General Assembly is the annual business meeting of the ACYOA, presided over by the Primate, the President of the ACYOA.  All chapters from throughout the Diocese convene and make decisions regarding policy, finances, and goals.  Central Council members are also elected during the meeting proceedings, and delegates vote for the site of coming Sports Weekends and Archbishop’s Tournaments.  Since 1975 (with the exception of 1995), the Assembly has been held in the same location as Sports Weekend during Memorial Day Weekend.

We hope you have marked your calendars for the 2008 ACYOA General Assembly being hosted by a Regional Committee in the Washington, DC area on Thursday and Friday, May 22 and 23.  In order to ensure a successful Assembly, which will be held at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, we need your cooperation in several areas. Please read the following information carefully:

1. Proposals/Amendments. According to Article 11, Section 9 of the Constitution, which reads, “All amendments to the Constitution and proposals intended to be presented at the General Assembly shall be submitted in writing to the ACYOA Central Council not less than sixty days prior to the Assembly.” That means if you wish to submit an amendment or a proposal, it should be sent to us no later than March 22. We want to remind you that as per a proposal passed at the 2007 ACYOA General Assembly, a Bylaws Revision Committee has been appointed to review and suggest changes to the
Constitution; they will be submitting their report at this year’s Assembly. Regardless of their efforts, delegates and chapters are encouraged to send proposals or amendments to ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian at acyoa@armeniandiocese.org or faxed to 212-779-3558.

2. Nominations. You are invited to submit the names of individuals whom you think would be ideal candidates for Central Council, Nominating Committee and Auditing Committee. Please send those names to Lydia Kurkjian, the Chair of the 2008 Nominating Committee at lydiak@armeniandiocese.org or 914-584-5176. Having a slate prepared beforehand will help expedite the election process; there will, of course, be an opportunity to nominate additional candidates from the floor of the Assembly.

3. Delegates and observers. As stated in Article 10 of the Constitution, voting procedures will be according to the following guidelines:

Section 2 - The number of elected delegates a Chapter may send to the General Assembly based on the total number of dues paid members from the past fiscal year, shall be:
5-10 members – one delegate; 11-25 members – two delegates; 26-50 members – three delegates; 51-100 members – 4 delegates.

Section 3 – The Chapter Chairman shall be an ex-officio delegate of the General Assembly with the powers of an elected delegate.

Section 4 – The President of each Chapter shall be an ex-officio delegate to the General Assembly with the powers of an elected delegate.

The names of your official delegates should be sent to ACYOA Executive Secretary Nancy Basmajian at acyoa@armeniandiocese.org by May 16. Whether your parish has an organized chapter or not, we invite you to send observers to the Assembly; they of course will not be able to vote, but they will have voice.

4. Dues. Please be informed that any chapter that has been delinquent in paying its annual dues will not retain voting privileges. A minimum of $5 per member must be paid to the ACYOA Central Council prior to the start of the Assembly. Please send those dues to our Treasurer Alex Derderian at 6 Saddlebrook Circle, Media, PA 19063 no later than May 16. If you have any questions, you can contact him at alexderderian@gmail.com or 601-304-0838. (Checks should be made payable to ACYOA Central Council.)

5. 2010 General Assembly and Sports Weekend. We are looking for a chapter to host the 2010 General Assembly and Sports Weekend. If your chapter is interested, please contact our Chairman Johnny Elchemmas at elchemmas@gmail.com or 248-701-2781. We suggest you be prepared to make a 2-3 minute presentation to the Assembly so delegates will be able to cast an informed vote. (As you know, the 2009 event will be hosted by the ACYOA Chapter of St. Gregory Church in White Plains, NY.)

In the coming weeks and months, you will be receiving additional information, including the Minutes of the 2007 General Assembly, nomination forms for ACYOA awards, the Assembly agenda, chapter report forms and the 2009 proposed budget. For information on Sports Weekend, please visit www.acyoasportsweekend2008.com.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Central Council liaison or the Executive Secretary at acyoa@armeniandiocese.org or 212-686-0710
(ext. 143).