Denver Federal Center Chapter #434
BYLAWS
Denver Federal Center Chapter #434
Federally Employed Women
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this organization shall be Denver Federal Center Chapter, hereinafter referred to as the Chapter, of Federally Employed Women (FEW).
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
This Chapter of FEW shall be operated exclusively for the charitable and educational purposes of taking action to end sex discrimination and toward the advancement of women in employment in the federal service. The specific activities which the organization shall undertake in furtherance of these charitable and educational purposes shall be: to increase job opportunities in the government service; to further the use of the potential of women in government; to improve the merit system in government employment; to assist government employees and applications for government employment who are discriminated against because of sex; to develop and provide training programs to enable women to increase their skills and enhance their potential for career advancement; to develop and to provide training programs which address the special needs and problems of women employees in the government and provide a description of programs targeted to meet those needs; to educate the general public and policy makers about issues of concern to women with an emphasis upon those of concern to women government employees; and to do all things necessary and proper to accomplish the above purposes without discrimination because of sex, race, color, age, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation and mental or physical handicap.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP and DUES
Section 1. Eligibility. Any person who subscribes to the purposes of the organization will be eligible to become a member of FEW. No applicant for membership shall be enrolled as a member until all dues are paid. No person may be excluded from membership, segregated, or otherwise discriminated against within the organization on the grounds of sex, race, color, age, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation and mental or physical handicap. Chapter members shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of the organization including the right to vote and hold office.
Section 2. Honorary Members. Honorary memberships, for one year, may be bestowed on persons outside the FEW organization who have rendered notable service to the Chapter after receiving a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. An honorary member will be exempt from payment of all dues and shall not be eligible to hold office or vote.
Section 3. Lifetime Members. A lifetime member of National FEW may become a Chapter lifetime member upon payment of lifetime Chapter dues as established by the Chapter.
Section 4. Dues and Assessments – Membership dues shall be set and collected by the national office annually; National FEW will refund to the Chapter a portion of these dues collected ($20.00) per member. National FEW makes no recommendation regarding the use of this money over and above paying the chapter dues and regional assessments. The Chapter may retain the balance, refund a portion to the member, or take other action.The Rocky Mountain Region determines the regional assessment and the Chapter determines an amount for chapter dues. New memberships and renewals shall be submitted as determined by National and as described in policies and procedures.
Section 5. Minimum Membership. The Chapter shall maintain a minimum membership of 15.
Section 6. Membership in Federally Employed Women may be terminated by (1) voluntary resignation, (2) failure to pay dues, or (3) expulsion from the organization for unprofessional conduct.
Section 7. The chapter shall maintain a minimum membership of 15.
ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS
Section 1. Composition. The elected officers of the organization shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2. Duties of Officers.
President:
1. Conducts all meetings.
2. Has power to ask the speaker to finish their comments and get the discussion moving forward again.
3. Has final say on major expenditures and meeting topics.
4. Is the ambassador for the Chapter.
Vice- President:
1. Steps in for the President in her or his absence.
2. Handles any conflict between the committees or Chapter members.
3. Reserves the meeting location.
4. Has bank access in case the Treasurer is unavailable.
Treasurer:
1. Handles the monetary issues and bank transactions.
2. Develops a budget along with the Finance Committee.
3. Works with the different committees on all monetary issues.
4. Fills in for the Secretary or Vice- President in their absence.
5. Co-signs all checks along with either the President or Vice-President
Secretary:
1. Takes the minutes of all meeting.
2. Works with the Communications Committee to get the meeting minutes to all Chapter members.
3. Is involved with a newsletter.
4. Is in charge of the communications between the Chapter and the National and Regional organization.
Section 3. Terms of Office. All officers shall serve for two years.
Section 4. Nominating Procedure. At the regular January Chapter meeting in the election year, a Nominating Committee consisting of three members shall be elected by the membership; the member getting the most votes shall serve as chair and have a vote on the Executive Committee. The committee shall solicit nominations from qualified members in good standing and present a slate of candidates for offices at the May Chapter meeting.
Section 5. Ballot Election. Officers shall be elected by plurality ballot vote of the members in good standing. Voting may take place either in person at the May meeting, or by electronic balloting methods during the month of May.
Section 6. Installation. Officers shall be installed at the June Chapter meeting in the election year.
Section 7. Vacancies in Office. All vacancies occurring for any reason shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee within 30 days after the position is actually vacated, or notice of the vacancy or resignation is received in writing.
Section 8. Removal from Office. Any elected officer may be removed from office for nonperformance of duties, malfeasance, or misfeasance by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. A successor can thereafter, be appointed by the Executive Committee for the remainder of the term.
ARTICLE V – MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular Meetings. The Chapter shall meet at least four times each program year. Dates, time and place of meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Annual Meeting. The June membership meeting of the year shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, in election years, receiving reports of officers and committees, and for any other business that may arise.
Section 3. Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the President or by the Executive Committee and shall be called upon the written request of at least three members of the Chapter. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call. Except in cases of emergency, at least three days’ notice shall be given.
Section 4. Quorum. A quorum for all Chapter meetings shall be one-fourth of the Chapter members in good standing, and once a quorum is established, it cannot be lost.
Section 5. Other Meeting Methods. The Executive Committee, Standing Committees and Special Committees are authorized to meet by telephone conference, web meetings or through other electronic communications media so long as all the participating members can hear or view information and can interact simultaneously.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. Composition. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers, the Immediate Past President, and the Standing Committee Chairpersons.
Section 2. Duties and Powers. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for administration of the organization to include planning, advising, reviewing Chapter progress, making recommendations to the membership for improvement, and shall have the power and authority to act between membership meetings. All such actions shall be reported promptly to the membership. The membership will be the governing authority of the Chapter.
Section 3. Meetings. The Executive Committee shall meet at a minimum of four times during the year, one meeting to be held prior to each membership meeting and at such other times as committee action is required. Special meetings may be called by the President or by one-third of the Executive Committee members, provided two are elected officers.
Section 4. Quorum. A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEES
Section 1. Standing Committees. Standing Committees of the Chapter, appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee, and duties are:
Membership and Diversity:
1. For those members unable, or having trouble, joining or renewing online, shall handle all of the paperwork involved with getting a person’s membership or renewal, to include both the Chapter paperwork and the national paperwork; any membership dues collected will immediately be turned-over to the Treasurer.
2. Shall be in charge of membership drives and renewal drives.
3. Shall work to diversify the Chapter as much as possible, so all races, age ranges, genders, employment grades, and non-federal employees feel welcome in the Chapter.
4. Ensure programs and discussions include everyone in the Chapter.
5. Provide the Chapter with a quarterly update on membership and diversity.
Policy and Legislation:
1. Shall inform the Chapter and provide a training session on the Bylaws of the organization and any “Roberts Rules” or Standing Rules and procedures voted on.
2. Shall be responsible for making any changes necessary to keep the bylaws and meeting rules consistent with National and Regional.
3. Shall track issues at the Federal and State government levels concerning women and federal employment in general; and what the FEW lobbyist is working on. All of the information regarding legislation shall be provided in a report at a quarterly meeting.
Fundraising and Communications:
1. Shall work with the Treasurer on the annual budget.
2. Shall brainstorm and hold fundraising events to meet the financial goal of the Chapter.
3. Shall send out a quarterly newsletter updating all members of the Chapter’s status and any fundraising events.
4. Shall work with all committees and officers ensuring all committee and officer information is in the quarterly newsletter.
5. Handle any emergency communications needing to be sent to the Chapter.
Programming and Planning:
1. Shall plan a schedule of events for one whole year, including; speakers, round table discussions led by either a FEW Member or a non-FEW member, and any other special presentations.
2. Shall coordinate getting speakers or discussion heads plus prepare a back-up plan in case of cancellation.
3. Shall work with all the other committees to make sure planned speakers, discussion topics and events incorporated the diverse needs of the Chapter and meet with the purpose and focus areas of FEW.
4. Provide a report on the topic of the next meeting and any other programming and planning issues.
Section 2. Special Committees. With consent of the Executive Committee, the President shall appoint such special committees as may be appropriate.
ARTICLE VIII – AUDIT
An audit of the financial records of the Chapter shall be performed annually at the close of the fiscal year and at anytime when financial records and accounts are transferred to a newly elected Treasurer, or when deemed appropriate. The President shall appoint a Special Committee of three qualified members to perform the audit.
ARTICLE IX – ANNUAL and FISCAL YEAR
The annual year of the Chapter shall be July 1 through June 30; however the fiscal year shall be October 1 through September 31 to run concurrent with the National organization.
ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended at any time by a two-thirds vote providing the amendment has been submitted to the membership in writing at the previous regular meeting or a minimum of 30 days in advance of the vote. If the National FEW bylaws are changed and that change causes a change in the Chapter bylaws that change will automatically be incorporated and the members notified.
Voting may take place either in person, by written ballot, or by electronic balloting methods.
The amendments will take effect immediately unless otherwise specified at the time of adoption.
ARTICLE XI – DISSOLUTION
This Chapter may be dissolved voluntarily only upon approval by ballot vote (person or by mail) of not less than two-thirds of the members in good standing. Upon dissolution, the Executive Committee will, after paying or making provision for the payment of all Chapter liabilities, transfer the remaining assets of the Chapter to the Rocky Mountain Regional Treasurer for inclusion in the general fund of the Region.
Adopted January 1, 2006
Re-approved by National: January, 2007
Amended and approved by the membership: April, 2009
Updated and approved by the National Bylaws Chair, February 28, 2010
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