OASIS Bylaws Changes - Request for your Member Organization Vote

["Patrick Gannon" <patrick.gannon@oasis-open.org>]

Dear OASIS Member Voting Representative,

The Board of Directors has approved revisions to the OASIS Bylaws, which
include extending the number of seats on the Board.  Our current Bylaws
provides that any change to the size of the Board requires a membership
vote.   

As the designated representative of an OASIS member organization, you are
asked to cast your vote on these revisions.  The voting period opened at
9:00pm PDT [GMT-7] 10 September and will extend until 9:00pm PDT [GMT-7] 25
September 2003.

Proposed changes, which are documented in the OASIS Bylaws Draft Revision -
September 2003, found at
http://www.oasis-open.org/who/oasis_bylaws_draft.pdf, include:

Recommended Change #1. Increase the maximum number of Directors from 8 to
11.  

Rationale for Change #1.
As OASIS has grown to attract over 300 organizational members (from
technology, government and many end-user industry sectors), the Board of
Directors feels that increasing the size of the Board will allow for broader
representation.  We have had from 12 to 16 candidates for the four open
Board positions in Board elections over the past three years, which shows
the strong desire for members to participate in the governance of OASIS.
The additional Directors will also alleviate the necessity for Directors to
serve on multiple Board committees.


Recommended Change #2. Designate the OASIS President position an "Appointed
Director," and all other Director positions "Elected Directors".  

Rationale for Change #2.
This change will mean that the person who is hired by the Board of Directors
to serve as the full-time President & CEO of OASIS will not have to stand
for Board election by members. It is common in corporations for the
President & CEO to have an automatic voting seat on the Board. This will
also remove any competitive disadvantage for candidates who would otherwise
be up for election at the same time as the OASIS President.

Please go to the OASIS member site to cast your vote on the Bylaws revisions
during the ballot period.
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/voting/ballots.php 


Should the Bylaws Revisions be approved by the membership, the Board of
Directors will need to determine how to fill the three new Board positions.
There would be two positions for a term to expire in July 2004 and one
position for a term to expire in July 2005. 

If you would like to provide feedback to the Board on this issue, please
send an email to oasisboard@lists.oasis-open.org
<mailto:oasisboard@lists.oasis-open.org>  before 17 September indicating
your preference for the Board to take one of these actions:

 a) The Board uses its best judgment to fill the new positions,

 b) OASIS initiates a special nomination and election process, or

 c) Other suggestions.

 
Thank you for your continued support of the growing activities at OASIS.

Best regards,

Patrick Gannon
President & CEO
OASIS
630 Boston Road, M-102
Billerica, MA, 01821   USA
+1.978.667.5115 x201  (office)
+1.978.761.3546  (GSM mobile)
+1.978.667.5114  (fax)
http://www.oasis-open.org