COLORADO JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

Bylaws

Compiled: 4/22/95
Revised: 4/11/98
Revised: 10/17/98
Revised: 10/7/2000
Revised: 9/8/2018
Revised: 9/11/2021 (Officers: Hisaaki Wake, Hisako Schibli, Hiromi Onishi, Sayuri Collins,
Mioko Webster, Noriko Garofalo)
Revised: 3/12/2022 (Officers: Hisaaki Wake, Hisako Schibli, Hiromi Onishi, Mariko Hacke,
Mioko Webster, Noriko Garofalo)
Revised: 11/4/2023 (Officers: Hisaaki Wake, Setsu Kawada, Hisako Schibli, Mariko Hacke,
Mioko Webster, Sachiko Cammack)

I. NAME
The name of the society shall be COLORADO JAPANESE LANGUAGE
EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (CJLEA).
CJLEA, hereinafter referred to as the Association, is a local affiliate of American
Association of the Teachers of Japanese (AATJ).

II. MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Association shall be (1) to promote interest in and improve the
quality of instruction of Japanese Language at all levels in the states of Colorado and
surrounding states through student-centered activities and (2) to provide for the
professional/ educational growth of the membership through professional
development activities.

III. MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Association is open to all persons sharing the mission set forth in
Article II of this document. Membership in the Association is on a calendar-year basis
(January through December). Those who have paid their current membership fee
shall be considered members in good standing with the right to vote for officers of the
Executive Council as provided in these Bylaws. The annual membership fee shall be
fixed by the Executive Council. Membership shall consist of at least eight members.
Membership entitles to receive advance notices of the spring and the fall workshops,
and an opportunity to participate in the annual Japanese Speech Contest as well as the
spring Japan Cup event.

1. REGULAR MEMBERSHIP
Regular membership applies to all members who do not qualify as students, emeritus,
or family members. Regular members must pay the full annual membership fees; they

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receive full membership privileges, including the right to vote for officers of the
Executive Council as provided in these Bylaws.

2. STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
Student membership is available for the period from September through August to
bona fide students active during the course of the year in a course of study. These
members receive a fifty percent reduction in membership fees, but enjoy full
membership privileges with the exception of voting.

3. EMERITUS MEMBERS
Emeritus members are exempt from membership fees while retaining full
membership privileges, including the right to vote for officers of the Executive
Council as provided in these Bylaws. A retiree shall inform the Secretary of his/her
intension to stay as an Association member in January at the time of renewal in order
to maintain the member’s status.

4. FAMILY MEMBERS
Two members of a family living under the same roof may both be active members of
the Association by the payment of a sum equivalent to 150 percent of the annual
membership fee. Both may enjoy full membership privileges including the right to
vote for officers of the Executive Council as provided in these Bylaws.
IV. OFFICERS: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
The officers of the Association shall be: a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a
Treasurer, a Public-Relations Officer / Web Master, and Activity Coordinator/Japan Cup
Liaison, selected for a term of one year. The forgoing officers shall constitute the
Executive Council.
V. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
1. THE PRESIDENT
The President shall be responsible for the administration of the Association. He or she
shall preside over the Association meetings and plan the program. He or she shall
convoke or poll the Executive Council as needed. He or she shall oversee the writing
or revision of the Bylaws. He or she shall be responsible for managing the
organization based on the Bylaws. He or she shall serve as the chair of the Executive
Council of the Association. He or she shall see that the other officers carry out their
duties in a timely fashion. He or she shall be responsible for writing a grant for
workshops as needed.

2. THE VICE-PRESIDENT
The vice-President shall fulfill the president’s role in his/her absence, act as an
assistant and advisor to the president when needed, organize the ballot for the annual

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election of officers. He or she shall act as the liaison between Association and the
Japanese Consulate of Denver.
3. THE SECRETARY

The Secretary shall work with the Treasurer to keep track of Association
memberships, and submit reports including the results of elections and meeting
activities. The Secretary is also responsible for advertising the annual fall and spring
conferences/workshops, inviting participants, and keeping track of the events He or
she shall keep the records of the Association. The Secretary shall take the minutes of
the Association meetings and of the Executive Council meetings.

4. THE TREASURER
The Treasurer shall collect dues and handle other monetary transactions on behalf of
the Association. He or she shall submit a list of paid members annually to the
President and the Secretary. He or she shall be responsible for submitting financial
reports during the fall and spring assemblies. The Treasurer shall keep accurate
records of the Association budget.

5. THE PUBLIC-RELATIONS OFFICER/WEB MASTER

The Public-Relations Officer/Web Master shall be responsible for publicity and shall
recruit new members when possible, encourage former members to renew, and invite
at-large members to join the Association. He or she shall handle the Association
Newsletter. He or she shall update the database and act as the web master of the
Association home page. An individual member should seek a permission from the
Web Master regarding information to be circulated to the Association members’ list.
The Web Master shall consult with the President regarding the matter in question
before granting the permission.

6. ACTIVITY COORDINATOR/JAPAN CUP LIAISON

He or she shall act as the liaison between the Association and JASC regarding the
event. He or she will be in charge of coordinating activities during the CJLEA
sponsored events.

7. In the event of officer positions held by two or more persons (Co-President, etc.), the
duties and responsibilities shall be equally shared.

VI. ELECTIONS

1. The Officers of the Association shall be elected as follows:

a) Members of the Executive Council shall consist of the President, the Vice-
President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Public-Relations Officer / Web Master,
and the Activity Coordinator/Japan Cup Liaison. These officers shall be elected

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by the members in good standing. The election shall take place in the fall
assembly.
b) Representatives to other associations, special committee members, and other
offices not specifically mentioned in these Bylaws shall be elected by the
Executive Council.

2. TERMS OF OFFICE
The same officer may be elected to the office for up to 3 consecutive years.
The one-year term of office for all Officers shall begin on January 1st of the year
following the annual fall meeting election. At that time, the President-elect shall
become the new president and the current president shall become the Past
President. However, in order to make a smooth transition, the Past President (PP)
shall act as an advisor and nurture the elected officers as needed for a period of
one year. If a need arises for PP to remain as an advisor for an additional period
of time, through mutual agreement between the Executive Council and PP, this
term could be extended.

3. RESIGNATIONS AND VACANCIES

a) Officers of CJLEA may resign before the end of their terms of office by
informing the President in writing of the intention to resign. In case of the
President wishing to resign, he or she should write to the Executive Council.
Such resignations become effective on the date indicated by the officers in
question.
b) In the case of the death, resignation, or disability of the President, the Vice-
President shall succeed to the presidency and complete the original President's
term. In the case of a vacancy for whatever reason in the office of the Vice-
President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public-Relations Officer/Web Master, or Activity
Coordinator/Japan Cup Liaison, the President shall be empowered to appoint a
replacement to serve until the end of the original term.

4. ELECTION RIGHTS
a) To be elected to office, a candidate must receive a majority of votes cast in
person during the meeting at which the election takes place.
b) All members in good standing in the Association, with the exception of Student
Members, are eligible to vote in Association elections.
c) Nominees must be members in good standing.

VII. AFFILIATIONS
The Association may join in the work of other educational bodies of wider scope with the
approval of the Executive Council. Official delegates elected by the Executive Council
shall serve as representatives to these other organizations.

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VIII. SEMI-ANNUAL MEETINGS

Semi-annual meetings shall be called by the President.
IX. AMENDMENTS
The Bylaws may be amended as follows: amendments may be offered by any valid
member; on a majority vote of the Executive Council, the amendments must be emailed
to the membership, not later than two weeks preceding the Fall or Spring meeting; they
shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members present or represented. Proposed
amendments may not be amended from the floor.

X. DISSOLUTION
The Association may be dissolved only at a semi-annual meeting, the purpose of which
shall be published, by a vote of three-fourths of the members, present and voting.