The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
2005
CONSTITUTION Committee ReportThe Amendment Process
BY BARRY HAGGE, CHAIR
The 2004 Nashville Leadership Conference opened the Constitutional Amendment process that culminates with delegates acting on proposed amendments at the Twelfth National Convention in Reno.Proposed Constitution Amendment forms have been distributed to VVA chapters and state councils in separate mailings and will be published in each issue of The VVA Veteran until the March 31, 2005, deadline. The form also has been made available on the VVA website for electronic submission of Proposed Constitutional Amendments. We urge you to use the electronic form; when you submit Proposed Amendments electronically, you will receive an email acknowledging their receipt.
Using the Leadership Conference to open the amendment process marked the third time that the committee sponsored a seminar on the Constitution and provided a forum for the membership to present issues and questions.The postmark deadline for all Proposed Constitution Amendments is March 31, 2005. Proposed Amendments postmarked after March 31 will be returned. Only amendments mailed to the national office or emailed to Bhagge@vva.org will be accepted. The Proposed Constitution Amendment format must be used. Faxes are not accepted. Please write your amendments clearly. Any VVA member may submit amendments. While having the support of a chapter or state council is not necessary, it does enhance the chances of an amendment being accepted at the Convention. In cases where an amendment duplicates an amendment submitted by a committee, the amendment will not be reported out, and delegates will debate and be free to amend the committee-sponsored amendment.
Please be sure that your membership number is entered on the form. This is the only way we can insure that only VVA members submit Proposed Amendments. The National Constitution Committee will meet in open session following the submission deadline, review all proposed amendments, and prepare its report to the membership. The committee’s report will be made available via email, the VVA web site, and postal mail within two weeks following the April meeting.
The committee will again hold open hearings at the Convention before the amendments are presented to the delegates for action. We encourage everyone to attend the hearing and to make their opinions known.
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