USBA Adopts New Constitution
USBA Adopts New Constitution
- Published on Monday, 05 August 2013 10:50
Board Reduced from 13 to 7
Changes to Take Place in 2013 Election Cycle
The USBA has adopted a new constitution, which greatly simplifies the organization. According to USBA president Andy Janquitto, the original constitution contained many provisions that addressed day-to-day operation of the organization. As a result, the USBA constantly had to amend the constitution when it changed one of the operational rules. This proved to be unwieldy. “A constitution,” Janquitto explained, “should be a simple document that creates the organization, states the organization’s mission, and establishes, in broad strokes, the organization’s structure and basic operating principles. The constitution should be amended on rare occasion. An organization’s by-laws are more detailed and contain the day-to-day operating rules. The by-laws should be capable of amendment and modification as need arises. Our original constitution tried to do both.” In addition, Janquitto added, experience showed that the effective management of the organization could be accomplished by a smaller board of directors.
After extensive discussion, the USBA board decided more than a year ago to revise the original constitution by excising the provisions that were better suited for internal operating by laws. In the process, the USBA decided to streamline the organization by reducing the number of the board of directors from thirteen (13) to seven (7). This change will be instituted during the fall 2013 election cycle when USBA members will vote for a new board. The constitution also eliminates the direct election of a president and a secretary/treasurer. Instead, the 7 elected board members will elect a chairman, a secretary and a treasurer from among the 7 board members. A copy of the new constitution can be seen here. The USBA board is now working on finalizing its by-laws.
