Ellis resigns from ANA board of governors

Mike Ellis resigned Jan. 9 as a member of the board of governors of the American Numismatic Association.

President Walter Ostromecki announced this at an ANA town hall meeting held at the Florida United Numismatists convention in Orlando, where he swore in successor Tom Mulvaney.

The Ellis resignation followed a special ANA board meeting that had convened in Orlando earlier in the day.

Only a vague reason was given for the resignation. It comes as the ANA wrestles with a lawsuit filed by former ANA executive director Larry Shepherd and presumably relates to it.

What Ostromecki said, was “He realized he had made a mistake and chose to step down from the board.”

When asked if he could characterize the mistake, Ostromecki said, “He agreed that he had made a serious mistake in judgment and now he realizes it.”

Ellis remains an ANA member in good standing and can run for the board again in future elections, though not in the 2015 election.

Ostromecki also said, during the town hall, “We are working overtime as a board to resolve our legal disputes.”

Ostromecki himself was removed from the board of governors in 2005. He is now the organization’s president.

Mulvaney was the bride’s maid as they called the individual who won the most votes in the 2013 election without winning a board seat. He will fill out the remainder of Ellis’ term, which ends at the summer convention in August in Chicago.

Mulvaney said he would likely run for another two-year term in the 2015 election, though he was not yet ready to make a formal announcement.

An ANA press release issued later stated, “Ellis will continue as an instructor for the Florence Schook School of Numismatics, which includes teaching at Summer Seminar and numismatic events across the country.”

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