Board of Directors
The election of members to the General Conference board of directors was unusual at this convention. Because the 2021 Convention was cancelled, this forced several board members to serve an extra two years. Also, two board members resigned between the 2019 and 2023 Conventions. Therefore, nine members of our twelve-member board were elected during the 2023 Convention. Daniel Flores, Jr., Greg Lincoln, Wayne Hrenyk, and Reuben Zaragoza were elected to six-year terms. Ruben Beard, Raul Romo, Ron Cummings, and Tim Endecott were elected to four-year terms. Neftali Hernandez was elected to a two-year term. Narciso Bentances, Kirk Grant, and Dennis O’Banion each has two years remaining in his current six-year term. These twelve men make up the 2023-2025 General Conference board of directors.
Following the last business session of convention on Friday, the new board met briefly to elect officers and consider a few initial business matters. The officers of the 2023-2025 board are Dennis O’Banion, chairman; Kirk Grant, vice chairman; Wayne Hrenyk, secretary; and Greg Lincoln, treasurer.
Business Sessions
The convention business sessions were ably led by Chairman Samuel Holland. In addition to electing members to the 2023-2025 General Conference board of directors and receiving reports required by the General Conference bylaws, the members in session also conducted other mandatory and optional business. As required by the bylaws, the
members in session elected two members to the 2023-2025 Nominating Committee.
Four proposed amendments to the General Conference bylaws were adopted. These amendments 1) added to the article regarding the North American Ministerial Council to bring the GC bylaws into alignment with the NAMC bylaws; 2) added a section prohibiting the amendment of the GC bylaws “in any way that creates or negates an established doctrine of the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day)”; 3) changed the name of the Voter Registration Committee to Voter Credentials Committee to eliminate confusion of the Voter Registration Committee and the GC Convention Registration Committee; and 4) added to the section regarding the GC Nominating Committee to clarify its role and responsibilities. An updated version of the GC bylaws is, or soon will be, available online in both English and Spanish.
One resolution was considered and adopted. It calls for the creation of a committee to study the feasibility of online electronic voting, allowing all eligible GC members to participate in business sessions “regardless of convention attendance.”
Closing moments of the 2023 business sessions included the chairman’s appointment of Greg Lincoln, Kirk Grant, and Richard Palmer as the 2023-2025 Amendments Committee. Also, GC President Loren Stacy and Vice Chairman Dennis O’Banion presented a commemorative gavel to Chairman Samuel Holland, honoring his outstanding service as a board of directors member since 2005 and as chairman of the board since 2015.
