US Sailing Membership elects three to Board of Directors

by Jake Fish on 24 Oct 2010 Saturday night was the culmination of US SAILING’s 2010 Board of Directors Election. For over six weeks, members of US Sailing submitted their votes to fill three seats on its board of directors.

Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and Ed Adams (Middletown, R.I.) were the top two vote getters. The Nominating Committee nominated four candidates to fill two slots on the board and serve a three-year term. Susan Epstein (Sharon, Mass.) was nominated by the house of delegates and ran for a three-year term unopposed. The voting process was completed today during US Sailing’s Annual General Meeting.

McKinnon-Tucker won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games with Nick Scandone in the SKUD 18 class as a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. She has been the adaptive sailing coordinator for the Piers Park Sailing Center since 2007. In 2009, they received the Outstanding Disabled Sailing Program Award. She has served on US Sailing’s National Councils of Women’s Sailing and Sailors with Disabilities.

Adams is a two-time winner of US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award (1987, 1991), a two-time U.S. Olympic Athlete of the Year for sailing, and a two-time collegiate All-American. He is on the editorial staff for publications including SAIL, Sailing World, and Practical Sailor. He is also a professional and amateur sailing coach.

Epstein is a founding member of Sail Nantasket, a sailing foundation that has developed composite high-school teams and a learn-to-sail community program. She is a former board member for US Sailing and the National Women's Sailing Association. Epstein has served as the grading secretary for the U.S. Match Race Committee. She is a certified judge and a member of the US Sailing Windsurfing Task Force. Epstein is a former chair of the Council of Sailing Associations, Women’s Sailing Committee, and the U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship Committee.
She is also a past commodore of the Hull Yacht Club (Mass.) and a past president of the 210 Class Association.

All current US Sailing adult and family members were encouraged to vote. This election is just another way US Sailing members let their voices be heard and take part in deciding the best people to lead the sport in the United States. Scott Iklé (Geneva, N.Y.) and Mitch Brindley (Smithfield, Va.) were the two other nominated candidates.

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.

For more information on the board of directors election and the candidates, please visit the election site click here

www.ussailing.org