PROTOCOL

COUNCIL ON VETERANS PROGRAMS

Membership on the Council on Veterans Programs (“Council”) is reserved for a single

representative from each of those veterans’ organizations listed in s.15.497, Wis. Stats.

Each such organization shall appoint a Council representative from its eligible membership each
year prior to the October meeting of the Council or as soon thereafter as is possible. Said
appointments shall be expeditiously forwarded to the Department of Veterans Affairs once made.

Each October, after representatives have been appointed and seated, the Council shall elect, from
its membership, a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary, each of whom shall be elected by a majority
vote of the Council. Election shall be by secret ballot and officers shall take office immediately
after election.

The officers are elected for a term of one year each. The Council Chair may not serve more than
two consecutive full terms. In the event the Vice Chair must succeed the Chair during the
Chair’s regular term, he/she may serve two consecutive full terms after completing the unexpired
term of the former Chair. A new Vice-Chair shall be elected as soon as the position of Vice-
Chair is vacated.

The duties of the Chair are to run the scheduled meetings of the Council, to make reports directly
to the Board of Veterans Affairs or delegate that responsibility to another Council member; and
to perform other duties as directed by Council mandate.

The duties of the Vice-Chair shall be to run the Council meetings in the absence of the Chair and
to perform other duties as directed by the Chair or Council mandate.

The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep a record of Council business with the assistance of
the Department of Veterans Affairs support staff, to receive official correspondence, to prepare
and send correspondence as directed by the Chair or Council mandate, and to perform other
duties as directed by the Chair or Council mandate.

The Council Chair may represent the Council before legislative, administrative or other bodies
only on matters on which the Council has taken a position or as directed by the Council.

The Council Chair may appoint specific committees, the size being five or seven members. The
Committee shall report to the Council its conclusions and be dismissed or extended at that time.

Each Council representative shall have one vote, which must be cast as affirmative, negative or
abstaining.

In the event that a representative of a member organization cannot attend a scheduled meeting of
the Council, the appointing authority of that organization may designate a substitute
representative to the Council. It is the responsibility of the appointing authority to notify the
Council Chair and/or the Department of Veterans Affairs either in writing, by telephone or by
email as to this temporary appointment. The designated representative shall have all of the
voting privileges of the normal representative but cannot be reimbursed for expenses by the
Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. Any reimbursement for travel, lodging and meals
will be the responsibility of the parent organization.
Organizations may be considered to be inactive if all of the following conditions are met: 1) an
organization does not have a duly appointed and current representative, or, if it does, the
representative has accumulated three (3) consecutive unexcused absences; and 2) an
organization has not complied with the biennial reporting requirement under s.45.03(3)(b) Wis.
Stats. for the most recent reporting period.

If an organization is determined to be inactive under the above conditions, the Council may
authorize the Chairperson to notify the organization of its inactive status and to identify the
actions the organization needs to take to remove that designation. Written notification shall be
sent to the organization's last known point of contact, return receipt requested. If after thirty (30)
days of the postmark on the envelope of the notification letter there is no response or, if there is a
response, but the organization does not meet the conditions that would remove that status within
ninety (90) days of the date of the postmark , the Council may authorize the Chairperson to
notify the Legislature's Veterans Committees of the organization’s inactive status and to request
that the organization be removed from membership on the Council by amending s.15.497, Wis.
Stats.

A special meeting of the Council may be called by the Chair with the concurrence of the Vice
Chair and Secretary or by two-thirds of the Council representatives.

This protocol may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the appointed Council representatives.

2/20/09
 APPLICATION FOR CONSIDERATION FOR ACCEPTANCE
INTO THE COUNCIL ON VETERANS PROGRAMS

Please enter the following information:

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
FULL NAME OF ORGANIZATION

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
PERMANENT PHYSICAL ADDRESS

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
MAILING ADDRESS (if different from permanent address)

____________________
______________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER EMAIL (if available)

____________________
______________________________________________________
FAX NUMBER WEB PAGE (if available)

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
NAME OF CONTACT PERSON

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
ADDRESS OF CONTACT PERSON

_____________________
______________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER EMAIL

1. Is your organization federally chartered as a Veterans Service Organization?

_____Yes _____No

2. Is your organization incorporated in the State of Wisconsin as a non-stock, non-profit

corporation? _____ Yes ______No

3. Please attach to this application form a copy of your Constitution, By-Laws and Commission
Statement. If your organization has no Constitution or By-Laws, please explain why.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_
_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

4. Does your organization accept members who are dishonorably discharged veterans?
_____Yes _____No

5. If your organization accepts dishonorably discharged veterans as members, please explain.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

6. Does your organization accept non-veterans as members? _____Yes _____No

7. If your organization does accept non-veterans as members, please explain why.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

8. Is your organization and its activities non-partisan? _____Yes _____No

9. If your organization and its activities are partisan, please explain why.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

10. Please attach a listing of your service activities and programs to this application.
11. By signing and submitting this application, you certify that your organization will abide by
the protocols of the Council on Veterans Programs upon approval to join.

____________________________________
____________________________________
Print Name of Elected State Leader Print Name of Contact Person

_____________________________________
____________________________________
Signature of Elected State Leader Signature of Contact Person

Dated this __________day of ___________________, 20___.

Form originated 2/19/10