GAY PRIDE WEEK
1.1
Name of Organization
Tarrant County Gay Pride Week Association Incorporated, herein
after known as “The Organization” or TCGPWA.
1.2
Purpose of the Organization
Tarrant County
Gay Pride Week Association is organized to produce “Pride Week” celebrations
and events and to promote a positive image for
the community regarding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered
individuals.
1.3
History of the Organization
Tarrant County
Gay Pride Week Association was founded in 1981, to bring the gay community of
1.4
Geographic location / area served
1.5
Organization Insignia
The
organization insignia will be the rainbow longhorn.
1.6
Ownership of the Organization
The ownership
of the organization shall be vested in the general membership.
1.7
Meetings of the Organization
A monthly
meeting of the organization shall take place on the third Sunday of each month
(unless there is a conflict in schedules, at which time the meeting will be
rescheduled with a 10 day notice). With an organizational meeting occurring in December of each year. The time and location is at the discretion of
the elected officers.
1.8
Logo
The logo may
change annually as voted on by the general membership.
2.1
Advisory Council
A)
Members—An Advisory Council will consist of up 20% of the
membership present at the organizational meeting held in December, and are to
be elected by the general membership present.
B)
Eligibility—To serve on the Advisory Council, a member must have
been an actively involved officer, title holder (a title holder is defined as a
past Miss, Mr., Ms, or Ms. /Mr. GPW, and cannot be reigning), or
committee chair for TCGPWA.
C)
Duties—The duties of the Advisory Council shall be to advise, not
Govern, the elected officers, title holders, committee chairs, and general
membership, on procedures and traditions of the organization.
2.2
Governing Body
The Governing
Body of the organization shall be made up of the following:
A)
Officers—The organization shall have
elected officers consisting of:
President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
B)
Committee Chairs—Committee chairs shall be appointed by the
officers
C)
General Membership—The general
membership shall consist of any and all individuals who wish to participate in
the organization and have met membership requirements.
Section 3. Membership
3.1
Requirements—An individual can be a
member of the organization by attending a meeting and completing a membership
information form. For voting
qualifications see section 5.3
3.2
Responsibilities—Members should maintain a level of participation
as indicated on the individual membership information form.
4.1
Requirements for office
A)
All officers must agree to be in attendance at no less than 50% of
TCGPWA scheduled events.
B)
All officers are to be held accountable for complying with the
requirements under Section 7, “Financial Responsibilities”.
C)
All officers are required to adhere to all rules and regulations of
TCGPWA.
D)
Excused absences must be approved by the President or appointed
representative.
4.2
Duties and Responsibilities
A)
President—The President shall:
1)
Preside at all meetings of the organization and meetings of the
organizations officers.
2)
See that all approved motions of the membership are carried into effect
3)
Subject to the advice and consent of the organization officers, remove
the chair of any committee.
4)
Serve as Ex-Officio member of all committees.
B)
Vice-President—The Vice President shall:
1)
In the absence of the President, perform the duties, have the authority,
and exercise the powers of the President.
2)
Perform such other duties as the organization
officers prescribe.
C)
Treasurer—The Treasurer shall, under the
supervision of the President:
1)
Have custody of the organizations funds.
2)
Keep full and accurate records of receipts and disbursements of the
organization.
3)
Deposit all monies, within two banking days of receipt, into the account
designated by the organization’s officers.
4)
Disburse funds as requested and approved by the general membership.
5)
Render to the officers and general membership, a monthly accounting of
all financial transactions of the organization.
6)
The Treasurer or another approved person and two (2) other people will
count money collected at all fundraisers.
This money will be recorded on a tally sheet with all three (3)
signatures and kept with all financial records.
D)
Secretary—The Secretary shall:
1)
Attend all meetings of the organization, and the officers, and record
the minutes of all proceedings in a book to be kept for that purpose.
2)
Give or cause to be given notice of all organization meetings.
3)
Maintain all member information and attendance
records.
4)
Notify to the governing body on a quarterly basis, any lack of
compliance with attendance requirements for officers and titleholders.
5)
Oversee advertising for all fundraising events to ensure notices are
posted in a timely manner.
4.3 Term of Office
No term limits are to be
established.
4.4 Resignations, death, or
removal of an officer
A)
President—In the event that the office of President is vacant for
any reason, the Vice President shall assume the President’s duties until a
special election can be held, at the next regularly scheduled general
membership meeting. In the event that
the Vice President, Treasurer or Secretary is elected to fill the office of
President, a special election shall be held at the time the newly elected
President assumes office.
B)
Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary—In the event that the
office of Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary is vacated for any reason
other than that stated in 4.4A, a special election will be held, to fill the
vacancy, at the next regularly scheduled general membership meeting.
C)
Removal Procedure—Upon notification to the Governing body, at a
regularly scheduled general membership meeting of TCGPWA, any officer and
titleholder may be removed from office by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the
members present at the meeting.
Section
5. Elections
5.1
Election of Officers
All elections and voting of awards are to be conducted by the
officers holding office at the time of the election. Award nominations for Grand Marshall(s) and
the Raina Lea Award will take place at the August
meeting and the vote conducted at the September meeting. Each nominee for Grand Marshall must agree to
the nomination prior to the election.
5.2
Election Times
Elections of TCGPWA
Officers will be held annually, at the December general
membership organizational meeting, awards and committee chairs to be elected
throughout the year, when needed.
5.3
Voting Qualifications
A)
TCGPWA officers are voted on by the general community at the December
organizational meeting.
B)
All other voting and elections are voted on by individuals who have been
members of TCGPWA for at least 30 days prior to the vote date in question.
5.4
Nominations
A)
Nominators—Nominations for the elected officers are submitted by
the general membership.
B)
Nominees—A nominee for an officer position must accept the
nomination, and be present at the meeting to be placed on the ballot.
5.5
Voting Rights
All
members who are qualified under section 5.3A and 5.3B and are present and
signed in at the august general membership meeting may cast one vote. The number of votes cast must match the
number of members signed in, excluding abstentions. No Absentee or proxy voting is
permitted.
5.6
Majority Vote
Election shall be by a majority of the votes cast.
5.7
Run off Election
In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be
held between the individuals receiving the tie votes.
Section
6. Title Holders
6.1
The following titles may be awarded in order to promote
TCGPWA. It is not mandatory that all positions be filled annually.
A)
Miss C) Ms./Mr.
B)
Ms. D) Mr.
6.2
Reign
All
titleholders shall serve for one year following their winning of
the title until the next year’s pageant.
6.3
Requirements for Candidates
A)
Must be 21 years of age.
B)
Each winner will be required to participate and host enough fundraising
events necessary to meet budgetary costs for Gay Pride Week events.
C)
Participate in no less than 50% of TCGPWA functions and must participate
in the parade and picnic. (Unless excused
by the officers)
D)
Have no more that three (3) unexcused absences from a regular monthly
meeting during their reign. (Excused
absences must be approved by the President before the meeting.)
E)
Each candidate must pay a non-refundable entry fee of $25 before the
pageant begins.
6.4
Judging Categories to Read
All candidates will be
judged in the following categories.
A)
Presentation (a gay pride theme)
B)
Talent
C)
Evening wear
D)
Question and Answer
E)
The contestants will go through a personal interview with pageant judges
prior to the Pageant.
6.5
Scoring
A)
The highest and lowest score for each category will be discarded, and
the remaining scores are added together for the final score.
B)
Contestants who are more than 15 minutes late without notifying pageant
coordinator(s) will be disqualified to enter the pageant.
Section
7. “Pride Week” duties and responsibilities
7.1
Governing Body
The Governing Body shall be responsible for
overseeing all operations connected with the production of ALL “Gay
Pride Week” events.
7.2
Committee Heads
A)
All Committee Heads shall be required to comply with the same rules as
officers, as stated in Section 4.1
B)
All Committee Heads shall comply with the appendices to this document
and seek the advice of the officers and advisory council in conducting
business.
C)
The following committees shall be established annually, with a committee
head or heads for each committee appointed as per Section 2.2B.
1)
Picnic
2)
Parade
3)
Publicity/Booklet
4)
Pageant
5)
Merchandise
7.3
Schedule of Events
A)
The Gay Pride Parade will be held on the first Sunday in October.
B)
The Gay Pride Picnic will be held on the first Saturday
following the Parade in October.
C)
The Gay Pride Pageant will be held at the first available weekend
date following “Gay Pride Week”, to be scheduled by the Pageant
coordinator(s) with the advice and consent of the TCGPWA officers.
D)
Other events will be scheduled as the general membership sees fit.
Section
8. Financial Procedures
8.1
Distribution of Funds
All distribution of funds shall be approved by the
general membership at a regularly scheduled meeting.
8.2
Emergency Funds
Emergency funds amount shall be set each year by the
general membership at the first regular scheduled TCGPWA meeting, to be held in
January.
8.3
Distribution of Emergency Funds
Distribution of emergency funds requires three
fourths (3/4) majority consent of all four (4) officers.
8.4
Signatures
The Treasurer and one other
officer’s signature, excluding the treasurer’s significant other, are required
for any withdrawal of the organizations funds.
8.5
Signature Cards
By the first general
membership meeting following their election, incoming officers shall be
responsible for the removal of unauthorized signatures and social security
numbers from any and all organization bank accounts, as well as signing new
signature cards.
8.6
Misappropriation of Funds
A)
Prosecution—Any and all misappropriation of organization funds
will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
B)
Legal Procedures—One officer and one Advisory Council
member, appointed by the Advisory Council, will have the authority to pursue
legal procedures in the event of misappropriation of funds.
Section
9. Changes to the Rules and Regulations
9.1
Request for Changes
All requests for changes to
these Rules and Regulations must be
submitted, in writing, to a TCGPWA
officer no later than thirty (30) days prior to the December Organizational
meeting for review and acceptance by the officers and Advisory Council.
9.2
Approval of Changes
Upon acceptance by the
officer and advisory council, all changes must be approved by a three
fourths (3/4) majority of qualified members present at the January
general membership meeting.
9.3
Implementing the Changes
Upon approval of changes to
the Rules and Regulations, booklets will be revised and distributed at the February
meeting.