FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2023
Contact: media@thehia.org | 707.874.3648
Hemp Industries Association Announces 2022 Board Election Results
Members vote for a diverse slate of volunteer leaders, continuing a nearly thirty-year tradition of democratic governance.
VANCOUVER, Washington – The Hemp Industries Association today announced the results of its 2022 election, which saw members vote to fill five available seats on the thirteen-member Board of Directors. Prior to the election, HIA members nominated a total of twelve eligible candidates to stand in this year’s election.
“The thing I love about this association is that it’s truly egalitarian,” said Jody McGinness, the association’s Executive Director. “Everybody gets one vote, with no weighting for seniority or membership level. It’s one of the things that sets the HIA apart: there’s no ‘pay-to-play’ element to how our leaders are chosen, everyone gets an equal say.”
Re-elected to the Board were incumbent President Mike Lewis, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and Annie Rouse, CEO of OP Innovates and Anavii Market —both of whom began their board service in 2019. Returning to the Board as an elected Director after a prior vacancy appointment is La Vonne Peck, Principal of Native Network Consulting. New Directors elected include Spencer Owens, Government Relations Specialist for CBD Kratom and Cynthia Cabrera, Chief Strategy Officer for Hometown Hero CBD.
Directors are elected for three-year terms, and receive no compensation for their service. HIA’s nonprofit bylaws require only that candidates be Farming or Business class members in good standing for at least the three months preceding the election, and there is no limit to the number of times a member can be re-elected.
Departing the Board are Rick Trojan, elected in 2018, as well as Treasurer Rob Davidson, who served two years after being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2020. The governing body of the nation’s foremost hemp nonprofit, the HIA’s Board of Directors has seen service from some of the industry’s most influential leaders since the association was founded in 1994.
ABOUT THE HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION
Founded more than 25 years ago by a group of hemp business owners and activists, The Hemp Industries Association is a membership-based nonprofit trade association that serves all facets of the U.S. hemp economy. Its mission statement reads: “To advance the hemp economy and educate the market for the benefit of our members, the public, and the planet.” For more information, visit thehia.org.