The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
December 2002
CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE REPORTOpening Rounds
BY BARRY HAGGE, CHAIR
The 2002 Tucson Leadership Conference formally opened the constitutional amendment process that culminates with the delegates acting on the proposed amendments at the Eleventh National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.The Proposed Constitutional Amendment forms have been distributed to chapters and state councils in separate mailings and will be published in the next two issues of The VVA Veteran. The form also appears on the VVA website via http://www.vva.org/Forms/constitutional_amendment.html; proposed constitutional amendments can be sent electronically. In fact, members are encouraged to submit electronically.
The opening of the convention process (at the Tucson Leadership Conference) marks the second time that the committee has held a seminar on the process and the committee's responsibilities.
The postmark deadline for a proposed constitutional amendment is March 31, 2003. All amendments must be postmarked or received by this date to be accepted for action. Proposed amendments postmarked after March 31 will be returned to the sender. Only amendments mailed to the national office or e-mailed to bhagge@vva.org will be accepted. The Proposed Constitutional Amendment format must be used. Faxes are not accepted.
Please write your amendments clearly. Remember that any member of our organization may submit amendments. Having the support of your chapter and state council enhances the chance of an amendment being accepted at the Convention. In the case where an amendment duplicates an amendment submitted by the committee, the amendment will not be reported out, and the delegates will debate and possibly amend the committee-sponsored amendment.
Your membership number must appear on the form. This is the only way we can insure that only members of the Vietnam Veterans of America propose amendments. For those members proposing amendments electronically, an electronic receipt will be returned to you. The National Constitution Committee will meet following the submission deadline, complete its review of all proposed amendments, and prepare its report to the membership. The committee's report will be made available via e-mail, VVA web site, and snail mail distribution within two weeks after the April meeting.
The committee also will hold open hearings at the convention before the amendments are presented to the delegates for action. We encourage you to attend the hearing and make your opinions known.
We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis.
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