Bylaws
Article I
Offices
The corporation shall continuously maintain in the State of Illinois a registered office and a registered agent whose business office need not be identical with such registered office and may have other offices within or without the state.
Article II
Statement of Purposes & Limitations
SECTION 1. PURPOSE. The corporation is organized exclusively for trade association purposes.
SECTION 2. LIMITATION ON DISTRIBUTION OF NET EARNINGS. No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, its directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the corporate purpose.
SECTION 3. LIMITATION ON CAMPAIGNING. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements concerning), any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
SECTION 4. DISSOLUTION. Upon dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of all of the assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for business league purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under §501(c)(6) of the Code, as the Board of Directors shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the appropriate court of law of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, that are organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes.
Article III
Members
SECTION 1. MEMBERSHIP. The Board of Directors may recognize entities as supporters of the Corporation by identifying such entities with the title of “Member.” The Board of Directors may establish different classes or categories of Members and may set qualifications for criteria for any class or category of Member.
SECTION 2. VOTING RIGHTS. Members of the Corporation shall have no voting rights or other rights with respect to any aspect of the governance or operation of the Corporation. Members of the Corporation shall not be deemed to be “members” of this corporation within the meaning of the Illinois Act, and the Corporation shall have no “members” within the meaning of the Illinois Act.
SECTION 3. ANNUAL MEETING. Members may receive an invitation to an annual meeting for the purpose of networking and receiving information about the Corporation. Members shall not make binding recommendations to the board of directors.
Article IV
Board of Directors
SECTION 1. GENERAL POWERS. The affairs of the corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of its board of directors. A majority of the board of directors may establish reasonable compensation for their services and the services of other officers, irrespective of any personal interest.
SECTION 2. NUMBER, TENURE, AND QUALIFICATIONS. The number of directors shall be three (3). Each director shall hold office for three (3) years and until his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified at the time of the corresponding annual meeting of the board of directors. Directors need not be residents of Illinois. The number of directors may not be fewer than three (3) or more than eight (8), unless the articles of incorporation provide that a change in the number of directors shall be made only by amendment of the articles of incorporation. No decrease shall have the effect of shortening the term of an incumbent director. Directors must abide in all respects with the corporate policies set forth in these bylaws and with other policies adopted by the corporation and must characterize personal commitment to the values of the corporation.
SECTION 3. REGULAR MEETINGS. A regular quarterly meeting of the board of directors shall be held without other notice than these bylaws. The board of directors may provide, by resolution, the time and place for the holding of additional regular meetings of the board without other notice than such resolution.
SECTION 4. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings of the board of directors may be called by or at the request of the president or any two directors. The person or persons authorized to call special meetings of the board may fix any place as the place for holding any special meeting of the board called by them.
SECTION 5. NOTICE. Notice of any special meeting of the board of directors shall be given at least two (2) days previous thereto by written notice to each director at his or her address as shown by the records of the corporation except that no special meeting of directors may remove a director unless written notice of the proposed removal is delivered to all directors at least 20 days prior to such meeting. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail in a sealed envelope so addressed, with postage thereon prepaid. If notice is given by electronic mail, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when the electronic mail message is transmitted if the message is accepted by the recipient’s server. Timely mailing or e-mailing of the minutes of the board of directors to each director may qualify as notice of the next meeting of the board of directors if the minute concerning the meeting is clearly set forth and concise in its composition. Notice of any special meeting of the board of directors may be waived in writing signed by the person or persons entitled to the notice either before or after the time of the meeting. The attendance of a director at any meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when a director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the board need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting unless specifically required by law or by these bylaws.
SECTION 6. QUORUM. A majority of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the board of directors, provided that if less than a majority of the directors are present at said meeting a majority of the directors present may adjourn the meeting to another time without further notice.
SECTION 7. REMOTE MEETING. Any meeting of the board of directors may be conducted in simultaneous multiple locations if the various locations are effectively connected by telephonic conference call lines or other similar communications equipment or technology by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other. Members of the board of directors may participate in, and act at, any such meetings and such participation shall constitute attendance and presence in person at the meeting of the person or persons so participating.
SECTION 8. MANNER OF ACTING. The act of a majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors, unless the act of a greater number is required by statute, these bylaws, or the articles of incorporation. No director may act by proxy on any matter.
SECTION 9. VACANCIES. Any vacancy occurring in the board of directors or any directorship to be filled by reason of an increase in the number of directors shall be filled by the board of directors unless the articles of incorporation, a statute, or these bylaws provide that a vacancy or a directorship so created shall be filled in some other manner, in which case such provision shall control. A director elected or appointed, as the case may be, to fill a vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office.
SECTION 10. RESIGNATION AND REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS. A director may resign at any time upon written notice to the board of directors. A director may be removed with or without cause, as specified by statute.
SECTION 11. INFORMAL ACTION BY DIRECTORS. The authority of the board of directors may be exercised without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action taken, is signed by all of the directors entitled to vote.
SECTION 12. COMPENSATION. Directors shall not receive compensation for their services as directors. However, by resolution of the board of directors, the directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the board. No such payment previously mentioned in this section shall preclude any director from serving the corporation in any other capacity and receiving reasonable compensation therefore.
SECTION 13. PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT. A director of the corporation who is present at a meeting of the board of directors at which action on any corporation matter is taken shall be conclusively presumed to have assented to the action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he or she shall file his or her written dissent to such action with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered or certified mail to the secretary of the corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a director who voted in favor of such action.
Article V
Officers
SECTION 1. OFFICERS. The officers of the corporation shall be a president, one or more vice presidents (the number thereof to be determined by the board of directors), a treasurer, a secretary, and such other officers as may be elected or appointed by the board of directors. Officers whose authority and duties are not prescribed in these bylaws shall have the authority and perform the duties prescribed, from time to time, by the board of directors. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person.
SECTION 2. ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE. The officers of the corporation shall be elected every three years, in accordance with the fiscal year of the Corporation, at the regular annual meeting of the board of directors. If the election of officers shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as conveniently may be. Vacancies may be filled or new offices created and filled at any meeting of the board of directors. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified, until his or her death, or until he or she shall resign or shall have been removed in the manner hereinafter provided. Election of an officer shall not of itself create contract rights.
SECTION 3. REMOVAL. Any officer elected or appointed by the board of directors may be removed by the board of directors whenever in its judgment the best interests of the corporation would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.
SECTION 4. PRESIDENT. The president shall be the principal executive officer of the corporation. Subject to the direction and control of the board of directors, he or she shall be in charge of the business and affairs of the corporation; he or she shall see that the resolutions and directives of the board of directors are carried into effect except in those instances in which that responsibility is assigned to some other person by the board of directors; and, in general, he or she shall discharge all duties incident to the office of president and such other duties as may be prescribed by the board of directors. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the board of directors. Except in those instances in which the authority to execute is expressly delegated to another officer or agent of the corporation or a different mode of execution is expressly prescribed by the board of directors or these bylaws, he or she may execute for the corporation any contracts, deeds, mortgages, bonds, or other instruments that the board of directors has authorized to be executed, and he or she may accomplish such execution either under or without the seal of the corporation and either individually or with the secretary, any assistant secretary, or any other officer thereunto authorized by the board of directors, according to the requirements of the form of the instrument. He or she may vote all securities that the corporation is entitled to vote except as and to the extent that such authority shall be vested in a different officer or agent of the corporation by the board of directors.
SECTION 5. VICE PRESIDENT. The vice president (or in the event there be more than one vice president, each of the vice presidents) shall assist the president in the discharge of his or her duties as the president may direct and shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the president or the board of directors. In the absence of the president or in the event of his or her inability or refusal to act, the vice president (or in the event there be more than one vice president, the vice presidents, in the order designated by the board of directors, or by the president if the board of directors has not made such a designation, or in the absence of any designation, then in the order of their seniority of tenure) shall perform the duties of the president and, when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions on the president. Except in those instances in which the authority to execute is expressly delegated to another officer or agent of the corporation or a different mode of execution is expressly prescribed by the board of directors or these bylaws, the vice president (or any of them if there is more than one) may execute for the corporation any contracts, deeds, mortgages, bonds, or other instruments that the board of directors has authorized to be executed, and he or she may accomplish such execution either under or without the seal of the corporation and either individually or with the secretary, any assistant secretary, or any other officer thereunto authorized by the board of directors, according to the requirements of the form of the instrument.
SECTION 6. TREASURER. The treasurer shall be the principal accounting and financial officer of the corporation. He or she shall (a) have charge of and be responsible for the maintenance of adequate books of account for the corporation; (b) have charge and custody of all funds and securities of the corporation, and be responsible therefor, and for the receipt and disbursement thereof; and (c) perform all the duties incident to the office of treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the president or by the board of directors. If required by the board of directors, the treasurer shall give a bond for the faithful discharge of his or her duties in such sum and with such surety or sureties as the board of directors shall determine.
SECTION 7. SECRETARY. The secretary shall (a) record the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors in one or more books provided for that purpose; (b) see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws or as required by law; (c) be a custodian of the corporate records and of the seal of the corporation; and (d) perform all duties incident to the office of secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the president or by the board of directors.
SECTION 8. ASSISTANT TREASURERS AND ASSISTANT SECRETARIES. If the corporation elects assistant treasurers and assistant secretaries, the assistant treasurers and assistant secretaries shall perform such duties as shall be assigned to them by the treasurer or the secretary, respectively, or by the president or the board of directors. If required by the board of directors, the assistant treasurers shall give bonds for the faithful discharge of their duties in such sums and with such sureties as the board of directors shall determine.
SECTION 9. SALARIES. The salaries of the officers shall be fixed from time to time by the board of directors, and no officer shall be prevented from receiving such salary by reason of the fact that he or she is also a director of the corporation.
SECTION 10. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. If the corporation employs an executive director, he or she shall supervise and be principally responsible for the corporation’s day-to-day administrative management and shall work closely with the president to ensure that all corporate functions are adequately carried out. He or she may sign such documents and deeds as necessary or appropriate including, but not limited to, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments that the board of directors has authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the board of directors or by these bylaws to some other officer or agent of the corporation, or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed. The duties and responsibilities of the executive director shall include: (1) carrying out all policies established by the board of directors; (2) preparing an annual budget showing expected revenue and expenditures as required by the board of directors; (3) selecting, employing, training, controlling, and discharging all other employees of the corporation; (4) attending all meetings of the board of directors and its committees; (5) supervising the business affairs to ensure that funds are collected and obligations are paid out in a timely and advantageous fashion; and (6) preparing and presenting to the board of directors regular reports reflecting accomplishment of corporate goals and the corporation’s mission. The executive director shall not be a director, but shall have the right to receive notice of all board of directors and committee meetings, and to attend all meetings of the board of directors and committees, except those portions of the meetings that concern the executive director’s employment, including but not limited to, the executive director’s performance, compensation, and potential conflicts of interest.
SECTION 11. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY. In case of the absence of any officer of the corporation, or for any other reason that it may deem sufficient, the board of directors may either delegate the powers or duties of such officer to any director or another officer or employee of the corporation, for the time being, or may eliminate some or all of such powers or duties of such officer.
Article VI
Committees, Commissions, and Advisory Boards
SECTION 1. COMMITTEES. The board of directors, by resolution adopted by a majority of the directors in office, may designate one or more committees, each of which will consist of two or more directors and such other persons as the board of directors designates, provided that a majority of each committee’s members are directors. If the board of directors resolves to create an executive committee, it shall be composed entirely of directors. Committees shall serve at the pleasure of the board of directors and may be dissolved at any time by the board of directors. The committees, to the extent provided in said resolution and not restricted by law, shall have and exercise the authority of the board of directors in the management of the corporation; but the designation of such committees and the delegation thereto of authority shall not operate to relieve the board of directors, or any individual director, of any responsibility imposed on it, him, or her by law.
SECTION 2. COMMISSIONS OR ADVISORY BODIES. Commissions or advisory bodies not having and exercising the authority of the board of directors in the corporation may be designated or created by the board of directors and shall consist of such persons as the board of directors designates. A commission or advisory body may or may not have directors as members, as the board of directors determines. The commission or advisory body may not act on behalf of the corporation or bind it to any actions but may make recommendations to the board of directors or to the officers of the corporation.
SECTION 3. TERM OF OFFICE. Each member of a committee, advisory board, or commission shall continue as such for a term of three (3) years and until his or her successor is appointed, unless the committee, advisory board, or commission shall be sooner terminated, or unless such committee member be removed from such committee, advisory board, or commission by the board of directors, or unless such member shall cease to qualify as a member thereof.
SECTION 4. CHAIR. One member of each committee, advisory board, or commission shall be appointed chair.
SECTION 5. VACANCIES. Vacancies in the membership of any committee, advisory board, or commission may be filled by appointments made in the same manner as provided in the case of the original appointments.
SECTION 6. COMMITTEE MEETINGS. Meetings of any committee may be called by the board of directors, the president, the chair of the committee, or a majority of the committee’s voting members. Notice of the time and place of any meeting of a committee shall be given at least two days prior to the meeting.
SECTION 7. QUORUM AND MANNER OF ACTING. Unless otherwise provided in the resolution of the board of directors designating a committee, advisory board, or commission, a majority of the whole committee, advisory board, or commission shall constitute a quorum, and the act of a majority of the committee members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the committee, advisory board, or commission.
SECTION 8. RULES. Each committee, advisory board, or commission may adopt rules for its own government not inconsistent with these bylaws or with rules adopted by the board of directors.
SECTION 9. INFORMAL ACTION. The authority of a committee may be exercised without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action taken, is signed by all the committee members entitled to vote.
Article VII
Contracts, Checks, Deposits, and Funds
SECTION 1. CONTRACTS. The board of directors may authorize any officer or officers or agent or agents of the corporation, in addition to the officers so authorized by these bylaws, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
SECTION 2. CHECKS, DRAFTS, ETC. All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers or agent or agents of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the board of directors. In the absence of such determination by the board of directors, such instruments shall be signed by the treasurer or an assistant treasurer and countersigned by the president or a vice president of the corporation.
SECTION 3. DEPOSITS. All funds of the corporation shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the corporation in such banks, trust companies, or other depositories as the board of directors may select.
SECTION 4. GIFTS. The board of directors may accept on behalf of the corporation any contribution, gift, bequest, or devise for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the corporation.
Article VIII
Books and Records
The corporation shall keep correct and complete books and records of account. It shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its board of directors and committees having any of the authority of the board of directors.
Article IX
Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the board of directors.
Article X
Seal
The corporate seal shall have inscribed thereon the name of the corporation and the words “Corporate Seal, Illinois.” The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced, provided that the affixing of the corporate seal to an instrument shall not give the instrument additional force or effect, or change the construction thereof, and the use of the corporate seal is not mandatory.
Article XI
Waiver of Notice
Whenever any notice is required to be given under the provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of Illinois or under the provisions of the articles of incorporation or the bylaws of the corporation, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such notice. Attendance at any meeting shall constitute waiver of notice thereof unless the person at the meeting objects to the holding of the meeting because proper notice was not given.
Article XII
Indemnification
SECTION 1. INDEMNIFICATION IN ACTIONS OTHER THAN BY OR IN THE RIGHT OF THE CORPORATION. The corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit, or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, or conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation or, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
SECTION 2. INDEMNIFICATION IN ACTIONS BY OR IN THE RIGHT OF THE CORPORATION. The corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, provided that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue, or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his or her duty to the corporation, unless, and only to the extent that the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability, but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the court shall deem proper.
SECTION 3. RIGHT TO PAYMENT OF EXPENSES. To the extent that a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any action, suit, or proceeding referred to in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article, or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
SECTION 4. DETERMINATION OF CONDUCT. Any indemnification under Sections 1 and 2 of this Article (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case, upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, employee, or agent is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 1 or Section 2 of this Article. Such determination shall be made (a) by the board of directors by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to such action, suit, or proceeding; or (b) if such a quorum is not obtainable, or even if obtainable, if a quorum of disinterested directors so directs, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion.
SECTION 5. PAYMENT OF EXPENSES IN ADVANCE. Expenses incurred in defending a civil or criminal action, suit, or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit, or proceeding, as authorized by the board of directors in the specific case, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director, officer, employee, or agent to repay such amount, unless it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this Article.
SECTION 6. INDEMNIFICATION NOT EXCLUSIVE. The indemnification provided by this Article shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under any bylaw or agreement, both as to action in his or her official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee, or agent, and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such a person.
SECTION 7. INSURANCE. The corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or who is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of this Article.
SECTION 9. REFERENCES TO CORPORATION. For purposes of this Article, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the surviving corporation, any merging corporation (including any corporation having merged with a merging corporation) absorbed in a merger that, if its separate existence had continued, would have had the power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, employees, or agents, so that any person who was a director, officer, employee, or agent of such merging corporation, or was serving at the request of such merging corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article with respect to the surviving corporation as such person would have stood with respect to such merging corporation if its separate existence had continued.
SECTION 10. OTHER REFERENCES. For purposes of this Article, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation that imposes duties on or involves services by such director, officer, employee, or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants, or beneficiaries. A person who acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this Article
Article XIII
Amendments
The power to alter, amend, or repeal the bylaws or adopt new bylaws shall be vested in the board of directors unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or the bylaws. Such action may be taken at a regular or special meeting for which written notice of the purpose shall be given. The bylaws may contain any provisions for the regulation and management of the affairs of the corporation not inconsistent with law or the articles of incorporation.
Article XIV
Disputes
Any claim or dispute arising from or related to these bylaws shall be settled by mediation in accordance with the rules of the Center for Conflict Resolution (located in Chicago, Illinois) and, if necessary, legally binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon a mediation or arbitration decision may be entered in any court otherwise having jurisdiction. These methods shall be the sole remedy for any controversy or claim arising out of these bylaws.