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Constitution and By-Laws

Revised October 19, 2007

Article I
Title and Purpose

Section 1. Name. The name of this association shall be the Montana Bandmasters Association. It shall be a cooperative affiliate with the Montana Music Educators Association.

Section 2. The object of this association shall be to represent the band directors in MMEA and to sponsor sessions of value to band directors, to further an interest in school band music in Montana, to advance and better our school bands, to strengthen the professional standing of the school band teacher in Montana, and such other objectives and purposes that of this association may from time to time adopt by amendment of the constitution.

Article II
Meetings

Section 1. Annual meetings shall be held at the time and place of the annual Montana Music Educators Association Convention.

Section 2. Special meetings shall be called at any time by the president or upon request by a majority of the Board of Directors. Upon the written petition of any fifteen (15) active members, the president shall be required to call a special meeting to act upon the subject matter stated in the petition.

Section 3. A quorum for the transaction of business by the Association shall be not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the active members in good standing who must be present in person or represented by an active member of the Association by means of written proxy. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to receive and verify all proxies.

Section 4. All deliberations of the Association shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order.

Section 5. The following order of business shall be observed at all regular meetings of this association:

  1. Roll Call of members and a verbal review, and acknowledgement of honorary members by the secretary which shall be kept up to date each year.
  2. Reading of the minutes of the last regular meeting and special meetings held since then.
  3. Reports of messages from the President
  4. Treasurer's report.
  5. Committee reports.
  6. Unfinished business.
  7. New business.
  8. Good of the order.
  9. Installation of officers.

Article III
Membership

Section 1. Membership in the Association shall be under four classifications: (1) Active members, (2) Associate members, (3) Honorary members, and (4) Business members.

Section 2. Upon payment of dues, active membership shall be open to all members of MMEA actively involved in public or private elementary or secondary school bands in Montana who are fully accredited by the State Board of Education and who hold a current teaching certificate in Music and to all persons involved in the teaching of bands or applied instrumental music in Montana colleges and universities.

Section 3. Associate Members. Upon payment of dues associate members shall have all the rights and privileges of active members, except that they cannot hold any office and shall not be permitted to vote.

  1. Any active member who shall cease to be actively engaged in the teaching of a school band for a period of more than one year shall be ineligible for active membership, but shall be eligible for Associate Membership. Bandmasters who reach retirement as defined by Montana School Law may remain as Associate members with all dues waived.
  2. Any person or organization interested in the general advancement and betterment of school bands in Montana may become an Associate member of the Association upon payment of dues.

Section 4. Honorary Members. The Association may by majority vote, elect outstanding persons to Honorary Membership. Honorary Membership shall be divided into the two following classifications:

  1. Active members who are elected to Honorary status shall, while they remain actively involved in the teaching of school bands in Montana, retain voting franchise and all dues shall be paid by the MBA.
  2. All other Honorary members may be persons interested in school bands but not necessarily musicians. These members, and all Honorary members in the first classification who cease to be actively involved in teaching shall not be franchised to vote, but shall have all dues waived.

Section 5. Active membership in the Association shall be held by individuals (not by schools). These individuals shall be held morally responsible to the Association for infringements of ethics, rules, and requirements of the Association.

Section 6. Business Members. The association will accept members of the business community as business members. The membership dues will be $25.00 per school year. $20.00 will go toward the MBA scholarship program and $5.00 will go toward an administration fee. Business members will receive all membership mailings and may attend MBA meetings but shall not be permitted to vote on any business under discussion nor to hold office. The MBA will distribute a list of Business members and services that they offer to the membership yearly (suggested time - fall convention).

Section 7. Collegian Membership. Upon payment of dues, students enrolled in a college or university located in Montana and who are paid members of the Collegian Music Educator National Association may become Collegian members of the Montana Bandmaster Association. Collegian members shall have all the rights and privileges of active members, except that they cannot hold any office and shall not be permitted to vote upon any business under discussion.

Article IV
Officers

Section 1. Officers of the Association shall be President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary/Treasurer, six members of the Board of Directors and Webmaster. The officers shall be elected to serve for a term of two years with the exception of the secretary/treasurer and Webmaster who shall be appointed by the President with Board approval.

(a) The president-elect shall be elected during an odd number year and take office as president-elect on January 1 of the even numbered year.

(b) The president-elect will become president after his/her term of office on January 1 on the even numbered year.

(c) The President will become past-President after his/her term of office to act as advisor to the new President.

(d) Six members of the Board of Directors are elected as follows: (amended 1996)
1). Two elected to represent Montana Music Festival Districts One, Two and Four;
2). Two elected to represent Montana Music Festival Districts Five, Six, Seven and Eight;
3). Two elected to represent Montana Music Festival Districts Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen.

One representative from each area is to be from an Elementary/Middle School, Class C or Class B school. the other representative is to be from a class A school, class AA or a College/University.

(e) Three board members are to be elected each year, one from each of the three areas (Districts 1-4, 5-8, 9-13). If a Board member changes to a different school size, they will be allowed to complete their present term on the board. If a board position is vacant, it shall be filled by appointment of the President.

(f) One appointed Webmaster.

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Association and to attend such Committee meetings as he/she may deem necessary. Unless otherwise ordered by the Board of Directors or by the membership of the Association, he/she shall appoint all committees deemed necessary for the good of the order, and will be an ex-office member of all committees.

Section 3. The President shall be the executive officer; he/she shall be expected to act upon his judgment in representing the Association in any matter upon which he/she has received no previous instructions form the Association or from the Board of Directors

Section 4. The President shall be responsible to the Board of Directors at all times and must accept and carry out any instructions given him by the Board of Directors.

Section 5. The Past President shall, in the temporary absence of the President or at the order of the President, perform all duties of the President.

Section 6. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Association and of all Board of Director meetings. He/she shall handle all correspondence of the Association as directed by the President of the Board of directors. He/she shall collect all funds of the Association and deposit same as may be ordered by the Board of Directors. He/she shall pay all bills and demands against the Association when july authorized by the Board of Directors. He/she shall keep an account of all receipts and disbursement and proper books of account, such record shall be subject to examination by the Board of directors at all times. He/she shall render an annual statement in writing to the full membership of the Association at the MMEA Convention meeting. The dues of the Secretary/Treasurer shall be waived for each school year he/she serves in the office.

Section 7. The fiscal year shall run from January 1 to December 31. The books of the Treasurer shall be closed for auditing fifteen (15) days prior to the end of the fiscal year. The Board of Directors may order that the books be audited by a professional auditor and in turn inspected by a committee of the Association.

Section 8. All checks shall be signed by the Secretary/Treasurer with board approval. In the absence of the Secretary/Treasurer, the President shall have the authority to sign checks.

Section 9. The President Elect shall be in attendance at all meetings and should be informed of all the Association's matters to he/she can enter office informed of all activities of the Association. In the case that the President cannot complete his/her term, the President-Elect shall complete it for him/her. This new President may also run again from President to fulfill his/her originally elected term of office. The President-Elect should have his/her new Secretary/Treasurer chosen before the annual business meeting.

Section 10. The Webmaster will be in charge of the MBA website content and maintenance with board approval. The webmaster will report to the MBA President. The Webmaster must be a member in good standing with a working knowledge of the MBA website software.

Article V
Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1. Nominations for election of officers shall be made by a nominating committee of five members, appointed by the President prior to the annual fall meeting. This committee shall select one or more candidates for each office. Further nominations will be called for from the floor.

Section 2. Officers shall be elected at the annual Fall meeting, and shall assume their duties of office on January 1, of the ensuing calendar year.

Article VI
Board of Directors

Section 1. The President, President-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, six members of the Board representing the various Music Festival Districts, Webmaster and immediate Past-President shall constitute the Board of Directors of the Association.

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the proper handling of all business and finances of the Association.

Article VII
Amendments

Section 1. This constitution may be amended at any time by a majority of the total active members of the Association.

Section 2. Any proposed amendment must first be presented in writing to the Board of Directors no less than one (1) month before a meeting of the Association, who shall in turn submit the proposed amendment to the membership for a vote thereon.

By-Laws

Section 1. Active membership shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00) per school year. Associate membership dues shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00) per school year.

Section 2. A combined membership with MGMTA will be available to persons at a fee of twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($22.50). This will be collected by the MBA, with $7.50 going to MGMTA and $15.00 going to the MBA. The MBA Treasurer will reimburse the MGMTA Treasurer at or immediately following the fall convention.

Section 3. Collegiate membership dues shall be $2.00 per school year.

 


 

 

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