Proposed By-Laws Amendment
The GEDA Executive Committee and Board of Directors has developed a proposed By-Laws Amendment for the membership to act upon at the upcoming Annual Conference. Pursuant to Article IX of the GEDA By-Laws, the “By-Laws may be amended or repealed wholly or in part by a majority vote of the members present at any membership meeting … provided that ten (10) days notice of the proposed action has been given to each member.” We stand now two weeks before the Annual Business Meeting, during which we elect our new Officers and Directors for the coming year. During this meeting, we will also vote on the proposed By-Laws amendment which is outlined below.
The Board of Directors, in the interest of encouraging the highest possible participation at Board Meetings, proposes amending Article III, Section 15, which currently states, “Any Director may be removed by the members at any time, with or without cause, and any vacancy in any office occurring for whatever reason shall be filled as provided in Section 16 below. Absence from three (3) consecutive Board meetings shall be considered cause for removal.”
The proposed changes would create stronger language for the removal of Officers, Directors and Committee Chairs. If ratified at the Annual Business Meeting, Section 15 would read as follows:
It is vital that Officers and Board members attend all GEDA Board meetings; both scheduled and specially called meetings. As elected representatives of GEDA, Directors and Officers are charged with developing the policies that lead the organization. To fully understand discussions, policy decisions and other GEDA activities, Directors & Officers must be present and attentive at meetings to understand the reasoning and considerations behind any and all GEDA actions. Therefore, a GEDA Officer or Board member will be asked to resign from office should one of the following scenarios apply: • The Officer or Director misses four (4) consecutive Board Meetings, or • The Officer or Director has three (3) Un-notified absences* in a 12-month period, or • The Officer or Director misses six (6) Board of Directors meetings in a 12-month period. Should an Officer or Director meet one of these three scenarios, the Executive Committee will ask for his/her resignation.
*“Un-notified absences” shall be defined as missing a GEDA Board of Directors meeting without notifying the GEDA President or Executive Director of the absence with at least 48 hours notice.
Similarly, GEDA Committee Chairs will be held to the same policy. However, Committee Chairs have the option of sending the Committee Vice-Chair or other appropriate representative to GEDA Board Meetings.
Please make sure you are in attendance at the Annual Business Meeting first thing Friday morning at Annual Conference.
Tagged: annual conference, bylaws
