Voting & Election Regulations
Qualifications for Office:
1. Officers (President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer) must be a resident of the United States.
2. Officers have a two year rotating basis. This year the positions up for election are President and Treasurer.
3. Directors (state representatives) will serve a 1 year term and be up for election/re-election the following year.
4. Directors must be a resident of the US and reside full/part time in the State unless serving as an at-large Director.
Voting:
On each matter submitted to a vote of the Members, including but not limited to the election of Officers and Directors, the recall of Officers and Directors and any special elections and resolutions deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors, each member class shall have a vote as follows:
Festivals shall have one (1) vote
Clubs shall have one (1) vote
Individual members shall have one (1) vote
Meetings:
The annual meeting of the Members of this Corporation shall be held once a
year, at a time and place determined by the majority vote of the Board of Directors, for the purpose of electing Officers and
Directors and for the transaction of all other business as may come before the Members. Special meetings of the Members may
be called by the President or by the Board of Directors.
Notice of Meetings:
Electronic or printed notice stating the place, day, and hour of the
Members’ meeting, and, in case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered
within ten (10) days before the date of the meeting, either personally, or by electronic mail, by or at the discretion of the President,
the Secretary, or persons calling the meeting, to each Member of record entitled to vote at such meeting. If notice is given by
electronic mail, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when sent. Except as otherwise provided under the provisions of law
or these Bylaws, notice may also be delivered personally, or by telephone.
Nominee for Vice President:
MARIANNE SZUCS:
o Paddler for Puff Dragon Boat Racing Team In Miami, FL (2017 – Present)
o Paddler for Florida Tarpons (2018 – Present)
o Team USA SRA selected in 2021 (Hong Kong event cancelled)
o Coach for Puff Dragon Boat Racing Team in Miami (2022 – Present) currently training a Vietnamese community team for festival racing
o Competitive Handball player in National B League in Hungary
o Finished multiple marathons
o Karate student (current rank Blue Belt) Pan-American Champion in Beginner category
o Head of Advertising Operations for major publisher (2008 – present)
Nominee for Secretary:
BARBARA PALUSZEK:
Upon retirement in 2019 Barbara moved to The Villages in Florida and immediately got involved with Dragon Boating with the Leatherneck Warriors. After one year, Barbara transitioned to The Heat Dragon Boat Club. While on the Heat, Barbara has enjoyed both domestic and international competitions including Nationals (2021) and Worlds (2022). In addition, Barbara worked on Liz Bradley’s committee to develop the initial USDBF Paradragon Guide and worked with Liz on the development of an Orientation Guide for The Heat. In retirement, Barbara serves as the President of her neighborhood association and continues to Chair her church’s Liturgy Board in Bethlehem PA (through Zoom). Prior to retirement Barbara was the Director of HR for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc (Fortune 500 company) and served in the US Navy (8 years Active and 17 years Reserve). Retired as a Captain in 2006. In both organizations, Barbara has held multiple leadership roles.
Nominee for the State of Mississippi:
MIGNON BOUCHON:
Mignon Bouchon is currently the Director of Resource Development for United Way of South Mississippi, which serves Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River, and Stone Counties. Prior to Ms. Bouchon joining United Way of South Mississippi, she was an Account Executive with the Combined Federal Campaign for Federal Workers covering the entire state of Mississippi, which well prepared her for her role today. Ms. Bouchon is a member of the Gulfport Rotary Club, the Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and serves the Hancock County Emergency Food and Shelter Program as a Board Member. Ms. Bouchon excels in fundraising and has been the force behind United Way of South Mississippi’s annual “Dragon Boat Festival” for over 8 years. She is a member of the Southeastern Regional Dragon Boat Association. Mignon has 2 children and 5 grandchildren. She is a member of Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church.
Nominee for the State of Kentucky:
TERESA LANGEBRAKE:
I have been an avid dragon boat paddler since 2008 when first introduced to the sport in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 2015 I have been active with the dragon boat community in Louisville, Kentucky. I am a founding member of 502 Dragon Boat Community and currently serve on the board of directors as Vice Chair. We are a new club that started in 2020. Being a director with SRDBA would help to engage, guide and broaden the exposure of our club to the greater dragon boat community.
While serving with 502 Dragons, I received the Level 1 coaching certificate with Pan Am Dragon Boat and have completed the first phase of training as a steersperson. My goal while continuing to represent 502 Dragon Boat Community is to build awareness of the sport in the community, attend and race in festivals, and create opportunities to give back to our community in Louisville. I feel these goals align with those of SRDBA.
Nominees for Director At Large Positions:
BOB KANE:
Grandmasters of the Villages, Florida
1957 – 1961 United States Marine Corps
1962 – 1987 New York City Fire Department (NYFD)
1975 AA SCCC
1980 Educational Mythology National Fire Academy
1980 Assigned to the NYC Fire Academy for 1yr.
Present President of the New York City Fire Dept 343 Memorial Club in the Villages Fl
Super Senior Experience
∙ 2008: Began my dragon boat career in 2008 at the age of 70 with the Leathernecks, The Villages, Florida.
∙ 2010: Member of Leatherneck Team that participated in the National Championship, winning two silver medals (500m and 1000m).
∙ 2010: Leatherneck Warriors won the National Championship.
∙ 2012: Competed in the World Team Championships in Hong Kong with the Leatherneck
∙ 2014: Ravena, Italy. Coached the American Eagles, a select team representing the Grand Masters Club from The Villages, Florida.
∙ Through the years, I have coached the Leatherneck Warriors to numerous Medals and trophies.
∙ Opened the door to the deaf community with at least 10 deaf athletes successfully engaged in the sport of dragon boating. Three members of the deaf community competed on the American Eagles them in the World Championship in Ravena, Italy.
o The Leatherneck Warriors, currently have trained the only deaf female steersperson in the USA.
∙ 2016: Started Sparta 70, the first publicly known 70 and over dragon boat team in the USA.
o 2019: Scheduled to debut in Vancouver BC with at least 9 others over 70 teams from around the world. We worked closely with the Vancouver community to open the door to the super senior community.
∙ 2021: Requested a demonstration run in the USA Championship.
∙ Scheduled to compete in the SRDBA Championship which was subsequently cancelled.
BILL KING:
Bill King enthusiastically works to promote the sport of dragon boating in Kentucky through outreach and building
bonds with other clubs and the community. As a founding member of the 502 Dragon Boat Club, Bill has worked
to mentor others into leadership opportunities with the club and reach out to others in the community to expand
the sport of dragon boating in the greater Louisville area.
Bill started his foray into dragon boating in 2018. After recently moving to Louisville KY, he was looking for an
activity that both was physically challenging and provided an opportunity to meet others. After some free
introductory lessons, he was hooked. Along with other collogues from work he set about establishing company
teams at his workplace. In 2 years, the teams racked up 1 gold and 4 silver medals.
Outreach and sharing the sport of dragon boating are tenets that Bill continues to use to guide his involvement in
the sport. Bill works with other club teams in Kentucky to promote the sport either by leading training camps or
just volunteering to steer during a festival.
In 2020, Bill worked with other die-hard dragon boat paddlers in the Louisville area to establish a community-
based dragon boat team serving the greater Louisville area to continue promoting the sport of dragon boating.
Along the way, Bill has earned his level II dragon boat coaching certificate along with becoming a steer’s person for
the club. Currently Bill serves as the Funding Chair and is the senior coach and steers person for 502 Dragon Boat
Community, Inc.
DANA BAUER:
I would be honored to serve on the Board as an At Large Director. I am a member of Survivors In Sync, Inc. and the International Team LIPS. I currently serve as treasurer of Survivors In Sync and have held that position since 2015.