Proposed Region IV Bylaws
ARTICLE I: NAME
A. This organization shall be known as Region IV of the American Criminal Justice Association/ Lambda Alpha Epsilon
ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES
A. The objectives of Region IV shall conform with , but not be limited to those set forth in the Grand Chapter’s Bylaws of the American Criminal Justice Association/ Lambda Alpha Epsilon and
B. To work within the boundaries of Region IV towards expansion of the Association.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
A. Membership shall be composed of all members meeting the established criteria set forth in the Grand Chapter’s Bylaws of the American Criminal Justice Association/ Lambda Alpha Epsilon and
B. Membership will include subordinate chapters and Members-at-large who are also within boundaries of Region IV.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS OF REGION IV
A. Officers
a. Region IV Executive Board of Region IV shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary/ Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms, Student Representative, and Faculty Advisor
B. Duties of Officers
a. Duties of Region IV President
i. He/She shall be well versed in parliamentary law and thoroughly familiarize him/herself with the Bylaws of the Grand Chapter and the region and other rules of the Association.
ii. The Regional President or someone designated by him/ her shall arrange for at least one Regional Meeting each year.
iii. The Regional President or his/her elected delegate shall be required to attend all Executive Board Meetings and the Annual Meeting of the Grand Chapter.
iv. He/She shall send a copy of the regions Bylaws to the Secretary of the Grand Chapter.
v. The Regional President shall keep a complete record of their financial activities to be forwarded to the National President bi-annually. They shall remain in contact with chapters in their region and accept written reports from them on activities in their respective chapters.
vi. Financial Responsibilities
1. He/She shall submit a report of all expenditures and monies received by his/her region for the previous year at the first Executive Board meeting of the following year.
2. In addition, he/she shall also submit to the Executive Secretary of the Grand Chapter bi-annual reports showing financial activity for the periods November- April and May-October with a report made at the Annual Conference showing financial activity up to and including the previous month before the Annual Conference. This report will only consist of receipts, expenses, and balance.
3. Regional reimbursements will not be released until the report is received.
vii. He/She shall submit a report on all activities of his/her-s in writing, at the Executive Board meeting and the Annual Conference.
viii. He/She shall represent the interests of chapters in his/her region unable to send a chapter delegate to meetings of the Association.
ix. He/She shall be responsible for the collection of proxies of chapters within his/her region unable to attend the Annual Meeting.
x. He/She shall represent the interest of his/her region at the Executive Board meetings and the Annual Meeting.
xi. He/She shall assist subordinate chapters within his/her region in the organization and the establishment of new chapters and shall give such assistance as may be requested.
xii. The Regional President shall follow-up, either by telephone, by mail, or facsimile on all chapter starter packets sent from the National Office. Notification of starter packets will be supplied by the Executive Secretary.
xiii. The Regional President may make recommendations for recall of Charter and chapters within his/her region to the Executive Board of Grand Chapter. (Bylaws, Article VI.;H;10;c).
xiv. The Regional President shall have the authority to suspend for a period of not more than sixty (60) days, the Charter, activities, functions, and acts of a chapter while an inquiry is made to determine if the chapters Charter is to be revoked. (Bylaws, Article VI;H;10;g).
b. Duties of the Presiding Officer at meetings
i. He/She shall call the meeting to order and ascertain that a quorum is present
ii. The presiding officer shall call for additions to the agenda before recognizing a motion to approve the agenda.
iii. He/She shall announce in proper sequence the business to come before the assembly.
iv. He/She shall recognize members who are entitled to the floor.
v. He/She shall state and put to vote all questions that legitimately come before the assembly as motions or that otherwise arise in the course of proceedings and to announce the result of each vote; or, if a motion that is not in order is made, to rule it out of order.
vi. He/She shall respond to inquiries of members relating to parliamentary procedure.
vii. He/She shall, previous to the adjournment of each Executive Board and Annual Meeting, require the Executive Secretary to submit a statement of all monies received, deposited, and dispersed since the regular meeting and of the financial standing of the Association.
viii. To declare the meeting adjourned when the assembly so votes or- where applicable- at the time prescribed in the program.
ix. At each meeting, in addition to the necessary papers proper to that meetings business, the presiding officer shall have on hand:
1. A copy of the Bylaws and other rules of the organization.
2. A copy of its parliamentary authority.
3. A list of all standing and special committees and their names.
4. A memorandum of the complete order of business, showing all known matters that are to come up under each heading, listed in proper sequence.
c. Duties of Vice-President
i. The Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of his/her duties and perform such duties as directed by the President.
ii. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall serve in his/her stead.
iii. In case of the resignation or death of the President, the Vice-President automatically becomes President for the unexpired term.
iv. The Vice-President shall follow-up, either by telephone, mail, facsimile or email on all chapter starter packets sent from the National Office. Notification of starter packets will be supplied by the Executive Secretary.
v. Recruitment of new chapters for the Region shall be one of the duties of the Vice-President.
vi. Contacting inactive chapters to encourage their return to good standing.
d. Duties of Secretary/Treasurer
i. To keep a record of all proceedings of Region IV- usually called the minutes.
ii. To keep on file all committee reports and information for the Regional Newsletter.
iii. To make the minutes and records available to members upon request.
iv. To notify officers and committee members of their election or appointment, to furnish committees with whatever documents are required for the performance of their duties and to have on hand at each meeting a list of all existing committees and their members.
v. To maintain record book(s) in which the Region IV Bylaws, Standing Rules and minutes are entered, with any amendments of these documents properly recorded, and to have the current record book(s) on hand at every meeting.
vi. To send out the membership a notice of each meeting, known as the call of the meeting, and to conduct the general correspondence of Region IV- that is, correspondence which is not a function proper to other officers or to committees.
vii. To prepare, prior to each meeting, an order of business for the use of the presiding officer, showing in their exact order, under each heading, all matters known in advance that are due to come up.
viii. In the absence of the President and Vice-President, to call the meeting to order and preside over the meeting.
ix. Keep a record of the names, addresses and such other data pertaining to the Regional membership as may be of interest or use as directed by the Executive Board of the Region. Such a list can be obtained from the National Secretary.
x. Maintain a cash receipts journal of all funds received from any source, and maintain a cash payments journal of all funds dispersed.
xi. Deposit funds into the Regional Account.
xii. Endorse checks with the Regional President.
xiii. With the Regional President, review Regional Conference Budgets and expenditures to ensure their accuracy.
xiv. The Regional Secretary/Treasurer will act as Nominations Coordinator for Regional Elections and will receive all nominations and check that they are currently members of the region in good standing.
xv. The Regional Secretary will publish two newsletters per year for the region with the assistance of other Executive Board Members and Chapter Officers.
xvi. Reports required of the Secretary/Treasurer
1. Report of all monies received, deposited and distributed since the last regular meeting, and the financial standing of Region IV.
2. Report of Chapters gained or lost since the last meeting.
3. Report of all Charters granted since the last regular meeting giving their names and locations.
4. Reports of activities at the Regional and Annual Meeting.
xvii. Duties of Secretary/Treasurer to subordinate Chapters
1. Notify the subordinate chapters of the Regional Conference and Executive Board meetings.
2. Answer all correspondence and send special notices of general information as needed.
3. The cutoff date for membership initiations and dues for voting purposes shall be 30 working days prior to the first Executive Board meeting of the Regional Conference.
4. Request from the National Secretary a list of chapters and their number of paid members for voting at the Regional Conference.
e. Duties of the Sergeant-At-Arms/ Parliamentarian
i. The Sergeant-At-Arms is elected with the other Regional Officers.
ii. In the absence of the President, Vice-President and Secretary, he/she shall conduct the Regional Meeting.
iii. He/She shall carry out the orders of the presiding officer in keeping order, disseminating ballot(s), and take care of any other business the presiding officer deems necessary.
iv. He/She should be well-versed in parliamentary law and thoroughly familiarize him/herself with the Bylaws and Standing Rules of Region IV.
v. He/She shall act as parliamentarian at meetings.
f. Duties of the Student Representative
i. The Student Representative member of Region IV Executive Board must be a current student in one of the regions subordinate chapters.
ii. The Student Representative is a full member of the Executive Board with voting privileges.
iii. The Student Representative shall receive registration reimbursement for attending the Regional and National Meetings.
iv. The Student Representative shall serve as the primary contact to students within Region IV.
g. The Regional Faculty Advisor
i. The Faculty Advisor shall be a member of the Region IV Executive Board and shall be the advisor to one of the regions subordinate chapters.
ii. The Faculty Advisor is a full member of the Executive Board with voting privileges.
iii. The Faculty Advisor shall be the main contact for advisors within the region.
C. Election of Officers
a. The President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms, Student Representative, and Faculty Advisor shall be elected from the membership present on even numbered years at the Regional Conference by secret ballot and shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. The term of office shall begin at the close of the Regional meeting in which they were elected.
i. In the event of the resignation or death of the President, the Vice-President shall ascend to the office of President for the remainder of the unexpired term. The office of Vice-President shall remain vacant until the next Regional or Annual Conference. There, the Vice-President will be elected to serve the remainder of the term of the previous Vice-President. If another vacant position will be elected, and so on, until all vacant offices are filled.
ii. In the event of the resignation or death of the President, and the unavailability of a Vice-President to succeed to the office of President, the Secretary/Treasurer, or if unavailable the Sergeant-At-Arms, shall assume the duties of Chairman of the Executive Board with all of the duties and powers of the President until an election can be held at the next Regional or National Conference to fill the vacancies for the remainder of their terms.
b. The Regional Secretary/Treasurer will act as the Nominations Coordinator for regional elections
i. In the event that the Regional Secretary/Treasurer cannot serve as the Nominations Coordinator, the President, with the approval of the Executive board, shall appoint another member in good standing to serve in this position.
ii. The Nominations Coordinator shall have the responsibility to solicit such nominations as any member in good standing shall submit for all of the Regional Offices.
iii. All nomination letters shall be sent to the Nominations Coordinator by May 1st prior to the Region’s Meeting in which the elections are to be held. The letters should include background and written criteria for each nominee.
iv. The Nominations Coordinator shall verify that each nominee meets all qualifications as may be set forth in the Association’s and Region IV Bylaws. The Coordinator shall address any incomplete and/or inaccurate information.
v. The Nominations Coordinator will give a report at the Business Meeting at the Regional Conference before the election on the nominations that were received.
vi. Nominations for officers of the Region IV Executive Board may also be made from the floor.
c. When there is only one candidate for an office the election by ballot may be dispensed with.
d. Should the Presiding Officer wish to nominate a member for office, he/she shall appoint an alternate presiding officer to conduct the Business Meeting until the completion of the election.
e. In order to be nominated, a candidate for the office of President or Vice-President shall have been a member of the Region for two (2) consecutive years at the time of his/her nomination.
f. Only members of the region shall nominate a candidate for office.
g. The election of officers of the Executive Board shall be held under new business and must be completed before adjournment.
h. A majority vote of all votes cast must be secured by one nominee to secure the election to office.
i. In the case of a tie or divided vote, the names of the members receiving the two highest numbers shall be voted upon again until one has secured a majority vote.
j. The highest office vacant must be filled before passing on to the next office.
k. Each regional chapter shall be entitled to one (1) vote plus an additional one (1) vote for each 25 members. Only chapters from the region may vote in any election of Regional Officers.
D. Recall of officers
a. Officers of the Executive Board may be recalled for any violation of the Bylaws and/or ruling of the Executive Board of Region IV or the Executive Board of the Grand Chapter.
i. A motion for recall may be made at any Executive Board Conference of Grand Chapter or the Annual Meeting of the Association.
ii. Procedures found in Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be followed
ARTICLE V: MEETINGS
A. Regular meetings shall be held at least twice a year. One meeting shall be held in the Fall and one shall be held in the Spring, in conjunction with the Grand Chapter Conference.
B. The Region IV President, or someone designated by him/her, shall arrange for each regional meeting.
C. Notice of all meetings of the Region shall be given by the Regional Secretary/Treasurer to each subordinate chapter and the Executive Board by mail at least fifteen (15) business days preceding the date set forth for such meetings and shall designate time, place and business to be transacted at such meetings.
D. Special meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the President, Secretary/Treasurer or on written request of four chapter so the region
a. Requests for special meetings shall be directed to the Region IV Secretary/Treasurer and shall specify the business to be transacted.
b. No other business shall be transacted at a special meeting except that which is specified ion the notice or matters closely related thereto.
E. A quorum shall be present after all chapters are duly notified.
F. When a member of the Executive Board receives a notice of either a regular or special meeting and is unable to attend, the Executive Board member shall send acknowledgement of the notice and a signed proxy to that meeting.
a. No member shall hold or vote more than one (1) proxy vote at a meeting.
b. Should the member of the Executive Board subsequently appear at a meeting, his/her proxy shall automatically be void.
G. In meetings, the following order of business shall prevail unless set aside by parliamentary law or on a majority vote of members present.
a. Roll call and proxy registration
b. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting
c. Reports of the Regional Officers:
i. President
ii. Vice-President
iii. Secretary/Treasurer
iv. Sergeant-At-Arms
v. Student Representative
vi. Regional Faculty Advisor
d. Report of committees
e. Unfinished business
f. New Business
g. Communications
h. Bills presented
i. Good of the Association
j. Next Meeting
k. Adjournment
ARTICLE VI: VOTING
A. All chapters in good standing shall be allocated one (1) vote plus one (1) vote per 25 members in good standing; these votes to be cast by chapter president or his/.her designee. Executive Board members shall be allotted one (1) vote each
ARTICLE VII: COMPOSITION OF THE REGION
A. General Provisions
a. Region IV shall be subject to the provisions of the Bylaws and the rulings of the Grand Chapter.
b. The region shall be comprised of all subordinate chapters within the boundaries set by the grand chapter.
B. Executive Board
a. The President, Vice-President, Secretary/ Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms, Student Representative and Faculty Advisor shall comprise the Executive Board.
b. Only members of Region IV in good standing shall comprise the Executive Board.
c. All officers should be required to attend regular and special meetings of the region.
d. Any member of the Executive Board writing letters on association business shall forward a copy to the Secretary/Treasurer.
C. Funds of the Association
a. A “general fund” in hereby created. All revenues from any source shall be placed in said fund. Such fund shall be in care of the Secretary/Treasurer.
b. Region IV shall receive a refund from the Grand Chapter and place said reimbursements into the Region IV account.
D. Committees of Region IV
a. The Region IV President shall appoint all committees as prescribed in the Bylaws and may appoint such other committees as he/she deems necessary to the orderly operation of the Region.
b. Audit Committee
i. The Regional President shall appoint an audit committee of at least:
1. Three (3) members from the active members of the Region who do not hold a regional office.
ii. The audit committee shall inspect all fiscal records of the Secretary/Treasurer at least once a year and submit its report and recommendations to the membership at the business meeting. If any irregularities are noted, the committee shall immediately inform the Region IV President.
c. Bylaws Committee
i. The Regional President shall appoint a bylaws committee of at least three (3) active members of the region who do not hold a regional office.
ii. Members of this committee shall familiarize themselves with the duties of the respective position as set forth by the presiding officer of Region IV.
iii. The committee shall have the power to draw up and propose amendments to the Bylaws and present these proposed amendments to the membership.
iv. The committee shall furnish a written copy of all recommendations and/or proposed amendments to the Region IV Secretary/Treasurer. This report shall be mailed to all subordinate chapters within the region and the Executive Board at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which they are to be presented.
d. Newsletter Committee
i. The Region IV Vice-President shall be the chair of the Region IV Newsletter Committee.
ii. The committee shall be responsible for assembling, compiling, and publishing of the Region IV Newsletter of the American Criminal Justice Association/ Lambda Alpha Epsilon.
iii. The committee chair shall be empowered to appoint such correspondents and other assistants, without pay, as he/she deems necessary to carry out the publishing of the newsletter.
iv. The committee chair shall set deadlines for information to be included in the Newsletter and shall notify members of the Executive Board by mail of the date of the deadline.
v. The Newsletter shall be published at least once per year.
vi. Items of interest to the Association as a whole, such as the activities of the members and for chapters, important decisions of the Executive Board, and rosters of the Executive Board, committees and regional chapters shall be included on the Newsletter.
vii. Each chapter shall appoint a member who shall be responsible for submitting articles to the newsletter.
ARTICLE VIII: AWARDS
A. Jim Hooker Spirit Award
a. One award to be granted at each Region IV conference.
i. The Jim Hooker Spirit Award may be awarded to any chapter, excluding the host chapter.
ii. Nominations and voting shall be by the host chapter’s President or designee and any/all Region IV and National Executive Board Members present at the regional conference.
1. Minimum Criteria
a. Minimum of five (3) members of a chapter must be present at the conference.
b. Seventy-five (75) percent of the chapter’s members present must participate in seventy-five (75) percent of the activities at the regional conference.
c. The chapter considered must be in good standing within the Association.
B. Sweeps Award
a. The Sweeps Award shall be awarded to the chapter/ member-at-large that received the most awards in all conference events.
i. One award to be granted at each Region IV regional conference.
C. Top Gun Award
a. One award to be granted at each Region IV conference to the individual who achieves the highest individual total score in the firearms competition.
i. Score shall be verified by the range master and/or Region IV National Firearms Committee representative.
ii. In the event of a tie, the highest number of “X” hits, then “10” rings hits, “9” ring hits, etc… will determine the overall Top Gun Award winner.
b. Minimum Criteria
i. Individual must achieve a minimum score of 400/480 or eighty-three percent (83%).
ii. The recipient must be present at the closing banquet to receive the award.
iii. The recipient must be in good standing within the association.
c. The Top Gun Award may be granted to any member within Region IV, including a host chapters’ member.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS
A. These Bylaws may be amended at the Fall and/ or Spring Region IV Business Meeting provided notice of such amendments is brought to the attention of each active chapter within the region at least fifteen business days prior to the meeting for consideration and comment.
B. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of all membership present is necessary to amend any section of the Bylaws.
C. All proposals must be submitted on Proposal Forms provided by the Region IV Secretary/Treasurer upon request.
D. A Bylaws Committee will review any proposed amendments and submit them for consideration respectfully.
E. The Bylaws Committee shall review each proposal and shall recommend either approval or disapproval to the delegates at the Business Meeting and state their reasons for their recommendations.
(Comprised by the Bylaws Committee, March 2006)
Please send any comments to Nicci Koban at roxygrl03330@aol.com