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Minutes of the June 4th Extra-Ordinary General Body Meeting
SUMMARY MINUTES OF JUNE 4 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL BODY MEETING OF USACA
Meeting Date: June 4, 2005
Venue: Courtyard by Marriott, LaGuardia Airport -New York; USA
The attendees, on arrival, submitted proxies with information on the source region and Leagues to the podium.
The Meeting was called to order at 10:30 AM. Mr. Uka Harshad was asked to record notes for preparation of minutes.
Mr. Arun Vittala proposed a motion to appoint Mr. Clifford Hinds as the Chairperson for the meeting. The motion seconded by P. K. Guha and was unanimously accepted.
The submitted proxies were verified, the members physically present counted, and meeting quorum requirements as per Article 10.11 of USACA Constitution was computed. The Chairman then declared that based on the report, a quorum for meeting had been established. A motion to approve quorum was proposed, and approved unanimously.
It was proposed that the objectives of this meeting would be better served if the agenda was modified to limit the discussion to two items, namely Governance issues and the Constitutional amendments and accordingly pass the appropriate resolutions. The motion passed unanimously.
It was also proposed that the retention of an attorney to provided legal advice / services be added to the agenda. The motion passed unanimously.
A discussion began among the members present concerning the irregularities that occurred during the recently concluded election of the board of directors.
Some of the irregularities observed were: 1) lack of communication about the election process, 2) voters’ list not being provided to the members prior to the election process as required by Section 5.5 of the USACA constitution, 3) Arbitrary deadlines and rules were created not consistent with a fair election process.
The election process , in fact, had been conducted in manner to benefit the incumbents. Some clubs were eliminated to deny some candidates the votes; others were created on paper to bolster voting in favor of incumbent directors. Also, members of the Board were making up rules that would affect their own elections. As most of them were candidates in the election, there was a conflict of interest.
There was also a discussion about the background check for the candidates in the election. Mr. Bobby Refaie stated that, since he was the secretary of USACA and the contact person communicating with the auditor during the time of the elections, he felt that the applications of the candidates for the background check should come to him rather than the treasurer. He had communicated his disapproval of the way in which the background checks were being conducted to benefit Mr. Dainty and the rest of the executives and the Board.
Based on these statements, it was unanimously resolved that the election process was flawed and therefore should be considered null and void.
On the issue of constitutional amendments, it was explained that the constitution specifically states in Section 14.2 that the text of the proposed amendments must be provided to every member club at least 21 days before a vote on these amendments can be taken. Since it was not clear as to whether every member club had received the draft, it was decided not to amend the constitution for now. But the task would be taken up immediately after the conclusion of the meeting.
The following resolutions were compiled and proposed for adoption.
(a) The most recent elections for USACA Regional Directors conducted during the period from September 2004 through March 2005 was flawed and riddled with irregularities and therefore, hereby declared null and void.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
(b) A no confidence motion was proposed, as follows: “Resolved that a vote of no confidence is entered against Mr. Gladstone Dainty and the rest of the Executive body and the Board of Directors, for deliberate misuse and abuse of authority, misconduct, tampering with the election process, failure to execute their duties, failure to comply with the constitution of USACA, cancellation of Project USA and consequently jeopardizing the future of Cricket in America and it is also stated that the current board of Directors and the executive body are no longer representing USACA members. “
The Vote of no confidence was passed unanimously.
Mr. Ralph Bowen was nominated to provide legal representation to the members of the Interim committee, their successors, future members of the Board and the Executive as well as all league Presidents and member clubs. The motion passed unanimously with no Abstentions.
An interim body of 7 members was proposed for carrying out specific tasks. The motion passed unanimously. The following persons were named to the Interim Committee:
(1) Jefroy Morrishaw
(2) Krish Prasad
(3) Polam Reddy
(4) Tariq Ahmed
(5) Arun Vittala
(6) Manaf Mohamed
(7) Joseph Buffong.
The members unanimously approved the following mandate for the interim committee.
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Take all steps necessary, including legal injunctions against current board members to implement resolutions passed in this meeting.
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Take all steps necessary to legally invalidate the last election.
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As soon as possible, hold new elections for the positions of regional directors.
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Take all necessary steps to take control of all assets including financial assets, website and obligations of
USACA.
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Review and terminate, if necessary, the services of attorney(s) involved in any legal matter on behalf of
USACA.
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Review all current contracts by USACA and place them on hold wherever possible pending the results of the new election and the appointment of a new executive.
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Appoint a Public Relations Officer as soon as possible.
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Make a press release and inform ICC on the minutes of the meeting including the current resolutions passed.
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Send periodic reports to the League Presidents who in turn are required to disseminate the information to the member clubs within a reasonable period of time.
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Take physical possession of all proxies and sign in sheets.
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Take all necessary measures to act as the interim governing body of USACA until a properly elected body assumes office.
The Meeting was adjourned following unanimous approval of the Interim Committee’s assigned tasks.
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