Mosque Foundation General Assembly Elects New President
by Deanna Othman
The exhilarating aura of democracy was in the air as around 200 community members gathered on April 17th at the Mosque Foundation to elect eight new board members, and a new president. In order to begin the elections, a quorum of 25% of current Mosque members needed to be present. A quorum is the number of members of an organization required to be in attendance to proceed with an election or transaction, which in this case was 85 members. Any community member who has filled out a Mosque Foundation membership application and paid the $50 fee may vote, if their membership has been active for at least six months prior to the election. Anyone who has donated at least $50 a year has their membership automatically renewed after their first year of membership. Also, those who have been members of the Mosque for at least two years prior to the election date may run in the election.
After reaching a quorum around 8 pm, Secretary of the Board, Wisam Zegar, set the election in motion, first approving the evening’s agenda and last year’s election meeting minutes, and then leading into the President’s Report. Outgoing President Dr. Zaher Sahloul highlighted the achievements of the Mosque over the past year, and underscored the importance of accomplishing the remainder of the goals the Board had set as part of their Five Year Strategic Plan.
After hearing promising news from the Board’s Treasurer, Samer Shalabi, including the increase in both general and zakat donations in 2009 despite the economic struggles affecting most families, the crowd took a break for Ishaa prayer, and reconvened to cast their votes after being introduced to the candidates.
Following the verbal counting of approximately 130 votes, a testament to the transparency of the Mosque’s election process, community members elected the following community members to serve on the board of the Mosque:
President:
Board Members:
- Mubarak Amine
- Wisam Zegar
- Fahim Aref
- Salem Akhras
- Mousa Ayyash
- Mohamed Aduib
- Abdallah Shuaibi
- Mohammed Hussien
May Allah reward the winners for their dedication and commitment to our community. May He keep their intentions clear, place baraka in their time, and grant them success in all of their endeavors for His sake. Ameen.
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