Bylaws of the
Association for Women
Geoscientists, Lone Star Chapter
Section
1. The name of the organization is
the Association for Women Geoscientists, Lone Star Chapter (AWG-Lone
Star). The organization is
referred to as AWG-LS or the Chapter for purposes of these bylaws.
Section
1. The organization is a duly
authorized Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG), a
corporation with a principal office in the County of San Mateo, State of California.
Section
2. In the event of any conflict,
the Bylaws of AWG shall take precedence over the Bylaws of the AWG-LS.
Section
3. The interests and goals of
AWG-LS are in keeping with those of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of
AWG. The goals of the Association
for Women Geoscientists are: 1) to encourage the participation of women in the
geosciences, 2) to exchange educational, technical, and professional
information, and 3) to enhance the professional growth and advancement of women
in the geosciences.
Section
1. Membership in AWG-LS shall be
open to persons whose professional activities and interests are in keeping with
the objectives of AWG.
Section
2. Members include all
professionals, students, corporations and institutional members with dues in
good standing in AWG that have chosen affiliation with AWG-LS (which serves the
lower south central Region and is based in the Houston/Austin, Texas area).
Section
3. Each individual Chapter member
shall have the right to vote and other rights as provided by these Bylaws or as
provided by law. Membership rights
and all title to and interest in AWG-LS shall cease upon the termination of
membership.
Section
4. Corporate and institutional
members shall not have the right to vote or hold office.
Section
1. All meetings (program and/or
business) will be held at the request of the AWG-LS Executive Committee and/or
any AWG-LS member, who shall determine the times and places of meetings.
Section
2. At any business meeting of
members of AWG-LS, the presence of one-fourth (1/4) of the Chapter members or
the AWG-LS Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. No official business may be transacted
at a meeting without a quorum.
Section
1. The AWG-LS Executive
Committee (the Executive
Committee) shall include the current Chapter President, Vice-President,
Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers shall be members in good standing
affiliated with the Chapter and shall be elected as outlined in these Bylaws.
Offices may be shared or combined as long as there is a minimum of three
elected officers. Non-elected
Executive Committee members shall include any Chapter member who is a Regional
Delegate to the AWG Board and chairpersons of any standing committees.
Section
2. The Chapter President shall
serve as chairperson of the Executive Committee, shall assure that AWG and
AWG-LS policy is observed, shall appoint the chairpersons of all committees subject
to approval of the Executive Committee and shall perform duties as directed by
the Executive Committee.
Section
3. The Chapter Vice-President
shall assist the President in her duties and, in the absence or inability of
the President, shall perform the duties of that office.
Section
4. The Chapter Secretary shall
keep a record of the proceedings of the meetings of the Chapter and Executive
Committee, shall keep the records of Chapter membership and shall conduct
correspondence not specifically assigned to others.
Section
5. The Chapter Treasurer shall
have custody of all the funds of the Chapter, shall disperse these funds in
accordance with Executive Committee approval and shall make regular reports to
the membership and Executive Committee.
The Chapter Treasurer shall be required to send a financial report
covering all income such as from dues rebates, donations and grants, and
expenses or other disbursements, every six (6) months to the AWG Treasurer, or
as required by the AWG Board of Directors. The Chapter Treasurer shall be responsible for all income
reporting and tax requirements of the jurisdiction under which the Chapter is
organized. This requirement is met when the regular financial reports are
submitted. The chapter's fiscal
year beings October 1, which is in accordance with AWG Bylaws.
Section
6. Candidates for all officer
positions shall be limited to three (3) consecutive terms of office of one (1)
year each. However, any person who
serves a consecutive term in one office may be elected to another office.
Section
7. An Executive Committee member
may be removed from the Executive Committee for non-performance of duties and
responsibilities by a unanimous vote of the other Executive Committee members.
Section
8. Vacancies on the Executive
Committee shall be filled by appointment by the Chapter President with a
concurring majority vote of the Executive Committee until the next Chapter
election.
Section
9. At any meeting of the Executive
Committee, the presence of three (3) Executive Committee members shall
constitute a quorum. In the
absence of a quorum, no business can be transacted at the meeting.
Section
10. The Chapter President shall submit an annual activity report to the
national AWG Secretary bu September 1, or as required by the AWG officers.
Section
1. Each year, the Executive
Committee shall solicit at least one candidate from the membership of AWG-LS
for each of the open officer positions.
All candidates must be members in good standing.
Section
2. The candidates shall be
announced via email along with an electronic ballot. Additional nominations may be made by a write-in on the
ballot.
Section
4. The ballots shall be returned
before a certain date (stated on the ballot) to AWG-LS for tallying. The ballots will be made available to
the Executive Committee for review if they desire. After certification of the ballot results, the ballots shall
be destroyed.
Section
5. Only members in good standing
shall vote, including student members who can not vote at the national level.
Section
6. The candidates receiving the
highest number of ballot votes shall be duly elected to the office for which
they are running. All candidates,
the Chapter membership, and the AWG Secretary shall be notified of the results
of an election in a timely manner.
Section
1. The Executive Committee shall
establish and maintain committees as needed to further the goals of the
organization. The President shall
have authority to appoint the chairpersons of all committees, with a concurring
majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section
2. Committee members shall be any
members in good standing that wish to serve on a particular committee. The term of office of a chairperson or
member of a committee is one (1) year.
Members and chairpersons may succeed themselves.
Section
1. Dues are collected by AWG. A portion of each Chapter memberŐs dues
is rebated to AWG-LS. The AWG
Board of Directors determines the rebate amount.
Section
2. The fiscal year of AWG-LS shall
begin on October 1st of each year.
Section
4. The financial position of the
AWG-LS, along with a semi-annual financial statement shall be reviewed twice
yearly at Executive Committee meetings.
Section
5. The Treasurer shall have
financial authority over the ChapterŐs funds. Only the Treasurer, President, or other business
representative approved by the Executive Committee shall make payments,
withdrawals, or issue checks from these funds.
Section
1. Amendments to these Bylaws may
be initiated by any Chapter officer or member, at a chapter meeting.
Section
2. On any matter that is required
by law or by these Bylaws to be put to a membership vote, the Executive
Committee must first approve the proposed amendment through a mail vote. A chapter-wide mail vote will then be
held. To be implemented,
affirmative votes must be received from a majority of those who vote.
Section
1. AWG-LS may be dissolved by a
majority vote of the members affiliated with the Chapter sixty (60) days after
they are notified of the proposed action, or by action of the AWG Board of
Directors subject to their policy for chapter dissolution. Upon dissolution, all financial assets
of AWG-LS shall be turned over to the AWG Board of Directors.
Section
1. The rules contained in the
current edition of RobertŐs Rules of Order shall govern the AWG-LS meetings
when applicable.