CONSTITUTION

Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French

Ratified in October 1992

Amended in October 2019

 

Article I: Name

The name of this organization shall be the Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French, Etoile du Nord.

 

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be to serve the interests and needs of teachers of French and the teaching of French at all levels of instruction, in both public and private schools, to stimulate professional growth, and to foster interest in the French language, literature, and culture.

 

Article Ill: Membership

Membership in the Minnesota chapter shall be open, upon payment of dues, to teachers of French at all levels, to former teachers of French, administrators, students of French, and friends of the French language and culture.

Regular membership runs from January 1 to December 31. Student membership is on the academic year and runs from September 1 to August 31 of the following year.

 

Article IV: Dues

The dues are such as the National and State Associations impose. Changes in state dues may be proposed by the Executive Board or membership and must be ratified by a majority vote at a general meeting. The dues for regular members are payable in the fall of the year preceding the membership year. Members who have not paid their dues by December 31 are delinquent.

 

Article V: Officers

The officers of the Minnesota Chapter shall be a President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary-Treasurer, and a Recording Secretary. Only AATF members in good standing (dues paid up to date) may be nominated and serve as officers.

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The Second Vice-President shall serve as President-Elect during the second year of the President’s term of office if the President does not intend to run for reelection.

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The term for all officers shall be for a period of two years. Ordinarily they may not serve more than two terms in succession.

If an office becomes vacant through death, resignation, or absence of the incumbent, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the term by appointment of the Executive Board.

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Article VI: Standing Committees

There shall be the following standing committees: Nominating, Audit, Editorship of REFLETS de l’Etoile du Nord, Grand Concours, A Vous la Parole, Atelier d’Hiver.

 

Article VII: Executive Board

The Executive Board of the Chapter shall consist of the elected officers, the editor/s of the Chapter Newsletter: Reflets de l’Etoile du Nord, the immediate past President, the chairperson/s of the national written contest: Le Grand Concours, and the chairperson/s of the chapter’s oral contest: A Vous la Parole. It is authorized to conduct all important business between meetings and may be called into session or consulted by telephone at the initiative of the President. Its decisions must be submitted to the general membership for ratification at the meetings.

 

Article VIII: Meetings

The chapter shall have at least two meetings a year, one in the fall in conjunction with the State Foreign Language Association meeting, and the second in the winter. Other special meetings may be called by the President in consultation with his/her Executive Board.

 

Article IX: Amendments

The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting, providing that notice announcing the exact nature and wording of the proposed amendment shall have been sent in writing to each member of the chapter at least one month in advance, along with the time and place of the meeting.

 

Article X: Applicability of National Constitution

All articles of the National Constitution and By-Laws apply to the Minnesota Chapter, and nothing in this Constitution is to be considered in contradiction to the National Constitution.

 

Article XI: Parliamentary Procedure

For procedures and rules not specified herein, refer to Robert’s Rules of Order, second edition, and to the Working Rules of the Minnesota Chapter as adopted by the Executive Board.

 

Article XII: Dissolution

This chapter may be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at a regular or special meeting, or through the suspension of its charter by the National Organization acting under the authority of National By-Law II 5 (c). In case of dissolution, all remaining funds in the chapter treasury and all chapter records shall be turned over to the National Executive Secretary of the AATF under the terms of the aforementioned By-Law.

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THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF FRENCH:

MINNESOTA CHAPTER

WORKING RULES

(revised 8/95)

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OFFICERS

The Executive Committee shall include these elected officers: President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, Recording Secretary. The Second Vice-President shall serve as President-Elect during the second year of the President’s term if the President does not choose to run for reelection. The immediate past President shall also serve on the Executive Committee for one year following his/her term. Appointed members of the Executive Committee shall include the newsletter editors (who will share a vote), the Director of A Vous la Parole and the Director of Le Grand Concours.

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Each officer will hold office for two consecutive years and is eligible for reelection to one additional term by majority vote of the chapter. (Majority means the absolute majority of those present at a business meeting or of those sending in ballots by mail.) An officer, such as the Secretary-Treasurer, who wishes to run for additional terms of office, may do so at the discretion of the Nominating Committee.

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Should a vacancy occur in the presidency, the President-elect will fill out the unexpired term unless the executive Committee calls a special election. If there is no President-elect, the Vice-President having served longest as Vice-President will fill out the unexpired term.

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In the event of a vacancy in the other offices, the President may, upon consultation with the other members of the Executive Committee, appoint a replacement until the next elections.

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Elections normally take place by mail in the Summer issue of the newsletter, Reflets de l’Etoile du Nord. The ballot includes information about the candidates and lists the offices to be filled. The term of office begins immediately after the date set for ballots to be received, usually by August 1st.

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In odd-numbered years, the President, the Second Vice-President (President-elect), and the Recording Secretary will be elected.

In even-numbered years, the First Vice-President and the Secretary-Treasurer will be elected.

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It is recommended that not more than three members of the Executive committee represent either the college-university level or the primary-secondary level and that there be representation from both private and public schools.

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DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

 

The President will organize and preside over a minimum of two chapter meetings per year, usually at the MCTLC Conference and the Atelier d’Hiver and/or the Atelier de Printemps. The President shall call a meeting of the Executive committee preceding each official chapter meeting. The President shall appoint chapter members to chair temporary and annual committees, i.e., Le Grand Concours, A Vous La Parole, and Nominations Committee and serves on and appoints chapter members to the Special Events Fund Committee. The President receives, screens, and forwards applications for A.A.T.E. scholarships. The President represents the Chapter to other groups, i.e., the Alliance Française, the Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures, the national A.A.T.F. and the Minnesota State Department Foreign Language Specialist. The President will receive committee reports in preparation for Executive Committee planning sessions and at Chapter meetings. The President writes a letter and prepares the Chapter’s calendar of upcoming events for each issue of Reflets de l’Etoile du Nord. The President attends the Awards Breakfast for Le Grand Concours and distributes the chapter awards or appoints someone to distribute them. The President also invites the Regional Representative to the Awards Breakfast and the Regional Representative distributes the Regional and National awards.

 

A Vice-President designated by the President will substitute for the latter in case of absence. The two Vice-Presidents will be responsible for contacting potential members and will do this with the cooperation of the Secretary-Treasurer. They will chair the Nominating Committee on alternating years. They, together with the other officers, will formulate goals, programs, and policies for the Chapter.

 

The Secretary-Treasurer receives dues and processes memberships. The Secretary-Treasurer communicates regularly with the national A.A.T.F. Executive Secretary regarding memberships, forwarding membership receipts and receiving chapter funds. The Secretary-Treasurer keeps the financial accounts of the Chapter, presents regular financial reports to the Executive Committee and Chapter, and reports on memberships. The Secretary-Treasurer, in consultation with the President, will inform the Region VII (West Central) A.A.T.F. Representative about Chapter activities.

 

The Recording Secretary will take minutes at the Executive Committee meetings and at Chapter business meetings, and s/he will send copies of the minutes to all members of the Executive Committee. S/he will also prepare an abridged copy of the minutes of Executive Committee meetings for publication in the Chapter newsletter, and s/he will submit copies of the minutes of chapter meetings for publication in the Chapter newsletter. S/he will call Executive Committee members to remind them about Executive Committee meetings and will also notify Executive Committee members of upcoming meetings in the minutes. S/he will take photos at chapter events (or designate someone to take them in his/her place) and keep a photo album for the chapter.

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DUTIES OF APPOINTED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The editors of Reflets de l’Etoile du Nord will attend Executive Committee meetings.

They will collect articles and announcements, and they will publish the chapter newsletter at least three times a year, in September, January and June.

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The Chairperson of A Vous la Parole will attend Executive Committee meetings, and s/he will report on the work of his/her committee to the Executive committee. S/he and his/her committee will find a location for the contest and will do all necessary work in preparation for the contest.

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The Chairperson of Le Grand Concours will attend Executive Committee meetings. S/he and his/her committee will make all necessary preparations for the contest, including all mailings and organizing the Awards Breakfast.

 

DUTIES OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

A Nominating Committee consisting of a chairperson (one of the Vice-Presidents) and two other members shall be appointed by the President at least two months before elections. This committee shall present the Executive Committee with a slate of eligible candidates for the offices to be filled. Nominations will also be accepted from other chapter members, provided the nominees have indicated willingness to be named.