For the second year in a row, the Ontario Zoroastrian Association held its General Meeting online.
The gathering was held on Sunday, July 18, 2021, at 11:00 AM. One month ago, each member who had paid their membership fee was informed of the time and place of the meeting, and then a link was sent to these members in an email to join the forum via zoom to use on the day of the session. This link was for that member, and no one else could use it.
Likewise, from a month ago, for the members who had paid their membership fee, a collection including the announcement of the time of the General Meeting, the agenda, the report of the General Meeting last year, the information of the Board, the details of candidates for each position, power of attorney form to other members and last year’s financial information was sent by mail. Last year’s financial report was prepared by the Association’s treasurer and controlled by an independent accountant.
Each member had to enter the General Assembly through the e-mail they received and the link given to them, and thus attend the meeting with their full name and details. A group of independent candidates from the board of directors were in charge of counting the votes and the order of the meeting that day, and ten members of the board of directors were present in the “Darmehr Giv” hall, observing distance and having mask on throughout the meeting.
the general meeting began with recitation of the Avesta by a mobed, and then the chairman of the board requested the candidates that if they had reached the quorum, to go into formal session. According to the law, the quorum of the assembly is reached when at least fifty members are present, since the number of participants was 64, meeting was announced as formal. At the beginning of the meeting, the sound system and the note and voting system were tested to make sure it was working properly. Based on the agenda sent to all, attendees were first asked to raise any issues regarding the agenda, and then a vote was taken to approve the agenda.
According to the second article on the agenda, last year’s report of the General Assembly, a copy sent to the members, was presented, and then a vote was taken to approve it. The report included all those who agreed or disagreed with each of last year’s agendas, the number of those who agreed, and those who voted in favor of each vote and the proposals.
The third article of the agenda was last year’s report of the board of directors. In this report, the association reported a series of different activities, including changing the structure of the association’s website, improving the association’s virtual systems for paying membership fees, buying tickets and donations to the association online, repair work and renovations in the fire temple, and holding programs virtually. Members present were then requested to put forward their comments for discussion. Finally, a vote was taken, a vote was taken to approve or reject the report. The fourth part of the agenda included a review of the association’s financial report for the past year, in which members first asked questions. Then the treasurer and other Association members responded. All questions, answers and suggestions were recorded in the minutes. Finally, a vote was taken to approve or reject the financial report, which the accountant had already approved.
The 5th section of the agenda was assigned to selecting an independent chartered accountant for auditing next year’s financial report, and the proposed accountant was voted on. In the final round, new members were elected to positions on the board that had expired for two years and were nominated for each position. The Ontario Zoroastrian Association, located in Darmehr Giv, had been completely closed for the past year, holding all its festivals and rituals virtually. This year, the board attempted to reach out to its members by email, telephone, or text message and improve its website systems. In the next part of this article, an attempt will be made to present a report on the programs held.
