Thought I'd drop in here to help with the question since my name has been brought up several times within this thread. I was one of the first national/world ranked American athletes who started to attend our NGB's Annual Convention back in 1979 when we were not formally invited and our attendance was not mandated (and paid for) via bylaws like it is now with Athletes Advisory Council. I believe that Dwight Stones and Edwin Moses was there with me back in Dec of '79 at Reno. I attended 10 straight national conventions until I got frustrated by the sluggish bureaucracy and also was not making many Nat'l teams any more and also was facing some financial limitations in December (Christmas!) and was spending about $1000 per convention to attend... as polevaultpower can attest to. I was never subsidized by the national office to be there. I had met Bill Roe just the month earlier when I had attended the '79 AAU Nat'l X-C Champs that Club Northwest had hosted. Bill was a founder of CNW. I also found out that he was involved with the Men's Long Distance Running Committee as a rep from his AAU region. Bill has been involved in AAU/TAC/USATF since before '79. He has served in the Men's LDR Committee but also in the upper Nat'l echelon as Secretary, V-P, and finally, President of USATF for 2 terms (8 years) and was the sitting President before Stephanie Hightower. I believe that USATF Presidents are limited to 2 terms and then have to take 2-4 years off before running for the office again. While not a hot shot athlete himself, Bill has been a coach and administrator in our sport since well before '79...or quite some time now. Currently Bill serves as LDR Chair (over both M & W committees) and has been team leader or coach on 30-40 teams over the many years. So, despite not having heavy athletic credentials of his own... he is well qualified and educated/experienced in coaching and event administration. I hope I have done his credentials justice here. He and I were 2 of 9 nominations submitted to the USATF President's office for the position of USATF nominee to the IAAF Cross Country Committee. Bill and I made the final cut and had to present our best arguments for why we should be selected by the board for this position ... in a timed 3 min. presentation with opportunity to answer any questions after by any BOD members. I found out just 2-3 weeks before the convention that I was a finalist but didn't know that I was up against Bill until 2 days before I left. I paid my own way there with some help from my local USATF Ozark chapter. Bill was there in an official capacity due to his LDR Chair role and I believe USATF paid his way in. Bill has contributed much to USATF and our sport in his career and I lauded him appropriately in my presentation to both the Men's LDR group and to the BOD. Looking back.... Bill had a huge advantage over me by having long experience with many of the BOD members for the past 10-15 years during which he worked with most of them when he was V-P or President. He probably has attended 100's of meetings and meals with most of them. I only had 3 minutes to state my background and my case. I received no questions. I qualified for 10 American X-C Teams to attend the World Championships.... more than even Pat Porter. I was also invited to be on 2 others back when the Top American at the NCAA Champs was given an auto berth... but I declined due to my college schedule. I am the only American man to ever win the World Title... which I did twice. I was a heavy recruiter of other top athletes after I made my first team ...and 4 of my 10 teams got 2nd and 2 of them got 3rd in the WC. I also hosted/organized/secured sponsorship for the '83 US Trials...as well as competed in them... getting 2nd to Salazar at his prime. I was the Junior Team coach in 07 that went to Mombasa, Kenya... the most challenging of any U.S. Team trip I have ever been privileged to be a part of. Finally, I was invited by Seb Coe last December to participate in the first Global Seminar on Cross Country to make a speech on what the sport meant in my career and why the World Champs should be saved....as they are on shaky ground right now in many areas. I also participated in several round table discussions to brainstorm how to reform/update the WC's. I was encouraged by the IAAF Committee members present to go back and go thru my NGB to get nominated for the IAAF Committee so I could be an official member. And, that is precisely what I did. Bill had to leave before the election results were known and we both shook hands out in the hall and pledged to work with whomever won in an effort to save the World X-C Champs and to enhance the status of the sport in the IAAF hierarchy. Bill won the vote and I intend to keep my word. I will also continue to do my own work to promote/enhance X-C at the middle school and H.S. levels in the USA. Best wishes to Bill in his nomination to the IAAF committee during the next IAAF Congress in August. I don't think that the IAAF Committee can overturn USATF's nomination vote the way that the USATF BOD overturned the membership vote in the most recent controversy for our NGB. Any questions?