# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1981_S316
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

10. NOMINATIONS

10-01

Report on Nominations for President
and First Vice-President

The Secretary of the Synod was given considerable respons-
ibility in the new procedures introduced by the 1971 convention
of the Synod for nominating clergymen for President and First
Vice-President of the Synod.

Again this year he availed himself of the opportunity
granted under the Bylaws to engage an accounting firm (Ernst
and Whinney) to receive and tabulate the nominating ballots
submitted by member congregations. The same procedure was
followed also in previous instances.

For the first time this year the new Bylaw permitting
congregations to nominate two different individuals for each
of the two positions was operative. Some congregations re-
stricted themselves to one nominee for each position. Other
congregations, of course, submitted no nominations whatever.

In addition to those listed below, the following were notified
of their selection and given the opportunity to have their names
on the ballot. For President: Guido Merkens; for First Vice-
President: Ralph Bohlmann, Guido Merkens.

For various reasons they declined. In each instance the
clergyman with the next highest number of votes was then
designated as a nominee, as prescribed in the Bylaws. Since
the Dallas convention amended the Bylaws to provide for a
complete report to the convention Workbook, all tallies are
attached to this report.

Of those who received the highest number of votes, the
following have given their consent to serve if elected, as
required by the Bylaws, and therefore constitute the official
slate in alphabetical order:

For President:

Ralph A. Bohlmann, Clayton, Mo.
Gerhardt W. Hyatt, St. Paul, Minn.
Walter A. Maier, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Charles S. Mueller, Bloomingdale, II.
Robert C. Sauer, St. Charles, Mo.

315

For First Vice-President:

August Bernthal, Winter Haven, Fla.
Gerhardt W. Hyatt, St. Paul, Minn.
Walter A. Maier, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Charles S. Mueller, Bloomingdale, III.
Robert C. Sauer, St. Charles, Mo.

These two slates will be submitted separately, each at its
proper time, to the convention for adoption as presented or as
amended by the convention. In this connection it should be
noted that Bylaw 2.129 f states:

f. The convention shall have the right to alter each slate at the

proper time by amendment. The amendment procedure shall include

merely a motion, a second, and a vote on the amendment, deliberate-
ly excluding verbal characterizations and discussion of the motion

(except for the chair to ascertain that the requirements have been

met as to eligibility, consent, and the filing of the biographical form).

Any delegate making a nomination from the floor shall have secured

prior written consent of the candidate whom he wishes to nominate.

Such delegate shall immediately submit to the Secretary of the

Synod this document and written pertinent information concerning

his nominee as detailed in 2.129 e.

In order to make this procedure possible and manageable,
the Office of the Secretary has announced once again that it is
making available to those who wish to exercise this privilege in
order to meet the requirements of the Bylaws: a consent form
and a biographical information form. The announcement has
been made in the Lutheran Witness that these forms should be
requested from the Office of the Secretary as soon as possible so
that if the effort to place in nomination another individual by
means of a motion to amend the slate receives majority
support, this required material would be available immediately.

The biographical information forms submitted by the
nominees chosen by the congregations are attached to this
report.

Herbert Mueller, Secretary