ANA Members Support Proposed Bylaw Revisions
Board to Act on Recommendations at Meeting in Milwaukee
A significant majority of American Numismatic Association members support proposed bylaw revisions, based on responses to bylaw questionnaires that were inserted into the 2007 election ballot envelopes.
Overall, 61.5 percent of the 3,456 responses (2,124) tallied checked “yes” on the form, indicating their support for the proposed bylaw changes; 25.3 percent (876) of respondents checked “no,” indicating they opposed any revisions, and 13.2 percent (456) elected to make comments. Of the comments received, approximately 75 percent generally supported bylaw revisions, but opposed some of the provisions, and 25 percent generally opposed the revisions, but supported some of the provisions.
The ANA Board of Governors will consider the bylaw changes at its meeting during the World’s Fair of Money in Milwaukee on August 6 and 7, and will evaluate the input received from the membership through the mailed feedback surveys as well as feedback they’ve received on the ANA website, at public discussions in open meetings in October in Las Vegas, January in Orlando, Fla.; and in March in Charlotte, and from individual comments they’ve received from members.
Board members and the ANA have been gathering input from members on the proposed bylaw recommendations since an initial draft was presented to the Board by the ANA Bylaws & Governance Task Force at an open meeting in Las Vegas in October.
“The feedback from the membership clearly recognizes the need for the governance of the ANA to be more in line with current nonprofit best practices,” said ANA Executive Director Chris Cipoletti. “A strong voice has said, ‘move forward.’”
ANA President William Horton said he was very pleased with the positive feedback and praised the Bylaws Task Force for “their work, their due diligence and their research efforts to come up with a document that best reflects today’s governance challenges.”
Horton said he looks forward to the Board of Governors’ discussion of the proposed bylaw recommendations on Tuesday, Aug. 7, in Milwaukee, and acknowledged that some proposed changes – a candidate nominating committee, staggered terms and changing officer titles to chair and vice chair – will likely be discussed in detail. As a part of the process for adoption, the Board will address the major changes to the bylaws individually, he said.
Both Horton and Cipoletti praised a public process that gave members opportunities to provide feedback on the proposals through public meetings, the ANA website, the election questionnaire and through individual discussions.
“The membership has clearly spoken,” Horton said. “Now it’s time for the Board to make its decision based on what we’ve heard. This is an important issue, and I’m very pleased so many members have responded to our efforts to gather input.”
Proposed bylaw changes include changing the election process to allow members to vote online or by paper ballot; establishing a Board Development Committee to encourage more members to run for the Board; implementing staggered four-year terms for governors and twoyear terms for Board president and vice president; changing officer titles to chair and vice chair; and establishing standing committees for audit, personnel and board development.
Originally Release Date: July 25, 2007
ANA Contacts: Phone: 719-482-9864
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