CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I.    Name

        The name of this Association will be the Long Island Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Italian.

ARTICLE II.   Purpose

        The purpose of this Chapter will be to promote the teaching of Italian and Italian culture and to serve the interest of the teachers of Italian at all levels on Long Island.

ARTICLE III.   Officers: Executive Board

        Section 1.   The Officers of  this Chapter will be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer. These elected officers, together with the immediate Past President and a Liaison to the Long Island Language Teachers, will constitute the Executive Board. Those wishing to become officers of the Long Island Chapter of the AATI must have maintained a three-year current membership prior to being considered for office by the Nominating Committee.

        Section 2.   The President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be elected for a term of two years. The officers will not serve for more than two consecutive terms. The Liaison to LILT will be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board. The election of these officers will take place at the regular meeting held at the May Luncheon. Officers will assume their duties in June following their election.

        Section 3.   Whenever there is a vacancy in any office of this Chapter, such vacancy will be announced in a meeting notification letter stating that a special election will be held at the upcoming meeting to fill the vacant position. In the interim, the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, may appoint an “acting” officer to fill the vacancy until the election takes place.

       Section 4.  A Nominating Committee, composed of three to five current members of the Advisory Council, will be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board. The Nominating Committee will present the proposed slate of officers, representative of all levels of Italian, at the May meeting. Additional nominations may be made and seconded from the floor. If there are no additional nominations, the Secretary will be instructed to cast one vote for the slate of officers presented.

       Section 5.   An Advisory Council consisting of past officers of the Long Island Chapter of the AATI will be appointed at the discretion of the President and approved by the Executive Board. There will be no more than ten (10) members on the Advisory Council at any one time.

        Section 6.  Executive Board members and members of the Advisory Council may be removed from office for excessive absences to meetings and/or lack of participation in current Chapter activities. Such determination is to be made by the President with the approval of the Executive board.

ARTICLE IV.   Duties of Officers and Advisory Council Members

        Section 1.    The President will be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter.The President will preside at all meetings of the Chapter and will have supervision and control of the affairs of the Chapter, subject to the supervision of the Executive Board, and will execute such other powers as may from time to time be conferred on him/her by the Executive Board.

        Section 2.   The Vice-President will exercise the duties of the President in the absence of that officer.

        Section 3.   The Secretary will keep a roll of the members of the Chapter and will record and preserve the minutes of meetings. In the absence of the President and the Vice-President the Secretary will preside at the meetings. The Secretary will also take charge of the correspondence of the Chapter. The Secretary is responsible for the meeting announcement mailings.

        Section 4.   The Treasurer will present a financial report to the members at each regular meeting of the Chapter. In the absence of the other officers of the Chapter the

Treasurer will preside at the meeting.

        Section 5.   The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, and the Liaison to LILT will constitute the Executive Board. The Executive Board will have charge of all business of the Chapter that may arise between regular meetings of the Chapter. They will present their report at the regular meetings. They will pass upon the accounts of the Treasurer, and will pass upon all disbursements to be made by the Chapter and authorize the Treasurer, by a three-quarter vote of the Executive Board, to make such disbursements. The President is authorized to spend no more than $100.00 as needed per annum without Board approval. The Executive Board will meet at least once before each business meeting of the Chapter.

        Section 6.  The Advisory Council members serve as advisors to the Executive Board. They are respected past officers who serve as the institutional memory of the

organization. Their counsel and guidance are an integral part of the Executive Board’s decision-making process.

ARTICLE V.   Membership

        Any person may become a member on payment of the dues currently fixed by the Chapter and may continue as a member upon payment of the annual dues. Honorary members may be elected to lifetime membership by the Chapter upon nomination by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI.   Dues

        The Chapter will collect dues according to fees established by the Executive Board and approved by a simple majority of the membership. Members of the Executive Board will be exempt from paying annual dues.

ARTICLE VII.   Personal and E-mail Information

        Personal and E-mail information is maintained for the exclusive use of the Executive Board of AATILI for organizational purposes only.

ARTICLE VIII.   Meetings

        Regular meetings of the Chapter will be held at a time fixed by the Executive Board. The Chapter may, at any regular meeting, decide upon an extraordinary meeting, at a time other than herein provided.

ARTICLE IX.   Quorum

        A quorum will consist of at least ten members present at any Chapter meeting.

ARTICLE X.   Amendments to the Constitution

        This Constitution is subject to amendment by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular meeting under the following procedure: The proposed amendment(s) will be placed in the hands of the Secretary in writing, and will be presented by him/her to the Executive Board at its next regular meeting. The Constitution Revision Committee will then present the amendment(s) to be voted upon by the members of the Chapter at the next regular Chapter meeting.

                                                       Approved on April 16, 2007