ABA Announces 2013 Election Results

The results of balloting by the bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association to choose a new president, vice president, and three Board directors are now official.

Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, has been elected to a two-year term as ABA president, and Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, will serve a two-year term as vice president/secretary.

Elected to three-year terms as directors are Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books and Café in Wichita, Kansas; Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut; and Robert Sindelar of Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington. This will be Bagby’s second three-year term on the Board.

Continuing on the 10-member Board will be John Evans of DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood, Malibu, and Oakland, California; Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas; Matt Norcross of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan; Jonathon Welch of Talking Leaves…Books in Buffalo, New York; and Ken White of Books Inc. in San Francisco.

Leaving the Board are current ABA President Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois, and Tom Campbell of The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina.

The Board of Directors transition will take place at meetings in conjunction with this month’s BookExpo America in New York City.

All members are encouraged to attend the ABA Membership Meeting, which will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, in Room 1E12/13 of the Javits Convention Center. The agenda includes the formal announcement of the election results, reports from ABA’s president and CEO on the past year’s activities, a membership and financial update, and the opportunity for members to bring old and/or new business to the Board’s attention.

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by the Town Hall meeting, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., also in Room 1E12/13. The Town Hall provides booksellers with the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns and to share ideas with the Board and staff in a less formal setting than the Membership Meeting.

To provide an opportunity for as many members as possible to speak during the Town Hall, a sign-up sheet will be prominently displayed starting Wednesday morning, May 29, in the ABA Indie Bookseller Lounge, which will be on the trade show floor this year, at the front of Row 2900. Booksellers will be called upon to speak at the Town Hall in the order in which they sign up.

Questions about the elections or about the Town Hall and Annual Membership meetings may be addressed to ABA Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith.