Article I: Name

The name of this association is the Juan de Fuca Washington State Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).

Article II: Purpose.

The purposes of the Chapter shall be to:
a. Promote friendship and professional growth among teachers of Spanish and Portuguese at all levels of instruction.
b. Provide opportunities for members to communicate with native speakers.
c. Keep members informed of relevant cultural events and educational and travel opportunities and scholarships.
d. Increase interest in the study of Spanish and Portuguese in the region.
e. Hold regular gatherings and outings that increase knowledge, facilitate sharing of information and ideas, and practice the speaking of Spanish, and, when possible and desired, Portuguese.
f. Publish at least twice a year a journal (Clamor) of a literary nature, each issue organized around a major theme. Also included will be informational sections of upcoming and past events and review articles.
g. Publish an electronic newsletter (Bolectrónico) at least once a month to keep members informed of chapter events. Also included will be announcements of regional and national activities and events of interest to the membership.

Article III: Officers and the Executive Board

Section 1. The Executive Board of this chapter shall consist of nine elected members, seven Officers and two Members-at-Large:
1. President
2. Northwestern Vice President [whose territory consists of the areas north of Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties and west of the Cascade range]
3. Southwestern Vice President [whose territory consists of the areas south of and including Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties and west of the Cascade range]
4. Central Vice President [whose territory consists of the seven counties east of the Cascade range and west of the Columbia River, plus Douglas, Franklin, Grant, and Walla Walla Counties]
5. Eastern Vice President [whose territory consists of the nine remaining counties in the eastern region of the state]
6. Secretary
7. Treasurer
8. Member-at-Large
9. Member-at-Large

Section 2. Other members of the Board shall be appointed by the Officers and Members-at-Large, upon recommendation of the regional Vice Presidents, who shall make every reasonable effort to bring a modicum of geographical balance to the Board. "Geographical balance" shall be construed to mean that there will be at least one Board member from each of the four regions, in addition to the regional Vice Presidents.
a. Selection of these additional members of the Board shall be by consensus or, when impossible, by majority vote.
b. The President may veto the appointment of Board Members s/he deems inappropriate or unacceptable. This veto may be overridden by unanimous consent of the other Officers and Members-at-Large.
c. When there are no K-12 or no Postsecondary representatives among the Officers and Members-at-Large, a Board Member representing that constituency will be appointed.
d. The Officers and Members-at-Large shall fill by appointment the following positions on the Board: National Spanish Exam Coordinator, Historian, Newsletter Editor, Journal Editor, Portuguese Representative, and Webmaster. Additional appointive positions may be added as needed.
e. The Officers and Members-at-Large shall designate a member of the Board to act as a liaison between the Board and the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT). This position need not be a separate seat.
f. At no time shall the number of appointive positions exceed the number of elected positions on the Board.

Section 3. The terms of office shall be two years. Each Officer and Member-at-Large may serve only two consecutive terms in the same position, with the exception of the Treasurer, who may serve a total of four terms. Terms of office for appointive positions are one year, with no term limits on service.

Section 4. Nominations for elected positions may be made by any current member of the chapter. Members may nominate themselves or any other member of the chapter. Nominations should be sent to the Nominating Committee via any member of the current Executive Board. The nomination period is in the spring of the year, opening in March and closing on May 31.

Section 5. The Nominating Committee shall be comprised of at least three Vice Presidents and at least one chapter member not serving on the current Board. The elections will be held by mail or electronic ballot in September. The election results will be announced at the general membership meeting at the WAFLT Fall Conference in October. The new Officers and Members-at-Large will assume their duties on January 1 of the following year.

Section 6. Write-in balloting. Given the opportunity for any member to run or nominate any other member as an Officer or Member-at-Large of the Chapter, write-in balloting shall not be allowed as an election feature. Any write-ins on formal ballots shall not be counted nor recorded by the ballot-counting team.

Section 7. In the event of vacancy, the President (with a confirming vote of the other Officers and Members-at-Large) may appoint a provisional officer. If the vacancy is the Presidency, then the Vice Presidents shall appoint a provisional successor, which may or may not be one of them. Provisional officers will complete the regular term and face election at the next regularly-scheduled election, should they choose to run.

Section 8. A majority of those voting shall determine election to an office. The counting of these ballots shall include at least one non-member of AATSP.

Section 9. All decisions shall be by majority vote of those present at Board meetings, except when a majority does not consist of a majority of the Officers and Members-at-Large. In such a case the President may exercise the right of veto. The President is not required to exercise a veto; it is discretionary. In the absence of the President in such a case, any Vice President may make a motion to recommit and reconsider any given issue in the presence of the President.

Article IV: Duties of Officers and the Members of the Executive Board

Section 1. The President shall:
a. be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter.
b. preside at all meetings of the Chapter, except intrastate regional meetings, where the Vice President presides.
c. supervise the Executive Board.
d. act as signatory of checks for the Chapter checking account, if necessary.
e. exercise such other powers as may from time to time be conferred on him/her by the Officers and Members-at-Large.
f. serve as a voting member of the Executive Board for one year past the expiration of his/her term, bearing the title Past President, attending meetings of the Executive Board and accepting such duties as may occasionally be assigned him/her by the President.

Section 2. The Vice Presidents shall:
a. select one from among them to exercise the duties of the President for a fixed time period in the absence of that officer.
b. take charge of such Chapter activities as are assigned to them by the President.
c. be the official Nominating Committee for all elections, select one non-Board member to sit on the Nominating Committee, and give advice to the President on the filling of Board vacancies.
d. organize or delegate the organization of regional gatherings in their areas.
e. preside at regional gatherings and provide informal reports to the Executive Board.

Section 3. The Secretary shall:
a. preserve the minutes of Board and general membership meetings and send copies to all members of the Board.
b. collect any regional reports sent by the Vice Presidents.
c. send the names and pertinent information of the new Officers and Members-at-Large to the National Office immediately after elections.
d. present copies of the Chapter Constitution to the Officers and Members-at-Large upon their election.
e. preside over meetings in the absence of the President and Vice Presidents.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall:
a. keep a roll of the members of the Chapter and a data base for mailing labels. Upon their appointment by the National Office, s/he shall add the names of Emeritus members to said roll.
b. keep a detailed account of all monies received and disbursed by him/her, which account s/he shall present to the Chapter Executive Board at Board meetings for their approval by vote as stipulated above.
c. maintain a simple journal of receipts and disbursements. Entries must include amounts and dates of receipts and disbursements, check numbers, as well as sources of receipts and the purpose of disbursements as well as the payee.
d. send each month to the National Office and to the members of the Chapter Executive Board a copy of said journal for that month, and a copy of the most recent bank statement.
e. make available to all new Chapter Officers and Members-at-Large complete files of Chapter financial activity.
f. provide the membership with a Treasurer's report once a year at the general membership meeting in October and published on the Chapter website.
g. act as chief and usual signatory of checks from the Chapter checking account.
h. review any major decisions regarding location of funds, vehicle for investment of funds, etc., with the Executive Board.
i. preside over meetings in the absence of the President, Vice Presidents, and Secretary.

Section 5. The Members-at-Large shall:
a. serve as voting members of the Executive Board.
b. attend meetings of the Board.
c. accept such duties as may be assigned to them by the President or by the Board.

Section 6. The Editor of the Chapter Journal (Clamor) shall:
a. produce a journal twice a year or at other intervals to be determined by the Board.
b. submit a rough copy to the President and Vice Presidents for approval and suggestions before commencing publication, if requested.
c. appoint sub-editors responsible to him/her for areas of content within the journal.
d. make arrangements for production, bulk mailings, and distribution.

Section 7. The Editor of the Chapter Newsletter (Bolectrónico) shall:
a. publish an electronic newsletter at least once a month.
b. contact the members of the Board in a timely fashion before the deadline for publication, reminding them to send him/her pertinent materials for publication.
c. search national and regional websites and/or other sources for information of interest to the membership.

Section 8. The National Spanish Exam Coordinator shall:
a. stay abreast of national developments in AATSP.
b. keep members informed about the Exam and its availability.
c. provide a report from time to time on the Exam to the Board.
d. promote the Exam and its benefits in the region of the Chapter's jurisdiction.
e. publish NSE timelines at the WAFLT Fall Conference, in the Chapter newsletter, and on the Chapter's website.

Section 9. The Historian shall:
a. take photos at major gatherings of the Chapter.
b. arrange for someone else to take photos at events s/he is unable to attend.
c. keep a written record of the happenings of the Chapter and write brief summaries of them for the Chapter Journal and for the National Office.
d. act as the institutional memory of the Chapter, reminding the Board of informal customs as well as Constitutional requirements. This includes acting as an informal parliamentarian if and when the need arises at Board meetings and at the general membership meeting.

Section 10. The Webmaster shall:
a. maintain the Chapter website, updating it as requested by the Board.
b. search other websites for information of interest to the membership and bring suggestions for additions or revisions to the attention of the Board.
c. keep abreast of web hosting providers to best meet the needs of the membership.

Section 11. The Portuguese Representative shall:
a. make suggestions to the Board for ideas and activities promoting the Portuguese language and the culture of the Portuguese-speaking world.
b. keep the Board informed of any upcoming or past events relating to the Portuguese-speaking world.
c. send articles and/or announcements as appropriate to the Editors of the Chapter Newsletter and Journal.

Section 12. The Executive Board shall:
a. be in charge of all business of the Chapter that may arise between regularly-scheduled meetings of the Chapter.
b. provide for a time, place and program for each meeting.
c. approve and supervise the accounts of the Treasurer, all disbursements to be made by the Chapter and authorize the Treasurer to make such disbursements by majority vote. The Treasurer shall be authorized to make discretionary disbursements of $25.00 or less, but must immediately make known such disbursements to the Board. This privilege may be revoked by a majority of the Board Members.
d. hold at least three regularly-scheduled meetings throughout the year. The purpose of the May/June meeting is to establish all dates and plan programs for the coming year.
e. decide on all issues discussed at Board meetings by a majority vote of those present.

Article V: Membership

a. Membership in AATSP is unified, automatically including both the national and local chapter levels.
b. The territory of the Juan de Fuca Washington State Chapter includes the entire state of Washington.

Article VI: Dues

AATSP membership dues are set by the National Association and are for the calendar year. Association dues are unified and include membership in both the National Association and the local chapter. All dues are sent directly to the office of the National Association.

Article VII: Meetings

a. The Chapter will hold at least one regularly-scheduled general membership meeting, and that one meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual Fall Conference of WAFLT.
b. The Chapter will sponsor at least three activities (i.e., workshops, events, idea shares, conference sessions) throughout the year. These activities may be jointly sponsored with other organizations. The Executive Board will make a concerted effort to schedule these activities in different regions of the state.

Article VIII: Quorum

A quorum will consist of the Chapter members present at any chapter meeting.

Article IX: Amendments to the Constitution

This Constitution is subject to amendment by a majority vote of members voting by mail or electronic ballot under the following procedure:

a. Proposed amendments shall be placed into the hands of the President in writing by April 15 for publication in the Chapter Newsletter during the months of May and June.
b. Proposed amendments shall also be published in the spring issue of the Chapter Journal.
c. Proposed amendments shall be voted upon by the members of the Chapter by mail or electronic ballot in September.
d. Approval or rejection of proposed amendments by the members shall be announced at the October general membership meeting.

Article X: Dissolution

If this Chapter should ever disband, all its assets, financial and otherwise, shall be given to the national organization of the American Association of
Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Article XI: Validity

This Constitution supersedes all previous constitutions of this Chapter. This Constitution was promulgated provisionally by the undersigned Officers and Board Members in Seattle on May 31, 2003.

Signed by:
President Paloma Borreguero
Past President Steven L. Green
Northwestern Vice President Krista L. Swenson
Southwestern Vice President and NSE Coordinator Oriana Cadman
Eastern Vice President Ricardo Chama
Secretary Roberto E. Del Valle
Co-Editor of Clamor Paloma Martínez-Carbajo
Editor of Bolectrónico Brenda Fisher

Not present: Treasurer Bridget E. Yaden, Co-editor of Clamor Inés Miranda, and Historian David Chandler