L.C.P.T.A. Bylaws
Article One Membership
Section 1. Membership shall be open to any person in the city and environs of Lake Charles who is professionally and currently engaged in the teaching of the piano.
Section 1a. College piano majors may hold student membership upon payment of student affiliate dues. Such members will not have voting privileges and cannot hold office.
Section 2. Members of this association shall agree to abide by and uphold all policies and procedures set forth in the constitution and bylaws of Lake Charles Piano Teachers Association (LCPTA), Louisiana Music Teachers Association (LMTA), and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).
Section 3. New members may be proposed to the membership chairman by a member in good standing. The membership chairman will obtain complete written information concerning the qualifications of the applicant.
Article Two Officers
Section 1. The officers of this association shall include a President, 1 or 2 Vice-Presidents depending on need, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, and a Webmaster, each for a one-year term, and a Treasurer for a term of two years.
Section 2. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the officers named in Article Two, Section 1, plus the immediate past President. The Executive Committee shall deal with matters of planning and policy. Any action of the Executive Committee shall be subject to review and approval by the full membership.
Section 3. The duties of each officer shall be as follows:
President: To represent the association in all public relations and contacts with other organizations and individuals, and to keep records of all written correspondence in the Presidential notebook. To set the agenda and preside at all meetings. To provide membership with information about upcoming meetings and events via e-mail.
Co-Vice-President: To assist the President at all times and to assume the duties of the President on occasion of the President’s unavoidable absence. To provide programs and hosts for all regular business meeting.
Recording Secretary: To keep the minutes of all regular and Executive Committee meetings and to keep a running notebook of the minutes. To provide copies of minutes to the Executive Committee via e-mail within 2 weeks of meetings.
Corresponding Secretary: To handle all official correspondence of the association. To serve as liaison with media outlets.
Treasurer: To receive and disperse all funds belonging to the association and to be responsible for the bank account. To assist the Corresponding Secretary with current member information.
Article Three Meetings
Section 1. The Association shall hold a monthly meeting or activity from September through May.
Section 2. A monthly meeting or event may be canceled or omitted by action of the Executive Committee. Monthly meetings may be neither canceled nor omitted in two consecutive months except in the time of public emergency or very unusual circumstances.
Article Four Elections
Section 1. Election of officers shall be held at final meeting of the year.
Section 2. Nomination of officers shall be made by a nominating committee not less than one month prior to election, or at the last regular meeting prior to the election. Additional nominations from the floor may be made at the time of the election.
Section 3. Officers shall assume their duties fifteen days after election.
Article Five Monetary Obligations
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall have power to set local dues for a period of one year, to be approved by a majority of members at the next regular meeting.
Section 2. Dues, payable through MTNA, must be paid by the July 1 MTNA deadline in order to participate in LMTA District Rally. Exceptions will be made for transfer and new members.
Section 3. Each member is required to send at least three students to participate in the yearly festival used as a fund raiser for our scholarship, or the monetary equivalent as set by the Festival Committee.
Amended during 1996-1997 as follows: Although there is no required minimum number of entries, all members who teach piano are expected to participate in the annual festival by entering as many students as possible.
Article Six Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this constitution may be adopted by not less than a 2/3 majority vote of the members in good standing.
Section 2. Before an amendment shall be proposed for adoption, it shall be studied by a Constitutional Committee appointed by the President. This committee shall be composed of five persons of whom three shall be regular members in good standing and two shall be members of the Executive Committee.