Article V: Membership

Section 1: Membership in the Alliance shall be open to any individual upon payment of annual dues. For purposes of membership expiration and renewal, the fiscal year is divided into two halves. Annual memberships are started and/or renewed in accordance with the half in which dues are received for deposit by the Treasurer. Multi-year memberships may be purchased with a discount as determined by the executive committee. Section 2: There shall be two categories of membership, Active and Associate, differentiated as follows: A. ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP shall entitle the member to the full privileges of the Alliance, including basic admission to official N.A.S.A. conventions, one vote, and a subscription to the journal and newsletters. This type of membership shall be divided into the following subcategories: 1. Professional Membership shall be available to any individual holding a North American address, whether involved in music professionally or not. 2. Student Membership shall be available at a reduced rate to any individual enrolled in a secondary school (junior high or high school) or college (undergraduate or graduate). 3. Senior Citizen Memberships shall be available at a reduced rate to any individual who is 60 years or older and has retired from professional or other vocational activity. 4. Married Memberships shall be available at a reduced rate to any married couple holding a North American address, whether involved in music as a professional or not. The married couple privileges will include two basic admissions to official N.A.S.A. conventions, two votes, and one subscription to the journal and newsletter. B. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP shall entitle the member only to a subscription to the journal and newsletters. This type of membership shall be divided into the following subcategories: 1. Institutional Membership shall be available to libraries, schools, and other institutions desiring a subscription to the Alliance's journal and newsletters. Annual dues shall be no less than the amount charged for Professional Membership 2. Overseas Membership shall be available to individuals holding addresses outside the United States and Canada and shall require annual dues greater than Professional Membership dues, reflecting the higher costs of mailing the journal and newsletters overseas. Section 3: Annual dues for categories and subcategories of membership shall be determined by the Executive Committee. A two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee is required to change dues. Section 4: All officers of the Alliance are entitled to free membership as a courtesy for their volunteer services. Section 5: Applications for membership with dues, shall be received by the Membership Director. Section 6: A special complimentary membership -Honorary Life Membership - may be extended to individuals of distinction who have made outstanding contributions to the areas of saxophone performance, pedagogy, scholarship, and/or repertoire. Such persons may be nominated by any voting member of the Alliance by submitting such a proposal to the President in writing at any time. Upon majority approval of the Executive Committee, a nominee shall be placed before the general membership for election. The nominee shall be elected Honorary Life membership upon receiving a two-thirds vote of the voting members in a ballot election carried in the newsletter. Honorary Life Membership constitutes a full Active Membership. Section 7: Active Members of the North American Saxophone Alliance shall have particular regional affiliations, as determined by geographic divisions of the North American continent as prescribed by the Alliance. A. The Regions of the North American Saxophone Alliance are as follows: Region 1: States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska. Region 2: States of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Hawaii. Region 3: States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa. Region 4: States of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas. Region 5: States of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan. Region 6: States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida; plus Puerto Rico. Region 7: States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware; plus Washington DC. Region 8: States of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. Region 9: Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories. Region 10: Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island. B. Local Chapter: In addition to an Active Member having a specific regional affiliation, members may, when possible, organize themselves into small sub-groups referred to as "local chapters." A local chapter would comprise Active Members whose residence and/or involvement with the saxophone are in a common geographical area smaller than a Region. This could cover as large an area as an entire state or province, or as small as one city or college music department. N.A.S.A. members interested in forming local chapters must take the initiative to organize the chapter and submit a written proposal to the President, who will present it to the Executive Committee for its majority approval. Conditions for a local chapter are as follows: (1) A local chapter must comprise at least 10 active N.A.S.A. members. (2) Officers, elected by the chapter, are subject to the approval of the President and majority of the Executive Committee, and shall include a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary/ Treasurer. (3) A local chapter shall sponsor or otherwise be involved in at least one public performance per year involving the saxophone. (4) A local chapter shall maintain communication with the Regional Director, who should also share all correspondence with the President. (5) A local chapter may be eligible for financial support from the N.A.S.A. treasury, through the Regional Director, as provided for in the Bylaws, Article VII, Section 4.