CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
POLICE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
(Revised 10/11/01)

ARTICLES

ARTICLE 1 - NAME

The name of the Association shall be the Police Executive Leadership College (PELC) Alumni Association.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

The purpose of the Alumni Association shall be to provide for the general welfare of the Police Executive Leadership College (PELC), her student body and alumni by:

1.        Serving as a continuing source of contemporary training for police executives, including PELC Alumni.

2.        Encouraging support for PELC and other leadership development programs for police executives by involvement in recruitment and fund-raising activities.

3.        Keeping alert to future police issues and to serve as a forum encouraging progressive management.

4.        To foster high professional standards of conduct within the law enforcement community, and to promote the recognition thereof by the general public.

5.        Providing a forum for socially orientated functions to further the business of the Association.

Said organization is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of and future federal tax code.

ARTICLE III - Membership

Section 1 - Types

There shall be four (4) types of membership, which are defined as follows.

1.        Active - a graduate of PELC who has paid full annual membership dues to the association. Active members shall enjoy all privileges of membership including the right to hold office and voting status.

2.        Inactive - a graduate of PELC who has not paid annual membership due to the association. Inactive members are prohibited from holding office and have no voting status.

3.        Honorary - a person who has provided outstanding service to the PELC and has been granted membership by the Board of Directors. Honorary status requires a 2/3 majority vote. Honorary members are not permitted to hold office, or granted voting privileges.

4.        Lifetime - a graduate of PELC who has paid a one time lifetime membership dues to the association. Lifetime members shall enjoy all privileges of membership including the right to hold office and voting status. An application for lifetime membership may be completed at any time. A member who has served a term as President of PELCAA may be granted a Lifetime Membership as approved by majority vote of the Board.

Section 2 - Approval Process

     Each new member, with the exception of Honorary, must make application for membership on a form furnished by the Association, have successfully completed a PELC session, and be approved by the Board of Directors by a majority vote.

Section 3 - Dues

The annual dues of Active members shall be determined by majority vote of responding active members. Lifetime dues are to be paid in the amount of $50 at the time of application for lifetime membership. All dues shall be due and payable the first day of January of each year. Dues received after the date so designated by the Board shall be considered paid up to and including the following year of initial membership.

Section 4 - Disciplinary Action

     The executive committee shall be empowered to censure, suspend, or expel from the Association any member for just cause. Such discipline will require a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) elected members, and the immediate Past President, however, the Past President shall have no voting rights. Board members shall be expected to attend all scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has the authority to make all decisions concerning the Alumni Association with the exception of amendments to the Constitution.

The Board of Directors shall be empowered to act on behalf of the Association when time or circumstances make it impossible for the Association to be called together in a business session. It shall be their primary duty to safeguard the interest of the Association.

Board members shall serve two-year terms of office, with the exception of the Past President, who shall serve an additional year, with no more than 5 of the member's terms expiring in any given year. The first elected Board will designate 4 members serving a limited one-year term. After the first year, the 4 designated members serving a limited 1-year term shall be replaced by election as specified. In the event that a Board member retires before the end of his term, the Board of Directors shall appoint a new member from the general Association membership to fulfill the retired members terms. Terms of Board members will begin immediately following the annual election.

Any member desiring to run for the Board of Directors at the annual meeting must notify any Board Member, in writing, no later that thirty (30) days prior to the annual business meeting.

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS

Section 1 - Appointment

     The officers of the association shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These offices shall be filled from those members selected to the Board of Directors.

     Election of officers shall be held at the first yearly meeting of the Board of Directors. All officers shall serve a one-year term, with the exception of the office of President, which shall be assumed by the preceding year's Vice-President. In the event that the member leaves office prior to the end of his term, the officers shall move up in succession. A new Board member will then be appointed.

     Any officer missing three consecutive meetings may be removed from office and from the Board of Directors.

Section 2 - Duties

1.        President - shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the association and shall perform such duties as the Association may require in the conduct of its business.

2.        Vice-President - in the absence or disability of the President, shall perform the duties of the President, in the order above mentioned.

3.        Secretary - shall keep minutes and records of the association, shall distribute copies of the Board minutes to all officers and members of the Board, shall publish alumni communications, and shall reside in the absence of senior officers.

4.        Treasurer - shall be the custodian of all funds and shall assume such other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall make an annual financial report supported by the Association Audit.

ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES

     The President, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, shall appoint such committees as are necessary and proper to carry out the functions of the Association. Board members are eligible for committee assignments.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS

Section 1 - Board of Directors Meetings

     There will be a minimum of two yearly meetings of the Alumni Board of Directors. Additional meeting may be called as necessary. The President and/or Secretary of the Association shall have the authority to call special meetings. No special meeting shall be held without 24 hours advance notice to all Board members.

Section 2 - Quorum

     A quorum at any official meeting of the Board of Directors shall consist of five (5) or more board members.

Section 3 - Annual Association Meetings

     An annual meeting of the Association will be held. A special meeting of the Association may be called by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Board of Directors.

Section 4 - Procedures

     The Board of Directors shall adopt such procedures as they deem necessary for the efficient operation of meetings, in so much as they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and By-Laws of the special rules of order of the Association.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENT

     This constitution and By-Laws shall not be altered or amended with written notice having been provided to each voting member of the association. Said notices will contain the proposed amendment or alteration and shall not be considered as adopted unless approved by a two-thirds vote of all members of the Association responding to the proposed amendment by mail, fax, e-mail, or in person at the annual meeting. All Constitution and By-Law amendments must be approved by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee prior to submission to the voting members.

ARTICLE IX - POLITICAL ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED

No part of the net earnings of the association shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in Article II hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the association shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of the articles, the association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt for federal income tax under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or by (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c)(2) or the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

ARTICLE X - DISSOLUTION

Upon the dissolution of the association, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed shall be disposed by the Court of Common Please of the county in which the principal of the Association is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.