Bylaws of the
Cardinal States Chapter
Cardinal
States Professional Chapter
The
Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma
Delta Chi,
ARTICLE I —
Definitions
Section One
"Chapter," as
used herein, shall refer
to Cardinal States Professional Chapter of the national Society of
Professional
Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, located in
Section Two
The name of this
chapter shall be "Cardinal
States Professional Chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists,
Sigma
Delta Chi."
Section Three
"Meetings," as
used herein, shall mean
regularly called or stated meetings as decided upon by the Board of
Directors
or the President's duly appointed committee chairmen.
Section Four
All action taken
by this chapter shall be by a
majority vote of the duly accredited professional members present at
any
meeting at which a quorum shall be present. Chapter bylaw amendments
shall be
proposed at one meeting and voted upon at a subsequent meeting, after
at least
seven days' written notice of the proposed amendment has been given to
the
members by the Secretary of the chapter.
Section Five
For the
transaction of business at any regular
chapter meeting a quorum shall be no less than one-half of the eligible
members
in good standing.
Section Six
Unless otherwise
stated in these bylaws, all
meetings of this chapter, its board and its committees shall be
conducted in
accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
ARTICLE II —
Meetings
Section One
There shall be a
regular meeting of the chapter
at least six times per year, the time and place to be decided upon by
the Board
of Directors or the President and his or her duly appointed committee
chairman.
Section Two
The Board of
Directors shall be authorized to
call special meetings of the chapter or the Directors. Any elected
officer can,
with the approval of the President or the President-elect, issue a call
for a
special board meeting.
Section Three
There may be
special or regular designated
meetings for the observance of Founder's Day, and special meetings for
initiations, for honoring special guests and observing special
occasions, the
time and place to be designated by the Board of Directors.
Section Four
In keeping with
the national goals of The
Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi and to set an
example for
other organizations, all membership meetings of The Cardinal States
Professional Chapter shall be open to coverage by any or all
communications
media on an equal basis. Coverage of programs of The Cardinal States
Professional Chapter shall be encouraged in order to acquaint the
profession
and public at large with the issues discussed by and before the
chapter’s
membership. Individual guest speakers shall be apprised in advance that
this is
a chapter policy.
ARTICLE III —
Officers
Section One
The officers of
the chapter shall be a
President, a President-elect, two Vice Presidents, a Secretary and a
Treasurer.
Section Two
The President
shall be chief executive officer
and shall supervise and direct the day-to-day business and affairs of
the
chapter. The President shall see that all orders or resolutions of the
chapter,
Board and committees are carried into effect. The President also shall
perform
the functions usually pertaining to the office and others as may be
assigned by
the Board.
In the absence
or in case of the inability of
the President to act, the President-elect shall have all the powers and
shall
perform all the duties of the President or other duties and powers
prescribed
by the Board or by the President.
The
President-elect and two Vice Presidents
shall serve as chairs of the Membership, Freedom of Information and
Program
Committees, and shall perform the functions customarily associated with
those
titles.
The Secretary
shall record the minutes of the
meetings of the membership of the chapter and the Board, be custodian
of the
chapter records and seal, and perform all duties incidental to the
office of
Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned by the President or
Board.
In addition the Secretary shall see that all notices are duly given in
accordance with the provisions of these bylaws or as required by law
and shall
keep a register of the postal address and e-mail address of each member
of this
chapter.
The Treasurer
shall be the principal accounting
and financial officer of the chapter. The Treasurer shall be
responsible for
the financial books of account for the chapter, be responsible for and
have
custody of all funds and securities of the chapter and for the receipt
and
disbursement thereof, and perform all the duties incidental to the
office of
Treasurer and such other duties as may be assigned by the President or
the
Board.
Assistant
Secretaries and Assistant Treasurers
may be appointed by the President to perform duties assigned by the
Secretary,
the Treasurer, the President or the Board.
Section Three
The officers of
the chapter shall be elected at
a meeting in May of each year, shall take office July 1, and each shall
serve
for one year or until a qualified successor may be elected.
At the March
board meeting each year, a
Nominating Committee shall be named. The President shall appoint three
members
to the committee, naming its chairman, and the Board shall elect two
other
members from the Board and/or membership. The Nominating Committee
shall
consider service on a chapter committee as a qualification for office
of
director. There shall be no policy of discrimination on the basis of
employment
in the selection of nominees for office.
The Nominating
Committee shall report its
recommendations for officers and directors at the Board's April
meeting, and
the Board's slate shall be presented to the chapter membership in a
newsletter
mailed to the members no later than April 20. The elections of officers
and
directors shall take place at a May meeting of the chapter. Nominations
also
may be made from the floor at that meeting prior to the election.
Section Four
All directors
and members who may be involved in
judging any event or competition falling under the jurisdiction of the
organizations shall not be held liable for the outcome of such event or
competition as it may affect individual participants or competitors.
ARTICLE IV —
Board of Directors
Section One
The Chapter
shall have a Board of Directors of
10 members, which shall be responsible for direction and planning of
all the
chapter's activities, subject to the will of the membership. The Board
shall
consist of the six current officers of the Chapter and four other
professional
members, and the immediate Past President, who shall serve ex
officio and whose term shall be for one year.
Section Two
Directors will
be elected to serve two-year
terms, each term to begin on July 1, with oneself of the Board to be
elected
annually, except to fill vacancies. Board members shall be prohibited
from
serving more than three consecutive full terms (six years). Election as
an
officer does not constitute a term on the Board of Directors.
Section Three
Representation
on the Board must include from
among the officers and elected Board members a minimum of four
representatives
from the newspaper editorial field, from the wire service field, from
the radio
and television news field, and from the magazine, business and/or
professional
publications field.
Section Four
The President of
the Chapter shall chair the
Board of Directors meeting.
Section Five
The Board of
Directors shall be responsible for
these basic functions: (1) Membership and attendance; (2) Regular and
special
meetings; (3) Professional programs; (4) Planning; (5) Convention
representation;
(6) Cooperation with the national Society in all manners furthering the
programs, goals and aims of the society, including submission of
financial
reports, membership rosters and other reports required; and (7) The
administration of any awards, scholarships or citations deemed
necessary.
Section Six
The Board of
Directors is empowered to have such
Director's meetings as a majority of the Board shall deem necessary at
such
times as they choose or at the discretion of the chapter President
(board
chairman). The chairman shall call a Board meeting when requested by a
majority
of the Directors or the chairman may call a meeting whenever the
chairman
thinks such a meeting is advisable.
Section Seven
The Chapter
President is authorized to appoint
such committees as the President deems necessary. Chairmen of the
appointed
committees may be from the Board or from the regular membership.
Section Eight
Any officer or
Director who is unable to attend
a Board meeting is to seek to be excused from attendance by informing
the
President and Secretary at least 24 hours before the meeting is
scheduled to
begin. Failure to attend consecutively or cumulatively three or more
Board
meetings between July 1 and the following June 30 shall constitute
grounds for
removal from office.
Vacancies in the
complement of officers and in
the Board of Directors, due to death, resignation, removal from the
At all meetings
of the Board, five members of
the Board shall constitute a quorum, whether officers, Directors or a
combination of both.
Standing
Rules
Conforming with
national bylaws of the Society
of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, The Cardinal States
Professional
Chapter extends Chapter membership at special rates for retired members
and
members enrolled as full-time students. In either case, a member must
notify
the President or Board of Directors in writing of his or her retirement
or
enrollment in school to qualify for the special rate, which is one half
the
current regular Chapter dues.
Dues for recent
graduates who wish to affiliate
with The Cardinal States Professional Chapter also are one half of the
current
regular rate for the first year of membership. This special rate is
restricted
to members who pay the national Society's initiation fee and dues and
are
accepted as members of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma
Delta
Chi.
For students
attending full-time, admittance to
chapter programs is one half the regular admission unless there is a
stated
price for students.
Bylaws
Revised May 12, 2004