Purpose

 

DAMA Heart of Texas Chapter is organized exclusively for educational purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(3)(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future tax code.

No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, directors, officers or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article Three of the Articles of Incorporation.  No substantial part of the
activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidates for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of the purposed of this corporation.

Upon dissolution of the corporation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 (3)(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.  Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of the Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in
which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Mission

Heart of Texas DAMA is a not-for-profit, vendor-independent, professional organization dedicated to advancing the concepts and practices of enterprise information resource management (IRM) and/or data resource management (DRM).

DAMA's primary purpose is to promote the understanding, development and practice of managing data, information and knowledge as key enterprise assets.

Heart of Texas DAMA is dedicated to furthering the understanding of the field of data management and information resource management by providing educational opportunities and supporting an open forum addressing issues related to this field.

Heart of Texas DAMA recognizes affiliation with the DAMA International organization; and supports the DAMA International mission, goals and bylaws.

 

Goals

To ...

- Help IRM/DRM practitioners become more knowledgeable and skilled in

  the IRM/DRM profession

- Influence the industry and academia in IRM/DRM practices

- Support DAMA members and their organizations

- Form alliances with other organizations with the similar principles


Objectives

To ...

- Provide a forum for exchange of information, problems, ideas, experiences, resources

  and questions

- Sponsor conferences, workshops and special interest groups to further the purpose of

  the chapter

- Provide a central repository for information relevant to the chapter's mission


Board of Directors

The board of directors shall consist of the elected officers of the Heart of Texas DAMA.


The board of directors shall make all organizational decisions not delegated to the membership, and shall be responsible for the day-to-day operations and the protection of the assets of the local chapter organization.



 

Officers

President

- Ensure compliance of the local chapter with its responsibilities to DAMA International

- Preside at official business meetings of the local chapter, and provide general leadership

  and direction

- Appoint committee/SIG chairpersons other than those already established

- Represent the local chapter at all associated functions, including those of DAMA

  International

- Assist all officers in the performance of their responsibilities


Vice President Membership

- Ensure accurate and up-to-date membership lists are maintained for the local chapter

- Process and record new applications for membership to the local chapter

- Establish, advertise, monitor, record and report on all local chapter elections

- Chair the Nominating Committee of the local chapter as it creates and brings forth each

   slate of officers for the local chapter membership


Vice President Programs

- Schedule and facilitate all Heart of Texas DAMA meetings, including securing

   meeting venues and all logistics thereto, engaging speakers, notifying membership,

   staffing registration table and collecting meeting fees, and planning for the educational

   component

- Schedule and facilitate special workshops or symposia that meet member needs

- Conduct membership surveys to clarify member interests

- Provide leadership for all workshops and discussion groups

- Ensures program information is forwarded in a timely manner to the Vice President

  Public Relations to ensure widest dissemination to the general membership and other

  pertinent public parties


 

Treasurer

- Record all financial transactions in accordance with prudent fiscal procedures

- Collect all appropriate dues and fees

- Produce periodic balance sheets and income statements, as appropriate

- Handle all legal matters that relate to the financial health of the local chapter, i.e., tax-

  exempt status and other pertinent matters


Vice President Operations

- Record, publish and appropriately distribute meeting minutes

- Appropriately handle local chapter correspondence, including correspondence from and

  to DAMA International


- Ensure all material published about the local chapter is accurate and reflects the local

  chapter's affiliation with DAMA International

- Receive, record and bring forward all requested modifications to the local chapter

  charter and bylaws, and appropriately confer with DAMA International regarding same

- Retain and maintain all local chapter documents in accordance with prudent archival

  procedures

- Responsible for ensuring pertinent information is passed to the web master and to the

  Vice President Public Relations

 

Vice President Public Relations

 

- Maintains partnerships between the chapter and the greater community

 

- Fosters working relationships with business and educational organizations such as

  sponsorships, special events, and other mutually beneficial activities

- Primary point of contact concerning formal communications between the chapter and

  other organizations, institutions and individuals from the community at large

 

- Ensures the content of all formal communication, including the chapter newsletter and

  the chapter web site is in keeping with the interests of DAMA international

 

Information on Board Positions

Length of term for all elected Heart of Texas DAMA offices shall be one year.  Board officers are limited to two consecutive terms in a given position.  All local chapter officers are elected as individuals by a simple majority vote.  To be eligible for local chapter office, an individual must be an individual member of the local chapter or an employee of a corporate member of the local chapter.

In the event that a current office-holder becomes unable or ineligible to complete the term of his or her office, a 90-day grace period shall be established during which time the office-holder shall re-establish his or her ability/eligibility to complete the term of office or shall be required to resign the local chapter office.

Upon the resignation of any local chapter officer, a special election shall be conducted at the next following meeting of the local chapter, said election conducted by the vice president membership.  Should it be that the Vice President Membership position is the one that is vacated, said election shall be conducted by the President.  Should a special election be required, the term of office for the incoming office-holder now filling the vacated position shall coincide with the already-established term of office for that position.  Individuals elected through special election shall assume office immediately following said special election.

Heart of Texas DAMA officer nominations will be set every September and elections shall occur at the October meeting, with the term of office running from January 1st to December 31st of the next year.

 

Staff Positions

 

Heart of Texas DAMA has 2 staff positions.  The persons filling these positions are appointed by the board of officers as required.  These are non-elected positions.  Appointment and term will be set as required by the board.  The positions are as follows:

 

Newsletter Editor

- Edit and publish the chapter newsletter

- Ensure the chapter newsletter is received by all chapter members in a timely manner

- Solicit articles for the chapter newsletter

 

Web Meister

- Maintains and administers the HoT DAMA web site

 

- Posts board-approved content on the web site in a timely manner



Membership Requirements

To be eligible for membership in Heart of Texas DAMA, an individual shall have an active interest in data management concepts, products or technology, either as a user or a potential user.  All memberships are subject to acceptance by the local chapter board of directors.

Each dues-paying member shall be classified by business type, i.e., industry, educational institution, vendor or consultant, and by sponsorship status, i.e., individual or corporate membership.  The local chapter board of directors shall designate all classifications.

There will be two classifications of membership - individual and corporate.


Membership Classifications

- Individual membership in the local chapter is engaged by an individual person and

  remains with that individual person, regardless of employment.

- Corporate membership in the local chapter is engaged by a company, a corporation, a major division of a corporation or an educational institution.  Each corporate membership is limited to any 5 individuals employed by that facility.  Additional corporate memberships can be consummated by the same facility on a prorated basis for additional individual slots.  One primary representative hereafter referred to as “the sponsor” shall be designated for each corporate membership.  The sponsor for a corporate membership will be responsible for the identification of those members from his institution that will have full corporate memberships.  All other corporate memberships from will be deemed “provisional”.  Only full memberships in good standing will be reported to and recognized by DAMA International.

 

 

 

Voting

Formal voting for the Heart of Texas DAMA shall include voting for officers, charter, bylaws amendments and all other formal votes.  Each member registered individually in the local chapter shall receive one ballot.  Each corporation registered shall receive a number of ballots equal to the number of members allowed by its corporate membership and have the discretion to distribute said ballots appropriately.

When a formal vote is required, all individual and corporate members shall be notified of the vote, with ballots distributed at least 14 days prior to the meeting at which the vote is to occur.  The Vice President Administration or his/her designee shall receive all ballots prior to the close of voting.  Ballots can be e-mailed, mailed, hand-delivered, or delivered via proxy.

Informal voting includes voting for all other local chapter matters, where it is determined that a vote is required.  Informal voting shall occur during local chapter meetings by voice or show of hands.


Fees

To ensure high-quality presentations, the Heart of Texas DAMA shall charge annual membership fees or dues.  These fees are used primarily to obtain noted guest speakers, to cover DAMA International affiliation fees, and to cover rental of facilities and refreshments, as appropriate.  Fees will be reviewed at least once each year and restructured is necessary.  The following is our current fee structure:


The annual individual membership fee shall be $75.

The annual corporate membership fee shall be $375 and allows any 5 members of  its bearer to attend chapter functions.  Corporate memberships may be extended to include any number of persons over 5 members at the cost of $75 per person added.


The membership year shall begin 1 January and end 31 December.  Membership dues accepted during the year shall be prorated based on the number of months and chapter activities remaining in the membership year.  Memberships accepted after the last regularly scheduled chapter meeting of the membership year shall be assessed a full year's dues and be accounted as paid for the next upcoming year.  The proration schedule shall be reviewed by the chapter board and published by the treasurer annually at the beginning of the membership year.  As each new membership year approaches, c Current members shall be invoiced one month prior to the commencement of the new membership year.

Nonmembers attending their first local chapter meeting shall be admitted free of charge.  Thereafter, the nonmember must pay $20 per event.

Full-time students may attend regular monthly meetings free of charge.

 

 

Meetings

Heart of Texas DAMA shall convene monthly meetings on the last Thursday of the months of January, February, March, April, May, August, September, and October.   There will be no scheduled monthly meeting during the months of June and July to allow for summer vacations.  There will also be no scheduled monthly meeting between the end of November to New Year's day to avoid the holidays.  If alternate dates or additional meetings are required, due to holidays or other contingencies, the Vice President Programs shall designate said alternate local chapter meeting dates.

Meeting notifications shall be distributed in a timely fashion to the membership, and shall include information on fees, time, date, location and topic.  Maps shall be included, if appropriate.

When possible and to minimize costs, meetings shall be held at member locations.  The board of directors shall retain the right to rent appropriate meeting facilities when required.



Robert's Rules of Order shall govern business meetings conducted during the proceedings of a local chapter meeting.

The Vice President Programs is responsible for the format of each Heart of Texas DAMA meeting.  Said officer is responsible for acquiring high-quality speakers in compliance with member-described topics of interest.


Charter or Bylaws Amendments

The Vice President Operations or his/her designee shall receive in writing all requests for amendments to the Heart of Texas DAMA charter or bylaws.  The board of directors shall review each request and shall retain the right to determine the immediacy or urgency of each request.

When a bylaws amendment request is determined by the board of directors to be urgent, said request shall be presented to the membership at the earliest convenient time and voted on during the next business meeting.

When a bylaws amendment request is determined by the board of directors to be non-urgent, said request should be presented to the membership during the next business meeting.


Canons of Conduct

For DAMA International to best achieve its goals and objectives and fulfill its purpose, the Heart of Texas DAMA shall adopt the following Canons of Conduct.  Said canons shall govern the conduct of all Heart of Texas DAMA members, member representatives, attendees and guests.  All persons that become connected with DAMA International and Heart of Texas DAMA shall, during the conduct of business with these organizations:

- Conduct themselves and their activities in a professional manner marked by integrity 

  and the spirit of fair play

- Refrain from engaging in any activity that violates the proprietary rights of their 

  employer, Heart of Texas DAMA, DAMA International, or any

  other organization or person

- Abide by the bylaws and policies of DAMA International Heart of Texas  Chapter and

  by the bylaws and policies of DAMA International

- Properly register and certify membership in good standing for Heart of Texas DAMA

  activities


- Refrain from engaging in any sales activity, including direct or indirect solicitations, or

  conduct any other activity contrary to the purposes or policies of Heart of Texas DAMA

  and DAMA International

- Refrain from distributing any materials or posting any displays at activities sponsored

  by Heart of Texas DAMA or DAMA International without the

  expressed written approval of the appropriate organization's board of directors

- Refrain from engaging in any personnel recruitment at or using the resources of Heart

  of Texas DAMA or DAMA International for personal gain

 

- Each board officer shall sign the Code of Ethics at the beginning of their terms.