By-Laws of the Montana
Professional Photographers Association

Article 1

Election of Officers and Directors

Section 1. At the annual membership meeting the presiding officer shall ask for nominations by the nominating

committee, which will consist of the Past Presidents in attendance, for Second Vice-President and any vacancies on

the Board of Directors. The Second Vice-President shall automatically advance to First Vice-President and the First

Vice-President shall become President.  Nominations for Second Vice-President may be made from the floor only after the

nominating committee has made its nomination.  A nominee for Second Vice-President must have served for two (2) years as an active member of the Board of Directors to be eligible for election.  The nominations duly made shall be voted upon by written secret ballot at the annual meeting. The candidate for Second Vice-President receiving the majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected.  Nominations for Directors may be made from the floor only after the nominating committee has made its nominations. The nominations duly made shall be voted upon by written secret ballot at the annual membership meeting. The candidates for directors receiving the highest votes shall be declared elected as directors, and they, together with the retiring President, shall be admitted to office on the Board of Directors. Two directors will be elected for a term of one year, two directors will be elected for a term of two years and one director will be elected for a term of three years.

Section 2. The officers and directors, so elected, together with the immediate past president, shall constitute the

Board of Directors and shall meet within one week after the annual membership meeting and assume the duties of

their respective offices. They shall be publicly installed into their respective offices during the annual Awards Banquet.

Section 3. The Secretary will be a board member appointed by the president. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to

attend all meetings of the Board and the annual membership meeting. The secretary will keep record of attendance at

meetings and will record and preserve the minutes of such meetings.

Section 4. The Board of Directors will appoint a Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to maintain and

manage all funds and financial accounts for MPPA in a manner approved by the Board of Directors. This includes

checking, savings and investment accounts. An MPPA past president, approved by the board, will also be on the

signature card of record in case the Treasurer is unavailable or incapacitated. The Treasurer will oversee any firm

hired by the Board of Directors to do bookkeeping and filing of appropriate tax forms. The Treasurer is the contact

person for the IRS. Upon demand all appropriate reports and records must be made available to the Board of

Directors or any MPPA member. The Treasurer shall also perform such other duties pertaining to this office.

Section 5. The Board of Directors shall hire a Business Manager for a three-year term renewable annually, to run

concurrent with the fiscal year. Business Manager’s salary and/or expenses to be paid by MPPA as deemed

necessary. It shall be the duty of the Business Manager to attend all meetings of the Board and the annual

membership meeting. Also, to keep the records of membership, send out notices of meetings of the Association,

Board of Directors and Committees, handle printed and written material including mailings as deemed necessary by

the Board. The Business Manager will maintain the association office, store association assets and literature. This

position will also be the affiliate liaison and contact person for PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and the

State of Montana. Upon retirement, resignation or dismissal from office, he/she shall turn over to his/her successor,

or to the association, all association property in his/her possession.

Section 6. In the event of a vacancy on the Board of Directors or any office, the remaining members of the Board

will fulfill the duties of the vacated position(s).

Section 7. One shall have been an active member for at least two consecutive years to be eligible to serve on the

Board of Directors.

Article 2

Duties of officers

Section 1. President: It shall be the duty of the President to preside over all meetings of the association and Board

of Directors and to perform such other duties ordinarily pertaining to the office.

Section 2. First Vice-President: It shall be the duty of the First Vice-President to preside over meetings of the

association and Board of Directors in the absence of the President and to perform such other duties ordinarily

pertaining to the office.

Section 3. Second Vice-President: It shall be the duty of the Second Vice-President to preside over meetings of the

association and Board of Directors in the absence of the President and First Vice-President and to perform such other

duties ordinarily pertaining to the office.

Article 3

Meetings

Section 1. Annual Membership Meeting: The annual membership meeting of this association shall be held once a

year, at a date to be fixed each year by the Board of Directors, at which time the election of officers and directors to

serve for the ensuing year shall take place.

Section 2. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the active membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual membership

meeting of this association.

Section 3. A majority of the Board members shall constitute a quorum (51%) of the Board of Directors.

Section 4. Any member of the Executive Board or any three Board members may force a Board of Directors

meeting. The executive board shall consist of the President, First Vice President and Second Vice President.

Article 4

Dues

Section 1. The amount and due date of all annual dues and fees shall be decided upon annually at a meeting of the

Board of Directors. The membership shall be notified by the best means possible of such dues and due dates. The

board may assess additional fees as deemed necessary.

Section 2. Five dollars ($5.00) of the dues collected from active and associate members shall be placed in a special

fund called the MPPA Education Investment Fund. The disbursement of the MPPA Education Investment Fund shall

be done in a manner prescribed by Article 10.

Article 5

Method of Voting

The business of this organization shall be transacted by voice vote except the election of Officers and Directors,

which shall be by written secret ballot. In the event a clear majority cannot be determined by voice vote, any voting

member may request a show of hands or written vote.

Article 6

Committees

The President shall, subject to approval of the Board of Directors, appoint the following committees: Membership,

Program, Audit and By-Laws and Constitution. All committee members will be members of the MPPA in good

standing. These committees should be appointed at the first board of directors meeting following the annual

membership meeting in which the president was elected. The president may appoint additional committees as

needed.

Article 7

Duties of Committees

Section 1. Membership Committee: This committee shall investigate the character, business, social standing and

general eligibility of persons applying for membership in a timely manner and shall report their findings on all

applications to the Board of Directors.

Section 2. Program Committee: This committee shall prepare and arrange programs for the annual membership

meeting and additional special meetings. They shall prepare and arrange such social functions as may be directed by

the Board of Directors or President.

Section 3. The Audit Committee: This committee consists of three (3) members appointed by the President. A

member of the Board of Directors, an Active member and a Past President shall be named to this committe. An audit

shall be conducted once a year, prior to the annual membership meeting, for the 12 month period running from the

months March to March. The results of this audit shall be given to the President and available to all members.

Section 4. The Constitution and By-Laws Committee: This committee shall consist of three (3) Past-Presidents

and shall meet, at a minimum, once every five (5) years. The By-Laws Committee may meet as deemed necessary

by the Committee or the Board of Directors. Members of this Committee shall be named by the current President.

Article 8

MPPA Education Investment Fund

Section 1. MPPA Education Investment Fund: This fund is strictly for the purpose of furthering educational

opportunities for MPPA members. It will be a professionally managed and administered fund with guidelines set

forth by a formal investment policy adopted and adhered to by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. An advisory committee consisting of three (3) MPPA members in good standing shall oversee the MPPA

Education Investment Fund. These three (3) members shall be the current MPPA President, one active Member for a

term of three years and one MPPA Past President for a term of five years. This committee is responsible for the

fiscal oversight and monetary awards of the MPPA Education Investment Fund, including fund raising proceeds.

Two Committee members will be elected by the general membership at the annual membership meeting. The current

President will assume the third position by virtue of their position. MPPA election and voting policies will apply to

such election.

Section 3. Disbursements or awards from the MPPA Education Investment Fund will be at the request of the MPPA

Board of Directors and granted by a majority vote of the Committee. Only qualified requests will be considered.

Qualifying requests may be funded for: Scholarship, Training/ Educational seminars or related expenses for

providing such educational opportunities to MPPA members (travel, lodging, materials, etc.) or any other reason

perceived as educational for MPPA members by the Fund Committee.

Section 4. The MPPA Education Investment Fund Committee will have no direct access to the fund. The Board of

Directors may not make disbursements without Committee approval and only then for the amount approved. There

will be no separate financial account (checking, savings or secondary investment account) for the purpose of the

MPPA Education Investment Fund. All disbursements will go directly to the MPPA Treasurer for deposit into the

general MPPA account for distribution.

Section 5. Under no circumstances will the MPPA Education Investment Fund principle (including reinvestments)

be withdrawn or used as collateral except to transfer funds to another investing institution. Transfer can only be

made by a majority of Fund Committee members and the MPPA Board of Directors. Disbursements will only be

made from the profits realized from the Investment Fund, or designated cash allocation, set forth by the Investment

Policy.

Section 6. The MPPA Education Investment Fund Committee will meet annually. The Committee will give reports

to the membership at the annual membership meeting. The $5.00 portion of MPPA annual dues, indicated in By-

Laws Article 4, Section 2, will be deposited into the fund annually within 30 days after the due date in which annual

dues must be paid.