by Shareholders for Accountability
Directors in charge of operations delay Annual Meeting more than 18 months costing the Corporation substantial expenses in excessive legal fees.
It has been more than 18 months since the last Annual Shareholder Meeting for Azachorok Inc. After several false starts by the Board Chair, shareholders are becoming restless in their wait for the long overdue Annual Meeting.
More than 150 shareholders or 15,000 shares were represented in a petition to advance the 2018 Annual Meeting to the month of May, before fishing season opens, to ensure a quorum is met for the Annual Meetings which are normally scheduled in the fall season during fall chum and moose hunting openings.
To date however, no Annual Meeting has taken place despite corporate bylaws stating the shares represented in a shareholder petition require the board to comply with such a request. An Annual Shareholder Meeting hasn’t taken place since October 2017, leaving many shareholders concerned about the operations and management of their A.N.C.S.A. village corporation.
The board currently consists of six directors after the resignation one of the directors in March 2018. Since then, the board has been in a gridlock with half of the body pushing for the Annual Shareholder Meeting upholding their fiduciary duty of loyalty to shareholders and care for their Corporation.
The other half are those Directors who have remained in charge since October 2017. The Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and a long-time Director Felix Hess, have failed to properly coordinate the Annual Meeting.
Felix Hess has been on the board since its inception in 1973, serving approximately 12 consecutive terms or 36 years. According to recent bylaw amendments, Hess would not be eligible to be a Director candidate on the next Corporation sponsored proxy since he was terminated from the Calista Corporation.
Under the current Chairman, Directors in charge have failed to take proper and necessary steps for a successful Annual Meeting in a timely manner.
Under the Chairman’s leadership, the Corporation has posted notices of Annual Meetings multiple times but they have failed to follow through and leadership has allowed Directors that are up for re-election to review candidates without participation from the full board.
The Chairman informed the judge they would attempt to hold the meeting by March 30th, however they have not been on track to do so.
Shareholder Hazel Walters has stepped up and has filed suit against Azachorok Inc. requesting the Superior Court to intervene and summarily orders the Annual Meeting to be held.
Walters states, “Our shareholder base cannot stand by and allow this type of operational negligence to take place, it is estimated more than $500,000 has been spent on lawyers in recent years in an ongoing political battle. The Azachorok Scholarship Program and other shareholder programs have dissolved, leaving little to no benefits for shareholders, many of whom are in low-income households. This is a complete disservice to the community and to more than 500 shareholders who rely on leaders to grow the Corporation.”
Azachorok is now looking at mid-June this summer for the 5th attempt for the Annual Meeting. Shareholders are encouraged to vote to meet quorum requirements and attend the meeting to address this long overdue meeting.
Shareholders for Accountability are based in Mountain Village
