Chai has
meant a lot to me these last four years. Thanks to Chai,
I have met several dear and precious friends. But I have
seen problems develop in Chai that seem impossible to
fix under the Chai Constitution.
So, attempting to pave the way to fix these problems,
I have rewritten the Chai Constitution to serve as the
framework of a new Temple auxiliary -- now called B'nai
Chai.
I hope that the committee
that is now working on coming up with a constitution acceptable
to the new B'nai Chai members will take my work here into
consideration as well as the original Chai
constitution. I want to thank especially Frank C.
who I believe created the original Chai constitution,
for without his work, I would not have even known where
to begin.
If you would prefer to
use a frames setup to navigate through this document,
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Frames.
Richard
Gordon
1. Name
The temporary name of the auxiliary
is "B'nai Chai". The group's official name will be selected
by the membership at the time the final version of the Constitution
is voted upon.
2.
Objectives
The objectives of this auxiliary
are to:
- Nurture friendships among its members
- Provide opportunities for discussing
and studying religious issues
- Encourage spiritual growth of its
members by promoting regular attendance at Temple services
- Arrange for a monthly social activity
- Be of service to the congregation
by taking on such responsibilities as donating to the
religious school and ushering monthly at Friday night
services
3.
Membership
3a.
Full-membership. Full-Membership shall be open to any
adult, married or single, who meets these requirements:
- Is a member of the Temple.
- Pays the B'nai Chai membership dues
- Volunteers to serve on one of the Committees
- Is willing to sign up once a year for
ushering duties at Friday night services
- Is willing at least on one Friday a
year, during the Shabbat oneg, to sit at an information
table for the purpose of answering questions about B'nai
Chai and encouraging other Temple members to join (This
obligation can be done on the same Friday ushering/night.)
- Helps
to engender feelings of family -- cooperation, mutual
support, consideration, and respect -- among B'nai Chai
members and the rest of the Temple congregation
3b.
Provisional membership. Provisional membership
shall also be open to any adult, married or single, who
meets the above requirements except membership in the Temple.
Such provisional members, to keep their membership in B'nai
Chai, have one year from the date of first appearing at
a B'nai Chai function to become a Temple member. These provisional
members may attend regular meetings as well as social functions,
but may not be an officer or vote at meetings.
3c.
Non-members. At the invitation of a full-member and
the approval of two out of the three officers, non-members
may attend B'nai Chai's social functions and study/discussion
sessions, but may not attend official meetings.
3d.
Revoking or Excluding membership. If the Board receives
written complaints from at least three members about an
individual in the auxiliary, and if all three board members
in agreement determine -- after consultation with the Rabbi
-- that a person is undermining the spirit of friendship
in the group by such acts as spreading malicious gossip,
using vulgar and offensive language, consistently dealing
with others in B'nai Chai or the congregation in a rude,
inconsiderate way, such a person may be excluded from membership
in B'nai Chai and from any of its functions.
4. Board Members
4a.
Three officers. The B'nai Chai Board of Directors
shall be composed of three officers: President, Vice President/Treasurer
and Secretary. Vice
President/Treasurer shall be a single position.
4b.
Two year term limit. With only one exception, Board
of Directors shall be elected each March at a social function
and will serve for a term of one (1) year with a maximum
of two (2) years in a particular office. The one exception
to this March election date will be for the first election
which may take place as soon this Constitution is endorsed
by the full-membership. If, for example, this Constitution
goes into force on August 1, then officers can be elected
on that date and their first term in office will run only
to May 1 of the following year.
4c.
No co-officers. Husband and wife may not both be on
the board during the same year. And all three offices shall
be held by three individuals, excluding the possibility
of a husband and wife team serving in one board position.
4d.
Office vacancy. If one of three board offices become
vacant, the other two officers will take over the responsibilities
of the vacant office or will appoint another member to that
vacant office.
4e.
Meeting obligations. All members of the Board shall
attend Board meetings and shall support the auxiliary's
activities.
5.
Changing the Constitution
A majority of the full-membership
must be present in order to vote on any changes to this
constitution.. An approval vote of three quarters
of the present majority of the full-membership is
required for making changes to this Constitution. So, for
example, if there are 100 members having full-membership
but only 80 of these full-members are attending a
meeting in which a vote is taken on making a change to the
constitution, if 48 or more full-members vote in
favor of such a change, then the change becomes effective.
6. Removal
of Board Officer
Any board member can be removed
from office by a petition signed by three-quarters (75%)
of the full-membership calling
for such removal.
7.
Meetings
7a.
Monthly. The business of the auxiliary shall be
held once a month. The time and location may change and
are determined by the Board..
7b. Begin
with prayer. All Board meetings and auxiliary functions
held in the Temple shall begin with a prayer provided and/or
led by the Rabbi.
7c. Open
meetings. All Board meetings are opened to all full
and provisional members.
7d.
Members' views. At the Board meetings, the officers
will set aside time to hear and consider the views of the
full and provisional members in attendance
even though these members do not have the right of voting
on Board matters.
On any issue and at the Board
discretion, although not obligated to do so, the Board may
ask for a vote of the members and the Board may take into
consideration the results of the vote in making its decision.
8. Dues
Dues shall be paid annually,
and both the VP/Treasurer and Secretary will keep a record
of the names of all who have paid.
The auxiliary shall adopt the
same fiscal calendar as the Temple and renew dues each May.
9. Socials
Monthly functions shall be
planned. Notice of such functions shall be advertised by
such means as a website, e-mail messages, the Temple Bulletin,
telephone, Bimah announcement, and/or other means.
10.
Officers and Their Duties
10a.
President
The President of the auxiliary
shall --
- Preside at all meetings of the three-member
board and perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain
to that office.
- Be personally responsible for welcoming
new members and see that they feel part of the B'nai
Chai family.
- Either attend the Temple Board of Directors
meetings or arrange for another officer or member to
attend such Temple Board meetings in his/her place.
- Keep the Rabbi and Temple Board President
informed of the general state of the auxiliary
- Encourage and be receptive to suggestions
and constructive criticism from the membership
- Ensure that B'nai Chai never becomes
cliquish
or exclusive, but always remains most welcoming and
open to all Temple members and prospective members.
10b.
Vice President/Treasurer
As stated earlier,
the usually separate offices of Vice President-Treasurer
shall be combined into a single office called VP/Treasurer.
No more than one office can be held per person during
any fiscal year. It is to be noted, however, that the Vice
President and Treasurer responsibilities have been combined
into the single office Vice President/Treasurer.
- The VP/Treasurer shall act for the
President in his/her absence.
- The VP/Treasurer shall open a checking
account in the name of the auxiliary, deposit all moneys
of the auxiliary which come into his/her hands, and
shall make disbursements using checks
- The VP/Treasurer shall keep accurate
records of all transactions, and generally perform all
other duties pertaining to his/her office or which may
be required to submit a "Profit & Loss" statement
to the Board of Directors at the end of each fiscal
year.
- The VP/Treasurer shall keep an accurate,
up-to-date list of the paid members, and shall provide
copies of that list to the President, Secretary, and
the Rabbi's office staff.
10c.
Secretary
The Secretary shall keep full
and accurate minutes of each meeting of the Board, to preserve
all such records and to perform such duties as are usually
incident to the office as (1) sending out notices of Board
meetings (2) and sending social correspondence as deemed
by the Board.
11.
Standing Committees
The officers shall appoint
chairpersons for each of these committees. Although the
chairpersons are essential for the auxiliary to run well,
they are not Board members. No Committee Chairperson should
be expected to handle all the responsibilities of a Committee
but should have other committee members to assist.
11a.
Communication Chairperson
The Communication Chairperson
shall assure that auxiliary activities are communicated
to the membership and Temple-at-large through such means
as e-mail messages, web site announcements, phone calls
and Temple bulletin articles.
11b.
Programming Chairperson
The Programming Chairperson
shall plan and execute functions that are acceptable to
the Auxiliary Board of Directors and to the Temple.
11c.
Nominating Chairperson
This chairperson shall preside
over the Nominations committee. The Nominations committee
shall prepare a slate in February to be presented at the
March meeting.
The Nominations Committee shall
consist of one (1) chairperson, one (1) Board Member and
(1) one member-at-large.
12.
Electing officers
The nominating committee shall
submit nominations for all the three Board positions first
to the current Board and then to the members (full and provisional)
of the auxiliary at the March meeting when the election
of officers will be held.
At this March meeting, any
member (full or provisional) may propose additional nominations
for the Board prior to the election later at the meeting.
All nominations must be seconded. The parties receiving
a majority vote of those present and voting at the meeting
shall be deemed elected.
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bnaichai@gordonrichard.com
