Parliamentarian’s Corner....August 2005
Following a number of e-mail and phone discussions with various members of the NFLCC Board of Directors, then-President Gibby Gibson appointed a ByLaws Committee to deal with a few changes that were deemed necessary to 1. remove conflicting phrases and 2. to recommend ByLaws changes to be presented for adoption at the July 2005 National Meeting of the NFLCC in Louisville, Kentucky. The report was completed and forwarded to the Board on April 24, 2005. Proposed Bylaws Amendments and brief explanations were published in the June 2005 issue of the NFLCC Gazette. Here is a summary of that report, and the subsequent votes at the National Meeting.
ByLaws Recommendation to change ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP, Section 1. Requirements B. to read:
“To remain a member in good standing, members must pay all dues and fees and are subject to the NFLCC Bylaws (which includes the Code of Ethics) and Standing Rules. All membership enrollment, renewals and removals may be subject to majority approval of the Board of Directors, whose voting members are the President and ten Regional Vice Presidents.”
(Motion removes the Secretary/Treasurer and Immediate Past-President as voting members. This was recommended for adoption by the Board, and passed by the membership at the National Business Meeting.)
ByLaws Recommendation to change ARTICLE IV. NATIONAL OFFICERS, ELECTIONS, VACANCIES
Section 1. National Officers B. to read:
“National Officers of the NFLCC are: the President (elected, voting), Secretary/Treasurer (appointed, non-voting), Immediate Past President (previously elected, non‑voting), and Parliamentarian (appointed, non‑voting).”
(Motion defines each office as to elected and voting status. Major changes are that the Secretary/Treasurer would no longer be elected but appointed, and would no longer be a voting member of the Board; and that the Immediate Past President would remain a member of the Board, but is no longer a voting member. Now, rather than 13 voting members, there are eleven (11). A majority vote by the Board is still defined as “eight (8), regardless of how many are present and voting).
ByLaws Recommendation to change ARTICLE VI. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 1. Purpose and Functions of the Board of Directors A. to read:
“The primary functions of the NFLCC Board of Directors are: to review and adopt major policy changes for the
organization; review or approve/disapprove removals (excepting for failure to pay dues or fees); and to serve as an advisory group to the NFLCC President for the routine and daily operations of the organization (on an individual or group basis).”
(Motion deletes “approve membership enrollment and renewals”–this was supposed to have been changed in previous ByLaws revision, and was just overlooked. Voted yes for adoption by both the Board and the general membership during the 2005 National Annual Business Meeting)
ByLaws Recommendation to change ARTICLE VI. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 2. Members of the Board of Directors to read:
The NFLCC Board of Directors consists of eleven (11) voting members; the NFLCC President (Chairman) and ten (10) Regional Vice Presidents. Non‑voting members of the Board are: the Immediate Past President (Vice
Chairman, non-voting), the Secretary/Treasurer (appointed, non-voting), and Parliamentarian (appointed, non-voting).
(Motion reflects a change in voting status of the Secretary/Treasurer and Immediate past President to non-voting. This was also a Board recommendation for adoption, and was passed by the membership at the 2005 National Business Meeting.)
ByLaws Recommendation to change ARTICLE IV. National Officers, Elections, Vacancies Section 2. Election of National Officers to read:
A. Election of the NFLCC President shall be held every two years by mail ballot prior to the NFLCC National Meeting.
B. National Officer(s) shall be elected from nominated, qualified candidates submitted to the NFLCC President. The President must have a minimum of four years of continuous membership.
C. Nominations for elected position(s) will be submitted to the President, in writing in advance of the NFLCC National Meeting to accommodate ballot by mail. The name of each nominee will then be published in the NFLCC Gazette with an accompanying brief resume of experience and goals or interest for their term of office. No nominations will be accepted by the President after the established date.
(Motion reflects a change in method of election of the President to a mail-in ballot – rather than by the membership during the Annual Business Meeting. The details are to be worked out by an appointed committee, charged with making additional recommendations for implementation of this system, and matching ByLaws changes. The vote on these ByLaws changes will be at the 2006 business meeting. The first mail-in ballot for office of President would not occur until 2007. The above motions were recommended by the Board, and adopted during the 2005 NFLCC Annual Business Meeting.)
General Motion on the Floor for Changing ByLaws: “The interim Committee on ByLaws Revisions moves that if the above recommended ByLaws changes are approved by the NFLCC Board and subsequently adopted by the membership at the 2005 NFLCC Annual Meeting, that the Parliamentarian be directed to editorially change the current ByLaws to completely match said changes throughout.”
(The motion allows the update of remaining sections of the ByLaws affected by any of the above changes. It was passed by the Board and the membership at the National Business Meeting 2005.)
Look for additional information on this site as future ByLaws proposals are recommended to the membership for adoption.
Annette C. Sanders, Ph.D., NFLCC Life Member Parliamentarian, NFLCC
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