New Districts in Effect for 2025 AJCA Election
Building on these assets is the role of your elected leadership, the people who serve as Directors and Presidents of the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc. Perhaps you, or a person you know, should become a candidate for one of these positions.
Governance Structure
The American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) and National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ) are each governed by a Board of Directors. The AJCA Board consists of a President and 12 Directors. The responsibilities of the Board include establishing Association policies and programs, setting fees, authorizing expenditures, hiring the Executive Secretary and Treasurer, and being responsible for the overall well-being of the Association.
The active members of the Association elect the President and Directors. A member is considered active when he or she has registered or had transferred to his or her ownership a Jersey animal within the past two years.
The NAJ Board is composed of 11 Directors. Five Directors are elected by the voting members in the District they represent, three Directors are appointed by the AJCA Board, and there are three ex-officio Directors. The ex-officio Directors are the AJCA President and chairs of the AJCA Finance and Development committees. The President is elected from the Board by the Directors. The responsibilities of the NAJ Board are similar to the AJCA Board.
Qualifications
What are the qualifications, nomination and election procedures to be President or a Director? The AJCA Constitution states, “Each Director including the President shall be an active member of the Association who is actively engaged in ownership or management of a recognizable Jersey herd.” In addition, each Director must be a resident of the District from which elected. The NAJ Constitution states that Directors shall be “members of the American Jersey Cattle Association and who are producer or honorary members of National All-Jersey Inc. …” The elected NAJ Directors must reside in the District they represent.
The following are other qualities and considerations for potential President and Director candidates.
AJCA Nominations
Beginning in 2025, the AJCA districts and director elections will take on a new look. The transition to the new structure will be a four year process, beginning in June 2025 at the annual meeting of the AJCA.
A person meeting the constitutional qualifications can be nominated for either AJCA President or Director. Nominations for President must be made by petition signed by any 30 active members of the Association. Nominations for Director must be made by petition signed by 20 active members residing in the District for which the person seeks to serve as Director. Petitions can be obtained by writing or calling the Executive Secretary. The petitions must be received by the Executive Secretary no later than 65 days in advance of the Annual Meeting. The 2025 Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 28. Therefore, nominating petitions for this year’s election for President or Director must be received by the Executive Secretary on or before April 24, 2025.
Terms and Voting. The President is elected for a one-year term at each Annual Meeting. There is no limit on the number of terms a President may serve. Three Directors are elected at each Annual Meeting for a term of four years. A Director can serve two consecutive terms. A former Director is then eligible to serve another term one year after completion of two consecutive terms. If appointed or elected to fill an unexpired Director term, the person shall be eligible for election to serve two, four-year terms after the unexpired term is completed.
Voting for President and Directors is by ballot only. All active members of the AJCA, 50 days prior to the Annual Meeting, are eligible to vote. They receive a ballot by mail. The candidate for each position receiving the plurality of votes is elected.
Director Districts. The United States is divided into three (3) Districts. The District boundaries are drawn in geographic regions to provide equal representation based on number of members and participation in AJCA programs. The three Districts are:
- First District: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
- Second District: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
- Third District: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
A director from each district will be elected each year.
2025 AJCA Elections
At the 2025 Annual Meeting, elections will be held for President and three Directors.
Current President Alan Chittenden’s one-year term expires at the next Annual Meeting and he is eligible to seek re-election.
The Directors and their current districts whose terms expire at the 2025 Annual Meeting are: Joel Albright, Willard, Ohio, Fourth District; Donna Phillips, Newton, Wis., Seventh District; Garry Hansen, Mulino, Ore., Tenth District; and Tyler Boyd, Hilmar, Calif., Twelfth District.All four directors (Albright, Phillips, Hansen, and Boyd) have served two consecutive terms and are not eligible to succeed themselves. Due to realignment of the districts, a director maybe appointed for an extra year during the transition period.
The following summarizes the 2025 AJCA elections:
- Election for the President;
- A director from the First District;
- A director from the Second District; and
- A director from the Third District.
NAJ Director Nominations
- District 1: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
- District 2: California, Hawaii
- District 3: Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
- District 4: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin
- District 5: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
2025 NAJ Elections
At the 2025 NAJ Annual Meeting, two Directors, each with a four-year term, will be elected. The elected Directors whose terms expire are Rogelio “Roger” Herrera, Hilmar, Calif., District 2, and John Kokoski, Hadley, Mass., District 3. Both are eligible to succeed themselves.
Another Director, with a four-year term, will be appointed. The appointed Director whose term expires is Sam Bok, Defiance, Ohio, District 7 at large.
If you have questions regarding the election of the AJCA and NAJ Boards, please do not hesitate to contact me. We encourage all AJCA and NAJ active members to consider seeking these positions. The Jersey organizations have been blessed with outstanding leadership. For that tradition to continue, we need willing and qualified candidates to serve.
