Statutes Of the National Conference of Visitors of the United States
I.Introduction
In mid-December of 1973, Very Rev. James Richardson, C.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, met with the USA Visitors and requested a new and modern translation into American English of all the extant works of St. Vincent de Paul. The USA Provinces of the Daughters of Charity were immediately invited to participate in the work, which is known as the “Vincentian Translation Project.”
After this meeting with the Superior General, the USA Visitors began to meet annually as a group in order to discuss the progress of the Vincentian Translation Project. Over time, these regular meetings evolved into a national conference for the Visitors.
In May of 2002, Very Rev. Robert Maloney, C.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, having consulted with the USA Visitors and with his own Council, established the National Conference of Visitors of the United States as the successor organization to the Conference of the USA Visitors. This action was taken in response to the consultation that he made of the Provinces of the United States during the discussion relative to the reconfiguration of the provinces.
II.Name, Purposes, Nature, and Rights
Name: The name of the Conference is “The National Conference of the Visitors of the United States” or NCV.
B. Purposes: The purposes of NCV are:
To develop interprovincial cooperation with a view to possible reconfiguration.
To foster collaboration with the Daughters of Charity and the Vincentian Family.
To handle other items of national business.
To provide mutual support for the Visitors.
Nature: NCV is an organization created by the Superior General to achieve the purposes stated above in B. Purposes. NCV respects the juridical independence of each province and the authority of each Visitor.
D. Rights: Following the ordinary procedures for transfer and in light of the overall mission plan, NCV has the authority and right, delegated by the Superior General, to move confreres from an apostolate in one province to an apostolate in another province.
III.Membership
Membership: The members of NCV are the Visitors of the Provinces of the Congregation of the Mission in the USA.
B.Rights of Members: The rights of members are:
1.To be present at all meetings.
2.To have an opportunity to submit agenda items prior to meetings.
3.To approve beforehand invited guests to meetings.
4.To receive the agenda and materials at least one week in advance of meetings.
5.To make decisions on Conference activities.
6.To be consulted and informed about important matters between meetings.
C.Obligations of Members: The obligations of members are:
1.To attend, prepare for and actively participate in meetings.
2.To carry out the decisions and tasks agreed to at meetings.
3.To share in the financial support of Conference activities.
4.To distribute materials sent by the Executive Secretary for the confreres of the provinces.
5.To abide by the statutes.
IV.Meetings
A.Regular Meetings: NCV holds at least three meetings annually. Ordinarily, the Superior General or his delegate is invited to attend the October meeting.
B.Special Meetings: If needed, NCV arranges special meetings or conference calls between regular meetings in order to handle pressing business.
C.National Meetings: After one of its regular meetings, members attend two national meetings on the following two days:
1.Meeting of the USA Visitors of the Congregation of the Mission and the USA Visitatrixes of the Daughters of Charity (Governing Body of the Vincentian Studies Institute).
2.Meeting of the National Leadership of the Vincentian Family in the USA.
V.Decisions
A.Decisions: In arriving at decisions, the Visitors will seek to achieve consensus but a vote of 4-1 is sufficient for any decision. A quorum demands that every Visitor be present either himself or by a delegate.
VI.Projects
A.Projects: NCV sponsors various short-term and long-term projects for achieving the purposes of the Conference.
VII.Finances
Finances: The provinces share all Conference costs. Projects are approved only after a plan with a budget has been submitted. The costs of projects budgeted at $10,000 or under are split evenly among the provinces; costs above $10,000 are divided proportionally among the provinces — based on the total number of incorporated confreres in the USA in each province.
VIII.President of NCV
Selection: The president will be nominated by the National Conference, from among its members, and appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his council.
Term: The appointment will be for an initial three-year period, which can be extended.
C.Duties: The duties of the President are:
1.NCV Meetings
a.To chair meetings.
b.With the Executive Secretary to prepare the agenda and materials for the meetings.
c. To arrange the rotation of the meetings among the provinces.
To do the follow-up work after Conference meetings with the assistance of the Executive Secretary.
To convoke special meetings and conference calls as needed.
To keep the Superior General informed of the work of the Conference and the progress of projects.
2.Conference Business
a.To handle any ordinary Conference business between meetings.
b.To consult and inform the other Visitors about important matters and correspondence between meetings.
3.Conference Newsletter
a.To conduct the final review of the newsletter before publication.
b.To write a brief letter for each issue of the newsletter.
4.Executive Secretary of NCV
a.To act as the supervisor for the Executive Secretary.
IX.Executive Secretary of NCV
A.Selection: The Visitors select the Executive Secretary of NCV.
B.Time, Commitment and Term: The Executive Secretary is a part-time staff person appointed for a renewable term of three years.
C.Supervisor: The President of NCV is the supervisor for the Executive Secretary.
D.Duties: The duties of the Executive Secretary are:
1.NCV Meetings
To send out a draft copy of the agenda and schedule for review and comment by the Visitors prior to meetings.
To assist the president in preparation of the agenda and materials for the meetings of the Conference.
To mail the agenda and materials to the Visitors at least one week in advance of meetings.
To attend and be present for all parts of Conference meetings as the recording secretary and as staff to the Conference, except for that part of the meeting which is the exchange of information between the Visitors about their provinces.
To prepare reports and recommendations for the Visitors.
To mail the final copy of the minutes for the previous meeting and the draft copy of the minutes for the current meeting to the Visitors after each Conference meeting.
To provide administrative assistance to the President of NCV for the follow-up work after meetings.
2.National Meetings
a.To attend the annual meetings of the USA Visitors of the Congregation of the Mission and the USA Visitatrixes of the Daughters of Charity (Governing Body of the Vincentian Studies Institute) and the National Leadership of the Vincentian Family in the USA as an observer.
b.To provide administrative support, e.g., preparing the agenda, mailing meeting materials to participants and acting as recording secretary, etc., to the Visitors who chair these national meetings.
3.President of NCV
a.To review the work of the secretariat with the President of NCV (supervisor) on a regular basis.
b.To assist the President of NCV with any administrative tasks.
4.New Visitors
a.To orient the newly elected Visitors about the work of NCV before they come to their first Conference meeting.
5.Conference Newsletter
To edit a newsletter for publication twice a year.
To provide a draft copy of the newsletter to the President of NCV for final review before publication.
To mail copies of the newsletter to the provincial offices for distribution to the confreres.
To mail copies of the newsletter to the Superior General, Secretary General, representatives of the other regional Conferences in the Congregation of the Mission, USA Visitatrixes of the Daughters of Charity, National Leadership of the Vincentian Family in the USA, Editor-in-Chief of the Vincentian Translation Project and Presiding Officer of the Vincentian Studies Institute.
6.Organizing Interprovincial Projects
a.To assist the Visitors in defining, planning and implementing projects that promote interprovincial cooperation in the USA.
7.Secretariat of NCV
a.To manage the financial accounts for the Secretariat of the Conference of USA Visitors.
b.To prepare the year-end financial report and annual budget of the secretariat for the review and approval of the Visitors at the October meeting.
c.To maintain the archives of the secretariat.
X.Amendments to the Statutes
Amendments: The Statutes of NCV can be amended at anytime, preferably by consensus of the members; however, a 4-1 vote is sufficient for amendment.
Statutes:
National Conference of Visitors
Created on 05/30/02
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