Suit claims Ashland youth organization mishandled money

Six parents involved with the Ashland Youth Recreation Association Inc. have filed a lawsuit against the organization's officers, directors and commissioners over concerns that the organization was mishandling money and that financial records were being kept from members.

The suit, filed in Hanover County Circuit Court, also alleges that the board illegally changed the association's bylaws to take away voting rights from paying parents and eliminated safeguards such as annual audits.

The association, which was started in 1975, oversees club football, baseball, softball, basketball and cheerleading programs for about 400 children ages 5 to 18. The association is made up of a board of officers, directors and a commissioner for each sport.

The lawsuit, filed in June, asks for a court-ordered inspection of the organization's financial books and records. It asks the court to set aside bylaws that were adopted in December 2007, to establish the time and place for an annual meeting, and to determine which members are entitled to attend that meeting.

A hearing last week was rescheduled for Nov. 4 after a Hanover judge recused himself from the case because he said he personally knows people involved on both sides of the issue.

The suit alleges that current officers and board members "have routinely failed to prepare monthly or annual statements on the financial condition of the corporation as required," and that between 2004 and 2008, the corporation failed to file its annual report with the State Corporation Commission. That led to it losing its corporation status, though that designation was reinstated in 2008.

A home number listed for Sheila Turner, association president and one of the respondents in the case, was not in service yesterday, and she did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

Phillip Hutcheson, an association board member and spokesman for the Ashland Youth Recreation Association, said yesterday that he will not comment on pending litigation. He said the association's lawyer, Joseph D. McCluskey, also has been advised not to comment.

McCluskey did not respond to two voicemails left for him yesterday.

The suit says the current officers and board members failed to "segregate funds by sport or youth activity as required," or "to make financial information available to members of the corporation when requested for a valid purpose."

In addition to the financial issues, the lawsuit alleges that in December 2007, the board of directors wrongfully adopted a new set of bylaws that, among other things, created a "self-perpetuating board of directors, in direct violation of the articles of incorporation of the corporation."

Under the original bylaws, the suit claims, "all members shall have full voting rights in the corporation, including the right to elect officers and directors annually and to vote on amendments to the articles of incorporation." Members were defined in 2003 bylaws as "the parents and guardians of children who have paid their registration fees and participated in the youth activities of the corporation."

Sharon Cage, one of the parents who filed the lawsuit, said the last thing she expected when she signed up her son for sports with the organization "was to end up in Circuit Court."

As a nonprofit organization, the association "should be more transparent and accountable," she said.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or .