OCEAN PINES—The
Ocean Pines Association 2013 Election Committee is beginning a busy two weeks
as the Aug. 8 deadline for submitting ballots in the Board of Directors
election nears, Committee Chairwoman Judy Butler said July 29. There are six candidates to fill three open
positions on the board of directors: Jack Collins, Bill Cordwell, Roland
Langevin, Les Purcell, Tom Terry and Ray Unger.

According to the election
committee, eligible members who opt to mail in their ballots must do so early
enough that the ballots are received by Aug. 8. Members who want to submit
their ballots in person can drop them off in the ballot box located inside the
Police Station at the OPA Administration Building by 6 p.m. on Aug. 8.

Butler said she will
deliver the election results, which will be announced at the annual community
meeting on Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. at the Community Center at 235 Ocean Parkway. “If
you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, you should complete the Quorum
Proxy form enclosed with your election materials and return the form in the
enveloped marked Proxy,” the committee said.

Butler said 7,500 ballots
were mailed out for this year’s election and encouraged all who are eligible to
vote. “I hope people understand that the people on the board are key to the
success of this community because of the importance of the decisions they make,
especially the fiduciary decisions,” she said.

For the most part, Ocean
Pines residents are pretty diligent in meeting their civic duty to vote, Butler
said. In the three years she has served, the vote

count has ranged from
3,500-5,000, she said. The higher range number was from the vote on the
referendum on whether to renovate the Yacht Club,

she said. “The community
was very engaged on that vote,” she said. Campaign signs have decorated the
landscape throughout the community and in the final days leading up to the
election the candidates were making their final bids to woo voters who have not
yet cast their ballots.

“I would like to remind
those that have not yet cast their ballot to give that a lot of thought. I have
seen firsthand during my four years on the Board that board members who stick
doggedly to a single agenda accomplish next to nothing, including the ones who
get the most Press,” Purcell said.

“The question that each
of us has to ask is, ‘Do we keep moving forward like we have been for the last
couple of years or do we stop the progress?’” Cordwell said. “The only way to
answer that question is for folks to mark their ballots and put them in the
mail.”

“OPA Member participation
is critical to having the majority voice heard,” Tom Terry said. “Your vote
counts. It sets the future direction of the community.”

Terry continued: “While I
will not attack other candidates who have willingly stepped up to offer to
serve; there are differences in the visions various candidates have for our
future. Board members will not always agree, but the disagreements must be
based on facts and logical thinking; not rancor.”

“This election campaign
went by very quickly and it seems like only yesterday that I drove to the
administration center to register for the race,”

Collins said. “The
numerous phone calls and e-mails I received during the campaign were examples
of a caring membership that desires to elect someone with whom they can identify.”

Collins called the
campaign a “rewarding experience.” Questions or requests for replacement ballots
can be answered at the Elections telephone number 410-208-3989. The Elections
Committee said its representatives will be monitoring messages until Aug. 9.