Tennessee Bar Journal

Posted by: Journal News on Nov 24, 2020

Journal Issue Date: Nov/Dec 2020

Journal Name: Vol. 56 No. 9

During 2021, the following officers, governors and delegates of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) will be elected as set forth in the association’s bylaws:

This photo, taken in June 2019, shows from left, TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers, Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson, President-elect Sherie Edwards, and Immediate Past President Sarah Y. Sheppeard. 

 

TBA Officers and Board of Governors

A vice president (from the West Tennessee Grand Division) will be elected by the association’s membership-at-large. The vice president automatically assumes the office of president-elect in 2022 and president in 2023.

District Governors

District Governors in the 3rd, 5th (position 2), 6th and 8th districts will be elected to three-year terms. These governors are elected by the members in their respective district.

Those who currently hold those positions are: 

David McDowell (3rd)

John Farringer (5th, Position 2)

David Veile (6th)

Jim Barry (8th). 

John Farringer, David Veile and Jim Barry are all eligible for reelection. David McDowell is ineligible for reelection because of term limits.  

Grand Division Governors

TBA Grand Division Governors are elected for one-year terms by the membership in each grand division.

  • Two East Tennessee governors from the 1st, 2nd or 3rd district.
  • Two Middle Tennessee governors from the 4th, 5th or 6th district.
  • Two West Tennessee governors from the 7th or 8th district.

To qualify, the petition must specify the particular seat the candidate is seeking in the denominated Grand Division (Position 1) or (Position 2).

Those who currently hold those positions are: 

East Tennessee:    

Andy Roskind (Position 1)    

Ben Jones (Position 2)

Middle Tennessee:    

Aimee Luna (Position 1) 

Jamie Durrett (Position 2)

West Tennessee:    

Judge Creed McGinley (Position 1) 

Trey Thacher (Position 2)

Andy Roskind, Ben Jones, Aimee Luna, Jamie Durrett and Judge Creed McGinley are eligible for reelection. Trey Thacher is ineligible for reelection because of term limits.

TBA Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates

Two members to represent the TBA in the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates will be elected for two-year terms by the TBA membership in 2021. The positions are designated positions 1 and 3. 

The delegate in position 3 must be thirty-five (35) years of age or younger when the term begins at the close of the 2021 ABA Annual Meeting.

Those who currently hold these positions are Jonathan Cole (Position 1) and Judge Alex McVeagh (Position 3). 

Qualifying, Balloting & Elections

The officers, governors and delegates to the ABA are elected by the membership as provided by election procedures with petitions due Feb. 15, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. CST. 

To qualify for any of these offices, a candidate must file a nominating petition with the executive director of the TBA.  The petition must contain the names of 25 members of the association in good standing. The petition must be received at the TBA office on or before Feb. 15, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. CST via electronic mail at barED@tnbar.org, or via mail at 221 4th Avenue North, Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37219.  Because of limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, scanned signatures can be collected and submitted electronically.

The Board of Governors has authorized an electronic balloting system supervised by auditors selected by the Board. The Tennessee Bar Association elections will be primarily carried out electronically — using online balloting.  Most members are familiar with this electronic method, but those who still prefer to cast paper ballots will be able to choose that method. Members will be able to opt out of electronic voting either through the TBA.org website or by providing written notice to TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson at 221 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37219. This notice must be provided by Feb. 1, 2021.

As in the past, TBA members voting electronically will receive an email with a link to the election site along with a password to use to cast their ballots. Tabulation of election results will continue to be carried out by an accounting firm selected by the board.

Candidates have until Feb. 15, 2021, to qualify to run in the 2021 elections. Voting will take place between March 1 and April 1, 2021.

Electronic voting will close at 11:59 p.m. CST on April 1, 2021.  If a mail ballot is requested, those ballots must be received by the deadline at the office of the TBA auditors on April 1, 2021.  If there is only one duly-qualified candidate for an office by Feb. 15, 2021, that candidate will automatically be declared elected. 

TBA House of Delegates

Members of the TBA House of Delegates are elected in odd-numbered years.  One member of the TBA House of Delegates from each Judicial District and one additional delegate from the 6th (Knox County), 11th (Hamilton County), 20th (Davidson County) and 30th (Shelby County) are to be elected in 2021.  The following is a list of the current members of the House from each district whose terms expire this year: 

1st District – Elizabeth Hutton

2nd District – Andy Wampler

3rd District – Aaron Chapman

4th District – Eve Charlesworth

5th District – Steve Ogle

6th District – Spencer Fair and
      Andy Roskind

7th District – Theresa-Vay Smith

8th District – Melanie Lane

9th District – Loren Plemmons

10th District – Marcia McMurray

11th District – Alicia Oliver and
      Arnold Stulce

12th District – Graham Swafford

13th District – Jane Powers

14th District – John LaBar

15th District – VACANT

16th District – Ewing Sellers

17th District – VACANT

18th District – Tim Takacs

19th District – Jamie Durrett

20th District – Charlie High and
      Darlene Marsh

21st District – Shauna Billingsley*

22nd District – Michael Cox

23rd District – Peggy Pulley

24th District – Charlie Trotter

24th District – VACANT seat due to
      the death of Ed Townsend Jr.
      (seat expires in 2023)

25th District – Kasey Culbreath

26th District – Jonathan Steen

27th District – Paul Hutcherson

28th District – VACANT

29th District – Karen Burns

30th District – Randy Womack and
      Walt Schuler

31st District – VACANT

YLD East – Bryce McKenzie

YLD Middle – Ross Smith

YLD West – Will Gibbons

*Pursuant to Section 31 of the Bylaws, the Officers shall serve two-year terms, even if their term expires as a Delegate in the interim.

TBA House of Delegates Qualifying, Balloting & Elections

To qualify as a candidate for the TBA House of Delegates a TBA member must file a declaration of candidacy that includes their name, principal place of law practice, district of interest, and contact information.  This can be submitted with the executive director of the TBA via mail at 221 4th Avenue North, Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37219 or email at barED@tnbar.org on or before February 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CST.

Questions?

This notice is in accordance with bylaws of the TBA §15 and 40 through 46. 

For more information on running for any of these offices, visit the TBA’s website at https://www.tba.org/election_guidelines or call (615) 383-7421 for an election handbook.