CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS
of Avatar Meher Baba P.P.C. Trust
| Chairman: Shridhar Kelkar |
| Merwan Adi Dubash |
| Ramesh Jangale |
| Mehernath Kalchuri |
| Dolly Kerawalla |
| Framroze J. Mistry |
| Heather Nadel |
| Ali Ramjoo |
| Craig Ruff |
Photos taken in October 2014 do not include all Board members.
Under the Avatar Meher Baba PPC Trust’s rules and regulations, procedures for the selection of a Chairman, selection of a trustee, and re-election of a current trustee were resolved by the Board of Trustees from December 2013. (The procedures are also the same for the Avatar Meher Baba Trust (Firstly) and for Meherazad Public Charitable Trust, and for selection of a trustee and re-election of a current trustee for the Meher Free Dispensary Trust.) These procedures are given below in detail.
PROCEDURE FOR ELECTING THE CHAIRMAN
of Avatar Meher Baba P.P.C. Trust
Meeting to Elect the Chairman:
| 1. Hold a special meeting of the Board of Trustees for the selection of a Chairman. |
| 2. If the selection of Chairman remains unresolved in a meeting it can be deferred by majority vote to another meeting to be held within three days of the last meeting until such time as the Chairman is selected. |
General Guidelines:
| 1. Any current trustee is eligible for election as Chairman. |
| 2. Any current trustee can vote for himself or herself.</span |
| 3. An “acting” or “presiding” Chairman can vote, but will not have a Casting vote. |
| 4. No one is to say at any point, before or during the Meeting, that he/she is going to accept or decline the Chairmanship UNTIL he/she has received a majority of 1st place votes. Only then can the selected trustee decline the position. |
| 5. A quorum of 7 trustees is required to elect the Chairman. |
| 6. It is of vital importance that all trustees vote for the Chairman, either in person or by giving their proxy to another trustee if they are unable to attend. |
Balloting System:
| 1. You cannot be selected Chairman unless you have received a majority of 1st choice votes. | ||||||
| 2. The ballot: | ||||||
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| 3. The purpose of ranking and allotting points to the three candidates of choice on every ballot is to break a deadlock if it occurs and also to help trustees see emerging trends or preferences in the minds of other board members as the balloting process evolves. | ||||||
| 4. The points given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices are 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point respectively. | ||||||
| 5. Typically a SET of balloting rounds comprises 4 to 6 balloting rounds. | ||||||
| 6. If no candidate gets a 1st choice majority by the 2nd round, then in the 3rd round the total points of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices are tallied and the 2 candidates with the highest point totals move into the 4th round. | ||||||
| 7. If three candidates emerge (as in the case of a tie for second place) in the 3rd round, then balloting extends to 6 rounds wherein the 5th round only points received in the 4th and 5th rounds are tallied for the top 2 point getters to move into the 6th round. | ||||||
| 8. All points once used and tallied to break a deadlock cannot be carried forward or used again in a succeeding ballot round or set. | ||||||
| 9. The names of candidates who have received a majority of first choice votes and have declined the post of Chairman will not be listed on any ballot round in any succeeding voting round or set. | ||||||
| 10. Once a candidate declines the post of Chairman, the balloting always starts over with a new Set of balloting rounds. | ||||||
Procedure on the Day of Balloting:
| 1. An introductory reminder will be given about the voting procedure and guidelines. |
| 2. Normal conversation is welcome; however, there should be NO conversation about the selection of the Chairman during the voting process, either in the room or outside of it. However, if questions arise about the voting process itself, they may be asked for clarification. |
| 3. Two trustees will be chosen as Tellers to attend to all relevant voting procedures. |
| 4. The trustees will receive one ballot each for every round of balloting. |
| 5. Each trustee is to go ONE at a time into the anteroom off of the meeting room and fill out his or her ballot with the pen provided in the anteroom. The ballot is secret. There should be nothing but three ticks in selected places in preferential order on the ballot. |
| 6. The trustee should then fold the ballot paper in half and then in quarters and return with the folded ballot to the meeting room and place the folded ballot into the box in the middle of the table. |
| 7. The tellers will attend to all relevant voting procedures, viz., open the ballot box, unfold the ballots, keep a tally of votes, award points and tally votes in a deadlock breaker round, staple ballot rounds together, maintain tally sheet, display or distribute tally sheets for all the trustees, etcetera. |
| 8. The person who gets a first-choice majority in a balloting round will be asked by the acting/presiding Chairman if he or she will accept the Chairmanship of the Avatar Meher Baba PPC Trust, the Avatar Meher Baba Trust “Firstly”, and the Meherazad Public Charitable Trust. If the candidate accepts he/she will say, “I accept the post of Chairman of AMBPPCT, AMBT (Firstly) and MPCT.” If the candidate declines, then a second set of balloting begins and so on until a candidate is elected by majority of first-choice votes and he/she then accepts the position of Chairman. |
| 9. A Board resolution is passed to appoint the newly appointed Chairman. |
| 10. No trustee or tellers are allowed to take printed or electronic tally sheets or ballot papers outside the board room. No balloting rounds documentation can be kept on record; only the final result in a resolution appointing the Chairman remains as the record. |
Duties of the Tellers During the Meeting:
1. Teller X will:
| a. unfold completed ballot forms from the box after all votes have been cast in a given ballot, | |
| b. announce the 1st choice candidate after opening every ballot, | |
| c. award points against the names of the candidates on each ballot and pass the ballot to Teller Y to make an entry in the Ballot Tally Sheet. |
2. Teller Y will:
| a. print out ballot papers for each round, | |
| b. check the points awarded against each candidate made by the Teller X, enter the points on paper or digitally in the tally sheet, | |
| c. display or print copies of the tally sheet for all trustees to see, | |
| d. if there is majority winner from the tally in a round Teller Y will inform the presiding Chairman the name of the candidate with the majority of 1st place vote, | |
| e. staple the ballots of each round together, deface the ballot paper by a large X to indicate they have been entered in the tally sheet, | |
| f. tag the stapled ballots indicating the round number and place them in a box/bag. |
3. Teller X and Y, together, after the selection of a new Chairman, is complete and a Board resolution passed to that effect will immediately collect and burn/erase all the paper/electronic ballots/tally-sheets/display board/s.
SELECTION OF NEW TRUSTEE
for AMBPPCT, AMBT (Firstly) and MPCT.
Hereto the word “trustees” will include the existing Chairman or the Acting Chairman/Presiding Chairman and all existing trustees, and the word “Chairman” will mean the Chairman or the Acting Chairman/Presiding Chairman.
General Guidelines:
1. All trustees are entitled to nominate individuals for the vacant post of a trustee.
2. A quorum of 7 trustees, not counting proxies, is required to select a trustee.
3. It is of vital importance that all trustees have the option to nominate individuals for the selection of a new trustee, and also that all trustees vote for the selection of a new trustee, either in person or by giving their written proxy to another trustee if they are unable to attend.
4. The selection process for a trustee is a two-step process. The first step is to nominate the names of likely candidates by all trustees. The second step is a process of eliminating the candidates thru secret ballot rounds to create a Short-List of 5 Candidates or less.
Nomination Process:
1. Chairman will send identical blank papers and envelopes to all trustees for nominating candidates for selecting a trustee.
2. All trustees may choose to nominate none or one but no more than two individual names for the post of trusteeship. If more than 2 names are submitted by a trustee only the first two names in sequential order will be considered as nominated.
3. All trustees will PRINT out (not hand written) the full name/s (name and surname) in no particular order, including short names in brackets, of the nominee/s on the paper and seal it in the envelope. Nothing else should be written or printed on the paper or the envelope other than two names, at most, printed on the sheet.
4. On the day of a regular Board meeting all trustees will bring their sealed envelopes containing the nomination paper. When called upon, in turn, the trustees will, in view of all trustees present, drop the envelope in a box placed in the center of the board room table.
5. After all nomination papers are cast the Chairman will shuffle the envelopes in the box and open them one by one reading aloud the name of Nominees.
6. The Chairman will hand over the nomination papers to a trustee who will make an entry of the names of nominees in the ‘List of Nominees’.
7. The List of Nominees will comprise all the names and will also include the number of times the candidate was nominated. The List will be verified by the Chairman or another trustee against all the nomination papers before the final printing and distribution of the List of Nominees by the Chairman to all the trustees.
8. The Nomination papers submitted by each trustee will be collected and burnt by a trustee deputized by the Chairman. 9. No trustee can reveal the names of the nominees to any other person who is not a trustee.
10. No trustee can individually discuss with the candidate or let them know they are being considered for the position of trusteeship.
Special Meeting for Selecting Trustee:
The selection process thru secret ballot rounds will be conducted in a Special Meeting to be held not later than 3 weeks from the meeting when the candidates were nominated. The time interval is intended to allow the trustees to deliberate and discuss the potential of each candidate amongst themselves.
Secret Balloting Process for Selecting a New Trustee:
1. Two trustees will be selected as Tellers, teller X and teller Y, to attend to all voting procedures.
2. An introductory reminder will be given about the voting procedure and guidelines.
3. Normal conversation is welcome; however, there should be NO conversation about the selection of the Nominees during the voting process, either in the room or outside of it. However, if questions arise about the voting process itself, they may be asked for clarification.
4. The trustees will receive one ballot each for every round of balloting or for a tie-break round.
5. Each trustee is to go ONE at a time into the anteroom off of the meeting room, and fill out his or her ballot with the pen provided in the anteroom. The ballot is secret. There should be nothing but ticks in selected places in preferential order on the ballot.
6. The trustee should then fold the ballot paper in half and then in quarters and return with the folded ballot to the meeting room and place the folded ballot into the box in the middle of the table.
7. The tellers will attend to all relevant voting procedures, viz., open the ballot box, unfold the ballots, keep a tally of votes, award points and tally votes, staple ballot rounds together, maintain tally sheet, display or distribute tally sheets for all the trustees, etcetera.
8. Ballot Rounds and Points Allotment:
| a. The purpose of the ballot rounds is to pare the number of candidates to 7 candidates in the first round, to 6 in the second round and to 5 in the third round. The fourth round of balloting is to seek an approval by majority vote for all remaining selected candidates. | |
| b. The Ballot paper will have the names of all the nominees listed, followed by a column indicating 1st Choice to 7th Choice in the first round, 1st Choice to 6th Choice in the second ballot round, and 1st Choice to 5th Choice in the third ballot round. The fourth round will ascertain whether all remaining candidates have a clear majority vote of all trustees by a simple YES or NO vote against each selected nominee to the question on the ballot: “Do you agree that the below listed candidate merits being a trustee”. | |
| c. In all three ballot rounds you must vote for different candidates in descending order of preference. If you tick a candidate as a choice more than once, eg, you tick candidate X as your 1st choice and 3rd choice, that nominee will be awarded ZERO points. You also have the option of not ticking all the choices. Points will only be allotted to the candidate for the tick given under that particular choice. | |
| d. If you make a mistake by putting a tick in the wrong place, you may cross it out and tick in another place. | |
| e. The points allotted in each ballot round are always in reverse order of the number of Choices on the ballot. If there are 7 choices listed on the ballot in the first balloting round the points allotted would be 7 points for 1st choice, 6 points for 2nd Choice and so on. If 6 Choices are listed on the ballot in the second round of balloting then 6 points are allotted for 1st choice and 5 points allotted for 2nd choice and so on. | |
| f. If there is a tie in points in any ballot round then a tie-break round will follow the ballot round and the highest point getter in the tie-break round will proceed into the next ballot round eliminating the candidate/s with the lower points. | |
| g. Points given in a tie-break round are also on the same principle of awarding points in ballot rounds. They are in reverse order of the number of Choices on the tie-breaker round. Example, if there are 3 candidates tied in points, the choices will be three. The first choice will receive 3 points, the second choice will receive 2 points and the third choice will receive 1 point. The points used in the tie-break round are exclusively to break the tie. Tie-break points awarded are not used in the finally tally of ballot rounds. | |
| h. The last Majority voting round is held when all three ballot rounds (not counting tie-break rounds) have pared the candidates to 5 or less. A nominee cannot be considered to be on the Short-List unless all candidates individually receive a majority vote of the trustees. If any candidate fails to receive a majority vote, he/she is instantly eliminated, and the remaining candidates who have received a majority vote are considered as confirmed candidates on the Short-List. | |
| i. The fourth round where each candidate gets the majority approval vote from all trustees has no point system. It instantly eliminates a candidate from the List if he/she fails to obtain a majority vote of the Board of Trustees. |
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| j. In the event that the initial list of nominees is 5 or less, the process noted above will not be necessary. In its place the process will be restricted to: | |
| i. First round to rank the candidates. | |
| ii. The second round is to obtain the majority approval vote of all trustees for the candidates. It instantly eliminates a candidate from the List if he/she fails to obtain a majority vote of the Board of Trustees. |
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| k. The Short-List comprises 5 or less nominees. The rank is given in descending order based on the cumulative sum total of all points received by each candidate in all ballot rounds. Rank 1 is the highest point getter, Rank 2 is the second highest point getter and so on. | |
| l. The Short List is printed out and one copy each is distributed to all trustees after verification by the by Teller X and the Chairman. |
9. No trustee or tellers are allowed to take printed or electronic tally sheets or ballot papers outside the board room except the printed Short-List. No balloting rounds documentation can be kept on record.
Duties of the Tellers During the Meeting:
1. Teller X will:
| a. unfold completed ballot forms from the box after all votes have been cast in a given ballot, | |
| b. announce the candidate in the order of choices after opening every ballot, | |
| c. award points against the names of the candidates on each ballot and pass the ballot to Teller Y to make an entry in the Ballot Tally Sheet. |
2. Teller Y will:
| a. check the points awarded against each candidate made by the Teller X, enter the points on paper or digitally in the tally sheet, | |
| b. print out one copy of the tally sheet to get it verified by Teller X, | |
| c. print out tally sheet after verification by Teller X for all trustees after each round of balloting, | |
| d. print out ballot papers for each round, | |
| e. staple the ballots of each round together, deface the ballot paper by a large X to indicate they have been entered in the tally sheet, | |
| f. tag the stapled ballots indicating the round number and place them in a box/bag, | |
| g. Print out the final Short-List names for all trustees, |
3. Teller X and Y, together, after the meeting is over will collect and burn/erase the nomination papers, all the paper/electronic ballots/tally-sheets/displayboard/s.
Post Selection Process and Appointment of New Trustee:
1. In the ensuing days after the process of obtaining the Short-List of nominees, the Chairman will in the presence of two trustees call on the candidates, one at a time, in the descending order of rank on the Short-List. The candidate will be asked whether they are willing to assume the responsibility of being a trustee. If a Candidate accepts the Chairman’s offer, the Chairman will ask him/her to submit his/her acceptance letter within a few days. All the other ranked nominees on the Short-list automatically are voided once a higher ranked nominee accepts the position of trusteeship. If the candidate refuses, the Chairman will proceed to call on the second highest ranked candidate on the Short-List and so on.
2. The candidate that accepts the Chairman’s offer for the post of trusteeship will be asked by the Chairman not to reveal to the public about his appointment until after he/she has been officially appointed by the Board by a Board resolution in a Board Meeting.
3. The candidate who has accepted the post of trusteeship will be called in the subsequent Board Meeting and will be asked again by the Chairman in front of the Board of Trustees whether he/she accepts the post of trusteeship. After the candidate verbally confirms his/her acceptance, his/her letter of acceptance letter will be read out. Thereafter a Board Resolution will be passed to the effect that he/she has been selected as a trustee of AMBPPCT.
4. The newly appointed trustee can immediately take his/her seat on the table for the remainder of the board meeting.
PROCEDURE FOR REELECTING A TRUSTEE
for AMBPPCT, AMBT (Firstly) and MPCT.
Rules and Regulations for Term and Age Limits of Chairman and Trustees:
The document titled “Rules and Regulations for Term and Age Limits of Chairman and Trustees” approved in Res 6 of the 175th Board Meeting held on 25th November 2013 is hereto incorporated by reference and shall be taken and considered as a part of as if it were completely set out herein this document: “Procedure for Reelecting a Trustee”.
Timing of Reelection
A trustee will be reelected at the board meeting preceding the end of his/her term.
Meeting to Reelect a Trustee:
1. It is not required to hold a special meeting of the Board of Trustees for the reelection of a trustee.
2. The subject matter for reelection of a trustee will always be conducted as the last business item of a meeting.
General Guidelines:
1. Any current trustee is eligible for reelection as a trustee.
2. Any trustee who is to be reelected can vote for himself or herself.
3. An “acting” or “presiding” Chairman can vote, but will not have a Casting vote.
4. A quorum of 7 trustees is required to reelect a trustee.
5. It is of vital importance that all trustees vote for reelecting a trustee, either in person or by giving their proxy to another trustee if they are
unable to attend.
Balloting System:
1. You cannot be reelected as a trustee unless you have received a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
2. Each ballot paper will have the name of the trustee and his/her extension of the term limit. Each trustee must either tick YES or NO in the two
boxes provided under the question, “Do you agree to re-elect trustee XXXXX for a further term from XXXXX to XXXXX”.
3. Trustees must exercise great care NOT to tick both YES and NO. If a ballot is found to have both YES and NO ticked simultaneously, the said
ballot will be considered as a YES vote.
Procedure on the Day of Balloting:
1. The exact number of ballot papers required will be prepared in advance of the Meeting.
2. An introductory reminder will be given about the voting procedure and guidelines.
3. Normal conversation is welcome; however, there should be NO conversation about the selection of the trustee during the voting process, and during the meeting. However, if questions arise about the voting process itself, they may be asked for clarification.
4. Two trustees will be chosen as Tellers to attend to all relevant voting procedures.
5. The trustees will receive one ballot each.
6. Each trustee is to go ONE at a time into the anteroom off of the meeting room, and fill out his or her ballot with the pen provided in the anteroom. The ballot is secret. There should be ONE tick on either YES or NO.
7. The trustee should then fold the ballot paper in half and then in quarters and return with the folded ballot to the meeting room and place the folded ballot into the box in the middle of the table.
8. The tellers will attend to all relevant voting procedures, viz., open the ballot box, unfold the ballots and keep a tally of votes.
9. If the trustee is reelected for another term the Chairman will ask the trustee so reelected whether he/she accepts the post of trusteeship for the term so stipulated.
| a. If the trustee accepts the re-election the reelected trustee must immediately write a letter of acceptance for the term (see draft letter below). If the reelected trustee declines to be reappointed he/she will immediately write a letter declining the post of trusteeship (see draft letter below). | |
| b. A Board resolution will be so passed to the effect of the trustee being reelected and accepting the post; and alternately the trustee is declining the post of trusteeship for another term. |
10. If the trustee does not get reelected by a majority vote the Chairman will so inform the trustee of his/her not being reelected and that person will cease to be a trustee with immediate effect, and will be asked by the Chairman for his/her voluntary resignation immediately (see draft letter below).
| a. If the trustee does voluntarily resign in writing, the Board resolution will only reflect that the trustee has declined the post of trusteeship for another term. | |
| b. If the trustee does not voluntarily resign then the Board resolution will reflect that the Trustee has been removed as he/she has lost the confidence of the Board.; |
11. The same rules and procedure apply to the Chairman who is up for reelection as trustee. If however the Chairman does not get reelected by a majority vote as a trustee then he / she ceases to be a trustee and Chairman with immediate effect and will be collectively asked by the trustees to do so.
| a. If the Chairman voluntarily resigns in writing the Board resolution will only reflect that the trustee has declined the post of trusteeship and Chairmanship for another term. | |
| b. If the Chairman trustee does not voluntarily resign in writing then the Board resolution will reflect that the trustee Chairman has been removed as he/she has lost the confidence of the Board. |
12. No trustee or tellers are allowed to take printed balloted papers outside the board room. No balloting rounds documentation can be kept on record; only the final result in a resolution that appoints or accepts resignation of the trustee and/or the Chairman remains as the record.
Duties of the Telllers During the Meeting:
1. Teller X will:
| a. unfold the ballot from the box after all votes have been cast, | |
| b. announce YES or NO after opening every ballot, | |
| c. count the number of YES ballots, staple them together and write the total number on the reverse of the last stapled ballot and likewise, staple and write the total of NO ballots. | |
| d. Teller X will pass all the ballots for confirmation to Teller Y. |
2. Teller Y will:
| a. Count and confirm the number of YES and NO ballots and the tally of both the YES and NO ballots. |
3. Teller X and Y, together, after the reselection of a trustee/Chairman is complete and a Board resolution passed to that effect will immediately collect and burn/erase all the paper/electronic ballots/tally-sheets/display board/s.