WillTheThrill - such an appointment can come from any source not just your MOC district/slate. Many appointments are pulled from the national pool. Some, for one reason or another, will turn them down. The wait list is in rank order and the next one on the list gets an appointment when such a person turns it down ... well, it's a little more complicated than that - they make more offers knowing that some will decline. They back fill to get the class to the size that they desire. If fewer decline then expected, they will backfill with fewer from the NWL. If more decline than expected, they will fill with more form the WL. It just depends ... they have a targeted class size, which is smaller than the number of appointments sent out. They will manage the class size as acceptances/declinations are received and offer appointments to those on the NWL in merit order. However, there is not a one for one decline/NWL since the number of initial appointments offered is greater than the desired class size. Hope that makes sense ....