Board of Governors, Directors, Regents, Trustees, Visitors etc.

——-See Also: A post on use of Chairman vs. Chairwoman vs. Chair.

How to Address a Member a Board
How to Address a Chairman, Chairwoman, Chair of a Board

—-Envelope or address block of an email:
—-—-Mr./Ms./Dr./etc. (Full Name)——Note #1
—-—-Chairman / Chairwoman / Chair
—-—-Board of (Type of Board)
—-—-(Address)

————Which looks like:
—————–Ms. Christina Dorsey
—————–Chair
—————–Henrico County Board
—————–(Address)

—————–Mr. James B. Murray Jr.
—————–Rector
—————–Board of Visitors
—————–University of Virginia
—————–(Address)

—-—-Mr./Ms./Dr./etc. (Full Name)——Note #1
—-—-Member
—-—-Board of (Type of Board)
—-—-(Address)

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Note #1):  Chairman, chairwoman, chair and member are included on a letter’s address block – but not necessary on a mailing envelope.

Members of a boards of governors, directors, regents, trustees visitors, etc. are not formally addressed in writing as (Special Rank)+(Name), e.g., Regent Smith, Trustee Jones, or Governor Wilson.  Members of a boards are formally addressed as Mr./Ms./Dr./whatever honorific they typically use + name and are identified as a chair or member of a Board of (name of board).

So, a member of a board of governors might orally be referred to as Governor (Name) -0r- be identified in a conversational question, ‘What time will Governor Wilson be here?’  But members of a board of governors are members and not formally addressed as Governor (name). H

This is the same pattern as directors on a board of directors; regents on a board of regents; trustees on a board of trustees; and visitors on a board of visitors.

Note #2):  See also a post on use of the terms Chairman, Chairwoman and Chair.  How to Address a Governor, Board of Governors

Note #3):  If the person is a member of an elected board or a high appointed Federal board and is addressed as the Honorable (Full Name), see this form also here.

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Are Presidentially Appointed Board Members Addressed as The Honorable?

I would like to know if the presidentially-appointed members of the Kennedy Center board are considered the Honorable (Full Name)?
———————– Beth Norris

Dear Ms. Norris:
Very few boards are the Honorable (Full Name) based upon their service on a board.  The Honorable is reserved for those who are BOTH appointed by The President (POTUS) AND individually approved by the Senate. Some chairs & members of very high boards are the Honorable … e.g. the Federal Reserve … but members of most boards, councils, are typically not.  Call the office and inquire, but my prediction is they are not addressed in writing as the Honorable (Full Name).

There are Members of the Kennedy Center board who are Ex-Officio Designated by Act of Congress who are the Honorable based on other service. So they are the Honorable but not based on being on this board.

If you want more detail on use of the Honorable follow the link in the list at right.

– Robert Hickey How to Address a Member of a Board How to Address a Chairman of a Board How to Address a Governor, Board of Governors

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

How to Address a Member of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve?

Is a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors properly referred to as ‘the Honorable (Name)’?
————————-– Doug L.

Dear Doug L.,
All are appointed by The President and approved by the US Senate.

The site says: Appointments to the Board – The seven members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve 14-year terms of office. Members may serve only one full term, but a member who has been appointed to complete an unexpired term may be reappointed to a full term. The President designates, and the Senate confirms, two members of the Board to be Chairman and Vice Chairman, for four-year terms.

To be ‘the Honorable’ as an appointed office holder you need both the appointment and the confirmation

So, yes, all the Governors at the Federal Reserve are ‘the Honorable’.

– Robert Hickey

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

What to Address the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve?

What is the form of address for the Chairman of the Federal Reserve?
—-What I did was:
—-—-Mr. John Doe
—-—-Governor
——–U.S. Federal Reserve System
—-—-(Address)
—-And the salutation:
—-—-Dear Governor Doe:
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-– Wales Williams

Dear Mr. Williams:
The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank is appointed by the President (POTUS) and individually confirmed by the Senate …. so, the chair is addressed as ‘the Honorable (Full Name)’.

But a more important point for you is that those on the Board of Governors are not ‘Governors’ … they are ‘members’ or the ‘chairman’ of a Board of Governors.

Members of a Board of Regents … of a Board of Visitors …. of a Board of Directors …. are all handled the same way. They are formally addressed as ‘Mr./Ms./Dr./etc. (Name)’ and are identified as member/chairman of the board of (whatever).

‘Governor’, ‘regent’, ‘director’ might be used orally & informally as an honorific – e.g., ‘Governor (Name) will here in a few minutes.’ You will also hear this in the media where specifying the official’s role is seen to be desirable because of the situation.

—-Envelope:
—-—-The Honorable John Doe
—-—-Chairman
——–Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
—-—-(Address)
—-Salutation:
—-—-Dear Mr./Dr./etc. Doe:

– Robert Hickey

See these Related Posts:
–——-Governor, Board of Governors
–——-Governor General
–——-Governor of a Tribe
–——-Governor of a US State
–——-Spouse of the Governor of a State
–——-Lieutenant Governor of a State
—–—-Spouse of a Lieutenant Governor of a State
–——-Staff of a Governor of a State

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.