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Camp
Fire USA 2005 Congress
The National
Leadership Conference provides many learning and networking
opportunities. However, it is also the time to conduct Camp
Fire USA's important business.
The Camp
Fire USA 2005 Congress, our voting house of delegates, convenes
on Sunday,
October 30, to elect national officers and
trustees, consider and adopt any proposed bylaws amendments,
and receive and dialogue about any proposed resolutions.
Please
carefully review the information below regarding the congress
resolutions process, credentials
and voting delegates and deadlines.
CONGRESS
RESOLUTIONS PROCESS
Councils
have two ways to propose resolutions to the national bylaws
and resolutions committee: during congress, provided that
they have the signatures of at least 25 delegates; and in
advance of congress for publication in the written Notice
of Annual Meeting. If your council
or a group of councils wishes to propose a resolution in advance
of the Camp Fire USA Congress, please consider these factors:
-
Get
one or more council cosponsors. At least two councils
must propose a resolution, and their boards must vote
on it. Council board presidents/chairs and secretaries
must sign resolutions.
-
Act
now. Resolutions for publication in the meeting notice
are due at National Headquarters no later than Friday,
July 15, 2005.
CREDENTIALS
AND VOTING DELEGATES
Each chartered
council and membership association of a licensee is a voting
member of the organization. If it is in good standing as of
the record date of eligibility (September 2005), it has the
privilege of voting at the congress meeting. To ensure qualified
and accredited representation for its constituency, the council
or membership association board of trustees has the responsibility
to:
- Appoint
or elect delegates and alternates (as stated in Article
Nine of the National Articles of Incorporation);
- Convey
the names and addresses of delegates, alternates and/or
proxies to the Executive Vice President-Secretary; and
- Provide
necessary information, registration materials and other
supplies to appointed delegates so that they may function
effectively.
CREDENTIALS
AND DELEGATES FORMS
Use
the appropriate business meeting forms below to report delegates,
alternates and proxies. The instructions for completing each
form are included.
Each PDF
form below can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat Reader. For
more information about Adobe Acrobat Reader and for a free
download, click
here.
The signature
of the president/board chair and secretary of your council
or membership association must appear on all forms.
It is imperative that you mail these forms to National Headquarters
no later than August 5, 2005.
You should
provide a copy of the duly-executed credentials form to each
delegate.
SELECTING
DELEGATES
It
is advisable to select delegates from among members who are
involved in your local decision-making structure. First preference
should be given to your leadership team—that is, the
president or chair, CEO/executive director, president-elect,
treasurer, nominating committee chair and a youth board member.
Youth
selected to be delegates should be chosen as you would choose
any other delegate, giving first consideration to those filling
leadership roles at the council. Other youth members attending
the NLC should have a strong interest in organizational leadership.
The unduplicated
participant count (all programs) that appears on the 2004
Financial Report is to be used for determining your number
of delegates. Be certain to insert that number in the appropriate
space on the Delegates Credentials Form. Even if your council's
2004 Financial Report is not ready for submission, insert
the accurate participation count and transmit the Delegates
Credentials Form to National Headquarters; do not delay the
submission of credentials information. Be certain, however,
that you report the same participant number on both the Financial
Report and the Delegates Credentials Form.
Remember,
delegate count is determined by increments of 1,000 participants
or fractions thereof. For example, if a council reports 2,500
participants, it is entitled to three (3) delegates, plus
one additional youth delegate. The youth member must be at
least 16 years of age, but no older than 20 years old in 2005
(i.e., birth date must not be earlier than January 1, 1985,
and no later than October 30, 1989). You may have more
than one youth in your delegation.
If, for
some reason, your council or licensee's membership association
is unable to send any delegates to the NLC, you are encouraged
to designate your one proxy to a delegate from another council
on the form that is provided. (If no one from your council
attends the NLC, your council is entitled to only one
proxy vote, regardless of how many participants you serve.)
You should be certain that the person to whom you assign your
proxy has been selected to be a delegate by his/her council
and has agreed to vote your proxy vote. (Note: A council
or membership association may cast a vote for no more than
one other council.) If your council or licensee is not sending
its allotted number of delegates to the NLC, you are encouraged
to designate the extra proxies to your delegates that will
be in attendance. (Note: An individual delegate may
cast only one proxy vote. The vote of the additional delegate
who is a youth may not be transferred to a proxy vote.)
ADVANCE
PREPARATION WITH DELEGATES
Within
a week before your delegation departs for the National Leadership
Conference, hold a meeting of all persons who will be attending,
whether they are delegates or nonvoting participants. Such
a meeting can help you to maximize the involvement of all
persons at the NLC.
In September,
supplies of the following items will be sent to the council
office for distribution and review at your NLC preparation
meeting:
- Official
Notice of Annual Meeting
- Guidelines
for Delegates
- Basic
Parliamentary Information Guide
- Guidelines
for On Site Resolutions (Note: See above
for the notice for submitting resolutions for publication
in the Notice of Annual Meeting.)
CREDENTIALS
AND DELEGATES DEADLINES
The deadline
for submitting delegates, alternates and proxy forms is August
5, 2005.
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