OWSA Constitution & By-Laws

Revised 1/2010

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of the NAAWS Chapter for the State of Ohio shall be the Ohio Wardens’ and Superintendents’ Association.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

1. To provide an Association representative of those individuals and agencies
   including state and federal, who are engaged in the administration and
   management of adult/juvenile correctional facilities in Ohio.

2. The primary purpose, interests and concern of the Association and its membership
   is to insure that the community is protected through incarceration and commitment
   of offenders and to carry out the mandate of the sentencing courts by providing
   safe, humane places for staff to work and for offenders to serve their sentences,
   insuring the protection of those basic civil rights guaranteed by the constitution.

3. The Association shall promote the establishment and development of sound
   correctional practice to minimize the negative impact of incarceration and
   commitment by providing a variety of educational, vocational training, employment
   and counseling experiences to facilitate change in offenders who want to improve
   themselves.

4. The Association shall promote a closer relationship between its members and the
   various Ohio affiliates of the American Correctional Association. The Association
   will also foster mutual understanding among the components of the city, county,
   state and federal agencies which comprise the criminal justice system in order to
   define and achieve mutual goals and objectives.

5. The Association shall facilitate an exchange of ideas and information among its
   members by direct communication, sponsoring meetings and publishing its official
   newsletter.


ARTICLE III – ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION

1. The Association is an affiliate body of the North American Association of Wardens
   and Superintendents.

2. The Association shall have such Officers and Directors as are designated in the By-
   Laws of this Association.

3. The Association shall be funded through membership fees, fundraising, gifts and
   grants.

4. There shall be no provision, either implied or expressed, for borrowing funds
   against future income.

5. The Association is not organized for profit and no part of the funds of the
   Association shall benefit any Officer or Individual Member. No Officer or
   Individual Member of the Association shall be entitled to receive any income of any
   kind, except reasonable compensation for services rendered to or for the
   Association

6. In the event of liquidation or dissolution of the Association, no Officer or
   Individual Members of the Association, nor any other individual shall be entitled to
   share in the distribution of the assets of the Association. In such event,
   ownership of all property and assets remaining after payment of all necessary
   expenses of liquidation or dissolution shall be distributed as seen fit by the
   Terminating Executive Committee to other legitimate organization(s) of similar
   objectives.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

Individuals shall be admitted to membership in the Chapter as provided by the By-Laws.

ARTICLE V – AMENDMENTS

The Constitution may be amended by a mail or e-mail ballot vote of two-thirds of those members who respond, provided that a copy of the proposed change has been forwarded to all members of the Association in writing or by publishing in the official publication of the Association at least ninety days prior to the date of the deadline for mail ballots to be submitted for count.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I – MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership in the Ohio Chapter shall be open to individuals who subscribe to the
   statements set forth in Article II, 1-5 of the Constitution of this Chapter, and who
   meet the membership requirements of this Association as set forth in the By-Laws
   of the Association. Every Member shall pay the appropriate amount of dues for
   their membership classification.

2. Any person joining the Chapter as a new member shall, upon payment of
   appropriate dues for this membership classification, be a paid-up member for one
   year, with dues being required in the same month of the following year.

3. Classification

   a.   Active: The classification of membership is open to any person who is or was a
         Warden, Superintendent, Deputy Warden or Deputy Superintendent (or
         equivalent of any) at a correctional facility. This includes voting privilege, right
         to hold office, regular issues of the official publication, certificate of
         membership, and open invitation to all membership meetings, training
      opportunities and activities of the Chapter.

b.   Affiliate: This classification of membership is open to all qualified persons who
      are employed in or affiliated with the corrections profession who concur with
      the purpose and intent of the Chapter. An affiliate member shall not have voting
      privileges or hold office.

   4. Membership Fees

      a.   Dues for active and affiliate membership shall be determined by the Executive
      Board of the Chapter.

b. Membership fees are non-refundable.

ARTICLE II – MEETINGS

1. The Chapter shall hold annual meetings as called by the President. The exact time and place to be determined by the President.

2. Written notice of each meeting stating the place, date and hour of the meeting shal
   be mailed to each active Member.

3. At each meeting of the Members, every active and affiliate Member who has paid annual dues for the current year shall be entitled to vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the Members. Any action to be taken requires a majority vote of the Members present unless otherwise required by the Constitution or By-Laws of the Association.

4. The order of business at meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors shall be determined by the President of the Association, or such person as the President may designate, in accordance with standard parliamentary procedure. In case of question, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern.

ARTICLE III – ELECTIONS

1. Nominations and installation of officers will occur at the conference.

2. Only active members may hold office.

3. The slate of candidates shall be published and disseminated by the President to all
members approximately six days after the nomination process. A majority vote of
active members shall elect candidates to the Ohio Chapter.

   4. All candidates must be Active Members of the Ohio Chapter.

ARTICLE IV – MANAGEMENT

1. The Active and Affiliate Membership shall elect a Present, Vice-President, a
   Secretary, a Treasurer and a Sergeant-At-Arms.

2. The Past-President shall serve as part of the management team for the two-year
term following his/her term as President.

3. There shall be a Board of Directors appointed by the President to serve in an
advisory capacity to the Officers of the Association.

4. All elected Officers must be Members in good standing of the Chapter to hold
office. A Member, other than an Officer or Director, shall be in good standing when
the Association’s annual dues are paid for the current year.

5. In the event of vacancies occurring in an elected position, the following shall
prevail:

a. The order of succession for a vacancy in the Office of President shall be: Vice-
   President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms, and immediate past President.

b. Vacancies in elected Officer positions shall be filled by appointment by the
Elected Officers for the balance of the unexpired term.

6. Terms of elected Officers shall be for a two-year term.

7. No elected Officer may serve more than two terms in the same office.


ARTICLE VI – ELECTED OFFICERS

The following shall represent the primary duties of the elected officers of the Association.

1. The President is empowered to speak on behalf of the Association to the media and
other agencies on critical issues after consultation with a majority of the Officers. The President may delegate the duties of editor of the Newsletter to an active Member.

2. The Vice-President shall be responsible for duties as assigned by the President. The Vice President acts in the absence of the President.

3. The Secretary shall serve as the official Record-Keeper of the Chapter by taking minutes of all official meetings of the Association, its Officers. These minutes shall be printed and read by the Secretary at the Annual meeting of the Association. Copies of all official minutes will be made available to any Member in good standing by the Secretary upon request. The Secretary shall insure that the Constitution and By-Laws are current.

4. The Treasurer shall: Receive and authorize disbursement of all funds for the Association; keep up-to-date records of receipts and disbursements. The Treasurer shall close the Books on June 1st of each year, and submit reports to all Officers and Board of Directors of the Association. The Treasurer shall collect annual dues. At the end of the term the Treasurer’s books will be audited.

ARTICLE VII

No funds of the Chapter shall be loaned to any Officer of the Chapter; or to any Association or other entity in which an Officer of the Association holds an interest. However, elected Officers are authorized through the Treasurer to expend the funds of the Association to carry out the official duties of the elected Office.

ARTICLE VIII

The Newsletter of the Chapter shall be published at least annually. Distribution shall be to all dues-paying members of the Association and to such other persons or agencies as are designated by the Officers and Board. The President may appoint the Editor.

Revised 1/2010