Vote: 2017-2018 Officers and Proposed Bylaw Amendments

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At the September 2016 board meeting, President Terri Pasternik appointed a Board Structure Workgroup to review the current board structure and submit a proposal for a revised board structure to the Board of Directors. The Board Structure Workgroup submitted an initial proposal and requested membership input through District Directors and posting on the IAWP website. After receiving input, the workgroup met, conferred, and submitted their final Board Structure Proposal, again requesting membership input thorough District Directors and posting on the IAWP website.

At the December 2016 meeting, the Board of Directors approved the final Board Structure Proposal which will require a amendments to the bylaws. Bylaws and Resolutions Chair Mikell Fryer subsequently reviewed and presented recommended changes based on the newly-approved board structure at the February 2017 Board Meeting. The draft bylaws amendment was reviewed by the Board and some legal and grammatical changes were made to provide more clarity.  Finally, the Board approved an “Effective Dates” section to phase in certain provisions of the amendments.

In summary, the by-law changes include the following:

  • A Preamble to include a mission statement and guiding principles was added, based on review of bylaws from similar organizations.
  • By-Law Articles were reorganized and some grammatical corrections were made to make the bylaws easier to read.
  • Article I – Membership has wording changes in Sections 1- 4 to simplify the section.
  • Article III – Directors at Large (formerly District Director) The name was changed to Directors at Large and that information was added and the District Director section was deleted.
  • Article IV – Board of Directors Sections 1, 2, 3 include changes from the term District Director to Directors at Large, and a change from 3 District Director to 1 Director at Large on the Executive Committee. The Article was reorganized to make it easier to read and reduced from 12 to 9 sections, because the sections on Number, Qualifications, Tenure, Vacancies, and Removal are either no longer applicable or are covered in other sections of the By Laws.
  • Article V – Financial Affairs includes a wording change for Section 7. Gifts (with a Board-approved policy for the Standing Rules Manual) and Section 8. Indemnification and Insurance was added to ensure members of the Board of Directors are protected and insured.
  • Article VI – Books Records and Corporate Seal information was added and reference to a new policy about how records, documents, or other information requested by our members or third parties will be addressed (with a Board-approved policy for the Standing Rules Manual).
  • Article IX –  To abide with a federal tax requirement, a Dissolution Provision was added to explain what happens if the association dissolves.
  • Article XII – Effective Dates – Provides dates that certain provisions become effective.
  • XIII – Amending bylaws – Additional language was added to conform with state nonprofit statutes.
President Pasternik and the Board of Directors recommend that all active members vote to approve the 2017 bylaws Amendment on the ballot. The benefits of moving the association from a geographical District Director alignment to a Director at Large system are summarized as follows:
  1. Provides more equitable representation of active membership, as members now have immediate access to the association through the Executive Director.
  2. It allows members, not participating in chapters, an increased role in selecting leadership.
  3. It allows Directors elected to the Board to represent the views of the entire membership and help make decisions that are best for the association.
  4. Provides an incentive to increase non-affiliate membership to help address membership decreases we’ve had in past years.
  5. It allows the active membership to elect Directors they feel will best represent them and the association.
  6. It reduces the number of Board of Directors making the board more representative of the active membership and removes the geographical challenges we currently face with inactive Chapters and Districts.
  7. It moves the association away from an unsustainable geographical system with decreasing membership.

Please view the proposed bylaw amendments by clicking here.

Questions and Answers here.

Please vote on the proposed bylaw amendments and 2017-2018 officers by clicking here.

Mail Ballot.  As an option to electronic voting, please complete and print ballot and send to:

International Association of Workforce Professionals
3267 Bee Caves Road
Suite 107-104
Austin, Texas 78746

Questions?  Please send questions to info@iawponline.org