Article I-Name and Governing Authority

Section 1. Name.  The Institute shall be known as the Learning Institute for Technology Education and its acronym LITE.

Section 2. Governing Authority.  The Institute is incorporated under the laws of the State of Michigan.  These Bylaws are promulgated as a guide to the membership and affiliated organizations to define the organization and methods of operation of LITE.  The provisions of these Bylaws shall not be in conflict with the Articles of Incorporation, and in the event they may be, the Articles of Incorporation shall govern.

Article II-Purposes

Section 1.  LITE exists to provide leadership in the design and development of quality instruction and service in Technology Education.

Section 2.  LITE exists to support excellence in promoting, marketing, and assistance in the regional integration, implementation, and acceptance of Technology Education.

Article III-Membership

Section1.  Types of Membership.  Membership in the LITE shall be divided into two classes:  voting and nonvoting.

(a) Voting Members.  Only voting members may vote and hold elective office in LITE.  Types of voting members shall be:

(1) Professional Members.  Professional membership shall be open to individuals interested in technology education.

(2) Life Members.  Life membership shall be open to persons eligible for professional membership.  Life membership shall be granted by the Board of Directors for life and shall be provided with a recorded life membership card.  The Board of Directors has the authority to place a limit on the number of life memberships available in LITE.

(b) Nonvoting Members.  Nonvoting members have the same rights and privileges as voting members except they may not vote or hold elective office.  Types of nonvoting members shall be:

(1) Student Members.  Student membership shall be open to undergraduate students interested in technology education.  Student membership is subject to annual review and shall not continue beyond the year in which the individual ceases to qualify for this type of membership. 

(2) Sustaining Members.  Sustaining membership shall be open to commercial and industrial firms, companies, and other organizations.

(3) Institutional Membership.  Shall be open to higher education institutions, educational organizations and philanthropic groups.

(4) Honorary Members.  Honorary membership shall be open to anyone recommended by a voting member and approved by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors.  Honorary membership extends for the period of the honorary member’s life.

(5) Retired Membership.  Shall be open to all retired professional members.

(6) Complimentary Members.  Shall be open to anyone recommended by a voting member and approved by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors.  Complimentary membership extends for the period of the complimentary member’s life.

Section 2.  Eligibility.  Applications for all types of membership shall be sent to the membership chairperson, where they will be reviewed and processed according to the provisions stated in Section 1.  When eligibility is in doubt, applications shall be sent to the Board of Directors, which shall have power of final decision.

Section 3.  Membership Year.  The Board of Directors shall establish the membership year and privileges accorded to members.

Article IV-Dues

Section 1.  Voting Members.

(a) Professional Members.  The Board of Directors, in accordance with the financial needs of LITE, shall establish the dues for professional member.

(b) Life Members.  Life membership dues shall initially be twenty-five (25) times the professional annual dues.  Life members may be assessed additional monies as approved by the Board of Directors.  This assessment may be adjusted annually based on the costs of servicing this member not covered by interest received through previous investments.  The annual assessment for a life member cannot exceed that of a professional member.

Section 2.  Nonvoting Members.

(a) Student Members.  The dues for student membership shall be fifty percent (50%) of professional dues.

(b) Sustaining Members.  The dues for sustaining members shall contribute no less that five (5) times the professional dues per year to LITE.

(c) Institutional Members.  Dues for institutional memberships shall be at the rate of three (3) times the professional membership dues.

(d) Honorary Members.  No dues shall be required of honorary members.

 (e) Retired Members.  Dues for Retired Members shall be fifty percent (50%) of a professional membership rate.

(f) Complimentary Members.  No dues shall be required of complimentary members.

Section3.  Dues Incentive Plan.  The Board of Directors has the authority to initiate or revoke dues incentive plans.

Article V - Governing Body

Section 1. Board of Directors

(a) Membership.  The Board of Directors shall include the President, Executive Director, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Chairperson, Publications Chairperson, Advertising Chairperson, Conference Chairperson, Conference Coordinator, and three At-Large members.

(b) Function.  Developing and implementing policies of LITE that are in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws of LITE shall be vested in the Board of Directors.

(c) Duties of Board Members

(1) Officers.  The President shall serve as chairperson of the Board of Directors.  The Executive Director shall serve in the absence of the President and an At-Large member shall serve in the absence of the Executive Director.

(2) Meetings.  The Board of Directors shall meet during the annual conference of LITE.  The President at the discretion of the board may call additional meetings.  The President shall call these meetings, prepare the agenda, and conduct the meeting.

(3) Vote of Chairperson.  The chairperson may vote as any other member of the Board if the vote is by ballot.  In all other cases, the chairperson may vote to either break or cause a tie.

(4) Policy by Correspondence.  Board policy shall be set during a called meeting.  In circumstances where policy must be set by correspondence, each Board Member shall receive all communications and be allowed seven (7) days to respond.  A majority vote shall be required for adoption of the policy.  The President and Secretary shall keep records of correspondence.

Section 2.  Executive Committee

(a) Membership.  The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, who shall serve as chairperson, and all members of the Board of Directors who are in attendance at a scheduled Executive Board meeting.

(b) Function.  The Executive Committee shall draft guidelines and recommend policies and procedures to the Board of Directors, work with the President in finalizing all phases of the proposed budgets prior to submission to the Board of Directors, review and monitor income and expense statements prepared by the Treasurer, and audit the daily affairs of LITE.  All actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be within the approved policies established by the Board of Directors.

(c) Membership Requirements.  Only a voting member of LITE shall be eligible to hold office or to be the chairperson of standing committees.  It is further required that for any person’s name to be placed on a ballot for any office in LITE, that person must have been a member of LITE for at least three (3) years.

(d) President.  The President shall serve for a term of five years.  The President shall serve as chairperson of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

(e) Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. In the event more than one person holds responsibilities of this office, the Board of Directors shall determine their duties.

(f) Secretary.  The Secretary shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(g) Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(h) Membership.  The Membership Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(i) Publications.  The Publications Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(j) Advertising.   The Advertising Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(k) Conference Chairperson.  The Conference Chairperson shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(l) Conference Coordinator.  The Conference Coordinator shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board.

(m) At-Large Members.  At-Large Members shall be appointed by the Board of Directors and serve in a term of office to be set by the Board. There shall be no more than three At-Large Members.

Article VI-Election of Officers

Section 1.  Eligibility to Vote.  Only members designated, as “voting” shall be eligible to vote.

Section 2.  Election

President.  The election of the President shall be by mail ballot to the entire voting membership.

Section 3.  Nominating

President.  The Elections Committee shall issue a call for nominations to the membership.  From this call and by procedures established by the Elections Committee and approved by the Board of Directors, a minimum of two candidates shall be selected.  Nominees shall be contacted by the Elections Committee to ascertain whether the nominee will accept the office if elected.  Only those who are willing to accept the office, if elected, may have their name placed on the election ballot.  The candidate receiving the plurality of the votes cast shall be elected. 

Section 4.  Elections Committee.  The President with the approval of the Board of Directors shall appoint an Elections Committee.

Section 5.  Ballot-Counting.  The President in conjunction with the Executive Committee shall select three (3) voting members each year to tabulate the results.  The results shall be published in the next issue of the journal of LITE.

Section 6.  Vacancies in Office.  When an elected officer is unable to assume or carry out the responsibilities of the office, the Board of Directors shall appoint another member to serve the remainder of the term.

Article VII-Committees and Task Forces

Section 1.  Types of Committees

 (a) LITE Committees.  The following committees are authorized:

            (1) Awards
            (2) Conference
            (3) Elections
            (4) Membership
            (5) Publications
           
(b) Task Forces may be appointed by the Board of Directors as needed.

Section 2.  Membership Requirements for Chairpersons.  Only voting members of LITE can serve as chairperson of committees and task forces.

Section 3.  Appointment of Chairpersons.  Chairpersons shall be appointed by the president with the approval of the Board of Directors.

Section 4. Appointment of Committee Members.  Members of LITE committees and task forces shall be appointed from the membership by the President with the approval of Board of Directors.

Section 5.  Duties of LITE Committees and Task Forces.  It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Directors to outline objectives and duties of LITE committees and task forces.  It shall be the responsibility of the President to coordinate committee activities and task forces.

Section 6.  Committee Operation.  The structures, guidelines for, and evaluations of all work are approved by the Board of Directors.  Committee progress will be evaluated annually by the Board of Directors.

Article VIII-Affiliations

Section 1.  LITE Affiliation Authorization.  LITE may affiliate or become allied with other organizations whose objectives and purposes are substantially similar to those of LITE and whose activities are of such nature as to qualify them for tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code in the United States or like requirements in another country.

Section 2.  Granting Affiliation.  LITE may grant affiliation to any petitioning technology education organization having similar purposes.  Affiliation is subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

Section 3.  Designation of Affiliate.  LITE shall determine the relationship between the affiliated organization and LITE.

Section 4.  Certificate of Affiliation.  Each affiliated organization shall be furnished with a certificate of affiliation valid for (7) seven years.

Section 5.  Responsibility of Affiliates.  It shall be the responsibility of each affiliated organization to keep the Board of Directors fully informed of its activities and representative personnel.

Article IX - Meetings and Business

Section 1.  Scheduling of Meetings.  The Board of Directors shall have authority to set the time and place of meetings of LITE.

Section 2.  Annual Conference.  Except for unusual reason, there shall be a conference of LITE each year.

Section 3.  Fiscal year.  The fiscal year shall be a calendar year from January 1 through December 31.

Section 4.  Publication of Annual Financial Statement.  An annual report of the financial status of LITE shall be prepared by the Treasurer. The financial status annual report will be made available to the Board of Directors and professional members of LITE in a timely manner.

Article X -Referendum Procedures

A referendum may be called for by written petition submitted to the President of the Learning Institute for Technology Education, such petition to be binding and must be signed by a minimum of one percent (1%) of the voting members of the Learning Institute for Technology Education or one hundred (1) such members (whichever is smaller).  Upon receipt, the President shall, in consultation with the Board of Directors, prepare, or cause to be prepared, a statement of the issue along with supporting data both for and against the issue.  The referendum and a mail ballot will be sent to the voting membership of the Learning Institute for Technology Education.  A majority of returns received shall determine the outcome of the issue and the Board of Directors shall take whatever action is dictated by the referendum.

Article XI -Amendments

Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by the Board of Directors or by petition signed by a minimum of twenty-five (25) voting members.  Proposed amendments shall be ratified by the Board of Directors. A ratified amendment shall become effective upon its adoption.