June 2025

One of the leadership principles I hold most dear is transparency. When I joined IMUA, I committed to ensuring that important decisions—especially those that shape our governance—would not be made behind closed doors or left to tradition alone. That’s why I worked closely with the Board and Officers to form a special task force to evaluate some of our foundational processes. I was fortunate to have Anne Caliento lead the effort, alongside Tony Falcone, Jessica Frankovich, and Bradley Cameron, with legal counsel and strategic insights from Joe Grasso.

1. This group explored three important questions:
2. How should members apply for and be considered for Board service?
3. How should Board members express interest in becoming Officers?
4. What’s the appropriate term length for Board & Officer roles?

While a number of bylaw and structural updates have been made (shared more formally in an email to our corporate members and summarized again at the bottom of this post), I want to use this space to highlight one area that will likely matter most to many of you—how to become more involved in IMUA and what it takes to be considered for the Board of Directors.

As a bit of context, I have children approaching their college application years. We’ve been told that grades and test scores only go so far—what often helps differentiate is how students engage with their communities, their leadership roles, and what they contribute outside the classroom. I think the same holds true in our professional lives. At IMUA, we want board service to be open and accessible to any member who is deeply involved—regardless of title or tenure.

That’s why one of the most important changes we’ve made is the creation of a new Board Membership & Nominating Committee, which will lead the annual selection process for new Board members. This committee will evaluate applicants not on who they know or what role they hold, but on their contributions to IMUA—such as participating in committees, creating content, leading sessions, or driving engagement. In other words, if you are passionate about the inland marine community and you’re rolling up your sleeves to help advance the industry, we want you at the table.

We believe that leadership opportunities at IMUA shouldn’t be reserved for a small group of insiders. They should be earned, not granted. And we want that pathway to be clear, objective, and motivating. It’s my hope that being recognized as a board or Officer leader is not just a professional honor, but a reflection of your meaningful impact on the field we all care about.

You’ll hear more about the process to apply for 2026 board service this fall, with the formal application launching by October. For now, I’d encourage anyone with an interest to start by getting involved in one of our regional or technical committees—those are the true building blocks of IMUA’s work, and they provide a great platform to contribute, grow, and lead.

Lastly, I want to mention some key updates to our Officer roles. In the past, each Officer served two years in a role, leading to a six-year commitment overall. For many, that time frame was simply too long. We’ve shortened each role to a one-year term and added a new fourth Officer role: Past Chair. This ensures valuable continuity while making the commitment more feasible. I’m particularly grateful to Tony Falcone for agreeing to stay on one more year in this new capacity—his leadership continues to be a tremendous asset.

If you’d like further details of our governance updates, here is what was shared for formal ratification earlier in the spring:

Changes to the Board Membership:

• Board membership to be no less than 12 individuals and no more than 20.
• There will be 4 – 5 members in each class (3 classes) along with 4 officers.
• Board membership will be open to member companies and associate member companies, provided that they are members of IMUA for at least 3 years.
• Each class will be elected for 3 years and then may re-apply for consideration.

We will create two new committees to administer selection of board and officers.

• Board Membership & Nominating Committee for incoming Board Members:
  • Comprised of the President & CEO of IMUA, the Executive Vice President of IMUA, the Vice Chair of the Executive Board and one Committee member from the most recent class.
  • This Committee will announce the opening of nominations of the new class in Q4 of each year.
  • Interested applicable candidates, including expiring board members, are welcome to apply.
  • The Committee will meet in Q1 to select the 4 – 5 new members of the class.
• Officer Nominating Committee:
  • Comprised of the President & CEO of IMUA, the Executive Vice President of IMUA and the existing Officers.
  • Committee will select the newest Officer to join the existing three Officers.

Changes to the Officer Roles:

• Term for each Officer will be amended to one year instead of two.   
• There will be a newly created Officer role called Past Chair.
• The newly comprised Officer roles will be:
  • Finance Chair (1st year) -  Chair of Finance Committee           
  • Vice Chair (2nd year) – this Officer will participate on the new Board Membership & Nominating Committee
  • Chair (3rd year) – Senior officer in charge
  • Past Chair (4th year) – providing guidance

In summary, we’re proud of these changes—not just for what they are, but for what they represent: a commitment to transparency, to merit-based leadership, and to building a more inclusive and engaged future for IMUA.

As always, thank you for being part of this community.

—Matt