USA -(Ammoland.com)- Seating of USA Shooting’s new 10-person Board of Directors is nearing completion with the election of three new members representing the organization’s athletes, coaches/officials and member clubs.
The three new Directors for USOC Athletes Advisory Council (AAC), USA Shooting coaches/officials, and USA Shooting member clubs join four independent directors already previously elected as well as a senior representative of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
The three newest directors are as follows: three-time Olympian Keith Sanderson;long-time official and current Coast Guard rifle/pistol coach Richard Hawkins; and current Ole Mill Range club official and USA Shooting volunteer Lisa Kelley.
They join independent directors Paul Boyer, Barbara Bridendolph, Jeff Price and Kristen Raskopf. Susan Abbott, as the highest ranking ISSF official, gets an automatic spot on the newly constructed Board as well. Revisit the press release for naming of the first five BOD members.
Biographical detail on each new member is provided below.
Sanderson, Hawkins and Kelly will each serve four-year terms alongside Boyer, Bridendoph and Abbott. Price and Raskopf were each selected to serve two-year terms.
Two more seats remain to be elected including another athlete chosen from the disciplines of rifle, pistol, shotgun and Paralympics. An Advisory Council Chair will also be chosen among a group of representatives from allied and community-based organizations as well as other organizations and individuals providing significant resources to USAS.
At its March 12, 2016 meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Shooting’s Board of Directors unanimously and positively approved comprehensive reforms in the governance of USA Shooting.
In response to a Complaint filed with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) by athletes and other members of USA Shooting under Section 10 of the USOC Bylaws, representatives from USA Shooting and the Complainants worked with a Blue Ribbon Panel of experts appointed by the USOC to review and make recommendations on how to incorporate best practices and increased operational transparency into the governance structure of USA Shooting.
This work resulted in the development of Amended and Restated USA Shooting Bylaws and Governance Implementing Provisions that were adopted by the USA Shooting Board.
As a result of the reforms, USA Shooting’s Board of Directors is now transforming from a 15-person to a 10-person Board, reducing the number of constituency-based Board positions and ensuring that no employee of USA Shooting may be a voting member of the Board of Directors.
Five standing committees will exist as part of the new governance structure:
- Nominating and Governance
- Finance and Compensation
- Audit
- Judicial
- Ethics
The new USA Shooting Board of Directors will meet for the first time on March 11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
NEW USAS BOD MEMBER BIOS:
Keith Sanderson, Athlete Advisory Council Representative
The three-time Olympian Sanderson is a Rapid Fire pistol shooter in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program.
At age 17, he joined the Marine Corps where he spent the next eight years before joining the Army Reserves in 2001. He’s now Sergeant 1st Class in the Army and the most decorated Rapid Fire pistol shooter in American history.
Sanderson is a nine-time World Cup medalist and has been a mainstay on America’s World Championship Teams since 2005. He set an Olympic qualification record at the 2008 Beijing Games on his way to a fifth-place finish.
Richard Hawkins, USA Shooting Coach/Official Representative
Hawkins is currently in his fourth season as rifle/pistol coach at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and has served as a USA Shooting volunteer and official for 20 years.
The Michigan native went to college at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he graduated in June 1976 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree as a Second Lieutenant. He spent 10 years assigned to the United States Army Marksmanship Unit’s International Rifle Section where he competed in International Rifle competitions and won numerous medals before retiring in June 1996.
In 2001, Coach Hawkins was selected as the International Rifle Coach for the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and coached there until August 2013. He continued his education by earning his PhD in 2013 in Sports Science, concentrating on postural stability and shooting stance.
Lisa Kelley, USA Shooting Member Club Representative
Kelley is a long-time youth programs volunteer having spent the past 20 years working locally with national youth organizations including 4H, Girl Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, USA Shooting and other recreational programs.
She currently manages the Ole Mill Range, a USA Shooting Certified Training Center, in Griffin, Georgia. Her credentials include Level 3 Rifle Coach; Level 1 Pistol Coach; National Coach Development Staff; NRA Certified Range Safety Officer; ISSF B Judge approved for Rifle, Pistol, Target Control and Electronic Target Control.
Professionally, she is a Certified Extension Program Assistant for the University of Georgia in Spalding County.
Her primary responsibilities include working with youth to promote and encourage growth in communication, knowledge, ability, and group interaction.
About ELEY:
ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world’s most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000.
For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit their website.
About Winchester Ammunition:
Winchester Ammunition is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team: WinchesterÆ Ammunition has been the exclusive ammunition sponsor and supplier of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team since 1999. Members of the past two shotgun teams brought home a combined six medals from London and Beijing using Winchester AA International Target loads. Winchester is an industry leader in advancing and supporting conservation, hunter education and our country’s proud shooting sports heritage.
For more information about Winchester and its complete line of products, visit their website.
About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country.