By-Laws of the Miami Northwestern Class of 6T5 Alumni Association
Mission Statement: The former students of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, class of nineteen hundred and sixty-five, will support, preserve, protect and defend the rights of all students in obtaining a quality education at Miami Northwestern Senior High. In doing so, we will be diligent in identifying the needs of the school, the students and its surrounding community. Our support will provide annual academic scholarships to a graduating senior, participation in school events when invited, attendance at regular school sporting events. We will also assist the principal, district, and school board members by providing leadership, expertise and talent when requested for the benefit of all of the students both past and present.
Article 1: Identity
This organization shall be known as the Miami Northwestern Class of 6T5 Alumni Association, Miami, Florida.
Article 2: Purpose
The purpose of the Association shall be threefold to promote a spirit of unity and camaraderie, through communication and reunions among alumni; location of alumni and acquisition and maintenance of school memorabilia and to support the high school primarily through awarding scholarships and the participation in school projects and events.
Article 3: Membership
The eligibility is determined by any individual who attended (whether graduated or not) the high school, during the years 1962-1965, is eligible to become a member of the Association, known as the Alumni Class of 6T5.
Article 4: Officers
The officers of the Association shall be the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial Secretary, RecordingSecretary and Chaplain.
The officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the members returning election ballots. There is no limit on the number of times an individual may seek election to any office.
The term of office for each for each officer will be five years. The term of office shall begin on the first day of September and run through the last day of August five years later.
The officer’s powers are vested with the powers appropriate to their elected office to accomplish the tasks necessary for the successful day to day operations of the Association. The President shall be the chief operating officer of the Association shall make all decisions concerning theAssociations day-to day operations and shall direct the activities of the Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Recording Secretary, Chaplain and various committee chair persons.
The Vice President shall assist the President, perform the duties of the President when or if, the President is incapacitated and to oversee the activities of the Class Representatives.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial operations of the Association.
The Recording Secretary shall be the custodian of the Association’s business records including the President’s Program budget Plan and Financial Review, Committee annual reports and documents produced by the Associations Officers.
The Fianicial Secretary shall act as a liaison between the Secretary and Treasurer to make sure that all financial records are properly coordinated between the two offices.
The Chaplain shall: 1.Provide a spiritual tone for all of the Associations meetings and activities. Assure members and leaders of an interest in them and their activities. 3. Provide spiritual counseling service to the Associations members when needed or requested.
Any officer may resign by tendering a letter of resignation to the Chairman of the election committee or the Executive Board, which will be presented to the membership for discussion and or removal from office and new candidate selected or appointed by the Executive Board.
Any officer who fails to perform the duties of the office to which the individual has been elected may be removed from office for cause by two thirds vote of the eligible, active, membership.
If the President resigns or is removed from office, the Vice President will assume the Presidency for the balance of the existing term. If the Vice President, Treasurer or Secretary, resign or are removed from office, the President will nominate to the membership an individual to fill the vacant office for the balance of the existing term. This individual will enter the office upon a majority vote of the membership.
Officers, directors, Committee Members shall receive no compensation for their services. Compensation for expenses will be made only if the expenditures were contained in the budget and approved by the membership.
All checks, drafts, loans, or other orders for payment of money notes and other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Alumni Association will be signed by two of thethree of the unrelated officers. The signers for official documents are the Financial Secretary, Treasurer, and or the President.
Article 5: Committees
Standing Committees: The Association will have the following permanent standing committees: Executive, Fund Raising, Hospitality, Social, Bereavement, Scholarship, Telephone Tree and Public Relations/Advertising committees. The President shall approve the scope and appoint committee chairpersons and committee members.
Executive Committee: The Executive committee shall consist of all officers of the Association. The Executive Committee shall: a. conduct the business of the Associations between meetings; b. fill vacancies in offices other than that of the President; c. create standing and special committees as the need arises.
Fund Raising/Social: The Fund Raising Committee shall plan, conduct or cause all fund raising and social events and activities for the Association.
Bereavement/Hospitality: The Bereavement and Hospitality Committee shall coordinate the identification and formulation of a proper response to the members and families of our class during the mourning of a departed member of the class of 6T5.
Scholarship Committee: The Scholarship Committee shall, from time to time, establish procedures for applying for and granting, scholarships, grants, and other financial assistance. The Committee shall review all individual student applications forassistance and determine, in its judgment, which applicants are entitled to assistance and the amount of the assistance granted.
Telephone Tree/ Robot Calling/ Data Base Technology: This Committee is responsible for the dissemination of all news to our class members.
Public Relations/Advertising: The Public Relations Committee shall produce and disseminate information pertaining to the business of the organization i.e., fliers, posters, brochures and the like.
Ad Hoc Committees: The Executive Committee may establish Ad Hoc Committee as deemed necessary.
Committee Control: The President, as the Association’s Chief Operating Officer, will direct and control the various Standing information and other publications at a time in a manner deemed necessary, and Ad Hoc Committees.
Committee Oversight: The Executive Committee will exercise oversight of the various Standing and Ad Hoc Committees. The Executive Committee may direct the President to restructure any portion of either of these two plans to which the Committee objects. This mechanism allows the Executive Committee to control the operations and budgets of all Association committees.
Article 6: Association Operations
Scholarships
The Association will solicit special contributions to fund scholarship(s) for deserving graduating students from MiamiNorthwesternSr.High School. A scholarship will be awarded each time the fund reaches ($1,000.00). The Scholarship Committee will develop guidelines for the award of scholarship (s) and will work with the school officials to determine the method for actually awarding the scholarship. Operating procedures for the award of the scholarship(s) will be developed by the Scholarship Committee and approved by the membership.
Nominating/Elections
The Executive Committee will appoint a Nominating /Elections Committee to serve for a five year term. The chairperson will hold the responsibility for the committee to present to the Association a single slate of nominees for officers. The committee will verify the results of the returned ballots and announce the results in a proper manner.
Newsletter
The Association will publish a newsletter at least twice a year with information provided directly by members.
History
The Executive Committee shall appoint a person to serve as Historian to maintain archives of both school and the Associations memorabilia to include but not limited to: yearbooks, commencement programs, school newsletters, Association newsletters, Association directories, and reunion memorabilia. The duties of the Historian include; keeper of the Association’s archives, including all memorabilia.
Reunions
The Association will from time to time, host a reunion to which all members will be invited.
Memorabilia
The Association shall, to the degree practical, collect, maintain and sell memorabilia to Association members.
Article 7: Fiscal Policy
Year
The fiscal year of the Association shall be from January 1 through December 31 of each year.
Dues
The Association shall collect dues from each eligible member. The President shall propose a level of dues annually which shall be approved by a majority vote of the active eligible, members of the Association. Dues are due in January of each year.
Allocation of Funds
All dues will be deposited in a general fund account and may be used to pay any or all expenses incurred by the Association. Conversely, contributions received by the Association for scholarships, while they may be deposited in the general fund account, shall be appropriated and used only to fund scholarship(s).
Article 8: Elections
The Alumni Association will hold elections every five years.
The elections will be planned and executed by the Nominating/Elections Committee. Operating procedures for the Election Committee will be developed by the Elections Committee and approved by the membership.
Article 9: Election Process
The President will select a Nominating Committee and an Election Committee to draw from the eligible, active, membership, a slate of officers who regardless of where they reside, locally in either Dade or, Broward County or across the country may be nominated for office. Ballots will be mailed to the membership. All ballots must be returned by the assigned date. The ballots will be counted and certified. Results of the balloting will be mailed to the membership. The winner is determined by a majority vote of the returned ballots from active, eligible, members. The members will be notified of election results via the official newsletter. The Installation of the officers will take place at the first meeting of the new calendar year every five years after the reunion.
Article 10: Reports
The President will produce a budget each year to be presented at the first meeting of the year. The various Standing and Ad Hoc Committees will detail their proposed activities in an annual report which will be due in October. In addition to these reports any event whereby funds are collected or disbursed a report must be submitted to the Executive Board within 7 days following the event.
Article 11: Amending the By- Laws
The By-Laws may be amended by calling for a motion to amend, add to, revise, change, include. This may take place on the floor of the meeting or written in a proposal and given to the Executive Committee. A discussion on the amendment must take place 30 days prior to the vote being to call to question. The item will be placed on the agenda under New Business and voted upon pending motions/discussions. A majority of active, eligible members will declare the validity the vote.
Article 12: Dissolution of the Miami Northwestern Class of 6T5 Alumni Association
When the membership no longer consists of a viable number of participants (1-10) the Chief Officer, (whomever is left in charge) will close the books on the Association by donating whatever existing funds to the General Fund at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, for the benefit of the students. Memorabilia will be donated to the Black Archives of GreaterMiami.
Final Draft submitted May 5, 2010 by:
Maria H. Arenas
This draft is being respectfully submitted on March 1, 2010 by: Maria Holmes Arenas, Active Member of the class of 1965.
This revised draft copy is being submitted on March 8, 2010 by Maria Holmes Arenas, Active Committee Member of the class of 1965.
Copies sent to: Richard Powell, President of the MNWS Class of 1965 and to Valaria June Garvin, Reunion Chairperson for 2010
Committee members:*Sandrell Rivers, deceased/2010, Marguerite Bivens Mosley, Maria H. Arenas
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Adopted 5-5-10