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Ratified October 8th, 1999, Spokane, WA

The name of this association is the Washington State Juan de Fuca Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

1. To promote friendship and professional growth among teachers of Spanish and Portuguese at all levels of instruction.
2. To provide opportunities for members to communicate with native speakers.
3. To keep members informed of relevant cultural events and educational and travel opportunities and scholarships.
4. To increase interest in the study of Spanish and Portuguese in the region.
5. To hold regular gatherings and outings that increase knowledge, facilitate sharing of information and ideas, and practice the speaking of  Spanish, and, when possible and desired, Portuguese.
6. To publish a newsletter at least three times yearly that keeps members informed of events in the chapter and the region, provides practical teaching tips and other information, and keeps members connected to one another and the association.
7. The chapter will also publish an electronic bulletin at least once monthly to keep members informed of chapter events on the Internet.

Section 1.  The Executive Council of this Chapter shall consist of

1. President;
2. Northwestern Vice President (whose territory consists of the areas north of Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties and west of the Cascade range);
3. Southwestern Vice President (whose territory consists of the areas south of and including Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties and west of the  Cascade range);
4. Eastern Vice-President (whose territory consists of all areas east of the Cascade range, including Northern Idaho);
5. Secretary;
6. Treasurer.

Section 2. Other members of the Board shall be appointed by the Executive Council upon recommendation of the regional Vice Presidents, who shall concentrate on bringing a modicum of geographical balance to the Board when possible.  "Geographical balance" shall be construed to mean at least one Board member besides the regional Vice-President sits on the Board.

1. Selection of these additional Board Members shall be by consensus or, when impossible, by majority vote.
2. The President may veto the appointment of Board Members he deems inappropriate or unacceptable.  This veto may be overridden by unanimous consent of the other elected Board Members.
3. When there are no K-12 or no Postsecondary representatives on the Executive Council, a Board Member representing that constituency will be appointed by the Council.
4. The Executive Council will appoint a newsletter editor who will sit on the Chapter Board.
5. The Executive Council will appoint a National Spanish Examination Coordinator (NSEC) who will sit on the Chapter Board.
6. The Executive Council will designate a member of the Board to act as a liaison between the Board and the Washington Association for Language Teaching.  This position need not be a separate board seat.
7. The Executive Council will designate a member of the Board to act as a liaison between the Board and the Pacific Northwest Council for Languages. This position need not be a separate Board seat.
8. At no time shall the number of appointive offices exceed or equal  the number of elected officers.
9. The Executive Council shall appoint an Historian who shall sit on the Chapter Board.

 Section 3.  The terms of office shall be two years.  Each executive officer may serve only two consecutive terms in the same position, with the exception of the Treasurer, who may serve a total of four terms.  Terms of office for appointive positions are one year, with no term limits on service.   Service on the 1998-1999 Provisional Board of Juan de Fuca Chapter will not affect term limits on elective service.

Section 4.  A Nominating Committee of at least three persons shall be named by the Vice-Presidents.  At least one member of the committee shall not be a member of the current Board.  The elections will be sent in on a mail ballot; the new officers will meet as a group with the outgoing Board during the first week of December and assume their duties on January 1 of the following year.

Section 5. Write-in balloting.  Given the opportunity for any member to run or nominate any other member as an officer of the chapter, write-in balloting shall not be allowed as an election feature.  Any write-ins on formal ballots shall not be counted nor recorded by the ballot counting team.

Section 6.   In the event of vacancy, the President (with a confirming vote of the Executive Council) may appoint a provisional officer.  If the vacancy is the Presidency then the Vice-Presidents will appoint a provisional successor, which may or may not be one of them.  Provisional officers will complete the regular term and face election at the next regularly scheduled election.

Section 7.  A majority of those voting by mail shall determine election to an office.  The counting of these ballots shall include at least one non-member of AATSP.

Section 8.   All decisions shall be by majority vote of those present at Board meetings, except that, when a majority does not consist of a majority of the Executive Council statutory Board members, the President may exercise the right of veto.  The President is not required to exercise a veto in such a case; it is discretionary.  In the absence of the President in such a case, any Vice President may motion to recommit and reconsider any given issue in the presence of the President.
 

Section 1.  The President shall:

1. be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter.
2. preside at all meetings of the chapter, except intrastate regionals, where the local Vice President presides.
3. supervise the Executive Council and the greater Board.
4. exercise such other powers as may from time to time be conferred on him by the Executive Council.

Section 2.  The Vice Presidents shall:

1. select one from among them to exercise the duties of the President for a fixed time period in the absence of that officer.
2. take charge of such chapter activities as are assigned to them by the President.
3. be the official nominating committee for all elections, select one non-Board member to sit on the nominating committee, and give advice to the President on the filling of Board vacancies.
4. organize or delegate the organization of regional gatherings in their areas.
5. preside at regional gatherings and provide informal reports as well as formal vote tallies to the Secretary.
6. be the Chief Executive Officer of the sub-chapter region for regional decisions (such as meeting times and locations), but defer to the President in matters that concern the whole chapter.

Section 3.  The Secretary shall:

1. preserve the minutes of Board meetings and send copies to all members of the Executive Council and the Greater Board, as well as collect regional reports from the Vice Presidents.
2. send a report of the regularly scheduled chapter meetings to the National Coordinator of Chapter Activities after each meeting.
3. write the names of the new Officers on the forms available from the National Office of AATSP and send one form to the National Chapter Coordinator and one form to the National Office immediately after elections.
4. present copies of the chapter Constitution to Officers upon their election.
5. preside over meetings in the absence of the President and Vice Presidents.
6. publish the electronic bulletin at least once monthly over the Internet.
7. prepare an agenda for Board meetings at the direction of the President.

1. keep a roll of the members of the Chapter and, upon their appointment by the National Office, add the names of Emeritus members to said roll.
2. keep a detailed account of all monies received and disbursed by him/her, which account s/he shall present to the Board of the Chapter at Board meetings for their approval by vote as stipulated above.
3. provide the membership with a Treasurer’s report at least once a year, to be published in the Chapter newsletter in as the Board sees fit.
4. preside over meetings in the absence of the President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretary.
5. act as chief and usual signatory of checks from the chapter checking account.
6. review any major decisions regarding location of funds, vehicle for investment of funds, etc. with the Greater Board, and, when possible or necessary, consult with her/his regional Vice President regarding such decisions to provide a witness or a "second eye."

Section 5.  The Newsletter Editor shall:

1. be appointed for a term of one year.
2. produce a newsletter three times yearly (or at other intervals to be determined by the Board) using contemporary technology and high standards for content.
3. submit a rough copy to the chapter President and Vice-Presidents for approval and suggestions before commencing publication IF REQUESTED
4. appoint sub-editors responsible to her/him for areas of content within the newsletter.
5. maintain a database for mailing labels
6. make arrangements for production, bulk mailings, and distribution.

Section 6.  The National Spanish Exam Coordinator shall:

1. stay abreast of National developments in AATSP.
2. keep members informed about the exam and its availability.
3. provide a report from time-to-time on the NSE to the Chapter Board.
4. promote the exam and its benefits in the region of the chapter’s jurisdiction.

Section 7. The Chapter Historian shall:

1. Take photos at major gatherings of the chapter.
2. Arrange for someone else to take photos at events s/he is unable to attend.
3. Keep a written record of the happenings of the chapter and write brief summaries of them for CLAMOR.
4. Examine the notes of previous historians.
5. Act as the institutional memory of the chapter, reminding the Board of informal customs as well as Constitutional requirements.  This includes acting as an informal parliamentarian if and when the need arises at Board meetings and General meetings.

1. have charge of all business of the Chapter that may arise between regularly scheduled meetings of the chapter.
2. provide for a time, place and program for each meeting, under the advice of the Vice Presidents.
3. pass on the accounts of the Treasurer, and pass on all disbursements to be made by the Chapter and authorize the Treasurer to make such disbursements by  majority vote.  The treasurer shall be authorized to make discretionary disbursements of $25.00 or under, but must immediately make known such disbursements to the Executive Council.  This privilege may be revoked by a majority of the Executive Council.
4. hold at least one regularly scheduled meeting before each regularly scheduled meeting of the Chapter. The meeting prior to the fall meeting must take place  before June 15, the precise purpose of which is to establish all dates and plan programs for the coming year.
5. decide on all issues discussed at Board meetings by a majority vote of those present.
6. be signatories on the chapter checking account.  The President and Treasurer respectively shall be holders of the chapter’s two ATM cards.

• All members must belong to National AATSP in order to be accepted as members of the chapter.
• The territory of the Washington State  Juan de Fuca Chapter includes the entire state of Washington, and Northern Idaho.

Any change in the dues of the Washington State Chapter shall be decided by a majority vote at the fall meeting.  The Treasurer shall so inform the membership by means of the next newsletter and electronic bulletin, and will notify the National Office and the Coordinator of Chapter Activities so that the change may be made in Hispania.

The Chapter will normally hold at least two regularly scheduled meetings of the Chapter Membership, one of which will be in the fall in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT).  The second meeting will be held regionally, with regional Vice Presidents presiding.  The President will attend her/his  regional meeting, but will not preside.  Votes will be tallied in each region and certified to the Secretary, who will notify all members  of any decisions in both the newsletter and the electronic bulletin.

              A quorum will consist of those Chapter members present at any chapter meetings.

 Article IX: Amendments to the Constitution

This constitution is subject to amendment by a majority vote of members present at any regularly scheduled meeting under the following procedure: the proposed amendment(s) shall be placed into the hands of the President in writing for publication in the following newsletter, and shall be voted upon by the members of the Chapter at that scheduled meeting.  All proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be mentioned in the chapter newsletter and the full text of such proposal shall be made available upon the request of any member.

If this chapter should ever disband, all its assets, financial and otherwise, shall be given to the national organization of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

This Constitution (to be referred to as the "Tacoma Constitution,") supersedes all previous Constitutions of this Chapter.  This Constitution was promulgated provisionally by the undersigned officers in Tacoma on April 10th, 1999. It was put to the membership for a vote and ratified unanimously in Spokane on October 8th, 1999.  It now stands as the permanent governing document of our chapter, subject to amendment by the membership as stipulated above.

President Steven L. Green

Western Vice President Paloma A. Borreguero

Eastern Vice President Dr. Sonja G. Hokanson

Secretary-Treasurer Jay L. Adams-Feuer

Not present: Robert E. Clairmont, National Spanish Examination Coordinator and Dr. Ana María Rodríguez-Vivaldi, Newsletter Editor.