ANA passes the torch

In the end, grace and gratitude were the end notes struck by the outgoing American Numismatic Association board of governors as it met in the days just prior to the Aug. 8 opening of the organization?s World?s Fair of Money in Milwaukee, Wis.

During two days of meetings, the board deferred action on the controversial proposal to amend the bylaws. This occurred following a brief discussion during the board?s Aug. 7 morning session.

The bylaws topic opened with the spirited objections of ANA treasurer Adna G. Wilde Jr. He is also parliamentarian. He cited both the current bylaws and the federal charter of the ANA as basis for his recommendation to the board not to vote on the bylaws at this time. Vice President Barry Stuppler, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of President Bill Horton, asked for a motion to defer the matter to the new board, which will be sworn in Aug. 11. Gov. Alan Herbert quickly made the motion,which was then seconded by Michaell Fey.

?I think you should leave this to the next committee to review,? Fey said. ?It is not something we have to do.?

Herbert chimed in. ?I think Adna has a legitimate point if we look at the charter. We need further study.?

Don Kagin said, ?We didn?t do the due diligence that was necessary to make sure we had resolved all of the hurdles before we got to this point.? He added, ?I was looking forward to discussing individual sections.?

Gov. Michael Turrini, who has served as a board member for just two months following the acceptance of Brian Fanton?s resignation, noted that he thought the board had the authority to take up the matter, but ?the election speaks volumes.? He was referring to July results that saw the defeat of all the incumbent governors, including the chairman of the bylaws committee, Remy Bourne.

In the end, the board voted 6-2 to defer the matter to the next board. Kagin and Bourne voted to oppose the delay.

Other board matters were much less controversial. Reform of the adult exhibit classes to reduce their number from roughly 25 to 18 was passed. Exceptions to the consolidation proposal were made for casino chip and elongateds exhibit categories. The active collector groups in these areas preferred to keep their individual categories.

Another matter that had seen some heat in previous board meetings was resolved when the requirement for club representatives to sign a code of conduct form was repealed on a motion made by Patti Finner and seconded by Turrini. This provision had rankled some and caused resignations. The motion passed unanimously.

The board voted to hold the National Money Show in Dallas in the spring of 2010. It named G. Lee Kuntz to be general chairman of the summer World?s Fair of Money in 2009 in Los Angeles. It selected Scott Loos as general chairman of the spring National Money Show in Portland, Ore. It also recognized host clubs for various conventions.

The ANA presidential travel budget was increased by $5,000 to $20,000 per year so that he can get out to visit more member clubs. A cap of $6,000 on presidential awards was also removed in light of rising costs and a desire to add more recognitions.

A new award called the Internet Collector of the Year was created. Criteria for giving it will now be worked out.

The board also was given status reports on various operations of the ANA. At the close of the public meetings of the board, President Horton, who had come in late after tending to a water emergency in New Jersey, gave the outgoing board members an opportunity to say a few words. Thanks were offered by them.

Horton had the last word and with obvious emotion in his voice he said of the past two years, ?It?s been great, a lot of fun, a lot of work.? He commended the staff and ANA volunteers for their work. With that, he rapped the gavel and the meeting ended.