GEORGIA RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION, INC. AQUATIC SECTION BYLAWS
ARTICLE I Name and Administrative Office Section One: Name This section shall be known as the Aquatic Section of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. Section Two: Administrative Office The location of the administrative office shall be the professional office of the Section Chairperson unless otherwise designated by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE II Purpose and Objectives Section One: Purpose The purpose of the Aquatic Section is to promote high standards in the field of recreational aquatics throughout the State of Georgia. Section Two: Objectives The objectives of the Aquatics Section are: A. B. C. D. E.
To provide training, leadership and professional guidance for professionals and agencies that deliver aquatic services to the public. To promote aquatics through recognition of excellence in programs, facilities and professional accomplishments. To provide better communication between aquatic professionals and programs. To provide a central resource for aquatic technical information. To promote a broader membership through providing aquatic services within Georgia and the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. ARTICLE III Power of Association
Section One: The GRPA Aquatic Section shall have powers congruent with the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc., Charter and By-laws to establish, provide, and maintain recreation events on the Section level by a majority vote of the Section membership. F-8
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ARTICLE IV Section Year Section One: The Section year shall correspond with the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc.'s year. ARTICLE V Membership Section One: Eligibility Membership in the Section shall be individuals who are members of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc., and who represent individual interest or special interest groups primarily concerned with aquatics or related fields as one aspect of the total leisure and recreation field. Section Two: Members in Good Standing lAll members and voting members must be in good standing with the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. ARTICLE VI Officers Section One: Executive Committee A.
B.
C.
The officers of the Section shall consist of a Chairperson, Chairperson Elect, Past Chairperson, and Secretary, all of whom shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Section. The officers of the Section shall perform the duties usually performed by such officers and as described in Robert's Rules of Order (Revised), together with other such duties as shall be described in the By-Laws or by the governing body of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. The Executive Committee of the Section shall have the following duties: 1. Establish policies and procedures within the scope of the By-Laws of the Aquatics Section that are consistent with the Charter and ByLaws of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. 2. Appoint committee members when appropriate and approve the plan of work of all committees 3. Serve on Section committees in an advisory capacity as needed. 4. Handle balloting procedures for the Section. 5. Fill vacancies by appointment for offices vacated between elections.
Section Two: Duties of the Chairperson F-9
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The Chairperson of the Section shall have the following duties: A. B. C. D.
Act as the presiding officer for business and Executive Committee meetings of the Section. Represent the Section on the governing body of the Association. Keep an accurate account of expenses and income and shall make this available in the Section's annual report. Appoint at least one Section member to serve on all GRPA committees, i.e. awards, documents, public policy, etc.
Section Three: Duties of the Chairperson Elect The Chairperson Elect of the Section shall have the following duties: A. B. C. D. E. F.
Become acquainted with the activities of the Section and that of the Chairperson. Act as the presiding officer in the absence of the Chairperson. Assume the position of Chairperson at the expiration of the term of the incumbent. Fill an unexpired term of the Chairperson. Represent the Section on the annual conference committee of GRPA. Serve as Chairperson of the Program Committee for the Section.
Section Four: Duties of the Past Chairperson The immediate Past Chairperson shall have the following duties: A. B.
Serve as a standing ember of the Executive Committee Serve as Chairperson of the Nominating Committee of the Section.
Section Five: Duties of the Secretary The Secretary of the Section shall have the following duties: A. B.
Those duties usually performed by such an officer. In the absence of the Secretary at any Section Business or Executive Committee meetings, the Chairperson shall appoint a secretary to record the minutes of said meeting.
Section Six: Training All officers shall be responsible for training their successors. Section Seven: Terms of Office F-10
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Officers elected shall assume office immediately after installation at the GRPA annual meeting and shall serve two-year terms. ARTICLE VII Committees Section One: Standing Committees Standing committees of the Section shall be as follows: A.
State Committees 1.
2.
B.
A Section representative to each GRPA standing Committee shall be appointed by the Chairperson to ensure section interests are communicated through the GRPA committee structure and to ensure participation by Section members in GRPA activities. The Section representative shall serve as chairperson of Section committees as required to carry out the State and Section programs of work.
Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee shall submit a slate of candidates for offices of the Section to the Chairperson at least sixty days prior to the Annual Conference.
C.
Program Committee 1.
2.
The Program Committee shall plan the Section's meeting at the Annual Conference in accordance with the desires and wishes of the membership. The Program Committee shall conduct professional development programs as needed each year.
Section Two: Ad Hoc Committees Ad Hoc committees may be appointed by the Chairperson with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee of the Section as the need arises.
ARTICLE VIII Elections Section One: Procedures A.
Professional members of the Section shall be eligible to vote. F-11
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B.
C.
D.
E.
F. G.
Professional members of the Section shall have one vote, and in order to have that vote recorded at the annual meeting, the member must be present or have returned an absentee ballot before the above said meeting. Voting on all Section matters may be handled by mail with the exception of the election of officers and By-Laws amendment(s). Mail votes shall be completed within thirty days after ballots are mailed. Results of mail votes shall be reported at the next meeting of the Section. Voting for officers and amendment(s) shall be at the Annual Meeting of the Section, held in conjunction with the GRPA Annual Conference. Members shall be notified of any proposed amendments to By-Laws 45 days prior to this meeting. Any professional member may request an absentee ballot from the Section Chairperson to vote on officers or amendments. All absentee ballots shall be returned to the Section Chairperson seven days prior to the annual meeting. A method will be utilized to ensure that ballots are not duplicated, and when returned are clearly identifiable. The Chairperson shall submit these ballots to be counted with those cast at the annual conference. A majority vote by the eligible Section members present shall decide all section matters with the exception of amendments which shall require two-thirds of all votes cast. Secret ballots shall be used at the discretion of the presiding officer or Executive Committee for voting on matters before the Section. There shall be an election held at the annual business meeting of the Section for Chairperson Elect and Secretary. ARTICLE IX Removal of Privileges
Section One: Loss of Rights A Section member may lose his/her voting rights if (s)he fails to maintain, in good faith, the requirements necessary to become a voting member or to carry out in good faith, the purposes of this section. Section Two: Loss of Office A Section Officer may be removed from office by acting in contradiction to Section By-Laws, GRPA, Inc., By-Laws, or by showing irresponsibility with the Section's functioning through his/her duties. A. B.
C.
An officer may be brought up for removal by a petition signed by a majority of the Professional Membership of the Section. An officer brought up for removal shall be given not less than 15 working days to prepare a defense that shall be presented at a meeting called by notifying professional members of the time and place. A 2/3 vote of the professional membership present shall be required to remove an officer. F-12
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D.
Elected officers and/or representatives appointed to State Committees will be removed automatically from their positions for an unexcused absence from two or more regularly scheduled meetings within their term of office.
Section Three: Appeals/Reinstatement Any action taken under the auspices of this article may be appealed within 15 working days of the decision. A 3/4 vote of the voting membership present shall be required to reinstate a member or officer. Reinstatement of voting rights may also be reestablished by following the guidelines set forth in Article V: Membership. SECTION X Meetings Section One: Meeting Times Meetings of the Section shall be held at the Annual Conference and at other times and places determined by the Executive Committee. Section Two: Additional Meetings Additional meetings of the Section shall be called by the Chairperson or by a call from two-thirds of the Section membership petitioning the Chairperson for a meeting. Section Three: Executive Committee Meetings The Executive Committee of the Section may hold quarterly meetings or conference calls to carry out the management and official business of the Aquatics Section. ARTICLE XI Amendments Section One: Introduction of Amendments Amendments may be introduced by the chairperson or by a petition signed by a majority of the voting members and submitted by the Chairperson. The proposed amendment must be introduced at least one meeting prior to voting. Section Two: Passage
A two-thirds majority of the voting members present shall be required for any amendment to pass.
Section Three: Final Approval F-13
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Final approval by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc., is necessary before any amendment may go into effect. ARTICLE XII Parliamentary Reference Section One: Robert's Rule of Order (Revised) shall govern all procedural matters not addressed in these bylaws. ARTICLE XIII Delegation of Powers The Aquatics Section shall be an entity of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. All powers not expressed in this document are hereby delegated to the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc., Board of Trustees. All powers are granted to this Section by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. Any action done by this entity is ultimately the responsibility of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc. If actions or powers expressed in this document or enmity are not consistent with those of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, Inc., they will be considered null and void.
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