Term Limits, APTA Directors - Is There a Better Way?
By David Kjeldsen

Well, all of the National Championships are over and there are no more events left on the APTA tournament schedule. The last piece of official business for the year is the Annual Meeting and a partial changing of the guard. This year, the Annual Meeting is being held in May here on Long Island.

I have gone to every APTA annual meeting for the last fourteen years. I always find the event to be a mixed blessing. I am saddened that because of the implementation of term limits earlier this decade we are forced to lose directors who have much knowledge, insight, and enthusiasm. Yet, I also get excited because there are often new fresh faces coming on to the APTA Board of Directors who will bring a different and fresh perspective to the governance of the sport.

Here is my problem. I believe as written the APTA by-laws regarding term limits are flawed. Either the APTA should abolish term limits alltogether or extend the terms of the directors and then implement term limits completely: you serve, you leave, you don't come back as many other organizations with term limits have done. Currently as written, the APTA by-laws seek a middle ground which allows for the possibility of a revolving door of directors on the board which seems to me to neither satisfy the proponents or opponents of term limits.

For those unfamiliar with election process to the board of directors, I will try and provide a short and simple look. Each year  the President of the APTA appoints a Nominating Committee. It is the role of this committee to deliver a slate of directors to the APTA secretary who in turn places said names in nomination for voting by the membership at the Annual Meeting. Board members serve a three year term. At the end of their first three year term, they may be re-nominated for an additional three year term. Under the concept of “term limits” no director may serve more than two consecutive three year terms. After serving two consecutive three year terms a board member must be off the board for two years before he or she may be re-nominated to the board. Prior to the enactment of term limits all board members were elected for one year terms and could serve as many terms as they were re-nominated.

The reality of it is the APTA board, like many boards of directors, is very congenial. Directors that express an interest in wanting to continue for a second term are never not re-nominated. I am quite sure the same happened prior to term limits when all directors served one year terms; if a director wanted to stay on, he or she stayed on; they were pretty much “automatically” re-nominated.

The concept behind term limits is to ensure that a board is self cleansed and reinvigorated with fresh faces and new ideas. That said, clearly it is sad for the APTA to lose good board members every few years. You lose folks that care; you in most cases, lose players who are passionate about the sport and have worked hard doing their jobs as members of the board; you lose continuity, you lose history (with some issues you reinvent the wheel when they resurface every decade or so). That said, the APTA like every organization needs fresh faces on its board. The game today and the issues today are not the same as they were in the 1980s and won’t be the same in 2030. The by-laws need to balance the needs of both ends of the spectrum: change and continuity.

The above said, it is my opinion that the current by-laws allowing board members to return after a two year hiatus is silly. It is too short a time to be off. Board members shouldn't be forced to leave in the first place if they are just going to come right back, especially if it is known beforehand. What’s the purpose of leaving?

What are your thoughts about term limits? Let me know.

To Nancy Budde, Beach Kuhl, Scott Bondurant, and Mark Fischl our directors who are leaving the board this May, thank you for your service.

To our new board members Hendy Dayton, Aila Main and Amy Halstead welcome. Thank you for volunteering to serve.

To Fritz Odenbach and Tim McAvoy, welcome back.

what do you think? let me know! info@platformtennisnews.com

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