ABA Nominating Committee Opens Call for Board Candidates

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The American Booksellers Association’s Nominating Committee, chaired by Pete Mulvihill of Green Apple Books in San Francisco, begins its search today for qualified candidates to stand for election to the ABA Board of Directors in 2017. Any ABA member may nominate a qualified candidate, and given ABA’s commitment to diversity in all its meanings, the committee strongly encourages members to nominate all interested candidates (self-nominations are acceptable).

A nominee for the Board of Directors must be an ABA member who is the owner or employee of an independent bookstore with a storefront location that is operated according to sound business principles. In addition, a candidate must have at least three years of recent experience as the owner or employee of a member company. It is also desirable that nominees have at least two years’ experience as an active volunteer in ABA and/or in a regional association or other constituency organization. Qualifications are outlined in the “ABA Nomination and Election Guidelines” from the ABA Governance Policy Manual.

The committee requests that nominations be submitted as soon as possible but no later than October 24, 2016, via the online nomination form available here. Nominations should include as much information as possible about a prospective candidate. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

“The future of ABA is in your hands,” said Mulvihill. “If you know a smart, enthusiastic bookseller who can contribute to the future of indie bookselling, nominate her or him today!”

Serving with Mulvihill on this year’s Nominating Committee are ABA Board member Jonathon Welch of Talking Leaves … Books in Buffalo, New York; former Board member Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books & Café in Wichita, Kansas; Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana; and Erica Luttrell of Chevalier’s Books in Los Angeles, California.

The slate for the 2017 Board of Directors elections will be announced approximately 120 days prior to the next ABA Annual Membership Meeting, to be held in June 2017 in New York City in conjunction with BookExpo America.