Founding member Tom Hufford stepping down from SABR Board of Directors
We are now in the midst of another SABR election cycle, and this year we will be voting on three offices: those of President and two of the Director positions. One of the Director terms that is expiring is the one that I have held for the past three years. After much soul-searching — probably too much — I have decided not to run for re-election.
I was privileged, and have been very honored, to have been one of SABR’s Founding Members, on August 10, 1971. Over the years, I have been very active in SABR activities, when it was possible for me to do so, and not so active at other times, when the demands of my professional career took much of my time.
In June 2003, my wife Nan — bless her heart! — said, “Why don’t you just take some time and do something you enjoy?” It wasn’t hard to decide what I wanted to do: more baseball research! But not just the biographical research that I’d been doing for about 35 years. I wanted to get back to being more active in SABR, and I decided to do what I’d been asked to do several times: run for office in the next election. So in 2004, I ran for the open Director position, and was humbled to be chosen by the SABR voters from among a very qualified slate of candidates.
I was honored to be re-elected to a Director position in both 2007 and 2010, and have tried to serve to the best of my ability. There is nothing I would rather do than to continue to serve on the Board, and I don’t presume to guess whether or not I would be elected again. However, I’ve long felt that anyone who would think about eventually running for one of the SABR offices (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and to a lesser extent, Secretary) would be well-served to spend time on the Board as a Director, to gain familiarity with the workings of the business side of the Society. And I do understand the natural reluctance that potential candidates might have in running against an incumbent for an office. But we do have a need to have openings on the Board, to welcome and nurture the future leaders of SABR, and that’s what I would like to do.
I want to encourage any of you who would like to be involved in guiding the future of SABR to run in the upcoming election. Serving on the Board won’t always be easy, it won’t always be fun. Being on the Board means you will have to make hard choices along the way, but I think the opportunities for SABR in the future are limitless. Five years ago, we couldn’t have imagined some of the things SABR is doing today — and I think the future is bright! We need some bright, energetic members to throw their hats in the ring, to help guide our future. I know you’re out there, I’ve met you!
I can assure you there isn’t anyone who loves SABR more than I do, and I look forward to being involved in SABR activities for a long time to come.
The SABR we have today is very different than the SABR we had when I served as Secretary in 1976. Of course it is — just think about how much change there has been in every other area of our lives since then. I have been blessed to be a small part of this organization for more than 41 years, and have been honored to be able to work with such a hard-working and capable group of SABR Officers, Directors, staff — and members — for the past nine years. Thanks so much for letting me be part of the team!
TOM HUFFORD has served on SABR’s Board of Directors since 2004. He was one of the 16 founding members of SABR in 1971 and was the organization’s secretary in 1976.
Related links:
- Call for 2013 SABR Board of Director nominations: Are you interested in running for the SABR Board? Apply by March 1, 2013
- Learn more: SABR was founded on August 10, 1971, in Cooperstown, New York
- YouTube: Tom Hufford talks about his role as a founding member of SABR (July 8, 2011)
This page was last updated on Friday, February 15, 2013.