Nominating Committee Candidate Bios and Statements of Purpose Lainie DeMore – Midwestern and First Vice President: Bio: Lainie DeMore started skating as a toddler and continued to skate through high school. She summer skated in Lake Placid, NY for four summers passing her 7th Figure Test and Pre-Gold dances before she stopped actively skating. Returning to the skating community after college and graduate school, she became a National Accountant and a Level 3 Technical Accountant. She has officiated at numerous qualifying and international competitions and was the Chief Accountant for the 2000 U.S. Championships in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. In the Cleveland area, Lainie has served on the Board of the Winterhurst Figure Skating Club as well as Chair of the Greater Cleveland Council of Figure Skating Clubs. Previously, she served as an At-Large Board Member of U. S. Figure Skating, on various committees and as Membership Development Group Coordinator. She is completing her third year as Midwestern Vice President. Lainie is married to Harry Gleeson (USFS Announcer), whom she met at a figure skating competition. Prior to her retirement, she worked in the non-profit sector as the Information Technology manager at a multi-theatre entertainment complex in downtown Cleveland and as a project manager in the Information Technology area for a large multi-state financial institution. Statement of Purpose: It is an honor to be asked to continue to serve as Midwest and First Vice President. Communication to clubs and members as well as listening to their concerns is of highest importance. It’s critical that we maintain strong, healthy and sustainable clubs to attract and retain our membership. Clubs are the foundation of the organization and their members provide a substantial portion of the annual revenue that allows for funding of programs at all levels, which in turn benefit the skaters, the clubs and all facets of the organization. In addition, the Vice President must provide a complimentary role for the committees and especially for the Membership Committee, being a resource for members and clubs to assist them in navigating through the skating community, the sport, and the U. S. Figure Skating organizational structure. The association needs to continue on the current path of financial steadiness. The business plan has proved to be an excellent planning tool and provides a financial structure that is reviewed and updated by the Board every year for the coming 4-year period. It allows committees to plan tactically and strategically, but permits flexibility when appropriate. The success of the Learn to Skate USA rollout as well as the Get Up initiative reflect the Board’s commitment to member retention and the need to keep the sport growing to ensure the future health of the organization on all levels and perspectives. These two most visible initiatives will continue through the Olympic cycle and beyond and provide momentum to expand the membership horizon and bring skating to new places and people. The 2016 ISU Congress was very successful for the Association and it’s important that the organization continue to provide a leading presence, both formally and informally, in the ISU leadership and committee structure. I look forward to collaborating with the Board, Headquarters staff, clubs and members in the coming Olympic year. Anne Cammett – Eastern and Second Vice President: Bio: From a young age, Anne has been actively involved in figure skating. She is a gold medalist in Figures & Freestyle, competed in both Singles & Dance and has been a U.S. Figure Skating judge for over 30 years. She is a Singles & Pairs National and ISU Judge and Referee. Highlights from her career as an official include serving as Chief Referee at the 2011 U.S. Nationals (Greensboro, NC) and as the U.S. Pair Judge at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Anne has served the past two years as the Eastern Vice President; prior roles include chair of the Judges, the International Judges & Officials, and the International committees as well as serving on numerous other committees in a various capacities. Anne enjoys judging and refereeing many non-qualifying competitions and local test sessions throughout the year. She has co-chaired non-qualifying competitions and served on two club boards (currently as a board member of the Genesee Figure Skating Club and previously as a board member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia). She has attended numerous Governing Councils as a club delegate. She looks forward to continuing to leverage her vast experience in this role. Anne works for a global manufacturing company and resides in Rush, a small town near Rochester, New York with her husband, Greg, and their daughter; their son currently attends college in nearby Buffalo. Anne enjoys skating recreationally as time permits. Statement of Purpose: It is an honor to be nominated to continue serving as Eastern Vice President for the 2017-18 season. In this role I will continue to communicate the interests of the Eastern section to the national membership via participation on the board and conversely, communicate national initiatives to the Eastern section so local clubs are fully informed and aware regarding activities, initiatives and objectives of our association. I will continue using various avenues such as sectional conference calls and email to communicate information to member clubs and as a means of soliciting feedback, as well as reaching out and talking with members in-person when participating in events as a judge/referee. My desire is to be accessible to the Eastern community which I represent. I will be fully engaged supporting current board initiatives toward their path to successful implementation, pursuing the next set of tasks associated with our strategic initiatives and continuing to focus on projects which translate into membership retention, growth and renewed interest and enthusiasm in figure skating. Sharon Watson – Pacific Coast and Third Vice President: Bio: Sharon fell in love with the sport of figure skating when she skated as a child in Buffalo, and has thoroughly enjoyed contributing to its well-being, in a variety of ways, ever since. She has served as an official for 30 years and is a national judge in singles, pairs and synchronized skating, a national data/video operator, a regional technical controller and referee, and international team leader. She has held many leadership positions in U.S. Figure Skating, including Vice President these past 2 years, Secretary, Board of Directors member, Chair of the Strategic Planning, Membership, and Sanctions & Eligibility Committees, Chair of the Harassment and Abuse Task Force, Sectional Vice Chair of the Judges Committee and Regional Vice Chair of the Competitions Committee. She has served on many other committees, including Nominating, International, International Judges & Officials, Selections, Synchronized Skating, Finance, Audit, Rules, Marketing/Sponsorship and the SafeSport Subcommittee and was a member of the Tonya Harding Disciplinary Hearing Panel. She has also been a club delegate to Governing Council for the past 26 years. On the local level, Sharon has served as Chair of the Southern California Inter-Club Association and President of the Pasadena FSC and has been a club board member since 1983. She also served on the LOC for the 2016 Southwest Pacific Regional Championships, 2013 Adult Sectional Championships, 2011 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, a U.S. Olympic Festival and several other events. Professionally, until she recently retired, Dr. Watson was the Executive Director of several nonprofit organizations and helped create a host of countywide policies that have improved the lives of Los Angeles foster and probation youth and the child welfare system that serves them. Her daughter, Carrie, is also a National judge and the Assistant Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Child Protection. Statement of Purpose: It is a tremendous honor to be nominated to serve another term as Pacific Coast Vice President of U.S. Figure Skating and I look forward to continuing to fulfill the responsibilities of that office. As vice president these past two years, I’ve greatly appreciated getting to know and work with many club leaders throughout the Pacific Coast section through our monthly conference calls, local competitions, and other ways of connecting. I plan to build on and extend current efforts to share information, listen to each other’s concerns, learn about resources and practices that help clubs function optimally and explore fresh opportunities to grow and strengthen participation in every facet of skating. During this coming year, I will continue to work with the Board and staff on the Learn to Skate USA rollout and Get Up marketing campaign. I believe that, together, these initiatives are already having and will continue to have a huge impact on our sport by attracting hundreds--maybe even thousands--of new skaters and fans. They should also very positively affect our athletes, parents, coaches, clubs and rinks by generating a much greater understanding of figure skating and its many benefits. I will do everything I can to help make both of these initiatives as successful as possible. In addition, I think the governance projects the Board launched this year--the Nominating Committee Assessment and Committee Realignment--are going to lead to enhanced communication, decision-making and improved functioning. The ideas generated so far are thoughtful and insightful and should be even further enhanced as they are considered by our membership during this next year. I have every confidence that they will lead to positive change. I am very proud of our Association and its many accomplishments and I look forward to being a part of its continuing achievements during 2017-18. Heather Nemier – Secretary: Bio: Heather Nemier is currently serving her fourth term as secretary of U.S.