March 2011
Joint Committee Scores Big Win in DC Council by Ronald R. Stinson PRP, CP-T National Association of Parliamentarians and Mary Remson PRP, CP-T American Institute of Parliamentarians
Table of Contents Annual Session
1, 5
Contacts
2
Contributions
7
Exam Deadlines
6
New Members
7
Newsletter Deadlines
2
President’s Letter
1
Practicums
3
Silent Gavels
7
Upcoming Events
2
West Coast Practicum
6
We are pleased to jointly announce a major legislative victory won by the American Institute of Parliamentarians, National Association of Parliamentarians, and the American College of Parliamentary Lawyers in Washington, DC. This win was scored December 21, 2010, when the DC city council passed a comprehensive corporation act which recognized the rights of member-governed not-for-profit organizations. Working with local AIP and NAP members, the Joint Committee on Public Policy (a joint venture between AIP and NAP, with the participation of the Robert’s Rules Association) drafted and advocated for modifications to the new law which codified many of the protections for
members found in parliamentary authorities and which excluded these organizations from certain statutory requirements that were not consistent with the democratic nature of their governance structure. The joint committee organized the Coalition of Democratic Process which included the National Bar Association and several community organizations to promote the legislation locally. The committee is now targeting other jurisdictions across the United States to ensure that these rights become mainstays for memberdriven not for profits. The new language approved by the council has many benefits for member-governed organizations. It recognizes the authority of the members in such areas as elections, setting (Continued to page 4)
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Celebrations Happy New Year! There is an age old tradition of making New Year resolutions however I’m not sure how many still practice this tradition. Just between me and you, I make a resolution every year. This year, I want to be healthier and maybe lose a few pounds, but those are very personal goals which I hope last past Valentine’s Day. As we begin this New Year, we can celebrate the success of a joint partnership that American Institute of Parliamentarians and National Association of Parliamentarians have with The
March 2011
by Mary Remson, CP-T, PRP Coalition for Democratic Process. This is a very dynamic group of AIP and NAP members who have joined together to successfully add and modify language to the Subpart D Member-Governed Corporations of the DC Non-Profit Code. This group of committed members worked tirelessly to make a difference and they were successful. Please join with me to congratulate this team. Please review a more in-depth article which describes their excellent work in greater detail elsewhere in this newsletter. We are very excited to make available to the members and the general public for sale several historical parliamentary books and pamphlets from the AIP archives. Many of (Continued to page 4)
AIP Communicator