(Updated and
distributed in 2004)
(Approved
12/12/87)
Article
I: Name, Location and Purpose
Section
1. The name of this organization shall be
The Texas Institute of
Letters.
Section
2. The Texas Institute of Letters is a
non-profit arts-support organization within the state of
Section
3. The purpose of the Texas Institute of
Letters shall be the stimulation of interest in
fellowship among those
especially interested in the literary and cultural development of the state.
Article II:
Membership
Section 1. ATTAINMENT OF
MEMBERSHIP: Membership to the Texas Institute of Letters is through nomination
by two current active members. A nominee must then be approved by a vote of the
council during a regularly scheduled meeting and be approved by ballot of the
membership at large. Nominees approved by the council and the membership are
invited to enjoy the privileges and assume the responsibilities of membership
beginning with the first scheduled annual meeting following acceptance by the
council and membership. Nominees must secure a four-fifths majority vote of the
council in attendance to be presented to the membership
for
approval.
Section
2. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP: Members
shall have been residents of
Section 3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
MEMBERSHIP: Members shall be assessed dues annually by the council. Failure to
pay dues shall be considered grounds for declaring a member "inactive." Inactive
members forfeit voting and nomination privileges and are removed from the
mailing list. Active status is restored when
current dues are paid. Members
have individually one vote each to approve or to deny approval of: a slate of
officers presented by the council for approval through mailed ballot; a slate of
nominees for membership presented by the council for approval through mailed
ballot; plans for expenditures presented by the council for at the annual
business meeting (normally held on the same day as the annual awards ceremony)
for approval, with approval being shown by a majority vote of those active
members present or by a majority of those returning ballots by mail.
Members
will be expected to assume the duties of serving on judging panels or other
committees as requested by the council and are eligible for service on the
council and as officers.
Article III:
Activities of the Texas Institute of Letters
Section
l. MEETINGS: The T.I.L. shall assemble in
full at least once annually on a weekend during or near the first quarter of
each year in order to provide its members an opportunity for fellowship to
present its annual awards for literary achievement, and to gain membership
approval of plans for
expenditures.
Section 2. AWARDS: The T.I.L. Council shall
perpetuate, establish, and set criteria for awards in various categories as it
sees fit and will raise funds from donors to support such awards. Award
categories shall include but are not necessarily limited to citations for merit
in the writing of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, and book
design.
Section
3. PROGRAMS: The T.I.L. shall, in
cooperation with the
Article 1V: Composition of the
Governing Body
Section
1. The governing body of the T.I.L. shall
be a Council composed of five officers*
(President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Recording Secretary**), and
at least three but not more than eight councilors not holding
office.
*Amended 3/31/01: Number
of officers changed from four to five, adding a Recording
Secretary.
Section
2. Councilors are drawn from the membership
at large and are invited to serve by the current slate of officers and voting
councilors.
Section 3. The term of a councilor shall be two
years, a year being measured from one annual meeting of the T.I.L. body to the
next. A councilor may be reelected to a second two year term, but following that
he or she must, if not holding office, leave the Council for a minimum of two
years in order to be eligible for reappointment as a councilor.
Section 4. Councilors of the T.I.L. shall serve
their first two-year term before being eligible for nomination by other
councilors for any officer's
post.
Section 5. Each office of the T.I.L. will be held
by any individual councilor for only one two-year term, unless the council deems
additional terms necessary. Normally, the Vice- President will automatically be
placed in nomination to succeed the outgoing President unless the Council
otherwise indicates.
Section 6: Fellows of the Institute and councilors who
have held the office of President of the T.I.L. shall be permitted to serve as
ex-officio member in attendance to the Council. They have voting privileges only
when present and must attend at their expense.
Article V: Functions of the
Governing Body
Section
l. The Council or its President shall
appoint two members of the Institute to serve each year with the current
President on the committee to select the Dobie-Paisano
Fellows for the coming terms of residence at the ranch.
Section
2. The Council shall meet at least twice
yearly, once on or near the date of the annual awards ceremony and at a time and
place selected by the President, and once during the third or fourth quarters of
the year. At its spring meeting, the Council will select
the place and date
for the next annual meeting or appoint a committee to propose possible sites and
dates, will select at least three judges and two alternates for each of the
awards for the coming year, will receive for discussion and approval the
secretary- treasurer's annual report. At its meeting in the third or fourth
quarters of the year, the council will consider proposed new members and
determine a slate of such for presentation to the membership, shall induct
individuals from the membership into the council, and will transact any other
business the council deems necessary.
Section 3. The councilors shall serve without
compensation but for expenses incurred for travel to and from council meetings
or expenses incurred as a consequence of being a host for the meeting. The
Secretary-Treasurer will be permitted to compensate him or herself for any or
all expenses incurred as a consequence of pursing his responsibilities to the
Council.
Section
4. The officers of the T.I.L. and
councilors shall be responsible for organizing and presiding over the awards
ceremony.
Section
5. The Council shall consider as suitable
for its engagement any matter of business relating to pursuing the stated goals
of the organization.
Section 6. The Council shall consider in its fall
or winter meeting only those nominees for membership who have been recorded on a
nominee agenda by the Vice-President or a duly appointed screening committee and
presented to councilors prior to the meeting.
Section
7. The Council shall determine the
appropriateness of any proposed or offered awards as well as reserve the right
to determine the manner by which winners are selected.
Section
8. The Council may not conduct T.I.L.
business without a quorum, with a least two-thirds of its officers and
councilors present.
Section 9. The Council may create a Fellow of the
Institute through a nomination by a councilor, ex-officio member or another
Fellow, but the nominee must receive a unanimous vote for approval.
Article VI: Duties of the
Officers
Section l. THE PRESIDENT
shall preside over two annual awards ceremonies during the term of office,
beginning during the year in which he or she assumes office. During the ceremony
held during the year he or she leaves office, the outgoing President shall
formally yield the gavel to the incoming President. The President shall serve as
head of the panel of judges for selecting Dobie-Paisano Fellows; serve as
spokesperson for the
organization and be a liaison to media; assume responsibility for the planning
and execution of the annual awards ceremony; determine and announce times and
places for council meetings and prepare agenda; preside over
business
relating to the state purpose of the T.I.L., such as a Freedom of Speech and
Writing Committee; be permitted to serve as an ex-officio member of the Council
at his or her own expense on leaving office, with voting privileges when in
attendance.
Section 2. THE VICE-PRESIDENT shall assist the
president and assume the duties of the President in the event the President is
unable to perform them; oversee the administration of the process by which
nominees are considered for selection for membership; be responsible for drawing
up and describing the slate of nominees to
be presented to the membership for
approval; assist the Secretary- Treasurer in publicizing awards or
meetings.
Section
3. THE SECRETARY-TREASURER shall collect
dues from members and donations from Council-approved sources for funds in
support of ongoing programs or awards; disburse funds from the treasury to
councilors and officers for expenses rightfully incurred, or to vendors on
council approval; disburse funds from the
treasury to the University of
Texas for the Dobie-Paisano Fellowships and to
individual winners of annual awards; provide once annually a report to the
council itemizing income and expenditures for the preceding year; submit an
annual return to the Internal Revenue Service; hire on council approval any or
all legal or clerical help deemed necessary in fulfilling his or her
responsibilities; publicize annual awards by notifying publishers and media
prior to the annual deadline for submission to such awards; notify the
membership of time and place for programs,
the annual meeting, or submission
deadlines for awards; collect money submitted by members for tickets to the
annual awards ceremony.
Section 4. THE RECORDING SECRETARY shall take
minutes of each Council meeting and within ten days following each meeting shall
compose and disseminate to other councilors and officers for approval copies of
those minutes.
Article V11:
Standard Authority
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised shall
govern the Institute in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they
are not inconsistent with these by-laws.
Article V111. Amendments to
By-laws
Amendments to these by-laws
must be approved by a three-fourths majority of the council voting in attendance
and the members responding by postal ballot or voice vote taken during the
annual business meeting.