The term of office of every member elected to an original board shall be until the date of the annual meeting of the participating members of either the first, second or third year following the year of the incorporation of the district and until their successors are elected and have qualified, and as nearly as possible the terms of an equal number of directors on any such board shall expire on each of such dates. At the annual meeting of each year after the year of the election of the original board members, elections shall be held to elect directors to fill any position on the board, the term of office of which has expired, and any director so elected shall hold office for a term of three years and until his successor is elected and qualified. For the purpose of election of board members and for such other purposes as the bylaws may prescribe, annual meetings of participating members shall be held by each district between January 1 and March 1 of each year following the year of incorporation of such district. The board of directors shall cause notice of the time and place of each annual meeting and the purpose thereof to be mailed to each of its participating members or shall cause such notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the district. Every such notice shall be mailed or published not less than ten nor more than thirty days prior to any such meeting. Each participating member shall be entitled to a single vote, regardless of the number of benefit units to which he has subscribed.