections. The ballots will be included with the March issue of SHIPMATE along with resumes of each of the candidates. I encourage you to share this slate with all of your classmates and urge them to cast ballots in the election.
You will note that there is a single candidate, Admiral Carlisle Trost, re-nominated for the position of Chair of the Board. You may also be aware of significant email traffic from a relatively small group of members objecting to the board's recommendation and encouraging a write-in vote for Brigadier General Thomas Draude for the position of Chair of the Board.
Let me make a few comments on this subject. The fact is that for many years, the Bylaws required that nominations for Chair and Vice Chair of the Board be single candidates, following the example of most large non-profits and many regular corporations who recruit a most highly qualified candidate to stand as a single candidate. This has been the long time practice at the Alumni Association. A few years ago, after consideration of the issue by the Governance Committee and full discussion at a Board meeting, we made a change to the Bylaws to change the word "shall" to "may" so that it was no longer a requirement to have only one candidate for these positions but also allowed for that option. At the same time, the opportunity for write-in candidates was affirmed.
This year, the Nominating Committee adhered to the procedures established by the bylaws and the provision that allowed a single candidate for chair of the Board. The Nominating Committee discussed each candidate for each position individually and in considerable detail and forwarded the recommended slate to the Chair. The Committee members agreed unanimously that the candidates selected were qualified for the positions for which they were nominated. Thus, the need for continuity in leadership that has produced phenomenal support of the Academy and Alumni was recognized. So long as the bylaws allow a single candidate slate for Chair and Vice Chair, I expect that this practice will continue. It is highly desirable for the sake of continuity to keep two-term Chairs.
The slate also contains seven candidates for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Trustee position and three candidates for the Western Regional Trustee position. These candidates are all well qualified to serve as trustees and I ask that you strongly encourage your classmates to make their selections and vote. Please remind all members that only those living in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia), can vote for a Mid-Atlantic Regional Trustee and only those living in the Western Region (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and the region lying west of the West Coast of the United States to longitude 61 degrees east) can vote for the Western Regional Trustee.
The voting participation by members in past elections has been quite low. Accordingly, I urge you to establish a dialogue with your classmates and encourage them to carefully review the qualifications of each candidate and to vote for the most highly qualified one.
Even though members in the Eastern Region and the Central Region do not have the opportunity to vote for a regional trustee, I ask that you strongly encourage them to vote for their preference for the Chair of the Board.
I anticipate that you will receive additional communications in the near future from the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, Corbin McNeill, '62, clarifying the actions of the Nominating Committee and other issues. In the meantime, if any of you have questions or desire further clarification on the issues I will welcome your call at 703-823-2464.
Roy Snyder, Chair
Council of Class Presidents
703-823-2464