SSSR BY-LAWS
Article I: Membership and Dues
Section 1. The membership year of the Society shall be January 1 through December 31. For other purposes, including the terms of elected officials, the terms annual or a year shall refer to the time between the close of the Annual Meeting and the close of the next Annual Meeting.
Section 2. Membership categories shall be Regular, Joint, Emeritus, and Student. Regular members are persons who, by vocation or avocation, share the objectives of the Society. Joint membership, at a reduced rate of dues, is available to any two persons who share a household and desire to receive only one copy of Society publications, but otherwise enjoy full rights and privileges as regular members. Emeritus membership is restricted to those who, while continuing to enjoy the rights and privileges of Regular membership, are retired from regular employment, have been Regular or Joint members of the Society for ten or more years, and request in writing to the Executive Officer the Emeritus status. Student membership is restricted to those persons enrolled in, or otherwise actively pursuing, a higher academic degree program.
Section 3. All members are entitled to attend meetings of the Society and to receive its publications and communications. Only Regular, Joint, Emeritus, and Student members have voting rights; only Regular, Joint, and Emeritus members are eligible for elective office. (Revised 2019).
Section 4. Dues are set by the Executive Council and are subject to ratification by voting members at the Annual Business Meeting.
Article II: Reserve Funds
Section 1. It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Council to build and maintain a reserve fund equal to at least 100 percent of the annual operating budget of the Society. The Executive Council is responsible for establishing and reviewing policies and procedures for the prudent management of the reserve fund. The Executive Council may elect to place all or part of the reserve fund in an Endowment Fund.
Article III: Nominations
Section 1. Nominations shall be the responsibility of an ad hoc committee, consisting of four members plus the Past-president who will chair the committee. The members of the committee, selected so as to represent the disciplines participating in the Society, shall be nominated by the President and appointed by the Executive Council.
Section 2. At least five months before the Annual Meeting, the Nominations Committee shall: (a) select two nominees for each office to be filled by vote of the membership, (b) verify the nominee’s eligibility, (c) gather uniform and concise information for each nominee, and (d) transmit to the Executive Officer the ballot forms and information sheets for submission to the membership.
Section 3. To be eligible for nomination, a person must be a voting member of the Society.
Section 4. Persons may be nominated a second time for any elected office in which they have already served, provided that a year’s time has elapsed since they served in that office.
Article IV: Voting
Section 1. All voting for elected officers and Councilors or to amend the Constitution or By Laws, shall be by ballot to the membership from the Executive Officer.
Section 2. At least four months before the Annual Meeting, each voting member shall be sent information about nominees, ballot, and instructions for returning ballots to the Executive Officer.
Section 3. To be valid, ballots must be received by the Executive Officer on or before the date specified on the ballot, which shall not be less than thirty days from the date the ballots are distributed.
Section 4. The Executive Officer shall promptly tabulate the results of balloting, inform all nominees and the Executive Council. The Executive Officer shall retain a record of the balloting for at least one year following an election.
Section 5. In the event of a tie vote for any office, the Executive Council shall be polled by the Executive Officer, and a majority of those voting shall prevail.
Section 6. Member voting may be initiated on other matters related to the objectives of the Society, and these may arise from any of the same sources specified in Article X, Section 2, of the Constitution. Although Constitution changes require a two-thirds vote, other votes are by simple majority.
Article V: Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society, its Executive Council, and its Business Meeting. The President represents and speaks for the Society, may sign contracts and other documents on behalf of the Society, except as said duties are assigned to the Executive Officer, Treasurer, or other authorized agent of the Society. It is the President’s duty to name the Program Chair, and with that person jointly, arrange for the program for the year the President is in office. In the event of the President’s death, resignation, or inability to perform the duties of the President, the President-elect shall become President. If more than six months remain in the new President’s term, a special election shall occur immediately for the purpose of selecting a new President-elect. If less than six months remain in the President’s term, the office of President-elect shall remain vacant until the next regularly scheduled election.
Section 2. The President-elect shall become acquainted with the affairs of the Society and carry out any special assignments from the President or Executive Council. The President-elect shall serve as chair of the Jack Shand Research Awards Committee. The President-elect shall also prepare a list of nominees for all committees deemed necessary by the Executive Council, to be presented to the Council for appointment to serve during the President-elect’s year as President.
Section 3. The Past-president shall chair the committee responsible for nominations, as well as carry out any special assignments from the President or Executive Council.
Section 4. The Secretary is to record the minutes of the Executive Council and the Business Meeting of the Society. Within one month of the Annual Meeting, the Secretary is to deliver such minutes to the Executive Officer, who will include in the next Newsletter (or other appropriate Society publication) the minutes of the Business Meeting.
Section 5. The Treasurer, in conjunction with the Executive Officer and President, is to prepare and to recommend to the Executive Council an annual budget, and to be responsible for recommending any major changes in fiscal policy.
Section 6. Councilors have no specific duties except to vote on matters brought to the Executive Council and to perform such other assignments as may from time to time be given them. In the event of the death, resignation, or incapacity of a councilor in the first two years, a replacement is to be elected to fill the balance of that councilor’s term of office; otherwise the position remains vacant until the next scheduled election.
Article VI: Executive Officer
Section 1. The Executive Officer is responsible for coordinating the work of the Society. In general, this calls for maintaining close ties with the elected officers and seeing that the duties of the various officers and committees are carried out. More specifically, this requires (a) working closely with the President and Executive Council in implementing policy; (b) representing the Society to the public and to other professional associations, (c) ensuring that all business arrangements for the Society’s meetings are handled in an efficient and timely way and (d) managing the financial affairs of the Society in a prudent manner.
Article VII: Amendments
Section 1. The Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the eligible voters voting by ballot.
Section 2. Amendments may be proposed by: (a) an endorsement of the Executive Council, (b) petition of fifty or more voting members, or (c) majority vote at a Business Session of an Annual Meeting, providing at least one hundred voting members are present.
Revised July 3, 2022