Constitution and Bylaws
Constitution
Article I: Name
1. The name of this organization(called
the Minnesota Press Photographers Association prior to the adoption
of of these articles, and a successor
group to an organization called the Minnesota Outstate Press Photographers
Association) shall henceforth be: Minnesota News Photographers
Association.
Article I: Name
1. The advancement
of news photography in all its phases.of of these articles,
2. The promotion and protection of the interests and welfare
of news photographers.
3. The promotion and encouragement
of communication amoung Minnesota news photographers.
Article III: Membership requirements
1. Membership will
be open to person with a professional interest in news photography
in
the state of Minnesota. Minnesota residence
is not a membership requirement. All members shall have
equal right to vote in the business and participate in the affairs
of the Association. 2. Any member may be suspended or expelled or otherwise penalized
for any conduct deemed improper or prejudicial to the Association,
by a vote of three-fourths of the board of Directors, after the
member has been afforded a full hearing before the board. Any officer or
director may be removed from office by the same procedure.
Article IV: Officers
1. The officers of this Association
shall be President, Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer. 2. The affairs of this Association will be managed by a Board of Directors
consisting of the three elected directors, the immediate past president
and two directors to be appointed by the elected members of the
board.3. All members of the Board of Directors shall have equal voting
privilegesin the deliberations of the board.
4.
Meeting of the Association shall be conducted in accordance with
the general parliamentary procedure known
as Robert’s Rules of Order.
Article V: Constitutional
amendments and Bylaws
1. This constitution may
be amended by a two-thirds majority of votes cast by the general
membership in a special election arranged for
the purpose. Amendments may be proposed by any member and shall
be submitted to the Board of Directors, who will arrange a
membership
vote within 90 days. 2. Bylaws will be adopted or amended by
a majority vote of the Board of Directors.3. Any action by the Board of Directors may be vetoed by a two-thirds
vote of the members, using the procedure described in paragraph
1 of this Article.
Bylaws
Section I: Membership applications
1.
Application for membership shall be submitted to the Secretary/Treasurer
on the form provided
for the purpose by the Association, signed by the applicant,
and accompanied by the appropriate dues payment.
2. Upon receipt of the application,
the Secretary/Treasurer, acting on behalf of the Board of Directors,
shall confirm or reject the application. If the application is
to be rejected, it will be reviewed by the Board of Directors
3. Dues renewal payments shall be
accompanied by the information specified on an application form
which will be sent to the member with the renewal notice, as
a means of keeping the membership and mailing lists accurate
and current.
Section II: Dues
1.
Members shall be required to pay annual dues of $32
for professionals / $20 for students. Dues for new members
joining
in the final quarter of the year will
be applied to the following year.
2. Dues notice will be mailed to each member prior to a January
1st renewal date for each year. Members whose dues are not
paid by the date of the annual meeting shall be considered
delinquent
and be dropped from membership.
Section III: Officers’ Duties
1. The president shall preside at all meetings of the Association, and will be responsible for general supervison of the affairs of the Assocation. The President will arragne meetings of the Board of Directors when required, or when requested by other members of the board. The President will be empowered to make authorized disbursement of Association funds, providing timely notice of such to the Secretary/Treasurer for record keeping purposes. The President shall appoint committees as needed, with
the advice and consent of the Board, and shall be an ex-efficio
member of all committees.2. The vice President shall
preform all the duties of the President in the President’s
absence, and shall be an ex-efficio member of all committees.
3. The President and the
Vice President must be members of the National Press
Photographers Association in good standing as a condition of continued
NPPA state chapter status for the MNPA.
4. The
Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of
the Association, collecting dues and other income and making
authorized disbursements; will keep the membership list and preserve
the records of the Association. The Secretary/Treausrer shall,
on demand, present the record and books of that office to the
Board of Directors.
5. A recorder
shall be appointed by the presiding officer at each meeting of
the Association to keep a record of the proceedings to be submitted
to the Secretary/Treasurer.
Section IV: Election of officers
3. A nominating committee ofthree members shall be appointed to select candidates for office. Additional nominations may be madeon written petition from any member, submitted to the nominating commitee prior to the printing of ballots.
1. The election of officers
shall be held each year by mail ballot one month prior to the annual
meeting.2. A term of office shall be one year beginning on the date of
the annual meeting.
4. Nominees for elected office must provide
a biography and platform to be published in the newsletter prior to the
election.
5. If a vacancy occures in the office of President,
it shall be filled by the Vice President, if a vacancy occures
in any other
office, it shall be filled by action of the Board of Directors.
Section V: Committee appointments
1. Committees shall be appointed by the President and confirmed
by the Board of Directors.
2. Standing committees shall include: Newsletter, Regional Meetings,
Clip Contest, Print Contest and Convention.3. Terms of Committee appoinment shall expire wth the annual election of new
officers.
Adopted July 1984, Amended November 2004
