CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW ENGLAND – ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY
Proposed New NESTVAL Constitution Dated October 2010 for
the 2010 Annual Fall Business Meeting of NESTVAL
ARTICLE I Name and Purpose
Section 1. The Society shall be called the New England-St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society.
Section 2. The Society exists: (a) to promote geography in New England and Eastern Canada; (b) to encourage research and investigation of the region; (c) to serve as the New England-St. Lawrence Division of the Association of American Geographers.
ARTICLE II Membership
Section 1. Membership in the Society shall include: (a) all AAG members assigned to this region by the National Office; (b) full dues-paying members; and (c) student members.
ARTICLE III Officers, State and Provincial Representatives, and Executive Council
Section 1. The officers of the Society shall constitute its Executive Council and shall be composed of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Regional Councilor to the Association of American Geographers. A representative from each New England state and an eastern Canada province will constitute the Society’s state and provincial representatives. In case of death, inability to serve, or resignation of the President, the Vice President shall assume the office of President to complete the term of the incumbent. They then will serve the full term to which they would have succeeded.
Section 2. The officers, with the exception of the President, shall be elected by the membership by electronic ballot and shall serve two years.
Section 3. The Vice President will succeed to the Presidency for a two-year term.
Section 4. The Secretary is eligible for re-election.
Section 5. The Treasurer is eligible for re-election.
Section 6. The Regional Councilor will serve a three-year term.
Section 7. State and provincial representatives will serve a two-year term and are eligible for re-election.
ARTICLE IV Executive Board and Committees
Section 1. The Executive Board shall be composed of the following members: the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, the Regional Councilor, state and provincial representatives, the first Past President, and the first Past Regional Councilor.
Section 1.1: Responsibilities for Executive Board members include attendance at the annual Fall Business Meeting, the annual Spring meeting of the Executive Board, and other duties as defined below.
Section 2. The standing committees of the Society shall be a program committee, an election committee, and a publication committee.
Section 3. The program committee for the Annual Meeting will be composed of a chairperson drawn from the host institution, and such others as the chairperson shall appoint. If there is no host institution the committee will be appointed by the Executive Board.
Section 4. The election committee shall be composed of the Vice President as chairperson, the Regional Councilor, the first Past President, and the first Past Regional Councilor. .
Section 5. The publication committee shall be composed of an Editor of The Northeastern Geographer appointed by the Executive Board for a two-year term who will serve as chairperson; the Vice President, and one other member appointed by the Editor. Oversight of The Northeastern Geographer shall be the responsibility of the publication committee which shall consult with the Executive Board on all substantive changes to The Northeastern Geographer.
Section 6. The NESTVAL web liaison shall be the President.
ARTICLE V Meetings
Section 1. The meeting of the Society shall be held annually during the Fall at such time and place as the Executive Board shall determine.
ARTICLE VI Finance
Section 1. The annual membership dues to support the Society and its activities shall be fixed by the voting members at a regular Fall Business Meeting and will remain the same until properly amended. Full membership dues will include a one-year subscription to The Northeastern Geographer.
ARTICLE VII Amendments
Section 1. The constitution may be amended only at an Annual Fall Business Meeting of the Society.
Section 2. Amendments must be submitted to the membership electronically at least one month before the Annual Fall Business Meeting.
Section 3. Amendments may be adopted only by two-thirds favorable vote of those voting members present and voting at the Annual Fall Business Meeting.
BY-LAWS
By-Law 1.
The President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Regional Councilor should be a member of the Association of American Geographers.
By-Law 2.
A. Every two years the Election Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and candidates for State and eastern Canadian representatives. In preparing its slate, the Election Committee shall solicit recommendations from the voting membership via email and the NESVAL website by March 1 of an election year. Recommendations for elective office shall be returned to the Vice President by April 1 of an election year.
B. The slate of officers and representatives shall be sent by email to the voting membership. State and Canadian representatives shall be elected by the voting membership of the respective State and eastern Canadian provinces. The completed ballots must be received by the Election Committee at least one week prior to the Annual Fall Business Meeting.
C. The results of the election will be announced at the Annual Fall Business Meeting.
D. Election of the Regional Councilor shall follow the same procedure as outlined in By-Laws A, B, and C. However, because the Regional Councilor serves a three-year term, this election will occur in years other than those for the other Executive Board members. Nominations will be solicited by the Chair of the Election Committee from the membership. The election will then be held as in By-Law B.
By-Law 3.
Official duties of all NESTVAL officers and state and provincial representatives shall consist of attendance at the annual Fall Business Meeting and the spring meeting of the Executive Board, and other duties as defined by the By-Laws of the Constitution. State and provincial representatives are required to produce an annual written report to be posted on the NESTVAL website before the annual spring meeting of the Executive Board. This written statement should report on activities, news, and announcements related to Geography departments and programs, Geographic Alliance activities, and the broader public and professional sectors.
By-Law 4.
Voting members of NESTVAL vote on NESTVAL elections and on business items put forth at the Annual Fall Business Meeting. Voting members are required to pay full annual membership dues to NESTVAL which entitles them to an annual subscription to The Northeastern Geographer and other materials available to members on the NESTVAL website.
AAG members that reside in or work in the NESTVAL region are members of NESTVAL by default. These AAG members can become voting members by paying full annual membership dues.
Student members are able to participate at the Annual Fall Business Meeting and Conference and can have access to materials at the NESTVAL website. Student members are not voting members of NESTVAL nor do they receive an annual subscription to The Northeastern Geographer.