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TENNESSEE REGIONAL GROUP OF THE BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION/BYLAWS

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Tennessee Regional Group of the Blinded Veterans Association, in order to develop a closer relationship among the blinded veterans of our Nation; to assist in their rehabilitation; to hasten their acceptance into the community; and to promote peace with liberty, do adopt and establish these Constitution/Bylaws.

Article I (Name)

Section 1. The name of the organization, by which it shall be known, is and shall be the Tennessee Regional Group of the Blinded Veterans Association, and its duration, shall be perpetual, unless its Charter be withdrawn by the Blinded Veterans Association for good cause shown.

Article II (Affiliation)

Section 1. The Regional Group is and shall be an affiliate group of a National Association known as the Blinded Veterans Association, as attested to by a Charter issued by said Association. The Regional Group shall at all times be subject to the jurisdiction of the National Association and to the provisions of that corporation’s Charter and Bylaws. Any provision in these Constitution/Bylaws inconsistent with the Charter or Bylaws of the Blinded Veterans Association shall be null and void.
Section 2. The Regional Group shall not participate in any way in the promotion of partisan politics or of candidates for political office. Its name, insignia, and membership lists shall be restricted to use by the Regional Group and by its parent body, the Blinded Veterans Association. The Group shall not join or federate with any veterans’ organization or agency for the blind.

Article III (Supreme Authority)

Section 1. The supreme authority of the Regional Group shall be vested in its members, whether expressed in convention, in a regularly-called meeting, or by a duly authorized mail ballot.
Section 2. At all times when the membership is not assembled, the supreme authority of the Regional Group shall be vested in an Executive Committee (see
Article VIII below).

Article IV (Membership)

Section 1. Membership shall be limited to Members and Associate Members of the Blinded Veterans Association in good standing residing within the state boundaries of Tennessee.
Section 2. The definitions of the aforementioned categories of membership in the Tennessee Regional Group, and the rights, privileges, responsibilities and restrictions of each category shall be as outlined in the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.
Section 3. All of the above-mentioned Members and Associate Members, provided they remain in good standing with the National Association and with this Regional Group, shall have and retain rights of membership in said Regional Group as set forth in Section 2 of this Article and the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.

Article V (Membership Meetings)

Section 1. Regular meetings of the membership shall be called, and such meetings shall have authority to make laws and bylaws, rules and regulations, and generally to conduct all business which may properly come before the Group.
Section 2. Every Member and Associate Member in good standing of the Tennessee Regional Group shall be eligible to attend and assist in all meetings of the membership, and shall be entitled to one (1) vote when present.
Section 3. A quorum at membership meetings shall consist of five (5) Members and/or Associate Members in good standing, two (2) of which must be elected officers of the Regional Group.
Section 4. All Members and Associate Members in good standing, as well as the National Headquarters (Attn: Administrative Director), shall be notified, in writing, of each meeting of the regional group at least ten (1O) days before the date of such meeting. The notification letter will include the date, time, location and purpose(s) of the meeting. Address labels from BVA National Headquarters must be used for all such notification letter mailings.

Article VI (Officers)

Section 1. The Regional Group shall elect officers each year from among its Members and Associate Members in good standing at a meeting of the membership, and all Members and Associate Members in good standing shall be notified, in writing, in advance for the purpose for which the meeting is called (see Section 4 of Article V above).
Section 2. The officers elected shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. However, at its discretion, the Group may combine the offices of Secretary and Treasurer and have a single office of Secretary/Treasurer (in drafting their bylaws, the regional group is required to make a decision concerning whether they wish to have both a Secretary and a Treasurer, or whether they wish to combine the offices into one office of Secretary/Treasurer). Furthermore, at its discretion, the Group may elect other officers from among its Members and Associate Members in good standing considered necessary for its operation. The titles of all regional group officers shall be specified in this Article (Section 2 above).
Section 3. Officers shall serve until their successors have qualified. In no case, however, shall an officer serve a period exceeding eighteen (18) months without reelection.

Article VII (Duties of Officers)

Section 1. The President shall be the executive head of the Regional Group with full power to enforce the provisions of these Constitution/Bylaws and the policies adopted by the membership. He/she shall preside at meetings of the membership. He/she shall have and exercise all of the functions especially entrusted to him/her by the membership and shall perform all of the duties usually performed by such executive officer, including appointment of such committees as he/she may feel are necessary to the successful operation of the Group, with full authority to dissolve such committees.
Section 2. The Vice President shall perform such duties as are assigned to him/her by the President and shall serve as Acting President during the absence or disability of the President.
Section 3. The Secretary shall keep written minutes of all meetings of the membership and of the Executive Committee, and shall furnish a copy of all such written minutes to the National Secretary at the National Headquarters (Attn: Administrative Director) within two months of such meetings. He/she shall notify all members in good standing and National Headquarters (Attn: Administrative Director), in writing, of all regional group meetings, including the purpose(s) for which they are called. He/she shall perform such other duties as are assigned to him/her.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall maintain true and complete books of account reflecting all of the income and expenditures of the Regional Group. He/she shall report regularly to the membership on the finances of the Group and shall file budgets and financial reports with the National Association as requested and/or as required by the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.

Article VIII (Executive Committee)

Section 1. Between membership meetings, supreme authority of the Regional Group will be vested in an Executive Committee consisting of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer (or Secretary/Treasurer).
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall have full power to act for the Group between membership meetings, provided that the Executive Committee shall take no action contrary to policies established by the membership, and all of its actions shall be reported to the next membership meeting for approval, rejection or modification.
Section 3. Three members of the Executive Committee, one of which will be either the President or the Vice President, shall constitute a quorum at all Executive Committee meetings (the quorum shall be two members if the regional group has a single office of Secretary/Treasurer).
Section 4. Vacancies occurring among the officer personnel of the Regional Group shall be filled temporarily by members appointed by the Executive Committee.

Article IX (Discipline of Members)

Section 1. Discipline of officers and members of the Tennessee Regional Group shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article XV (Discipline of Members and Associate Members) and Article XVI (Trial Procedure) of the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.

Article X (Finance)

Section 1. Membership dues for members of the Regional Group, and the regulations governing payment of such dues, is as specified in Article X (Dues) of the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.
Section 2. All sums received by the Treasurer shall be placed by him/her in a bank designated by members of the Executive Committee. The bank account shall be in the name of the Regional Group.
Section 3. Funds of the Regional Group shall be dispensed only by checks drawn by the Treasurer in conformity with a budget adopted by the membership.
Section 4. No fund-raising endeavor involving an appeal for funds to the general public shall be undertaken without authoration by a Regional Group meeting and prior approval of the National Board of Directors (refer to Section 13e of Article XIV (Regional Groups) of the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended).

Article XI (Procedure for Amending)

Section 1. This Constitution/Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those voting at any meeting of the membership, a quorum being present, provided that thirty (30) days’ written notice of such proposed amendment(s) shall have been given to all members in good standing.
Section 2. Any amendment of these Constitution/Bylaws, inconsistent with the National Charter or Bylaws of the Blinded Veterans Association, shall be null and void.

Article XII (Rules of Order)

Section 1. All points of parliamentary procedure not covered by these Constitution/Bylaws shall be governed by Robert’s ”Rules of Order, Newly Revised.”

Article XIII (Dissolution)

Section 1. In the event of the dissolution of the Tennessee Regional Group, all assets, real or personal, shall become subject to the provisions of Section 8 of Article XIV (Regional Groups) of the current edition of the BVA National Bylaws, as amended.

TENNESSEE REGIONAL GROUP
CALVIN POOLE, PRESIDENT
2062 LYDGATE DR
MEMPHIS, TN 38116
EMAIL: CPOOLE1354@GMAIL.COM
PHONE: (901) 490-2800