Western Region Collegiate 4-H Constitution
Amended November 13, 2004, November 5th, 2006
Standing Rules amended February 12, 2005, November 5th, 2006
Preamble
We the members of the Western Region Collegiate 4-H Organization, in order to provide service to youth on all levels of society, enhance personal development of the member, and to promote and encourage enrollment in the organization, do hereby establish this Western Region Collegiate 4-H Organization.
Article I – Name and Symbol of the Organization
A. The name of the organization shall be the “Western Region of the National Collegiate 4-H Organization.”
B. The organization shall do business as “Western Region Collegiate 4-H.”
C. The identifying symbol of the Organization shall be an arched box containing a mortarboard above a 4-H clover, “National Collegiate 4-H” printed below the clover.
The motto “Continuing to Share * Sharing to Continue” shall be printed along the outside of the arch.
Article II – Membership and Dues
A. Membership
1. The Western Region shall consist of the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; as well as the West Pacific Islands (Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, and Micronesia)
2. Any Collegiate 4-H club within the boundaries of the Western Region, who is eligible for membership in the National Collegiate 4-H Organization, shall be eligible for membership in the Western Region.
3. Members-at-Large shall include any student recognized by that state’s Cooperative Extension who is involved in higher education at a school without a club within the Western Region
B. Dues
1. Dues for clubs after their first year shall be calculated from the following scale, with membership based on the previous club year:
2-10 members $10.00
11-20 members $20.00
21-30 members $30.00
31-40 members $40.00
41+ members $50.00
Dues shall be ten dollars ($10.00) for new clubs.
Dues shall be five dollars ($5.00) per member-at-large.
2. Dues shall be due at or before the Regional Conference each year.
3. Dues shall be sent to the business manager.
4. Dues shall be used for communication expenses, travel, conference, grants and bookkeeping items.
C. Voting
1. Each club shall be allowed two (2) votes at all meetings. With express written permission of the club, one (1) delegate may cast two (2) votes.
2. Voting delegates will be entered into the minutes during the roll call of clubs.
3. Clubs not having a voting delegation in attendance either physically or through real-time communication at a meeting may vote by proxy identified seven (7) days in advance.
4. Members-at-large who have paid their dues shall have one (1) vote per ten (10) members or fraction thereof, with a maximum of 2 votes. Members-at-large shall meet prior to the business meeting to choose voting delegate(s).
5. In order to vote, each club must have their dues paid in full by the Western Region Conference Business Meeting.
Article III – Regional Executive Board
A. The Executive Board of this region shall be responsible for conducting the Western Regional Collegiate 4-H Business and the planning of the Regional Conference. Duties and powers of the Executive board members are:
1. President
a. To preside over all meetings of the Western Region Collegiate 4-H
b. To serve as the official representative to the National Action Board
c. To promote and share the Regional/National service project
d. To delegate duties as deemed necessary
e. To appoint officers with a majority vote of the Executive Board to fill vacancies on the Executive Board.
f. To appoint committees and committee chairs, and to fill vacancies on committees.
2. Business Manager
a. To conduct all monetary transactions
b. To maintain a permanent journal of all transactions and ledger of all accounts
c. To prepare a report for the newsletter
d. To prepare a financial statement at the close of the club year
e. To succeed to the office of President should that office become vacant.
3. Secretary and/or Newsletter Editor
a. To maintain records of the Regional Executive Board meetings
b. To keep records of the business meetings of the Western Region
c. To edit and supervise the publication of the Western Regional Collegiate 4-H Newsletter
d. To conduct necessary and appropriate correspondence on behalf of the organization
e. To design and/or maintain a regional website
4. Conference Coordinator
a. To serve as chairperson for the Regional Conference
b. To promote new club membership within the region
5. NAB Representative
a. To serve as the Western Region representative to NAB
b. To report back to the Western Region executive board on the business of NAB
B. Election Procedures
1. The Conference Coordinator shall be elected by the host school.
2. Candidates must be present at the election.
C. Eligibility of Officers
1. Officers must be enrolled students in good standing with their university during the entire duration of their office.
D. Removal of Officers
1. Any officer may be removed if not fulfilling the duties of the office. Removal may occur at any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of the active membership.
Article IV – Meetings
A. The Western Region Collegiate 4-H Conference
1. Shall be held annually
2. Shall conduct business including the election of the Regional executive board and selection of the following year’s Western Regional Conference location. If a suitable host for the Western Regional Conference cannot be found, it can be tabled with a 2/3 majority vote until the national conference.
B. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the dues-paying clubs.
C. The official parliamentary procedure manual of the Western Region of the National Collegiate 4-H Organization shall be Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Article V – Collegiate 4-H Week
A. Collegiate 4-H Week
1. Shall be held annually during the same week as National 4-H Week
2. Shall serve to promote Collegiate 4-H
3. Shall encourage membership expansion
Article VI – Amending the Constitution
A. Amendments to this constitution shall be accepted after a 2/3 majority vote at the Western Regional Conference business meeting.
B. Proposed amendments must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the Business Meeting at which they shall be considered.
A. Funds must be administered according to National 4-H Council procedures.
B. Funds may only be dispersed by a majority vote at any regular meeting, or upon emergency authorization of the executive board.
A. Standing Rules may be established and modified at any regular meeting by a majority vote.
A. This Constitution shall be in accordance with the policies of the National Collegiate 4-H Organization.
Article X. Dissolution
A. Upon consideration of the dissolution of Western Region Collegiate 4-H, the officers will inform the National 4-H Council as to their desire and conformance to the following procedure:
The Western Region Collegiate 4-H Organization shall be terminated and dissolved upon majority vote of the membership in favor of dissolution of the 4-H unit. Upon dissolution of the 4-H unit for any reason, the officers shall take full account of Western Region Collegiate 4-H’s assets and liabilities, and shall liquidate the assets as promptly as is consistent with obtaining the fair value thereof, and shall apply and distribute the proceeds there from in the following order:
i. Payment of the debts and liabilities of Western Region Collegiate 4-H
ii. Setting up of any reserves which the officers may deem necessary for any contingent or unforeseen liabilities or obligations of the unit; such reserves shall be paid over by the Business Manager to the National 4-H Council. The National 4-H Council will hold the funds in an escrow account for five (5) years for the purpose of contingent or unforeseen liabilities or upon re-establishment of the unit. At the expiration of the 5-year period, the balance shall be distributed to the National 4-H Council. The balance remaining shall be distributed to the National 4-H Council for the purpose of program development directly relating to the enrichment of the quality of life of 4-H youth and volunteers.
B. Each of the clubs shall be furnished with a statement prepared by Western Collegiate 4-H, setting forth the assets, liabilities, and distribution upon complete liquidation. Upon compliance with the foregoing terms and manner of distribution, Western Region Collegiate 4-H shall cease.
Standing Rules
1. The Business Manager shall preside over business meetings in the absence of the President.
2. A voting club may split its two votes.
3. The Secretary may appoint a Newsletter Editor, who is not a member of the executive board, but reports to the Secretary.
4. NAB Representation:
A. The Outgoing President shall be the NAB Representative.
B. In the event that the NAB representative is unavailable and fails to name a proxy, any member of the Western Region executive board is authorized to fufill the duty
C. In their absence, the member having attended the most regional and national conferences shall be the representative.
D. In the event that there is a tie in the number conferences attended between the persons, the member having been involved in Collegiate 4-H the longest shall become the representative.
Amendments
The following amendments have been made to the Western Region Constitution. This area can be used to record those changes and track how the constitution has evolved.
November 5th, 2006
Article II, A. Membership, #2:
and Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Stricken from the Constitution
Standing Rules
Replaced: B. In the event of a lapse in the NAB representation, the incoming or current President shall succeed, followed by the current Business Manager and then the current Secretary.
With:
In the event that the NAB representative is unavailable and fails to name a proxy, any member of the Western Region executive board is authorized to fufill the duty
Article III, A. Executive board, # 5
5. NAB Representative
a. To serve as the Western Region representative to NAB
b. To report back to the Western Region executive board on the business of NAB