NCK
Executive Board
Professor Nick Cerio formed the NCK Executive Board in late 1996 after a series of failures in trying to appoint a soke-dai (Successor). Professor Cerio tried on no less than three occasions in the last ten years of his life to groom a soke-dai, only to have those people commit an act of betrayal and disrespect that warranted them being dismissed from NCK by Professor Cerio, and thus having their title and status, if given, revoked.
Finally in 1996, Professor Cerio decided that he would forego trying to appoint a single person and finally decided that a group, the NCK Executive Board, would govern his system. The NCK Executive Board was then to govern the system through the NCK Board of Directors (The then-current NCK school owners. All but one accepted Professor Cerio's invitation/appointment to the NCK Board of Directors). The original NCK Executive Board appointed by Professor Cerio in 1996 was as follows (listed by rank and/or Seniority at the time of appointment. Higher rank listed first, then followed by Seniority when both are the same rank.):
Original NCK Executive Board
1996 - 1998
Shihan Joe Nesta - Shichidan
Shihan Mark Sheeley - Rokudan
Shihan John James - Godan
Shihan Craig Seavey - Godan
Sensei Maryann Weeden - Yondan
The NCK Executive Board's purpose and duties while Professor Cerio was alive were as follows:
1. To assist Professor Cerio with business duties of running NCK.
2. To sit on the Black Belt Testing Board to act as witnesses for those who passed or failed their tests.
3. To act as a point of contact for Professor Cerio and to help screen potential students.
4. To assist Professor Cerio with the running of the NICMAA tournaments and Grand Championships by acting as judges and helping with any duties Professor Cerio bestowed.
The Final Duty and Mandate of the NCK Executive Board was to take place in the event of Professor Nick Cerio's passing. They are as follows:
1. To lead and govern NCK.
This includes the following:
- Schedule and conduct meetings of the NCK Executive Board to discuss the present state and future plans of NCK.
- To present those plans to the NCK Board of Directors (also known as the NCK Advisory Board) for feedback and discussion.
- To represent Professor Nick Cerio with honor and dignity, and to serve as an Official NCK represetative at special events.
- To continue the tradition of Black Belt Testing by testing qualified NCK students for various ranks and degrees of Black Belt. For a NCK Black Belt Certificate to be Official and valid, it must be signed by an active member of the NCK Executive Board, acting as Professor Cerio's Official Representative and Witness.
Shortly after Professor Cerio' passing on October 7, 1998, the NCK Executive Board suffered it's first casualty when of one of its members turned in his resignation at a meeting held on December 20, 1998. The vacancy was immediately filled via unanimous vote at the same meeting.
2nd Generation Executive Board:
1998 - 2001
The updated NCK Executive Board members that resided from December 1998 - 2001 are as follows:
Shihan Clermont Pouln - Hachidan
(voted in by the Original NCK Executive Board)
Shihan Joe Nesta - Shichidan
Shihan John James - Godan
Shihan Craig Seavey - Godan
Sensei Maryann Weeden - Yondan
3rd Generation Executive Board:
2001 - 2007
Between 2001 - 2007, various members of the NCK Exective Board resigned, others were removed, and/or left to form their own systems and going their separate ways. The 3rd Generation NCK Executive Board was as follows:
Shihan Clermont Poulin - Hachidan
Shihan John James - Schichidan
Shihan Craig Seavey - Schichidan
Sensei Maryann Weeden - Yondan
The idea and concept of the NCK Executive Board to govern and oversee the NCK system, had too many obstacles preventing it from fulfilling it's duties as Professor Cerio had envisioned. The third generation NCK Executive Board ceased holding meetings in 2004, largely due to most of the NCK schools deciding to go independent at that time, wanting to govern themselves without oversight, and thus leaving very few schools to lead and govern. Since then, all but one of the members of the third generation NCK Executive Board have gone on to pursue their own goals and/or have resigned completely from the NCK Executive Board. The last action by the third generation NCK Executive Board was representing Professor Nick Cerio and NCK at the Professor William K.S. 'Thunderbolt' Chow Memorial in San Francisco in February 2007.
After the departure of most of the Third Generation NCK Executive Board, one NCK Executive Board Member stayed to fulfill the promise he made to Professor Cerio in 1996. Shihan John James continues his dedication and loyalty to Professor Nick Cerio and to the NCK system and still represents Professor Cerio at special events across the country. To make sure that Professor Cerio's original idea of governing NCK through an Executive Board remained alive, Shihan James formed the Forth Generation NCK Executive Board and appointed Shihan Tom Scott, Chief Instructor of NCK of Omaha, as its next distinguished member. Together, they oversee and govern the NCK schools in the Littleton, MA and Omaha, NE regions. Appointed Senseis of both regions (listed below) comprise the NCK Board of Directors, also known as the NCK Advisory Board, which convenes with the Fourth Generation NCK Executive Board on a regular basis to review system issues and agendas. Thus, below is a summary of the members of the Fourth Generation NCK Executive Board and NCK Board of Directors:
4th Generation NCK Executive Board:
2008 - Present
Shihan John James - Godan (Schichidan retired)
Shihan Tom Scott - Godan
NCK Board of Directors:
Sensei Dennis Coffey - Yondan
Sensei Mark Fountain - Nidan
Sensei Melody Scott - Nidan
Sensei Kevin Hooker - Nidan
(It should be noted that the present NCK Leadership covers only the schools in the Littleton, MA and Omaha, NE regions. NCK schools outside both of these regions are not included per their 2004 decision to be independent and live by their own rules without supervision and NCK oversight. Any independent NCK school may contact us at any time if they wish to rejoin.)
