Annual Meeting and Election Recap

The Annual Meeting was held on Monday, August 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM at the Orleans Yacht Club. The meeting provided updates from the President, Director, and various board members, including recent land acquisitions, land management efforts, and the annual financial report.   Voting for the slate of new Trustees as well as the next Nominating Committee occurred at the opening of the meeting.  At the closing of the business portion of the meeting, President Kevin Galligan recognized Trustee Mon Cochran for four years of service on the board, as he is stepping down.  This year, the meeting was held in conjunction with the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trust’s annual meeting.  Mark Robinson, Executive Director of the Compact, presented on new challenges to conservation efforts on the Cape.  The Compact presented its Ansel Chaplin award for Excellence in Open Space Protection on Cape Cod, with this year’s voted recipient being Denny O’Connell from Wellfleet Conservation Trust.  Both Senator Cyr and Representative Peake attended the meeting and helped present the award.  Other special guests to the meeting included recently hatched Northern diamondback terrapins from White’s Lane Conservation Area!

View the full agenda here: Annual Meeting 2017 Agenda   View the meeting presentation slides here: 2017 Annual Meeting Presentation.

Our slate of Trustees and Nominating Committee members was chosen by the Nominating Committee, and brought to vote by the membership.  This year, we had three Trustees up for re-election. Biographies for the slate of Trustees and Nominating Committee members can be viewed here: https://orleansconservationtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-Nominee-Bio.pdf

Following the policies of the updated Declaration of Trust, a quorum of 50 members was reached for the meeting, with 62 members attending.  The slate of Trustees passed with 166 ‘Yes’ votes.  The slate of Nominating Committee members passed with 161 ‘Yes’ votes.  

Any individual who made a donation equal to the minimum dues level of $25 between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, or placed a conservation restriction on their land, or donated or sold land to the Trust during this period, or is a Life Member, was entitled to vote in this election.  Any family trust or other organization whose donation meets the level for organizational membership was entitled to one vote.