Bylaws
Bylaws of Mid-Atlantic Chapter of The Ecological Society of America
| Article 1. | Name. The official name of this chapter shall be “The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America. |
| Article 2. | Purpose. The objective of the Chapter shall be to encourage communication among professional and student ecologists of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter shall be a subdivision of the Ecological Society of America and shall be governed in all its operations by the Constitution and Bylaws of that Society. |
| Article 3. | Membership. Any member of any class of the Ecological Society of America who desires may become a member of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter by so indicating on the Society Dues Renewal Notice. Members of the Chapter shall remain in good standing until they cease renewing their Chapter affiliation or until they cease being a member of the Ecological Society of America. |
| Article 4. | Officers and Elections. The officers of the Chapter shall be a Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary, and Secretary-elect. The term of office for each position is one year. Any member of the Chapter shall be eligible to serve as an elected officer except no individual may hold more than one position concurrently. The Chair-elect and Secretary-elect shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Chapter by a majority vote of those members who choose to vote. On July 1, the newly-elected Chair-elect and Secretary-elect shall assume their positions and the incumbent Chair-elect and Secretary-elect shall become the Chair and Secretary, respectively. If necessary, a special election to replace officers unable to complete their terms may be held by email ballot, with those voting constituting a quorum. Notice of a special election must be provided at least 30 days in advance. |
| Article 5. | Duties of the Chair. In consultation with the other Chapter officers and members and with their support, the Chair shall organize and preside at the meetings of the Chapter, shall authorize and manage expenditures of Chapter funds, and shall promote in every reasonable way the interests of the Chapter. The Chair shall represent the Chapter at the Council of the Society and shall appoint committees as required to promote the interests of the Chapter. Such committees shall serve at the discretion of the Chair. |
| Article 6. | Duties of the Chair-Elect. The Chair-elect shall contribute to the work of the Chair and shall assume the duties of the Chair whenever that person is unable to act. |
| Article 7. | Duties of the Secretary. The Secretary shall keep the records of the Chapter, including a current membership and mailing list, and contribute to the work of the Chair. The Secretary shall assume the duties of the Chair-Elect whenever that person is unable to act. |
| Article 8. | Duties of the Secretary-elect. The Secretary-elect shall contribute to the work of the Chair and Secretary, and shall assume the duties of the Secretary whenever that person is unable to act. |
| Article 9. | Expenses. Necessary expenses of the Chapter shall be paid from the treasury of the Society, but a minimum balance of $200 shall be maintained from year to year to assure the continued operation of the Chapter. No officer or member of the chapter shall have authority to incur expenses in the name of the Chapter, except as specified above. The outgoing Chair will submit an annual report to the membership by June 30 of each year. |
| Article 10. | Meetings. The Chapter shall hold an annual business meeting at the annual Chapter meeting and the members present shall constitute a quorum. This shall be the official meeting of the Chapter. The Chapter may also meet at the Society’s annual meeting and may organize Chapter meetings at other times and places at the call of the Chair or when requested by 10 or more members of the Chapter. |
| Article 11. | Amendments. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members attending the annual meeting of the Chapter or by two-thirds of those voting by e-mail ballot, provided that notice of the proposed amendments have been supplied to members of the Chapter at least 60 days prior to the voting date. |
Revised and adopted August, 2007