PrintThe U.S. Eventing Association’s Annual Membership Meeting is typically one of the driest sessions at the organization’s yearly convention, with only an hour allotted for the presentation of fiscal reports, staff appreciation awards and other procedures of a parliamentary and prosaic nature. The acceptance of the proposed amendments to the USEA by-laws generally are usually a unanimous foregone conclusion.
But that wasn’t the case today, Dec. 5, in Reston, Va.
An apparent printing error left a portion of the proposed changes off the handout distributed to meeting attendees, so USEA President Kevin Baumgardner did his best to explain changes in the association’s leadership structure: Beginning in 2011, the USEA will name a president-elect one year before the end of the sitting president’s term. In addition, the retiring president will serve in a non-voting emeritus position for one year after retiring.
These changes weren’t palatable to everyone in the Hyatt Regency’s Grand Ballroom, however. Karen O’Connor was the first to stand and question the proposed post-term advisory position, making the analogy that George Bush was not invited to stay in the White House to advise Barack Obama throughout his first year of his term as president.
Sue Hershey, Roger Haller and others then rose to stress the necessity of new blood and fresh ideas on the USEA Board of Governors. Many were concerned that a president’s growing power, even outside the confines of his or her term, could have too much influence on the makeup of the Nominating Committee and the Board itself.
“Many of us in this room can remember when we did have a nominating committee appoint a whole group of friends, and the people currently sitting voted them out,” Haller said. “The threat is there, and it’s something to be aware of. I applaud the nominating committee’s efforts to get new people this year, but this is something that we, as an organization, need to be aware of.”
Baumgardner, whose term will be up by the time these changes take effect, stressed that the proposal was not a power-grab. There were two ways to say “potato;” where some saw an overreach, he saw a move towards cooperation and continuity.
Malcolm Hook, a member if the Executive Committee, echoed that sentiment, promising, “The Nominating Committee brought in a lot of new blood this year. We are not looking to create an ‘old-boys network.’ ”
In the end, without the option of line-item votes on separate portions of the by-law changes, the entire package did pass with a majority. Several individuals voted against, however, and a handful abstained.
