CHESTER COUNTY CHORAL SOCIETY CONSTITUTION

 

 

ARTICLE I

 

Name

The name of this organization shall be Chester County Choral Society.

 

 

ARTICLE II

 

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be to promote cultural arts in the community, to strive for excellence in performance, and to derive personal enrichment through musical development.

 

 

ARTICLE III

 

Membership

1.      Any person wishing to join the Chester County Choral Society shall have an interview/audition with the Artistic Director.  Acceptance is at the Director’s discretion, dependent upon available openings in specific voice parts.

 

2.      The membership of any individual who misses three (3) rehearsals per concert season shall be subject to review and re-evaluation by the Artistic Director.

 

3.      The membership of any member who misses two (2) consecutive concert seasons shall be subject to review and re-evaluation by the Artistic Director.

 

4.      Conduct or action that is detrimental to the purpose of the Society shall be cause for review of membership by the full board.  This review may result in appropriate disciplinary action as follows:

A written or verbal notice will be conveyed by the President.  If further disciplinary action is deemed necessary, the member may be dismissed.  Such dismissal would be by a two-thirds vote of the Board members present at this review.

 

 

ARTICLE IV

 

Finances

1.      Each member shall be required to pay dues, the amount of which shall be determined by the Society Board and approved by majority vote of the Society one week after presentation.

 

2.      Any fund raising conducted in the name of, or for the benefit of, the Society shall have prior Board approval.

 

3.      Upon dissolution of the Society, all assets such as music, folders, or cash-on-hand shall be donated to a non-profit successor organization or such other non-profit choral group as may be agreed upon by the Society Board.

 

4.      Financial books shall be audited at least once per year by a member-at-large or by an outside representative, selected by the Board.

 

5.      Any officer with financial-signing authority shall be bonded, the cost of which shall be paid by the Society.

 

 

ARTICLE V

 

Organization and Responsibilities

1.      Elected officers of the Chester County Choral Society shall be:  President, Vice President–Concert, Vice President–Administration, Vice President-Development, Secretary, and Treasurer. 

Section Representatives (Soprano I & II; Alto I & II, Tenor, Bass) shall be elected by their respective sections and represent their sections at Board meetings.  This group of elected members shall comprise the voting membership of the Society Board.  The Immediate Past- President and the Artistic Director shall be designated non-voting members of the Society Board.

The membership-at-large is welcome to attend any and all meetings of the Society Board, without voice or voting privileges.

 

2.      The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Artistic Director.  The Executive Committee may, by majority vote, appoint non-Society members to the Society Board.  The Executive Committee shall meet on an “as needed” basis.  The Executive Committee shall have power to transact all business of the Board in the management of the Society during the period between meetings of the Board, subject to such limitations as shall be imposed by the Board, and shall meet at the call of the President or three members of the Board.  Any action by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the entire Board at the first available opportunity.

 

3.   The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected by a simple majority of the members present during the election meeting, which shall be held annually, with the new officers taking office at the beginning of the new fiscal year, July 1st.  The Section Representatives shall be elected by a simple majority of their respective sections during the election meeting.  The Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three to five members to search for and recommend a slate of new officers to the Society.  The nominating process shall include the following:

a)      The Nominating Committee shall present its recommendations to the membership by April 15th, at which time the group shall be advised that, prior to the next rehearsal, additional nominations for any elected position should be made, in writing, to the Secretary of the Board.

b)      If there are no additional nominations to the slate, a vote may be taken at the rehearsal following the presentation of the slate.


c)      If there are additions to be made to the original slate, the Secretary shall announce them at the next rehearsal.  Voting will take place one week after presentation of the amended slate.

d)      Voting shall be by written ballot for all offices.

 

4.   The Society Board shall meet a minimum of four (4) times per year (two per season) with the date and time to be set by the President.  A quorum of two-thirds of the Board membership must be present to conduct official business.  All Board decisions shall be determined by majority vote of the Board members present.

 

5.   The Executive Committee or Board shall approve all expenditures in excess of $300.00 above the budgeted amount.

 

6.   The Board and the Artistic Director shall meet yearly for mutual evaluation.  The Board shall determine an annual honorarium for the Artistic Director and Accompanist during a special session at which neither the Artistic Director nor the Accompanist will be present.

 

7.   In the event of the resignation or termination of the agreement between the Artistic Director and the Board, the Board shall appoint an interim Artistic Director to fulfill the term of the departing Director.  The contractual agreement with the accompanist will be honored.

 

8.   In the event of the resignation or termination of the Artistic Director, the Board shall appoint a Search Committee to select possible candidates for the position.  The committee shall advertise, review resumes, and interview all viable candidates prior to their being auditioned by the entire membership of the Society.  Upon completion of the audition process, the Search Committee shall present a list of all candidates to the membership, requesting an evaluation of their performances.  The results of the questionnaires shall be tallied and presented to the Board for review and action.

 

9.      Amendments to this Constitution may be made by one of the two following manners:

a)            Suggestions may be proposed, in writing, to the Executive Committee by any Society member in good standing.  All suggested amendment(s) shall be presented to, and discussed by, the Executive Committee and/or the Society Board.  Should the committee find the suggestion to merit full chorus attention, the Board will present the amendment to the Society for consideration.

b)            Suggestions may be proposed in writing by a group consisting of no fewer than five Society members.  This group may present an amendment to the Society membership for consideration without previous Board approval.

 

10. Any proposed amendment shall be presented to the membership at three consecutive rehearsals in the following manner:

Rehearsal 1:            Amendment presented in writing;

Rehearsal 2:             Discussion will be held during this rehearsal;

Rehearsal 3:            Any additional discussion may be held; vote then taken by written ballot.

 

11.      To be adopted, amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote of members present.  A quorum for this vote will be a simple majority of the active membership.

 

12. Major decisions affecting all Society members (such as change in concert attire, regular rehearsal site, etc.) shall require a majority vote of Society membership one week following the presentation of the proposed change.

 

13. The term of office for all elected officers shall be twenty-four (24) months.  The election of President, Vice President–Administration, and Treasurer will be held in odd-numbered years.  The election of Vice President–Concert, Vice President-Development and Secretary will be held in even-numbered years.  No individual may serve consecutive terms in any single office with the exception of the Treasurer, who may serve two consecutive terms.

 

14. The Vice President–Administration shall preside over the Board in the absence of the President.  In the event the President is unable to continue in that position, the Vice President–Administration shall assume responsibilities and obligations of the office for the remainder of the existing term of office.  Should other vacancies arise, the Board shall appoint a Society member to fulfill the remainder of the term.

 

15. Section Representatives shall be elected yearly by majority, written vote of the section members.  Section Representatives may serve two (2) consecutive terms.

 

16. The Society Board has the right to remove, for good cause, any member of its Board; removal shall be by two-thirds vote of the Board.

 

17. The duties and responsibilities of all elected officials of the Society can be found in their respective job descriptions.

 

18. Questions or issues of parliamentary procedure not directly addressed in this Constitution shall be referred to Robert’s Rules of Order.