By-law 1. PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP
All regular members in good standing shall have the privilege of holding any office or position in the Society.
By-law 2. MEMBERSHIP YEAR
The membership year of the Society shall commence on January 1, and end on December 31.
By-Law 3. FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of the Society shall commence on May1, of each year and end on April 30 of the following year.
By-law 4. MEETINGS
An annual meeting of the Society shall be held.
Executive meetings shall be held at the call of the president or his designate.
Extraordinary general meetings shall be called at the discretion of the Executive or at the written request of then members of the Society.
The date and place of annual and general meetings shall be decided by the Executive.
Notification of place, date, notices of motion, and agenda apart from those of a routine nature shall be mailed to members at least two weeks in advance of any meeting.
By-law 5. QUORUM
Three members of the Executive, of which one shall be the President or President-Elect, shall form a quorum at an Executive meeting (see by-law 4-b).
One-tenth of the membership or 10 members, which ever is larger, shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Society.
By law 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS
The order of business at all Executive meeting, at the Annual Meeting of the Society, and at any other duly called meeting shall be :
Reading of notice calling the meeting.
Reading the minutes of the last meeting.
Business arising out of the minutes.
Communications.
Reports of officers and committees.
Unfinished business.
Resolutions.
New business (see by laws 11-a, 11-d, 11-e, 12-a and 13)
This order may be varied for any meeting by a majority vote of the members present.
By-law 7. NOMINATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE
A nominating committee shall consist of the immediate Past-President as Chairman and Regional Directors, which shall call for nominations for all positions on the Executive.
Nominations for all positions except Directors shall be over the signature of any two members and shall contain written consent of the nominee.
Nominations for Director shall be made by any two members, preferably resident in the region which the Director shall represent, and shall contain written consent of the nominee.
All nominations shall be in the hands of the nominating committee not later than three months prior to the date of the annual meeting.
The nominating committee shall complete the slate of officers in the event that nominations are not received for all positions.
The nominating committee shall obtain the consent of all candidates for nomination before presenting the completed list of candidates at the annual meeting.
Nominations for all Executive positions shall also be accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting and a vote shall follow where appropriate.
By-law 8. ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE
The elections shall be conducted at the annual meeting or where there is no quorum by letter ballot. Every regular member is entitled to vote.
b.1. Where required, the Treasurer shall mail a copy of each ballot to all regular members within two weeks after the annual meeting.
b.2. Voting shall be by ballot and marked “X”. The candidate or, in case of Directors the two candidates, receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast a deciding vote.
b.3. In order to be valid, returned letter ballots must reach the Treasurer not later than October 1.
b.4. Ballots shall be counted before October 15, by three scrutinisers appointed by the Executive – one of whom must not be a member of the Society.
By-law 9. TERM OF OFFICE
The President shall be elected as President-Elect and shall serve one year as President-Elect and act as Vice-President, and the following year as President.
The Treasurer shall be elected for a two-year term.
The Eastern and Western Directors shall be elected for a two-year term.
The Communications Director shall be elected for a two-year term.
The student representative shall be elected for a one-year term.
All Executive members shall assume office at the Annual Meeting immediately prior to “New Business” in the Order of Business at the meeting (see By-law 6).
All Executive members shall be eligible for nomination for a second term.
By-law 10. VACANCIES
Any vacancies occurring in the Executive or committees during their term of office may be filled by appointments made by the Executive. Such appointee shall hold office only until the next Annual Meeting.
By-law 11. FINANCES
Annual membership fees shall be set at the Annual Meeting of the Society.
Annual membership fees are payable January 1. Membership shall lapse if fees are not paid by April 30.
All membership fees shall be payable to the Society and mailed to the Treasurer of the Society.
The Treasurer shall be empowered by motion at the Annual Meeting to open a bank account in the name of the Society, to deposit all funds therein, to issue cheques, and to pay all accounts subject to the approval of Executive.
The President shall also be empowered by motion at the Annual Meeting to sign cheques. This power shall only be used in the absence of the Treasurer.
By-law 12. AUDITORS
Two auditors shall be appointed each year at the Annual Meeting to audit the books and accounts of the Society for the current fiscal year.
A member of the Executive shall not be eligible to act as an auditor.
The Treasurer shall submit to the auditors a complete statement of the finances of the Society by July 1.
By-law 13. COMMITTEES AND GROUPS
The Society or the Executive may appoint such committees or groups from time to time as may be considered necessary to carry on the business or activities of the Society.
By-law 14. FELLOWSHIP AND AWARDS
The Society may establish and grant fellowship and other awards.
The title Fellow of the Canadian Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology is granted for professional distinction worthy of national recognition. The fellowship is the highest honour which can be bestowed by the Society.
The Honours and Awards Committee with the President-Elect as Chairman shall evaluate nominations for the fellowship and awards and shall make recommendations on these to the Executive.
Names of individuals nominated for honours and awards and correspondence related to such nominations shall be kept strictly confidential.
No more than one fellowship should be granted per year and the recipient will usually be from the region where the Annual Meeting is held.
By-law 15. AMENDMENT OF THE BY-LAWS
The by-laws of this Society may be repealed, amended, or added to by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present at any general or annual meeting, provided that due notice of motion has been given according to by-law 4-e. Such changes are effective immediately upon approval by a meeting.
By-law 16. INTERPRETATION
In these By-laws, reference to the male gender includes the female gender and if the context does not otherwise require, the singular includes the plural. In situations requiring interpretations, Roberts Rule of Order shall apply.