Each year, the By-laws Committee meets to determine if any changes need to be proposed to the membership for a By-laws change or amendment. This year is no exception.

For those of you who don’t know exactly what Bylaws are, they are the foundation of an organization. They are like the blueprint for a house. The blueprint will show where the kitchen and bathrooms are going to be placed but they do not explain how to install the pipes for the plumbing. Therefore, Bylaws don’t specify how an event is going to be done or even specifically name an event (excluding the Board of Director Meetings and the  Annual Business Meeting and Election. When and how an event is going to run are found in the guidelines, procedures or operations manuals. Keeping that in mind, if you have a suggestion for a By-law change, please provide your recommended change to me by July 12.

Time is of the essence. Your recommended change needs to be reviewed by the By-laws Committee and possibly legal counsel to ascertain if the change will violate any state or federal law. If the suggestion is determined to be valid, it will be included on the election ballot for the membership to cast their ultimate acceptance or rejection. If you need to review the current By-laws, a copy is available on the OCWS website at www.ocws.org.

If you decide to submit a recommendation, please indicate:

· The affected article and section number.

· The suggested change.

· Your justification/rationale for the change.

Feel free to contact me personally if you should have any questions or need help with your By-law recommendation change. My phone number is 714.964.3881 or you can contact me via e-mail at richard@ocws.org.

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Richard Ward

By-Law Chairperson