Bylaws submissions are closed.
The Bylaws Committee has been working tirelessly throughout the biennium to review and revise the ONA Bylaws. Bylaws constitute the rules and regulations that provide a framework for an organization’s operations and management. As such, the document must be both accurate and reasonably flexible. Last reviewed in 2000, the bylaws were due for close scrutiny to ensure they continue to provide a sound basis upon which to base ONA’s operational and managerial decisions.
The Committee identified several principles that guided its work during the past 20 months. They include:
- Any RN in Ohio should be able to easily be a part of ONA
- All RN members should have defined membership benefits/rights
- The fiscal integrity of ONA cannot be jeopardized
- ONA speaks for all RNs in Ohio
- Members can choose their level of involvement
- ONA has a communication structure with easy access to information for all levels of membership
- ONA maintains a strong connection to ANA
- ONA staff members facilitate groups within the association to work together
- ONA governance is simplified—ONA is technologically smart
With those principles in mind, committee members scrutinized each section of each article. Inconsistencies and redundancies were identified and elimination proposed. Articles were reorganized so as to more logically set out various concepts. The role of electronic communications and new technologies were incorporated into the proposed changes. Missing provisions such as a process for challenging an ONA election were developed. The document that ultimately emerged contains many technical or grammatical changes along with some significant new proposals. The latter respond to 2009 House of Delegates directives and set out new approaches to ensure ONA’s ongoing viability and responsiveness to the changing needs of its volunteer leaders.
Because of the breadth of the changes, committee members believed it was important to provide a series of tools that would help delegates get a better idea of the entire proposal. “Way Finding” materials are posted below to help explain the changes.
Finding Your Way Through the Bylaws (PDF)
In addition, committee members have agreed to be available to meet with district delegations prior to the 2011 convention to explain the proposed bylaws changes and to respond to questions. To arrange to have a committee member at a district meeting contact Rachel Wolfe at rwolfe@ohnurses.org.
Many thanks to the Bylaws Committee for all of their hard work and dedication to this important effort!
Committee Members: Kathleen Montgomery, Chair
Kerry Dawley, Dorcas Fitzgerald, Jane Mahowald, Elaine Mertz & Sandra Ranck
ONA Staff: Gingy Harshey-Meade, Kelly Trautner & Rachel Wolfe
Consultant: Jan Lanier
