A Planet Nude reader’s guide to the 2026 AANR election
Everything AANR members need to know before June 20
Over the past couple of weeks, a number of people have reached out to me or posted online asking about the current American Association for Nude Recreation elections—what’s on the ballot, who’s running, who they should vote for, etc. As I told most of those people, I won’t say who or what anyone should vote for—that’s not my lane. But it’s become evident now that ballots have gone out to membership that some more information about the races could be beneficial for people out there. We’re publishing this alongside separate interviews with both presidential candidates.
The authoritative source for the 2026 election is the May issue of The Bulletin, AANR’s official publication. All the information I’m sharing in this guide, I found there. If you’re an AANR member and voting, the Bulletin is where you should go for the full picture (candidate profiles, the complete bylaw text, voting instructions). The Bulletin is available to members at aanr.com.
Voting opened May 1 and closes June 20, 2026. Ballots are handled through a third-party service called Vote-Now. Instructions come by email, so if AANR doesn’t have a current email address for you, it’s worth calling their office at 1-800-TRY-NUDE to update your record before the deadline. Members can also vote by phone.
Only current AANR members are eligible to vote. If you’re not a member, you can’t cast a ballot—but I’ll come back to why this might still matter to you.
But first, a disclosure: I serve as a volunteer on AANR’s PR Committee and I’m a longtime member. Planet Nude is editorially independent, and this piece isn’t coordinated with AANR leadership or produced on the organization’s behalf. I’m putting it together as editor of Planet Nude for readers who’ve been asking about the election, using information from the Bulletin as a starting point. I want to be clear about that overlap so you can weigh it appropriately.
What’s on the ballot
The 2026 ballot covers officers, regional trustees, and one proposed bylaw amendment. Below are the specific races and ballot items.
Officers
President:
Linda Weber (incumbent)
Joe Rives (AANR-Fl)
(Q&As with both candidates are linked at the bottom of this post)
Vice President:
Patty Faber (owner, Shangri La Ranch, former AANR-West president)
BG Parkes (Suwannee Valley Resort, AANR Hall of Fame)
Secretary/Treasurer:
Mitch London (Hill Country Nudists; uncontested)
Regional trustees
Your ballot will only show the trustee candidate or candidates from your region.
AANR-East:
Sandra Cordell (Empire Haven; uncontested)
AANR-Florida:
Ralph Collinson (AANR-Fl; uncontested)
AANR-Midwest:
David Levine (Dayton Warm Breezes, former AANR secretary/treasurer)
Brad McDonald (Avatan, retired physician)
AANR-Northwest:
Jenny Agee (The Willamettans; uncontested)
AANR-Southwest:
Bill Hobbs (Oaklake Trail)
Bob Redoutey (Star Ranch)
Janine Siegfried (AANR-SW vice president)
AANR-West:
Cyndi Faber (Shangri La Ranch)
Kathy Watzel (Mountain Air Ranch, former AANR president)
AANR-Western Canada:
No candidate profile submitted; not included in voter guide
Full profiles and candidate statements for all of these are in the May Bulletin, pages 20–26.
Bylaw amendment
There is one proposed bylaw change on the ballot. It would move the public-facing portions of the annual AANR convention (historically scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday mornings) to Friday evening and Saturday instead.
The rationale, as stated in the Bulletin, is straightforward: Wednesday and Thursday morning scheduling effectively limits in-person and remote participation to retirees. Moving the main events to the end of the week opens them up to working-age members. A shorter convention footprint could also reduce costs. However, concern has also been raised that an earlier week will likely conflict with back-to-school schedules for families and further limit attendance. The amendment text notes that the board has always had discretion over which week in August the convention falls on, and that discretion remains unchanged under the new language.
Members should review the full amendment text in the Bulletin before voting.
If you’re not an AANR member
AANR doesn’t set nudist policy, issue permits, or govern individual clubs. It’s a membership organization—a nonprofit that does advocacy, education, and government affairs work on behalf of nudists and naturists in the United States and Canada. What it does, it does through the collective weight of its membership.
That’s why the election matters even if you’re not voting in it. AANR is the oldest organized voice for nudism in North America. When legislation targets nude beaches, nudist clubs, or body freedom more broadly, AANR’s government affairs teams are typically the ones showing up. The stronger and more representative the membership, the stronger that advocacy.
The candidate Q&As
Planet Nude is also publishing separate Q&As with both presidential candidates today—identical questions, unedited answers, published in full. We focused on the presidential race because it's the only nationally contested executive race with two candidates. For all other races, the May Bulletin is your best resource.
Check out each below:
The Linda Weber interview is here →
The Joe Rives interview is here →
Your ballot, your call. 🪐