Constitution Of The Liberian Community Association Washington, DC Chapter

PREAMBLE

CONSCIOUS of our role as Liberians, and convinced that we can make a positive contribution to the society in which we now live, learn and work;

AWARE of the need to take advantage of the many opportunities for the enhancement of our lives and general well-being in the United States of America;

MINDFUL of our individual limitations in attempting to cope with the requirements of life in a foreign land;

CONVINCED of the need to create a framework wherein issues and problems relating to our welfare as well as the needs and aspirations of our people at home and abroad can be examined and collective views and opinions responsibly articulated, and

DESIROUS of more effectively providing for these needs, adequately meeting all obligations and securing all benefits customarily derived from close association, unity, cooperation and solidarity, in conjunction with the pooling of individual and collective resources,

WE the people of Liberia residing in the Washington Metropolitan Area have assembled, formally constituted ourselves into an organization for these purposes and hereby promulgate the following fundamental organic laws:

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of this organization shall be : The Liberian Community Association of the Washington Metropolitan Area, hereinafter referred to as the Liberian Community Association or the LCA or
“organization.”

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.        Full membership in the LCA shall be opened to all Liberian citizens and/or nationals residing in the Washington Metropolitan Area and those related to these individuals by reason of marriage.  However, individuals who are no longer married to a Liberian, but continues to have interest in the association, may retain his/her membership.

Section 2.        The LCA may, in recognition of distinguished service and support to the organization by individuals not ordinarily considered as eligible for membership, confer the title of “Honorary Member.”  Such a designation shall remain purely ceremonial; particular privileges consequent to the title shall not include the right to vote or hold office in the LCA.  Such individuals can and may serve in an advisory capacity and/or on ad-hoc committees.

ARTICLE III

ORGANS AND OFFICERS

Section 1.        The principal organs of the Association shall be: a) Association Assembly;

b) Executive Council; and c) a Board of Directors, comprising of no less than five (5), or no more than seven (7) members.

Section 2.        The Association Assembly: The assembly shall be composed of all the members of the

      
                        Association, and shall be the highest decision-making body of the LCA.

2.1       The Assembly shall meet once every three months or quarterly (April, July, October, and January) for regular business meetings. Special business meetings of the Assembly may be convened upon petition of at least two-third (2/3) of its membership in good standing, at the request of the Executive Council, or at the discretion of the President of the LCA.

2.2       Only the Assembly shall have the exclusive power to elect or impeach the elected officers and the Board of Directors.

2.3       Two-thirds (2/3) of the members in good standing, either present or by way of a proxy, at a general assembly meeting may amend the constitution of the LCA, provided that the thirty (30) days notice requirement is fulfilled.

2.4       The Assembly shall receive all approve plans for the financial operations and management (operating policies and procedures) of the Board of Directors. The Board shall present said plans to the assembly, and shall respond to all questions and/or concerns generated by the assembly. It may also take up any matter relating to the welfare or role of the LCA fir discussion and disposition at any of its regular business meeting of special business meeting convened for the purpose, as presented by the Executive Council or the President.

2.5       The Assembly shall decide all matters before it by a simple majority vote of those members present and voting, except in the case of constitutional amendments where a two-third (2/3) affirmative vote of the members shall be required. The Assembly’s officers shall be the executive officers provided for in this Constitution.

Section 3.        The Executive Council: The Executive Council shall consist of the following executive officers: a) a President, b) a Vice President, c) a General Secretary, 
d) a Financial Secretary,  and e) a Treasure. It shall also consist of those selected by the President to serve as Committees heads.

3.1       The Council shall have business meetings as often as it deems necessary, but it must meet at least once a month for a business session. Meetings of the Council may be convened either as describe above or sorely at the discretion of the President. In all its deliberations a simple majority vote shall be decisive in the disposition of issues before the Council.

3.2       The LCA President and General Secretary shall be the Chief Presiding Officer and Secretary of the Council respectively. The Council may establish such other offices and committees, internal or external to itself, as may be necessary to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.

3.3       In the interim, (between general assembly meetings) the Executive Council shall handle all matters of the LCA in consultation of the Board of Directors.

3.4       The Executive Council shall approve the appointment of all committees and non-elected officers as presented by the President for the implementation of the provisions and intentions of this constitution.

3.5       The President, in the capacity of chief presiding officer of the Executive Council, may exercise any other power not reserve to any other agency of the LCA and that are deemed necessary for the effective functioning of the LCA; and the Council shall be held accountable to the assembly for duties and powers vested in it by the constitution.

3.6       The Executive Council shall at any time, present a resolution of grievances to the Board of Directors against any one of its member(s), who is deemed to be in violation of his/her duties and responsibilities, or the constitution of the LCA.

3.7       Elected Officer of the Executive Council shall receive a stipend, to be established by the Board of Directors, in an effort to facilitate their roles and functions, respectively, on behalf of the LCA.

Section 4.        Board of Directors:  The Board of Directors of the LCA shall comprise not less than five(5) nor more than seven(7) members elected by the general assembly of the Association.

                        4.1       Members of the Board shall be nominated by members in good standing for election by the Association.

4.1a     Members if the Board shall serve for a period of two (2) years. However, they can be reelected to no more than 2 conservative terms based on their merits.

4.1b     Election of Members of the Board shall occur in alternating years of the election of Executive Officers.

                        4.2       The Board shall have oversight responsibility of the Executive Council.

4.2a     The Board shall receive, review, and approve all programs presented by the Executive Council.

4.3       The Board shall have the power to approve special legislation submitted by the Executive Council in the event it is impractical to convene a meeting of the Association.

Section 5.        President: The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer Primary/Senior officer of the LCA, and accordingly, shall be held accountable to the LCA for the general conduct of the affairs of the LCA. Only members with a record of at least one year of service as an officer (elected or appointed) of the LCA shall be eligible to assume the office of the President.

                        5.1       The President shall propose (or cause to be proposed) specific programs and activities pursuant to the general objectives of the LCA, and shall submit periodic and an annual (official) reports to the Executive Council and Association n the performance of these programs, and the general affairs of the association.

                        5.2       The president shall supervise, coordinate and direct the activities of all officers, committees, and organization of the LCA. In this connection, the President shall have authority to secure oral and/or written reports from any officer or committee on the conduct the duties assigned. The President shall receive annual report form all elected officers prior to the submission of his/her annual report. All annual report must be written.

                        5.3       The President shall approve all vouchers and sign all checks payable for services rendered to goods purchased for the LCA.

                        5.4       The President shall appoint all non-elected officers as well as committees of the LCA, in consultation with the Executive Council.

                        5.5       The President shall perform all other functions, ceremonial or substantive, traditionally associated with the head of an organization, consistent with provisions of this Constitution.

Section 6.        Vice President : The President shall assist the President in the administration of the LCA and the implementation of its major program objectives. The Vice President shall be charged with the responsibilities of directing the operations of the departments of the LCA, as assigned by the President.

                        6.1       The Vice President shall be the second highest-ranking officer of the LCA, and as such shall preside over all meetings in the absence of the President. In case of the President’s resignation, impeachment, incapacity, or death, the Vice President shall immediately assume the duties of the Presidency…in case..

Section 7.        General Secretary: The General Secretary shall be charged with maintenance of the official records and correspondence of the LCA.

                        7.1       The General Secretary shall maintain the current official roster of the membership of the LCA and the list of members present at each meeting of the Association assembly as well as the Executive Council.

                        7.2       The General Secretary shall arrange for as well as maintain a pictorial record of the major events and activities of the LCA and provide for storage and retrieval.

                        7.3       The General Secretary shall be the principal secretary to the President of the LCA. The General Secretary shall receive all correspondence for tha attention of the President and the Association and prepare all replies as may be directed. All official communication from the secretary of the LCA shall be done by the approval of the President.

                        7.4       The General Secretary shall be assisted by as many appointed subordinates as may be needed to effectively execute the duties and functions of the office.

Section 8.        Financial Secretary: The Financial Secretary shall be charged with all matters directly pertaining to the finances of the LCA.

                        8.1       The Financial Secretary shall organize and execute the collection of all regular membership dues, fees, and special assessments, report delinquency, maintain a record of revenues and expenditures, and submit periodic reports on the general financial standing of the LCA.

                        8.2       The Treasures shall deposit all funds and other negotiable instruments of the LCA into the LCA’s official banking institution, within 48 hours or the following banking day, of the receipt and maintain the liaison between this bank and the LCA.

                        8.3       The Financial Secretary shall prepare and sign all vouchers for presidential signature, expenditure and issue all checks in amount authorized.

                        8.4       The Financial Secretary and Treasure shall provide leadership in the development of revenue generating proposals; organize and supervise the collection of gate receipt of fund raising activities, and devise systems and procedures for the efficient management of the LCA’s finances.

                        8.5       The Financial Secretary shall, with the assistance of the needed appointed subordinates, perform all other functions by the Constitution.

Section 9.        The Executive Officers and members of the Board of Directors shall be elected by secret ballot from among those nominated as candidates for each office, or as need arises.

                        9.1       The candidate for each office receiving the highest number of votes cast by the members present and voting shall be declared elected.

                        9.2       Incase of a tie vote, the procedure laid down in the By-laws (section 1D), pursuant to this article shall be followed.

Section 10.      The term of office shall normally be 2 (two) years, beginning in the month of January, following the election year. No elected officer shall be eligible to hold the same position beyond two consecutive terms.

Section 11.      General elections shall be held no later than the month of November following election year. The new officers shall assume office immediately following the installation, which must occur within 60 (sixty) days following election (termination of the meeting at which they were elected and shall serve until the successors are chosen).

Section 12.      In the event of death, impeachment, or resignation of any executive officer, the President shall be empowered to fill said vacancy for the duration of the un-expired term.

ARTICLE IV
DUES AND ASSESSMENTS

Section 1.        The regular dues for the LCA shall be $50.00(United States currency) per year; this amount is payable either in one sum at the first regular business meeting of the Association or in two installments of $12.50 each. However, dues must be paid in full in or before April 30th of each year. A penalty of $5.00(five dollars) will be leined upon all dues received after the April 30th deadline.

Section 2.        The Executive Committee, with the consent of the Board of Directors, shall impose special assessments upon members of the LCA to finance specific activities or budgetary deficits.

Section 3.        Members whose financial obligations are not met for an entire administrative year (Calendar Year: January – December) shall be denied the right to vote, hold office or enjoy any services provided by the LCA until delinquency is removed.

ARTICLE V
BANKING

Section 1.        The LCA shall maintain an account at a recognized banking institution within the limits of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area for safe custody of its funds and other negotiable instruments and items of value.

Section 2.        The nature of the account, its subdivisions and management procedures shall be determined by the Financial Secretary, the Treasure, and the President in consultation with the Board of Directors.

Section 3.        Signatures to ALL LCA bank accounts shall be the Presidents, Treasure, and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENTS

Section 1.        This Constitution may be amended at any regular business meeting of the Association Assembly by a two- thirds (2/3) aff8rjatve vote of the members present, in good standing, provided a copy of the proposed amendment was supplied to each members along with the official citation of Thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which this proposed amendment would be voted upon.

ARTICLE VII
VOTING

Section 1.        All registered member(s) of the LCA shall have the right to vote. Members desirous of holding office in the LCA must have been a registered member, in good standing, for a period of no less than twelve months prior to the date of elections.

Section 2.        For the purpose of this Constitution, god standing shall be defined as current on due and levy payments as well as a good attendance and participation record.

ARTICLE VIII
BY-LAWS AND STANDING RULES

Selection 1.      Elections:

                        1.1       The election of officers for the LCA shall be held every two years, no later than the month of November. Election Commission shall be appointed by the President in August of the election year to handle everything pertaining thereto. The election Committee shall function under the supervision of the Board of Directors in consultation with the General Assembly.

                        1.2       The Election Commission shall be comprised of not more than seven members and not less than five.

                        1.3       The Election Commission shall draw its “Uniformed Rules”, procedures, and guidelines for elections in compliance with the Constitution and by-laws of the LCA.

                        1.4       Tie-vote: In case of a tie vote, the candidate with the longest record of membership, in good standing, wins by default.

Section 2.        Mandatory Requirements: All Official documents, including financial records and assets, along with a semi annual report of the: LCA must be submitted to the Board of Directors thirty (30) days to the date prior for election.

Selection 3.      Quorum: One third (1/3) of the membership present, in good standing, and voting shall constitute a quorum.

Selection 4.      Impeachment: Any elected officer of the LCA who acts in violation of the Constitution of the LCA shall be impeached. In such a case, such violation(s) should be properly documented and reported to the Board of Directors, which shall appoint a committee to institute an investigation and make recommendation(s) to the Association within thirty (30) days. A two-third (2/3) vote of those present at such an assembly will be required to carry out the impeachment. If findings of such investigation(s) are not presented after a period of thirty (30) days, the process shall be considered null and void.

Selection 5.      Membership: Section 3 (pg. 2) defines duties, rights and privileges.

                        5.1       Duties: It shall be the duty of each member to the association to attend all meetings and pay the annual dues.

                        5.2       Rights: Each members of the LCA, who is in good standing is eligible to vote, exercise the right privileges to free speech, and may seek nomination and election to any office of the Association. Each member shall benefit from programs and activities sponsored by the Association and shall enjoy all other rights and Privileges provided by the Constitution.