By-Laws of the Mountain Desert District Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network                                                                                 May 2006

The following constitute the by-laws of the Mountain Desert District Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network (MDD*UUYAN).

I.                   Organizational Definition

Mountain Desert District Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network (MDD*UUYAN) is a radically inclusive organization for people aged 18-35, focused on the spiritual needs and experiences of Unitarian Universalists, or those who wish to explore Unitarian Universalism. The MDD*UUYAN community respects and adheres to The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism.

II.                 Steering Committee

MDD*UUYAN is led by a Steering Committee of a minimum of five. The Steering Committee by definition is accountable to the MDD*UUYAN community.  Its main functions are as follows:

·         to hold a vision for the MDD*UUYAN community, help local YA groups grow and thrive by creating opportunities, networking, and supporting individuals

·         to maintain communication between themselves, YAs and the local YA groups, the MDD, and the MDD Young Adult and Campus Ministry Coordinator, and to reach out to any of the above parties which may not already be in contact.

·         to create policy and long and short term plans for the MDD*UUYAN community on their behalf

·         to support the functions of local YA groups in churches, fellowships and on campuses.

The following delineation of roles and duties explains how the Steering Committee will follow through with these ambitions.

A.    Roles

Chairperson

The role of Chair is self-selected by the group of Steering Committee members from within the Committee at the election conference or at their first face-to-face or online meeting after the elections conference.

Duties are to facilitate discussion within the MDD*UUYAN Steering Committee on a regular basis and to follow-up on the commitments made by other committee members.

At-Large Members

All other members of the Steering Committee are at-large members.  They will not have specific titles or roles, but instead will work with the Chair as a team to accomplish the annual goals of the steering committee and MDD*UUYAN, and look out for the effectiveness of the overall group with the goals of the organization in mind

Youth Liaison

Assures that connections are built and maintained with the district youth. Educates youth about the young adult group to help facilitate a smooth bridging from YRUU to the YAN.

B.     Duties

Duties of the Steering Committee are as follows:

Appoint the District Representative to ConCentric (the Continental UU Young Adult Network Annual Business Conference) for a term of 1 full year.

A district representative to ConCentric shall be appointed by the MDD*UUYAN Steering Committee. This person will attend ConCentric and vote on behalf of the MDD*UUYAN with its best interests in mind, and report back to the Steering Committee about resolutions and business of C*UUYAN.  MDD*UUYAN will aid the District Representative in attending ConCentric.  The steering committee is responsible for making the most of this opportunity for engaging the continental organization, and making responsible use of the resources the MDD District provides for underwriting the affair.  It may be the case that the steering committee will deem that the most appropriate person for this role is someone from the steering committee.  The bylaws permit the steering committee to choose one of their own members, by consensus of the additional members of the committee.  See also “District Representative Duties.”

Produce a newsletter that can be distributed to the MDD-Announce list serve on a quarterly basis.

Hold Annual Elections

MDD UUYAN SC will produce an elections conference annually in order to maintain the influx of new leadership and opportunity for community.  This event will be held within the district, and due diligence will be made to contact young adults to become involved.

Budget Request to MDD

MDD UUYAN SC will produce a budget request with details about dispensation to be delivered to the annual MDD May meeting.

Update agenda item to MDD Board

MDD UUYAN SC will annually produce a report to the MDD UUYAN leadership that will serve as an update of the status of MDD UUYAN to be entered into the MDD board May meeting Agenda.

Produce Leadership Development

Every year MDD UUYAN will produce an event that focuses on the development of key leadership potentials that have been found to be useful and effective in producing and contributing to a successful, sustainable Young Adult Network.

C.    Terms

Election and Terms of the Steering Committee

Half of the committee shall be elected each year for a two- year term, for the purpose of continuity and institutional memory.  The current committee will decide the number of Steering Committee members are needed, and thus elected, prior to the election. There must be a minimum of fifteen conference participants/members of the MDD*UUYAN community voting in order to hold elections.  Members of the MDD*UUYAN community who are unable to attend the election may vote by proxy, but votes by proxy will not count toward the fifteen person quorum.   Elections shall be carried out using the Single Transferable Vote (Instant Runoff) system.

After a Steering Committee member’s term expires they will make themselves available in an advisory capacity for the new Steering Committee for at least two months.  They will remain in contact through phone or e- mail and may be invited to meetings as this is deemed necessary by the new Steering Committee.  Ex-Steering Committee members serving as advisors do not vote and do not count in a quorum.

Definition of voting by proxy:

A vote by proxy shall consist of a signed sheet of paper with the name of a candidate and signature of the voting community member, accompanied by a date not more than one week before the election and not after the election.

Emergency Interim Steering Committee Appointments

Emergency Interim Steering Committee members shall be appointed by the remaining steering committee members on an as- needed basis.  In the case that the Mountain Desert District Executive cannot identify any remaining members, they may appoint a minimum of three (3) people to serve on the committee and fulfill these bylaws before the bylaws can be changed.  Interim appointments last until the next election conference with a quorum.

D.    Meetings and Process

Steering Committee may meet face-to-face or online in chat rooms, due to the large geographical region encompassed by the MDD.  The Steering Committee will meet at the very least once every six weeks unless it they deem it unnecessary.

Quorum

Quorum for conducting MDD*UUYAN business shall be 3 Steering Committee members plus the chair.

Quorum is required for resolutions of the Steering Committee pertaining to policy creation and change, appointments to the committee, and bylaw revisions.

Decision Making Process

The Steering Committee shall strive to use consensus for decision making.

Removal of a Steering Committee Member

If a minimum of three Steering Committee members deem it necessary to remove another member from office before said member's term is up, those three or more members, having documented their process sufficiently, may “vote” the member in question out of office.  The reasons for voting a Committee member out of office should be strong and justifiable, such as a member's failure to communicate with the Committee for six weeks, or a serious violation of some sort. 

E.     Relationships

MDD*UUYAN seeks an active and accountable relationship with the MDD and therefore also the YACM coordinator, assuming one exists.  A YACM coordinator is a greatly appreciated resource.  While the YACM coordinator must balance their ability to provide resources to the MDD*UUYAN community with the vision and mission of MDD, regular and rich contact between MDD*UUYAN Steering Committee and the YACM Coordinator will serve to provide a coordinated and effective agenda that will make for the best dispensation of limited resources.

In order to maintain a rich and collaborative relationship, the YACM coordinator for MDD will work to directly support the goals and work of the MDD*UUYAN Steering Committee, regularly attend Steering Committee  meetings, and generally maintain good contact through phone and e-mail with the Steering Committee.

The YACM coordinator attends MDD UUYAN SC meetings as an advisor, not a consenting member.  They cannot procedurally block consensus.

F.     Vision

SC exists in part to hold the vision for MDD*UUYAN.  The vision of MDD*UUYAN will change from year to year, but involves inclusivity, sustainability, accountability, justice and spiritual vibrancy.

III.              Young Adult District Representative Duties

The MDD*UUYAN District representative will attend at least one MDD*UUYAN event in order to understand what the best interests of the MDD*UUYAN are, in order to make informed choices on behalf of the MDD*UUYAN community while attending ConCentric.

While at ConCentric, the District Representative will attend the District Representative workshop and at least one anti-oppression workshop.

Once having attended ConCentric, the District Representative will report back to the Steering Committee at one of the Steering Committee face-to-face meetings or online chats.

Then, this District Representative will:

Help plan a District Leadership Development event and offer at least one workshop

Attend annual meeting of MDD if District Representative can afford or if budget of MDD*UUYAN and MDD allows for it to be subsidized.

IV.             Management of Finances

Finances shall be managed by the District Young Adult Coordinator. The Steering Committee will set the budget and allocate funds, and at their leisure examine records related to MDD*UUYAN finances. The District Young Adult Coordinator shall oversee and distribute scholarships to conferences and MDD*UUYAN events.

In the event that the position of the District Young Adult Coordinator is no longer extant, or after a “vote” of no confidence by the Steering Committee, the Steering Committee will take on the role of finance management and scholarship distribution.

V.               Social Contract

Any individuals are welcome in this community, regardless of gender, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, political leaning, parental status or other identities. Members of the MDD*UUYAN and conference participants shall seek to find community in diversity, in keeping with the First Principle of Unitarian Universalism: We respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

We recognize that Young Adults have the power to make individual informed decisions regarding healthy choices, so long as those choices do not harm others or the community.  In the event that choices are made at an MDD*UUYAN conference which are not compatible with the Principles of Unitarian Universalism a Spirit Committee shall be convened to mediate or otherwise resolve the situation.  Options could include asking an individual to leave the conference or not be a part of MDD*UUYAN activities in the future.

We ask that participants in MDD*UUYAN events practice common courtesy and seek to preserve the spirit of community.

Spirit Committee

The Spirit Committee to resolve situations shall be chosen at the conference orientation by the nomination of individuals, five of whom are then chosen at random, four from the attendees and one from the staff, with the conference Chaplain as an additional member by default.  If a member of the Spirit Committee is directly involved with the situation they shall stand aside from their role in the Spirit Committee.  The term of a Spirit Committee shall be only as long as the conference.

VI.             Conferences

The MDD*UUYAN will seek to facilitate at least three conferences per year, helping local groups to organize each.  One of these conferences will be organized by the Steering Committee and shall be an election/leadership development conference.  Conferences shall seek to include a Chaplain.

VII.          Partial Invalidity

If any portion of these By-Laws is not acted upon the remaining portions shall still be considered to be valid.