A couple of changes from tradition included:

• Show of hands for the election of officers as opposed to board members voting on a piece of paper and the votes counted by the board attorney. Of course, there was only one nomination for each position so one might wonder why a vote was taken as opposed to election by acclimation as was done in the past.

• After the election of officers by the Board of Directors, new president Rick Farr asked OPA counsel Bruce Bright to "certify" the election of each officer. There is nothing in the governing documents that mentions such certification of corporate officers. Perhaps it is something in Maryland law, but this has never been done in the past. An unrequired "swearing in" ceremony for new board members was dropped some years ago.

The board approved outgoing OPA president Doug Parks as Parliamentarian. It is expected that the board will also appoint Parks to the Budget & Finance Committee and his subsequent appointment as chair. Parks will obviously continue to be a major influence on OPA policy. 

In a recent Bayside Gazette article new board member Jeff Heavner had expressed interest in in the secretary position. The article stated: "Heavner, citing his strong organizational and communications skills, said they might be utilized in the secretary position." He was not nominated.