PARENTS ASSOCIATION
(MMAPA)
BY-LAWS
These by-laws, which were adopted by a vote of the MMAPA
membership on _______, replace and supersede in their entirety all previously
adopted by-laws or constitutions, including the following editions and any
others that may exist:
o
1991-1992
school year
o
1992
revision
o
2002-2003
school year revision.
This document, therefore, represents the sole by-laws of the
Massachusetts Maritime Academy Parents Association that are in effect as of the
date of their adoption.
These by-laws are the product of the appointed By-Law Review
Committee and the Executive Board of the MMAPA.
Special thanks to the following officers and committee members for their
work on this revision:
2007-2008
Executive Board:
Ann Prete, President Harry
Wood, Treasurer
Ann Marie Stoica, Vice President Beth Sobiloff, Secretary
Karen Nahigian, Admissions Liaison
By-Law
Revision Committee:
Pam Condino, Parent ’08 and ‘11 Pam Ihling, Parent ’11
Bill Goodwin, Parent ’11 Laurie
Kaye, Parent ’11
Wendie Howland, Parent ’04 Claire Powers, Parent ’11
Ann Marie Stoica, Parent ’09,
Chairperson
Special
thanks as well to Massachusetts Maritime Academy Trustee Paul F. Kelly for his
technical assistance with the parliamentary aspects of this revision.
The
mission of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Parents Association is to provide
information and support to families of regimental cadets at MMA. We do this by promoting and facilitating
communication among parents and with the Academy, by sharing information
resources, and by raising funds for scholarships. Membership and participation
are open to any interested family member, former cadets and family, and MMA
staff.
Article
1
Name
The
name of this organization shall be the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Parents
Association (MMAPA).
Article
2
Purpose
The
purpose of the MMAPA is to provide information and support to families of
regimental cadets at the
Article
3
Membership
Membership
in MMAPA is open to parents, guardians and family members of accepted incoming,
current or former MMA cadets; to former MMA cadets; and to MMA staff. Current cadets are not eligible for
membership.
There
is no fee, form or application for membership to MMAPA. Individuals who fit the criteria above are
considered members of the MMAPA and are eligible for participation in our meetings
and activities. Eligibility to vote is limited
to parents and guardians of incoming, current and former MMA cadets, and is not
open to former cadets, MMA staff, alumni or members of the Board of
Trustees.
Access
to the MMAPA email list serve is not automatic to members, but rather is applied
for and approved separately as provided in Article 8 of these by-laws.
Article
4
Meetings
Meetings
will be announced in advance via the MMAPA web site and the email list
serve. There will be a minimum of four
meetings annually, and they typically take place in May, September, December
and February. The President may call
additional or special meetings, including meetings of a purely social nature, when
he or she deems it appropriate, or when petitioned, in writing, to do so by no fewer than five members. The President or his or her designee will
post the agenda for each meeting at least one week prior to the meeting.
Members
may attend meetings in person or, when available, via teleconference. Members participating via teleconference are generally
not eligible to vote on matters raised at the meeting because of the inherent
difficulty in maintaining the integrity of any vote made in that manner. If the President determines, in his or her
discretion, that a matter coming to vote before the membership is of such
importance or controversy that teleconferencing members should be allowed to
vote, then those members will be allowed to vote. In that case, the President will determine
the procedure for teleconference voting that will maximize the integrity of the
voting process.
A
quorum for holding a meeting will be at least ten members present either in
person or via teleconference, if available, not counting the MMAPA officers.
The
final meeting of each school year, which typically will be held in the month of
May, will include the annual election of officers to serve the following school
year (see Article 6 below).
Article
5
Officers
The
Officer positions will include, at least, a President, Vice President,
Secretary, and Treasurer, all of whom shall be members of the Executive
Board. An Admissions Liaison and
Hospitality Chair are encouraged, and if those positions are filled the
incumbents will also be part of the Executive Board. Other officer positions may be filled from
time to time as the need exists. Term of
office is one year, beginning annually with the spring (usually May) election
meeting and ending the following year when new elections are held. The members of the Executive Board take
primary responsibility for soliciting volunteers from among the membership to
assist in the mission of the MMAPA. As
examples, the Executive Board members should actively recruit members to help
with fund-raising activities and sales, and for special projects that from time
to time arise, recent examples being the maintenance of the MMAPA web site, the
Parent’s Packet, and the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).
The
Executive Board may, at the discretion of the President or at the request of
two or more other Executive Board members, meet in person or via telephone to
discuss relevant matters. Such meetings
are encouraged prior to each general business meeting to set agenda items and
generally to make arrangements for the meeting.
The
duties of the officers are as follows:
President: The President’s duties include,
but are not limited to, presiding at meetings, calling regular or special
meetings of the Executive Board or membership as needed, and serving as the
first line of contact between the MMAPA and the MMA administration. The President serves, ex officio, on the Board of the MMA Foundation. The President approves applications, or
delegates approval authority to another officer, for access to the MMAPA email
list serve, and performs other functions that are commonly accepted presidential
duties. The President may delegate to
the Vice President or other Executive Board member such official or other
duties as may be necessary for the conduct of business.
Vice
President: The Vice President’s duties include, but are not limited to,
serving in the capacity of President if the President is unable or unavailable
to perform his or her duties, assisting the other officers as needed, and
performing other functions that are commonly accepted vice presidential duties.
The President may delegate some of his or her customary duties to the Vice
President. The Vice President, in the
event of the President’s resignation or incapacity to serve, shall succeed to
the office until the next regular election of officers.
Secretary: The
Secretary’s duties include, but are not limited to, maintaining minutes of the
business meetings, making the minutes available in draft form for acceptance at
the following business meeting, making arrangements for approved minutes to be
posted on the MMAPA web site, and performing other functions that are commonly
accepted secretarial duties.
Treasurer: The
Treasurer handles the cash and maintains the financial records of the
MMAPA. The Treasurer has primary
responsibility for the integrity of all the MMAPA’s fiscal matters. Duties include, but are not limited to,
holding cash at fund-raising events, the timely deposit of incoming funds, assuring
that the MMAPA’s authorized expenditures are made in a timely manner, and
keeping accurate records of the income and expenditures of the MMAPA. The Treasurer advises the membership, through
a report at each general business meeting, about the finances of the
MMAPA. The Treasurer maintains inventory
of goods for sale for fund-raising purposes, reorders when necessary and makes
an annual recommendation as to the amount of funds to be donated for cadet
scholarships. The Treasurer also
performs other functions that are commonly accepted treasurer duties.
If
there are two Co-Treasurers, the duties will be divided or shared between them,
with a preference for one Treasurer being in charge of funds and the other of
inventory. Co-Treasurers must not be
related to each other by blood or marriage.
Admissions
Liaison: The Admissions Liaison works with the Massachusetts
Maritime Academy Admissions Office to promote the Academy to prospective
students and especially to their parents, and assists in the Admissions
Office’s efforts to attract students. This
may include, when requested by the Admissions Office employees, assisting with
regional or local Admission Open Houses or at college fairs.
Hospitality
Chair: The Hospitality Chair’s duties include maintaining
accurate and up-to-date suggestions for places appropriate for food and lodging
for parents when they are in the area. The
Hospitality Chair may, from time to time, solicit businesses in the
Article
6
Election
of Officers
Officers
are elected annually at the spring general business meeting. Nominations and expressions of interest to
seek office may be announced in advance via the email list serve, or may be
made from the floor at the election meeting.
Election is made by a majority vote of eligible members present. The term of office is one year.
Article
7
Financial
Integrity
Maintenance
of the integrity of MMAPA’s finances is a top priority. To that end, the following fiscal procedures
are in place:
- The Treasurer or
Co-Treasurer(s) shall be responsible for holding funds at any fund-raising
event.
- At the conclusion of
any fund-raising event, funds will be counted and recorded by two
unrelated (by birth or marriage) members, one being the Treasurer or
Co-Treasurer, and preference for the second counter being one of the other
eligible members of the Executive Board.
- Checks will be
co-signed by the Treasurer or one Co-Treasurer and by one other unrelated
(by birth or marriage) officer.
- An annual review of
the financial records will be conducted by an audit committee comprised of
the Treasurer or Co-Treasurers and at least two other members, one of whom
does not hold an office in the MMAPA.
The audit committee will report to the President in writing their
conclusion as to whether the records appear to be in good order. This audit should be done prior to the
business meeting at which the election of new officers takes place.
- Proceeds from
fund-raising efforts will be used to provide scholarships for cadets. Any other use must be approved by the
membership.
Article
8
MMAPA
List Serve
Access
to the list serve is open to parents and guardians of incoming, current or
former cadets, to MMA employees and to the MMA Board of Trustees. Currently enrolled cadets are not eligible
for access to the list serve.
Application
for access to the list serve is made by following the procedures currently in
place, which are set forth on the MMAPA website (www.mmapa.org). Access is granted upon approval of the
application by both the Webmaster and the MMAPA President or his or her
designee. Such approval will not be
unreasonably withheld.
The
Chat Group Guidelines that are currently in effect appear on the MMAPA website
(www.mmapa.org) and are to be followed by
all posters.
Article
9
Amendments
Proposed
amendments to these by-laws will be adopted after a two-thirds majority vote of
those eligible members present at a full meeting of the MMAPA. Proposals for amendments must be submitted to
the Executive Board, through the President, in writing and at least fourteen
days prior to the meeting at which the vote on the amendment will be
taken. The requested amendment will be
posted to the membership via the website, list serve or both, at least one week
prior to the meeting at which the vote on the amendment will be taken.