Annual Report of the House of Delegates
1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005
Valary Schulz
The House of Delegates represents the membership of AAPG and has jurisdiction over the legislative function of the AAPG. The number of Delegates in the HoD is based on a regional, geographic, and quasi-proportional membership representation. Delegates have multiple responsibilities, chief among which is the certification of applicants for membership. Delegates are also responsible for keeping their constituencies advised of AAPG's current policies and programs, and for attending the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates.
During the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the officers of the House of Delegates, Chair Valary Schulz, Secretary/Editor Ron Grubbs, and Chair-Elect Don Clarke, hosted breakfast meetings at all of the Sectional Convention Meetings: Columbus - Eastern Section, Denver - Rocky Mountain Section, San Antonio - GCAGS, Fredericksburg -- Southwest Section, and San Jose -- Pacific Section, as well as in Cancun for the International Meeting. A Mid-year meting of House officers, candidates, and all committee chairs was held in Dallas on 22 January, 2005. Delegates were also represented by the Chair at the AAPG Leadership Days in Tulsa, and at 17 Executive Committee meetings. The annual meeting, held on 19th June, 2005 in Calgary, was the culmination of a years' activity for multiple house committees. A summary of the accomplishments follows:
- The Honors and Awards Committee chaired by Jeannie Mallick (Houston Geological Society), selected and recognized delegates to receive special awards for service to the House. The 2005 honorees were:
- Daniel L. Smith, Honorary Member of the House
- Sigrunn Johnsen, Distinguished Member of the House
- Brian D. Keith, Distinguished Member of the House
- William B. Harrison III, House Long Service Award
- Edmund Stuart Hastings, House Long Service Award
- Marvin L. Smith, House Long Service Award
Additionally, the committee made recommendations which were voted upon and approved by the House, to preserve names of individuals who are deserving of awards and yet ineligible at the moment. To standardize the nomination process, recommendation forms were created which will provide a consistent nomination framework for consideration by Honors and Awards Committee members. These forms will be posted on the website and made available to members,
- The Constitution and Bylaws Committee chaired by Paul Britt, (Houston Geological Society) considered legislative actions to enhance the operations and functionality of the organization. After due consideration in committee, the following bylaws were proposed to the delegates at the Annual meeting and approved by the requisite 2/3 majority vote:
An amendment to Article I, Section 11, of the bylaws to coordinate its provisions with existing Article XI, Section 7 of the bylaws to allow reinstatement of members by unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.
An amendment to Article II, Section 10, to provide 'instant run-off' voting procedures in the event of more than two candidates for an Association office, and to require a majority vote for election.
An amendment to Article II, Section 11, to change the methods of filling vacancies in the offices of Secretary, Treasurer, or Editor to allow the unsuccessful candidate to fill the vacancy, and in the event of a vacancy in the offices of President-Elect or Vice President to provide for a special election.
An amendment to Article IV, Section 8, to delete language no longer required due to prior amendments.
An amendment to Article V, Section 12, of the AAPG Bylaws to provide a method to appoint an alternate representative for an absent Advisory Council member from a Region, Section, or Division if the current member's predecessor is unwilling or unable to attend an Advisory Council meeting.
A proposed amendment to limit nomination of officers of Divisions from holding more than one Association position, and an amendment to prohibit nominating standing officers for election was defeated.
- The Rules and Procedures Committee led by Chair Jay Henthorne (Ohio Geological Society) proposed six changes to the Riles and Procedures of the House. The changes approved by the House at the Annual meeting are:
A new Section B to Article I to codify the record date used to determine the number of delegates each Affiliated Society and International Region is entitled to. The date was changed from 31 October to 30 November.
A new Section C to Article I to require the Chairman-Elect of the House to prepare a budget for the house and to present this budget at the first Executive Committee meeting of each fiscal year.
An addition to Article III, Section A, subsection 1.a. to require the Nomination and Election Committee to submit a confidential report to the Chairman-Elect citing individuals considered for nomination but not selected. This will provide a mechanism to capture those delegates who are prohibited by circumstances from standing, but who may in the future be qualified nominees.
An amendment to Article III, Section A, subsection 1.g. to change the date by which names of candidates for Honors and Awards are to be submitted from Committee to the Chairman of the House, from 30 September to 31st October.
An amendment to Article III, Section A, subsection 1.g.(7) to expand the prohibition of nominating House officers for a House award to preclude any Association officers from being nominated for a House award.
An addition to Article III, Section A, subsection 1.g (8) to require the Honors and Awards Committee to submit a confidential report to the Chairman-Elect citing individuals considered for an award but not selected. This will provide a mechanism to capture those delegates who are prohibited by circumstances from receiving an award, but who may in the future be qualified.
- The Nomination and Election Committee, chaired by Brian Keith (Indiana Kentucky Geological Society) presented the slate of House Officer Candidates. The nominees for Chair Elect were Alan DeGood, Kansas Geological Society, and Larry Jones, Houston Geological Society. The nominees for Secretary Editor were Jay Henthorne, Ohio Geological Society, and Bob Shoup, Houston Geological Society. Background information on each candidate was published in The Delegates' Voice, and each of the candidates addressed the Annual meeting of the House where the delegates voted to elect Larry Jones (Chair-Elect) and Bob Shoup (Secretary/Editor) for the 2005-2006 term.
- At the annual meeting, the Credential Committee, chaired by Patrick Gooding, Kentucky Society of Professional Geologists, qualified a quorum of 179 delegates of the total 230 delegates, or 78% (See related committee report).
- The ad hoc Committee on Advisory Council Representation, chaired by Tim Rynott (Lafayette Geological Society) presented the final results of their extensive investigations over a two year period. This seven member committee researched the make up and voting record of the Advisory Council to attempt to determine if the Sections and Regions are equitably represented by the current composition of the Advisory Council, and whether the distribution of the Sectional/Regional representatives ought to be more proportional. It was determined that the current composition which was formulated in 1998, and thus has merely 4 years of voting history from which to draw conclusions, has no evidence of geographic bias or discrimination toward any Section/Region. It was recommended that this situation be monitored for any evidence of bias in the future and that the voting record be evaluated every 5 to 6 years. It was also recommended by this Committee that the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of the House evaluate whether the Past Presidents on the Advisory Council should serve two years rather than the current three.
- An ad hoc Committee on Executive Session, chaired by John Hogg (Canada Region) was formed with diverse membership which included current and past House Candidates, Executive Committee Officers and Advisory Council members. This committee was created to consider the use of Executive Session in Advisory Council meetings and to investigate possible solutions to reports of past abuse of members' rights under cloak of executive session. All committee members agreed that the privilege of Executive Session is not intended to allow for unsubstantiated or unsupportable negative remarks, and that the protection of members' rights during executive session should be rigorously protected. The unanimous resolution from this committee was presented to the Annual Meeting of delegates, and an informal expression of interest by the delegates supported the following proposal for the Advisory Council Guidelines:
Advisory Council Executive Sessions shall include an external Parliamentarian, either one used by the House of Delegates, or one from any other state where the Advisory council is meeting, at both the Nominations and Honors and Awards Committee meetings (not to exceed a maximum cost of ~$2000 per year). The responsibility of the Parliamentarian shall be to ensure that the AAPG Code of Ethics, Constitution, and Bylaws of the organization are upheld during discussions concerning the qualifications of potential officer nominees and honorees. If, in the opinion of the external Parliamentarian, any comments or remarks are not appropriate, then the Parliamentarian will interrupt and stop the speaker's remarks, and admonish the speaker for breach of the Code of Ethics, the Constitution, or Bylaws of AAPG.
- The Secretary/Editor Ron Grubbs (Dallas Geological Society) published three editions of the Delegates' Voice: January, March, and June. Two of these were print editions, mailed out to all delegates, and one was a digital release, posted on the website. These records are all available on the House website. Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting were approved by outgoing Secretary/Editor Steve Goolsby and his committee. Minutes of the 2005 Annual meeting have not yet been prepared and reviewed.
- Along with considerable help from AAPG staffer, Janet Brister, the House website was enhanced to serve as a current resource as well as a record of history for the House. New postings this year include listings of past Officers and past Awardees of the House, links to the Code of Ethics, the Constitution and Bylaws, and to the Rules and Procedures.
It has been my great honor and privilege to serve the House of Delegates for the past year. Thank you for your confidence and for the opportunity to contribute to our great association with so many fine colleagues.
Saludos.
Valary Schulz
HoD Past Chairperson