Bylaws
ARTICLE I - NAME
This organization shall be called the Alabama Association of the Deaf, Incorporated. The Alabama Association of the Deaf shall be affiliated with the National Association of the Deaf.
ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES
Section 1.
The objectives of the Association shall be:
(a) to promote the welfare of the deaf in educational measures, in employment and in any other field pertaining to or affecting the deaf of Alabama in their pursuit of economic security, social equality, and their just rights and privileges as citizens;
(b) to promote leadership among the deaf;
(c) to cooperate with any organizations, agencies, and educational program of and for the deaf people subject to the Executive Board’s approval.
(d) to render assistance to the local Chapters, when requested, in local activities pertaining to the welfare of the deaf. It shall have no control of the internal finances of the Chapters. The Chapters shall have no authority to bind the Association in any manner.
(e) to promote charitable, educational, cultural, and recreational activities.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.
ACTIVE MEMBERS: any person, 18 years old and older, residing in Alabama may become an active member of the Association upon payment of membership dues.
Section 2.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Any person, 18 years old and older, residing outside of Alabama may become associate member of the Association upon payment of membership dues. They may attend the meetings, but they may not make motions, vote, or hold office.
Section 3.
(a). HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS: Honorary life membership may be conferred, by a majority vote of the members at the Conference, on an individual who has made significant contributions to the ideals and objectives of the Association.
(b). Honorary life members shall not pay dues and may attend meetings. They shall have the privileges of the Association except that of holding office.
ARTICLE IV – ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of the Association shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall be elected by ballot by the members assembled at the Conference. If there is only one candidate for an office, he/she shall be elected by acclamation.
Section 2. Newly-elected officers shall assume office immediately after adjournment of the current Conference and continue in office until their successors are qualified and elected.
Section 3.
(a). To be eligible for an elective office in the Association, a person must have been a member for the past two consecutive years preceding the present conference.
(b). If a candidate can not attend the Conference, he/she shall send a letter of intent for a specific office to the secretary.
Section 4.
(a). No Association officers shall an elective office in a local chapter.
(b). Each Association officer should be encouraged to be a member of the nearest Chapter.
Section 5.
(a). Resignations shall be submitted in writing to the Association President.
(b). Resignation of the Association President shall be submitted in writing to the Association Secretary.
(c). A vacancy in the office of Association President shall be automatically filled by Vice President.
(d). A Vacancy in any office, except that of the Association President, shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Board to serve until the Conference election.
(e). Any office shall automatically become vacant thirty (30) days after the holder moves out of the state.
ARTICLE V – DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1.
(a). PRESIDENT: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board; to see that the rules of the Association are enforced under the bylaws; to appoint such committees as may be necessary for carrying out the business of the Association; to perform the other duties usually assigned to this office; to pay a visit to each Chapter at least one time during his/her term of two years in office.
(b). In the event President is unable to attend any function other than AAD where the presence of an AAD representative would benefit the AAD, the order of the ranks of the officials should be considered to represent President. If any of the officials should be unable to attend, President shall be empowered to appoint one.
(c). A sum up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) shall be allowed President for expenses between Conferences in order to carry out his/her duties as President or his/her representation. The Executive Board shall have the authority to grant any amount above $1,000.00.
(d). The President will appoint four (4) members at large. The duties and responsibilities can be found in AAD’s policy manual.
Section 2.
(a). VICE PRESIDENT: It shall be the duty of Vice President to assume the duties of President in case of President’s absence or inability to serve and to perform such other duties as may be required.
(b). Vice President shall be chairman of the Law Committee and the Resolution Committee.
(c). Vice President shall be responsible for the AAD Executive Board manual and supervise its update from time to time.
Section 3.
SECRETARY: It shall be the duty of Secretary to keep a record of the proceedings of the Association at its various meetings: to prepare the same for publication as may be ordered by the Association: to keep a complete lost of the officers and members with their post office addresses: and to give ample notice to each member of a coming meeting of the Association. He/she shall have charge of all papers and correspondence of the Association except what properly belongs to the other officers.
Section 4.
(a). TREASURER: It shall be the duty of Treasurer to receive all monies belonging to the Association, to keep an accurate account, verified by vouchers, of all its receipts and expenditures and submit an audited report from two members approved by the Executive Board to the Association at its regular meetings. He/she shall pay no bills unless authorized by President of the Association. He/she shall submit financial reports to be published in every issue of the Deaf Alabamian.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1.
The Executive Board shall be composed of the Association President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, President of local chapters, and four members at large
Section 2.
The Executive Board shall have general management of the affairs of the Association as expressed by resolution or otherwise.
Section 3.
The Executive Board shall have power by a majority of those present to vote to suspend any member from the privileges of the Association, or to suspend any officer from the discharge of his/her duties for good and sufficient reasons. However, such suspended member or officer shall have the right to appeal to the Association at the next regular meeting following the suspension.
Section 4.
The President shall call a meeting of the Executive Board when petitioned to do so by three (3) members of the Board.
Section 5.
The Secretary of the Association shall notify each members of the Executive Board two weeks in advance of the meeting specifying time and place of any forthcoming meeting of the Board except at Conference time. In the event a chapter president is unable to attend the called meeting, he/she may send in writing a representative in his/her place who shall have voice and the right to vote.
ARTICLE VII – CONFERENCE
Section 1.
Meetings of the Association shall be biennially during odd-numbered years, it being provided that a different period between two meetings may be fixed to meet the special needs by the members in Conference assembled, who shall also decide the place of the meeting.
Section 2.
(a). Proposed sites for the next two biennial Conferences will be selected by a majority vote of those present at the current Conference.
(b). The bids for the proposed sites submitted must have been approved by the majority members of the chapters.
Section 3.
(a). The Executive Board shall have power to call a special meeting of the Association whenever thirty (30) or more of the active members make a petition for such a meeting in writing, or whenever it deems such a meeting necessary.
(b). Twenty (20) of the active members of the Association in good standing present at any Conference shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
ARTICLE VIII – DELEGATE TO NAD CONFERENCE
Section 1.
The AAD President shall automatically be a delegate to the NAD Convention. The other delegate(s) to the NAD Convention shall be chosen by a ballot vote of the Executive Board at its meeting. The other delegates shall be from the Executive Board.
Section 2.
To be eligible to serve as a delegate or delegates to the NAD Convention, a member must be present at the current AAD Conference and must have registered at the Conference preceding the present one. The delegates shall be determined by the order of plurality vote.
Section 3.
It shall be the duty of the association delegates to attend all business meetings of the Convention and submit reports of such meetings for publication in the Deaf Alabamian sixty (60) days after such Convention and a brief report to the next AAD Conference.
Section 4.
The Association shall pay the determined amount(s) to the elected delegate(s) for expenses to be incurred at the future National Association of the Deaf Convention. Any amount shall be determined by the Budget Committee just prior to the election of the delegate(s).
Section 5.
The Executive Board shall decide the expenses to be incurred for the elected delegate(s) to attend the Regional Conference sponsored by the NAD.
ARTICLE IX – CHAPTERS
Section 1.
A chapter for a new local chapter of the AAD may be granted by the Executive Board upon the petition of a group having at least ten (10) active members of AAD and having been organized for a year.
Section 2.
In the event a chapter is dissolved, all chapter assets shall become the property of the Association.
ARTICLE X – AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
Section 1.
Affiliated organizations shall be local clubs or associations of the Deaf in the State of Alabama. The affiliated organizations shall be recognized as a member of the Executive Board. They shall receive the privilege of one voting representative on the Executive Board.
ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENTS
Section 1.
Amendments to the bylaws of the Association may be made at any of its regular meetings by two-thirds (2/3) of the active members in attendance. Such proposed amendments shall be submitted to Vice President, who shall cause proposed amendments to be published in the Deaf Alabamian and distributed to the membership at the Conference.
ARTICLE XII- DISSOLUTION
Section 1.
In the event this Association should be dissolved, then all assets of the Association after payment of all liabilities will be distributed to the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind at Talladega, Alabama, to be used for providing scholarships for the deaf. In the event the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is not in existence, the assets will be distributed to another institution of the deaf, which organization shall be exempt from Federal Income Tax as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code and to which a contribution would be deductible under section 170.
Section 2.
The corpus of the fund will not be invaded at any time, but only the income may be used.
Revised on June 1993 at AAD Convention in Birmingham, Alabama.
Revised on June 1995 at AAD Convention in Mobile, Alabama.
Revised on June, 1997, at AAD Convention in Montgomery, Alabama.
No Revision on June 1999 at AAD Conference in Talladega, Alabama.
Revised on June, 2005, at AAD Conference in Auburn, Alabama.