Change in Election Regions Approved

At the May 2005 Board Meeting, the Audubon Board of Directors approved changes to the election regions to better equalize the number of Chapters and members included in each. The map below shows the new configuration of election regions, however standing regional directors will continue to represent their current regions until January 2007 when the changes to every region will be implemented. The first regional elections affected by this change will be in the Western (CA, HI, GUAM), Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, RI, VT) and Central (AR, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI) Election Regions. In the fall of 2005, nominations will be requested in those regions for regional directors who will hold three-year terms beginning after the Annual Meeting in January 2007. Additional details are included below.

History

In 1987 and 1988, the Board of Directors adopted amendments to Audubon's Bylaws requiring that at least nine directors must be nominated "by members or Chapters," and that these nine directors must live in the regions that nominated them. These nine directors are generally referred to as "regional directors."

Role and Responsibilities of Regional Directors

Regional directors share the same responsibilities with all National Audubon Board Members. These include selecting and reviewing the Chief Executive Officer, establishing the organization's mission and defining its purpose, setting major policies and priorities, overseeing finances and approving the budget, and participating in fundraising.

In addition, Regional Board Members have several additional responsibilities. Each is expected to represent the issues and opportunities of their region and their constituents to the Board, conveying the viewpoints of the grassroots including members, Chapters and state offices when applicable. In turn, Regional Board members also represent the Board and explain Board policies, positions and actions to members in their areas by communicating regularly to their constituents, in person at meetings or through other means of communication.

Unequal Regions

The 1987 Task Force suggested that the regions be determined on the basis of a roughly equal number of states, members, or Chapters. However, to expedite the implementation of this change it was decided to use the already existing staff field regions, which were not determined based on numbers of states, members or Chapters. In the intervening years, those regions have become even more unequal with respect to members and Chapters.

The regional boundaries adopted in 1987 resulted in unequal regional director representation on the Board (as shown below). The distribution of both members and Chapters among regions was highly unequal. The Great Lakes Region had 90,193 members and 78 Chapters. The Alaska-Hawaii Region had about 3,725 members and 8 Chapters. The other 7 regions varied between these extremes. Proposals were submitted by members at recent Annual Meetings of Members for a realignment of regions to address this inequality and to ensure that members throughout Audubon are equally represented. As of December 2003, the distribution was as follows:

REGION	MEMBERSHIP	CHAPTERS
Alaska/HI/Guam	3,725	8
Great Lakes	90,193	78
Mid-Atlantic	67,112	46
Northeast	80,580	58
Rocky Mountain	32,041	49
Southeast	73,211	76
Southwest	22,864	25
West Central	26,346	60
Western	88,870	89

Election Region Review Process

In response to the request to better equalize the numbers of Chapters and members included in each Regional Director election region, at the January 2005 Board Meeting, the Governance Committee of the Board proposed a new configuration of election region boundaries. The Board discussed the realignment proposal and recommended that it be circulated to all State Offices and Chapters for review and comments prior to a final review and decision at the May 2005 Board of Directors Meeting. Between the 2005 January and May Board Meetings, the proposed changes, including maps of current and proposed regional boundaries, were made available by postal mail and on the Web to all State Offices and Chapters for their review, and notice of the request for comment included in a Newswire article. A total of 16 Chapters or individuals provided comment by the deadline of May 1, 2005. Eleven comments were made in favor of the proposed changes, including one that proposed further changes, while three opposed specific realignments of their states. Two letters asked further questions about the realignment process. With the balance of comments in favor, the Board approved the proposed changes at the May 2005 Board Meeting.

Revised Regional Boundaries More Equitably Reflect Audubon's Membership

The new realignment of regions is as follows. Additional details can be found in the links following.

REGION	MEMBERSHIP	CHAPTERS
Western	58,967	53
Central	46,794	77
Central Great Lakes	62,759	45
East Great Lakes	61,430	54
Mid-Atlantic	53,344	38
Northeast	57,534	35
Northwest	43,438	70
Southeast	55,483	66
Southwest	45,320	53

The Committee also recommended the specific implementation timeline attached below.

For more information, please contact the Chapter Services Office at Phone (800) 542-2748 or email ltennefoss@audubon.org