Among the items on the agenda at this month’s summer conference is an overhaul of the APSE’s bylaws.
At the first executive committee meeting on June 22, I will submit a package of changes designed to upgrade our bylaws to better deal with changing times. It will be presented as an amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-substitute using our current bylaw amending procedures. The executive committee has the right to adopt, amend or reject those changes.
This proposal would change quite a bit of wording in our bylaws, but would only make a few substantive changes in the way our organization operates. Should these changes be adopted, the average APSE member would probably not notice anything different about our organization.
The main thrust is to put more flexibility into the way we operate, primarily by giving the executive committee the power to deal with more issues on a timely basis.
This proposal is the result of a year-long process that involved surveys of various APSE members, including national and regional officers, members of the Futures Committee and recent past presidents.
Anyone who wants a copy of the revised bylaws proposal and a line-by-line explanation of the changes, is welcome to contact me at brownell@poststar.com. Any questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.
This proposal is a working document and may be updated before the convention. If members are able to make suggestions that would be acceptable to all, I will include them.
Here are some of the major changes:
1. The membership section has been divided into two categories – member organizations (newspapers and sports websites) and individual members. This will not affect the vast majority of our current members. Individual members can come from college newspapers, weeklies, educators, wire services, alumni and national publications. Individual members can serve on committees, but cannot vote or hold office.
2. The sports website section has been expanded to allow smaller websites, and to give the executive committee the right to approve websites that are sport-specific.
3. Region chairs will be allowed to appoint a representative for executive committee meetings if they or their vice chair are unable to attend.
4. All past presidents would maintain lifetime membership in the organization, but would be able to vote on the executive committee only as long as they are employed within the industry.
5. Language about the newsletter has been removed, since we are now almost exclusively using the website to communicate with members.
6. Two bylaw amending processes would be available. One preserves the traditional method of approving changes during the summer convention; the other allows a 75-percent majority to make changes at any time, so long as the membership receives prior notice.
7. If we have members from outside of North America, the executive committee can choose which region to put them in.
RELATED LINKS
Proposed amendment: http://apsportseditors.org/newsletter/proposed-bylaws-amendment-2011-summer-conference/
Changes explained: http://apsportseditors.org/newsletter/explanation-of-proposed-bylaw-changes/
