President and Directors to be Elected for 2023

Our organizations have two tremendous assets. First is the Jersey cow as a profitable producer with the longest productive life in the business today. Secondly is the reputation our organizations have. As I travel the country, I hear over and over, “Jersey has great programs. Jersey has the best customer service. We really enjoy working with the Jersey association.”

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 (2) 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.

Leadership. The Presidents and Directors are the elected leaders of the Jersey organizations.
Financial Responsibility. The AJCA Board of Directors manages an annual budget of about $3.6 million. The NAJ Board manages an annual operating budget of approximately $1 million and cattle sales of $5 million. Combined net assets of the USJersey organizations is approximately $4 million. The Boards determine the fees for their respective organizations’ services and how all funds will be used. All programs for the improvement and expansion of the breed depend upon the financial well-being of each organization. The Presidents and Directors should be good business and financial managers.

Time. The Presidents and Directors soon discover their responsibilities take more time than originally anticipated. The Boards have regular sessions in March, June, and November of each year. The Presidents and Directors will attend state and regional meetings and sales, and represent their organizations at other dairy functions. The Presidents and Directors must be willing to spend time reading and studying various materials and talking with fellow members and others in the dairy industry in order to make informed and intelligent decisions. They spend weeks—not days—on AJCA and NAJ business every year.

Responsiveness. The Presidents and Directors must be willing to listen to the concerns of every breeder of Jersey cattle and producer of Jersey milk, then faithfully pass those concerns on to the Boards and management.

National Perspective. Even though a Director is nominated from a particular area or District of the country, they need to be mindful that actions must be made in the best interests of the entire Jersey membership, not just the interests of their particular District.

Professionalism. The Presidents and Directors must sort through the facts and fallacies in all arguments. Not all suggestions heard are in the best interest of the Jersey organizations. They must reach a decision, then be able to defend it. If they disagree with the majority vote of the Board, they must be able to abide by and support the decisions of the majority.

Loyalty. The Presidents and Directors are ambassadors for the Jersey breed. They need to present a positive image of the Jersey breed, the owners of Jersey cattle, and the organizations.

AJCA Nominations

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 2023 Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 24. Therefore, nominating petitions for this year’s election for President or Director must be received by the Executive Secretary on or before April 20, 2022.

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. Four Directors are elected at each Annual Meeting for a term of three 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, three-year terms after service for 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 12 Districts. The District boundaries are drawn in geographic regions to provide equal representation based on number of members and participation in AJCA programs. The 12 Districts are:
First District: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Second District: New Jersey, New York
Third District: Pennsylvania
Fourth District: Ohio and West Virginia
Fifth District: Alabama, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia
Sixth District: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee
Seventh District: Wisconsin
Eighth District: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Ninth District: Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Tenth District: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
Eleventh District: Arizona, California—all counties except Merced—Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Twelfth District: California—Merced County
Directors to be elected by District are as follows:
2023 Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Eleventh Districts
2024 First, Third, Fifth, and Ninth Districts
2025 Fourth, Seventh, Tenth, and Twelfth Districts

2023 AJCA Elections

At the 2023 Annual Meeting, elections will be held for President and four 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 2023 Annual Meeting are: Rebecca Ferry, Johnstown, N.Y., Second District; Karen Bohnert, East Moline, Ill., Sixth District; John Maxwell, Donahue, Iowa, Eighth District; and Cornell Kasbergen, Tulare, Calif., Eleventh District.

Three directors (Ferry, Maxwell, and Kasbergen) are eligible to succeed themselves. They each have served one three-year term. Director Bohnert is not eligible to succeed herself having served two consecutive three-year terms.

The following summarizes the 2023 AJCA elections:
• Election for the President;
• Second District (current Director Ferry has served one three-year term and is eligible for re-election);
• Sixth District (current Director Bohnert has served two consecutive three-year terms and is not eligible for re-election);
• Eighth District, (current Director Maxwell has served one three-year term and is eligible for re-election).
• Eleventh District (current Director Kasbergen has served one three-year term and is eligible for re-election), and;

NAJ Director Nominations

A person meeting the constitutional qualifications can be nominated for one of the five elected NAJ Directors. Nominations for Director must be made by petition signed by 10 voting 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 60 days in advance of the Annual Meeting. The 2023 Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, June 23. Therefore, nominating petitions for next year’s election for Director must be received by the Executive Secretary on or before April 24, 2023.

Terms and Voting. Directors are elected or appointed at the Annual Meeting for a term of four years. There are no term limits. Voting for the elected Directors is by ballot only. All eligible members of NAJ residing in the District for which a Director election is being held, 60 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. The three Directors appointed by the AJCA Board are appointed for a term of four years. The ex-officio members’ terms on the NAJ Board coincide with their AJCA positions.

Director Districts. For the elected Director positions, the United States is divided into five Districts. The District boundaries are drawn in geographic regions based on revenue. District lines are drawn to keep all Districts with close to the same amount of revenue. The five Districts are:
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

2023 NAJ Elections

At the 2023 NAJ Annual Meeting, one Director, with a four-year term, will be elected. The elected Director whose term expires is Jason Cast, Beaver Crossing, Neb., District 1. He is eligible to succeed himself.

Another Director, with a four-year term, will be appointed. The appointed Director whose term expires is Walter Owens, Frederic, Wis., District 10 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.