Winter 2009 issue
MAR CONSTITUTION PROPOSED CHANGES 2009
Deborah Benkovitz, LSW, MSW,MT-BC
ARTICLE IV- Officers
Current:
Section 3. The officers elected by the Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Music Therapy Students, hereinafter referred to as MARAMTS shall be the Student Affairs Advisory Board Representative and the Student Representative. The officer elected by the Assembly Delegates and Alternates shall be the Assembly of Delegates Chair, and will serve as an ex-officio member without the right to vote.
Proposed:
Section 3. The officers elected by the Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Music Therapy Students, hereinafter referred to as MARAMTS shall be the Student Affairs Advisory Board Representative and the Student Representative. The officer elected by the Assembly Delegates and Alternates shall be the Assembly of Delegates Chair
, and will serve as an ex-officio member without the right to vote.
Rationale: The status of the Assembly of Delegates Chair is already specified in Article V, Section 1 of the Constitution.
Current:
Section 4. The appointed officers of the Region shall be the Secretary, Editor of the official regional publication, Historian and the Parliamentarian.
Proposed:
Section 4. The appointed officers of the Region shall be the Secretary, Editor of the official regional publication, and Historian.
and the Parliamentarian.
Rationale: In order to be in compliance with Delaware law, the number of Executive Board (EB) members must be reduced from 16 members to 15 members. The EB discussed the impact of removing one of several positions, including the Historian, the Parliamentarian and the Newsletter Editor. It was agreed that the Historian and Newsletter Editor lend important historical and current perspectives to the Board, and their removal would be detrimental to Board discussions. It was also noted that the Parliamentarian, whose role and knowledge is very important, may still be a part of every Board meeting, and may also be invited to attend by the President in the event of a closed Board meeting. The role of the Parliamentarian need not change with removal of the Parliamentarian position as an officer.
Article V –Executive Board
Current:
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Board consisting of eleven (11) voting members: President, President-Elect, Vice President for Conference Planning, Vice President-Elect for Conference Planning, Vice President for Membership, Immediate Past-President, Treasurer, Student Affairs Advisory Board Representative (elected by MARAMTS), Government Relations Chair, Public Relations Chair, and Student Representative (elected by MARAMTS). The Secretary, Editor of the official regional publication, Parliamentarian, Historian, and Assembly of Delegates Chair (elected by Assembly Delegates and Alternates) shall be ex-officio members without the right to vote.
Proposed:
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Board consisting of eleven (11) voting members: President, President-Elect, Vice President for Conference Planning, Vice President-Elect for Conference Planning, Vice President for Membership, Immediate Past-President, Treasurer, Student Affairs Advisory Board Representative (elected by MARAMTS), Government Relations Chair, Public Relations Chair, and Student Representative (elected by MARAMTS). The Secretary, Editor of the official regional publication
, Parliamentarian, Historian, and Assembly of Delegates Chair (elected by Assembly Delegates and Alternates) shall be ex-officio members without the right to vote.
Rationale: Parliamentarian needs to be removed in order to be in compliance with Delaware law and the number of Executive Board members.
Article VI - National Assembly of Delegates
Current:
Section 1: Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Assembly of the American Music Therapy Association shall be elected by the Region. The number of Delegates is determined by directive of the National Executive Board. Their election and terms of office shall be specified in the Bylaws.
Proposed:
Section 1: Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Assembly of the American Music Therapy Association shall be elected by the Region. The number of Delegates is determined by directive of the AMTA Board of Directors
National Executive Board. Their election and terms of office shall be specified in the Bylaws.
Rationale: The National Executive Board is now called the AMTA Board of Directors. The rationale is consistency of language.
Article VIII- Regional Councils and Committees
Current:
Section 3. The Conference Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President for Conference Planning and shall include the Vice President-Elect for Conference Planning; the Conference Coordinator, the Exhibits Coordinator, the local co-hosts and the Continuing Music Therapy Education Coordinator.
Proposed:
Section 3. The Conference Council
Committeeshall be chaired by the Vice President for Conference Planning and shall include the Vice President-Elect for Conference Planning; the Conference Coordinator, the Exhibits Coordinator, the Local Host(s), the Continuing Music Therapy Education Coordinator and Registration Chair for Regional Conferences.
Rationale: First, deleting “committee” and using “council” for consistency throughout the document. Second, capitalizing “local” and “host” for consistency in the section. Third, using “Local Hosts(s)” rather than “local co-hosts” because there are times when there is only one host, and lastly, adding the new position of Registration Chair for the Regional Conference. The membership is being asked to consider adding a "Regional Registration Chair" to the Conference Council in order to streamline the conference registration process. As our conferences grow in size the demands placed on the local committee's registration have increased. The addition of this position would allow for continuity in the registration process, creation of a regional database, and improve the registration process for conference attendees.