El Al Constitution:

Preamble

The B’nai B’rith Girls shall have for its purpose:

v The spiritual, mental, and physical development of Jewish youth

v The advancement of a commitment to the State of Israel and K’lal Yisrael

v The encouragement of a love and understanding of Jewish cultural and heritage

v The stimulation of a responsibility as good citizens

v The motivation to be the best sisters that we can be

v The encouragement of good among the youth of all people.



Article I- Name

  1. This body shall be known as El Al BBG #1863 of the B’nai B’rith Girls.



Article II- Legislative Bodies of Precedence

  1. This chapter is hereby declared to be a part of Central Region West #45 of BBYO, Inc.

  2. Whenever there is any conflict between this Constitution and that of the Constitution of Central Region West, such provisions of this constitution shall be void and of no effect. The International Constitution of the B’nai B’rith Girls and the Constitution of the B’nai B’rith Girls of Central Region West #45 shall be supreme in every case.



Article III- Membership

Section 1: Eligibility

  1. Membership in a BBG Chapter shall be limited to eligible, young, Jewish women who are in ninth through twelfth grades in high school.

  2. Eighth grade girls may officially join (i.e. purchase membership) beginning January 1st of their eighth grade year; however they may start attending meetings and events as prospectives at the beginning of their eighth grade year.

  3. Membership in El Al BBG #1863 shall be limited to eligible girls living in one of the following cities: Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto Hills, Menlo Park, and Los Altos Hills, if the person attends school in one of the aforementioned cities. If the person attends a private school, they may join the chapter that covers the public school that they would attend.

Section 2: Expulsion

  1. No member shall be expelled from the Chapter until she has had an impartial trial on the legitimate charges lodged against her.

  2. Legitimate charges are defined on case by case basis by the chapter’s high board, an advisor, and members of Regional board if circumstances necessitate such action.

  3. After a fair and impartial trial, a member may be expelled by a vote of two-thirds of the membership who have been called to a special meeting to discuss this matter.

  4. An advisor or professional staff and chapter high board must be present at the special meeting and partake in the trial. The chapter must be invited to the meeting/trial.





Article IV-Fees, Dues, and Assessments

Section 1: Entrance Fee

  1. An application for membership must be accompanied by the sum necessary to pay International dues for the balance of the year.

  2. Membership of prospectives shall be facilitated by the Morah.

Section 2: Regular Dues

  1. The regular annual dues of membership shall be $149. The regular annual dues shall include the amount of the International and Regional dues and are subject to change.

Section 3: Chapter Scholarships

  1. A chapter fund directed solely to chapter scholarships for conventions will be maintained every term, and there will be at least one fundraiser each term of which the profits go directly to this fund.



Article V-Meetings

Section 1: Regular

  1. Regular chapter meetings shall be held at least twice a month.

  2. Regular high board meetings shall be held at least once a month directly after a chapter business meeting

Section 2: Special

  1. Special meetings may be called by the N’siah and/or Advisor at any time. Every chapter member is invited.

  2. No special meeting shall be held until an emailed notice thereof has been sent at least two days previous to the date of the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting, and no further business shall be transacted at the special meeting.

Section 3: Quorum

  1. More than fifty percent of the active members in the chapter shall constitute a quorum when elections take place.

  2. An active member is defined as a member who has attended an event in the last 3 months.

  3. Elections cannot take place if quorum is not reached.



Article VI-Officers

Section 1: Names

  1. The Chapter shall have at least the following officers: (1) N’siah, (2) S’ganit, (3) Morah, (4) Yehudia, (5) Sh’licha, (6) Mazkirah, (7) Gizborit, (8) Katvanit, (12) Madricha with (9) Safranit, (10) Yoramit Machshev, and (11) Chai Chanit as optional positions added/removed at the discretion of the N’siah.

Section 2: Duties

  1. N’siah- President:

    1. Shall preside at all meetings and elections

    2. Call board meetings

    3. Oversee chapter executive board

    4. Have weekly communication with all members of her board

    5. Coordinate her incoming installations

    6. Promotes and attends as many Regional events/conventions as possible

    7. Be an informal member of all committees

    8. Work with S’ganit to plan the calendar

    9. Promote and attend regional events

    10. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart

    11. Write and send parent e-mails

  2. S’ganit- Vice President of Programming:

    1. Shall promote 6-fold programming, regional conventions and events, and summer programs

    2. Oversees all programming

    3. Attends as many regional events/conventions as possible

    4. Works with the N’siah to plan the calendar

    5. Writes event emails

    6. Oversees coordination of rides and housing for events

    7. Fills in for N’siah when she is unable to fulfill her duties

    8. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart

  3. Morah- Vice President of Recruitment, Retention, and Re-education:

    1. Promote the three R’s: Recruitment, Retention, and Re-education

    2. Recruit members

    3. Encourage prospective friendly events

    4. Promotes regional events/conventions

    5. Attends as many regional events/conventions as possible

    6. Plans at least one PIT per term.

    7. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart.

  4. Yehudia - Vice President of Judaism

    1. Advocates for Judaism activities (such as regional and chapter Kallah).

    2. Informs chapter of Jewish holidays and ensures Havdallah services happen on a regular basis.

    3. Co-coordinates chapter Kallah.

    4. Advocates for and is a resource of Judaism programming.

    5. Plans Friday night services and chapter Judaism programs.

    6. Corresponds with regional counterpart.

  5. Sh’licha - Vice President of Community Service and Social Action

    1. Plans a community service program or event at least twice a term.

    2. Co-coordinates chapter Kallah.

    3. Advocates for social action and community service events.

    4. Advocates for and is a resource of social action programming.

    5. Advocates for Speak Up!

    6. Promotes StandUP!

    7. Corresponds with regional Counterpart.

  6. Mazkirah-Communications Chair/Secretary:

    1. Responsible for chapter website if the position of Yoramit Machshev  is not filled

    2. Sends out email about upcoming event as soon as they receive it from the S’ganit

    3. Collects RSVPs for events (through surveys, Facebook events, and calls)

    4. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart.

  7. Gizborit- Treasurer:

    1. Promote and oversees all chapter fundraisers (at least one per term, preferable more)

    2. Manages chapter funds, keeps and protects the HaHa Box, works with chapter N’siah, Advisor, and the Regional office for setting up an account

    3. Helps facilitate donations to StandUP! and promotes regional fundraisers

    4. Manages chapter scholarship fund (see Article IV, Section 3)

    5. Makes sure all members are paid back (but member must submit a receipt to be reimbursed)

    6. Collects money at events if applicable

    7. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart

  8. Katvanit- Recording Secretary:

    1. Takes minutes at all meetings

    2. Works with N’siah to choose meeting theme

    3. Makes creative minutes at least once, preferably twice, each term

    4. Corresponds with Regional Counterpart

  9. Safranit- Historian

    1. Takes pictures at every event

    2. Uploads pictures on the computer and makes them available for the rest of the chapter

    3. Makes the chapter scrapbook

  10. Yoramit Machshev- Computer Nerd

    1. Updates and enhances El Al’s website

    2. Makes sure the website provider gets paid

    3. Updates and posts on social media

  11. Chai Chanit- Happy Sunshine Girl

    1. Makes thank-you and get well cards for the chapter

    2. Maintains off keeps track of “home-ofs”

  12. Madricha-Parliamentarian:

  1. Usually is immediate past N’siah

  2. Shall act as an advisor for the new N’siah as well as the chapter

Section 3: Chairwomen

  1. The chapter shall have chairwoman for the purpose of aiding board members

  2. Chairwomen shall be considered a part of board and therefore are expected to attend board meetings, as well as follow the same processes as other board members

  3. Chair positions will announced by high board at the beginning of the term. Chair positions shall be decided by demand and interest. High board will also release a survey for members to describe their interests for those who are not ready to commit to a chair position. Those who fill it out will be asked to help out with projects throughout the term.

  4. Chairwomen shall be selected by the high board at the beginning of the

term through an application process, with a written and interview option.

  1. A chairwoman’s term shall begin and end at the same time as those of other board positions.

Section 4: Eligibility

A.Officers must be members in good standing. Members in good standing are active in chapter events and have paid their dues.

B. Seniors may not run at their final election, with the exception of Madricha, because they will not be able to complete their term.

Section 5: Impeachment

  1. Any officer who fails to carry out her duties, and continues to do so after being notified once, shall by the unanimous vote and approval of the executive board (with the exception of the officer being impeached) and advisor, be removed from her office.

Section 6: Resignation

  1. Any officer realizing her lack of time and/or proficiency may resign from her office.

Section 7: Replacement

  1. If the N’siah is impeached or resigns, the S’ganit shall assume her position, and a new S’ganit shall be appointed or elected.

  2. For all other positions, if the officer is impeached or resigns, someone shall be appointed or elected to replace her. Or her duties can be distributed to current board members if less than 2 months of the term remain.



Article VII-Elections

Section 1: Time

  1. Elections shall be held twice a year, preferably once in April or May and again in November or December.

Section 2: Declarations

  1. Candidates must declare no later than the date preselected by the N’siah, at least two weeks in advance and select their slide overs when declaring.

  2. The N’siah must send out an email with details about the upcoming election no later than three weeks prior to the date of elections, along with an outline of each board position.

Section 3: Order

  1. Positions shall be elected in the following order; N’siah, S’ganit, Morah, Sh’licha, Yehudia, Mazkirah, Gizborit, Katvanit, Safranit, Yoramit Machshev, and Madricha.

Section 4: Speeches

  1. All girls caucused for N’siah shall each have five minutes to speak.

  2. All girls caucused for S’ganit or Morah shall each have four minutes to speak

  3. All girls caucused for other board positions shall each have three minutes to speak.

Section 5: Sliding Over

  1. Any girl that loses for the position that she declared for, may slide over to run for any positions that she has preselected on her caucus call with the N’siah.

  2. In such a case, she will have one minute to speak about anything she chooses.

  3. A candidate who has been eliminated from an election is not allowed to vote in subsequent rounds of voting until a candidate has been successfully elected for the position for which the eliminated candidate ran.

Section 6: Nominations

  1. Nominations will be taken for the election of each office.

  2. Nominated candidates will have one minute to state qualifications only.

Section 7: Absence

  1. Absent member may run for an office but may not be nominated from the floor.

Section 8: Cos

A.  Members may caucus as cos for any position besides N’siah, S’ganit, or Morah.

  1. Cos may caucus before elections through the following procedure:

A person interested in caucusing as a co must approach the N’siah and caucus by stating the position she would like to run for and with whom. The N’siah will approach the potential co and ask if should would like to run as part of this set of cos. Once both parties state the position they would like to run for and with whom, the chair will recognize the cos. Cos may write their speech together but have the same allotted amount of time.

  1. Co nominations are may only be accepted for the positions of Katvanit, Safranit, Yoramit Machshev, Chai Chanit, and Madricha.

  2. Cos may accept a nomination on the floor through the following procedure:

The cos much be nominated together on the floor.

The cos will be taken into separate rooms and are asked to accept or decline the nomination.

If both parties accept, the chair will recognize the cos and they will be official running.

If the chair recognizes the acceptance of the nomination for the cos, any individual caucuses or nominations are void.

If both parties were originally caucused for this position or are sliding over, the cos have one minute to talk about anything.

If one/none of the cos were originally caucused/sliding, they have one minute to state qualifications only.

  1. No caucuses/nominations of more than two people (trios, etc.) will be recognized.



Article VIII-Tradition

Section 1: Spirit

  1. The official colors of El Al BBG are pink and black.

  2. The official mascot of El Al BBG is Stewey the Frog.

  3. The official food of El Al BBG is pita chips and hummus.

  4. The official dessert of El Al BBG is chocolate covered strawberries.

  5. The official song of El Al BBG is the Arthur Theme Song.

  6. The official breakfast of El Al BBG is chocolate chip strawberry pancakes.

  7. The official chapter font is Raleway.

  8. The official chapter candy are Dum-Dum lollipops.

Section 2: Brother/Sister Chapters

  1. The brother chapter of El Al BBG #1863 is Simon Wiesenthal AZA #2524

  2. The sister chapters of El Al BBG #1863 are San Francisco BBG #1, Chai BBG #1728, and Josephine Esther Mentzer BBG #2540



Article IX-Amendments

  1. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of all delegates at any general business meeting where all delegates may read the amendment in question for discussion.



By-Laws

Defined as recommendations for all topics not included in the constitution.  

  1. It is recommended that the S’ganit maintains the El Al Program Bank and submits programs to the International Program Bank.

  2. The chapter is recommended to donate the profits of one event per month to an organization of choice.

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