This is a call for nomination for the three (3) upcoming director positions. Nominees must be current Regular members of the Nautical Research Guild and must have been a Regular member in good standing during the two (2) years immediately preceding the election.
Directors, Toni Levine, Phil Roach and Kurt Van Dahm are the incumbents up for reelection and will be on the ballot.
Nominations must contain a statement of no more than 500 words signed by the candidate, describing his or her qualifications for office, and affirming his or her willingness and ability to serve and to attend monthly meetings of the Board of Directors. An endorsement letter signed by at least two regular members and including the requisite statement shall constitute a nomination.
The term of office is three years. Applicants must have internet access. See the bylaws posted on the NRG website for further information regarding duties of directors.
Nominations must be submitted by November 30, 2019. Mail the two documents to the NRG Office, 237 South Lincoln Street, Westmont, IL 60559-1917. Alternatively, email the documents to the NRG Office - info@thenauticalresearchguild.org
Qualifying candidates and ballots will be presented in the Winter 2019 Secretary’s Newsletter and will also be posted on our website December 1, 2019, which will allow you to vote online. All ballots must be received by January 31, 2020. Results will be announced in the Spring 2020 SNL and will also be posted on the NRG website when the voting is completed.
Proposed Bylaws Change
The Board is proposing that the bylaws be amended to bring our election process up to date with today’s use of emails and internet rather than reliance on the postal service.
The amendment would reduce the time for candidates to respond with the required information to run for office and for ballots to be returned from 45 days to 30 days. This change will allow the entire election process to decrease from 90 to 60 days.
Forty-five days was originally chosen because of the time needed to receive ballots, which were included as a supplement to the Journal. Many of our international members do not receive their Journals for several weeks or two months after our US members. This is no longer a problem because the ballots are available on-line and are returned to the office via email; they are no longer sent with the Journal. Thirty days allows sufficient time for the return of ballots. Changing the time interval for the voting process will allow us to contact the winning candidates earlier than the day before he/she is to take office – the situation we are now in with the present 45-day requirements.
The bylaw section below has the forty-five (45) days struck out followed by the new text “thirty (30) days”.
ARTICLE V
ELECTIONS
SECTION 1 – Election of Directors
A. An election of Directors shall take place each year. Each Director shall serve a three-year term. A call for nominations shall be published in the Fall issue of the SNL. Nominees must be Regular Members in good standing during the two years immediately preceding the election. Nominations must contain a statement signed by the candidate describing his or her qualifications for office, affirming his or her willingness and ability to serve and to attend scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors. The candidate must also provide an endorsement letter signed by at least two Regular or Life Members. All nominations shall be submitted to the Secretary via surface or electronic mail.
B. Prospective candidates shall have at least forty-five (45) thirty (30) days after the SNL has been posted to submit the required documentation to the Secretary of the Guild.
C. Incumbent and Appointed Directors shall have the right to nominate themselves without additional endorsements.
SECTION 2 - The election shall be conducted in one of two ways:
A. Contested Election - The names of the nominees and their requisite statements shall be presented by the Board to the Membership by a special mailing (surface or electronic) or by inclusion in the Winter issue of the SNL. Voting will remain open for forty-five (45) thirty (30) days after the mailing or SNL has been posted. Ballots may be returned by surface mail or electronically at the discretion of the Board. If membership has expired, a returned ballot would be accepted only with dues renewal. The nominee(s) with the greatest number(s) of votes shall be elected to the announced vacancy (ies). The Board shall select an independent auditor to count and tabulate the ballots, whose results shall be published in the Spring issue of the SNL.
The proposed bylaw change will be discussed at the membership meeting at the conference on Saturday, October 26 and the ballot for this proposed change will be emailed and posted on the web site by November 1, 2019. This proposed bylaw change will not affect the 2019 Director elections. If passed it will become effective on February 1, 2020.
