The Autism Spectrum Support Group of Southern Maryland will hold its first Annual Meeting on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at Nicolletti’s Pizza in California, MD.
This meeting will take the place of our regular Support Group Meeting.
Join us for Pizza and socializing from 6:30 – 7:15 pm.
The Annual Meeting will commence at 7:15 pm and will conclude by 8:30pm.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to conduct such business that may come before the Membership, including a review of our accomplishments and presentation of our Annual Report, any discussion related to our By-Laws, future plans for the organization, and so on.
This meeting is open to the public.
In addition, for 2016 and subsequent even years, we are required to hold elections for our Board of Directors. With this notice we are formally calling for nominations to the Board. Qualification follows.
Only Members of the Support Group who meet the following two criteria shall be allowed to vote in Board elections.
- Family/Caregiver: Parents or caregivers of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder, including foster parents and state- or court-appointed caregivers.
- Individual: Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder, including those who are self-diagnosed, and who — for the purposes of voting — are at least 18 years of age.
Quorum at the Annual Meeting shall be constituted by the Members present at the Meeting. Members shall complete a Membership application at the Meeting if one isn’t already on file. We have many forms of Membership, including for teachers and professionals, and all individuals with a connection to autism or to social/pragmatic communication disorders are invited to be Members. Only the two categories of Members listed above have voting privileges for Board elections, however.
As this is our first election, we are requesting that Members vote in person or by proxy only; please contact us if you wish to complete a proxy form.
We are formally calling for nominations to the Board of Directors. Each elected Director shall agree to serve a two-year term beginning on July 1, 2016. At least five Directors shall be elected. More Board Members may be elected depending upon the number of nominations.
Each elected Director shall be a Member of the Support Group. In addition, each Director shall meet the following qualifications:
- Directors shall support the purpose statement of our Support Group as outlined in Article II of our By-Laws.
- Directors shall live in or have a professional or historical connection with the Southern Maryland region (Calvert, Charles, and/or St. Mary’s Counties).
- Elected Directors should have a connection to the autism community; that is, each Director shall be (i) a person with an autism spectrum disorder, or (ii) a family member or caregiver of a person with an autism spectrum disorder.
For a full explanation of Director and Executive Officer duties, classifications of Membership, and other information about us, please see our By-Laws.
Nomination for anyone who meets the above qualifications shall be made and sent to Terri Griest at autismsupport.somd@gmail.com. Individuals who are so inclined may self-nominate. Anyone nominated or recruited who wishes to serve shall be placed on the ballot. Directors shall be elected by simple majority. For the full voting procedures please see our By-Laws.
Nominations will be accepted by email, phone, mail, or in person to Terri through 7:00 pm on Wednesday, June 15, 2016.
The selection of Board Members to our Executive Committee will follow at a Summer Board meeting within thirty days of our Annual Meeting. The Board shall meet as a whole at least twice a year. Our Executive Committee meets at least four times a year.
Your current Board of Directors (Terri, Tracie, Missy, June, and Toni) are a temporary Board who began working together in 2013 on attaining formal nonprofit status. We agreed to serve for the purposes of initial organization of our Support Group. All of us have had involvement with our Support Group for a much longer time, especially Terri, who has been involved with this as a labor of love since 2002. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you. We hope you will attend our first Annual Meeting – this organization does not exist without the support of our wonderful Members!
See you on June 15th at Nicolletti’s Pizza!