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Missouri Chapter of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security

Bylaws

Amended

April 20, 2007

The Missouri Affiliate of the

International Association of Workforce Professionals

...World Leader in Workforce Development Systems

Missouri Chapter of the IAWP

Bylaws

Article I - Name and Charter

This association, hereinafter referred to as “Chapter,” is incorporated as: “Missouri Chapter, International Association of Personnel in Employment Security.”  It is a nonprofit corporation chartered by the State of Missouri on June 21, 1976, Charter # N00018117.  The Chapter is commonly known by the names Missouri Chapter of the International Association of Workforce Professionals, Missouri Chapter of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security and Missouri Chapter of the International Association of Partners in Employment Systems.

Article II – Affiliation and Objectives

1. Affiliation – This Chapter is affiliated with the International Association of Workforce Professionals IAWP.  This entity, IAWP, was formerly known as The International Association of Personnel in Employment Security and The International Association of Partners in Employment Systems. (IAPES)

2. Objectives - The objectives of this Chapter are the same as those of the International Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP), namely, to:

1.      Assist in the continued improvement of the programs and services provided by Workforce Systems and the United States Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration pertaining to employability development, unemployment insurance and related programs of the Missouri Division of Employment Security, The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and employment services and related programs of the Missouri Division of Workforce Development.

2.      Promote and assist in the improvement of competence, knowledge and motivation of persons engaged in such activities in all occupations in the field of employment and training.

3.      Aid in more closely coordinating the efforts of administrators engaged in activities applicable to Workforce Systems and employment and training programs.

4.      Urge the growth of personal association among persons performing duties pertaining to Workforce Systems and Employment and Training Administration systems.

5.      Provide a forum for the discussion and better comprehension of Workforce Systems and training related problems and methods.

Article III - Membership

1. Eligibility - Any individual interested in the purpose of the Missouri Chapter and who has paid the required membership fees and set forth below is eligible for membership in this Chapter.

2. Membership Classes - In addition to the mandated IAWP membership classes of full, retiree and life for those paying annual IAWP membership fees plus annual chapter membership fees, this Chapter shall have chapter membership classes, including but not limited to associate and chapter. The qualifications for each membership class enumerated herein are set forth below:

1.    Full.  Those persons who are employed in a professional, technical or supportive capacity in employability development, employment placement, unemployment insurance, job training programs or related Workforce Systems programs with a government, community or non-profit agency or organization are eligible for full membership and continue to be eligible for full membership upon retirement from such position. 

2.    Retiree.  Any individual retired from any agency mentioned under full membership above who elects to pay the “retiree fee”.

3.    State Chapter.  Any person meeting the requirements of a full member as described above, but chooses not to be enrolled as a member of the International Association of Workforce Professionals and District X.

4.    Life.  Those persons who have held the elective office of international president of IAPES/IAWP are conferred a completely paid membership for life; and those IAPES/IAWP members who have been recommended by the Chapter, had designated fees paid by the Chapter to the international association, and been approved by the international executive board are eligible for life membership.

5.    Associate.  Employers or other individuals not eligible for full membership.

3. Membership Rights - The rights to vote, make motions, second motions, place names in nomination, hold office, be nominated for office and serve on one or more committees are confined to full members. Retirees have all the rights of active members except the right to hold office, unless dues are paid as a full member. State Chapter members shall have all the rights associated with the Missouri Chapter, except they may not be members of the Executive Board. State Chapter members shall not have any rights or privileges associated with membership in the International Association of Workforce Professionals or District X. 

4. Membership Fees - The annual membership fee for full members and associates includes the fee set by the International Association plus the fee set by the Executive Board. The annual membership fee for State Chapter members shall be set by the Executive Board. A four-sevenths majority of those present and voting at the Executive Board meeting determines the Chapter fee.  Retiree fees are one-half the full member fees. 

1.      The annual membership fee is due and payable at the beginning of each calendar year.

2.      Any member whose annual membership fee has not been received by the Chapter Recording Secretary prior to opening of the annual conference shall be dropped from membership.

3.      Any member electing to pay fees by payroll deduction who leaves the employ of any agency having payroll deduction will be billed for the unpaid balance of their annual membership fee.  If such fee is not paid within 30 days he/she will be dropped from the Chapter rolls. 

Article IV - Zones

1. Creation of Zones -To advance the objectives of this Chapter and to increase the benefits of membership therein, there are created within the chapter various subchapters known as zones.

2. Zone Rules - Each zone adopts a Constitution and / or Bylaws in harmony with the Bylaws of this Chapter.  A copy of such constitution and/or bylaws is submitted to the Executive Board for approval.  The Chapter will maintain a copy of each zone’s rules for future reference.

3. Zone Property - Ownership of property by a zone or its membership does not constitute ownership by the Chapter.  In the event that a zone becomes inactive the Chapter president may direct, with approval from the Executive Board, how to handle such property.

4. Zone Officers - Each zone elects a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.  These officers are elected prior to the annual conference and take office at the time the Chapter officers take office.

5. Nomination and Election of Zone Officers - Nomination and election of zone officers are conducted in the following manner:

1.      Not later than February 1, each zone chairperson appoints a Nominations and Elections Committee, consisting of three or more members, one of whom is designated as Chairperson.

2.      The Nominations and Elections Committee prepares a list of one or more nominees for each Zone office and presents this list to the Zone Chairperson not later than April 1.

3.      The Zone Chairperson sets a date for an election of Zone officers and directs the Nominations and Elections Committee to prepare and distribute ballots (at least ten days prior to the election) to each member who was in good standing as of March 15.

4.      Such ballots list the candidates selected by the Nominations and Elections Committee for each office and allow sufficient space for “write-in” candidates.

5.      The Nominations and Elections Committee, at the time the ballots are distributed, notifies each member that ballots, to be valid, must be returned to the Committee Chairperson prior to the time of the election.

6.      The Committee Chairperson keeps the ballots unopened until the Zone Chairperson calls a meeting for the purpose of conducting the election.  At that time, the Zone Chairperson appoints three members to count the ballots and announce the results of the election.

6. Requirements to be Zone Officer - A zone officer must be a staff member of an office in that zone.

7. Number of Zones - There are four zones within Missouri.  Members belong to the zones in which the offices they work in are located.  These zones, with their included counties are:

Central – Adair, Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Howard, Macon, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Schuyler.

East – Clark, Franklin, Gasconade, Jefferson, Knox, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Ralls, Scotland, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve, Warren, Washington.

South – Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Madison, McDonald, Mississippi, New Madrid, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Polk, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, St. Clair, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Wayne, Webster, Wright.

West – Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Davies, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Putnam, Ray, Sullivan, Worth.

Article V - Officers and Executive Board

A.   Elected and Appointed Officers - The elected officers of this Chapter include a President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer.  A Corresponding Secretary is appointed by the President.  A Parliamentarian may be appointed by the President.

B.   Composition of the Executive Board - The Executive Board consists of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian and each zone chairperson.  Any Chapter member who is serving as an officer, chairman of a standing committee, district director, or district director-elect of the International Association of Workforce Professionals is also a member of the Executive Board.

C.   Duties of Officers and Executive Board – The duties of the Officers and the Executive Board shall be as follows:

1.    The President, except as provided elsewhere in the Bylaws, presides at all Chapter and Executive Board meetings. The President enforces due observance of the Chapter Bylaws; decides all questions of order; offers for consideration all motions regularly made; calls special meetings; appoints committees not otherwise provided; and performs other duties as the office may require or as assigned by the Executive Board. The President is an ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nominations and Elections Committee, without vote except in case of a tie.

2.    The President-Elect, in the absence of the President, presides at all meetings of the Chapter or the Executive Board.  The President-Elect when acting as President, enforces due observance of the Chapter Bylaws; decides on questions of order; offers for consideration all motions regularly made.  If the office of the President becomes vacant, the President-Elect assumes all of the duties and prerogatives of the President for the term for which the President was elected.  The President-Elect is responsible for the annual Educational Institute and is Chairperson of the Educational Program Committee.

3.    The Vice-President assists the President and President-Elect in the performance of their duties.  The Vice-President is responsible for the annual Chapter conference and performs such duties as required to insure a successful conference.

4.    The Recording Secretary keeps minutes of all meetings of the Chapter and of the Executive Board; maintains the permanent records of the Chapter; keeps the roll of membership; receives applications for membership and performs other duties as assigned by the President or Executive Board.

5.    The Corresponding Secretary sends notice to each Chapter member of the time and place of all regular and special chapter meetings and performs other duties as assigned by the President and/or the Executive Board.

6.   The Parliamentarian shall see that all meetings are conducted according to Robert’s “Rules of Order, Revised”, and shall provide interpretive guidance regarding the Constitution and Bylaws of the chapter and its affiliated entities.

7.  The Treasurer receives and is responsible for all financial assets belonging to the Chapter.  The Treasurer makes purchases and expenditures as authorized by the Executive Board; keeps proper accounts and submits a written report regarding the state of the treasury at the annual Chapter conference; and other meetings as required, and, upon leaving office, transfers all financial assets,  books and records to his or her successor.  The Treasurer is responsible for filing the Annual Registration with the Secretary of State of the State of Missouri.

8.  The Executive Board meets at least semiannually and is subject to the call of the President for such special meetings as the President deems necessary.  The Board manages the financial affairs of the Chapter; recommends ways and means of providing funds as the need may arise; appoints new officers for Chapter and zone offices when vacancies occur within the limitations of the Bylaws (except the President, which is filled by the President-Elect); makes all other recommendations to the Chapter as is deemed necessary; and authorizes expenditures of Chapter funds.  The Executive Board makes selections to be considered for appointment to International panels and committees or gives authority to the President to do so.

9.  Ownership of property by the Chapter is considered property of the entire membership.  In the event that this Chapter becomes inactive or dissolved, any property in its possession is disposed by action of the Executive Board.

10. In the absence of a quorum at the general business meeting of either the Annual Conference or Fall Institute the Executive Board may by a two-thirds vote of its members present, make and enact such motions it deems necessary to carry on the business and activities of the Chapter.

D.     Vacancies in Office – Vacancies will be handled as follows:

1.    A Vacancy in any Chapter or zone office, except Chapter President, due to any cause, shall be filled by the Executive Board by appointment, and vacancies in any zone, except zone chairperson, if not filled by the zone within thirty days after the vacancies occur, shall be filled in a like manner.  A person thus appointed takes office immediately and serves the remainder of the term.

2.    A vacancy in the office of President is filled by the President-Elect.

3.    A vacancy in the office of zone chairperson is filled by the appropriate vice-chairperson.

4.     No individual may serve concurrently as Chapter President and as a zone chairperson.

5.  If a zone fails to elect a zone chairperson, the Chapter President shall appoint a zone chairperson.

E.    Absences – Absences of Executive Board members will be handled as follows:

1.    Failure of an Executive Board member to notify the President, or if unable to reach the President, any other Executive Board member prior to a scheduled meeting that the member will be absent constitutes an unexcused absence.

2.    Upon receipt of notification, the Executive Board determines if an absence should be excused.

3.    The Board upon its motion may declare an office vacant if a member has three consecutive unexcused absences.

F.    Removal of Officers – Executive Board Officers may be removed in the following manner:

1.  Removal of an executive officer for cause is initiated by petition of any member of the Executive Board, or by petition to the Executive Board of at least ten percent of the members of any zone, or ten percent of the general membership.

2.  The removal petition is presented to the Chapter President.  The President places the petition on the agenda of the next scheduled meeting of the Executive Board and then notifies the person involved of the filing of the petition. 

3.  The persons who presented the petition are known as the Grievance Committee.  A spokesperson is elected to present the committee’s case against the person to be removed. 

4.  After the case is presented, the accused person has the right to present a defense. 

5.  Vote on the removal is by secret ballots prepared by the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.  The vote is taken after the defense’s presentation. 

6.  In case of removal of the President, the President-Elect conducts the meeting.  The Chairperson of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee announces the vote on the removal petition. 

7.  A simple majority vote is necessary to remove an executive officer.

G.    Participation at Executive Board Meetings - The Executive Board meetings are open to all Chapter members in good standing who may attend as observers only.  Any input from the general membership may be presented by a zone chairperson.

H.   Committees - Chapter standing committees include: Activity, Auditing, Award of Merit, Legislative, Educational Program, Membership, Nominations and Elections, Constitution and Bylaws, Veterans Committee.

1.    These committees are appointed by the President after appropriate consultation with the Executive Board and as noted below.

2.    The Membership Committee and Nominations and Elections Committee shall each consist of one member from each zone who is appointed by the appropriate zone chairperson within thirty days after the zone chairperson has taken office.  If a zone chairperson has not appointed such committee member within that time, the President makes the appointment.  Appointments to all committees, other than the Membership Committee, and the Nominations and Elections Committee, need not have representation from each zone.  In the event that a zone becomes inactive, representation shall not be required on the above referenced committees.

3.    Special committees are appointed at the discretion of the President and the Executive Board as needs arise.  The term of office of any special or standing committee expires at the same time as the terms of office for the Chapter officers expire, unless a specific term is designated by a simple majority of the members present and voting at the annual Chapter conference.

Article VI - Meetings

1. Annual Conference - The Chapter holds a conference annually between January 1 and not less than thirty days prior to the International Conference, the time and place to be designated by the Chapter Executive Board, in the event that the previous annual conference did not designate the time and place. 

2. Special Meetings - Special meetings may be called by the President or the Executive Board or upon request in writing of at least one-third of the members in good standing, provided that notice of such meeting is sent to each Chapter member at least ten days in advance of such meeting.
    

3. Fall Institute - The Chapter sponsors an educational meeting each year at a time other than the annual business meeting.  Such meeting may be in the form of an institute conducted by a public or private educational institution.
   
    
4. Suspension of the Annual Conference and / or Institute – In any year in which the active full membership is less than 125 members the Executive Board may suspend for the year the holding of a Conference and / or Institute.
   
    
5. Annual Business Meeting – If the Executive Board suspends the holding of both the Annual Conference and Fall Institute within a year, the Executive Board will hold instead an annual General Business Meeting to be conducted during the same time frame as the Annual Conference would have been held.  If a quorum of members is not present, the Executive Board will carry on the business of the Chapter.

    

Article VII - Quorum

1. General Meetings – Five full members or five percent of the full membership, whichever is the lesser, constitutes a quorum at any annual or special meeting of the Chapter.

2. Chapter Executive Board Meetings - A simple majority of the members of the Executive Board constitutes a quorum of that Board.

Article VIII - Nominations and Elections

1. Nominations and Elections Committee - To consider, select and prepare a list of one or more nominees for each office of the Chapter, the President, each year, not later than sixty days after the annual Chapter conference, appoints a Nominations and Elections Committee.  Not less than thirty days prior to each annual conference, they shall submit a list of nominees by mail to each zone.  Each zone distributes the list to each member. Or the list may be sent by e-mail to each member.  Nominations also may be made from the floor at the annual conference for all positions except the position of President unless the President-Elect chooses not to serve as President.

2. Credentials Committee - The President appoints from among the members attending the annual conference a Credentials Committee consisting of three members. Not later than the first day of the annual conference, the Secretary certifies to the Credentials Committee a listing of the full membership in good standing in each zone, as shown by the Secretary’s records exactly fifteen days before the opening day of the annual conference.  From such list, the Credentials Committee, acting in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Chapter Bylaws, determines and certifies the number of votes to which each zone is entitled. This determination by the Credentials Committee is official and final.

3. Zone Delegate and Alternate - Each zone files with the Credentials Committee, not later than seven o’clock in the evening of the day preceding each annual election, the names of an accredited delegate and accredited alternate authorized to announce the vote of such zone.

4. Annual Election - Subject to all applicable provisions of the Chapter Bylaws, each Chapter officer is elected annually.  A majority consisting of more than one half the votes cast is required to elect.  Each officer assumes office immediately following the election. Each officer holds office for the term of one year usually to the next Annual Conference.

5. Conducting the Election - Election of officers is by ballot roll call of the zones. Each zone, with less than twenty-five members, has one vote at large. In addition each zone has one vote for every ten (or major fraction of ten) full members in good standing as shown by the records of the Chapter Secretary exactly fifteen days prior to the opening day of the annual Chapter Conference in which the election is held.

6. Nomination and Election of the President - The President-Elect is elected automatically to President at the annual Chapter conference unless other nominations for President are received thirty days prior to the annual conference. If there are nominations, then an election is held between the President-Elect and nominated candidate for the office of president.

7. Oath of Office – The oath of office is administered to the newly elected Board by the retiring President.

Article IX - District X Membership

The Missouri Chapter is a member of District X, IAWP and complies with the District X Constitution and Bylaws, except when the District X Constitution and Bylaws conflict with the Missouri Chapter IAPES Bylaws.

Article X - Parliamentary Procedure

The proceedings at each Chapter meeting are governed by applicable provision of Robert’s “Rules of Order, Revised”.

Article XI - Amendments

Each proposed amendment to the Bylaws and each proposed new Bylaw of this Chapter are published and distributed to all full members at least thirty days prior to the next meeting at which such proposals could be voted upon. Electronic distribution of such amendments shall constitute notice to each member.  Adoption of any proposed amendment or new bylaw requires a two-thirds majority of members present and voting at such business meeting.

Missouri Chapter IAPES/IAWP

Presidents