The results have been counted, recounted, and tabulated with, of course, a 2020 twist. Those elected have been notified and the board seated. We had a slate of highly qualified candidates and I want to thank the nominees, elected or not, for their participation.
It was a good year for the incumbents with all five of the previous board members reelected. Robert “Sly” Sylvester was reelected as the Membership Secretary. Jill “IWOX” Byrd was reelected as Treasurer. Vera “Missing Kink” Hurst, Jim “High Octane” Niedbalski, and Dennis “Trail Pilgrim” Newton were reelected as Members At-Large. The fourth AT-Large position was won by Robert “Third Half” Christianson who is new to the board. And now the 2020 twist.
Just as voting was closing for our election, we were notified by Peter “Chenango” Passalacqua, our Recording Secretary, that he was going to step down from the board for personal reasons. We hate to lose Peter. He has been a fantastic Recording Secretary, Board Member, Gathering Coordinator, confidant, and friend. We wish him the best. In keeping with our traditions and bylaws, Dennis “Trail Pilgrim” Newton was asked to step up to fill the vacant position. The board agreed and he will finish the remaining year of Peter’s term… until the next election. We are lucky to have Dennis available and willing to take on the duties as Recording Secretary.
The next step was to fill Dennis’ now vacant At-Large position. In keeping with our bylaws, this will also be for one year… until the next election. Shalin “Shay” Desai received the next highest number of votes for the At-Large position, and after the board approved the selection, he was offered the position and has accepted.
For the record, we had 177 members vote electronically and 12 vote through more traditional means, for a total of 189. This is nearly double the number voting members we traditionally have at the Gathering election. The board is working on a process to allow voting by members unable to attend the Annual Gathering. We are aware that this will most likely require a change to our bylaws.
Your 2020 ALDHA Board:
Dr. Ken “Nimbus” Bunning, Coordinator
Wayne “Mad Hatter” Krevetski, Assistant Coordinator
Dennis “Trail Pilgrim” Newton, Recording Secretary
Robert “Sly” Sylvester, Membership Secretary
Jill “IWOX” Byrd, Treasurer
Vera “Missing Kink” Hurst, Member At-Large
Jim “High Octane” Niedbalski, Member At-Large
Bill “Sprained Rice” O’Brien, Member At-Large
Penny “Reverse” Vann, Member At-Large
Chris “Soggy Treks” Vores, Member At-Large
Mary Kate “Brooklyn” Stopa, Member At-Large
Robert “Third Half” Christianson, Member At-Large
Shalin “Shay” Desai, Member At-Large
Respectfully,
Ken “Nimbus” Bunning
ALDHA Coordinator
Edit: Shalin Desai voluntarily stepped down due to a conflict of interest and Jon Goff (hiking the AT in 2021) was appointed to fill his position.