Who should hold my proxy?
If you are going to assign a three-year proxy, you should assign it to someone whom you trust and whose general positions and approach to WorldMark, the Club matches well with yours. You should feel confident that you know how your proxy agent will vote on most issues.
Until recently, there was only one option for proxy holder: the WorldMark Board of Directors. The Board urged (and still urges) owners to assign them a three-year proxy in order to insure a sufficient quorum to allow the Club to conduct business at its annual meeting. For many years, the Board proudly declared that "Proxy votes were distributed to each of the candidates in the same proportion as the owner votes they received, thereby mitigating the board's influence on the election's outcome" (Destinations magazine Mar 2005 issue). Owners could assign their proxies to the Board with the assurance that they would be used ONLY to achieve quorum.
That is no longer the case. In the last several elections, the Board has used its proxies to quite deliberately influence the outcome of the election, over-riding the voice of the owners to keep themselves in power. (You can read more about election problems here.)
I recommend assigning your proxy to WM Owners, Inc. WM Owners is an organization of dedicated owners committed to "Supporting Owner Advocacy, Promoting Education, Encouraging Open Communication, and Creating Community." While you do not know who the candidates will be or what proposals will be on the ballot from year to year, you do know that in every case, WM Owners Inc will make the selection that is in the best interest of the ownership as a whole.
Click Here for a form and instructions for assigning a three-year proxy to WM Owners, Inc.
