Announcement of Officer Nomination Results

As announced in a message to VOTF members on October 18, 2011, a nominating committee appointed in accordance with the By-Laws solicited candidates between November 7, 2011, and December 5, 2011, for VOTF’s biannual election of national Officers.

By the close of the nominating period at midnight December 5, four members submitted the required application materials to qualify as nominees for an election that was planned to occur in February 2012. They are:

Mark Mullaney, Wayland, Massachusetts, for President

Ron DuBois, Braintree, Massachusetts, for Vice-President

Anne Southwood, Marshfield, Massachusetts, for Treasurer

Patricia Gomez, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, for Secretary

You can read their statements of commitment by clicking here.

Because the nominees are unopposed, the Board of Trustees voted on December 12, 2011, to exercise its fiduciary responsibilities under Article I of the By-Laws and appoint these nominees as Officers without an election, thereby sparing the organization the time and expense required to conduct an electronic election under the circumstances.

Unlike comparable non-profit organizations, VOTF’s By-Laws call for a large number of leadership positions—4 Officers, 11 Trustees, and an Executive Director. Finding candidates that can provide the time, energy, and commitment to take on these duties and responsibilities for multi-year periods is becoming increasingly difficult, especially for the extremely taxing and time-consuming roles of Officers. During the 2010 election, two of the four nominees ran unopposed. This time, all four are unopposed.

As a result, the Board of Trustees plans to amend the By-Laws by the time the new Officers take office in March 2012. In order to limit duplication of effort and more clearly focus the efforts of VOTF, the Board has decided to re-organize VOTF along the lines of most non-profit organizations. Under the new organization, the officers will be Officers of the Board and will, in the future, be elected from the Board by the Board. Members will continue to be able to nominate candidates for the Board as they have in the past. The Board will also consider additional changes to the By-Laws in view of this structural change, including the mechanism for selecting individuals to serve on the Board.

As the terms of Dan Bartley (President), Janet Hauter (Vice-President), Kevin Connors (Treasurer), and Nick Mazza (Secretary) come to an end in a few months, the Board of Trustees, in the name of the organization, wants to extend its deepest appreciation and gratitude for their exceptional contributions and accomplishments during the past several years. In turn, we extend a preliminary welcome to its Officer-designees, Mark Mullaney, Ron DuBois, Anne Southwood, and Pat Gomez.