Director Election Results

The election closed on October 31, 2022 at 5 pm MT and the results are in! We'd like to thank everyone who voted in the 2022 board of directors election. In total, 20% of USHPA members voted, meeting the 10% quorum requirement.

• Nick Greece
• Charles Allen
• Stephan Mentler
• Tiki Mashy

These four elected directors will join the board starting January 1, 2023. The full 2023 board will consist of the following eight directors, plus two directors appointed by the board at their first meeting in January. The officers for 2023 will also be elected by the board at the first meeting in the new year.

• Nick Greece
• Charles Allen
• Stephan Mentler
• Tiki Mashy
• Steven Pearson
• Pamela Kinnaird
• Julia Knowles
• Nelissa Milfeld
• Director to be elected by the board in January
• Director to be elected by the board in January

We sincerely thank all the candidates that ran, as well as our outgoing directors for all their time and work on the board: Bill Hughes, Paul Voight, Matt Taber, Chris Santacroce and Jamie Shelden. Their terms will end on December 31, 2022.  They could still be elected by the board to serve in one of the two board chosen seats.

Representation Algorithm Process

The representation algorithm seeks to ensure that the 10-person board of directors continues to represent all regions and wing types, as well as a mix of ages and genders, by aiming to fill each of the following categories out of the national election:

• at least 1 director from each region
• at least 3 of each wing type (hang gliding or paragliding)
• at least 3 under age 40 and 3 age 40 or older
• at least 2 women and 2 men

The categories are filled based on the number of votes received by each candidate, meaning that the results are determined purely by the algorithm and cannot be altered.

This table shows an overview of the diversity selection process, along with an explanation of its application in this election. Zoom in with your browser to sharpen the image

The algorithm first looks at the sitting board to determine which categories are lacking. For this election, we needed one director from Region 4, one director from Region 5, two hang glider pilots, two directors over age 40, and one male director to meet the representation goals.

Candidates were ranked by the number of votes they received, and then the representation algorithm was applied. In this election, the four candidates with the most votes also happened to fill all the representation goals, and were therefore selected.

For the first priority, region, we needed one director from Region 5. The candidate from Region 5 with the highest number of votes was Charles Allen, making him the first new director.

We also needed one director from Region 4. The candidate from Region 4 with the highest number of votes was Stephan Mentler, making him the second elected director.

Next was wing type, with two hang glider pilots needed. Charles and Stephan's selections fulfilled both of the slots.

Finally, we needed two directors over age 40 and one male director. The previous selections, Charles and Stephan, also fulfilled the male director requirement and the two slots for directors over age 40.

With all selection criteria fulfilled the remaining two seats were filled by the candidates with the highest number of votes, Nick Greece and Tiki Mashy (incumbent).

For more details on the election and the diversity selection process, please see the elections page. Thank you once again to everyone who voted, and congratulations to our new USHPA directors!

If you have any questions regarding the election process or diversity matrix, please contact [email protected].

Mark G. Forbes
USHPA Elections Committee chair
[email protected]