Teton County 4-H Council Constitution

Mission:

The mission of the Teton County 4-H Council is to support the educational and leadership opportunities for Teton County 4-H members and leaders.

Purpose:

The purposes of this council are:

  1. To maintain and strengthen the 4-H program by assisting Montana State University Extension.
  2. To promote educational 4-H club, county, state and national activities.
  3. To give leaders and members a forum for offering suggestions, exchanging ideas, completing county/district/state activities or projects, and to develop a comprehensive county 4-H program.
  4. To plan and conduct fundraising and/or to oversee the fiscal management of accounts and property held in the name of the Teton County 4-H Council.

Authority

The authority of the Teton County 4-H Council is to administer the county 4-H program, to follow guidelines for the appropriate use of the 4-H name and emblem as authorized by the United State Department of Agriculture, the land-grant university system and Montana State University Extension. 

 

4-H is a youth education program of the Montana State University Extension, cooperating with the USDA and local county governments.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and the Montana State University Extension Service prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital and family status.

 

The MSU County Extension Agents have the responsibility for the leadership of the 4-H program.  The county extension agents have authority in matters of conduct, discipline, health and safety in connection with the 4-H members and leaders enrolled in the county. 

Articles

  1. Name
    1. The name of the organization will be Teton County 4-H Council.
  2. Object
    1. The objective of this organization will be to promote 4-H work in the county through:
      1. Meetings of the county council for the purpose of developing and implementing programs and identifying needs within the Teton County 4-H program that will promote positive youth development.
      2. Cooperation with the county Extension personnel and other agencies interested in assisting in the development of the 4-H program.
      3. Informing 4-H club leaders and members of 4-H opportunities to strengthen the 4-H program in the county.
      4. Serve in an advisory capacity to MSU Extension Agents in Teton County.
  1. Membership
    1. The membership of this organization will be as follows: All certified volunteer leaders and 4-H members are eligible for membership. Meetings are open to all 4-H members/volunteers/leaders/parents. Voting privileges will be given to Executive Officers (excluding President, with the exception of his/her casting a tie breaking vote), one adult certified leader and one 4-H member from each club, as well as one committee member from each standing committee.
    2. A quorum shall be the majority of members present at any properly noticed meeting. (A properly noticed meeting is one that has been announced with adequate time and effort to inform entire membership.)
    3. The County Extension personnel shall act in an advisory capacity to the 4-H Council, rather than as voting members.
  2. Meetings
    1. There shall be meetings of the Teton County 4-H Council as deemed necessary by the President and the Extension Personnel. A minimum of one meeting a year will be held in person.  A range of 1-6 meetings per year is suggested.  Meetings may be electronic, teleconference, video conference, web based, etc.  Meetings can use a number of different media to allow for discussion and decision making.  A reasonable attempt will be made to be inclusive and to maximize participation rather than minimize participation due to technology used.
      Meetings may be held in any Teton County community having an active 4-H club (historically, Choteau, Power, Pendroy and Fairfield) with an effort to be balanced and meet needs of attendees.       
  3.  Dues
    1. Teton  County 4-H Council will collect the suggested donation (dues) from the registered leaders and send it to the State 4-H Council.
    2. State 4-H Foundation Dues for youth members are voluntary; however, Teton County 4-H Council encourages the payment of dues per 4-H member to the State 4-H Foundation.
    3. Member/leader dues will be invoiced to 4-H clubs in January with receipt of dues by April 1. If dues are not received from clubs by April 1, the dues will double.  Clubs requesting exception must present their case before the Teton County 4-H Council or Executive committee, if 4-H Council cannot be convened.
  1. Officers
    1. The officers of this organization shall be elected toward the close of one 4-H year and the beginning of the next (generally in the fall). Elections can be conducted at a meeting or through other means of communication (electronic, paper, mail, or other telecommunication).
    2. The officers of this organization shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. An office can be shared by two people, for instance, a leader and 4-H youth member can share an office.
    3. Officers will hold office for 2 years and can succeed themselves, for a maximum of two terms for a total of four consequitive years in the same office. However, attempts should be made to allow for changes in leadership to keep a dynamic council. Due to changes in banking policy, the Treasurer would be the most beneficial office to serve successive terms. The President and Treasurer will be elected in odd years, alternating with the Vice-President and Secretary who will take office in even years.
    4. All council members shall be eligible to hold office. Overall ability to perform duties of office is an important consideration. 4-H members holding officer positions have generally been 14-18 years of age.
    5. All votes for officers shall be by some form of individual and reasonably private ballot, even if by electronic means. 
  1. Duties and Installation of Officers
    1. The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings or electronic meetings, to call special meetings, appoint committees and to perform such duties as may be prescribed by the constitution.
    2. The duties of the Vice-President shall be to act for the President whenever the latter is unable to attend to his/her duties. He/she will also assist the President and the County Extension personnel in making and carrying out detailed plans for the meeting of the 4-H Council. 
    3. The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep a record of the minutes of the meetings (electronic or otherwise), call the role, file all important communications, carry on council correspondence, keep a record of the activities of each meeting, and report all meetings and assist with publicity. Meeting minutes should be submitted in a timely fashion, within 30 days of the meeting as much as possible. 
    4. The Treasurer shall care for all money that may come into the County 4-H Council, and make a report of the same at each meeting. The treasurer is asked to complete financial obligations on a monthly basis according to policies and procedures outlined by the state 4-H program.  The Treasurer shall submit financial records to the Extension Office yearly in October for review. 
    5. The installation of officers shall coincide with the beginning of the 4-H year (October 1) at which time the incoming officers shall receive a copy of this Constitution.
  2. Committees
    1. Certified leaders and 4-H members can register for committees during the enrollment process. Only those who have properly registered for a committee by December 1 will have the right to vote at committee meetings.
    2. The standing committees of the County 4-H Council shall be:
      1. Executive: The Executive Committee shall be composed of six council members including the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, the past president and an ambassador (generally the oldest ambassador not also serving in an officer position). This committee shall have the supervision over matters of general interest to the organization, shall act as a planning committee in the preparation of the county 4-H yearly program of work (calendar), and may convene in person or through electronic communications to attend to council business between the regular meetings of the council.
      2. Teton 4-H Fair: The Teton 4-H Fair committee shall coordinate the 4-H fair activities, publicity and assist with displaying exhibits at the Teton    4-H Fair
      3. Livestock Committee: Shall meet regularly to attend to livestock areas of 4-H, including the fair, animal husbandry education, safety and rules regarding the care and keeping of 4-H animals and the sale of 4-H market animals.
      4. Budget and Audit Committee: The committee will arrange for the audit/review of the 4-H council treasurer books between treasurer terms by someone outside of the organization and establish a budget for the 4-H year.
      5. Awards: The awards committee will secure donors for trophies and awards for various 4-H activities.
      6. Textile Committee: The committee will oversee textile educational events, offerings and competitions.
      7. Exchange Committee: Forms rules and guidelines for an Exchange group consisting of leaders and members from Teton County to host and travel to other states. The committee may oversee interstate and intrastate exchange opportunities. 
      8. Horse Committee: The committee will oversee equine education events, rules, regulations and safety of 4-H horse related events and contests.
      9. Record Book Committee: The committee will establish guidelines for record book completion and will review record books as submitted. 
      10. Communications Committee: The committee will promote development of skills in the areas of communication through educational events, training and competition. 
    3. County Extension Agents and the 4-H Council President are ex-officio members of all the committees.
    4. It is suggested that committees provide a written copy of minutes to the Teton County 4-H Council and/or the Extension Office for all committee meetings held. Any committee policy changes should be brought to council in written form for discussion and record.
    5. Standing committees should make a good faith effort to provide a representative to attend 4-H Council meetings.
    6. The President may appoint special committees from time to time to facilitate the working of the Teton County 4-H Council.
  1. Amendments
    1. This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the Council providing the amendment has been submitted and read at the previous regular business meeting. Adoption of the amendment requires a two-thirds quorum of the eligible voting council members who are in attendance at the meeting.
  2. Constitution
    1. The constitution will be made available through the MSU Extension/Teton website and is available by request through the MSU Extension Office in Teton County.
  3. 4-H Bill Payment Procedure
    1. The Teton County 4-H Council budget will be adopted on a second reading following its introduction at the first business meeting of the 4-H year. Adoption of the budget requires a two-thirds quorum of the eligible voting council members who are in attendance at the council meeting.
    2. All bills approved in the current year budget for the 4-H Council, which do not exceed the amount budgeted will be paid upon receipt, by 4-H Council Treasurer. All deposits and bills will be handled on a monthly basis.
    3. The following procedure shall be used in submitting a bill to the 4-H Council Treasurer:
      1. Supply the treasurer with the name of the event
      2. Name of the person to be reimbursed
      3. Receipt for proof of the amount to be reimbursed.
    4. If 4-H Council pays registration fees for members to attend events and members do not attend, the 4-H member is responsible to reimburse the 4-H Council for fees spent in good faith on behalf of the member. Council can consider waving this requirement in case of an unavoidable hardship. 
    5. This procedure shall be used for all bills, whether budgeted items or not.
    6. All 4-H Council bills will be paid by the 4-H Council Treasurer and co-signed by designated signer on account.
  4. Compensation and Conflicts of Interest:
    1. All persons associated with this chartered group are volunteers.
    2. No adult or youth will use their position with 4-H or the knowledge gained from their position in 4-H for person financial benefit.
    3. Whistleblowers Protection: To maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics, the Teton County 4-H program will investigate any suspected fraudulent or dishonest use or misuse of resources.  Any allegations of dishonesty will be handled with sensitivity, discretion and confidentiality to the extent allowed for by law.  The 4-H organization will use its best efforts to protect whistleblowers against retaliation. 
  5. Document retention and destruction:  The following procedures for the retention and destruction of Records will be followed.
    1. Charter                    permanent
    2. By-Laws                    permanent
    3. EIN Paperwork        permanent
    4. 990 tax returns        7 years
    5. Annual and Audits  7years
    6. Bank Records          5 years
    7. Donor Records and Acknowledgement Letters     3 years
    8. Grant paperwork    5 years after completion
    9. Minutes                    3 years
    10. Correspondence     3 years
    11. Yearly Program Plans 3 years
    12. Copies of all permanent records will be kept on file at the local Extension office. The Extension offices in collaboration with the organizational leader are the designated persons to identify the records that have met their required retention time and will oversee the destruction. All destruction will be by shredding.
  6. Organization:  This club is organized exclusively for educational and charitable purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the lnternal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
  7. Use of Earnings:  No part of the net earnings of this club shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that this club shall be empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in this constitution.
  8. Limited Activities:  No substantial part of this club's activities shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and this club 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 candidate for public office.
  9. Other Activities:  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution, this club shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the lnternal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the lnternal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
  10. Dissolution: Upon dissolution, this clubs' assets shall be distributed to MSU Extension in Teton County or Montana 4-H Foundation or its successor, provided that this entity is recognized under ยง 501(c)(3) of the lnternal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.  lf this entity is not so recognized, this club's assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the lnternal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state Montana 4-H Foundation, lnc. or local government, for a public purpose. Any such asset not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the country in which the principal office of the club 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.

Revised by Jane Wolery on April 16, 2004

Last adopted revisions made at April 2004 4-H Council Meeting

Revised by Jane Wolery in 2009/2010

Adopted revisions approved at February 2010 4-H Council Meeting

Revised by Jane Wolery June 2011

Approved by Executive Committee via email

Revised by Jane Wolery November 2014

Approved by 4-H Council January 2015

Revised by Jane Wolery November 2017

Approved by 4-H Council February 2018

Revised by Jane Wolery November 2017

Revised by Jane Wolery November 2019

Approved by 4-H Council February 2020