Article One—Membership
NOTE the wording changes:
–Section 1: Any individual who applies and is approved for national membership in the Society of Professional Journalists may become a member of the Washington, DC, (REMOVE by submitting a chapter application) by paying annual National and Local chapter dues. (REMOVE Prospective members may apply for national and local membership through the national headquarters. Both national and local membership applications may be processed through the Chapter’s Corresponding Secretary.)
–Article Two—Dues
Section 1: The annual dues of this chapter shall be set by the executive committee at the beginning of each program year. Once they are paid, a person is considered a “member in good standing” and is eligible to vote and to run for office.
–Article Three—Nominations
–Section 1: A nomination committee shall be appointed each year in December to receive nominations, to nominate qualified members (dues must be current) for chapter offices and to present a slate of candidates, no later than April 2. Members seeking consideration as nominees must contact the nominating committee by February 1.
–Section 2: The nominating committee shall be appointed by the president, with the approval of the executive board.
–Section 3:
No change proposed
–Section 4:
No change proposed
–Section 5: The nomination process shall include publication of the slate as approved by the executive board; a formal notice in the chapter’s January newsletter calling for nominations from the membership;
a formal notice on the chapter’s website; and space provided for write-in candidates from the membership on the official ballot.
Article Four – Elections
–Section 1: A ballot listing all nominees shall be sent to all chapter members no later than April 15. All ballots returned to the recording secretary by May 1 and shall be opened and tallied by a committee of tellers to be appointed by the president and approved by the board.
–Section 2: The candidates receiving the most votes for each office shall be declared the winners.
All candidates should be notified of their status by a person designated by the board within 5 days of the results being formalized. [REMOVE The executive board can authorize preferential or plurality voting for offices that have more than two candidates and so indicate on the ballot.]
–Section 3: Results of the chapter election tally shall be published in the chapter’s next newsletter and posted on the chapter’s website within two weeks of announcing the results.
–Section 4: Term Limits—No one shall be allowed to serve on the board for more than 3 consecutive terms in the same position. They may opt to run for a different office. (The Audit Committee has also recommended this change for 2 years in a row.)
[New Section]
Article Five – Vacancies.
–Section 1: Vacancies occurring among the members of the executive board shall be filled by election of the executive board. Those chosen to fill vacancies will serve only until the next annual installation in June. At the annual election immediately preceding said installation, the membership of the chapter will elect a member or members to serve the remainder of any vacated terms.
Article Six – Duties of the Officers
–Section 1: The president shall preside at all meetings and exercise general supervision over the affairs and activities of the chapter, including attending the annual national convention, or selecting a delegate if they are unable to attend. The president should also prepare an agenda for all upcoming board meetings at least 3 days prior to that meeting.
–Section 2: If the president is absent or incapacitated, the president’s duties shall be assumed by the president-elect.
–Section 3: The president-elect shall also serve as program coordinator for the chapter.
–Section 4: The recording secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the chapter and send records of the proceedings to members of the executive board.
–Section 5: The recording secretary shall be custodian of all chapter written and digital records unless a special officer shall be appointed for that purpose; shall maintain the chapter roster of current board members and their terms; and shall conduct all correspondence of the chapter, as required.
—Section 6: The membership secretary shall maintain the chapter roster, including all records and reports on chapter membership.
–Section 7: The treasurer shall receive all chapter funds, keep them in one or more federally insure depositories approved by the executive board, and pay out funds only by the direction of the president. The treasurer shall make a written monthly report to the executive board of all disbursements, receipts and balances.
Article Seven –Executive Board
Section 1: The executive board of the chapter shall consist of the officers of the chapter, the immediate past president, and six directors as provided in the chapter constitution and, when applicable under Section 3 of Article Five of the constitution, the Region 2 director and any elected national officer who is a chapter member.
Section 2: The executive board of the chapter shall be responsible for conducting the business of the chapter.
Section 3: Any member of the executive board who has three consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled monthly meetings of the board shall be asked by the chapter president to resign from office. If this officer or director fails to resign, the executive board shall vote whether to remove the officer. If the executive board votes for removal, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article Five of the bylaws.
Article Eight –Committees
Section 1: Committees shall be appointed by the president. All committees, after appointment, shall be ratified by the executive board.
Section 2: The standing committees of the chapter include: Awards, HOF Banquet, Diversity, Ethics and Freedom of Information, Foreign Press, Membership, Communications (newsletter, website, publicity), SDX Foundation and Student Liaison.
Section 3:
Deleted
Article Nine —Quorum
Old Section 1:
Deleted
New Section 1: Seven members of the executive board shall constitute a quorum for board meetings.
Article Ten –Order of Business
Section 1: The order of business at all executive board meetings and at chapter business meetings shall be as follows: Meeting called to order, reading of minutes of previous meeting, reports of officers and committee chairpersons, unfinished business, new business and adjournment.
Article Eleven –Parliamentary Authority
Section 1: The most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority of this chapter.
Article Twelve –Amendments
Section 1: An amendment to these bylaws may be proposed in writing at any regular meeting of the chapter. Such proposed amendment must be signed by 2 percent of the chapter membership before being submitted to the meetings and shall be read at the meeting by the presiding officer. After such notice, the proposed amendment and a ballot for voting on its adoption shall be sent to all members. The amendment shall be effective if approved by a majority of the chapter members voting.
Section 2: An amendment to these bylaws may be proposed in writing by two-thirds of the executive board membership and shall be enacted if approved by a majority vote of the chapter members attending the next regular meeting of the chapter, providing that notice of said meeting and the full wording of the proposed amendment will have been sent to all chapter members no later than 15 working days prior to the meeting by electronic or posted mail.
Section 3: Amendments to these bylaws shall become effective immediately unless otherwise specified in the written proposal for the amendment.