SPECIAL MEETING OF TENNESSEE DIVISION OF USA FENCING
Saturday, September 25 , 2021, 7 pm CT
1. Purpose of the Meeting. The sole purpose of this Special Meeting of the Tennessee Division of USA Fencing is to elect a new Chairperson to fill that position’s current vacancy. No other business will be conducted at the Special Meeting and any attempt to do so will be considered out-of-order. The term of the newly elected Chairperson will expire on July 31, 2022, the same date on which the terms of the other three Division Officers will expire in the normal course of the Division’s fiscal year business cycle.
2. Platform for the Meeting. Like the Division’s Annual Meeting held on July 31, 2021, this Special Meeting will also be held online via the Zoom video conferencing platform on the date and time cited above. All members of the Tennessee Division are welcome and encouraged to attend this virtual meeting, but to be accepted into the online Meeting, you must register with Zoom in advance of the Meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom containing information about joining the Meeting, including the password. If you are considering attending the Meeting, but you are not yet certain whether you will be able to attend, we suggest you go ahead and pre-register. The link to the Zoom Meeting Registration Form is:
https://mtsu.zoom.us/j/83765694071?pwd=VWE1Y004Nm1MRy9DSkMrVUtDcW45QT09
Meeting ID: 837 6569 4071
3. Member Voting Eligibility. To be eligible to vote at the Special Meeting (via Zoom attendance or by proxy) you currently must be a member in good standing of the United States Fencing Association (USA Fencing). You also must be a member in good standing with the Tennessee Division. To vote at the Meeting, you also must have been 18 years of age on or before February 1, 2021.
The voting eligibility status of all members voting at the Special Meeting (whether via Zoom attendance or by proxy) will be verified by the membership records of USA Fencing. Therefore, if you intend to vote at the Meeting, but you have not yet joined or renewed your USA Fencing membership for the 2021-22 season, or have not yet provided your date of birth to USA Fencing, then you must do so, well before the date of the Special Meeting. USAF will need time to update their Tennessee Division eligible-voter list prior to the date of the Special Meeting.
4. Voting by Proxy. If you are unable to attend the virtual Special Meeting on Zoom, then you may still cast your vote at the Meeting by proxy by appointing another eligible voting member of the Division to vote for you (“your proxy voter”). To be able to cast your vote on your behalf, your proxy voter must pre-register with Zoom and attend the Special Meeting virtually.
5. Proxy Voting Form. To vote by proxy, you may appoint your proxy voter by completing and returning the Proxy Voting Form that is linked below. You may withdraw your proxy at any time before the Special Meeting (i) by delivering a written message to one of the Division’s current Officers; (ii) by sending an email to one of the Officers; or (iii) by personally attending the virtual Meeting yourself (assuming you have pre-registered in advance with Zoom) and casting your own vote. When submitting your Proxy Voting Form via the link below or by any other electronic means (e.g., email), your printed name will be considered your signature.
6. Proxy Voting Form Deadline. To be valid, an Officer of the Division must receive your completed and signed Proxy Voting Form no later than 72 hours prior to the start of the Special Meeting. The deadline date and time for the Division’s receipt of your Proxy Voting Form is stated before the link below. The Division prefers that you use the electronic Proxy Voting Form procedures that are available for submitting your completed Proxy Form directly from the link below. But any method you use to deliver a completed and signed Proxy Voting Form to one of the Division’s current Officers will suffice, provided the Form is received by one of the Officers by the deadline stated below.
DEADLINE for return is 7 pm CT, September 22, 2021.
LINK TO PROXY VOTING FORM: https://tennesseefencing.org/proxy-voting-form
7. Chairperson Nomination. Brandon Rochelle
The Division’s Executive Committee has unanimously endorsed Brandon Rochelle to fill the Chairperson vacancy for the remainder of the 2021-22 season (through July 31, 2022). We encourage all members to vote YES to elect Mr. Rochelle to become the new Chairman of the Division.
Mr. Rochelle has been associated with Tennessee fencing for many years. He is a lifetime member of USA Fencing and has served previously in officer positions with the Division, including Chairman. The Executive Committee is pleased that Brandon has agreed to again make his competitive fencing knowledge and Division administrative experience available to the Division. We are confident that he will ably help guide the Division, as we rebound from the devastating COVID pandemic and meet other challenges the Division may face during the 2021-22 season.
8. Other Nominations. If any voting-eligible member wishes to nominate another voting-eligible member of the Division, including himself or herself, to stand for election to fill the vacant Chairperson’s position, then he or she may do so by attending the Special Meeting via Zoom and nominating such person. For the nomination to be accepted, one other voting-eligible member, who also is attending the virtual Meeting, must second the nomination.
If at the Special Meeting, you will nominate, or you are considering nominating, a candidate for the Chairperson vacancy, at your earliest convenience, please send an email to Division Secretary Ron Wilson stating that intention. Please include the potential nominee’s name, USA Fencing membership number, and date of birth. This will allow Secretary Wilson time to verify any potential nominee’s current USAF membership and voting status eligibility, before the Special Meeting begins. wilsonmcd@comcast.net. Thank you.
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