2022 Assembly of Delegates
Welcome to the Pride Bands Alliance 2022 Assembly of Delegates. The Board of Directors is presenting the materials for the May 2022 Special Meeting in this online format, along with the traditional PDF format we’ve historically provided. If you’d prefer, click here to download the full packet (updated May 20, 2022) as a single PDF.
Please find below all the materials you need to consider for voting during the Special Meeting to be held Sunday, May 29, 2022, at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Scroll below to see each topic or click one of the buttons below to jump to a specific topic. For each agenda item, click the buttons to view the supporting documents. To make the meeting run as quickly and smoothly as possible, please carefully review each of the materials below. If you have questions prior to the meeting, please ask the Officers.
Preliminary Agenda for Meetings
Friday, May 27, 2022
Palmer House Hilton, Chicago – All times are local CDT and subject to change
Also presented by livestream on the Pride Bands Forum Facebook Group
| 9:00 AM | Welcome | Jessie Riggins / Zef Hernandez-Hersh |
| 9:05 AM | 40th Anniversary Presentation | Courtney von Bergen / Jason Stephens |
| 9:20 AM | Keynote Speaker | Mary Bahr |
| 9:40 AM | Band Anniversary Recognitions | Brandon A. Lujan / Patrice Mustaafaa |
| 10:00 AM | New Band Awards | Cliff Norris / Aaron Reines |
| 10:05 AM | Presidents Circle Recognitions | Moira Wilmes / Robb Blackwell |
| 10:10 AM | 2023 Conference Promo | Brandon A. Lujan / Derek Hebert |
| 10:15 AM | 2024 Conference Bid A | David Doan / Nanette King / Band A |
| 10:25 AM | 2024 Conference Bid B | David Doan / Nanette King / Band B |
| 10:35 AM | Future of Conferences | David Doan / Andrew Pridgen |
| 10:45 AM | Pride Bands Ignite! | Kevin Taylor / Larry Williams |
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Palmer House Hilton, Chicago – All times are local CDT and subject to change
Also presented by Zoom – Meeting ID: 895 1501 4664 / Passcode: 049955
| 9:00 AM | Call to Order / Welcome | Robb Blackwell |
| 9:02 AM | Roll Call | Zef Hernandez-Hersh |
| 9:09 AM | Mission Statement | Delegate |
| 9:10 AM | 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes | Zef Hernandez-Hersh |
| 9:15 AM | Conference Bids Q&A – Band A | David Doan |
| 9:25 AM | Conference Bids Q&A – Band B | David Doan |
| 9:35 AM | Bylaws Amendments Q&A | Robb Blackwell |
| 9:45 AM | Membership Changes | Brandon A. Lujan |
| 9:50 AM | Ballot Distribution / Voting | Larry Williams |
| 9:55 AM | Treasurer’s Report | Moira Wilmes |
| 10:05 AM | Vote Tallies / Results | Larry Williams |
| 10:10 AM | Adjournment | Robb Blackwell |
2022 Delegates Roster
2021 Assembly of Delegates Minutes
Click here to review the minutes from our November 2021 Annual Meeting in Houston.
Bids for the 2024 Annual Conference
Click to view each bid.
Amendments to the Pride Bands Bylaws
The Pride Bands Alliance Board of Directors has drafted the following revisions to our Bylaws with the primary goal of shifting Director and Officer terms from a conference-to-conference timeline to a fiscal year timeline.
In the past, Board positions were elected during an Annual Meeting held during the Pride Bands Annual Conference and new terms began at the close of the conference. This has caused dramatically different term lengths for elected Board members — sometimes for as short as six months or for as long as 30 months of service. With these proposals, the Board would like to regulate office terms to 24 months following the Fiscal Year (as defined in the Bylaws section 10.04 as from January 1 to December 31 of the calendar year).
In practice, we propose a cadence of an online-only Annual Meeting each November where the Assembly of Delegates will elect Directors and Officers. Those new Board members would then have two months of overlap with the current Board before claiming their seats the following January.
Under this new cadence, selection of our next-next Annual Conference host and site would be held at a Special Meeting of the Assembly of Delegates as part of the in-person conference. This will allow bidding organizations the opportunity to present and campaign for their bids while we’re together at a conference each year. In recognition of comments from the last two Delegates’ surveys asking for fewer time in meetings, we hope this change in commitment will allow Delegates to spend more time in workshops or other conference activities while streamlining the requirements of representing their home bands.
Revisions Part A – Board Elections and Terms
To make these adjustments would require changes to the Bylaws:
ARTICLE V – Board of Directors
5.04. Election and Term of Office.
“At each annual Assembly meeting, Directors shall be elected to serve from the close of that meeting until the close of the second following annual Assembly meeting.”
Proposed revision:
5.04. Election and Terms of Office. The terms of all Directors elected at the Annual Meeting shall begin on the first day of the next fiscal year following their election and shall last for two (2) fiscal years, except in such cases where an Acting Director is completing the remainder of a term for a prior Director, in which case the remainder of the prior Director’s term will be filled in accordance with Section 5.06 hereof. A Director may be elected to successive terms in office.
ARTICLE VI – Officers
6.02. Elections and Terms.
“Each officer shall serve until the close of the second annual Assembly meeting following that at which they were elected and until their successor has been elected.”
Proposed revision:
6.02. Elections and Terms of Office. The President and Secretary shall be elected at the Annual Assembly meetings held in odd-numbered years. The Vice-President and Treasurer shall be elected at the Annual Assembly meetings held in even-numbered years. The term of each Officer elected at the Annual Meeting shall begin on the first day of the next fiscal year following their election and shall last for two (2) fiscal years.
Revisions Part B – Annual Meeting
As discussed during the Delegates’ Town Hall meeting on May 15, we propose a general time frame for when the Annual Meeting must take place.
4.04. Annual Assembly Meetings.
“The Corporation shall hold an annual meeting of the Assembly of Delegates. The time and place of the Annual Assembly meeting shall be determined by the Board of Directors.”
Proposed revision:
4.04. Annual Assembly Meetings. The Corporation shall hold an annual meeting of the Assembly of Delegates during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. The time and place of the Annual Assembly meeting shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Notice of the time and place of the Annual Assembly meeting shall be given to each voting member, by a notice, sent to the address(es) last shown in the Roster, fifty (50) days prior to the date of such meeting.
To eliminate the conflict with section 4.04., we’ll also need to revise the Bylaws section
4.07. Order of Business.
“Selection of the site for the Annual Assembly meeting two (2) years out”
Proposed revision:
4.07. Order of Business. The order of business at each Annual Assembly meeting shall be fixed at the beginning of the meeting and shall include, among other things:
(a) Reading of the Corporation Mission Statement,
(b) Consideration of applications for Member Band, Band-In-Formation, or Partner Organization status and ratification of admittance or removal of Member Bands, Bands-In-Formation, and Partner Organizations provisionally made by the Board of Directors as provided in section 3.04,
(c) Reports of Officers,
(d) Report of the Board of Directors,
(e) Reports by Corporation committees,
(f) Election of Officers and Directors,
(g) Other business.
Revisions Part C – Affiliate Member Dues
We’d also like to clear up conflicting language in the Bylaws over who sets Affiliate Member dues:
3.02. Affiliate Members.
“Any individual person may become an Affiliate Member of the Corporation upon the payment to the Corporation of annual dues as set by the Board of Directors.”
3.04. Dues.
“The Assembly of Delegates shall determine the annual dues to be paid by each type of Member Organization and Affiliate Members.”
Proposed revision:
3.02. Affiliate Members. Any individual person may become an Affiliate Member of the Corporation upon the payment to the Corporation of annual dues as set by the Assembly of Delegates. Affiliate Members do not have voting privileges in the Annual or Special Assembly of Delegates meetings.
Revisions Part D – Consistent Terms
The other proposed revisions fix some consistency issues where the terms “Delegates” and “Member Bands” were sometimes capitalized and other times not. As official terms defined in the Bylaws, we believe these should be capitalized in all instances.
Click the buttons below to view our current and proposed Bylaws.
Pride Bands Alliance Membership Changes
The Membership Committee launched the Membership Engagement Program last year where a Director meets quarterly with each organization’s leadership for a 1:1 discussion about all things Pride Bands Alliance and what is happening with the individual band. These regular meetings have become fruitful discussions that have helped the Pride Bands Board understand the needs and wants of our Member Bands and Partners to help shift our focus where it is needed most. During our discussions with several of the organizations we have identified two changes to our membership roster that we present to the Delegates for approval:
- Queen City Freedom Band in Cincinnati, Ohio, has met the requirements and request that their application for Full Member Band status be approved by the Delegates of Pride Bands Alliance. We are excited that the Queen City team have been able to resurrect a former member band from the ashes. Queen City Freedom Band is flourishing and they will be celebrating their fifth anniversary in 2023.
- Music City Pride Band and Twirling Corps in Nashville, Tenn., has disbanded and they are no longer meeting as a group. Due to several of their board members moving away they are lacking the leadership necessary to continue the organization. They have accepted our Termination Letter and request to be removed from the roster. The Membership Committee will continue to check in with our friends in Nashville and provide any assistance as needed.
Click each logo to view supporting documents.
