electronic voting to ratify new membership bylaws
Dear members,
At Women and the Silent Screen IX in Shanghai last year the WFHI membership voted for the organisation to become a dues-collecting organisation. That meeting also signalled that a membership vote would be necessary to ratify some amendments to the bylaws to permit the collection of dues to occur. The WFHI Steering Committee has drafted amendments to the bylaws and we now request your attention to these amendments, and your vote for or against their ratification.
Please vote via the Google form in the following link in the next two weeks, and no later than 2 October 2018: https://goo.gl/forms/vo9g7I6LJby0sbOg1.
The relevant section of the by-laws, showing both the original Article concerning membership, and the amended Article, is copied below
[Original by-laws]
Article III. Membership
Membership. Any individual sharing the aims of the organization may join it at any time by subscribing to its electronic mailing list.
Should WFHI decide to collect membership dues, only those individuals paying their dues in advance of the next regular biennial meeting shall be considered members as described herein. In that event, WHFI shall continue to welcome interested parties to join its electronic mailing list, but such affiliation shall not, in and of itself, constitute membership in the organization.
The amount of dues and the schedule for their collection shall be proposed by the Steering Committee and ratified by a two-thirds vote of members present.
[Amended by-laws]
Article III. Membership
1. Membership in WFHI is open to any individual subscribing to the organization’s aims.
2. Membership dues shall be paid to the WFHI Treasurer. Membership fees will be divided into two classes: Regular members and Honorary members.
a. Dues. Biannual dues shall be determined by the Steering Committee. Dues increases shall not occur more frequently than one in four years. Dues structures cannot be changed without a vote of the membership at a Business Meeting.
b. Dues Structure. Regular membership dues will be divided into scales according to financial abilities. Members will pay a biennial membership fee based upon ability to pay. Regular members will receive a receipt for payment of dues upon payment. Honorary Members will not be asked to pay membership. Honorary Members will be named by the Steering Committee and will hold membership for life or until surrender. Honorary members can be nominated by any member in good standing, and will be confirmed by a two-thirds majority of the Steering Committee.
3. The Treasurer shall be entrusted with the responsibility of dues waivers and will have the power to waive dues for members whose circumstances prevent them from paying.
4. Paid Membership will be required for all participants in Women and the Silent Screen conferences.
You will note that the amendments require a new role in the Steering Committee, of Treasurer. We will be writing to the membership again following the vote on the amendments to the bylaws to request self-nominations for this position.
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the next Women and the Silent Screen will be held at the EYE Museum, Amsterdam, from May 25-28, 2019. The theme for the conference is “Sisters.” See the two-page save-the-date flyer (EYE 2019 SaveTheDate Flyer) for your delectation, and distribution!
We expect to have the CFP ready to send out to you by the end of this month.
And again, please make sure to vote on ratifying the amended bylaws via the Google form (https://goo.gl/forms/vo9g7I6LJby0sbOg1) in the next two weeks, and no later than 2 October 2018.
Best wishes,
Susan Potter, President
Minette Hillyer, Future President, Steering Committee Chair
Kristen Anderson Wagner, Membership Coordinator
Michele Leigh, Past Co-President and Steering Committee member at large
Jenny Horne, Steering Committee member at large
Drake Stutesman, Steering Committee member at large
Yiman Wang, WSS IX 2017 Conference organiser
Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, WSS X 2019 Conference organiser