1. All BEN members must be a member in good standing of the North Texas GLBT Chamber and must maintain their membership throughout their BEN semester.

2. Members operate under the Chamber’ Standards of Business Conduct & Ethics.

3. Show loyalty to BEN member whenever you need a product or service.

4. Be an active listener in business and social settings.

6. A BEN member, absent exigent circumstances, can be absent from a maximum of three BEN meetings per semester. If a current member reaches 2 absences in a semester, the Group Facilitator shall contact the member by phone or in person, confirm that the member is aware of the group’s attendance requirements, and ascertain what business and/or personal issues may be affecting that member’s meeting attendance. The Group facilitator must first confer with both the Chamber’s Executive Director and the current Chair of the BEN Committee prior to taking any action to terminate the member of the BEN.

If and only if by a majority vote they determine that termination action is appropriate, the Group Facilitator shall send the member a letter informing him/her that any further absence that seimester will result in loss of that member’s membership in that particular BEN group for a period of one year (two semesters). Such letter must also advise the member that he/she has the right to be heard at the next monthly BEN Committee Meeting upon submission of a written request.

7. Be on time! Meeting begins promptly. Arriving 15 minutes after the start of the meeting, or later, will be considered an absence.

8. Infomercials are limited to 1 minute to allow special speakers enough time for their presentation.

9. Dues are not refundable, in whole or in part. Dues will be collected at the first meeting of the semester or upon joining. Failure to pay dues within two weeks will result in the loss of member’s position in the BEN for two semesters from the date of removal.

10. Complaints about other members will not be discussed in the group forum. Issues between members must be dealt with privately. Chamber politics will not be discussed.

The Facilitator should be notified if a complaint exists and he/she should try to act as a moderator to assist with the problem or concern. If the Facilitator is not able to resolve the issue, the problem or concern should be directed to the Chamber Board Member who is acting as the Committee Chair of the BEN groups.

11. Members may occupy one, and only one, Business Category. A business cannot be represented in more than one BEN group. Independent contractor(s) within one company is recognized as an individual.
Business members’ discussion will be limited to the one Business Category that they designated on their Member Agreement signed at the beginning of each semester, even if other categories area not yet represented in the group.

Failure to do so after three warnings will result in the loss of the member’s position in the BEN for two semesters from the date of removal.

12. Member is responsible for attendance and tip requirements. A replacement representative who must be a Chamber member is permissible; however, an absence is issued against the primary member. If the allotted number of absences is exceeded, the result will be loss of the member’s position in the BEN for two semesters from the date of removal.

A member may appoint a permanent replacement from his/her business to cover the same specialty. The replacement must be a listed representative of the business. The replacement member will inherit absences from the previous member. The replaced member may return to a BEN after two semesters from the date of replacement.

13. For special situations, a leave of absence may be granted to a member of a BEN. Each Facilitator may use his or her discretion for issuing a leave of absence.

14. BEN groups are limited to 28 members.

15. There will be a term limit of two consecutive semesters for being a BEN Facilitator unless no other BEN member would like to facilitate.

In the event that more than one person would like to facilitate, the group facilitator will be decided by the Executive Director.  The Facilitator for the next semester will be decided on at the last meeting of the current semester.

16. Once a BEN group reaches the maximum number of members, any person wishing to enter that BEN must have his/her name on a wait list kept at the Chamber office. It is the member’s responsibility to contact the office and also designate a category. When an opening becomes available the facilitator will contact the office for the wait lists and contact those members in chronological order, to offer them to join the group.

17. Visitors: Chamber Members may visit a BEN for the purpose of making a short announcement, e.g., non-profit events. This visit must be approved by the group facilitator prior to the BEN meeting. A visitor should never be allowed to bring up business which is in direct conflict with a member of the group.

18. All printed material put out by a BEN must have prior approval by the Chamber’s Executive Director.

19. Guests may visit a BEN one time only before joining.

20. Each BEN group may determine its membership, within the parameters of the BEN membership rules. Before turning anyone away or before terminating a member, the facilitator will first discuss the situation with the member and then with the Executive Director and the Chair of the BEN Committee. If the Group Facilitator, the ED and the Chair of the BEN Committee agree to refuse membership in a BEN or if they agree to the termination of a current member, the Facilitator will contact the member informing him/her of the decision. The Facilitator will also inform the member that he/she has the right to be heard at the next monthly BEN Committee Meeting upon submission of a written request.

21. Anyone leaving a group at any point in a semester may not join another group until the beginning of the next semester. Only one move per person is permitted in a calendar year.