Approved by vote of the general membership January 22, 2020

I. Statement of Purpose

§1. The Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM) is the collegial gathering of musicians serving cathedral churches in the United States and Canada. It engages in dialogue, reflection, deliberation, resource exchange, mutual support, and ongoing professional development in consideration of the musico-liturgical practice in unique Cathedral settings as models for the Church-at-large.

§2. CRCCM both seeks and stands ready to consult with other liturgical and musical organizations in the pursuit of beauty and excellence in worship, for the spiritual and cultural enrichment of the community, and the greater glory of God.

§3. Membership in the Conference is open to professional musicians in all Roman Catholic Cathedral Churches in the United States and Canada.

November 1984
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

II. Code of Ethics

§4. Members of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians endorse and subscribe to the Code of Ethics of the American Guild of Organists. Members shall also accept in point and practice the personnel policies established by Diocesan/Archdiocesan officials.

§5. Furthermore, the CRCCM Steering Committee shall serve as an ad hoc Committee on Professional Concerns as the need arises. The membership shall vote on situations in which a possible violation of the Code of Ethics has occurred.

January 1991
San Francisco, California

III. Membership

A. Eligibility

§6. The Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians is a collegial organization. Membership in the Conference is open to musicians actively employed in leadership positions as a director of an ensemble or as an organist in Roman Catholic Cathedral Churches in the United States and Canada.

§7. In addition to those actively employed as cathedral musicians, a nonvoting membership is available for those who had at one time been engaged in such employment and had been active members of CRCCM, but are no longer affiliated with a cathedral church.

B. Procedure

§8. Interested individuals meeting these criteria may request admission by contacting the Membership Chair or their Regional Representative. Upon receiving a request for membership, the Membership Chair will send application materials, including information about the Conference, to the individual making the inquiry. If the request was made directly to the Membership Chair, he/she will notify the appropriate Regional Representative of the request. Upon receiving the completed application, the Membership Chair will add the new member to the CRCCM roster, and will relay this information to the Regional Representative, the Treasurer, the Communications Chair, and the Steering Committee Chair.

C. Regions

§9. For membership purposes, the Conference divides the United States and Canada into the following regions, each of which is assigned a Regional Representative.

CRCCM Regions:

    1.  ME, MA, NH, VT, CT, RI
    2.  NY
    3.  NJ, PA
    4.  MD, DE, VA, WV, DC
    5.  KY, TN, AL, MS, LA
    6.  OH, MI
    7.  IL, IN, WI
    8.  MN, ND, SD
    9.  IA, KS, NE, MO
    10.  TX, OK, AR
    11.  CA, HI, NV
    12.  AK, OR, ID, MT, WA
    13.  UT, CO, WY, AZ, NM
    14.  FL, GA, NC, SC
    15.  Eastern Churches
    16.  Canada

D. Membership Dues

§10. Annual dues for membership in CRCCM consist of a single fee per cathedral, which covers the membership of all eligible musicians (see §6) at a particular cathedral who wish to participate in the Conference, regardless of number. Dues for a member musician are typically paid by his/her cathedral church. No distinction is made between voting and nonvoting members in regard to dues rates and policies. Nonvoting members requesting special consideration in regard to dues should contact the Treasurer.

§11. The CRCCM membership year is July 1 through June 30, and the Treasurer sends an annual dues statement to each participating cathedral and nonvoting member in June. Payment within thirty days of receipt of the statement is expected. Members deemed to be “in good standing” will have paid all dues currently owed, and only such members are eligible to register for the annual conference.

§12. Those not current in the payment of their membership dues who wish to attend a particular conference shall have the amount of dues owed added to the registration fee for the conference.

IV. Organizational Structure

A. Leadership Structure

    1. Steering Committee

§13. The primary governing body of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians is the Steering Committee, which is empowered by the conference to act on its behalf throughout the year. Outside of the annual conference, the committee meets as necessary via telephone conference calls to conduct the business of CRCCM.

§14. In general, the Steering Committee is authorized by the membership of the Conference to make such decisions and take such actions as it believes will serve the best interests of CRCCM as a whole. If, in the collective judgment of the Steering Committee members, an issue is of sufficient magnitude to require the assent of the general membership of the Conference, the Steering Committee will present the issue to the attendees of the pending annual conference for discussion and vote.

§15. The Steering Committee is comprised of six members elected by the membership of CRCCM. At the annual conference, the term of two members ends, and candidates are nominated to fill the two vacant seats; a general election involving all eligible voting members as defined in §6 and in good standing (see §11) follows soon thereafter. A nominee must currently be a member of CRCCM and be employed as a cathedral musician. A Steering Committee member is elected to a term of office of three years duration, and is eligible to serve two consecutive terms. After a minimum of one year off of the committee, an individual is again eligible for election. Details of the election process are specified in Section V (§36–40) of this document.

§16. The following participate in Steering Committee meetings: (1) the six Steering Committee members (among them, the Steering Committee Chair and the Secretary); (2) the Advisory Board; (3) the Treasurer; (4) the Membership Chair; (5) the Communications Chair. In meetings pertaining to the pending annual conference, the host(s) of that conference are included as well.

    2. Advisory Board

§17. The Steering Committee is joined in its deliberations by the Advisory Board, which is comprised of the remaining founding members of CRCCM. Advisory board members are not eligible to vote in Steering Committee discussions. However, the participation of the Advisory Board members in committee discussions ensures that the Conference will continue to benefit from their experience and insight, while all authority rests with the six elected members, and therefore, ultimately, with the general membership which elects them.

B. Officers

    1. Steering Committee Chair

§18. The Steering Committee is headed by the Steering Committee Chair. The Chair is equal in authority to each of the other five members of the committee. His/her duties include: calling issues to the attention of the Steering Committee, scheduling committee meetings (conference calls), setting the agenda for meetings in consultation with the other committee members, and presiding at meetings. The Chair’s role is that of coordinator, facilitator, and moderator.
§19. The Chair must be selected from the six current members of Steering Committee, and is elected by the Steering Committee members themselves. He/she serves for a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. The Chair remains eligible for reelection to this post until the expiration of his/her tenure as a Steering Committee member.

    2. Treasurer

§20. The official physical location of CRCCM for financial purposes is the location of the current Treasurer.
Every effort shall be made to maintain the CRCCM bank accounts at a financial institution that has branches
located throughout the United States in order to minimize the need to change institutions when the person filling the position of Treasurer changes.

§21. The Treasurer performs the following duties: (1) sending out membership dues notices in June of each year; (2) receiving, recording, and depositing membership dues; (3) making timely payment of invoices as authorized by the Steering Committee—the Treasurer must secure agreement from the Steering Committee Chair before dispersing any funds; (4) maintaining accurate financial records for the Conference; (5) preparing and presenting an annual report to the general membership at the annual conference, and regular reports to the Steering Committee; (6) annually filing any required government tax documents in a timely manner; (7) transferring all funds, bank account information and authorizations, and any other CRCCM financial records and information to his/her successor upon completing of his/her term of office.

§22. The Treasurer must currently be a member of CRCCM; he/she need not be a member of the Steering Committee. Candidates are nominated by the Steering Committee, and the Treasurer is elected by vote of the Steering Committee. He/she serves for a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. The Treasurer remains eligible for reelection to this post for a maximum of six consecutive terms.

    3. Membership Chair

§23. The Membership Chair performs the following duties: (1) coordinating the recruiting efforts of the Regional Representatives; (2) maintaining an up-to-date roster of members, their positions and contact information;
(3) regularly relaying current information to the Steering Committee Chair and Treasurer; (4) for a nominal fee, printing and sending mailing labels for the CRCCM roster to current members of the organization, as requested.

§24. The Membership Chair must currently be a member of CRCCM and be employed as a cathedral musician; he/she need not be a member of the Steering Committee. Candidates are nominated by the Steering Committee, and the Membership Chair is elected by vote of the Steering Committee. He/she serves for a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. The Membership Chair remains eligible for reelection to this post for a maximum of six consecutive terms.

    4. Communications Chair

§25. The Communications Chair heads the Communications Committee, and coordinates the distribution of communications tasks among the members of that committee. These tasks are outlined below (§33).

§26. The Communications Chair must currently be a member of CRCCM and be employed as a cathedral musician; he/she need not be a member of the Steering Committee. Candidates are nominated by the Steering Committee, and the Communications Chair is elected by vote of the Steering Committee. He/she serves for a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. The Communications Chair remains eligible for reelection to this post for a maximum of six consecutive terms.

    5. Secretary

§27. The Secretary is responsible for recording the minutes of all meetings of the Steering Committee, and for distributing copies of the minutes to all meeting participants in a timely fashion. The Secretary also manages elections and votes involving the general membership, including the annual election of Steering Committee members and votes on major issues or modifications of the bylaws. This includes distributing ballots to the general membership and tabulating, recording, and reporting the election results.

§28. The Secretary must be selected from the six current members of the Steering Committee, and is elected by vote of the Steering Committee members themselves. He/she serves for a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. The Secretary remains eligible for reelection to this post until the expiration of his/her tenure as a Steering Committee member.

    6. Archivist

§29. The Archivist compiles and maintains complete records for CRCCM, including all materials from each annual conference, and such records as are provided to him/her by the other offices and committees of the Conference. The archives are to be kept at the location of the Archivist so that he/she is able to serve as a reference person for the Steering Committee and the host(s) of the pending annual conference. A duplicate set is to be digitized and stored online. The Archivist passes all records and materials on to his/her successor upon completion of his/her term of office.

§30. The Archivist must currently be a member of CRCCM; he/she need not be a member of the Steering Committee. Candidates are nominated by the Steering Committee, and the Archivist is elected by vote of the Steering Committee. There is no fixed term of office for the Archivist, but the continuation of an individual’s service in this capacity is dependent upon the mutual agreement of that individual and the Steering Committee.

C. Other Committees

    1. Membership Committee

§31. The Membership Committee is headed by the Membership Chair, and consists of the Chair and the Regional Representatives. The committee does not meet outside of the annual conference, but members work individually throughout the year to encourage professional musicians at Roman Catholic cathedral churches in the United States and Canada to become members of CRCCM.

§32. Regional Representatives are selected by the Membership Chair. They must currently be members of
CRCCM. There are no fixed terms of office for Regional Representatives, but the continuation of an individual’s service in this capacity is dependent upon the mutual agreement of that individual and the Membership Chair, subject to the approval of the Steering Committee.

    2. Communications Committee

§33. The Communications Committee is headed by the Communications Chair and performs the following tasks: (1) maintaining the CRCCM website; (2) maintaining the CRCCM members contact list; (3) assisting the host(s) of the pending annual conference in communicating with the membership; (4) producing two issues of the CRCCM Newsletter per year, the first within one month following the annual gathering that will include a report on that gathering, and one during the summer that will include information promoting the pending annual gathering; (5) submit an article to relevant national music publications on the most recent annual gathering.

§34. Communications Committee members are selected by the Communications Chair in consultation with the Steering Committee and must be members of CRCCM. There are no fixed terms of office for committee members, but the continuation of an individual’s service in this capacity is dependent upon the mutual agreement of that individual and the Communications Chair, subject to the approval of the Steering Committee.

    3. Ad Hoc Committees

§35. Additional committees may be formed from time to time as is deemed necessary by majority vote of the general membership. Such committees are by design temporary, and focus on the completion of specific projects.

V. Elections

§36. For elections and other votes involving the general membership, each member meeting the criteria specified in §6 and in good standing (see §11) at the time the candidates or proposals are submitted for a vote receives one vote.

§37. Each year the general membership shall elect two (2) members to the Steering Committee for three-year terms of office. A minimum of six (6) members shall be nominated at the annual conference to fill the two positions. A nominee must currently be a CRCCM member in good standing (see §11) and be employed as a cathedral musician.

§38. Ballots will be mailed to all voting members—those meeting the criteria specified in §6 and in good standing (see §11)—by the Secretary no later than February 15, and shall be returned to the Secretary no later than March 1. In the event of a tie vote, a separate election by the Steering Committee, including the departing members, shall break the tie. Appointments to the Steering Committee are effective immediately following the election. Members of the Steering Committee shall serve a term of office of three years duration, and shall be eligible for election to one additional consecutive three-year term. No member shall serve longer than six successive years on the Steering Committee. After a minimum of one year off of the Steering Committee, an individual is again eligible for election.

§39. CRCCM officers (Steering Committee Chair, Treasurer, Membership Chair, Communications Chair, and Secretary) shall be nominated and elected by the Steering Committee. Officers shall serve a term of one year, renewable by annual vote of the committee. Officers may not be elected for more than six consecutive years. Only members of the Steering Committee are eligible to serve as Steering Committee Chair and Secretary.

§40. In the event that an individual holding a Steering Committee position (or any other position which requires that the incumbent be actively employed as a cathedral musician) discontinues his/her cathedral employment, that individual will be permitted to complete his/her term of office. Should an elected member be unable to complete his/her term, the Steering Committee shall elect a replacement to serve the unexpired term.

VI. Modification of the Bylaws

§41. Amendment of the bylaws must be initiated by sending the proposed modification or addition to the Steering Committee for evaluation. If, in the judgment of a majority of the Steering Committee members, the proposal is deemed to have merit, the proposal will be presented to the CRCCM membership for their consideration. This is to be done at the next business meeting during the annual conference. Following a discussion of the proposal, brief summaries of the positions for and against the proposal will be written and provided both to those in attendance at that meeting and distributed to all CRCCM members eligible to vote. All eligible voting members will be given an opportunity to vote on the proposal by means of secure electronically tallied ballots. Completed ballots must be received by the Secretary within fourteen days of the distribution of the proposal to the membership. In order for the results of the vote to be valid, at least sixty percent of all eligible voting members must vote. In the event that fewer than sixty percent vote, the proposal could be resubmitted to the membership for a second vote, at the discretion of the Steering Committee. The proposed amendment of the bylaws will be adopted only if sixty percent of eligible voting members vote and two-thirds or more of those voting are in favor of it.

§42. For elections and other votes involving the general membership, each member meeting the criteria specified in §6 and in good standing (see §11) at the time the candidates or proposals are submitted for a vote receives one vote.

VII. Voting on other issues

§43. In addition to amendments to the bylaws, other issues may be deemed by the Steering Committee to be of sufficient magnitude to require the assent of the general membership. These will be presented to attendees of the pending annual conference for discussion and vote. Only those eligible voting members present for the discussion and vote may cast ballots. There will be no opportunity to vote on such issues remotely.

§44. For elections and other votes involving the general membership, each member meeting the criteria specified in §6 and in good standing (see §11) at the time the candidates or proposals are submitted for a vote receives one vote.

VIII. CRCCM Annual Conference

§45. The CRCCM annual conference is held during the month of January at a site hosted by one or more members.  Conference sites are proposed and accepted at least three years in advance by majority vote of the Steering Committee. Those wishing to propose that their cathedral host a conference should fill out a Conference Proposal Form and return it to a Steering Committee member for consideration by the committee.

§46. Members in good standing (see §11) and their guests are eligible to attend the annual conference. Those not current in the payment of their membership dues who wish to attend a particular conference shall have the amount of dues owed added to the registration fee for the conference.

§47. During the year prior to the conference, the host(s) will work closely with the Steering Committee. The schedule and agenda for each conference are determined by the hosts(s), the Steering Committee, and input sent to the Steering Committee from the general membership.

§48. The hosts(s) must ensure that all conference costs (including, but not limited to, housing, speakers, musicians, meals, and local transportation) are met by the conference registration fee. Expenses of the hospitality suite will be paid from CRCCM general funds. In unusual cases, certain exceptional costs may be paid from general funds as well, but permission must be obtained from the Steering Committee in advance of making any such arrangement. The host(s) will be responsible for paying any additional expenses not covered by conference fees.

§49. Traditionally, it is the responsibility of the host(s) to make music with the resident cathedral musicians (including liturgies and concerts), and to provide a concluding banquet of appropriate festivity.

IX. Organizational and Financial Specifications, Dissolution

§50. CRCCM is organized as an unincorporated association exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

§51. No part of the net earnings of the association shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in these bylaws. No substantial part of the activities of the association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the association shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these bylaws, the association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a association exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a association, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

§52. The property of the Association upon dissolution shall distributed equally for exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, among all participating cathedrals at said time that are recognized as holding exemption under the meaning of said section.  If in the judgment of the surviving members this is not appropriate, it alternatively may be distributed to any Catholic organization chosen by the surviving members for exempt purposes and operated and organized within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

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