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Election of Board Chairman

Whereas the Board Governance Committee has unanimously recommended that Vinton Cerf be elected as Chairman of the Board.

Resolved [03.175] that Vinton Cerf is elected as Chairman of the Board, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold such office until his resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until his successor shall be elected and qualified.

Election of Board Vice-Chairman

Whereas the Board Governance Committee has unanimously recommended that Alejandro Pisanty be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Board.

Resolved [03.176] that Alejandro Pisanty is elected as Vice-Chairman of the Board, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold such office until his resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until his successor shall be elected and qualified.

Election of Corporate Officers

Resolved [03.177] that Dr. Paul Twomey is reconfirmed as President and Chief Executive Officer, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold his office until his resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until his successor shall be elected and qualified.

Resolved, [03.178] that John Jeffrey is reconfirmed as General Counsel and Secretary, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold his office until his resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified.

Resolved, [03.179] that Kurt Pritz is reconfirmed as Vice President, Business Operations, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold his office until his resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified.

Resolved, [03.180] that Diane Schroeder is reconfirmed as Chief Financial Officer, to serve at the pleasure of the Board and in accordance with the Bylaws of the Corporation, and shall hold her office until her resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until her successor shall be elected and qualified.

Thanks for Meeting Assistance

Whereas, ICANN has successfully completed its 2003 annual meeting in Tunisia;

Whereas, the planning and execution of the meeting has been conducted in exemplary fashion;

Whereas, the gracious and warm hospitality, splendid facilities, strong support, and close attention to fulfilling the needs of participants have all been truly magnificent;

It is therefore resolved [03.181]:

The ICANN Board expresses its deep appreciation and thanks, on its own behalf and on behalf of all participants, to the Tunisian Internet Agency and Dr. Faryel Beji, under the patronage of the Ministry of Communications Technology and Transport and Mr. Sadok Rabeh, and with the collaboration of Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Handicrafts and Mr. Mondher Znaidi.

The Board also extends its thanks to all sponsors of the meeting, including IPv6 Forum Tunisia; Arabic Internet Names Consortium; the Office National du Tourisme Tunisiene; Tunisie Telecom; Tunis Air; Planet; GlobalNet; CEPEX; VeriSign; SOCOPA; Sotetel; and the many international and national sponsors.

The Board thankfully acknowledges the unstinting hard work of the staff of the Tunisian Internet Agency, particularly Lamia Chaffai Sghaeir; and Donia Jemail of the Tunisian National Tourist Office; and the Miramar Carthage Palace Hotel for this magnificent facility.

We would like to especially acknowledge the effort made by the General Manager of the hotel, Orlando Kouch, and his staff to meet all of our many requests.

The Board expresses its great appreciation to the ICANN staff present here in Carthage; Laura Brewer; and Terri Darrenougue and the rest of the ICANN staff for their dedicated efforts in ensuring the smooth operation of the meeting.

Remembrance of Jon Postel

Resolved [03.182] that the ICANN Board places into the minutes of its meeting of 31 October 2003 in Carthage, Tunisia, a letter from the family of Jonathan Postel commemorating the 5th anniversary of his passing.

Further resolved [03.183] that the ICANN Board reiterates its commitment to the key goals towards which Jon worked during his life and career: stable operation of the Domain Name System and continued evolution of the Internet.

10/16/03

Dear Friends of Jon,

While we prefer to celebrate the anniversary of his birthday on August 6th, this is five years today since we lost Jon -- Internet pioneer, family member, friend, colleague, mentor, writer, RFC editor, leader, listener, visionary, mediator, researcher, backpacker, and photographer; an art-loving international traveler, naturalist, gardener, native Californian, and storyteller; a fair-minded, level-headed, beard-and-sandals nice guy. He also loved libraries and the Sierras, could get angry when people didn't follow through with what they said they'd do, and quietly championed women's rights. He helped us all believe that, "The Internet is for everyone."

At his sudden death, hundreds of moving tributes were sent from around the world, beginning with Vint Cerf's RFC 2468, and there were memorial gatherings in Los Angeles. The transfer of responsibility from IANA to ICANN had just been formalized, and that public process was unfolding. Five years ago, the family felt overwhelming grief as well as gratitude, and did not know how to thank so many people for their thoughtfulness, kind words, prayers, and generosity. We still don't know how but thought you'd like to know that various posthumous honors have arisen; we'll try to list them here but wonder if we've missed some? (And let us know if perhaps we've listed these in some way that is inaccurate.) Each of these works is the result of the combined efforts of many people who admired Jon and wanted to find ways to continue the spirit of his life's work. Good-hearted collaboration was a hallmark of the way he worked and lived, so these are all wonderful accomplishments.

Recurrent tributes:

• The Internet Society -- The Jon Postel Distinguished Service Award, a fund was endowed to honor those who have served modestly and selflessly for the benefit of the Internet and its netizens, with Jon as the first recipient in June of 1999 (www.isoc.org).
• University of California, Los Angeles, Computer Science Department -- The Jonathan B. Postel Distinguished Lecturer Series (www.cs.ucla.edu).
• Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California
• The Postel Center for Experimental Networking (PCEN), a research facility and program (www.postel.org).

Other honors:

• Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) -- Jon Postel, Pioneer of the Electronic Frontier, 1999 (www.eff.org).
• Omneon VideoNetworks named a conference room after Jon.
• A scholarship fund at the University of Pennsylvania (1998 or 99?) and a professorship at one of the Claremont Colleges in California (2001?).
• The Nigerian ISOC has been working on several small projects that are impressive. Giandomenico Massari has been kind enough to keep us informed with messages and photographs:
  • A new IT Center at the University of Port Harcourt. The Rivers State Governor graced the occasion along other dignitaries and University authorities, staff and students. The inscription on the building says: "T. Y. Danjuma IT center, dedicated to the memory of Jon Postel, Internet Pioneer, 1943-1998" -- dedicated October 23, 2002.
  • A new IT center at the Port Harcourt Branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers, dedicated May 17, 2003.
  • A third IT Center, this one located at the Nigerian Society of Engineers, dedicated October 3, 2003.
  • Three more projects are planned by the ISOC Nigeria Chapter. First is another IT center, to be donated to the University of Port Harcourt, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The next will focus the Internet on telemedicine, with local and foreign organizations involved to create an IT center for telemonitoring and video conferencing will benefit the health of Nigerian patients. A third will be a teaching room with a multimedia projector connected to a consulting room, so doctors can discuss specific therapies and use these resources to improve the Nigerian medical system and the training of medical staff.
• The Jon Postel Memorial Grove, redwoods and oaks planted in his honor (private).

We know, too, that you have each found personal ways to acknowledge Jon's contributions and to move forward with your life and work, happy to have known him.

Warmly and with gratitude,

Lois Postel and Family

In addition to this organizational meeting, the ICANN Board also held its regular annual meeting in Carthage, Tunisia on 31 October 2003.

This file last modified 26-Mar-2007

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