Dear <<First Name>>,

 Every five years we are required, by our Bylaws, to review and update that document. That is done by a Bylaws Review Committee chaired by the second vice president that includes two Council members and at least one non-Council member. Then the changes recommended by the Bylaws Review Committee and approved by Council are presented to LLI members for their approval. The Bylaws are not light reading, but they are our essential rules of the road and define what our membership should expect from its leadership. 

The Bylaws were last revised in 2017, so a committee chaired by Felice Gelman, second vice president, including Deborah Lanser, Robert Beaury, council members, and Anne Sunners, a non-council member, has reviewed them and proposed the following changes. 

A ballot asking members to approve or reject the changes will be emailed to all members by May 1. 


The substantive changes are: 

1. We have added one sentence to Article II, to say that LLI strives to be an inclusive organization and welcomes applicants and members from all backgrounds. This is the language approved by Council in June 2021 for our current mission statement.
2. We have combined the Nominations Committee and the Election Committee into a single Nominations and Election Team. This simplifies our structure and ensures continuity in the process of nominating and electing our officers. 
3. We have formalized the President’s role in creating ad hoc teams as needed and in maintaining our connection with Bard. 
4. We have made chairing the Nominations and Election Team the responsibility of the first vice president. This proposed bylaws change would codify our existing practice.
5. Since the members at large represent the interests of the general membership, we have added serving on the Nominations and Elections Team to their responsibilities. 
6. Since LLI has increased its membership substantially since the last Bylaws revision, we have changed the provision permitting LLI members to call a special membership meeting from 10 members to 10% of the membership. Such a meeting could only take place once in a fiscal year. 
7. Finally, we have clarified that, should Bard LLI be dissolved, its net assets would be distributed to Bard College. 

In addition to these substantive changes, we made some editorial changes — most importantly, clarifying our nomenclature so that there are only six committees: the standing committees. Any groups, ad hoc, or operating under the aegis of the standing committees, are designated as teams. 

To read our current bylaws, click on the link "Current Bylaws".  To read our bylaws as we propose amending them, click on the link "Proposed Bylaws".

Thank you, 

 Felice Gelman
Robert Beaury
Deborah Lanser
Anne Sunners