Welcome to our website! The Fanfare Honor Society was established long ago to recognize outstanding members of the University of Pennsylvania Band who display service and spirit above the call of duty. The society serves primarily a social role in the Penn Band organization. Fanfare helps coordinate the social activities of the Penn Band, as well as serving as a social organization for its members. Fanfare organizes the Annual Penn Band Semi-Formal, makes toast
for the Football Games, organizes Parties and Social Outings for the entire Band
Membership and much more.
Constitution
Article I:
Organization
The name of this organization shall be The Fanfare
Honor Society.
Article II: Objective
The Fanfare Honor Society
shall serve two functions within the University of Pennsylvania Band:
i) As an Honor for members of the Band who have distinguished
themselves within the organization through Service.
ii)As
an organization that strives to create an atmosphere of Spirit and Fraternity
within the group by planning and implementing social activities.
Article III: Officers
The Society shall be led by a
Chair who will be assisted by a Vice Chair and a Secretary (the Fanfare Board).
Election of these said officers will take place at a meeting of the Society
during the month of April. The Membership of Fanfare may provide for special
elections as needed. Terms of the offices will turn over on May 1. The Board
shall meet at least once before the end of the Spring Term. This Fanfare board
is responsible for organizing the members of Fanfare toward achieving the
society's goals and for communicating with the Executive Board of the Penn Band.
The duties of each officer are as follows:
1.CHAIR:
The Chair shall preside over meetings and be responsible for the execution of
all Society functions. Meetings are held at the discretion of the Chair. The
Chair has the power to form committees and name Fanfare members to these
committees.
2.VICE
CHAIR: The Chair shall be assisted by a Vice Chair. The Vice Chair shall fulfill
any and all duties of the Chair should he/she be unable to be present at a
meeting. The Vice Chair is responsible for membership and voting eligibility
issues.
3.SECRETARY:
The Society shall have a Secretary. The Secretary shall be responsible for
attendance at the Society's meetings and functions. He/she shall be responsible
for the taking of minutes of the Society's meeting and for their timely
distribution. The secretary shall be responsible for notifying Fanfare members
(and the Chair) of any attendance problems.
4.The
Band Director and Assistant Band Director shall be the Administrative Advisors.
They may participate in all Society functions and meetings but may not vote.
Article IV: Voting Procedure
Quorum for meetings is
two-thirds of total voting membership. If two-thirds is not a whole number, the
Society will round up the number of members needed for quorum. On every occasion
that the Society votes, the fraction of the present voting membership required
to pass the vote may or may not be a whole number. On the occasions that the
necessary fraction of affirmative votes is not a whole number, the Society will
round up the number of votes needed for the vote to pass. In the case of voting
for new members, votes may be yes, no or abstain. The fraction of affirmative
votes needed to accept a new member will be three-fourths of the yes or no
votes. Votes to abstain will not be included in the total number of votes.
Article V: Membership
Membership in the Society
shall be determined in the following manner:
A prospective member shall
have been a member in Good Standing (as determined by the Executive Board of
the Band) for a total of three semesters (excluding the semester in which
he/she is being considered but including the semester previous to
consideration) and must be a member at the time of selection.
The prospective member
shall have made a significant contribution to the Band in terms of:
a) Service
b) Spirit
c) Leadership, both exhibited and potential
New members shall be
selected twice yearly within five weeks from the start of the fall academic
semester and within three weeks from the start of the spring academic
semester.
All members of the
Band eligible for membership in the Society shall be notified by the Vice
Chair of the Society, in writing, of their eligibility and asked to accept
consideration for membership. If they accept the offer of consideration,
they will be voted upon, in alphabetical order (by last name), by secret
written ballot. Members will cast votes for each person being considered for
membership. A new member of Fanfare is selected by a three-fourths
affirmative vote of the yes or no voting membership. In the event that some
members of the Society chose to abstain, in order to induct a new member of
Fanfare, at least three-fourths of the voting membership present must cast a
yes or no vote. If this quota is not met, then the Society will discuss the
application of the individual being considered for membership a second time,
and a second vote will be taken. If less than three-fourths of the voting
membership present still fails to vote yes or no in this re-vote, then the
potential member's application will be considered to have been voted down.
If the number of potential new members that receive a three-fourths
affirmative vote is greater than the number of positions available, the
Society will accept the full number of available positions. To determine
which of these candidates will be accepted, each voting member will list the
names of those candidates they wish to accept (the number of names each
member lists will equal the number of available seats). The Society will
fill the remaining available seats with the candidates that receive the
highest number of votes. If there continues to be a tie between candidates
for the available seats, the Society will continue to select candidates in
this same fashion. In the case of an irresolvable tie, the Fanfare Board
will decide the remaining seats.
Total voting membership in
the Society shall not exceed twenty members or approximately twenty percent of
the general membership of the Marching Band at the close of the preceding
semester (whichever number is larger).
Should the Fanfare Board
find it to be in the best interests of the Society, any of the above
requirements may be waived by unanimous vote of the present voting membership.
There are two
classifications of membership in the Fanfare Society, Voting and Non-Voting.
Voting Member: Voting members are in Good Standing with the Band (as defined
by the Band Executive Board) and comply with the attendance guidelines. Voting
members are entitled to one unexcused absence from a meeting per academic
year. Request for excused absence must be received by the Secretary no later
than the morning of the day of the meeting. Non-Voting Member: Non-Voting
members of Fanfare have either had more than one unexcused absence from a
Fanfare meeting, have fallen out of Good Standing with the Band, or have
chosen to voluntarily relinquish their voting privileges and status. They may
be granted voting status by a majority vote of the present voting members of
Fanfare.
If the Society's membership
feels as though a member is not fulfilling his/her obligations as a Society
member, they may vote (by majority of present voting members) to warn the
member, in writing. This warning will come from the Vice Chair. The warned
member may plead his/her case at the next regular meeting of the Society at
which a non-voting placement vote will be taken.
Any member may be placed on
non-voting status by the Society by a four-fifths vote of the Society's
present voting membership in a secret written ballot. A motion for non-voting
placement must be voted upon at the regular meeting immediately following its
introduction.
Any member may be dismissed
from the Society for a reproachable act against the Band or Society. This is
accomplished by a four-fifths vote of the present voting members of the
Society.
Upon graduation from
College, members of the Fanfare Society become Non-Voting members unless they
maintain Good Standing (as by the Band Executive Board's criterion) and comply
with attendance guidelines.
Article VI: Meetings
Meetings shall be held at least once a month at a
time and place determined by the Chair. Supplemental meetings may be called at
the discretion of the Chair or upon petition of at least one-fourth of the
Society's membership.
At the discretion of the Chair, Fanfare meetings
may be open to any member of the Band who wishes to observe. However, only
members of Fanfare will have privileges to participate, unless the Chair
recognizes that non-Fanfare member to speak. Only Fanfare members may be
present for any part of a meeting that involves voting procedure.
A quorum of two-thirds of the Society's voting
membership must be present to carry any motions proposed.
Unless otherwise stated, a motion carries if voted
upon affirmatively by a majority of the above two-thirds quorum at a regular,
announced meeting of the Society.
To adjourn a meeting of the Society, the Chair
shall motion to adjourn and another member must second the motion.
Article VII:
Finances
All financial resources and
expenses of the Society shall be maintained and distributed under the auspices
of the Treasurer of the Band. The Chair shall be responsible for all
communication with the Treasurer of the Band to ensure compliance with
University, city, state, and federal
guidelines concerning transactions.
Article VIII: Amendment
This
Constitution may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the Society's present
voting membership. An amendment may not be voted upon at the same meeting in
which it is introduced. The meeting to vote on an amendment must take place at
least one week after the meeting at which it is introduced.
Article IX: Ratification
This Constitution shall be in
effect, superseding all previous Constitutions, when approved by a three-fourths
vote of the Society's membership.
