Robinson Roots Family Reunion, Inc. (RRFR, Inc.)

VERY IMPORTANT FAMILY NEWS!!!

Hello Robinson Roots Family:

First, we want to thank all who were able to attend our 45^th Annual Robinson Roots Family Reunion in Charleston, South Carolina September 2-5, 2022 in-person or by Zoom. We hope everyone had a great time. We were most pleased at the number of first-time attendees as well as family members who had not attended a Reunion in a long time. We do hope we continue to see all of you often at future Reunions.

We are sending this letter to all family members to first apologize for how the election for the President’s position was handled as well as the resulting confusion and wasted time. We, the Executive Board, take full responsibility for not being appropriately prepared and organized to manage the election process. As a result, there were several misunderstandings, missteps, and irregularities that call into question the validity of the election and voting process for the President’s position.

Second, we want to outline some of those irregularities to emphasize the seriousness of the actions and our efforts to be transparent about the major issues uncovered, identified, and reported that support the questionability of the election and voting process.

Third, we will outline the steps taken to address and rectify the election results as well as steps the Executive Board will take to ensure the nomination and election actions are proper and valid.

IRREGULARITIES:

No explanation or clarification what ‘recuse’ entails
Not clarifying the current President was ‘recusing’ himself from the process to avoid conflict of interest, and not from the nomination process
Not informing the Family that the incumbent President was eligible for nomination
Initial confusion about the nomination process
Excessive time lags in the nomination and election process
No complete instructions to the Family about the voting process
No clear declaration of who was eligible to vote
No accurate account of family members present
No accurate account of eligible voters
Not securing and maintaining control of the voting room
Not identifying appropriate counters or maintaining their privacy

As you can see, there were serious errors and irregularities acknowledged for the election of the President’s position, an admission we are not proud of at all. After consultation with outside experts in parliamentary procedure, and efforts to be fair to all potential candidates and you, the Family, we were advised and agreed as an Executive Board that the election and voting process for the President’s position was improper and invalid.

The Executive Board unanimously agreed because of the failures and irregularities to rescind or nullify the election process and results for the President’s position. By no means do we take this lightly for our part and accountability in this matter. We again do apologize.

By rescinding the election process and results for the President’s position, the current President, Charles Robinson will remain in office until a proper and valid election can be conducted at our next Robinson Roots Family Reunion scheduled for September 2023.

Over the next year, the Executive Board will take the following steps to ensure proper and valid nomination and election processes are in place and followed for all Family elections in the future:

Ensure all Executive Board members are trained and familiar in parliamentary procedures.
Ensure appropriate election procedures and processes are available
Implement the new ‘Robinson Roots Nomination and Election Process’ introduced at the 45^th Annual Robinson Roots Reunion.
Ensure each Chapter have access and follow an appropriate and valid election process.
Ensure the Family members are aware and have access to the nomination and election processes.

Additional measures or steps may be taken to ensure there are proper and fair nomination and election processes in place.

We, the Executive Board, would be most grateful for your patience and understandings as we try to rectify this unfortunate action and ensure we are fair and proper in all our actions. We will keep all apprised if additional information or changes are needed.

If you have any questions or need to discuss further, please contact any member of the Robinson Roots Executive Board.

Again, we thank you for your care and support and we look forward to hearing and possibly seeing you during the incoming year or at the next Family Reunion.

Sincerely,

The Robinson Roots Family Reunion, Inc. Executive Board