MANITOBA ASSOCIATION FOR SCHOOLING AT HOME
BY-LAWS

August 2013

NAME
The name of the group is the Manitoba Association for Schooling at Home, hereafter referred to as MASH.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
MASH is a not for profit group dedicated to creating a sense of association among homeschoolers throughout the province of Manitoba.
MASH actively promotes and advocates homeschooling by providing information to the homeschooling community
MASH also works as a liaison between homeschoolers and the Government of Manitoba.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to anyone who agrees with the aims of the organization.

It is open to all faiths, philosophies and points of view.

A member is any person who has registered with MASH to receive homeschooling information, and who agrees with the aims and objectives of the organization.
Membership may be revoked at any time with an 80% agreement of the Advisory Team for reasons of misconduct, illegal activities, or the pursuance of issues or activities contrary to the objectives of the Association. The member or members affected shall be given notice of the termination.

ADVISORY TEAM
Subject to the provisions of the By-laws, the affairs and business of MASH shall be under the direction of the Advisory Team.

The Advisory Team will be responsible for communicating all matters of importance to the general membership. It shall adopt policies, long term plans, and budgets, and shall plan activities, appoint and assign duties to committees or individual members and shall do all other things necessary to conduct the business of MASH.

Members of the Advisory Team must be adult members of MASH.

There shall be a maximum of fifteen (15) members on the Advisory Team.

Members of the advisory team may be removed at any time by an 80% majority vote of the Advisory Team for reasons of misconduct, illegal activities, or the pursuance of issues or activities contrary to the objectives of the Association. The member or members affected shall be given notice of the intended termination and shall be entitled to address the next meeting of the Advisory Team before the making of any resolution on removal.

MEETINGS
The fiscal year for MASH shall be from September to August.

The Advisory Team shall have a minimum of 1 meeting per quarter of the year.

A quorum at any meeting of the Advisory Team shall consist of a simple majority of the number of members on the Team.

Any member of the Advisory Team who has not attended a meeting within 12 consecutive months will be considered to have resigned their position.
Advisory Team meetings shall be open to any interested members unless a meeting is deemed in-camera for reasons of privacy or sensitivity.

ELECTIONS PROCEDURES FOR THE ADVISORY TEAM
Members of the Advisory Team will be elected for a two (2) year term.

If the Advisory Team is at maximum capacity, the Team will maintain a waiting list of individuals interested in volunteering on the Advisory Team. When a position opens, due to resignation, or mandatory term length, the Advisory Team will elect new members first from the waiting list.

A newly elected member shall be limited to two consecutive, 2 year terms. At that time the member must resign if there are members on the waiting list. If there is no waiting list, the member may be elected and considered as a newly elected member.

Interested members must first attend a Advisory Team meeting and provide a letter of introduction to the team, in order to be considered for election or to be placed on the waiting list.

New members will be voted by secret ballot by the current Advisory Team members at their discretion based on the best interests of the association
Advisory Team members may be elected at any time during the year, which shall be considered their first year of term, but all re-elections to the Advisory Team will be held at the first meeting of each fiscal year.

POSITIONS
The Advisory Team shall, at its first meeting of the year, elect from its team, the following mandatory positions:
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Media Liaison
Government Liaison

These positions shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the Advisory Team.

When any vacancy occurs in one of these positions, the position shall be filled at the earliest opportunity by a majority vote of the Advisory Team.
President and Vice President must be filled by two separate Advisory Team members, while Treasurer, Secretary, Media liaison, and Government liaison, may be held separately or simultaneously with any of the other positions

If the positions of President and Vice President cannot be filled, the Advisory Team shall consider the association dissolved. All outstanding expenses shall be paid, contracts terminated and any remaining funds donated to Winnipeg Public Library.

The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer have signing authority for the disbursement of funds on behalf of MASH. Cheques shall be signed by any two of these officers.

DUTIES
The President shall preside at all meetings of the MASH membership and of the Advisory Team and shall ensure adherence to the bylaws. The President shall have general supervision of MASH affairs and shall be considered to be an ex-officio member of all committees. The President may vote on all matters and in case of a tie shall cast the deciding vote.

The Vice President shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President in the President’s absence and shall perform other duties as assigned by the Advisory Team.

The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds and keep such funds in a financial institution(s), issue receipts as required, and make disbursements. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all funds, prepare an annual report at the end of the fiscal year to be presented at the first meeting of the next year and provide any itemized report as requested by the Advisory Team.

The Secretary ensures that minutes are taken and kept for all meetings of the Advisory Team and committees and are easily available to all members of the Advisory Team. Minutes are comprised of a summary of decisions made and/or topics discussed. The secretary is also responsible maintaining and archiving all official MASH correspondence.

The Media Liaison or other members designated by the Advisory Team are the only individuals authorized to speak to the media on behalf of MASH.
The Government Liaison or other members designated by the Advisory Team are the only individuals authorized to interact with the Government on behalf of MASH.

COMMITTEES
The Advisory Team may appoint committees as it deems appropriate for the purpose of managing the affairs of MASH. Committees are subject to the direction of the Advisory Team.

Each committee shall include at least one member from the Advisory Team. Committee chairs must be members of MASH and may or may not be members of the Advisory Team.

Committees the Advisory Team may consider striking include but are not limited to:
Communications
Website
Special Events
Government Communications
Fund-raising/Advertising
Newsletter

ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES
There will be no annual membership fee for members.

The funds required to operate MASH shall be obtained through fund-raising, advertising, donations, grants, and other sources as approved by the Advisory Team.

AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS
The By-laws of MASH may be amended with an 80% majority of all Advisory Team Members

Suggested amendment changes need to be presented to the MASH membership six months in advance of the proposed vote and any questions, comments or concerns forwarded to the Advisory Team to be discussed at a minimum of two meetings of the Advisory Team prior to a vote.