General ATME Listserv

Hi Eliza,

Yes, there will be additional committees. In the bylaws, we said "such as" and we hope to create a robust list of committees so that more ATME members can get involved and bring their best selves to the organization. In addition, committee involvement is the first step in getting involved in ATME -- people get to know you and you get to know members.

Thanks for your question!

Best,

Annette

Hi Kate,

Thank you for your response. We will add links to the 2005 and 2018 bylaws to the listserv. The 2005 bylaws were the first set of bylaws for the organization and as you will see, they are short. During my tenure as President, we worked to create a stronger legal set of bylaws in 2018, which we used as a starting point for the changes in the 2025 bylaws. We then consulted with our lawyer who suggested that we clarify language for the health and longevity of the organization. We do not have a marked version to post, but putting the 2018 and 2025 side by side, you will see what was changed.

Thanks, Annette

Dear Cathy,

Thank you for your response. We will add links to the 2005 and 2018 bylaws to the listserv.

We understand your suggestion regarding simplifying the language of the bylaws. I understand that some of the language is legalese and is difficult to understand. We took out some of the legalese from the 2018 version and, with the support and suggestions of our lawyer, clarified language for the health and longevity of the organization in the 2025 version.

Thank you for your question about what happens if there are not enough members on the advisory council. This is a great question and we will work to add some language here, such as sending out a call for senior ATME members to take a position on the board if we do not have enough.

"In good standing" basically means they have paid their dues. This is a great question and could you let us know what we might add to flesh out what this means.

Thank you, Annette

Hi Jarod,

Thanks for these documents. What I'm not totally clear on is where the proposed changes are in the document. Are these documents entirely new language? Or is there a "track changes" version that could show where the changes are?

Hi Jarod and all,

In looking at this, it would be helpful to know how much of the Bylaws are boilerplate/required in the State you are in. I was recently part of simplifying Bylaws for another organization. We chose to simplify them, putting in only what was required, because they are difficult to change once they are in place. Some of this looked a little complicated for who we are.

Also, in the same other organization, we ran into a difficulty with the phrase "in good standing"; it would be worth defining what good standing means.

Another wonder I had in my initial read was, "what happens if there are fewer than 5 on the Advisory Board?" kind wishes, Cathy

Dear ATME members,

Please note you will probably receive this email twice--once via the listserv, and once via the main ATME admin email module to ensure maximum recipients attend to this important matter.

We hope this email finds you well and enjoying the fall weather.

We have been working on the ATME Bylaws since last spring, including talking to our lawyer for feedback. We have added, deleted, kept, and restructured various parts of the Bylaws. We are ready to open up the documents for perusal to the ATME membership. Please use this thread to share comments, questions, and engage in discussion. You can reply to the email or visit the forum link provided by the listserv at the top of this message to reply.

Here are relevant updated bylaw document links:

• ATME Bylaws
• "Schedule" Documents
• "Schedules" are attached elements of the Bylaws that are meant to be more readily adaptable to change as needed by the organization. They will make more sense if you read how they are referenced in the main Bylaws.

We ask that you read carefully the entire Bylaws and Schedules. In addition, please send any feedback to the listserv thread as soon as possible. The listserv thread will be closed at 1pm Eastern Time on Monday, November 10th. We will consider and amend as necessary. We may or may not have your suggestion entered into the new Bylaws, therefore it is important that you engage in the dialogue on the listserv thread early so we can have the opportunity to respond in a timely manner. 

The last step is to send out the Bylaws for ratification. We will send an email that the most recent Bylaws are ready for voitning. If there are changes to the Bylaws, you will receive a new link to Google Drive. If there are no changes, we will keep the original Bylaws posted in Google Drive. Voting will be conducted electronically, with the majority of the votes cast deciding the outcome of the vote. We would like this process completed before Thanksgiving. 

Thank you for your important contribution to this legal document. 

With gratitude,

ATME Executive Board:

Rachel Bowditch, President

Yo-EL Cassell, Vice President

Annette Thornton, Secretary

Jarod Hanson, Treasurer

-Jarod Hanson

he/they

Theatre Artist & Educator

Vesper, a dream play running Oct 17 - Nov 2 at The Voxel

Personal Website - www.JarodHanson.com

Lead Faculty, Margolis Method Center Int'l - www.margolismethod.org

Association of Theatre Movement Educators Treasurer

MB ADAPTORS Company Member

The Acme Corporation Company Member

CITD Fellow 2018-20 - www.citd.us