IMPORTANT OASIS BOARD ELECTION INFORMATION - NOMINATIONS OPEN!

["Scott McGrath" <scott.mcgrath@oasis-open.org>]

Dear OASIS Members,

The following very important information details the process of
nominating and electing directors to the Board of OASIS.

Voting privileges are among the most important--and the most
powerful--benefits of Organizational Membership in OASIS.
Through its voting rights, your company takes real ownership of
OASIS and its mission, goals and objectives.  You influence the
technical direction of product development across the structured
information standards community and you determine Consortium
policy.  You are assigning stewardship of this Consortium to your
peers and colleagues when you elect your directors.  This is an
important process, worthy of your thoughtful participation.

Do not hesitate to contact me at laura.walker@oasis-open.org or
+1(978)-667-5115 If you have any questions regarding this process
or if you require any other information.  If you feel your
inquiry is best addressed by a current Board member you can
contact Bill Smith , OASIS President and Acting Chairman, at
+1(650) 786-5483,  bill.smith@sun.com  or Bob Sutor, OASIS Chief
Strategy Officer, at +1(716) 243-2445, sutor@us.ibm.com

SCHEDULE AND KEY DATES

1 May:		Nominations open.
31 May:	Nominations close.
5 June:		Balloting begins.
30 June:	Balloting closes.
21 July:		Results announced.

The new Board will be seated officially in July 2000.


RESPONSIBILITY OF DIRECTORS

OASIS Directors are the governing body of the Consortium.  They
oversee its general operation, set strategic direction based on
input from the membership and their experience in the structured
information standards community; protect the interest of its
members in the structured information standards marketplace; and
ensure the Consortium's short- and long-term viability.

Specific responsibilities include:
-	Hire staff, provide guidance and establish compensation.
-	Review and approve budgets and financial expenditures
-	Form, manage, and support the work of OASIS' committees.
-	Engage in committee-level work as appropriate.
-	Assist with recruiting new members.
-	Serve as Consortium spokesperson when appropriate.

In order to fulfill their responsibilities, directors:
-	Participate in twice monthly telephone conference calls of
approximately 90 minutes in duration
-	Participate in quarterly face-to-face board meetings (NOTE:
Board member companies share the expense for Directors to attend
quarterly meetings).

The Board is comprised of 8 positions, with one current vacancy.
(Vacancies are filled by the decision of the Board)   The
following alphabetical list is of the current Board members, the
4 seats up for election are marked with an asterisk (*)

Eric Garcia *
Alan Hester
Norbert Mikula *
Simon Nicholson *
Jon Parsons *
Bill Smith
Robert S. Sutor, PhD

It is important to note the nominations and election are for the
Board seat, not specific positions.  Once seated, the Board will
determine among themselves who will serve as President, Chairman
and other Chief Officer positions as appropriate-i.e. Chief
Technology Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, etc. Individuals, not
their member company, are elected to the Board.   Directors are
elected to serve a 2 year term.  The board has staggered term
limits to ensure continuity between transition of officers.
Board members whose term has expired can be nominated for
re-election.



CONSIDERATIONS FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION

There are important issues to consider when nominating and
electing your directors.

First, remember that through this process you are placing your
confidence in those individuals who will best serve the OASIS
membership in general.  You will want to choose candidates who
will be open and responsive to the needs and desires of the
members, who care about the success of the community as a whole,
who can approach the structured information standards market with
a "big picture" perspective and who will be able to set aside
their own personal and corporate interests in favor of benefiting
the community at large.

Second, OASIS is a business enterprise, with revenue goals to
attain and expenses to meet.  You will want to choose directors
who will think about OASIS as a business and who are able to make
the hard decisions that go along with ambitious plans, limited
resources and wonderful opportunities.

Third, OASIS is a volunteer organization driven by its members at
all levels.  You will want to select directors who will work
hard, provide the leadership to encourage meaningful
participation of their peers, and who access to the corporate
resources to support their Consortium work.

ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS DIRECTOR

In order to serve as a Director, an individual must:
-	Be willing and able to devote the time and effort necessary to
fulfill the director's responsibilities.
-	Have explicit management level support within their
organization for their OASIS activities.


NOMINATION PROCESS

Send your nomination to:
Postal Mail	OASIS Balloting
P.O. Box 455
Billerica, MA 01821

Fax		978-667-5114
Email		Balloting@oasis-open.org

To be considered, postal mail must be postmarked, and fax and
email must be received by the end of the nomination period.

Include in your nomination the name of the candidate you are
nominating, his/her company, title and contact information.
Include your name and contact information for validation purposes
only.

Your candidate must accept the nomination in writing.  The
acceptance letter should be on company stationary and be
accompanied by a brief biography.  The letter must include a
statement of ability to serve if elected-that is, it must
indicate that the candidate has support of company management and
is willing to devote the time and attention necessary fulfill all
director's responsibilities.


The following boilerplate text may be used for this purpose:

"Should I be elected to the OASIS Board of Directors, I will be
able to devote an average of eight to ten hours per week to
consortium activities.  I understand that these activities
include participation in biweekly conference calls, attendance at
Board meetings and other Consortium functions and work that I may
undertake to fulfill the duties associated with my position on
the Board.  My company will support me in the fulfillment of my
Consortium duties and commitments during the duration of my
two-year term."

The letter of acceptance can also include an optional statement
explaining the candidate's interest and ability in serving on the
OASIS Board of Directors.  This statement will be of assistance
to members who are not personally familiar with the candidate.

The candidate acceptance letter and biography can accompany the
nomination or can be submitted separately.  We must receive these
documents by the end of the Nomination period.  All candidate
acceptance submissions will be posted on the OASIS website, the
posting location will be announced to all members.

ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE

All Organizational Member companies are eligible to vote via one
ballot.  In order to receive a ballot, the Organizational Member
company must be in good standing at the time of ballot
distribution or must have completed the membership enrollment
process during the balloting period.

VOTING PROCESS

The final ballot will be distributed electronic mail and will be
available on the OASIS website.  It will list candidates by name
and company and will include their submitted biographies and
optional statement of interest.  The ballot will be distributed
to each Organizational Member company primary contact and/or
designated voting email address.  Any designation of separate
email voting address must be completed prior to initiation of the
balloting process.

Each Organizational Member company has one ballot and  will vote
for 4 individuals on the ballot.  Ballots must be submitted by
postal mail, fax or email originating from the known ballot
recipient email address. To be considered, postal mail must be
postmarked, and fax and email must be received by the end of the
balloting period.

At the end of the balloting period, emailed ballots will be
printed and votes will be tallied.  The four nominees receiving
the highest number of votes will become members of your next
OASIS Board of Directors.  Public announcement of the results
will be made by 21 July, 2000

SUMMARY
Nominating and balloting are important aspects of your membership
and the future direction of our consortium.  We look forward to
your thoughtful and meaningful participation in this process.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the designates for
further information and assistance.


Laura Walker
Executive Director
OASIS

+1 978 667 5115 x201 	(US and Int'l Voice)
+1 978 667 5114	( US and Int'l Fax)

laura.walker@oasis-open.org