Mike Ellis to run for ANA president
Former American Numismatic Association board member Mike Ellis announced his intention to run for ANA president Jan. 6, 2017, during the Florida United Numismatists convention in Fort Lauderdale. He is…
Former American Numismatic Association board member Mike Ellis announced his intention to run for ANA president Jan. 6, 2017, during the Florida United Numismatists convention in Fort Lauderdale.
He is attempting a comeback. Ellis resigned from the board Jan. 9, 2015, also at a FUN convention.
He was a political victim as the ANA moved forward to settle a lawsuit that had been filed against it by former executive director Larry Shepherd.
Only a vague reason was given at the time. “He realized he had made a mistake and chose to step down from the board,” were the words of then President Walter Ostromecki.
The suit filed by Shepherd was settled soon thereafter with undisclosed terms.
Ellis remained a member of ANA in good standing with no restriction on his right to run for the board in the future.
An ANA press release later said that “Ellis will continue as an instructor for the Florence Schook School of Numismatics, which includes teaching at Summer Seminar and numismatic events across the country.”
Ellis is running for president on a number of issues.
The Professional Numismatists Guild and the American Numismatic Association are too close, he believes.
“I would like to separate the PNG from the ANA,” he said.
As for legal issues, he is a fan of the present quiet. He wants the ANA “not to go to court again.”
But internally, he objects to the role of the present legal counsel. He wants a new one. “She’s making a killing off us breathing down our neck 24/7,” he said. Hollie Wieland is ANA’s general counsel.
“I love Summer Seminar. I love all that ANA does with the museum program, the Internet and shows,” Ellis said.
He would like ANA to “concentrate on making those things as enjoyable as they are.
He is not the first person to try this kind of comeback. Ostromecki had resigned in 2005 before returning to ANA politics and winning the top spot in 2013.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today
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