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North Dakota Governor's School Alumni Association (N.D.G.S.A.A.)

September 24, 2000 - This is the latest version as revised by the N.D.G.S.A.A.

Constitution of the North Dakota Governor's School Alumni Association

1. Name

1. This organization shall be called the North Dakota Governor's School Alumni Association (NDGSAA), hereinafter referred to as the Association or the NDGSAA.

1. Purpose

1. The Association is a not-for-profit organization and will be operated exclusively for educational purposes. Specific objectives are:

   1. To promote the North Dakota Governor's School (NDGS) to schools, school counselors, and other interested parties.

   2. To help in sustaining and/or extending the NDGS program.

   3. To help NDGSAA members in pursuing higher education.

   4. To help the NDSU College of Science and Math, or another hosting institutional entity, in organizing events and maintaining communication information for NDGS Alumni.

   5. To promote communication and interaction between Alumni members.

1. Voting

1. Voting privileges shall be extended only to those Association members who are Members or Associate Members of the NDGSAA.

1. Membership

1. Eligibility

1. Membership in the Association shall be open to all past graduates of the NDGS program. Honorary Membership and Associate Membership may be given to other parties if a proposal by at least two (2) current Association body members is submitted to the Executive Council (see below) and this proposal is approved by the Council.

2. The Association body shall be defined as all members of the Association with the exclusion of the Elected Officials.

3. Associate Members must have started the NDGS program, but may have left for some reason, and thus not graduated from the program.

1. Resignation

1. Members may at any time resign from the Association by filing an official resignation with the Association Secretary. Upon receipt of said resignation, all properties of the Association that the former member held shall be returned to the Association, and all references to the former member in any Association subscription databases or mailing lists shall be removed.

1. Probation, Suspension, and Revocation

1. A member may at any time be placed on probation for an indeterminate amount of time for the following reasons.

   1. Failure to pay membership dues to the Association as specified in this Constitution.

   2. Conduct unbecoming a member of the Association, as judged by the Executive Council on a per case basis.

2. Probation periods and terms will be determined on a per case basis by the Executive Council. The probate has the right to be heard before the Council after probation only within the first two weeks after the probation begins. Probation can occur only after a majority vote of the Executive Council at a Probation and Review Meeting.

3. Membership may be suspended by the Executive Council as deemed necessary at any time or following probation. Membership may be suspended only after a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Executive Council at a Suspension and Review Meeting. Members under suspension may not participate in any Association functions, activities and meetings, and any Association properties held must be returned to the Association. Suspended members have the right to be heard before the Council within two weeks of suspension.

4. Membership may be revoked by the Executive Council following suspension or repeated suspensions. The Executive Council reserves the right and duty to revoke membership of any member at a special Review Meeting, after a unanimous vote of the Council. Members who have their memberships revoked have the right to appeal to the Council one time only, within one week after revocation.

1. Elected Officials

1. Titles, Definitions and Limitations

1. The elected officials of the Association shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two (2) Members at Large, hereinafter referred to as the Executive Council or Association Officers. Elected officials must be NDGSAA members in good standing. (See Sub-section 4 below for persons ineligible for election.)

2. The Officers shall be elected at the Annual Election Meeting, defined below. They shall take office immediately after the Election Meeting, and serve until the next Annual Election Meeting, where their successor will assume the office.

3. Any one member may not serve in the office of President or Vice President for more than two (2) consecutive terms.

4. Persons ineligible for election to any office are those who are not members of the NDGSAA, Honorary members of the NDGSAA, and members that are currently under 18 years of age. Associate members may not hold an office position higher than Treasurer. However, Associate members and members under 18 years of age may participate in and/or chair any committees.

5. Vacancies in any office other than President caused by resignation, removal or disability shall be filled by majority vote of the Executive Council. If the office of President is so vacated, the Vice-President shall immediately assume that office, and the Executive Council shall then fill the vacant office of Vice-President.

1. The President

1. The President shall act as chair of all Association affairs, shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Council and of the body of the Association, and shall appoint all chairs of all projects and committees unless otherwise specified in this Constitution.

2. The President shall plan the agenda for all meetings of the Council and the body of the Association. Executive Council members may ask that items be placed on the agenda, said items will be placed on the agenda at the final discretion of the President.

3. The President shall represent the Association at all NDGS opening and closing ceremonies, as well as any other formal functions deemed to require representation by the Executive Council.

4. The President shall reserve the right to delegate responsibilities to any Association Officer.

5. The President shall act as liaison between the Council and any Temporary Committee created per Article VII of this Constitution. Temporary Committees shall be directly responsible to the President.

6. The President shall have voting privileges at meetings of the Association body only in the case of a tie. The President shall have full voting privileges at all meetings of the Executive Council.

1. The Vice-President

1. The Vice-President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Council and of the body of the Association in the absence of the President. The Vice-President shall act as liaison between all project and standing committee chairs and the Executive Council, with chairs of said projects and committees directly responsible to the Vice-President, unless stated otherwise in this Constitution.

2. The Vice-President is ultimately responsible for all special events that the Council wishes to plan. Responsibilities for duties related to special events may be delegated to the Program Committee, defined in Article VII Section 1, as deemed necessary.

3. The Vice-President shall have full voting privileges in all matters relating to the Council and the body of the Association.

1. The Treasurer

1. The Treasurer shall manage all monetary affairs of the Association. The Treasurer shall be responsible for managing properties of the Association held by members of the Association. The Treasurer shall make the Annual Report of the Association's Finances.

2. The Treasurer shall have full voting privileges in all matters relating to the Council and the body of the Association.

1. The Secretary

1. The Secretary shall maintain the official minutes of all meetings of the Council and of the body of the Association, and shall maintain the NDGSAA membership list.

2. The Secretary shall prepare the Annual Association Report for presentation to the Association at the Annual Election Meeting.

3. The Secretary shall have the responsibility for maintaining the status of any state or federal documents and licenses needed by the NDGSAA to maintain its non-profit standing.

4. The Secretary shall have full voting privileges in all matters relating to the Council and the body of the Association.

1. The Members at Large

1. The Members at Large shall be the liaisons between the Association body and the Executive Council. The Members at Large are responsible for making Association body opinions known to the Executive Council and for relaying Executive Council decisions to the body.

2. The Members at Large shall populate and maintain the postal and electronic mailing lists of the Association members.

3. The Members at Large shall have full voting privileges in all matters relating to the Council and the body of the Association.

1. The Past President

1. The Past President shall provide continuity for the Executive Council from year to year as leadership and personnel change.

2. The Past President shall have full voting privileges in all matters relating to the Council and the body of the Association.

1. The Executive Council

1. Definition

1. The Executive Council shall consist of the elected Officers and the immediate Past President. Members of the Council must be members in good standing of the NDGSAA. The new Executive Council shall take office immediately following the Annual Election Meeting.

1. Duties and Responsibilities

1. The Executive Council shall act on behalf of the Association in all matters except the election of Officers. Minutes of all Executive Council meetings shall be available for inspection by any member of the Association and shall be filed in the Association records by the Association Secretary.

2. A meeting of the Executive Council shall be called by the President upon request of any member of the Executive Council or the President.

1. Standing Committees

1. Program Committee

1. The Program Committee shall consist of at least one member of the Association. The Program committee chair shall be chosen by the Executive Council, via a majority decision, from the Program Committee members.

2. The Program Committee shall be responsible for the coordination of Association events and the Association Events Calendar. All committee and project chairs must let the Program Committee chair know of upcoming events.

3. The Program Committee shall be responsible for arranging the locations for the Association body meetings and for the publicities related to said Association body meetings. These locations must be open and accessible to all members of the NDGSAA. The Program Committee shall also be responsible for any arrangements and publicities deemed necessary for Association functions and events, as determined by the Vice-President.

1. Scholarship Committee

1. The Scholarship Committee shall consist of at least one member of the Association. The Scholarship Committee chair shall be chosen by the Executive Council, via a majority decision, from the Scholarship Committee members.

2. The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for creating a standing set of rules for determining how and which NDGSAA members will be awarded scholarship funds and how those funds may be used by the awarded NDGSAA member. The Executive Council reserves the right to alter or disapprove of any conditions of the Scholarship Committee's set of rules. Members of the Scholarship Committee and the Association Officers are ineligible to receive scholarships from the NDGSAA while serving on the committee or council.

3. The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for soliciting funds from NDGSAA members, their families, member businesses and any other funding sources to help build funds for NDGSAA Scholarships.

4. The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for creating, maintaining, and granting scholarship funds, including recognizing any individuals or organizations that the committee wishes to honor by naming a scholarship in their name.

5. The Scholarship committee shall be responsible for investing and tracking any funds allocated to the committee by the Executive Council for scholarships. The chair of the Scholarship Committee will report to the Treasurer of the Executive Council the status of such funds on a monthly basis.

6. In the event of the dissolution of the NDGSAA, and thus the Scholarship Committee, all funds raised by the committee will be transferred to the general NDGSAA fund before being transferred to the appropriate designee (Article XIII).

1. Publication Committee

1. The Publication Committee shall consist of at least one member of the Association. The Publication committee chair shall be chosen by the Executive Council, via a majority decision, from the Publication Committee members.

2. The Publication Committee shall be responsible for collecting relative articles and/or information on the state of the NDGSAA, NDGSAA members, and information on the NDGS. This publication will be mailed at least once per year to all NDGSAA members who pay membership dues.

3. The Publication Committee shall set the standards for and hold the power of approval of any publicities that any committees or projects display. The Executive Council reserves the right to alter standards or disapprove any publicities.

1. Election Committee

1. The Election Committee, consisting of three or more members of the Association, none of whom are running for any office, shall be appointed by the Executive Council, by October 1 of each year, prior to the Annual Election Meeting.

2. The Election Committee shall be responsible for organizing the Annual Election Meeting. It shall be responsible for the printing, distribution, and counting of the ballots, and shall have the ultimate authority in decisions involving questionable election results.

3. One (1) month prior to the Annual Election Meeting the Election Committee shall present at least one nominee for each office, and at the Annual Election Meeting the Election Committee shall entertain all other nominations from the floor.

1. Temporary Committees

1. The Executive Council may create any Temporary Committee as deemed appropriate, to perform a specific task, after which, the Temporary Committee shall disolve. The Executive Council shall appoint the chair of any Temporary Committee created, and reserves the power to revoke said appointment and reappoint a new chair at any time and for any reason.

2. Temporary Committees shall be directly responsible to the President, with the President acting as liaison between the Council and the Temporary Committees.

1. Association Body Meetings

1. The Association body meetings shall be held at the location arranged by the Program Committee. Robert's Rules shall be used as a guideline by the presiding officer for conducting the meeting. Notices shall be distributed to all members of the Association at least two weeks prior to any meeting by the Program Committee. There shall be at least two (2) meetings each calendar year.

2. The Annual Election Meeting shall be held no later than the end of the month of October. The election of officers shall be held as arranged by the Election Committee

3. Both the Secretary and Treasurer shall present an Annual Association Report to the body of the Association.

1. Disbursements and Dues

1. Disbursements

1. Disbursements from the Treasury for the Association expenditures shall be made under authorization of the Executive Council and shall be included in the minutes of the meeting. Actual disbursements can be made only by the Treasurer of the Association.

1. Dues

1. Association dues shall be determined by the Council each year and shall not be greater than five dollars ($5.00) more than the amount of Association dues from the previous year. This due is not mandatory for membership, but rather will give the paying member additional benefits, such as receiving an Association newsletter.

1. Amendments, Rulings, and Bylaws

1. Amendments

1. Amendments to this Constitution shall be made in the following manner:

   1. The proposed amendment shall be read at a regular meeting of the Association body.

   2. The proposed amendment shall be distributed in writing, to the Association membership with notice of a subsequent meeting.

   3. At the designated meeting, the amendment shall be read again and voted upon. A majority of two-thirds (2/3) of those present and voting shall be required to carry the amendment.

1. Rulings

1. Rulings made on any point or procedure not included in this Constitution shall be made by the Council or Council members. The Association body shall retain veto power over any ruling made by the Council. Veto power by the Association body is exercisable at any meeting of the Association body within the first six (6) weeks or two meetings after the ruling is made, whichever is longer. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present is necessary in order for the Association body to veto any ruling made by the Council.

1. Bylaws

1. A Bylaw is defined as an addendum to the Constitution. A bylaw is much like an amendment, but addresses concerns which are not part of the original Constitution. Bylaws are, by nature, local to the Association and are intended to apply to local Association matters.

2. After the bylaw has been read before the Association body at a regular meeting of the Association, and all discussion related to the bylaw has been mitigated, the bylaw may be approved. A bylaw shall be approved only after a two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the Association body.

3. A bylaw may be revoked after a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Association body. Bylaws may be revoked for any reason as deemed necessary by the Association body.

1. Approval of the Constitution

1. The Constitution shall be approved at a special meeting of the body of the Association for this purpose. This Constitution must be originally approved by two-thirds (2/3) of those Association members present and voting at the special meeting.

1. Dissolution of the Association

1. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, all the assets of the Association shall be transferred to the North Dakota Governor's School. In the event the NDGS is no longer operating, all assets shall be transferred to the North Dakota Department for Public Instruction, for use in Talented and Gifted Student programs (such as Acalympics and Regional/State Science Fairs).