A very dedicated committee made up of Chairman Harold Hunton, Bill Patrick, Penny Kubitschek, Terry Roberts, Recorder Sarah Marshall, and me, along with several other ICON members, has invested well over 30 hours each, discussing and rewriting many sections of our Constitution and Bylaws. We have tried very hard to be specific enough in details to eliminate vagueness, but general enough to allow some freedom for change as it is needed. We have tried to provide clear, concise guidelines for the operation of ICON’S business, and we have also tried our best to make it more “user friendly” by rewording language that I call “legalese.”

I’ll share with you briefly the major changes, but the Revised Constitution and Bylaws are posted under the menu item About ICON along with the present Constitution and Bylaws on ICON’S Web site. You may go there to read the whole thing, and there will be copies available at all meetings in September and October. Between now and October 21, when you will be asked to vote to approve our efforts, please take time to look over this governing document. You will have an opportunity to ask any questions or raise any objections at that meeting.

Constitution changes: The terms Active Member, Life Membership, and Family Membership have been defined or clarified in Article III. Guidelines for the handling of delinquent payment of dues are given in Article IV Dues. Article V Officers dropped Disk Library and added Web Site. Article VI Removal of Officers is new. Handling of funds in the case of dissolution of the Users’ Group is clarified in Article VII, Section 5.

Article VII Government gives clearer instructions about the Bylaws changes: Article II Liability of Members includes guidelines for handling of money. Article III Rights and Responsibilities of Members is new. Article V Duties of Officers has major additions as described in the following paragraph.

major emphasis in Bylaws Article V has been on balancing the duties of the officers including the committee chairpersons, both to prevent burnout and to be prepared for “What if...” situations. For example, what if an officer other than the President is unable to perform his or her duties due to illness or death? Someone needs to know or have available details about those duties, schedules, and contacts in order to keep business running smoothly. It was already stated that the Vice President moves up to the President’s office and appoints a new Vice President, but there has been no backup system for other offices. To accomplish this, we decided to have each officer provide a procedural report twice a year, in July and January, to the Vice President. These procedural reports will give complete details about how the duties of that office are fulfilled including schedules and contact information. The reports themselves will not be a part of the Bylaws, but will be available appropriately in time for the Nominating Committee to provide thorough information to candidates considering an office, as well as being an efficient tool for anyone coming new into office or temporarily handling duties of an office. As the procedural reports are not a part of the Bylaws, they can be changed as needed without the hassle of changing the Bylaws.

Happy Computing,

Mary