The following amendments have been submitted in a manner consistent with all requirements of Article XVIII, Section 1 of the Constitution and Bylaws (“Originating Proposed Amendments”).
In accordance with Article XVIII, Section 2 (“Procedure and Action on Proposed Amendments”), notice is hereby given to all Members that the following amendment proposals will be voted upon at the next annual business meeting of the membership, August 5, 2010, at the Chicago Hilton, Chicago, Il.
To be approved, the amendment requires a two-thirds vote of the Voting Members who are present at the annual business meeting as well as the Voting Members who are voting by electronic mail or other authorized means of electronic transmission. Full Text of the NCRA Constitution and Bylaws.
NCRA Board Analysis of Member-Proposed Amendments
PROPOSED AMENDMENT: Eligibility to Vote
Article III, Section 9, paragraph b.
b) All Members may attend meetings of the Members and participate in any debates at such meetings. Only Participating Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters and Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters, as well as Retired Lifetime Members and Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters, shall be eligible to vote and/or make or second motions at such meetings or to vote by electronic mail or other means of electronic transmission as specifically authorized under Article IX (“Voting Members”).
Proponent's Rationale: There have been several attempts in the last few years to bring nonstenographic groups into the Participating or Registered Member category, where they would then be able to vote on issues affecting our stenographic association or serve as directors and/or officers. Currently, it only lists the Retired Lifetime Members and Honorary Members as having to be stenographic reporters to be eligible to vote.
Respectfully submitted:
Jerry L. “Will” Callaway, Member #2102
Mary Beth Simpkins, Member #27864
Lisa Williams, Member #814943
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS: Eligibility to Hold Elective Office
Article III, Section 9, paragraph c.
c) Only Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters or Retired Lifetime Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters or Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters shall be eligible to hold an elective office of the Association.
Proponent's Rationale: This would allow those members who have served us in the past to have more input into the direction of the Association by serving again as a board member and/or an officer.
Respectfully submitted:
Jerry L. “Will” Callaway, Member #2102
Mary Beth Simpkins, Member #27864
Lisa Williams, Member #814943
Article V – Board of Directors
Section 2–Composition and Eligibility
The Board of Directors shall be composed of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, the Immediate Past President, and nine (9) Directors. The Executive Director shall be an ex officio member of the Board of Directors without voting rights. The Board of Directors may appoint other ex officio members of the Board without voting rights. Only Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters or Retired Lifetime Members who have been verbatim reporters or Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters shall be eligible to hold an elective office of the Association.
Proponent's Rationale: This would allow former Registered Members and Honorary Members who have been stenographic reporters to serve as an officer or director if they meet all other qualifications.
Respectfully submitted:
Jerry L. “Will” Callaway, Member #2102
David B. Jackson, Member #7233
Lisa Williams, Member #814943
PROPOSED AMENDMENT: Re-election to Previously Held Office
Article VI, Section 2–Election, Qualifications, and Term of Office
This Bylaws Amendment was Refered back to Constitution & Bylaws Committee
By a vote of the members at the business meeting, the proposed amendment to Article VI, Section 2 (addressing eligibility to be re-elected to a previously held office) was removed from the ballot and referred to the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. The vote was 100 for; 71 against.
The Officers (except the President, the Immediate Past President, and the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer) shall be elected each year by the Voting Members. The term of each elected Officer shall begin at the close of the annual convention at which the Officer was elected and the Officer shall serve until the Officer’s successor is elected. No elected Officer shall serve for more than one full term in the same office except the Secretary-Treasurer; however, if a qualified Member wishes to run for an Officer position which he or she has held previously, he or she must wait until at least seven years have passed from the time he or she has held that Officer position. The Secretary-Treasurer may serve for no more than three (3) consecutive terms. If an individual holds the position of Secretary-Treasurer for three (3) consecutive terms, that individual may not run for the Office of Secretary-Treasurer again until after seven years have elapsed from the time he or she has last held that position. The President-Elect shall automatically succeed to the office of President at the completion of the President’s term of office.
Proponent's Rationale: The rationale for this amendment is that there are some members who may want to hold an officer position more than one time in their life. Since many members believe that board members should not just be recycled year after year, the seven-year rule will make sure that anyone trying to run for an officer position after having already served previously in that position will have to wait at least three years at a minimum after their board service is completed before they could run again. An example of this would be the following. In 2000, a member becomes the Vice President and is Vice President for the 2000-2001 association year (year one). The member decides to move up the ladder and become President-Elect for the 2001-2002 association year (year two). That person then automatically becomes President for the 2002-2003 association year (year three), and then automatically becomes the Immediate Past President for the 2003-2004 association year (year four). In order for that member to run for and become Vice President again, they would have to wait three more association years to elapse before doing so. If the member became Vice President for the 2000-2001 association year and then decided not to try to advance to the next highest position, that member would have to wait for seven years before he or she could run for Vice President again. They could run for President-Elect at any time in the future since he or she had never held that position previously.
Respectfully submitted:
Jerry L. “Will” Callaway, Member #2102
David B. Jackson, Member #7233
Lisa Williams, Member #814943
NOTE: At the recommendation of the NCRA Constitution and Bylaws Committee and with the concurrence of the amendment authors, minor technical corrections that do not affect the substance of the amendment proposals have been made to the language, as originally submitted.