Bylaws outline an organization's structure.  For example, it may describe an office or department.  The details of what that office or department does are left to descriptions written in the Policies & Procedures Manual.

ARTICLE I    INCEPTION

Section 1 Name
Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theatre Foundation, Inc. (official date of incorporation 20 July 1992).

Section 2 Overview
The Foundation shall view productions of member theatres throughout its season, which is defined as 12 months, starting in September and ending in August. Viewing Members shall recommend nominations in award categories from those productions, and as a group shall select a slate of finalists and a winner in each category.

Section 3 Purpose
The purpose of the Foundation is to recognize outstanding and excellent achievement in regional theatre in Northwest Indiana and to foster a deeper sense of regional theatre cooperation.

ARTICLE II   MEMBERSHIP

Section 1    Description
The Foundation shall consist of

A. Board of Directors (hereafter referred to as the Board) which shall include

1.   6 officers (President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Play Nominations Secretary, and Musicals Nominations Secretary),

2.    3 Committee Chairpersons (Outreach, Development, and Marketing and Public Relations),

3.   2 At-Large members,

4.   1 member appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the other members of the Board,

5.   4 members, each selected by a member theatre on an annually rotating basis.

3 to 6 of the members of the elected (members not selected by the theatres) Board shall be viewing members.

B.   A maximum of 36 viewing members which shall include

1.   A maximum of 18 viewers of plays
2.   A maximum of 18 viewers of musicals
3.   Viewers in one category may be elected to the other category. 

C. Committee members.

D. Member Theatres whose shows are viewed.

E.  Persons who have contributed at least $25.00 to the Foundation.

Section 2.   Selection of Members

Board and Viewing Members are selected and evaluated on criteria explained in the Policies and Procedures manual hereafter referred to as the P&P manual.

Section 3.   Election of Board Members

A.   Nominations process

      Specified in the P&P manual

B.   Election Process

At the last Board meeting of the calendar year, the current Board, Viewing Members, and one representative from each member theatre shall elect eleven Board of Directors, including the officers, for the upcoming calendar year. Theatres are not required to send a representative. Each theatre representative, Viewing member, or Board member shall have one vote, any individual having only one vote. The Directors shall serve terms of one year. A member nominated to serve as President or Vice President shall have completed one (1) full season as a Foundation  Board member.

Section 4  Election of Viewing Members

A.    Nominations process

Specified in the P&P manual

B.    Election process

The Foundation Board will ask the member theatres, prior to the July Board meeting, to send one representative to the August elections for viewers. Theatres are not required to send a representative. Each theatre representative and each Board member shall have one vote in the election. Each individual shall have only one vote. All other aspects of the viewer selection process shall remain the same as specified in the P&P manual.

Section 5     Selection of Committee Members

                   Specified in the P&P manual

Section 6    Resignation of Members

                   Specified in the P&P manual

Section 7    Replacement of Elected Board Members

                  Specified in the P&P manual 

ARTICLE III  DUTIES OF FOUNDATION MEMBERS

Section 1 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for governing the Foundation.  They shall hold at least six meetings a year. Failure of Board members to meet those responsibilities and obligations as defined in the bylaws and the P&P manual will result in actions as specified in the P&P manual.

Section 2 Officers

A.   President

It is the duty of the President to conduct regular Board meetings, to encourage group involvement, and to perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

B.   Vice-President

It is the duty of the Vice-President to chair the Ceremony Committee, to conduct meetings in the absence of the President, to provide advice and support to the President, and to perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

C.   Recording Secretary

It is the duty of the Recording Secretary to record and distribute minutes of the meetings, handle all Foundation correspondence, and to perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

D.   Treasurer

It is the duty of the Treasurer to handle the collection and disbursement of Foundation funds, prepare an annual report at the end of each fiscal year, and to perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

E.   Play Nominations Secretary

It is the duty of the Play Nominations Secretary to record, track, and tally all Viewer nominations for plays. This person shall co-chair the viewing member meetings and perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

F.   Musical Nominations Secretary

It is the duty of the Musical Nominations Secretary to record, track, and tally all Viewer nominations for musicals. This person shall co-chair the viewing member meetings and perform all other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Board.

Section 3   Committee Chairpersons

The three chairpersons as described in Article II, section 1, subsection A, item 2 of these bylaws will administer the duties and responsibilities deemed appropriate by the board. 

The chairpersons have the authority to appoint and remove members of their committee. 

Section 4   Viewers

A.  Each Member must view a minimum percentage of eligible shows each season. The Board, on a seasonal basis, shall establish this percentage.  Failure to meet the minimum Viewing percentages of eligible shows, as established by the Board, shall result in the forfeiture of the Viewing Member's right to vote on preliminary and/or final nominees

B. Each Member shall notify the Nominations Secretaries of his/her category nominations for the shows viewed.

C.  One mandatory meeting shall occur in September for award balloting.

Section 5 Committee Members

Each member shall perform any duties associated with their committee assigned by the chairperson.

Section 6   Code of Ethics

A.   The purpose of the Code of Ethics of the Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theatre Foundation (NIETF) is to serve as a guide to ethical conduct for members. NIETF members include the Board of Directors, Viewing members, committee members, and member theatres, all of whom are referred to as NIETF members.

B.   NIETF members' responsibilities to the theatre community include the following:

1.   To conduct all activities with honesty, integrity, respect, fairness, and good faith,

2.   To respect the laws,

3.   To disallow the exploitation of professional relationships for personal gain,

4.   To use this Code to further the interests of Theatre and not for selfish reasons,

5.   To refrain from participating in any activity that demeans the credibility and dignity of Theatre,

6.   To avoid practicing or facilitating discrimination and prevent discriminatory organizational practices,

7.   To be truthful in all forms of activities and avoid disseminating information that is false, misleading, or deceptive,

8.   To refrain from using authority or information to intentionally affect NIETF or any member thereof in an adverse way,

9.   To participate in activities that benefit and enhance the quality of community theatre life.

C.   NIETF members' responsibilities to performers and other volunteers include the following:

1.   working to create a working environment conducive to ethical performer conduct and behavior,

2.   working to ensure a working environment that is free from harassment, sexual and otherwise, coercion of any kind, especially to perform illegal or unethical acts, and discrimination on the basis of race, creed, ethnic background, sex, age, or disability.

ARTICLE IV    THEATRE AND SHOW AWARDS

Section 1   Theatre Eligibility

A Theatre shall be considered eligible for receiving nominations when

A.   The Theatre is based in Lake County , Porter County , or LaPorte County , Indiana .

B.  The Theatre is an organized company whose prime purpose is to produce community theatre.

C.  The Theatre has completed two (2) consecutive seasons within the last two (2) years. If a member Theatre does not produce a show under eligible viewing criteria for two (2) consecutive seasons, it will become  ineligible until it once again completes two (2) consecutive seasons according to the requirements set forth above.

D.  The Theatre pays an annual membership fee.

E.  The Theatre remains dark the evening of the Gala that occurs during their membership year.

Section 2   Show Eligibility

A Show shall be considered eligible for receiving nominations when

A. The Show's performance dates were publicized at least one month prior to auditions.

B. The Show was cast through publicized open auditions for all roles.

C. The Show had no paid actors or actresses.

D.  Any show which opens in one season and closes in the next season will be eligible for nominations in the season in which the majority of performances are scheduled. If an equal number of performances occur in each season, the show will be eligible in the season in which it opened.

Section 3   Award Categories

The categories are defined in the Viewing Guidelines in the P&P manual.

A.   Best Principal Actor: Musical
B.   Best Principal Actress: Musical
C.   Best Principal Actor: Play
D.   Best Principal Actress: Play
E.   Best Featured Actor: Musical
F.   Best Featured Actress: Musical
G.   Best Featured Actor: Play
H.   Best Featured Actress: Play
I.    Best Musical
J.    Best Play
K.    Best Director: Musical
L.    Best Director: Play
M.   Best Vocal Direction
N.   Best Musical/Orchestral Direction
O.   Best Set Design: Musical
P.   Best Set Design: Play
Q.   Best Lighting Design: Musical
R.   Best Lighting Design: Play
S.   Best Costume Design: Musical
T.   Best Costume Design: Play
U.   Best Choreography
V.   Outstanding Achievement
W.  Best Cameo
X.   Viewers' Choice
Y.   Project C.A.S.T.

ARTICLE V    AWARDS PROCEDURES

Section 1 Eligibility for Nomination

Any individual or organization shall be nominated in a category when they have been nominated by a number of Viewers, the number to be determined at the beginning of each viewing season, who viewed that production. (Please see the P&P manual for details) A percentage of that number, also to be determined at the beginning of the viewing season, must have no involvement in the production. Involvement is defined as anyone listed in the production's program or any officer in the theatre company. Special Thanks, Special Appreciation, and other such listings in the program are excluded from this definition.  Viewers' Choice nominations shall require two nominations from any viewers. 

Section 2  Nominations and Voting

At the conclusion of each season, the viewers shall select finalists from the pool of nominated shows of that season.

A.  Initial Voting.

1. The secretaries distribute the initial ballots to each viewer; that is, all musical viewers receive the same musical ballot and all play viewers receive the same play ballot.

2. Each viewer votes for up to five (5) nominees with a ranking from 'n' to one for each category with 'n' being the number of nominees that the viewer votes for in a category.

B.  Initial Tallying.

1.   The secretaries sum votes for each nominee and select the top five nominees in each category or all nominees if the category has five or less nominees.

2.   If the secretaries cannot select the top five nominees because of a tie, the secretaries select the tied nominees and include them on the ballot.

C.   Final Voting.

1.  The secretaries distribute the final ballots to each eligible viewer; that is, each viewer receives a custom ballot listing only nominees of shows that the viewer has viewed.

2.   Each viewer votes with a ranking from 'n' to one with 'n' nominees in each category or for the total nominees in a category.  If a viewer has a category with fewer nominees because they did not view a show, the ranking is adjusted accordingly.

D.   Final Tallying.

1.  The designated independent consultant sums the votes for each nominee and designates the nominee in a category with the highest sum as the winner for that category.

2.  If the consultant cannot designate a winner because of a tie, the consultant requests from the NIETF president the initial tallies for the category containing the tie.  If the tie still cannot be broken, the consultant designates multiple winners.

Section 3  Awards Presentation

The winners in each category shall be announced and awards presented at an annual ceremony in the autumn of each year.

ARTICLE VI    MEETINGS

The Board shall hold a minimum of 6 meetings each calendar year one of which shall be open to all interested members of the theatre community.

ARTICLE VII    CHANGES OR AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS

Any change or amendment to the Bylaws must receive a two-thirds (2/3)-majority vote of Board Members in attendance at the meeting, including  but not limited to the agreement of two (2) Officers.  Any change or amendment proposed at one Board meeting must be voted on at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting prior to being adopted as part of the Bylaws.