UTTORON

(BENGALI ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN WASHINGTON - An organization for people interested in Bengali Culture and Heritage and primarily residing in Western Washington)

ARTICLE I

OFFICES:

The principal office of the Corporation shall be located at its principle place of business which is Western Washington. The Corporation may have such other offices as the Executive Committee may designate or as the business of the Corporation may require from time to time.

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP:

• Any person interested in Bengali Culture and Heritage and of 18 years of age and above irrespective of caste, color, creed, race or any national origin, can join the Association.
• All members shall agree to comply with the Constitution and By-Laws of the association.
• The Association may offer the  following types of memberships
  • Single (with or without minor dependents) – A single member is assumed to consist of an adult over 18 years of age and may or may not have dependents and hence is entitled of one (1) vote in the matter of the association.
  • Family A family is assumed to consist of a husband, a wife and dependent children and hence is entitled to two (2) votes in the matter of the Association.
  • Single Student (18 years or over) - A single student member is assumed to consist of an adult over 18 years of age and may or may not have dependents and whose principal  occupation is student hence is entitled of one (1) vote in the matter of  the association.
  • Student Family – A student family member is assumed to consist of a husband and a wife and dependent children where primary source of income in the family is from being a student (both husband and wife can be students or one of them can be a student while the other produce an income less than that of the student member) and hence is entitled to only two (2) votes in matters of the association.
  • Corporate – Any corporation registered with IRS and is entitled to one (1) vote in the matter of the association.
  • Associate – Any individual or family above 18 years of age who wants to be associated with the Organization in a way not belonging to any other type of membership. Such members are not entitled to vote in matters of the association.
  • Life Member – Single
  • Life Member – Family
  • Honorary - An individual or family with outstanding contribution to the cause of the Association may be bestowed with honorary membership. Committee shall have the authority to bestow such membership to deserving candidates. The same process shall be followed for deletion of honorary membership.
  • Effective 2025, only one person from a household can apply for executive committee to provide every member of the community a fair chance to participate in the functions of the Uttoron Executive Committee.
    • Definition of Household: A household can be defined as those who dwell under the same residential roof and/or compose a family
• The membership fees may be revised by the committee.
• Membership fee is due by March 31st every year.
• All memberships except the life memberships are based on a calendar year.

ARTICLE III

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

• For the calendar year 2025, the Vice-President of 2024 will be the President. The General Body shall elect the Vice-President (President-elect for 2026), Secretary (for 2025), the Joint Secretary (Secretary-elect for 2026), Treasurer (for 2025) and the Joint Treasurer (Treasurer-elect for 2026) and up to twenty-six (26) general members of the Executive Committee of Uttoron (henceforth referred as the Executive Committee or simply, the Committee) at the annual General Body meeting. The Vice-President (President-elect) will become the President the year following his/her election. The Joint-Secretary and the Joint-Treasurer will assume the offices of the Secretary and the Treasurer following the year of their election.
• Starting from calendar year 2026, the General Body shall elect, the Vice-President (President-elect for next year), the Joint Secretary (Secretary-elect for next year) and the Joint Treasurer (Treasurer-elect for next year) and up to twenty-six (26) general members of the Executive Committee of Uttoron (henceforth referred as the Executive Committee or simply, the Committee) at the annual General Body meeting. All candidates for the election must be members in good standing.  The Vice-President (President-elect) will become the President the year following his/her election.  The Joint-Secretary and the Joint-Treasurer will assume the offices of the Secretary and the Treasurer following the year of their election.
• If for any reason, the vice-president, joint-secretary or joint-treasurer has to discontinue their term, the executive committee will nominate someone from the committee to the position.
• No Executive Committee member may serve in the committee for more than three consecutive years. An Office bearer may not continue in the same position for more than two consecutive years.  To be elected for the offices of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Joint Secretary, the Treasurer and the Joint Treasurer a member of good standing must have served as a member of the Executive  Committee in some capacity for at least one year since the registration of Uttoron as a non-profit organization in 2003.
• The Executive Committee shall meet no less than four (4) times a year. Any member of the committee who absents himself/herself from two consecutive meetings without informing the Secretary of the reasons of his/her absence shall not be considered as a committee member in good standing.
• The Executive Committee shall carryout the policies and programs formulated for the Association.
• The Executive Committee shall prepare an annual budget each year.
• The Executive Committee, within the approved budget, is authorized to give donations, grants, aids, etc. for educational, social, medical and humanitarian purposes.
• All the decisions in the meetings of the Executive Committee shall require a majority vote of the committee members present and voting.
• The Executive Committee shall appoint a new member for the remaining term in case a vacancy occurs.
• The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint special committees for specific purposes and functions as well as appoint individuals for rendering services to the Association as may be required from time to time. Any such special sub-committee must have at least one member of The Executive Committee and will be governed by the same rules regarding meetings, action without meetings, notice and waiver of notice, and quorum and voting requirements as applied to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE IV

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS:

• President: The president of the Executive Committee shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Uttoron. He/ She shall convene, conduct and preside over the meeting of the General Body and of the Executive Committee. It shall be his/her duty to see that all orders and resolutions of the      Executive Committee are carried out effectively to the best of his/her ability. When the Executive Committee is not in session, the President shall have the general control over the management of the activities of Uttoron. The President, before the end of his/her term shall submit a report approved by the Executive Committee, to the General Body on the operation of Uttoron for that year. The President shall report periodically to the Executive Committee all matters of interest. President shall select an Election Officer to conduct the election of the new Executive Committee.
• Vice-President: The Vice-President shall assist the President in implementing polices and decisions. He/ She will automatically become the President of Uttoron in the year following the year in which he/she is elected (This clause has been repealed and will be effective 2014, per General Body Election on February 16, 2013). In case of absence of President for Executive Committee or General Body meeting, he/ she will preside over the meeting and in general take over the responsibility of the President and nominate another member of the Executive Committee to act as Vice-President during the absence of the  President.
• Secretary:The Secretary shall keep records of the minutes of the Executive Committee and General Body meetings and prepare the agenda for the meetings, and the progress report in consultation with the President. He/ She shall keep the members informed about the activities of the Association. All correspondence to the members of the Association shall have the signature of the Secretary or the President. In addition he/ she shall perform other duties as delegated to him/ her by the President.
• Joint Secretary: The Joint Secretary shall assist the Secretary in executing their duties and responsibilities as and when requested by the Secretary. He/ She will automatically become the Secretary of Uttoron in the year following the year in which he/she is elected. In case of absence of Secretary for Executive Committee or General Body meeting, he/ she will take over the responsibility of the Secretary and nominate another member of the Executive Committee to act as the Joint Secretary during the absence of the Secretary.
• Treasurer: The Treasurer shall collect the dues, keep accounts of all the receipts and expenses and deposit funds received in the name of the Association. He/ She shall keep a full and accurate account of the receipts and  expenditure and make disbursement in accordance with the approved budget as authorized by the Executive Committee. The bank account(s) shall be joint accounts in the name of the Treasurer, President and the Secretary.  He/ She must deposit the money received in the bank account of the Association within two weeks of its receipt. The Treasurer shall sign all checks and make payments in the name of the Association. All checks for payments over $500 (five hundred) shall be co-signed by another authorized office bearer. Excess payment over $200 (two hundred) or 10% of the approved budget for an item, whichever is larger must be approved by the Committee.
• Joint Treasurer: The Joint Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer in executing their duties and responsibilities as and when requested by the Treasurer. He/ She will automatically become the Treasurer of Uttoron in the year following the year in which he/she is elected. In case of absence of Treasurer for Executive Committee or General Body meeting, he/ she will take over the responsibility of the Treasurer and nominate another member of the Executive Committee to act as the Joint Treasurer during the absence of the Treasurer.
• If the office of President,  Vice-President, Secretary, the Joint Secretary, the Treasurer or the Joint Treasurer becomes vacant, the Executive Committee shall appoint one of its members to the vacant position for the remaining term of the Executive Committee.
• All officers shall deliver to their successor all official materials within two weeks of election on joint meeting of the incoming and outgoing Executive Committee.
• Fiscal responsibility shall be shown by the Executive Committee in so far as not reducing the surpluses handed to them when they take office. If the surplus amount is reduced by more than 10% (ten percent) at the end of the year and not approved by the General Body of the Association within the tenure of the Executive Committee, the office bearers of the Executive Committee shall render them ineligible to contest for office for the next three (3) years.

ARTICLE V

ELECTIONS AND GENERAL BODY:

• An annual meeting of the  General Body shall be held on the date and place decided by the Executive Committee to conduct the following business before the end of the business  year.
  • Progress Report by the President
  • Financial statement by the Treasurer
  • Election of the Committee  members
  • Any old business
  • Any new business
• Election of the Committee Members
  • All nominations shall be filed  and confirmed with the Secretary of the Association at least seven (7)  days before the election date.
  • All elections shall be by majority vote of the members present in the meeting and voting. Only members in good standing for at least thirty (30) days prior to the election date will be eligible to vote.
  • The President or his/her nominee shall act as an Election Officer to conduct the election. All disputes shall be resolved by the Election office.
  • In case of nominations not sufficient in numbers, the current Executive Committee will nominate new members from the general body for the selection at the general meeting.
• The proposal(s) for inclusion of additional items on the Agenda of the General Body Meeting shall require endorsement of at least twenty (20) members.
• At least fifteen (15) days advance notice indicating the date, time, place and the agenda of the meeting shall be given to the members.
• In special cases, the  Secretary, in consultation with the President, may call a short notice meeting of the General Body to discuss important issues.
• If twenty (20) or more members send a written request for convening a special meeting of the General Body, specifying the issues/questions to be discussed, the Secretary shall comply with the request within a period of thirty (30) days.
• All general body meetings shall be presided by the President or his/her nominee.

ARTICLE VI

BUDGET AND FINANCE:

• The financial year of the Association shall begin on January 1st and end on December 31st.
• A yearly financial summary report shall be presented to the members at the General Body meeting. Audit reports shall be available by April 30th of the next year for examination by any member in good standing.
• Annual plans and budget shall be prepared and approved by the Committee and the Treasurer, respectively by no later than February 28th. The plans and the budget shall include events planned for January and February of the next year.
• The Committee shall maintain,  store and archive all financial records of the Association. Up-to-date records and registers of the Association shall be handed over to the next Committee at its first meeting.
• Audit: The Committee may appoint a Certified Public Accountant or nominate an Audit Team from within the membership as per the IRS regulations. The Committee shall make  all the books and records available to the Audit Team or the Certified Public Accountant and shall submit an audit report once a year.

ARTICLE VII

CHECKS AND BALANCE:

• A No-Confidence resolution can be moved against the member(s) of the Committee provided such a resolution is presented with the written endorsement of at least twenty (20) members  in good standing and is discussed in the General Body meeting to be called within thirty (30) days of such a notice. Such a resolution shall require  for its passage, the support of 2/3 majority of the members present and voting.
• The Association has the right to remove from its membership any individual whose activities are considered detrimental to the interest of the Association. Such expulsions shall be discussed in the General Body meeting to be called within thirty (30) days of such a notice. Such a resolution shall require for its passage, the support of 2/3 majority of the members present and voting. The appropriate procedures, affording full opportunity to the individual(s) concerned to be heard, shall be followed.
• The Committee may censure one of its own members with 2/3 rd majority of the Committee members present and voting. If the matter cannot be resolved in the Committee meeting, the Committee shall call a General Body meeting to resolve the matter.

ARTICLE VIII

GENERAL:

• Assets and liabilities of the Association shall be administered by the Committee. No Committee member shall be personally responsible for any liability (ies) of the Association, if incurred in the best interest of the Association.
• Voting: All the general matters unless otherwise specified, shall be adopted by a simple majority.
• The presiding officers in all organs of the Association shall have the right to exercise an additional vote to break a tie, if necessary.
• Quorum: The quorum for the Committee meetings shall be fifty percent (50%). For the General Body meetings, the quorum shall be ten percent (10%) of the total voting members. In any meeting if the quorum is not met, the presiding officer shall adjourn the meeting and schedule the meeting within two weeks thereafter. The next meeting shall not require any quorum.
• Meetings: The General Body meeting shall be held at least once a year to appraise the members of the progress and problems of the Association.
• Certain cases and situation may arise, with regard to which specific provisions do not exists in this text. Such cases and situations shall be dealt with in accordance with generally accepted democratic principles.
• Rules of Order: The general procedure of the meetings of this Association shall be in harmony with the principles set forth in Mr. Chairman, Roberts Rule of Order. Newly revised, this shall be the final authority as to parliamentary procedure, in so far as they do not conflict with the provisions of this Constitution and By-Laws.
• Any amendments to the Constitution or the By-Laws become effective only after it is printed and typed and distributed to all the Committee members and are available to members on request