Constitution and Bylaws
Bylaws GO TO CONSTITUTION
Article II. OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND ASSOCIATION POSITIONS
Section 1. Designation
The officers of this Association shall be the following:
- President
- Vice President, Sections
- Vice President, Regions
- President-Elect
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Editor
Section 2. President
The President shall be the chief executive officer of this Association. The President shall be spokesman for the Association on all matters pertaining to the public; shall appoint the members of all committees within the limits prescribed in the Constitution and Bylaws; shall appoint delegates to cooperating organizations to represent the Association; and shall serve as chair of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Vice President, Sections
The Vice President, Sections, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Regions, shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of the President to serve. The Vice President, Sections, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Regions, shall assume the office of President in case of a vacancy for any cause in that office; and shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President. The Vice President, Sections shall, with his or her other duties, concern himself or herself with the activities of the Association in respect to United States Sections. A Vice President, Sections elected pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of this Article II shall be presumed for the purposes of this Section 3 to have been elected on the date of his or her predecessor’s election.
Section 4. Vice President, Regions
The Vice President, Regions, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Sections, shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of the President to serve. The Vice President, Regions, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Sections, shall assume the office of President in case of a vacancy for any cause in that office; and shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President. The Vice President, Regions shall, with his or her other duties, concern himself or herself with the activities of the Association in respect to International Regions. A Vice President, Regions elected pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of this Article II shall be presumed for the purposes of this Section 4 to have been elected on the date of his or her predecessor’s election
Section 5. President-Elect
The President-Elect shall serve for one (1) year as such and in the following year shall assume the office of President. The President-Elect shall have no administrative authority except as a member of the Executive Committee; shall become acquainted with all the details of the office of President, and generally become prepared to serve as President. The President-Elect shall be responsible for the preparation of the budget for the ensuing fiscal year for approval by the Executive Committee.
Section 6. Secretary
The Secretary shall be responsible for recording the actions of the Executive Committee; shall keep possession of the corporate seal and affix the same; and, subject to Executive Committee approval, shall have policy oversight of all non-technical and non-peer reviewed publications and communications. The Secretary shall perform other duties as may be directed by the Executive Committee.
Section 7. Treasurer
The Treasurer shall supervise the receipt of all funds and, under the direction of the Executive Committee, be responsible for all disbursements of funds of the Association; shall serve ex officio as a member of the Committee on Investments; shall give bond, the amount of which shall be determined by the Executive Committee, shall make the annual report as Treasurer, and perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Committee.
Section 8. Editor
The Editor shall have general supervision and final authority in soliciting, accepting, and rejecting all material on technical subjects for publication. The Editor shall have policy oversight and responsibility for editorial content of all technical and peer reviewed publications. With the approval of the Executive Committee, the Editor shall appoint, replace, and reappoint such volunteer associate editors from among the membership of the Association that may be required to accomplish the publication activities of the Association. The Editor shall submit an annual report of editorial activities to the Executive Committee.
Section 9. Executive Director
Executive Committee policies shall be implemented by the Executive Director who shall have charge of the Association headquarters and staff personnel as authorized by the Executive Committee. The Executive Director shall be the person to whom all official notices to the Association will be addressed; shall be responsible for the physical custody of all official documents held in repository at Association headquarters; shall be under the personal direction of the President; and will assist in the work of all committees to ensure the effectiveness of the activities of this Association. The Executive Director shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Executive Committee. The Executive Director shall be chief administrative official of the Association, shall have the authority to execute contracts on behalf of the Association, shall not be an officer of the Association, and shall not be a member of the Executive Committee.
Section 10. Terms of Office
- The President and President-Elect, each as such, shall serve a one (1)-year term and shall not succeed themselves in office. The Vice President, Sections and the Vice President, Regions, each as such, shall serve a two (2)-year staggered term and shall not succeed themselves in office. Secretary and Treasurer, each as such, shall serve a two (2)-year staggered term and shall not succeed themselves in office. The Editor, as such, shall serve a three (3)-year term and shall not serve successive terms as Editor.
- The terms of office shall commence on July 1 following election.
Section 11. Election of Officers
- These officers shall be elected from among the members of the Association by means of secret ballot in the following manner: not later than June 30 of each year the Advisory Council shall annually recommend two (2) or more candidates each for the office of President-Elect, biennially recommend two (2) or more candidates each for offices of Vice President, Sections; Vice President, Regions; Secretary; and Treasurer; and triennially recommend two (2) or more candidates for the office of Editor to stand for election during the following fiscal year, and, if elected, to serve during the second succeeding fiscal year. The Executive Committee shall approve the candidates recommended in the order (if the Advisory Council recommends candidates in a particular order) and for the office recommended by the Advisory Council unless the Executive Committee, by the affirmative vote of not less than five of its members in each instance, alters the order in which candidates are recommended or changes the office for which a particular candidate is recommended; provided, however, that no person shall be a candidate who declines such candidacy. The Executive Committee shall annually approve two (2) candidates each for the office of President-Elect, biennially approve two (2) candidates each for the offices of Vice President, Sections; Vice President, Regions; Secretary; and Treasurer; and triennially approve two (2) candidates for the office of Editor. Additional nominations may be made by written petition of fifty (50) or more members in good standing received at Association headquarters not later than October 15 following. A candidate or nominee for the office of Vice President, Sections must reside within the United States and be a member of a Section at the date of his or her approval by the Executive Committee as a candidate for such office as described in this Section 11 or when otherwise initially becoming a candidate or nominee for such office. A candidate or nominee for the office of Vice President, Regions must reside outside of the United States and be a member of a Region at the date of his or her approval by the Executive Committee as a candidate for such office as described in this Section 11 or when otherwise initially becoming a candidate or nominee for such office. The names of candidates shall be published in the Explorer or by other suitable means ninety (90) days prior to distribution of ballots to members. The Executive Committee shall then prepare a printed, electronic, or other suitable ballot, listing the candidates for each office, and one (1) ballot shall be mailed, electronically distributed, or distributed by other suitable means to each member on or before April 1. Such ballots may consist of any combination of printed, electronic, and other suitable ballots. Marked ballots returned to and received by the Association after May 15 shall not be counted. The ballot committee shall count the ballots promptly after May 15 and report the results to the President. A majority of all votes cast for an office is necessary for election. In case of a tie vote the Executive Committee shall cast one (1) additional deciding vote.
- In the event that there are more than two (2) candidates for any office, whether through petition or other means as provided for in these Bylaws, then the candidate elected to that office shall be determined as provided in this subsection (b). The ballots for offices having more than two (2) candidates shall provide for the candidates to be voted upon by the voters in order of preference; i.e., first choice, second choice, etc. The candidate receiving a majority of the first choice votes shall be elected to that office. If no candidate receives a majority of the first choice votes cast, then the candidate that received the least number of first choice votes shall be dropped from consideration, and the second choices of those voters whose first choice was the dropped candidate shall be deemed those voters' first choice. Upon a tabulation of the votes according to the provisions of the previous sentence, a candidate with a majority of first choice votes shall be elected; if no candidate yet has a majority, the candidate remaining with the least number of first choice votes shall be dropped from consideration, and the process described above shall again be applied in another tabulation of the votes to determine if a candidate has received a majority of the first choice votes. The process provided in this subsection (b) shall be re-applied until a candidate receives a majority of the first choice votes cast. In the process described in this subsection (b) the first choice of any voter in any tabulation shall be deemed to be the candidate chosen highest by that voter after removing from that voter's selections the candidate or candidates who have been dropped from consideration prior to the pertinent tabulation.
Section 12. Vacancies
- A vacancy occurring in the office of Secretary, Treasurer, or Editor shall be filled by the unsuccessful candidate for that office in the most recent election. If there were more than one unsuccessful candidate for that office in said election, the candidate to fill the vacancy will be selected in accordance with the election process in Article II, Section 11, subsection (b), of these Bylaws. Should the unsuccessful candidate or candidates be unwilling or unable to fill such vacancy, the Executive Committee may fill such vacancy.
- A vacancy occurring in the office of President-Elect, Vice President, Sections, or Vice President, Regions shall be filled by mail, electronic mail, or other suitable ballot by membership, through a special election called by the Executive Committee. Any such ballot may consist of any combination of mail, electronic mail, or other suitable means.
Section 13. Release of Election Results
If all candidates in any AAPG election for a specific office approve in writing a statement authorizing the release of the numerical results of their election, those results shall be released to each of the said candidates. Any of those candidates may subsequently disclose such election results to any person provided all candidates agree in writing. For the purposes of this Section 12, AAPG elections include, but are not limited to, elections for officers of the Association, the House of Delegates, and the Divisions, and any other election between members of any classification conducted by the Association.
Section 14. Limitations on Association Positions
- No member of any classification may hold more than one of the following offices at any one time;
Association President;
Association Vice President, Sections;
Association Vice President, Regions;
Association President-Elect;
Association Secretary;
Association Treasurer;
Association Editor;
Chair, House of Delegates;
Chair-Elect, House of Delegates;
Secretary-Editor, House of Delegates;
Immediate Past Chair, House of Delegates
President of any Division;
Advisory Council member elected by any United States Section; and
Advisory Council member elected by any International Region. - No past president of the Association may within three (3) years after expiration of his or her term of office as such hold any of the offices listed in subsection 14(a) above.
Section 15. Limitations on Nomination and Honors and Awards
- Members serving in any of theAssociation positions described in Section 14, Article II, of these Bylaws, shall not be eligible to be nominated for any of the offices described in Section 14, Article II of these Bylaws, or selected for an honor or award by the Executive Committee of the Association, except for an honor or award that has been determined by an impartial convention judging process. This limitation continues for one year immediately following the end of such service.
- Candidates for theAssociation positions described in Section 14, Article II of these Bylaws, may not be nominated for any other Section 14, Article II position, while a candidate for a Section 14, Article II position, and may not be selected to receive any honor or award by any Association body, division or committee, during the period of their candidacy, unless the honor or award has been announced prior to the announcement of their candidacy, or determined by an impartial convention judging process.