Dear Conestoga Members,
I have been appointed Chair of the Elections Committee for the upcoming elections for the Board of Governors (“BOG”) to be held at the club’s annual meeting of the membership on May 7, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the ballroom of the club. This year we have six or seven board members who will be stepping down from the BOG (Jeff Gingrich, a current BOG member whose term expires this year, is still deciding on whether to seek another term, which I hope he will do). On behalf of the remaining members of the BOG and the entire club membership, I want to thank Brian Lois, Hadley Brown, Fred Monkman, Brian Roche, Rodney Anderson, Chuck Lepisto and Jeff Gingerich for their many years of service to the club. I think we can all agree these BOG members are leaving the club in a much better position than it was when they joined the BOG.
The fact we have seven BOG positions open at the same time is a result of extenuating circumstances that I will discuss later in this email, along with a proposal on how we plan to address this issue so it will not happen again. However, first I am asking everyone who might be interested in serving on the BOG to consider seriously running in this year’s elections. As a member of the BOG for the past two years, it has been exciting to be part of the club’s transformation, and I am looking forward to working with both the continuing and new BOG members to keep moving the club forward. I have heard suggestions from many of you about how to further improve the club, so this is a terrific opportunity for you to join the BOG and to put those ideas into action! As far as the time commitment for being a member of the BOG, the BOG meets once a month as a group and there may be some additional meetings during the month depending on what committee you may be serving on, but the time commitment is very reasonable. If you have any questions about what it is like to serve on the BOG, I suggest you reach out to current members of the BOG, who will be glad to talk to you about their experiences.
Once the new BOG is elected, the BOG will meet after the annual meeting to elect the four officers of the club. The current officers are as follows:
· President Brian Lois (retiring)
· Vice President Hadley Brown (retiring)
· Treasurer Fred Monkman (retiring)
· Secretary Chris Naftzger
Following the election of the officers, the President will appoint the chairs of the BOG committees in consultation with the BOG members, which also may consider a BOG member’s interests and experiences. The current committee chairs are as follows:
· Food and Beverage Brian Donnelly
· Golf Jeff Gingerich (potentially retiring)
· Membership Chris Naftzger
· Handicap Chuck Lepisto (retiring)
· Greens Brian Lois (retiring)
· Pool Rodney Anderson (retiring)
· Property Tom Dux
· Activities Brian Roche (retiring)
· Financial Secretary Don Mowrey
· Communications Cathy Bonser (Social)
· By-Laws Wes Kelso
· Social Member Sharon Gilbert
If you are interested in running for the BOG, please email a cover letter explaining your interest and a resume to Jon Gehman at [email protected] by April 23, 2025.
For those of you who do not wish to run for the BOG but would like to participate in the upcoming elections, I need two full golf members to join me on the elections committee. If you are interested, please email me at [email protected].
The club’s bylaws provide for 12 members of the BOG who are regular golf members (plus two social members for a total of 14). As far as why we are in the current situation of having to elect seven BOG members in one year, during the club’s “lean” times in the years preceding the pandemic and then during the pandemic, often there were not enough members interested in serving on the BOG, so the BOG often did not have a full slate of members. Once the club grew and more people were interested in serving on the BOG, members were elected for various terms without consideration of when these terms would end.
To address this situation, the BOG will be putting forward an amendment to the club’s bylaws at the annual meeting to create a classified board for the BOG. Under this proposal, the Board will be divided into three groups each with four members, Class A, Class B and Class C members elected by the golf membership (there will remain two BOG members who will be elected by the social members separately). Each year, one class of BOG members will be up for election for a three-year term, so there will be no more than four open BOG positions each year. If a BOG member should leave the BOG before their term expires, the BOG will have the right to fill the position for the remainder of the term.
For this year’s election, we will be electing four (4) Class A members, whose term will expire in 2028, one (1) Class B member, whose term will expire in 2026, and two (2) Class C members, whose term will expire in 2027. All candidates will run on a single ballot, and the top four winning candidates will be elected as Class A members, the next two winning candidates will be elected as Class C members, and the final winning candidate will be elected as a Class B member. If there are not enough candidates to fill all seven openings, the BOG will use it appointment power to fill any vacant positions.
Specific information about how to vote at the annual meeting and language for the amendment to the bylaws will be circulated in a separate communication.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or any member of the BOG. I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming annual meeting.
Sincerely,
Chris Naftzger
