May 18, 2004
Proposed NABJ Constitutional Amendments
Dear NABJ Members:
 Keeping
its pledge to make governance a priority, the Board
of Directors is urging the membership’s endorsement
of four proposed amendments to
the NABJ Constitution in an off-year election culminating on
Aug. 6 at the annual convention.
The Board of Directors recently endorsed the proposals at its
spring meeting in Washington. If adopted, the amendments would,
among other things:
-
Reduce the size of the Board
from 19 to 14—impacting the 2005 elections and taking
effect with the 2005-2007 term.
-
Allow full members to say
definitively whether the student and associate representatives
should be voting Board members.
- Clarify that NABJ’s Constitution and Operating
Procedures Committee would recommend to the Board whether
a proposed amendment should be presented to the membership.
The Board also has adopted new guidelines aimed
at preventing confusion as to the deadline for joining NABJ or
renewing membership to vote in an upcoming election.
For starters, from now on the deadline for a potential voter to
either have joined NABJ or renewed his or her membership will be
the same as for convention pre-registration. That’s a much-requested
change from last year, when the voting deadline was three days
after the cutoff for pre-registration.
This year, therefore, June 15 is the deadline for a potential voter
to be a full member, either by joining or renewing. (That’s
also the pre-registration deadline for the UNITY
2004: Journalists of Color Convention and Expo in Washington.)
Again, full membership applications and renewals must
be received at the NABJ national office by June 15 to be voting-eligible.
No memberships received between June 16 and the convention will
be voting-eligible at the convention.
Constitution: Full members to decide
While associate and student members vote for their Board representatives
in regular elections held every odd-number year, only full members
may vote this year because the Constitution (Chapter 4, Article
II, Section 2) states that only full members vote
on proposed amendments. Associates and students may vote for their
reps next year.
In accordance with the Constitution, the proposed amendments must
be circulated to all members and affiliate chapters by June 4,
2004. The Constitution mandates that the membership and chapters
receive such notice at least 60 days before the convention. An
amendment must be endorsed by two-thirds of the total number of
votes cast to be adopted. An adopted amendment takes effect immediately.
Full members can cast their ballots electronically between June
15 and July 15. Those preferring to mail in their ballots must
request a ballot from the national office by June 15; the ballots
must be postmarked by July 15 and received by the national office
by July 22 to be included in the official tally.
On-site voting by full members will take place on Friday,
Aug. 6, during the UNITY 2004 convention at the Washington Convention
Center.
Third attempt in six years
As you may recall, the membership by a vote of 3 to 1 expressed
its overwhelming desire to reduce the size of the Board of Directors
to less than 19 members at the August 2003 convention in Dallas.
Members also were asked to consider three proposals on how to actually
restructure the Board. None of those proposals received the required
two-thirds vote. Restructuring proposals also were defeated in
2001.
Since the fall, Parliamentarian Melanie Burney, the Constitution
and Operating Procedures Committee and the Board have grappled
with how to offer the membership a single restructuring proposal
that puts the association’s needs first.
No restructuring proposals evolved from the membership by the Feb.
4 deadline; the Constitution mandates that all proposed amendments
be submitted at least six months prior to the annual convention.
Therefore, President Herbert Lowe charged the Parliamentarian and
the Committee with drafting a proposal for the Board’s review.
The Parliamentarian and Committee spoke with members from around
the nation—including founding NABJ members, past NABJ presidents,
parliamentarians and other Board members—to solicit input
and feedback. They also sought legal advice.
We believe we have developed a restructuring proposal that merits
your consideration. In the coming weeks please take time to review
the proposals, and we urge you to discuss them at your chapter
meetings and have healthy dialogue with other members. Also, feel
free to contact the Parliamentarian or any member of the Committee
with any questions. Please keep an open mind, search your conscience
and do what is in the association’s best interest.
So, to recap:
- You must be a full member (new or renewed)
by June 15, 2004, to vote.
- Electronic and mail-in voting will occur
between June 15 and July 15, 2004
- On-site voting will occur at the UNITY 2004
convention on Aug. 6, 2004.
And finally, the Board of Directors and the
Committee have endorsed these proposed amendments and urge every
full member to do so, too – for the good of NABJ.
Sincerely,
The NABJ Constitution and Operating Procedures Committee
NABJ Parliamentarian Melanie Burney, The Philadelphia
Inquirer
Michael Dabney, The Indianapolis Star
Duchesne Drew, Star Tribune (St. Paul, Minn.)
Sharyn Flanagan, USA Today (Immediate Past Parliamentarian)
Sherry Howard, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Michael Ottey, The Miami Herald |
