The By-Laws of Somers Youth Sports Organization (SYSO) require that there be an annual election of all of the members of SYSO each December to choose the members of the Executive Board to run SYSO. This has not happened in many years (if ever). The Executive Board needs to have accountability to the SYSO members and allow the SYSO members to choose who they would like to run SYSO. Therefore we, the members of SYSO call for immediate elections to take place.

SYSO By-Laws:Read them online at http://bit.ly/IkqZ4r

Article 4 – Membership (Sections 1.a. and b.): Membership shall be open to any adult resident of Somers, age 18 or older. Any parent registering a child for any SYSO sport automatically becomes a member of SYSO. Each member shall have all rights and responsibilities of SYSO membership, including a vote.

Article 5 – Meetings (Sections 1. and 2.): There shall be a meeting of the general membership, monthly, by announcement. A vote at a general meeting shall consist of all paid members present.

Article 8 – Nominations and Elections (Section 3): Election of Officers shall be held each year at the December meeting of the general membership.

NY Not-For-Profit Corporation Law:

Section 604(a): If there is a failure to elect a sufficient number of directors to conduct the business of a NY not-for-profit corporation for a period of one month after the date fixed by or under the by-laws for the annual meeting of members of such entity, the board is required to call a special meeting for the election of directors. If such special meeting is not called by the board within two weeks after the expiration of such period, members entitled to cast one hundred votes or ten per cent of the total number of votes entitled to be cast in an election of directors, whichever is less, may, in writing, demand the call of a special meeting for the election of directors specifying the date and month thereof, which shall not be less than two nor more than three months from the date of such written demand.

The Executive Board of SYSO has not called any meeting of the general membership (including to elect members to the Executive Board) for a number of years (if ever) as required by the SYSO By-Laws and the NY Not-For-Profit Corporation Law.

By signing this online petition, I affirm that I am an active and paid member of SYSO and I call for a special meeting of the general membership for the election of the five (5) officers to comprise the Executive Board of SYSO as is required by SYSO’s By-Laws and the NY Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. Such special meeting shall be held on February 27, 2014. We will not make your information public, it will only be supplied to the SYSO board as an agenda item for their next meeting once we reach 100 or more signatures.