Members vote against MTA reorganization

Every vote counts, especially at the Matanuska Telephone Association's annual election and meeting of member-owners held on Wednesday, June 12, at Raven Hall on the Alaska State Fairgrounds.

Although Al Strawn was re-elected to a 3-year board seat by a comfortable 1600-plus vote, a narrow 34-vote margin awarded the 2-year board seat to Bennie Cottle over candidate Bill Hogan.

And, while most of the proposed amendments to MTA's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws passed comfortably within the required majority, others passed by a closer margin, and a major board of directors restructuring proposal failed by a hairsbreadth.

The membership passed changes that included: a more flexible timeline for the board to approve the election nominating committee; more flexibility for the board in scheduling their meetings while assuring at least one meeting quarterly; an amendment making board meeting attendance mandatory; an amendment replacing the position titles of president, vice president and treasurer with the position title of chief governance officer (retaining the position title of secretary); delegation of employee compensation determinations to the chief executive officer (CEO) while retaining board authority to determine compensation of the CEO; and approval of a global language amendment to replace gender references in the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws with non-gender specific language.

Most of the passed amendments were updates to align the bylaws with current operations and MTA's new Policy Governance Model, but a major restructuring measure failed to pass by a vote margin of only 1 percent.

The failed measure would have increased the number of directors on the board from five to seven, and would have created three districts within the co-op, with one director elected from each district and four "at-large" directors.

Before the election current board member and candidate Al Strawn said he fully supported the proposed restructuring measure, believing that it would broaden the level of participation in the co-op board while assuring continuity on the board of directors.

When asked what drew him to continue his involvement in MTA's future, Strawn said that he enjoyed working with MTA CEO Greg Berberich.

"Greg has done just a wonderful job establishing trust on the MTA team," Strawn said. "I'm excited about continuing to work with him."

Strawn is also excited about the Policy Governance Model that MTA adopted late in 2001, believing that it will enable the board to focus on MTA's future, rather than on day-to-day operations.

"I've become a governance nerd," he laughed, "something I never expected to call myself."

Strawn was not alone in his support for the Policy Governance Model. Candidate Benny Cottle, who had previously served on the MTA board, agreed that the model is right for MTA.

"I approve 100 percent," declared Cottle. "It's a good direction to help MTA keep up with modern times."

Swiss-born 2002 Iditarod winner Martin Buser provided the keynote address for the evening. Buser said that the events of Sept 11 had caused him to realize that, even though he was proud of being an Alaskan, it was also important for him to become a U.S. citizen. He took the oath of citizenship after his successful 2002 Iditarod finish.

Amid the festivities, one item of new business emerged when member Kent Sandvik rose to recommend that the Board consider voluntary retirement of capital credits for seniors of 65 years or older. The motion was seconded.

Election Registrar Nancy Favors observed that, while the return of mail-in ballots had been about average, the election turnout at the annual meeting was less than hoped.

"Of course," she laughed, "There is a Miners game tonight, too!"

One Valley commuter rose to address the meeting at the final call for comments. John Alcantra suggested that attendance at annual meetings might be improved if the registration period were moved just 30 minutes later to allow commuters adequate time to make the registration deadline.

Those member-owners and their families in attendance found plenty to enjoy at their annual meeting. The doors to Raven Hall were open to the mild June evening as children delighted themselves with balloon animals created by Ruff-L's the Clown, and sled dog puppies brought by Buser.

As a steady stream of members lined up at the multiple registration desks, their families feasted on barbecue, kettle corn and gourmet ice cream bars. MTA's technology demonstrations drew an appreciative audience, as did the table at which Buser smilingly autographed photos for his fans.

Longtime Palmer resident and former Mat-Su Borough Assembly member John Musgrove said that he comes to the MTA meeting every year, though wife Virginia added that she has accompanied him to only two meetings in 39 years.

"She only came to one assembly meeting during the six years I was a member," laughed Musgrove, "and that was to kick up a fuss."