ABA Announces 2011 Board Election Results

The results of balloting by the bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association to elect three directors to the Board and a new president and vice president are now official. Elected to serve three-year terms as directors beginning May 2011 are John Evans, co-owner of DIESEL Bookstores [1] in Brentwood and Oakland, California; Matt Norcross, co-owner of McLean & Eakin Booksellers [2] in Petoskey, Michigan; and Ken White, manager of the General Books Department at San Francisco State University Bookstore [3] in California. This will be White’s second three-year term as an ABA Board member.

Under the recently amended ABA Bylaws [4], membership elected Becky Anderson, co-owner of Anderson’s Bookshops [5] in Naperville, Illinois, to serve a two-year term as ABA president, and Steve Bercu, co-owner of BookPeople [6] in Austin, Texas, to serve a two-year term as vice president.

The bylaws amendment moved ABA from a nine-person Board to a 10-person Board by making the position of president a separate and distinct position that serves one two-year term. The vice president/secretary is elected for a single term of two years, which, unlike the office of president, is subject to, and not in addition to, the six-year limit on terms of service established for directors.

With Anderson’s election to the presidency, the ABA Board will appoint a bookseller to fill her place as a director on the Board until the next annual election, at which time the person filling the vacancy may be eligible for nomination as a candidate to stand for election.

Continuing on the 10-member 2011 Board will be Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books & Café [7] in Wichita, Kansas; Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop [8] in Salt Lake City, Utah; Tom Campbell of The Regulator Bookshop [9] in Durham, North Carolina; and Beth Puffer of The Bank Street Bookstore [10] in New York City.

Leaving will be ABA President Michael Tucker of California’s Books Inc. [11] and Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore [12] in Exeter, New Hampshire.

The Board of Directors transition will take place at meetings in conjunction with BookExpo America [13] in New York City. All members are encouraged to attend the ABA Membership Meeting, which will be held from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in Room 1E09/10 of the Javits Convention Center. The ABA Board and senior staff will report on the past year’s activities as well as upcoming initiatives.

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by the Town Hall meeting, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., also in Room 1E09/10. The Town Hall provides booksellers with the opportunity to express opinions and share ideas with the Board and staff in a less formal setting than the Membership Meeting.

To provide an opportunity for as many members as possible to speak during the Town Hall Meeting, a sign-up sheet will be prominently displayed in the ABA Booksellers Lounge (Room 1E07/08), starting on Monday morning, May 23. Booksellers will be called upon to speak at the Town Hall in the order in which they sign up.