Greetings VCRA voting members,

With the postponement of our 2020 convention, our annual business meeting is also being postponed, which is when our election of officers and directors typically takes place. In order for your new Board of Directors to begin serving its membership and fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors would like to hold our elections electronically. While our current Bylaws do allow for electronic voting, they also require that at least 20 voting members be present at a meeting where elections are held.

In light of the governmental ban on meetings of 10 or more people pursuant to the outbreak of COVID-19, the entire Board met via Zoom on March 21, 2020, and voted to propose to the membership to suspend, for these special purposes only, Article IX, Section 3(b) and Section 4 of the Bylaws. Our complete Bylaws can be located here, but the pertinent sections regarding the election read as follows:

Section 3 – Voting

b) Voting of the membership by proxy on any issue, or for officers and directors, shall be permitted when such action is authorized by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Board of Directors and such proxy is delivered with the notice of the meeting and shall be permissible by mail, e-mail, or fax.

Section 4 – Quorum of Professional Members

At the annual business meeting or any meeting of this Association, twenty-five percent (25%) of voting members present, in person or by proxy, constitute a quorum, provided that no fewer than twenty (20) voting members are physically present. The action of a majority of the voting members at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall constitute the action of the voting members.

We are asking that you consider this e-mail as notification of our intent to hold elections in this manner. If you would like to submit any write-in candidates to be considered for election on the board, please send an e-mail to Liz Phillips at vcraexecutivedirector@gmail.com by April 2nd, 2020.

The complete ballot with instructions will be available April 3rd, and there will be a 48-hour window in which to cast your vote. Mail-in ballots will be made available upon reasonable request. Announcement of voting results will be posted by April 7th.

Please see the introduction to the incoming officers and directors below.

With warm regards,

The Virginia Court Reporters Association Board of Directors