Meeting Minutes
Welcome to the ACB resumption of the annual meeting which started June 13th.
We are here tonight to basically vote on the 2018 amendments that became necessary when we had to cancel, nullify 2017 amendments.
And we now gave the Constitution Bylaws Committee a little time to get the adjustments together.
So what you received just recently is the package that we’re dealing with.
So with that in mind, I’m going to turn it over to David Tanner, the Secretary for the roll call.
And we would like to…
Pardon?
I heard ACB meeting…
No, this is the Blind Information Technology Specialists.
Okay, I heard ACB…
Okay.
Thank you, Richard.
So David?
Okay.
Mary Abramson, Robert Armstrong, Kimberly Alfonso, Jonathan Avila, Steve Bauer, Jeffrey Bennett.
I’m here.
Jeff Bishop, Jackie Boomstra, Andy Borcha, Elizabeth Bowden, Kathy Brandt, Marie Breedis, Richard Brock, Donna Brown, Donna Browning, Karen Campbell, Ray Campbell, Jason Castonguay, Thomas Cummings.
I’m here.
Frank Cuda, Virginia DeBly, James Denham, Rita Dillick, Betsy Doan, Grady Ebert, Janelle Edwards.
I’m here.
Karen Eitel.
Eitel?
It’s Karen Eitel, yeah.
Okay.
Justin Ekis, E-K-I-S, Robin Frost, Michael Fulken, John Glass, David Goldfield, Marion Hazelred, Mary Carla Hayes, Debbie Hazelton, Lynn H-E-D-L.
Eitel?
Sean Henning, Paul Hendrickson, Wendelin Hovindic, Earlene Hughes.
Here.
Douglas Hesinger.
Right here.
Oh, wow.
Sound good, Doug.
Paul Hunt, Curtis Jackson, Jim Jarek, Katherine Johnson, Richard Johnson, Terrell Jones, Thomas Jones.
Here.
Tyler Kavanaugh, Michael Keithley, Lynn Corral, Larry Krejcik, K-R-E-I-J-C-I, Krejcik, Maria Kristek, Martin Kuhn, Marvin Kuhn, Michael Loss, Amanda Lee.
Here.
Barbara Lombardi, Lombard, Thomas Lutz, Paula Mack, Scott Marshall, Dean Martineau, Marita Matthews, John McCann.
Here.
Lainey Molinar, Brian Moore, Marsha Moses, Rhonda Nelson, Kelsey Nicolay, Michael O’Brien, Ann Parsons, Alan Peterson, Penelope Reeder, Nycho Richards.
It’s Rycards and I’m here.
Steven Robertson, Robert Rogers, Terri Ann Sorman, Betsy Sawyer, Lillian Escape, Katherine Schmidt Whittaker, Scott Skaczynski, Marshall Scott, Lyle Sine, Ronald Smith, Bill Sparks.
Jim Stanka.
I’m here.
Emily Starr.
Was that Abraham Sweiss?
Yes, I’m here.
David Tanner.
Was here.
Did I hear Karen Campbell come in?
No, Karen Itel, I think.
Yeah, Karen Itel.
Karen Itel, okay.
I think it was Karen Itel that came in, but she’s, never mind, came.
Good evening, John.
There you go.
Okay, sorry.
Was that Karen Itel?
Itel.
Okay.
Susan Thompson.
Renee Tucker, Lawrence Turnbull, Deborah Turner, Robert Turner, Sean Turner, Richard Villa.
He’s here.
Frank Welty, Beverly Whelan, Ron Woelfel, Christopher Wright, Keo Wright, John Wlioj.
Michael Zagan, Vida Zavol, Renee Zelikson.
I’m here.
Okay.
And that’s a lot of people.
You should have 16, David.
Yep.
Okay, Mr.
President, we have 16 people present.
Okay, that works.
Mr.
President?
Yes.
I was seeing Viola Cruz and there’s a Janelle here, who I assume to be Janelle Edwards.
I don’t know if you matched her.
Janelle answered, I know that.
Oh, she did?
Okay, fine.
Yes.
I see Viola Cruz on here, too.
I am here.
Viola Cruz is here.
Okay.
All right.
Yes.
Thank you, though.
We got it all.
Okay.
We have a quorum, I guess.
Yes.
Okay.
What’s going to happen is I’m going to turn it back over to David in a moment.
He’s going to introduce each individual amendment as it comes up.
And, Earlene, if you’re here, if you will be happy enough to read those as they come up for us, that would be helpful.
And I will take over to get the vote and then turn it back over to David.
So that’s the cycle that will go on.
So, David, take it away.
Okay.
Well, I’ve got to get to it first.
Okay.
I’m ready to go if you’re ready, David.
I will be momentarily.
I have to change documents here in my Braille sense.
Sorry.
Change it as fast as I can.
Okay.
So, what we are going to be doing is I’m going to be announcing the article that we’re getting ready, going to be considering.
Then Earlene will tell you about the article.
And then Tom will take the vote.
So we’re going to start with article 3.0 membership.
And the first one is article 3.1, types of membership.
Okay.
So, article 3, membership, 3.1, types of membership and qualifications.
Proposed wording, 3.1.4, life membership.
This life membership is open to any individual upon the payment of a one-time fee as set forth in the bylaws.
I move its adoption.
I’ll second.
Okay.
The motion is on the floor.
Is there a second?
John seconded.
Okay.
Any discussion?
Sorry.
I apologize.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Any discussion?
Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
That’s adopted.
Thank you very much.
David?
Okay.
Article 3.3, rights of the members.
3.3, rights of members.
The rights accompanying each type of membership are as follows.
Proposed wording, 3.3.4, this life members shall have all privileges including the right to serve in elective office, to attend and participate and vote in all regular and special membership meetings and to serve as chairs or members of committees.
I recommend its adoption.
The motion is on the floor.
And I’ve got a second.
Any discussion?
Hearing none, all in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
David?
It’s adopted, by the way.
Thank you.
Bits life members.
3.3.4.
I’m sorry.
Can I just go ahead, David?
Would it be okay if I just go ahead and read them off?
Because I have to read them off anyway.
That’s fine.
Sure.
Okay.
So we’re at 5.2 voting.
Did we do 3.4?
Yes.
We just passed that.
Bits life membership?
Yes.
That was the rights and privileges.
Yes.
We just voted on that.
Okay.
Go ahead, Ernie.
Proposed wording, 5.2 voting.
All full members, student members, organizational member representatives and Bits life members in good standing shall have the right to vote.
I move.
Second.
Any discussion?
Hearing none, all in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
David?
Aye.
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Aye.
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Sorry, I got jumped on there.
Okay, go ahead.
Okay, now we have 6.2 qualifications of officers.
I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So we have proposed wording.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial and they are easy.
So, I’m going to take these two sections in one vote because they are non-controversial It’s been moved and seconded for the adoption.
Any discussion?
Hearing none all in favor say aye.
Opposed?
Amendment is adopted.
Go ahead, Earlene.
7.2 qualifications of board members at large.
Proposed wording 7.2 qualifications of board members at large.
At large, full members, student members, organizational representatives, and BITS life members are qualified to serve on the Board of Directors as board members at large.
I move its adoption.
Second.
Okay it’s been moved and seconded for the adoption.
Any discussion?
All in favor say aye.
Hearing none, opposed?
Earlene.
Article 8, composition of the Board of Directors.
Proposed wording 8.1 composition of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors here and after referred to as the Board of Directors here and after referred to as the Board shall consist of the four officers article my braille display is not cooperating 7 and the article hang on here articles 6 the three board members at large article 7 and the immediate past president the president shall serve as the chair at all board meetings except in the absence of the president the vice president shall assume the duties of the president I move its adoption I’ll read that again if anybody needs it I did kind of have a problem with the article there a second it any discussion it’s been moved and seconded the adoption and no discussion hearing none all in favor say aye opposed and that is adopted early okay next we are going to delete paragraph 8.4 point 2 which says the chairs of publications and the projects committees referred to in article 9 shall be entitled to attend and participate in all regular or special meetings of the Board of Directors but they shall not be entitled to vote and the reason we are recommending that this paragraph be deleted is because we do not use the chair of publications as an ex officio board member or the projects here we don’t use the projects chair now I move its adoption second it’s been moved and seconded that that option the amendment be approved is there any discussion all in hearing none all go ahead all in favor say aye opposed and is adopted thank you very much early so now we will have paragraph 8.4 point 2 it was prior 8.4 point 3 and now it will be 8.4 point 2 executive sessions proposed wording executive sessions in the event of an executive session of the Board of Directors is called all visitors let me start that over that’s in the event an executive session of the Board of Directors is called all visitors shall be requested to leave the meeting and remain absent until the executive session is concluded I move its adoption second it’s been moved and seconded for adoption any discussion hearing none all in favor say aye opposed amendments adopted early okay moving along here we’ve got 8.6 vacancies we’re adding a new paragraph and it will be proposed 8.6 point 4 absences from meetings 8.6 point 4.1 given that the board manages the affairs of bits between annual meetings and given that each board member and officer performs assigned duties the absence of a board member or officer can seriously reduce the effect of the effectiveness of the board thus a board member or officer must have good reasons for absences from meetings 8.6 point 4.2 a board member or officer being absent from or anticipating absence from a board meeting anticipating an absence or a board member or officer being absent from or anticipating absence from a board meeting shall at the earliest opportunity notify the president or the secretary giving the reason for the absence 8.6 point 4.3 if an elected officer or board member has as many as three unexcused absences or if it is determined that the officer or board member can no longer attend meetings the board shall by majority vote consider the position on the board as a vacancy the officer or board member shall be notified as as to action taken by the board at the earliest possible time by certified mail I move its adoption it’s been moved and seconded for the adoption any discussion all in favor say aye opposed amendments adopted early okay now article 9 is a little different here we’ll go through it and see how it goes here article 9 is committees proposed wording committees 9.1 appointment of committees except where except where specifically provided otherwise the president shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees the president shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees the other officers the board members at large and the immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization 9.2 standing committees the following standing committees shall be established to function as needed auditing budget Constitution and bylaws convention program credentials fundraising membership nominating publications the functions of each committee has been moved to by law for which we’ll cover later I move this adoption second okay it’s been moved and seconded for adoption any discussion yes I noticed that said board members at large and just as a clerical matter is there a reason that says board members at large when the other said board members is there a reason that’s different or should that be consistent language throughout the Constitution let me see if I misspoke here or do we mean directors we need to turn all of those into directors no hold on guys hold on the chairs and members of all committees period the president shall also serve okay so it’s in this above sentence here appointment of committees except where specific specifically provided otherwise the president shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees the president shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees the other officers the board members at large because they are board members at large so it’s the officer the board members at large and the immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization know that that would not be a clerical error okay I was referring to some of the amendments that we were specific in the in the wording so that there would not be any confusion between the types of membership and David can speak to this if he wants I mean we the three directors in the Constitution they are referred to as directors at large board members at large board members at large board members at large the then the officers are dis referred to as the officers are members of the board but the three directors are our director of directors at large right I think it was when we were talking I mean in these earlier amendments about like people being removed but I mean it would it would simply be a clerical matter if you know it’s not a clerical matter it’s not I think I think okay and in the talking about absences I think that actually read was intended to refer to any member of the board whether they are a director at large or whether they were an officer we already we’re so we since we already voted on that article can we go back to it if we need to go back to it yes we could go back and just check the wording I think I think some editing could could take place John would probably be better to tell us no I’m come on guys we already voted the we already voted the article through right now the language the language is consistent so yeah that would be my point as well even if it’s awkward we have used it before so it has history in the document and should be used here whether we should you know look at tightening up language that’s something for another day I would okay I would attempting to wordsmith it in this forum but there’s a reason why we left it the way it was guys and the reason and I’m very insistent on this and I’m not unwilling to compromise with Janelle’s point but the reason we have it the way it is now is we’re all not going to be here say in 10 years or 20 years and we’ve had issues where things because we added the qualification types back in we had to be specific in the various qualification types for example full membership student membership board of directors board members at large so in places it says board of directors because that would encompass all officers and board members and other places it just refers to the board members at large and so we’ve been I mean we have spent hours on this and most of the committee was present for for all the meetings and and I would say David is chair Tom Richard myself I mean we have been over and over no and they can attest to that and I know it sounds a bit wordy and again I would say the reason for the wordiness is to be specific we actually had to go back and add and redo some of this because our articles of incorporation specifically refer to the types of membership and that’s why we are going through part of this now and I know it may seem wordy to some of you but if you read the document in total I’m sure you’ll have a better understanding of it you may not agree with the wordiness but it’ll give you a better understanding of it mr. president yes I think I think it’s not a matter of wordiness it’s more of a matter of at point at some point it’s there a board of director is referred to as a board director at large and then later on they’re just referred to as a board of director I mean as a director so I think it’s just you know a matter of semantics I guess but it might I just I just want you know for clarity sake that’s all and if if you all are okay with it and that’s fine okay is there any other discussion hearing none all those in favor of its adoption which has been moved and second say aye opposed thank you it is adopted thank you folks early okay I got to get back to my place the next article is 11.1 amendments amendments to the Constitution proposed wording any proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be distributed to the membership immediate accessible to both sighted and visually impaired members at least 30 days prior to its introduction for action at the annual meeting an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the qualified members present and voting shall be required for adoption of any proposed amendment to the Constitution I’ll read 11.2 it is similar amendments to the bylaws proposed wording 11.2 amendments to the bylaws any proposed amendment to the bylaws shall be distributed to the membership immediate accessible to both sighted and visually impaired members at least 30 days prior to its introduction for action at the annual meeting an affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified members present and voting shall be required for adoption of any proposed amendment to the bylaws I move its adoption second and moved and seconded regarding amendments adoption any discussion hearing none all those in favor of its adoption say aye opposed amendments adopted early okay now we’re moving to the bylaws now article 1 dues and fiscal year proposed wording 1.1 annual dues annual membership dues shall be assessed as follows nine point one point one full voting members $20 1.1 point to student members $10 1.1 point three organizational members $25 1.1 point for bits life members $250 which shall be paid in one installment 1.1 point five ACB life members $15 I recommend its adoption second it’s been moved and seconded regarding the amendments adoption any discussion hearing none all those in favor say aye opposed amendment is adopted Hurley now we have a new bylaw by law for it just used to have dot dot dot there and that’s been there as long as I can remember so we’re fixing that now I think that’s where they left off or something so now by law for we have committees proposed wording 4.1 appointment of committees except where specifically provided otherwise the president shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees the president shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees the other officers the board members at large and the immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization 4.1 point one auditing committee subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors the president shall appoint a member to serve as chair of the auditing committee the president shall also sorry the president shall appoint two other persons the problem is um this is in word and that’s part of the problem here from among good members to serve with the chair of the auditing committee no member of the Board of Directors may serve on the auditing committee the auditing committee shall meet with this language has not changed I don’t know if you want me to read all these may serve on the auditing we did not change anything in this in this in this paragraph here that the auditing committee shall meet David I think there might be a problem in this one we didn’t president is this just stuff that was moved from article 9 because yeah the auditing committee shall meet with the treasurer the auditing committee shall meet with the treasurer immediately prior to the annual meeting to conduct an audit of the organization’s financial records the auditing committee shall report its findings to the membership immediately following the presentation of the treasurer’s report the problem was my braille display not the text so I apologize for that 9.1 point – sorry 4.1 point – is budget committee and all we did was move this from article 9 to the bylaw for we did not change any of the text in this committee yes all we did was move it into article 4.
Cool.
I’m interested in permanent procedures so I can follow where you’re going with this, Eileen.
I’m sorry repeat that for me please.
I know a lot about permanent procedures stuff like that so I know where you’re going with this.
Okay 4.1.3 Constitution and Bylaws Committee we did not change anything in this paragraph all we did was move it from article 9 into bylaw 4.
4.1.4 we did change something in this committee.
Convention Program Committee subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors the president shall appoint a qualified member to serve as chair of the Convention Program Committee the president shall appoint at least two other members to serve on the Convention Program Committee the Convention Program Committee shall plan and present the program sessions for each annual BITS convention.
That’s new.
So before it was that the vice president was automatically chair of the Convention Program Committee now the president with confirmation by the Board of Directors can appoint a chair.
Okay and this is a new paragraph here we’re moving on to Credentials Committee now.
We’ve added language in here to accommodate for databases which would cover AMS and email lists so under the Credentials Committee the treasurer shall serve as chair of the Credentials Committee.
The president shall appoint at least two other members to serve on the Credentials Committee.
The Credentials Committee shall be responsible for maintaining membership records including but not limited to mailing lists, membership record dates, mailing lists, but not limited to I’m sorry here I’m having an issue with my braille display it’s not the text.
Mailing list membership databases and membership dues within 10 business days of the record date established for determining for I’m sorry within 10 business days of the record date established for determining those persons eligible to participate at the annual meeting.
The Credentials Committee shall prepare an alphabetical list containing the names and addresses of all such persons.
The list shall be available to the secretary at the annual meeting for the purpose of validating the casting of votes and for verifying the presence of a quorum.
4.1.6 Fundraising Committee we did not change anything in this paragraph.
4.1.7 Membership Committee we did make a small change here and the proposed wording is the president shall appoint a membership chair and two other persons two other persons to manage the dissemination of membership information recruitment of new members and in the oversight of membership services.
I understand why Richard is chuckling we did take out some language that was written by an alpha male and for purposes of edification it was not John I want to make sure everybody knows it was not something John did.
4.1.8 Nominating Committee we did make a small change here.
On or before April 30th the president shall appoint subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors a chair and two other members to serve on the Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of qualified candidates for each office and to be vote well hold on here let’s start this over remind me never to use word for reading these this just doesn’t work here.
4.1.8 Nominating Committee on or before April 30th the president shall appoint subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors confirmation by the Board of Directors a chair and two other members to serve on the Nominating Committee.
Yeah this is just not working here.
It’s my real display it is not the problem with the text.
Chair and two other members to serve on the Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of qualified candidates for each office to be voted on at the annual business meeting and shall on or before June 1st publish such slate to the membership before any members name may be placed on the and before any members name may be included on the slate the can’t the committee must obtain the candidates consent and an indication of that candidates willingness to serve.
The slate of all candidates may not include any member of the Nominating Committee.
However any member of the Nominating Committee may be nominated from the floor during an election.
So essentially the only thing we changed here is the president can appoint a chair of the Nominating Committee.
The president can appoint the Nominating Committee the chair and two other members subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors and that that came back right from the 2005 Constitution and the reason it requires all of the members to receive approval by the board is so that no president can essentially stack the deck.
Publications Committee we did not change anything in that paragraph and then we have special ad hoc committees we did not change anything in that paragraph.
What are they by the way?
Right now they are social media and bits presentations and workshops.
In terms of office we did not change anything in that paragraph.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Arlene are they stated as such I mean or is it just like the authority to appoint them?
When you say stated as such what do you mean?
Do you list you know social media?
Oh no no we don’t list the ad hoc committees right now.
They are on the committees page though.
Yeah right yeah so I mean this just basically grants authority to us to which you have natively anyway as an organization and the DC law.
Ad hoc can add ADE to committees.
I mean that’s the idea of ad hoc.
Can you explain that even more?
An ad hoc committee could be a committee that was only around for a year for a particular project and didn’t even come back a second year.
Right but I just didn’t know what one you all had right now.
No they’re not standing committees.
That’s correct.
They come in and go out.
So that is all of the committees.
I know some of this was long.
You guys everybody received a copy of the committees and I apologize for my misreading of some of the the way the Braille display pans it’s just it doesn’t work quite the way I want it to in Word.
I have something going on there and I apologize if there’s anything you want me to reread before we vote I’m more than willing to find what you want and go back and do it.
After all you’re the computer Earlene.
Well thank you yes I’ll just I’ll blame the computer for the errors of my fingers how about that?
Well because computers do what they want to.
Listen at least my fingers did not grant anybody that shouldn’t be able to vote the right to vote.
So I move the adoption of the bylaw for committees.
I second.
Oh I got beat oh well.
That’s okay.
Any discussion?
It’s been moved and seconded.
Any discussion?
Hearing none all in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
This has been adopted.
Thank you.
Mr.
President if I if I may I want to I really I want a really exclamation point thank everybody who took the time to attend this meeting this evening so far and and sit through and vote on the amendments and we really we went back and forth over these and that doesn’t mean that there won’t ever be changes in some of the wording I just wanted you guys to know how we got to where we are to present this to you this evening and I can’t thank you enough for the time that you’ve taken to at least be here and vote so thank you.
I echo that and thank you very much Earlene for your services not only and reading this but actually participating so strenuously in all the hard work you did for and setting up of all of this so thank you very much Earlene.
I guess we move back to the slate of the agenda of the initial annual meeting which is what this is a continuation of so with that in mind I ask them is there any old business?
Is there any new business?
With that in mind this meeting yes.
Just remind me who is elected in June?
Oh Kelsey Nikolai was elected as the newest board member.
Right.
We have done our actual thing for this year and I thank you very much for participating in the BITS continuation of the annual meeting.
Move adjournment of the meeting.
Okay anybody else?
We are adjourned.
Thank you very much folks.
It’s been moved and seconded for the adoption.
Any discussion?
All in favor say aye.
Opposed?
Amendments adopted.
Earlene?
Okay.
Now, Article 9 is a little different here.
We’ll go through it and see how it goes here.
Article 9 is committees.
Proposed wording.
Committees.
9.1, appointment of committees.
Except where specifically provided otherwise, the President shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees.
The President shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees.
The other officers, the board members at large, and the immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization.
9.2 Standing Committees
The following standing committees shall be established to function as needed.
auditing, budget, constitution and bylaws, convention program, credentials, fundraising,
membership, nominating, publications.
The functions of each committee has been moved to bylaw four, which we’ll cover later.
I move this adoption.
Second.
Okay, it’s been moved and seconded for adoption.
Any discussion?
Mr. President, this is Janelle Edwards.
Yes.
I noticed that said board members at large, and just as a clerical matter,
is there a reason that says board members at large when the other said board members?
Is there a reason that’s different, or should that be consistent language throughout the Constitution?
Let me see if I misspoke here.
Or do we mean directors?
Yeah, that’s a good question, John.
Yeah, that’s a very good question.
We need to turn all of those into directors.
No, hold on, guys. Hold on.
The chairs and members of all committees, period.
The President shall also serve…
Okay, so it’s in this above sentence here.
Appointment of committees,
except where specifically provided otherwise,
the President shall appoint
the chairs and members of all committees.
The President shall also serve as an ex officio member
of all committees. The other officers,
the board members at large, because they are board members
at large, so it’s the officer, the board members at large,
and the immediate past president are eligible for
committee appointment along with other qualified members
of the organization. No, that would not be a clerical error.
Okay. I was referring to some of the previous amendments that we passed.
um we were specific in the in the wording so that there would not be any uh confusion between the
types of membership and david can speak to this if he wants i mean
The three directors in the Constitution, they are referred to as directors at large.
Board members at large.
Board members at large.
Board members at large.
Then the officers are just referred to as the officers or members of the board.
but the three directors
are directors at large.
Right.
I think it was when we were talking
I mean in these earlier amendments
about like who votes and things
and people being removed.
But I mean it would
it would simply be a clerical matter if
No, it’s not a clerical matter.
It’s not.
I think, I think, okay.
In the talking about absences, I think it actually was intended to refer to any member of the board,
whether they were a director at large or whether they were an officer.
Since we already voted on that article, can we go back to it?
If we need to go back to it?
Yes.
We could go back and just check the wording.
I think some editing could take place.
John would probably be better to tell us.
Mr. President?
No, come on, guys.
We already voted the article through.
Right.
This is out of order right now.
There needs to be consistent language.
The language is consistent, though.
yeah that would be my point as well even if it’s awkward we’ve used it before so it has history in
should be used here whether we should you know look at tightening up language that’s something
for another day i would okay i would attempting to wordsmith it in this forum but there’s a reason
why we left it the way it was guys and the reason and i’m very insistent on this and i’m not
unwilling to compromise with Janelle’s point, but the reason we have it the way it is now
is we’re all not going to be here, say, in 10 years or 20 years. And we’ve had issues where
things, because we added the qualification types back in, we had to be specific in
the various qualification types.
For example, full membership, student membership,
board of directors, board members at large.
So in places it says board of directors
and we have spent hours on this.
And most of the committee was present for all the meetings.
And I would say David as chair, Tom, Richard, myself, I mean, we have been over and over, and they can attest to that.
And I know it sounds a bit wordy.
And, again, I would say the reason for the wordiness is to be specific.
We actually had to go back and add, redo some of this because our articles of incorporation
specifically refer to the types of membership, and that’s why we are going through part of this now.
And I know it may seem wordy to some of you, but if you read the document in total,
I’m sure you’ll have a better understanding of it.
You may not agree with the wordiness, but it’ll give you a better understanding of it.
Mr. President?
Yes.
I think it’s not a matter of wordiness.
It’s more of a matter of at some point a board of director is referred to as a board director at large,
and then later on they’re just referred to as a board of director, I mean as a director.
So I think it’s just, you know, a matter of semantics, I guess.
But I just want, you know, for clarity’s sake, that’s all.
And if you all are okay with it, then that’s fine.
Fine.
Okay.
Is there any other discussion?
Hearing none.
All those in favor of its adoption, which has been moved and seconded, say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
thank you it is adopted
thank you folks
okay I gotta get back to my place
the next article is 11.1 amendments
amendments to the Constitution proposed wording
any proposed amendment to the Constitution
shall be distributed to the membership
immediate accessible to both sighted
and visually impaired members at least 30 days
prior to its introduction for action at the annual meeting.
An affirmative vote of two thirds
of the qualified members present and voting
shall be required for adoption of any proposed amendment to the constitution
uh i’ll read 11.2 it is similar amendments to the bylaws
proposed wording 11.2 amendments to the bylaws any proposed amendment to the bylaws shall be
distributed to the membership in media accessible to both sighted and visually impaired members
at least 30 days prior to its introduction for action at the annual meeting. An affirmative
vote of a majority of the qualified members present and voting shall be required for adoption
of any proposed amendment to the bylaws.
I move its adoption.
Second.
And moved and seconded regarding the amendment’s adoption.
Any discussion?
Hearing none, all those in favor of its adoption say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
Amendment’s adopted.
Arlene?
Okay.
Now we’re moving to the bylaws now.
Article 1, dues and fiscal year.
Proposed wording.
1.1.
Annual dues.
Annual membership dues shall be assessed as follows.
9.1.1, full voting members, $20.
1.1.2, student members, $10.
1.1.3, organizational members, $25.
1.1.4, BITS life members, $250, which shall be paid in one installment.
1.1.5, ACB life members, $15.
I recommend its adoption.
It’s been moved and seconded regarding
amendment’s adoption. Any discussion?
Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.
Opposed?
Amendment is adopted. Hurling?
Now we have a new bylaw
by law 4 it just used to have dot dot dot there and that’s been there as long as i can remember
so we’re fixing that now i think that’s where they left off or something so now by law 4 we have
committees proposed wording 4.1 appointment of committees except where specifically provided
otherwise, the President shall appoint the chairs and members of all committees.
The President shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees.
The other officers, the board members at large, and the immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization.
4.1.1 Auditing Committee.
Subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors, the President shall appoint a member to serve as chair of the Auditing Committee.
The President shall also, sorry, the President shall appoint two other persons.
The problem is, this is in Word, and that’s part of the problem here.
from among the members to serve with the chair of the auditing committee.
No member of the board of directors may serve on the auditing committee.
The auditing committee shall meet with…
This language has not changed.
I don’t know if you want me to read all these.
May serve on the auditing.
We did not change anything in this paragraph here.
The auditing committee shall meet.
David, I think there might be a problem in this one.
We didn’t.
Mr. President?
Yes.
Is this just stuff that was moved from Article 9?
Yeah.
Article 9 is very prescriptive.
The auditing committee shall meet with the treasurer immediately prior to the annual meeting to conduct an audit of the organization’s financial records.
the auditing committee shall report its findings to the membership immediately following the presentation of the Treasurer’s Report.
The problem was my Braille display, not the text, so I apologize for that.
9.1.2, sorry, 4.1.2 is budget committee,
and all we did was move this from Article 9 to the Bylaw 4.
We did not change any of the text in this committee.
Just moved it up?
Yes, all we did was move it into Article 4.
Cool.
Yeah, I’m interested in the permit procedures
I’m sorry, repeat that for me, please.
I know a lot about
about
prominent procedures, stuff like that, so I know
where you’re going with this.
Okay. 4.1.3
Constitution and Bylaws Committee, we did not change anything
in this paragraph.
All we did was move it from Article 9
into Bylaw 4.
4.1.4,
we did change something in this committee.
Convention Program Committee
Subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors
The President shall appoint a qualified member to serve as Chair of the Convention Program Committee
The president shall appoint at least two other members to serve on the convention program committee.
The convention program committee shall plan and present the program sessions for each annual BITS convention.
That’s new.
So before it was that the vice president was automatically chair of the convention program committee.
Now the president, with confirmation by the board of directors, can appoint a chair.
Okay, and this is a new paragraph here.
We’re moving on to credentials committee now.
We’ve added language in here to accommodate for databases, which would cover AMs and email lists.
So under the Credentials Committee, the treasurer shall serve as chair of the Credentials Committee.
The president shall appoint at least two other members to serve on the Credentials Committee.
The Credentials Committee shall be responsible for maintaining membership records, including, but not limited to, mailing lists, membership record date, mailing lists,
But not limited to, I’m sorry here, I’m having an issue with my Braille display.
It’s not the text.
Mailing list, membership databases, and membership dues.
Within 10 business days of the record date established for determining,
sorry, within 10 business days of the record date established
for determining those persons eligible to participate at the annual meeting,
the Credentials Committee shall prepare an alphabetical list containing the names
and addresses of all such persons.
The list shall be available to the Secretary at the annual meeting.
for the purpose of validating the casting of votes,
and for verifying the presence of a quorum.
4.1.6, Fundraising Committee.
We did not change anything in this paragraph.
4.1.7, Membership Committee.
We did make a small change here.
And the proposed wording is,
the president shall appoint a membership chair
and two other persons.
Two other persons.
To manage the dissemination of membership information,
recruitment of new members, and in the oversight of membership services.
I understand why Richard is chuckling.
We did take out some language that was written by an alpha male,
and for purposes of edification, it was not John.
I want to make sure everybody knows it was not something John did.
4.1.8, Nominating Committee.
We did make a small change here.
On or before April 30th, the President shall appoint,
subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors,
a chair and two other members to serve on the nominating.
committee.
The nominating committee
will be nominated
for each office
and to be voted
well, hold on here.
Let’s start this over.
Remind me never to use
word for reading these.
This just doesn’t work here.
4.1.8
nominating committee.
On or before April 30th,
The president shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the board of directors,
confirmation by the board of directors, a chair and two other members to serve on the nominating committee.
yeah this is just not working here
it’s my real display
it is not the problem with the text
chairing two other members to serve on the nominating committee
the nominating committee shall prepare a slate of qualified candidates
for each office to be voted on at the annual business meeting
and shall, on or before June 1st, publish such slate to the membership
before any member’s name may be included on the slate
The committee must obtain the candidate’s consent and an indication of that candidate’s willingness to serve.
The slate of all candidates may not include any member of the nominating committee.
However, any member of the nominating committee may be nominated from the floor during an election.
So essentially, the only thing we changed here is the president can appoint a chair of the nominating committee.
the president can appoint the nominating committee, the chair and two other members subject to confirmation by the board of directors.
And that came back right from the 2005 Constitution.
And the reason it requires all of the members to receive approval by the board is so that no president can essentially stack the deck.
Publications Committee, we did not change anything in that paragraph.
And then we have Special Ad Hoc Committees.
We did not change anything in that paragraph.
What are they, by the way?
Right now, they are social media and BITS presentations and workshops.
in terms of office we did not change anything in that paragraph. Thank you! You’re welcome
caroline are they stated as such i mean or is it just like to appoint them. When you say stated as such what do you mean? do you list you know social media and …? oh no we don’t list the ad hoc committees right now they are on the committee’s page so i mean this just basically grants authority to us which you have
natively anyway as an organization under D.C. law at that time.
And how can that be in committee?
I mean, that’s the idea.
That’s how it’s going to turn out permanently.
Yeah, can you explain that even more?
An ad hoc committee could be a committee that was only around for a year for a particular project and didn’t even come back a second year.
I just didn’t know what ones y’all had right now
they’re not standing committees
of the committees, and I apologize for my misreading of some of the way the Braille display pans. It doesn’t work quite the way I want it to in Word.
I have something going on there. And I apologize. If there’s anything you want me to reread
before we vote, I’m more than willing to find what you want and go back and do it.
After all, he has a computer, Earlene.
Well, thank you.
Yes, I’ll blame the computer for the errors of my fingers.
How about that?
Well, because computers do what they want to.
Listen, at least my fingers did not grant anybody that shouldn’t be able to vote the right to vote.
There you go.
So I move the adoption of the Bylaw 4 committees.
I second.
Second.
Oh, I got beat. Oh, well.
That’s okay.
Any discussion?
It’s been moved and seconded.
Any discussion?
Hearing none, all in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
This has been adopted.
Thank you.
Mr. President, if I may,
I want to really thank everybody who took the time to attend this meeting this evening so far and sit through and vote on the amendments and we really we went back and forth over these and that doesn’t mean that there won’t ever be changes in some of the wording. I just wanted you guys to know how we got to where we are to present this to you this evening and i can’t thank you enough for the time that you’ve taken to at least be here and vote. So thank you.
I echo that and thank you very much, Rulene, for your services, not only
I guess we move back to the slate of the agenda of the initial meeting, which is what this is a continuation of. So with that in mind, I ask them, is there any new business? With that in mind, this meeting, yes?
Just remind me who was elected in June?
Oh, Kelsey Nicolai was elected as the newest board member.
Right, it was just one slot open.
Okay.
That’s all.
We have done our actual thing for this year, and I thank you very much for participating in the BITS continuation of the annual meeting.
Move adjournment of the annual meeting.
To anybody else, we are adjourned.
Thank you very much, folks.