US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, announced today the nine elected members of its Board of Directors. The nine Board members were elected by the organization's members after a two-month voting period. This is the first time in US SAILING's history that the organization held member elections for its Board of Directors.

Members of US SAILING's Board of Directors serve for a three-year term in rotation. Since this marks the first time the organization has held a Board election and to prevent that all Board members' terms will end in the same year, the length of the elected Board members' terms varies.  

The new Board members and the length of their terms are:

Dick Allsopp (Orange Park, Fla.) - one-year term
Jim Tichenor (Houston, TX) - one-year term
Susan Epstein (Sharon, Mass.) - one-year term
Amy Gross-Kehoe (Santa Clara, Calif.) - two-year term
Chip Johns (Mattapoisett, Mass.) - two-year term
Bill Stump (Venice, Calif.) - two-year term
Tom Hubbell (Delaware, OH) - three-year term
Patty Lawrence (Cincinnati, OH) - three-year term
Jerome Montgomery (Long Beach, Calif.) - three-year term

Moments before the new Board was to be declared (in-person votes were accepted until earlier this afternoon), an unexpected tie in votes was announced for one set of nominees, Amy Gross-Kehoe and Jerelyn Biehl. After a coin-toss by President Janet Baxter, with the two smiling nominees - who are personal friends - standing alongside her, Amy Gross-Kehoe won the toss.

The first meeting of the new Board of Directors will take place on Sunday, November 19 at US SAILING's annual meeting in Newport, R.I.

For more information about US SAILING's Board of Directors, please visit www.ussailing.org/BOD. 

In October 2005, US SAILING amended its Bylaws to restructure the organization and dramatically downsize the Board of Directors, from 49 to 14 members, making it more nimble and efficient.

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization's mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

Marlieke de Lange Eaton

Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 November 2006 )