Houston Music Teachers Association

2016-2017 Executive Council

2016-2017 HMTA Board of Directors

Bylaws

MTNA Code of Ethics

HMTA Standing Rules

Revised 7-85; Amended 3-86, 5-88, 1-89, 12-89, 1-97, 9-97, 7-99, 3-06

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Houston Music Teachers Association, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the Association, affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association, Inc., (MTNA), Cincinnati, Ohio, a Code Section 501©(3) organization.

ARTICLE II. OBJECT

The Association shall be organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. The primary purpose is to operate an educational association for the promotion of the art of music and the advancement of musical knowledge within the Houston, Texas area. The Association is not organized for profit and no part of its net earnings shall inure to the benefit of any individual or entity. The specific objects of the Association shall be:

1. To maintain a permanent organization.

2. To promote high standards in teaching music.

3. To further student knowledge and education in the field of music.

4. To encourage self-improvement in the membership.

ARTICLE III. AFFILIATION

SECTION 1. The Association shall maintain affiliation with Texas Music Teachers Association, Inc. hereinafter referred to as TMTA and Music Teachers National Association, Inc. hereinafter referred to as MTNA.

SECTION 2. The Association shall operate under these Bylaws in accordance with the aims and purposes of TMTA and MTNA.

ARTICLE IV. FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year shall be from July 1 through June 30.

ARTICLE V. DUES

SECTION 1. Association dues for members may be changed by recommendation of the Board of Directors at the March meeting of the Association. The recommended change must be published in the April bulletin, and voted upon by the general membership at the April meeting of the Association.

SECTION 2. Payment of Dues.

1. Active and Provisional members including elected appointed and automatic officers shall pay annual Association, TMTA and MTNA dues in accordance with the MTNA dues billing procedures.
2. New members, upon acceptance into membership, shall pay Association, TMTA and MTNA dues. Dues of new members accepted after the March Board of Directors meeting shall apply to the following fiscal year.

ARTICLE VI. MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1. Membership shall be unlimited in number, and shall consist of two classes: Active and Provisional. Upon recommendation of the Membership Committee, applicants may be voted into Active or Provisional membership by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 2. All classes of membership shall be entitled to one vote per member on all issues before the membership at regular meetings except those reserved by these Bylaws to the Board Directors or to the Executive Council. Absentee ballots shall be accepted only for the election of officers in March.

SECTION 3. Each applicant for membership shall be given a copy of the Code of Ethics of the Association. He shall sign the application form which states, “I have read the Code of Ethics, and in accord with the provisions and promise to uphold the ethical standards of the Houston Music Teachers Association, Inc., and to aid the organization through contributions of my expertise on a committee or advisory panel.”

SECTION 4. Active Membership

A. An Active member shall be engaged in the teaching of any field of music for remuneration and must meet one of the following educational requirements:

1. He shall have earned a Bachelors degree or its equivalent with a major in any field of music, or,
2. He shall have earned certification from MTNA.
3. A teacher with extraordinary qualifications who does not meet one of the above requirements can, upon recommendation of the Membership Committee, be presented for Active membership.

SECTION 5. Provisional Membership

A. Provisional membership may be granted to a teacher who does not meet the requirements for active membership, but does meet all of the following requirements:

1. Educational background: He shall have studied his teaching subject for a minimum of ten years with at least two of those years having followed high school graduation.
2. Teaching experience: He shall have taught music for a period of three years.
3. Recommendations: He shall furnish two letters of recommendation attesting to his teaching ability from two qualified persons actively engaged in music teaching or in the administration of music teaching. The Board of Directors reserves the right to interpret the term ‘qualified’.

B. The Provisional member shall enjoy all the privileges of an Active member, except that he shall not serve on the Executive Council.

C. The Provisional member shall over a two-year period complete the requirements outlined in provisional booklet provided by the Provisional Membership Chair.

D. At the end of the two-year period the Provisional member shall submit the Provisional booklet to the Provisional Membership Chair for review and recommendation to the Board of Directors that he be elevated to Active membership, or that his Provisional status be revoked, extended, or renewed.

SECTION 6. Resignation and Reinstatement:

A. Resignation:

1. A member desiring to resign in good standing shall, prior to the MTNA deadline for the payment of dues, send a written resignation to the Membership Chair.
2. A member who has not paid Association, MTNA and TMTA dues by the MTNA deadline for the payment of dues shall be dropped from membership.

B. Reinstatement:

1. A member who resigned in good standing may be reinstated by requesting that the Membership Chair place his name before the Board of Directors for action.
2. A member who was dropped for nonpayment of dues to MTNA by the deadline shall have no membership privileges until such time as payment of dues to MTNA have been received by the Treasurer. At that time he must submit a reinstatement application to the Membership Chair for acceptance by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 7. Any member found by the Executive Council to be guilty of violating these Bylaws, the Code of Ethics, or the Standing Rules of the Association may be referred to the Board of Directors for disciplinary action.

ARTICLE VII. OFFICERS

SECTION 1. The officers of the Association shall be of three classes: elective, appointive and automatic.

A. The elective officers shall be the president-elect for Activities, Committee Liaison and Facilities, First Vice President for Internal Activities and Programs, Second Vice President for Administration and Membership, the Third Vice President for Student Affiliate Events and Awards, the Fourth Vice President for HMTA Events and Awards; Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Member-at-Large. These officers shall be elected annually, shall hold no more than one office at a time, and shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive years in the same office.

B. The appointive officers shall be the Corresponding Secretary, the Parliamentarian and the Historian.

C. The automatic officers shall be the President and the Immediate Past President.

SECTION 2. Duties of Officers.

A. Elective.

1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Council. He shall select the appointive officers and committee chairs, and shall supervise the activities of the Association. The President is ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. He shall call meetings of any committee at his discretion. If any vacancy occurs among the elective offices during the year, the President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, shall appoint a qualified member to fill the unexpired term. Should the office of the President become vacant, the president-elect shall automatically become President. The new President shall appoint, with the approval of the Board of Directors, an interim President-Elect for Activities, Committee Liaison and Facilities who shall not automatically succeed to the Presidency, to serve for the remainder of that term.
2. The President-Elect for Activities, Committee liaison and Facilities shall assist the President when necessary and shall in the absence of the President perform all the duties of that office, and shall automatically succeed to the office of President.
3. All Vice Presidents shall oversee committees as assigned by the President, and shall assist the President when called upon. They shall serve to recruit, train, supervise, and assist their Committee Chairs. They shall report to the Board in the absence of their Committee Chairs regarding the activities of their committees. In case of the absence of the Committee Chair at a committee meeting, the Vice President may stand in for him.
4. The First Vice President for Internal Activities and Programs shall arrange for all general meeting programs, guest artists, and sites. He shall oversee the Committees relating to activities generally internal to HMTA’s membership, such as teacher awards, certification, vocal/instrumental activities, hospitality, suburban activities, teacher development, or alternate assignments by the President.
5. The Second Vice President for Administration and Membership shall process new membership and reinstatement applications, shall obtain an accurate membership roster from the Treasurer, shall submit the current membership list to the Yearbook Chair. He shall oversee the Committees relating to administration, such as Membership, Attendance, Communications and Publications, Nominations, and Teacher Referral, or alternate assignments by the President.
6. The Third Vice President for Student Affiliate Events and Awards shall act as the HMTA Student Affiliate Coordinator, receiving Student Affiliate Registrations and payments and communicating as necessary with Texas Music Teachers Association. He shall oversee the Committees relation to Student Events and Programs which are specifically Student Affiliate (relating to Texas Music Teachers Association events, rules, contests, awards, etc.) or alternate assignments by the President.
7. The Fourth Vice President for HMTA Student Events and Awards (non-Student Affiliate) shall oversee the Committees relating to Student Events and Programs which are specifically local to HMTA and therefore not subject to Texas Music Teachers Association rules or requirements, or alternate assignments by the President.
8. The Recording Secretary shall record the proceedings of the Association, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Council, shall furnish copies of minutes to officers of the Association and to the Bulletin Editor, and at the close of each fiscal year shall file these records and the annual Committee reports in the archives.
9. The Treasurer shall be bonded and shall receive, collect, hold and pay out all monies for routine expenditures of the Association, subject to the annual Budget and subject to the order of the President. He shall keep in detail a correct account of all monies received and expended by him and present a report at each meeting. He shall follow the guidelines established by MTNA regarding the payment and receipt of dues from MTNA. At the end of the fiscal year he shall prepare the financial records of the Association for submittal to a Certified Public Accountant who is not a member of the Association for the purpose of filing the appropriate tax returns with the United States Internal Revenue Service.
10. The Member-at-Large shall represent the general membership on the Board of Directors and the Executive Council and shall submit valid concerns of the general membership to the Executive Council.

B. Appointive.

1. The Parliamentarian shall advise officers and members regarding parliamentary procedure and shall attend all Association, Board of Directors and Executive Council meetings. He shall maintain current copies of the Association Bylaws, Standing Rules, Articles of Incorporation and all amendments made thereto. He shall be an ex-officio member of committees appointed to revise the Association Bylaws, Standing Rules or Code of Ethics.
2. The Corresponding Secretary shall oversee, submit, report and assist with all correspondence of the Association as requested by the President, shall be responsible for distribution of official Association stationary, and shall assume the duties of and assist the Recording Secretary when necessary.
3. The Historian shall keep a scrapbook of important association memorabilia. These records are to be filed in the archives.

C. Automatic.

1. The Immediate Past President shall serve on the Board of Directors and the Executive Council. He shall also serve as President of the Houston Music Teachers Educational Foundation.

SECTION 3. Officers shall be installed at the May meeting and shall take office at the conclusion of the TMTA Convention.

ARTICLE VIII. COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

SECTION 1. Board of Directors: The officers of the Association and all Committee Chairs shall constitute the Board of Directors.

A. The Board of Directors shall have general supervision and control of the activities of the Association, shall make appropriate recommendations to the general membership and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws.

B. The Board of Directors shall, at its summer organizational meeting, approve a budget prepared by the Executive Council for the ensuing fiscal year.

C. During the course of the year, expenditures not in the budget shall be voted upon by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 2. Executive Council: The elective officers, the President, the Immediate Past President, and the Parliamentarian shall constitute the Executive Council.

A. The Executive Council shall have the power of the Board of Directors to act at the President’s discretion, in emergencies, on any business of the Association except voting on membership applications, when it is not possible to call a meeting of the Board of Directors.

B. The Executive Council shall, prior to the Board of Director’s June meeting, prepare a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year. At the June meeting of the Board of Directors the proposed budget shall be submitted for approval.

C. The Executive Council shall rule on alleged violations of these Bylaws, the Code of Ethics or Standing Rules.

ARTICLE IX. COMMITTEES

SECTION 1. Each Vice President, in consultation with the President, shall be responsible for replacing Committee Chairs as needed.

SECTION 2. All Committee Chairs shall serve on the Board of Director. Each Co-Chair shares equal responsibility with the Chair, and may stand in for the latter in the case of absence at any meeting.

SECTION 3. Duties of Committee chairs:

A. They shall bear primary responsibility for the organization and execution of all their committee activities, events, and meetings. They shall select and advise Co-Chairs and committee members.

B. They shall contribute information to the Yearbook Chair and the Editor of the Bulletin.

C. They shall make monthly reports at Association meetings at the President’s discretion.

D. They shall submit annual reports in writing to the President, the Recording Secretary, and the Treasurer as soon as Committee work is completed.

E. They shall help to select and advise successors and shall provide them with all materials pertaining to their committees’ functions.

F. They shall submit proposed budget changes to the Executive Council prior to the budget meeting. Expenditures in excess of the amount stated in the budget must be approved by the Board of Directors.

G. They shall submit recommendations for major changes in the structure of any activity to the Board of Directors for approval at the summer Board meeting.

H. They shall furnish to the President and appropriate Vice President a list of members serving on their Committee.

ARTICLE X. MEETINGS

SECTION 1. The President shall call a meeting of the Executive Council to prepare a budget for the ensuing fiscal year prior to the meeting of the Board of Directors in June. The Executive Council shall meet at the discretion of the President to address special concerns of the Association.

SECTION 2. The Board of Directors meeting shall be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 9:00 A.M., September through May. An organizational meeting shall be held in June after the TMTA Convention, date to be set by the President: at this time all major changes in current activities and all new activities shall be established for the ensuing fiscal year to the fullest extent practical.

SECTION 3. The Association meeting shall be held the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 A.M., September through May.

A. Meeting date and time may be changed by two-thirds vote of members present at any prior Association meeting.

B. The meeting place for each ensuing fiscal year shall be chosen by the President in consultation with the President-Elect and the First Vice-President for Programs.

C. In case of emergency the President may change the time, place and date of the meeting.

D. The September meeting shall be designated Presidents’ Day.

ARTICLE XI. QUORUMS

SECTION 1. Five members shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Council.

SECTION 2. Twelve members shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Directors.

SECTION 3. Forty members shall constitute a quorum of the Association

ARTICLE XII. ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS

SECTION 1. Nominating Committee.

A. The Committee shall be composed of five members in good standing who have been active members for at least two years. The Committee members shall not be eligible for nomination.

1. The President shall appoint the Chair of the Nominating Committee who shall serve on the Board of Directors.
2. At the November meeting of the Board of Directors, one Board member shall be elected.
3. At the November meeting of the Association, three members shall be elected.

B. The Nominating Committee shall recommend a slate of officers and shall ask for nominations from the floor at the February Association meeting. The Committee shall publish the name of all the nominees in the March Bulletin.

C. To be eligible for nomination any prospective officer must have been an Active member in good standing in the Association for the three years immediately prior to his nomination and must have served on the Board of Directors for a minimum of one year.

SECTION 2. Nominations for Member-at-large shall be made from the floor at the Association meeting in February, and shall be published in the March Bulletin.

SECTION 3. Election

A. The officers shall be elected at the March Association meeting.

B. When there is only one candidate for an office, election maybe by acclamation.

SECTION 4. Delegates to the TMTA Delegate Assembly.

A. In accordance with the TMTA requirements, the Nominating Committee shall present a slate of delegates and alternates and shall ask for nominations from the floor at the April Association meeting.

B. Delegates shall be elected by the Association at the April meeting.

ARTICLE XIII. SPECIAL FUNDS

SECTION 1. The Blanton-Kelly Memorial Scholarship Fund, heretofore known as the Leah Estelle Blanton Fund and the Dorothy A. Kelly Memorial Fund, shall be invested to generate interest for the purpose of providing and supplementing scholarships and grants for qualified students representing the Association, and for the purpose of providing scholarships to the winners of the Dorothy A. Kelly Memorial Piano Scholarship Competition.

SECTION 2. Monies for this Fund shall be derived from:

A. Such allotment from the general treasury as may be voted by a two-thirds majority of those present at any Association meeting.

B. Contributions.

SECTION 3. The Fund shall be administered by a Board of Trustees composed of five members.

A. The President, Recording Secretary and Treasurer shall automatically be Trustees.

B. Two Trustees shall be appointed by the President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, one for a period of three years and one for a period of five years.

1. Unexpired terms shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of the term only.
2. The Trustee appointed for a three-year term shall serve as Chair and shall automatically become a member of the Board of Directors.
3. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall keep a strict account of the Fund’s monies and in consultation with the Board of Trustees and the Association Treasurer shall review and recommend depository arrangements.

C. The Board of Trustees shall establish guidelines and qualifications for scholarships and grants and submit them toe the Board of Directors for approval.

SECTION 4. A transfer of funds from the Blanton-Kelly Memorial Scholarship Fund to the general fund may be made upon recommendation of the Board of Trustees to the Association and with the approval of a two-thirds majority of those present at any Association meeting. This transfer shall be made only in the case of an emergency.

ARTICLE XIV. AMENDMENTS

The Bylaws may be amended at any Association meeting by a two-thirds majority of those present.

Such amendments must be printed in the Bulletin of the previous month or read at the previous Association meeting.

ARTICLE XV. RULES OF ORDER

The Current Edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the authority on all questions of parliamentary procedure not covered by these Bylaws.

ARTICLE XVI. DISSOLUTION

In the event of the dissolution of the Association for any reason, any funds or other assets of the Association remaining after settlement of the liabilities of the Association shall be distributed by the Board of Directors to other music oriented charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational organizations which would then qualify under the provisions of the Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.

HMTA Teacher Reimbursement

HMTA Event Chair Report