The Voting Has Begun!

May 20, 2013

Today I received notification that electronic voting was now live. So, I followed the link and viola, there was the ballot! I voted and once I hit "submit," off it went. I soon received an email confirming the successful vote. All went very smooth.

This is the first electronic voting in the history of the ANA and I chose to go this route to test the waters for myself. I am glad I did. It was the quickest I was ever able to vote. On the site, all the same information printed in The Numismatist was available along with the video of the opening and closing remarks given at the New Orleans National Money Show Candidates' Forum. (I still highly recommend you view the question and answer part of the candidates' forum as you will learn more there than in the rehearsed opening and closing statements. Skip the first 17 and a half minutes. To view the forum in its entirety go to at www.youtube.com http://youtu.be/AlKJmdEcsAc .)

The list of candidates was electronically scrambled so they would not be in alphabetical order as they are on the printed ballots. That is a good thing and makes voting as fair as it gets.

I have heard that if members share the same mailing address or email, they may experience difficulty. If so, contact support@directvote.net for further instructions.

If you did not previously sign up to vote electronically, it is too late to change your mind but your ballot will arrive in your mailbox any day now. You have until July 1st to vote. Results will be given to candidates on July 8th. Successful candidates will be sworn in at the Worlds' Fair of Money in Chicago in August.

My overall opinion? I plan to do it again next year. The more who use this the more money we save the ANA!

Good luck candidates and remember, win or lose, I will continue to give freely of my time to the ANA.

Mike Ellis, 5/20/13

How to Best Make Your Votes Count

It is nice to see we have so many candidates for the position of ANA Governor this election cycle. Since you can vote for no more than seven for governor, you will have to choose from the fourteen candidates who will occupy just seven seats. However, it is not necessarily a good idea to vote for all seven if there are only 3 or 4 you want to see on the board. If you vote for all seven, you could be helping your candidates lose by giving competitors more votes. So vote wisely. But do vote! This election is another very important one. For the most part, a few of those running for reelection, if reelected, will make the foundation for a VERY strong board. It is not my intent to tell you specifically who to vote for, rather to provide guidance for making sound decisions and voting in a way that increases the chances of those you want most on the board.

Regarding those who are running for reelection, I would hope that you would vote for those who talk in terms of team work and accept ownership of all board decisions, especially when making regular posts to discussion boards and forums talking in the "me and I" instead of the "we and us." Strength comes in numbers. Board members are certainly allowed to disagree with one another and communicate their concerns. However, just because one disagrees with others on a vote made in executive session does not give that one the right to go public and discuss the way individual board members voted, including one's self. This is very divisive behavior. Details of how each member of the board votes in such instances is just as privileged as the discussion itself.

Regarding new candidates; are they qualified? For the most part it is easy to determine who is or is not qualified. Are they interested in the overall health and productivity of the association? They sure should be! Unfortunately that is not always the case and this election is no different. Some of the candidates have just one or two personal agenda items to fulfill. These people are almost always ultimately counter productive to a strong board.

This year we have more access to information to use in making informed decisions than ever before. Details will be published in the association's official journal as well as along with your ballot. Also, for the first time, the candidate's forum was streamed live from New Orleans and may be reviewed  at www.youtube.com

http://youtu.be/AlKJmdEcsAc .

You may skip the first 17 and a half minutes and know that the presentation gets easier to understand the farther you go into the forum. It also gets clearer to understand what the candidates are really there for! Yes, this includes me. I am glad of what I stand for. I stand for all of you. I will be voted for by the membership so it is the membership I will represent.

Of the 14 candidates applying for seven seats several of them will make good board members. Become fully aware of who they are and what they stand for! More qualifications are required than just thinking their normal job experience is enough. Those who clearly love the ANA and ALL its members regardless of their station in life are very likely the best candidates.

Waiting for Two to Decide

All but two in the post prior to this have accepted their nomination to be on the ballot for the ANA Board of Governors election this summer. The two who have not yet accepted (to my knowledge) their nomination are current Governor Scott Rottinghaus and Scott Barman. That gives us 12 candidates for 7 spots at present. If the two Scotts accept their nominations there will two candidates for each open Governor spot! That is a lot of candidate, more than usual for sure. So, voting strategy is going to be very important this election cycle. More on this in my next blog...

Nine Candidates Have Already Accepted Nominations for Only Seven Spots on the 2013-2015 ANA Board of Governors. Five More are Qualified:

Walter Ostromecki for President - nomination accepted

Jeff Garrett for Vice-President - nomination accepted

The Board of Governors:
Mike Ellis - nomination accepted
Jeffrey Swindling - nomination accepted
Tom Mulvaney - nomination accepted
Ralph Ross - qualified
Richard Jocefiak -nomination accepted
William D. Hyder -nomination accepted
Scott Barman - qualified
Jeff Wuller - nomination accepted
Scott Rottinghaus - qualified
Oded Paz - nomination accepted
Greg Lyon - qualified
Laura Sperber - nomination accepted
Steve D'Ippolito - qualified
Gary Adkins - nomination accepted

Where it states nomination accepted, it means that person WILL BE on the ballot. Where it says qualified that person may accept his nomination at any time through the end of March. At that time the candidates will be set.

Any changes before and by the end of March I will post here.

Learn Grading at New Orleans National Money Show

If you would like to learn to grade or grade better or just refine your grading skills you can do so for two days prior to the start of the National Money Show in New Orleans. Rod Gillis, the awesomely great teacher   from the ANA and myself will be teaching. Take the course. You will be glad you did!

Follow this link to learn more:

http://nationalmoneyshow.com/activities,-special-events-classes/class-fundamentals-of-grading-us-coins.aspx

Follow the ANA Board Election Yourself

This election cycle, which has a strong number of candidates can be followed on the ANA's website! Follow the link below.

http://www.money.org/communications/election-center/list-of-candidates.aspx

Sign up for Summer Seminar Now!

Summer Seminar

The best education in Numismatics - period.

For many, Summer Seminar is a life-changing event. It has catapulted the careers of many of the nation's most successful numismatic collectors, authors and dealers, and guided young numismatists to become hobby leaders.

Now celebrating its 45th year, the 2013 Summer Seminar features a lineup of classes to meet virtually every collector's needs, including ancients, paper money, counterfeit detection, grading, the Civil War, digital photography, hobo nickels, medals, tokens, and more. Students meet and learn from the hobby's most prominent scholars, rising young stars and successful business leaders.

 Download the Course Catalog PDF 

 Download the registration form

(registration form is also included in the catalog)

Mike Ellis Announces Reelection Bid for ANA Board of Governors

Mike Ellis of Camilla, Georgia recently announced his intention to run for reelection to a seat on the ANA Board of Governors. He is currently serving his first term on the existing Board of Governors and in announcing his intention to run Ellis says, “We need a hard working, diligent, communicative board whose members exude enthusiasm for our community while further improving the association and I am one of those people!

Unfortunately, the ANA has been plagued by lawsuits, primarily from ex executive directors, for far too many years of late. I need not tell you how detrimental this is to the numismatic community. Not only does this cost way too much money it greatly reduces the time spent on productive projects for the hobbyist. This must stop. The solution? Largely to quit putting executives and attorneys in positions to create frivolous lawsuits. I believe a kind, fair and hard working Executive Director and no attorney on a costly retainer as general counsel is the most ideal position to be in.

We must, I say must, get back to full concentration of our mission to educate!

Additionally, it seems there is always ongoing discussion regarding show dates. For quite a few years now many large coin shows have become ghost towns by Saturday afternoon. This should be the day that entertains the majority of the public and when it is so empty feeling on Saturday afternoon it breaks my heart. No amount of discussion will ever change my mind. I believe dealers must be made to stay all day on Saturday. How do we make this happen? I really do not know but I highly recommend we try running shows where Saturday falls in the middle of the show!

I am a longtime servant and life member of the ANA because I believe in the mission and love the people. I have been a member of the ANA for 31 years and an instructor at ANA Summer Seminars since 1996 work exceedingly well with the staff. As a result of my efforts I have received the Glenn Smedley Memorial Award, a President’s Award from past President Clifford Mishler, the Murray G. Singer Outstanding Hobby Mentor Award from Anthony Swiatek while he was President and one of the first group of six members to receive the National Coordinators Award for Numismatic Excellence in 1998 from Walter Ostromecki.

I served 14 years and counting as a board member and officer of CONECA, 8 as President and 4 as Vice-President. During this time I led CONECA from a little known specialty club to a well known, highly respected national organization that leads the numismatic community in error and variety research and education. I have just now started my third term as Vice-President. As a result of my efforts on behalf of error

collectors everywhere, I have received every award CONECA has including induction into their Hall of Fame in 2009.

I am a frequent contributor to and have been the editor of numismatic publications of all kinds and teaching numismatics is one of my favorite things to do!

I continue to write numismatic articles and do tons of volunteer work for the numismatic community. Most everything I do for you is my honor and my privilege. Thank you for having the confidence in me to go to bat for you. After all, it is a hobby for most of us and I like to keep it fun for everyone!”