By-laws of the Central Ohio Local Section
ARTICLE I
Jurisdiction
The boundaries of the Section shall encompass the following counties in the State of Ohio: Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Coshocton, Crawford, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Hocking, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Richland, Ross, Shelby, Union, and Vinton. The headquarters of the CENTRAL OHIO SECTION shall be located within the geographic limits of the Section as defined above and shall be considered as the city of legal residence of the presiding Chairman of the Section.
ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 1. The membership of the Section shall be limited to FELLOWS, MEMBERS, ASSOCIATE MEMBERS, AFFILIATES, and STUDENT MEMBERS of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, residing or engaged in business within the boundaries encompassed by the Section.
Section 2. Nonmember chemical engineers may become Local Members of the Central Ohio Section for a period not to exceed two years. During this period it is expected that Local Members will apply for one of the grades of membership in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Nothing in this Bylaw shall be construed to prevent members from bringing nonmember guests to meetings of the Central Ohio Section. Student Members, Affiliates, and Local Members may not hold office in the Central Ohio Section.
Section 3. Members in good standing in any of the Founder Societies (American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers; American Society of Civil Engineers; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) may be members of the Section for an indefinite period without applying for membership in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Section 4. Any member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers who resides and is engaged in business outside the boundaries of the Section and who desires to affiliate with the Section shall be eligible for membership and may become a member of the Section by application in writing to the Section Secretary.
ARTICLE III
Dues
Section 1. The fiscal year of the Section shall commence on January 1st and terminate on December 31st.
Section 2. Dues for members of the Section shall be four dollars ($ 4.00) per year, payable on January 1st. Members joining the Section after June shall pay one-half the annual dues for that year.
Section 3. Student Members of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers shall not be required to pay dues to the Section.
Section 4. All regulations regarding payment of dues shall be made by the Executive Committee of the Section.
Section 5. Members of the Section who have maintained membership in the Institute for a period of twenty five years and who feel unable to continue payment of Section dues may, upon application in writing, have their dues remitted with retention of membership in good standing in the Section, provided that they also have complied with Institute bylaws in this respect and have received Institute approval for remission of Institute dues.
Section 6. Members of the Section and all Institute members who have retired in compliance with Institute bylaws shall automatically be granted permanent membership status without payment of dues.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Section shall be a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, one or more Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other officers, if any, as are deemed advisable. All officers must be FELLOWS, MEMBERS, or ASSOCIATE MEMBERS of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Their term of office shall be for one year and they shall continue in office until their successors are elected and take office. The Chairman shall not be elected to serve two consecutive terms. All other officers shall be eligible for reelection.
Section 2. The Chairman or in his absence the Vice Chairman or in his absence the Secretary or in his absence the Treasurer shall preside at all meetings of the Section.
The Chairman shall be the chief executive officer of the Section. He shall appoint committee chairmen and committee members not otherwise provided for in these bylaws, to serve at his discretion; with due regard for continuity of effort, they may serve beyond the time he serves upon reappointment by the succeeding Chairman. The Section Chairman is Chairman of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. The Secretary shall be keep a record of the Proceedings of the Section. He shall, under direction of the Chairman, issue notices of meetings to the members. By the date set by the Council of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, he shall file with the Secretary of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers a report on the activities of the Section during the year. He shall notify in writing by March 1st each member who is delinquent in dues. Upon the absence of the Secretary from any meeting of the Section or of the Executive Committee, the Chairman shall appoint a Secretary-pro-tempore to keep records.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall be charged with the collection and disbursement of funds as authorized by the Executive Committee. He shall submit to the Executive Committee prior to the first meeting of the fiscal year a budget for the consideration and approval of the Executive Committee. He shall submit an annual report to the Executive Committee before his term of office shall expire. Upon the absence of the Treasurer from any meeting of the Section, the Chairman shall appoint a Treasurer-pro-tempore to collect money and to be responsible for fiscal matters.
ARTICLE V
Elections
Section 1. All officers of the Section and the members-at-large of the Executive Committee shall be elected by secret mail ballot prior to the last meeting of the fiscal year. The Secretary shall mail a ballot, containing the slate of two candidates presented by the Nominating Committee for each office to be filled, and with provisions for a write-in candidate for each office, and a special ballot envelope, to each member of the Section. The voter shall seal his ballot in the ballot envelope, and shall place the ballot envelope in another envelope which shall bear his signature, and shall transmit this envelope to the Secretary. At least two weeks shall elapse between the time the ballots are mailed to the members and the time the election is closed. Upon the close of the election, the Secretary shall check the names on the return ballots and throw out any ballots not originating from members in good standing. He shall then deliver the sealed ballots to an ad hoc Tellers Committee for counting. After this count, the Tellers committee shall certify to the Chairman the number of votes cast for each name on the ballot, including write-in votes. At the last meeting of the fiscal year, the Chairman shall declare elected the candidate receiving the highest vote for each office, except, in case of a tie vote the names of the candidates tied for election shall immediately be certified to the Executive Committee, who shall within one week elect from the candidates ties.
Section 2. The officers shall serve for one year, commencing on January 1st and extending thru December 31st of that year, and shall in addition remain in office until their successors are elected and take office. Members-at-large of the executive committee shall serve for two years, commencing January 1st, one to be elected each year, except as otherwise provided in these bylaws.
Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the office of Chairman by virtue of resignation or inability to serve, the Vice Chairman shall assume the office of Chairman for the unexpired term. The Executive Committee shall then appoint an acting Vice Chairman to serve until the next election. All other vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee by interim appointment to serve until the next election, at which time the Section shall elect a person to fill out the unexpired term, if any.
Section 4. No member shall be eligible to election more than one office at one time.
ARTICLE VI
Committees
Section 1. There shall be the following standing committees: Executive, Public Relations, Membership, Nominating, and Auditing.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall be the governing body of the Section. It shall consist of the Officers of the Section, and two most recent past Chairmen who are still members of the Section, and two members-at-large elected from the membership of the Section, who shall serve for two years, one to be elected each year. A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be a majority of its members. The Executive Committee shall meet upon due notice of its members at the call of the Chairman or at the request of two members of the Committee. The minutes of the Executive Committee meetings shall be read with the minutes of the Section at the meetings of the Section.
Section 3. The Public Relations Committee shall be responsible for publicity and public relations of the Section. Its Chairman shall be the Section representative to the Institute of Public Relations Committee.
Section 4. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for stimulating membership in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and in the Section. Its Chairman shall be the Section Representative to the Institute Membership Committee.
Section 5. The Program Committee shall be responsible for organizing programs for Section meetings. The Vice Chairman of the Section shall serve as Chairman of the Program Committee.
Section 6. The Nominating Committee, consisting of a Chairman and two additional members, shall be responsible for selecting a slate of nominees for each office to be filled, prior to election. The Nominating Committee shall submit at least one nominee for the office of Chairman and at least one nominee for the office of Vice Chairman, taking due note of the principal that, except in special instances, the Vice Chairman of the Section will be nominated as a candidate for Chairman for the following year. The Nominating Committee shall submit two nominees for each of the other offices to be filled.
Section 7. The Auditing Committee shall audit the financial records of the Section at least once each fiscal year, and on such other occasions as instructed by the Chairman of the Section or by the Executive Committee. It shall consist of a Chairman and at least one additional member.
ARTICLE VII
Meetings
Section 1. There shall be at least seven meetings per year. The place and date of such meetings shall be set by the Chairman, or, upon his delegation of this responsibility, by the Program Committee.
Section 2. The Secretary shall notify all members of the Section at least one week in advance of meetings.
Section 3. The quorum at any duly called Section meeting shall consist of at least 10% of the Section membership.
Section 4. The Section may hold special meetings at the call of the Chairman, or the Executive Committee, or at the request of five or more percent of the members of the section.
ARTICLE VIII
Order of Business
Section 1. The business of the Section shall be transacted according to Robert’s “Rules of Order”. Ordinarily, the order of business will be Reading of Minutes, Reports of Officers and Committees, Unfinished Business, New Business, and Adjournments.
ARTICLE IX
Amendments
Section 1. All Bylaws of the Section shall be subject to Alteration or repeal, and new Bylaws not inconsistent with any provision of the Charter of the Section, with any provision of the Constitution of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, or with any provision of law may be made by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members entitled to vote in respect thereof, given at a monthly meeting or at any special meeting, provided that notice of the proposed alteration or repeal or of the proposed new Bylaws is included in the notice of such meetings.
Section 2. All amendments to these Bylaws shall be subject to approval by the Council of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.