Section 1.1. The UCB is a non-profit organization primarily of legally blind persons. Its main purposes are:
a. To advocate for the best interests of the blind and visually impaired in all facets of life.
b. To provide a forum for the views of the blind and visually impaired from all areas of the state and all walks of life.
c. To improve educational and rehabilitation facilities.
d. To elevate the social, economic and cultural level of the blind and visually impaired.
e. To broaden vocational opportunities.
f. To encourage and assist the blind and visually impaired, especially the newly blind, to develop their abilities and potentials and to assume their responsible places in the community.
g. To cooperate with public and private institutions and agencies of and for the blind and visually impaired insofar as they support the purposes of the UCB.
h. To provide for the free exchange of ideas, opinions and information relative to matters of concern to blind and visually impaired persons through publications in accessible forms and through various media.
i. To increase public awareness and concern for the needs and abilities of the blind and visually impaired.
Section 2.2. The Board of Trustees shall consist of a President, who must be legally blind; a Vice President, who must be legally blind; a Secretary; a Treasurer; and three to eleven Trustees, the exact number of which may be set by the Board of Trustees from time to time. All Officers and Trustees must be paid-up members of the UCB and support its purposes. A majority of the Board of Trustees must be legally blind.
Section 2.3. The Board of Trustees shall have the general management of the affairs, funds and records of the organization with the right to form and establish policy as and hire and fire employees as it deems necessary for accomplishment of the purposes and goals of the UCB.
Section 3.2. Not less than three months prior to the annual business meeting the President shall, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of at least three members (preferably representing a variety of demographics among the membership). Within thirty days the names of the Committee members shall be announced to the membership either in written form or through the use of other media such as the Utah Connection. The Nominating Committee shall have responsibility for selecting and qualifying (in conjunction with the Membership Committee) a minimum of one candidate for each available position on the Board of Trustees. No member who agrees to serve on the Nominating Committee may run for office in the current election. Any qualified member of the organization wishing to run for a position on the Board of Trustees may notify a member of the Committee by submitting an approximately 200-word written statement concerning his/her qualifications and vision for the future of the organization, which will be distributed to the membership. The Committee shall verify the qualification of each such member and add his/her name to the list of candidates which shall be published in the meeting announcement and publicized through the Utah Connection and/or any other medium deemed appropriate by the Committee. There shall be no nominations from the floor at the time of the business meeting. During the business meeting, the Nominating Committee shall formally present all of the candidates and supervise the carrying out of the voting process. In order to run for office a candidate must either be personally present or have given prior written approval for his/her name to be put into nomination. Each candidate will be allowed a one-minute speech with up to two minutes allowed for answers to questions from the members. The Nominating Committee shall have responsibility for providing a means whereby the members can cast secret ballots for the candidates of their choice and shall have responsibility for the tallying of the votes so cast. There will be absentee voting, but no proxy voting. Absentee ballots will be available from the Nominating Committee upon request and must be returned to them no later than one week before the business meeting. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be voted on individually, and the successful candidates must be elected by an absolute majority (they must receive over 50% of the total votes cast). Unsuccessful candidate(s) for any officer position will be included in the balloting for all other officer positions and in the trustee balloting unless they decline to run. Balloting for all trustee positions will take place simultaneously, with each member casting votes for the exact number of positions available. Each trustee must be elected by an absolute majority (as defined above). In all balloting, run-off voting will be done with the names of the lowest vote receivers whose aggregate total is 50% or less of the total votes cast removed from each subsequent ballot until an absolute majority is achieved for each available position. In the case of the trustee balloting, when any one candidate receives an absolute majority of votes, they will be declared elected, and the number of available positions will be reduced by one until all available positions have been filled. All new members of the Board of Trustees will be invited to attend, as non-voting participants, Board meetings held between the annual business meeting and the beginning of their regular terms of office.
Section 3.3. The regular term of office for each Trustee shall commence July 1st and be two years or until a successor is elected or appointed as outlined in these bylaws. The President may be elected for no more than two full two-year terms consecutively. (A partial term of one year or less served as replacement for a Presidential vacancy is not included as part of these terms.)
Section 3.4. Resignation of any member of the Board of Trustees shall be submitted in writing or verbally to the Board. If any Trustee shall have three absences from regular or special meetings in any twelve-month period it shall be recognized as an automatic resignation, and he/she shall be replaced at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees. Participation in a meeting via conference call is counted as attendance.
Section 3.5. The Board may remove a Trustee for behavior, actions, or circumstances which threaten the goals and purposes of the UCB by two-thirds vote of the Trustees in attendance at any meeting of the Trustees.
Section 3.6. In the case of a vacancy in the position of President on the Board of Trustees, the Board shall appoint the Vice President or other legally blind Trustee to fill the office of President until the next meeting of the general membership. In the case of any other vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board shall appoint a qualified replacement from among the membership to serve until the next meeting of the general membership. Each appointee shall be approved by at least a two-thirds vote of the Board of Trustees.
Section 4.2. The Vice President shall perform all duties of the President in his/her absence or when he/she is otherwise unable to act. He/she shall perform other duties as delegated by the Board of Trustees.
Section 4.3. The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept accurate records of the meetings of the members and the Board of Trustees and shall maintain all valuable correspondence and records of the organization. The Secretary shall give notice of all meetings of members and of the Board of Trustees in the manner prescribed in these Bylaws. The Secretary shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President and Vice President. The Secretary shall perform such other duties as are delegated by the Board of Trustees. The Secretary shall chair the Membership Committee.
Section 4.4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial records of the organization. He/she shall have the active direction or be in charge of cash, securities, books of account and shall maintain all valuable financial records of the organization. He/she shall work closely with all fund raising and accounting firms employed by the organization. The Treasurer shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President, Vice President and Secretary. The Treasurer shall perform such other duties as are delegated by the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer shall chair the Budget and Finance Committee.
Section 5.2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and one additional member of the organization in good standing. The additional member shall be appointed by two-thirds vote of the Board of Trustees no later than the August Board meeting. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for taking any actions necessary to carry out the purposes and goals of the organization during the interim between official meetings of the Board of Trustees, subject to review by the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Section 5.3. No later than the August Board meeting the Executive Committee shall appoint from the general membership chairmen for the Activities Committee, the Bylaws and Rules Committee, the Convention Committee (for the convention at least two years in the future), the Resolutions Committee, the Awards Committee, the Scholarship Committee, the Nomination Committee, the Fund Raising Committee, the Publications and Communications Committee, the Transportation and Projects Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Youth Committee, and any other committees necessary to meet the purposes and goals of the organization. Each chairman will have the responsibility of selecting at least three additional members of the organization in good standing to serve on his/her committee. Each chairman will present the names of his/her committee members at the September meeting, and the committee lists will be published in the next newsletter.
Section 5.4. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for soliciting members, maintaining current membership records, and suggesting strategies to the Board to increase and strengthen membership.
Section 5.5. The Bylaws and Rules Committee shall be responsible for outlining details of the conducting of the annual business meeting and other meetings of the general membership and shall present its report at the beginning of the meeting. The chair of the committee or other committee member designated by the chair shall act as parliamentarian at all meetings of the Board of Trustees or the Membership.
Section 5.6. The Resolutions Committee shall be responsible for collecting, editing, and formatting resolutions submitted by members and for authoring resolutions addressing current issues. They are then responsible for presentation and voting on resolutions during meetings of the general membership.
Section 5.7. The Activities Committee shall be responsible for planning and carrying out meaningful educational, social, and recreational activities. They may utilize sub-committees to plan details and carry out the various activities and are responsible for over-seeing the work of the sub-committees.
Section 5.8. The Budget and Finance Committee shall be responsible for preparing an annual budget for approval by the Board of Trustees, presenting financial statements to the Board on a regular basis, tracking the organization's finances relative to the budget, and recommending amendments to the budget as needed.
Section 5.9. The Convention Committee shall be responsible for planning and carrying out conventions of the organization. The committee shall work with the Executive Committee, the Activities Committee, the Bylaws and Rules Committee, the Resolutions Committee, and the Awards Committee to coordinate convention activities.
Section 5.10. The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for setting guidelines and selecting recipients of scholarships awarded by the UCB.
Section 5.11. The Awards Committee shall be responsible for selecting recipients of the Talmage Awards and for recommending other awards to the Board of Trustees.
Section 5.12. The Scholarship Committee shall be responsible for recommending requirements for scholarship recipients, preparing and distributing scholarship applications, selecting recipients, and awarding the scholarships.
Section 5.13. The Fund Raising Committee shall be responsible for recommending, planning, and carrying out of activities to raise funds for the continued operation and growth of the organization.
Section 5.14. The Publications and Communications Committee shall oversee the creation and production of the organization's newsletter and all other print, telephone, and electronic communications.
Section 5.15. The Transportation and Projects Committee shall be responsible for analyzing transportation and other programs of the organization and making recommendations with respect to current and possible future projects in which the organization may become involved. They shall also work with the Activities and Convention Committees to aid in the planning of transportation to UCB activities.
Section 5.16. The Legislative Committee shall be responsible to keep the membership informed regarding state and national legislation which might affect their lives. They will also be responsible for seeing that UCB is adequately represented on appropriate public committees and boards.
Section 5.17. The Youth Committee shall consist at least 75% of persons under 30 years of age. They shall be responsible for planning and carrying out activities which will be of interest to young members of the organization and give them the opportunity to develop self-confidence, social skills, and leadership ability, raise funds for such activities, and encourage more young people to become active members of the organization.
Section 5.18. All committees shall meet at least quarterly and shall report to the Board of Trustees at their regular meetings regarding their activities.
Section 6.1. The UCB must maintain a majority of blind and visually impaired individuals at all times. Any blind individual believing in the purposes and who will contribute to the functions of the UCB upon payment of dues may submit an application for membership. Any sighted individual who can prove his or her interest as being directed toward the purposes of the UCB may apply for membership so long as the majority of UCB membership remains composed of blind and visually impaired members.
Section 6.2. Dues shall be paid annually in such amounts as fixed by the Board of Trustees. The membership year shall be from January 1st through December 31st. A grace period of three months shall be allowed for receipt of renewal dues from members in good standing. Membership shall commence one week after receipt of dues in the UCB office. Any dues received during the last three months of the membership year (October, November, or December) shall be considered dues for the following year; members first enrolling during these months will have all privileges of the organization. The Board of Trustees may grant honorary, non-voting memberships. Any member may purchase lifetime membership in the organization by making a one-time payment of twenty-five times the currently prevailing adult membership dues.
Section 6.3. Members may be expelled by:
1. Failure to maintain current annual dues.
2. Failure to support purposes of the UCB; however, such expulsion shall be only after approval by a two-thirds vote of the membership assembled.
Section 6.4. Blind and visually impaired (as defined by the Utah State Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired) members in good standing shall have the right to benefit from all programs of the organization. All members age sixteen and over will have the right to vote in elections and business meetings of the organization and have the right to hold office as outlined in these bylaws.
Section 7.2. Regular monthly meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at least ten months of the year. A majority of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum.
Section 7.3. There shall be a meeting of the general membership of the organization held between March 1st and June 1st of each year for the purpose of carrying on the business of the organization. At least twenty members in good standing shall constitute a quorum.
Section 7.4. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by a majority of the Board of Trustees, the President of the organization or the Executive Committee.
Section 7.5. Special meetings of the membership may be called by the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, the President, the Bylaws and Rules Committee, or at least twenty members in good standing.
Section 7.6. All meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the membership shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order, except as otherwise stipulated in these bylaws, or as agreed upon by two-thirds vote of the assembly..