CONSTITUTION
And
BYLAWS
Of the
VIRGINIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
(VSDAA)
(Formerly Auld Lang Syne Alumni Association)
Staunton, Virginia
Constitution
ARTICLE I
NAME AND MOTTO
Section 1. —NAME—The name of this Association shall be the Virginia School for the Deaf Alumni Association (VSDAA).
Section 2. —MOTTO—The motto of this Association shall be “Fiat Lux – Let there be light!”
ARTICLE II
EMBLEM
Section 1. The official emblem of the Association shall be an acorn shape. Outlined on the front of the acorn will be the front of the VSDB Main Building. Encircling the building outline will be scripted “The Virginia School for the Deaf Alumni Association” and at the bottom, “THE VIRGINIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.” The motto “FIAT LUX” will be inscribed at the building’s steps.
ARTICLE III
OFFICIAL ORGAN
Section 1. The official organ of this Association shall be “THE LITTLE ACORN” newsletter. It shall contain news of the Association proceedings, Alumni news and noteworthy articles. It shall be printed quarterly if possible.
ARTICLE IV
OBJECT
Section 1. The object of this Association shall be to preserve and increase the knowledge imparted to us at our Alma Mater; to continue to extend the good influence of the School and to perpetuate the friendships formed at the School; to promote social and fraternal relations among the deaf of our State and to assist each other and our Alma Mater in every way possible. The word – deaf is defined as people with hearing loss.
ARTICLE V
MEMBERS
Section 1. —ACTIVE MEMBERS—Any graduate or former student of the Virginia School for the Deaf at Staunton, Virginia and at Hampton, Virginia, residing either in or outside the state of Virginia may become an active member of the Association by paying the fees prescribed in ARTICLE V, Section 1 of the Bylaws.
Section 2. —ASSOCIATE MEMBERS— The spouse/partner of a member or applicant for membership may become an associate member of this Association upon payment of the fees prescribed in ARTICLE V, Section 2 of the Bylaws. This rule shall also apply to any person residing in Virginia or outside Virginia who did not attend VSD who desires membership in the Association. The said associates shall be entitled to all privileges but may not vote nor hold any office in this Association.
Section 3. —HONORARY MEMBERS— The Honorary members may be elected by a majority vote of the active members present. The term- HONORARY MEMBER shall be confined to persons either deaf or hearing who have benefited the deaf in any noteworthy way. Honorary members as specified in ARTICLE V, Section 3 of the Bylaws, shall be exempted from paying the initiation fee and annual dues. The term of honorary membership shall be effective until the time of the next regular meeting unless otherwise expressly stated.
Section 4. —LIFE MEMBERS— Any active member of this Association may become a Life Member upon the payment of the dues prescribed in Bylaws Article V, Section 4 of the Bylaws. This membership is non-transferable. Said Life Members are not exempted from any pertinent assessment as may be ordered by the BOARD OF DIRECTORS from time to time.
ARTICLE VI
OFFICERS and BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. —OFFICERS— The officers of this Association shall be a PRESIDENT, a VICE PRESIDENT, a SECRETARY, and a TREASURER. The officers shall be elected by ballot at each regular meeting of this Association and shall serve until their successors are duly elected. The term of office shall be for four years or until the next convention, provided the next convention takes place later than four years.
Section 2. —BOARD OF DIRECTORS—The Board of Directors shall consist of the PRESIDENT, the VICE PRESIDENT, the SECRETARY, the TREASURER, and the PAST PRESIDENT and three additional Board members appointed by the PRESIDENT with the approval of the Board members. The PRESIDENT automatically is Board Chairman.
Section 3. —RESIGNATIONS—Resignations must be submitted in writing to the PRESIDENT with statement of reasons therefor. Vacancies (except that of the PRESIDENT) shall be immediately filled by the BOARD OF DIRECTORS until the next election. The VICE PRESIDENT automatically becomes PRESIDENT upon resignation of the latter.
ARTICLE VII
TAX EXEMPT STATUS OF THE VSDAA
(Terms of Dissolution—IRS Requirement)
Section 1. It is the intent of the membership that gifts and donations made to VSDAA shall be tax-exempt to the donors in accordance with requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code. Upon a decision of a majority of the VSDAA to discontinue operation, the surviving members of the Association shall direct the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, or an officer especially appointed for the purpose to transfer all cash, accounts and assets of the Fund, after payment of any outstanding indebtedness, to the Superintendent of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind at Staunton, to be used in accordance with ARTICLE I—Object of the Constitution, supra, or to any suitable organization whose main purpose is to assist deaf persons.
In the event such a transfer shall occur, that person or those persons transferring such assets shall obtain from the Superintendent of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind or other recipient, duplicate receipts for the funds and assets delivered to her/him, one of such receipts to be filed with the District Director, Internal Revenue Service, Richmond, Virginia and the other receipt to be filed among the records of the Treasurer (see ARTICLE 1, Section 5 of the Bylaws) and the VSDAA.
BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The PRESIDENT shall preside at all meetings, regular or special. The President shall enforce order and strict observance of the CONSTITUTION and BYLAWS. The President shall sign all orders on the treasury and appoint standing committees on various businesses of the Association. The President shall appoint substitutes to fill any vacancies in the Committees or BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The President is ex-officio member of each committee.
Section 2. The PAST PRESIDENT’S role shall be to guide/counsel/advise the incoming PRESIDENT during the term of four (4) years. If the PRESIDENT loses the election, the President automatically becomes PAST PRESIDENT. If the PRESIDENT is reelected, the PAST PRESIDENT shall continue as the Past President’s role.
Section 3. The VICE PRESIDENT shall perform the duties of the PRESIDENT in case of President’s absence or when called upon to do so by the PRESIDENT. In case the PRESIDENT resigns or dies, the VICE PRESIDENT shall automatically fill the chair. The Vice President shall be chairperson of the Law Committee. The Vice President shall oversee the standing committees.
Section 4. The SECRETARY shall keep a true and correct record of the proceedings of the meetings of the Association and shall do all correspondence as may be directed by the PRESIDENT and send the copy of minutes to Little Acorn Newsletter.
Section 5. The TREASURER shall be the custodian of all the funds of the Association. The Treasurer shall collect all fees and dues from the members and give receipt for same. The Treasurer shall keep a true account of all the money received or paid. The Treasurer shall not pay any expenses without the approval of the PRESIDENT at any time. The Treasurer shall acknowledge/document contributions in memory of the loved ones or for any cause.
Section 6. The BOARD OF DIRECTORS shall have full charge of the business of this Association between meetings. It shall have the power to process/update the Constitution and By-Laws upon recommendation of the full Law Committee, and change date or place, of the next scheduled convention, if necessary. It shall serve as advisory board in the hearings of members or officers who are judged in violation of this Constitution and Bylaws. The Board has the power to approve or to rescind any disciplinary recommendation.
ARTICLE II
STANDING COMMITTEES
Section 1. The STANDING COMMITTEES shall consist of LAW, AUDITING, REUNION, LITTLE ACORN NEWSLETTER, CARDINAL BOOSTER FUND, HALL OF FAME, and BASS ENDOWMENT FUND. Each COMMITTEE CHAIR except LAW shall be appointed by PRESIDENT with an approval of the Board members.
Section 2. The LAW Committee shall consist of 2 MEMBERS who work with VICE-PRESIDENT who is the CHAIR of COMMITTEE. Their duties are to analyze and make recommendation on changes of the CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS to the BOARD OF DIRECTOR and the Members during the general meeting.
Section 3. The AUDITING COMMITTEE shall consist of three members, to be appointed by the PRESIDENT, whose duty it shall be to audit the reports of the TREASURER each 6 months and report of the REUNION COMMITTEE Business Manager.
Section 4. The REUNION COMMITTEE shall consist of five (5) members in a good standing. They are appointed by the President with an approval of the Board members. The committee shall select its own Chairman, secretary, and treasurer. Any vacancy shall be filled by the President with an approval of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. The duty of the committee is to help prepare the reunions at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind at Staunton in accordance to the Reunion Policies/Criteria.
Section 5. The LITTLE ACORN NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE shall consist of five (5) members in a good standing. They are appointed by the President with an approval of the Board members. The committee shall select its own Editor, Secretary, and Business Manager. Any vacancy shall be filled by the President with an approval of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. The duty of the committee is to help develop the newsletters of our alma mater, the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in accordance to the Little Acorn Newsletter Policies/Criteria. The committee shall meet three or four times a year.
Section 6. The CARDINAL BOOSTER FUND COMMITTEE shall consist of five (5) members in a good standing. They are appointed by the President with an approval of the Board members. The committee shall select its own Chairman, secretary, and treasurer. Any vacancy shall be filled by the President with an approval of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. The duty of the committee is to help the deaf sports program or athletes of our alma mater, the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind at Staunton in accordance to the Cardinal Booster Policies/Criteria.
Section 7. The HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE shall consist of seven (7) members. Four or five members must be Hall of Fame inductees to serve on the committee. The rest of the members (2 or 3) must be a regular or associate member of VSDAA. The committee shall meet three or four times a year. The duty of the committee is to screen and nominate selected candidates for enshrinement in accordance to the Hall of Fame Policies/Criteria. The inductees shall be awarded at a luncheon/banquet in conjunction with the VSDAA reunion or any VSDB sport event.
Section 8. The BASS ENDOWMENT FUND COMMITTEE shall consist of five (5) members in a good standing. The terms of these members shall be six years on a sliding scale of 2-4-6 years from the start. They are appointed by the President with an approval of the Board members. The committee shall select its own Chairman, secretary, and treasurer. Any vacancy shall be filled by the President with an approval of the Board for the remainder of the unexpired term. The duties and powers of the FUND Committee are: to secure each year from all available sources contributions to the FUND as unrestricted gifts; to determine from time to time the methods of solicitation and publicity calculated to secure the largest number of donors and to maintain their interest in the support of the FUND from year to year; to select and appoint agents who shall solicit contributions to the FUND in their respective districts; and to make such Bylaws and regulations as are necessary to carry out its purpose.
ARTICLE III
MEETINGS
Section 1.REUNION: The Association shall meet every two years in even years. The place and date of the meetings, either regular or special, of the Association shall be decided upon by the membership at its regular meeting or the decision may be left to the discretion of the Board of Directors.
Section 2. The order of Business for each session of a regular session shall be:
-
- Call to the order with an opening of Invocation
- Communications
- Reading of Minutes
- Financial Report
- Reports of Officers
- Reports of Committees
- Unfinished Business
- New Business
- Election of Officers (Every 4 years)
- Oath of new officers (Every 4 years)
- Announcements
- Adjournment with benediction
Section 3. Each session of the Association shall be opened with an invocation by a layperson to the deaf, if one is present, otherwise someone may be selected by the PRESIDENT.
ARTICLE IV
EXPENSES
Section 1. The expenses of this Association shall be: First, for postage and printed matter; Second, for rent of a hall for meetings, if necessary; and Third, for other things as the Board of Directors may deem appropriate.
ARTICLE V
DUES
Section 1. The dues of Active Members shall be decided by the Board of Directors in accordance with cost of living adjustments.
Section 2. The dues of Associate Members shall be decided by the Board of Directors in accordance with cost of living adjustments.
Section 3. Honorary Members as specified in ARTICLE V, Section 3 of the Constitution, are exempted from paying all fees and dues.
Section 4. The dues for Life members shall BE DECIDED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. All dues from the Life members shall be put into money market and accrued interest used for expenses listed in Article V, Section 4 of the Constitution.
Section 5. The BOARD OF DIRECTORS are empowered to order an extra assessment of two dollars ($2.00) and not more than five dollars ($5.00) to be levied upon the members of record in any one year, should there exist conditions to warrant same.
Section 6. Failure to pay dues for one year shall cause the Association to drop from its rolls any delinquent member. Said delinquent members may at any time rejoin the Association by applying as a new member and paying fees prescribed in ARTICLE V of the Constitution.
ARTICLE VI
MERGER
Section 1. This Association shall not be merged with any other Association, except on a 3/4 vote of ALL members. A mail ballot shall be used in order to contact all members. Such mail ballots shall be opened and counted only in the presence of the full BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
ARTICLE VII
Oath
Section 1. Upon election, the officers of this Association shall make the following pledge before taking office: “I WILL BE LOYAL TO OUR ASSOCIATION AND I PLEDGE TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE TO WHICH I HAVE BEEN ELECTED, SO HELP ME GOD”.
ARTICLE VIII
Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution and Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of members present. Amendments must be presented to the Law Committee in writing within 90 days for consideration and proposal to the members of the Association. Any amendments recommended by the Law Committee shall be presented to the Board, for tentative passage between general meetings. Members of the Board shall not make any amendments. The revised amendments must be in writing and brought before the members of the Association for approval within 90 days prior to the general meeting.
As of October 13, 2018.
2018VSDAA__RevisedBylaws11.2. (Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader required)