Bylaws Revised: Restructuring to Open Doors for Future Growth

New bylaws have been passed by the board that came into effect January 1, 2010. These operating guidelines and principles for the organization were distributed to all OWIT chapters in March.

OWIT completed a restructuring of the operational documents in preparation for virtual membership and increased international participation with a bylaw amendment and restatement.

Finding that it was confined by outdated bylaws which restricted use of technological improvements in communications and web-based meeting options, OWIT revised and amended its bylaws after a lengthy three-year review.

The new bylaws focus on adapting and using modern technology for meetings, voting, and solicitation of new members. They also also feature a slimmed down procedure for the day-to-day operations of the organization. The bylaws solidify that the executive board is empowered to conduct the day-to-day operations, making the decision-making process for daily operations significantly more efficient.

As OWIT grows, the number of new international chapters is increasing. Due to the difficulties encountered with time differences and the availability of phone and web access, we needed a more grounded perspective of how management of the organization would be handled, and how to best include all of the chapters in the decision-making process.

The new bylaws make for a flexible organization which can utilize all of the tools legally available to it to communicate and to run OWIT. The new bylaws also added critical provisions which were overlooked but necessary under the organizational law of D.C., the place of incorporation for OWIT.

The streamlined and revised bylaws were accepted at the October 2009 board meeting held in Cleveland, Ohio, and finalized with a vote in December 2009.

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