CONSTITUTION

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WESTERN NEW YORK FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATORS’ COUNCIL

ARTICLE I - NAME

This organization shall be known as the Western New York Foreign Language Educators’ Council.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

1. Help educators, from both public and private schools, to keep abreast of current trends in the profession.

2. Support and improve Foreign Language education.

3. Bring teachers together both socially and professionally to exchange ideas and experiences.

4. Serve as a catalyst for the implementation of state and national initiatives.

5. Develop extra-curricular activities for Foreign Language students (i.e.: Poster Contest, Awards Ceremony)

6. Promote the articulation of Foreign Languages from early education through post secondary education.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Council shall be open to persons interested in the promotion of Foreign Languages at all levels of instruction.

WNYFLEC is an independent entity that may join other organizations of its kind (a Collaborative Organization) as a Member Organization. The Collaborative Organization shall have no dominion or control with regards to WNYFLEC’s internal functions, and shall not be held responsible for, or liable for, any acts or actions of WNYFLEC. Conversely, WNYFLEC shall have no dominion or control with regards to the Collaborative Organization’s internal functions, and shall not be held responsible for, or liable for, any acts or actions of the Collaborative Organization.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

1. Officers of this Council shall be President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Third Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer and Historian. The tenure of all officers shall be for two years. All officers shall be eligible for re-election.

2. The Executive Board shall consist of the officers, the immediate Past President, the Newsletter Editor, the Membership Chairperson, and the NYSAFLT Directors for the Buffalo Region.

3. In case of a vacancy among the officers other than the President, the Executive Board shall appoint an officer(” Interim”) to fill out the unexpired term.

4. All members of the Executive Board must be members of WNYFLEC.

ARTICLE V - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1

The President shall preside at the meetings of the Council and of the Executive Board and shall appoint committees with the advice and consent of the Executive Board. She/He shall be the official spokesperson of the organization.

Section 2

The First Vice-President shall serve as co-chairperson of the Buffalo Regional Conference, and shall be responsible for securing Presenters as well as for the Program of the Buffalo Regional Conference.

Section 3

The Second Vice-President shall serve as co-chairperson of the Buffalo Regional Conference, and shall be responsible for securing Vendors for the Buffalo Regional Conference.

Section 4

The Third Vice-President shall serve as chairperson of the Fall Meeting of the Council as well as the Spring Awards Ceremony (by this or any other name).

Section 5

The Vice-Presidents shall assume the duties of the President upon the Presidents inability to fulfill his/her office either temporarily or for the completion of his/her term.

Section 6

The Recording Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Council and the Executive Board. She/He shall also send a copy of the minutes of all Council and Executive Board Meetings to the members of the Executive Board within one month and shall make copies of the minutes available upon request at the general Council meetings.

Section 7

The Treasurer shall collect the dues and be in charge of all funds, including those for special events (i.e. Regional Meeting, Fall Meeting, Awards Ceremony). She/He shall keep a record of all income and disbursements. She/He shall make financial reports available upon request at general Council meetings.

Section 8

The Corresponding Secretary shall coordinate all mailings of the Council, and with the appropriate chairperson, office or editor, notify the media of all general Council meetings and special events. She/He shall handle all other correspondence as needed, and is responsible for submitting copies of all relevant materials (programs, public relations information, etc.) to the Historian.

Section 9

Section 10 The Corresponding Secretary and immediate Past President shall be co-chairpersons of the Standing Committee on Nominations during an election year.

Section 11 Members of the Executive Board shall serve on all planning committees.

Section 12 Members of the Executive Board are expected to attend all Executive Board meetings. In the event that an officer is unable to attend a meeting, any relevant updates shall be sent with another officer for presentation at the meeting. All officers are expected to read the previous meetings minutes prior to attending the current Executive Board meeting.

ARTICLE VI - ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Section 1

A call for the Nomination of Officers shall be put out in the January newsletter of each election year, with an election ballot to follow in the March newsletter of that same year. Members wishing to place a name (self or other) in nomination shall do so in writing to the immediate Past President or Corresponding Secretary prior to the publication of the March newsletter for that year.

Section 2

The immediate Past President and the Corresponding Secretary will ensure that all nominated individuals (self or other) shall appear on the election ballot portion of the March newsletter for that year. The Executive Board shall be responsible for counting the ballots.

Section 3

The new officers, with the exception of the Treasurer, shall assume their duties the July 1 st following elections. The Treasurer shall assume his/her duties on September 1st, or after evidence of proper training and official bank transfer of account information. To assure a smooth transition, it is expected that the previous officer(s), in some way, will assist the new officer(s) in the matters at hand. New officers will be formally installed at the Fall Meeting and introduced by the President or immediate Past President.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS

There shall be at least three general meetings of the Council: Fall, Winter and Spring. The tentative calendar of meetings will appear in each issue of the WNYFLEC newsletter.

ARTICLE VIII - DUES

Section 1 Dues may be increased up to a maximum of 25 percent per annum. Life membership dues shall be limited to a maximum of 8.75 times the annual dues.

Section 2 Dues for full-time students and retirees shall be no more than one-half of the regular annual dues, for a maximum of two years.

Section 3 A member whose dues have not been paid by December 31 shall be considered inactive and be dropped from the membership roll and the mailing list.

Section 4 Membership Chairperson shall collect dues and be responsible for maintaining a current membership list and mailing labels, which will be sent to the Executive Board as needed. Dues shall be forwarded to the Treasurer.

ARTICLE IX - STANDING COMMITTEES

Section 1 The Executive Board shall serve as the Awards Committee and is responsible for the coordination of all the awards sponsored by WNYFLEC. These include: the Anthony J. Papalia Scholarship Award, the Maryalice Seagrave Outstanding Teacher Award, the Curriculum Center Materials Award, the WNYFLEC Friend of Foreign Language Award and the Teacher Incentive Grant. The Executive Board will coordinate the dissemination and collection of applications, and the selection and notification of award recipients.

The Executive Board will review all application materials following the application deadline and will select a recipient for each. Award recipients will be honored at the Spring Awards Ceremony. All awards will have a submission deadline of March 25 to allow the Executive Board time to select a recipient. The Executive Board will submit a list of all award recipients to the Historian by May 31.

Section 1a The Executive Board, when deemed appropriate, may create subcommittees to work on special tasks.

Section 2 The President and Vice-Presidents shall serve as the Constitutional Review Committee to review and/or propose revisions in accordance with ARTICLE X. This committee will meet biennially unless Constitution revision is deemed necessary in the interval.

Section 3 The Executive Board shall be in charge of the location, program and refreshments for all general Council meetings.

Section 4 The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for the production of the organization newsletter. It is expected that the Executive Board will contribute to the creation of the newsletter.

Section 5 The Poster Contest Chairperson is responsible for the guidelines, the judging and the awards in the WNYFLEC Poster Contest.

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended at the recommendation of the Constitutional Review Committee at any regular meeting of the Council by a simple majority vote received from the membership.

ARTICLE XI - PROVISIONS

1. In the event of the dissolution of WNYFLEC, all of the remaining assets and property of the organization shall after necessary expenses thereof be distributed to such organization shall qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws.

2. No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of any member, director, officer or the organization, or any private individual (except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services rendered to or for the organization), and no member, director, officer of the organization or any private individual shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the assets on the dissolution of the organization.

3. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided by Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (h) or participating in, or intervening in [including the publication or distribution of statements], any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office).

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, WNYFLEC is an organization made up of Foreign Language teachers exclusively for educational purposes, and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (c)(3) or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws.