Background

The original Bengali Association of Minnesota (BAM) Constitution Articles and Bylaws was adopted on 23rd July 1999.

The voting members of the BAM at BAM’s 2016 General Body Meeting held on 3rd December 2016 at Edina Library, Edina, MN, authorized the BAM Executive Committee to review the original BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws and amend, update, and restate its provisions in order to achieve the following objectives: (1) take into account the changing needs of the corporation as it strives to serve the growing Bengali community in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas; (2) enable the corporation to better utilize technology and tools and best practices for conducting its business; (3) provide guidelines and safeguards to ensure ethical conduct of BAM’s officers and members; (4) make the revised Constitution compliant with applicable laws and regulations.

Pursuant to this authorization by the voting members at the 2016 annual General Body Meeting, the BAM Executive Committee formed the Constitution Revisit Committee (CRC) on 18th August 2017 to review the original BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws, and draft a revised BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws containing amendments, updates, and restatements necessary to achieve the above objectives. After consultation with counsel and several months of deliberation the CRC presented a draft revised BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws to the Executive Committee on 25th September 2018.

The BAM Executive Committee approved the draft revised BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws, and recommended that it be placed before the voting members in a Special General Body Meeting convened to adopt the revised BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws and repeal the original BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws. Accordingly, all registered voting members of BAM were given the opportunity to examine and vote on the adoption of the said proposed amendments, updates, and restatements to the original BAM Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Bengali Association of Minnesota and at a duly constituted Special General Body Meeting of the BAM convened on Nov 4, 2018 the voting members approved, by more than two- thirds majority, all the amendments, updates, and restatements to the original Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Bengali Association in their entirety and adopted the revised BAM Constitution Articles and Bylaws.