On Saturday June 20th 2020 the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) held its 33rd Annual General Meeting. Originally slated to be held in Sacramento, CA; the AGM was held virtually due the current situation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The AGM was attended by 22 of the 27 member associations, 2 small groups and chairs of over 20 committees, besides other friends of FEZANA.
President Homi D. Gandhi brought the meeting to order. Due to the format of the AGM a shorter agenda of business was deliberated upon. This was the last AGM for outgoing president Homi D. Gandhi, who had completed his two terms as the President. Homi gave an overview of the FEZANA activies since the last AGM and also took the audience on a journey of what FEZANA had accomplished over the past 4 years.
On behalf of FEZANA and all its member associations a vote of thanks was given to Homi. A beautiful slideshow was created by Afreed Mistry and played for the audience. Homi thanked all present for giving him the opportunity to serve FEZANA as its leader for the past 4 years and pledged to continue to be at the service of FEZANA in the years to come [ Link to Video ]. Many past presidents and other colleagues at FEZANA thanked Homi for his immense service to the organization and Homi was given a standing ovation at the end of his thank you speech.
FEZANA Treasurer Rooky Fitter presented the 2019 Treasurer’s Report and Adil Masani, FEZANA’s Financial Advisor gave an update on our financial investment.
The FEZANA Congress Committee Co-Chairs Katayun Kapadia and Mahrukh Motafram gave an overview of the last year’s 7th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress that was hosted by California Zoroastrian Center, a FEZANA Member association. They thanked all those who had worked tirelessly to make this event a success, with a special thanks to all the donors and supporters. They thanked the youth volunteers who had outdone themselves in organizing what is arguably the best world youth congress to date. They invited Parshan Khosravi, Chair 7WYZC, Anahita Hormozdyari, Vice-Chair 7WZYC and Khodarahm Partovi, Treasurer 7WZYC to give a presentation of the event and to speak about their experiences.
Sacramento Zoroastrian Association were unanimously selected as the host of the 34th AGM to be held in April 2021.
The results of the elections to various positions on the FEZANA Executive were announced.
The newly elected officials are:
President: Arzan Sam Wadia (ZAGNY)
Interim Vice-President: Er. Kayomarz Y. Sidhwa (ZAH)
Treasurer: Rooky Fitter (ZACLA)
Assistant Secretary: Xerxes Commissariat (ZACLA)
They join Percy Master, Secretary FEZANA on the new executive committee.
Arzan Sam Wadia, served as the current vice-president and resigned from his position to take on the new role. Arzan has been involved with FEZANA over the last decade and also served at his home association ZAGNY as a Board Member till earlier this year. Arzan originally hails from Mumbai, India.
Er. Kayomarz Y. Sidhwa joins the FEZANA executive as its Interim Vice-President, to complete the term vacated by his predecessor. Kayomarz has been an active leader at ZAH and has served on the ZAH Executive in a variety of positions, and brings his tremendous organizational and fundraising experience to FEZANA. Kayomarz originally hails from Mumbai, India.
Rooky Fitter was elected for her second two year term as FEZANA Treasurer. She has been involved with ZAC LA for many decades and currently also serves as the President of ZACLA. Rooky originally hails from Mumbai, India.
Xerxes Commissariat was elected for his second term as the Assistant Secretary. Xerxes has been involved with ZACLA and has served on its Board in various capacities. Xerxes originally hails from Karachi, Pakistan.
They all join Percy Master who will begin the second year of his second term on the FEZANA Executive. Percy has also been an active member at ZAH and served on its Executive in various roles over the years. Percy originally hails from Mumbai, India.
In his first address as the FEZANA President, Arzan Sam Wadia laid out his vision for the coming year and also a long term roadmap for FEZANA.
The meeting was concluded with a vote of thanks to all present, with an agreement to meet again in person in Sacramento in 2021.
