2008-09 Standing Rules
1. BCEN standing rules and budget will be approved yearly by the membership by the September monthly meeting and will be distributed to the membership and all new member affiliates.
2. The BCEN executive board may approve bills up to $500 and approved budget items without the approval of the membership. Requests for expense reimbursement must be made within sixty (60) days from the date of the expense.
3. The Network mayl payup to the full registration fee for the current President to attend the National Convention. In the event the President is unable to attend, then the amount will be divided evenly among the board members attending. At the January board meeting, BCEN will select a board member as a representative, excluding the President, to attend the ABWA Spring Conference. The network may pay a portion of the registration fee for the representative to attend Spring Conference. Subject to availability of funds.
4. Regular reservations must be made by noon on the second Monday of the month. Standing reservations must be canceled by noon on the second Monday of the month. Standing reservations may be arranged with the VP Marketing/Arrangements. Members holding reservations, of any type, and not canceling will be billed for the cost of the meeting.
5. BCEN will contribute money to the Stephen Bufton Memorial Educational Fund when funds are available, with the approval of membership.
6. BCEN has the following officers with duties as stated below and must be primary members:
President shall preside at all meetings of the Express Network and the executive board meetings. Shall countersign checks with the vice president of finance, or president-elect in the absence of the vice president of finance.
President Elect shall perform the duties of president in her absence or when called upon by the president. Shall be in charge of the application and selection process of the network awards programs. Shall,in conjunction with vice president of marketing, encourage membership growth and retention. Shall receive payment of and receipts for Express Network dues or other monies in the absence of the vice president of finance and shall turn over all payment, accompanied by an itemized report to the vice president of finance. Shall, at the end of her one-year term as president elect, become president of the Express Network unless a majority of members voting at the time of the regular network election fail to approve her advancement to the office of president.
VP Finance shall be responsible for all monies collected, for depositing monies, disbursing money as approved and for collecting local Express Network dues. Shall present a monthly financial report to the Express Network Board and shall be responsible for obtaining and filing all necessary tax forms Shall disburse money as approved by the Express Network. All disbursements shall be made by check, countersigned by the president, or in her absence, the president elect. Shall place on national status any member in good standing nationally who has not paid Express Network within forty-five (45) days after the date due, notifying her of this action in writing. Shall provide the president-elect and vice president of communications with the names of members who have been removed from the National roster for non-payment of either national or Express Network dues.
VP Communications shall gather and disseminate Express Network news and information. Shall, if desired by members, publish a newsletter, coordinate its distribution and send a copy to National Headquarters.
VP Administration (referred to under network bylaws as VP Communication) shall record the minutes of each express network and executive board meeting. She shall provide one copy of the minutes to the president and send a monthly meeting report to national headquarters. She shall preserve in a permanent file all minutes and records of value to the express network. She shall handle express network correspondence as requested.
VP Programs shall be responsible for the planning, selection and scheduling of education programs/speakers for meetings and other special events as requested. Shall be responsible for speaker gift.
VP Marketing - Membership- Shall in conjunction with the president-elect encourage membership growth and retention. Shall assist guests and prospective members with membership information and assist in the membership application process. Shall maintain a current, accurate roster of all members and report any changes in member information to National Headquarters and shall provide this information to all members of the Board. She shall also record member attendance and provide a list of members eligible for quarterly attendance awards and yearly Protégé Awards. Shall contact prospective members, guests and absent members on a monthly basis. Shall be responsible for Door Prizes.
VP Marketing - Arrangements - Shall be responsible for planning the time, place, reservations, food and other special arrangements needed for meetings. Shall record all standing reservations and compile complete meeting reservation list. Shall provide reservation guarantee number to the hotel and enlist members to aid her in member/guest registration at each meeting. Shall be responsible for collecting meeting fees and advising VP Finance of missed meeting fees to be billed and give VP Finance complete accounting of all meeting fees collected.
VP Marketing - Publicity - Shall send promotional information to all appropriate media covering Express Network and member achievements as well as meeting announcements. Shall send copies of all major publicity coverage to National Headquarters. Shall list or file information about the Express Network with sources for potential member contact in the community, such as the local chamber of commerce or public libraries.
7. Any member of BCEN can be elected to serve as a delegate to Houston Area Council of ABWA or Federation of Houston Professional Women. In the event the HAC elected delegates cannot attend the meeting and there is a vote to be taken, any board member of BCEN who attends the quarterly meeting may serve as an alternate delegate at that meeting. In the event the FHPW elected delegates cannot attend the meeting and there is a vote to be taken, the BCEN President must submit in written format the name of the voting delegates that will be at the meeting. If a member does not attend a meeting or other event and the network has paid for the registration, and the member has not notified the President or President-Elect that she will be unable to attend, then the member will be billed for the registration fee paid by the network. Fees will be paid subject to the availability of network funds.
8. Delegates or alternate delegates shall submit in writing via email a report of the quarterly meeting or event within two (2) weeks of the meeting/event for publication in the newsletter.
9. Nominees for Network Woman of the Year, Network Top Ten candidate or FHPW Woman of Excellence must be a primary member of BCEN. Nominees for FHPW Woman of Excellence must have attended a FHPW quarterly meeting or FHPW event prior to their nomination. The Network Woman of the Year, Top Ten candidate and FHPW Woman of Excellence will be selected by outside judges chosen by the President-Elect. No member will be eligible for more than one (1) honor in a network year.
10. The audit committee for BCEN will consist of one board member (can be on either the incoming or outgoing board), a member who is a prospective candidate for VP Finance and a member who has not served as an officer of BCEN.
11. Only members of BCEN have the privilege of displaying or distributing business promotional materials at BCEN monthly meetings. The networking table will be reserved for member only materials and guests will be advised by the President-Elect to remove their materials if they are found on the networking table.
12. BCEN may consider any other rules governing the network, which do not conflict with ABWA National or Express Network Bylaws, nor repeat any information.