ASTA Membership approves Proposed Governance Plan

In a referendum completed last week, members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) overwhelmingly approved the new governance plan which will provide all its domestic members with equal representation and create a smaller, more agile Board while unifying ASTA’s leadership. The referendum passed by a vote of 704 to 112 (86.2% to 13.7%), with one abstention.

“By approving the governance plan, ASTA’s membership has taken the next step in advancing ASTA’s efforts to restructure the Society to better meet the needs of our members,” said Kathryn W. Sudeikis, CTC, ASTA’s president and CEO. “ASTA’s Board and now, its membership, have chosen the right course for governance—and the Society—to take. Now, ASTA members and elected leaders can get down to the business of addressing the issues that face our industry with one clear voice.”

The new governance structure is comprised of nine national directors elected at-large for two-year, staggered terms, three chapter presidents, the chair of the International Chapter Presidents’ Council (ICPC), and two Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) members. As part of the governance transition plan, the seven directors from odd-numbered areas who currently serve on the Board and were elected a year ago, will finish out their full terms. The chapter structure will remain unchanged.

Among the key features of the proposed governance plan are:

1) Directors will be elected at-large, affording members equal representation, without being limited to a particular region. In fact, eliminating election by areas will allow for the most qualified members to serve, as it can be the case that the candidate a member feels is most qualified to serve on the Board might not be from their particular area or region.

2) Three chapter presidents will also serve on the Board, whereas previously there was only one CPC representative. The three CPCs will be elected by the Chapter Presidents’ Council (CPC) members. The ICPC will continue to be represented by its chair, and the CAC will elect two of its members to serve.

3) The membership at large will elect the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee would then be elected from and by the Board of Directors as they have first-hand knowledge of the leadership qualities of their fellow directors and ultimately their ability to serve.  As is the case today, only directors elected directly by the membership are eligible to serve as executive committee members.

4) The size of the Executive Committee will be reduced by merging the Vice President and Secretary positions. The Immediate Past President position will be eliminated.

5) Executive Committee terms will be reduced to one year, allowing more people an opportunity to serve.

The initial year will ease the new directorship structure into a staggered term system so that there will never be a year in which all the members of the Board are new to their positions. To accomplish this, in the first election, the top nine vote receivers will be elected to the Board of Directors: The five candidates receiving the most votes will be elected for a two-year term, while the next four top vote receivers will be elected for a one-year term to the Board. Beginning in the second year of implementation, all directors will be elected to two-year terms.

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