Gary Jobson elected President of US Sailing at Annual General Meeting

by Jake Fish on 25 Oct 2009 On Saturday night at US Sailing’s Annual General Meeting, Gary Jobson was elected by the new board of directors as the next president of the sport’s national governing body.

In his acceptance speech at the board of directors meeting, Jobson highlighted his plans for US Sailing. He discussed the philosophy of the organization and explained US Sailing’s goal to create opportunities for more people to sail and encourage participation, especially among youth. 'We want to make sailing safe, easy, and fair,' said Jobson. 'We’ll work to make sailing available to everyone.'

Increased visibility for US Sailing and awareness of the sport is a high priority for Jobson. He also put an emphasis on elevating US Sailing’s National Championships. Jobson is focusing on creating value for the US Sailing membership. 'We will not make a US Sailing membership mandatory,' Jobson stated. 'We want people and organizations to become members of US Sailing because we provide a great service for sailors, and we want to inspire others to get involved with the sport.'

Tonight, the board of directors also elected Tom Hubbell as vice president, Leslie Keller as treasurer, Fred Hagedorn as secretary, and Stan Honey as the select director.

Jobson has been a strong supporter of US Sailing and was a member of the organization’s board of directors. He also has served on the Olympic Sailing Committee for 12 years. A world class sailor, television commentator and author, Jobson has served as an ambassador to the sport.

He has authored 16 sailing books including the first US Sailing Instructor’s Manual, and is editor-at-large of Sailing World and Cruising World magazines. Jobson was the television broadcast producer for the sailing competition at the 2008 Olympic Games on NBC.

He has won many championships in one design classes, the America's Cup with Ted Turner in 1977, the infamous Fastnet Race and many of the world's ocean races. In college he was an All-American sailor three times and was twice named College Sailor of the Year (1972, 1973) while at SUNY Maritime College.

In October 2003 Jobson was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame by the Herreshoff Marine Museum. In 1999 Jobson won the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, US Sailing’s most prestigious award. This trophy is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in the United States. In 1998 he received the Captain Joe Prosser Award, which is given to an individual who made an exemplary contribution toward improving the quality and safety in the training or instruction of sailors.

Jobson is also the National Regatta Chairman of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's sailing program, which has generated over $32 million.

Jobson has been ESPN's sailing commentator since 1985. He won an A.C.E. (Award for Cable Excellence) for the 1987 America’s Cup. In 1988 Jobson won an Emmy for his production of sailing on NBC at the Olympic Games in South Korea and won an Emmy for the 2006 Volvo Ocean Race on PBS. Over the past 35 years, Jobson has given over 2,300 lectures throughout the world. He started his career as a sailing coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. He is also an active cruising sailor, and has led ambitious expeditions to the Arctic, Antarctica and Cape Horn. Gary and his wife, Janice, have three daughters – Kristi, Ashleigh and Brooke.

Last March, the nominating and governance committee nominated Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) as the organization’s next president in Denver at US Sailing’s Spring Meeting.

The US Sailing President serves for a one-year term and a maximum of three consecutive terms. Former US Sailing President Jim Capron (Annapolis, Md.), has led the organization since November 2006. His term ended at US Sailing’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday.

Jobson’s acceptance speech will be posted shortly on US Sailing’s website at www.ussailing.org.

During the 'Rock the Boat… Vote!' program, US Sailing members voted to fill three positions on the organization's board of directors. The voting process was completed during the organization's Annual General Meeting.

The elected members of the board of directors - all of whom will serve for a three-year term are listed below. Meet the new members by clicking on their respective links for their profiles:

• Walter Chamberlain (Bay St. Louis, Miss.)
http://media.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Media_Home/Latest_News/Chamberlain_profile.htm

• John Craig (San Rafael, Calif.)
http://media.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Media_Home/Latest_News/Meet_John_Craig.htm

• Tom Hubbell (Delaware, Ohio)
http://media.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Media_Home/Latest_News/BOD_Hubbell.htm

This is the fourth year that US Sailing held elections to determine members of its board of directors. In October 2005, US Sailing amended its bylaws to restructure the organization and dramatically downsize the board of directors, from 49 to 15 members, making it more nimble and efficient. The organization's first elections were held in 2006.