Bylaws
ARTICLE I
The name of this organization shall be The University of Southern Mississippi Association of Office Professionals.
ARTICLE II
The purposes and aims of the Association of Office Professionals are
- to elevate the standards of the group,
- to advance the general welfare of its members,
- to provide an organized means of communication among members and throughout all USM campuses,
- to foster better relationships and understanding among members, and
- to pool ideas and ideals, thereby promoting an overall better educational system at the University of Southern Mississippi.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Section 1. Any person in a secretarial, clerical, or any other related support-staff position, full- or permanent part-time employment at The University of Southern Mississippi is eligible for active membership in the organization upon payment of dues.
Section 2. Active membership entitles a member to vote, hold office, and attend meetings; members may be eligible to participate in the Professional Standards Program.
Section 3. Retired active members may not vote or hold office, but are entitled to honorary status and no dues.
Section 4. Associate membership in the association shall be open to persons who are interested in advancing the purposes of the organization but are not eligible for active membership. Associate members shall pay annual dues and shall have the rights and privileges of active members except that of voting, holding office, and participating in the Professional Standards Program.
Section 5. The annual dues for all classes of members shall be established by the membership. The membership year shall extend from August 1 through July 31. Membership dues are renewable before November 30.
ARTICLE IV
Meetings
Section 1. A regular meeting of association members will be held the second Tuesday of each month at noon. If a conflict occurs, the board of directors has the discretion to temporarily change the meeting date.
Section 2. There shall be at least one association meeting per month.
ARTICLE V
Officers
Section 1. The officers of this organization shall be the following: president, president-elect, vice president, secretary, treasurer, immediate past-president, and director of the Gulf Coast campuses.
Section 2. The president-elect shall succeed to the office of president upon the completion of the president's term of office.
Section 3. All officers shall be elected in the manner provided in Article VI of these bylaws. The term of office for the president, president-elect, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, director of the Gulf Coast campuses, and immediate past president shall be one year.
Section 4. The director of the Gulf Coast campuses shall be selected by the membership of those campuses no later than seven (7) days prior to the April meeting.
ARTICLE VI
Election of Officers
Section 1. Officers shall be elected annually according to Article V.
Section 2. Nominees for all offices, as presented by the nominating and election committee or written in, must be consulted prior to their names being presented to ensure their willingness to serve.
Section 3. The nominating and elections committee shall strive to ensure that a cross section of the university is represented in the slate of officers and shall be responsible for submitting by mail to the membership a ballot listing the complete slate of officers (president-elect, vice president, secretary, and treasurer). Provision shall be made for write-in nominations.
The ballot shall include at least two nominees for each of the above listed offices. A biographical sketch of each nominee shall be provided. All ballots shall be mailed to the membership no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the April meeting and shall be returned no later than seven (7) days prior to the April meeting.
Section 4. Election shall be by majority vote of membership.
Section 5. The president-elect shall become the president the following year.
Section 6. Terms of office shall be one year. The vice president, secretary, and treasurer may be re-elected to serve no more than two consecutive terms.
Section 7. Installation shall be conducted at the July meeting.
Section 8. In the event of the incapacity of any officer other than the president and president-elect, the board of directors may, at its discretion, appoint a replacement or hold a special election.
In the event of a vacancy of the presidency and the president-elect is unable to fill the position, the vice president shall temporarily assume such duties. The board of directors may, at its discretion, appoint a replacement or hold a special election.
In the event the vice president is unable to fill the position, the secretary shall temporarily assume such duties. The board of directors may, at its discretion, appoint a replacement or hold a special election.
In the event the director of the Gulf Coast campuses position is vacated, the president shall appoint a temporary director. The president shall solicit recommendations from the Gulf Coast membership.
ARTICLE VII
Duties of the Officers
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers of the association, the immediate past president, and the chairs of all standing committees.
The Board of Directors shall meet at least once a month and shall perform such duties as prescribed in the bylaws.
Section 2. The president shall preside at all meetings of the organization and perform all the duties pertaining to the office. The president shall appoint committees as needed, be an exofficio member of all committees (with the exception of the nominating and elections committee), approve all communications of a special nature sent out in the name of the organization, appoint a historian, and appoint the chairs of the following committees: affiliations, bosses' luncheon, bylaws, community service, luncheon, nominating and elections, program, PSP, scholarship, and ways and means.
Section 3. The president-elect shall serve as president the succeeding year. In the event the office of the president shall be vacated, the president-elect shall perform the duties of the president. Also, in the event the president is absent for a meeting, the president-elect shall perform the duties of the president. The president-elect shall serve as chair of the in-service committee and coordinator of in-service activities and shall in this capacity serve as liaison with the Office of Human Resources. The president-elect shall also in this capacity coordinate transportation for all members who attend the MAEOP and NAEOP conferences if needed; it will be the responsibility of each member planning to attend these conferences to contact the president-elect.
Section 4. The vice president shall serve as president in the absence of the president and the president-elect and perform the duties of the president. The vice president shall also serve as chair of the membership committee.
Section 5. The secretary shall keep an accurate record of all proceedings of the organization. The secretary shall present all correspondence to the association at regular meetings, shall serve as editor for the association's publication, the Voice, serve as correspondent with MAEOP and NAEOP publications, and appoint representatives of the different areas of campus to serve as a committee if needed. The secretary shall also be responsible for hospitality functions extended to members or immediate family with funds set aside by the budget committee.
Section 6. The treasurer shall receive and disburse all funds as may be necessary at the direction of the president and the budget committee, shall make a quarterly report to the membership, and shall serve as chair of the budget committee as directed in Article VIII, Section 4.
Section 7. The immediate past president shall serve in an advisory position.
Section 8. The director of the Gulf Coast campuses shall preside at all meetings of the Gulf Coast membership. The director, upon approval by the president, shall appoint committees as needed for Gulf Coast campuses and appoint chairs to these committees. The director shall work with and maintain close communication with the president in Hattiesburg.
Section 9. Each officer, upon retiring from office, shall deliver within 30 days to the successor all monies, accounts, record books, papers, or other property belonging to the organization. The president-elect shall coordinate this activity.
ARTICLE VIII
Appointments and Committees
Section 1. Standing committees of the association shall be affiliations, bosses' luncheon, budget, bylaws, in-service, community service, luncheon, membership, nominating and elections, program, PSP advisory, scholarship, and ways and means. Special committees may be appointed by the president. During service, all committee chairs and members shall remain current paid members of the association.
Section 2. The affiliations committee shall be responsible for the paperwork process of affiliating with MAEOP and NAEOP, shall be responsible for the selection process for the USM AOP Educational Administrator and Office Professional of the year, and shall work in conjunction with the bosses' luncheon committee to assure presentation of the awards at that luncheon. The committee shall consist of at least seven members representative of different areas of all campuses.
The recipients of the USM AOP Administrator and Office Professional of the Year may be the USM AOP nominees for the MAEOP Administrator and Office Professional of the Year. If the local recipient does not meet the eligibility requirements for the state award, then nominations will be solicited from the membership at the August meeting of the association. The president and president-elect are not eligible for the Office Professional of the Year award during their terms of office. The recipients of the USM AOP Educational Administrator and Office Professional of the Year awards shall not be eligible for nomination for three years.
Section 3. The bosses' luncheon committee chair shall be appointed by the president. The chair shall select committee members as needed for the bosses' luncheon. This committee shall designate the date for this luncheon which may, at the Board of Directors' discretion, serve as the regular meeting for that month.
Section 4. The budget committee shall be chaired by the treasurer. The chair shall appoint four committee members, including the past president and the current director of the Gulf Coast campuses. This committee shall be responsible for preparing the annual budget to be presented to the membership at the August meeting.
Section 5. The bylaws committee shall consist of a chair and four other members including a representative from the Gulf Coast campuses appointed by the president. This committee shall review the bylaws, keeping them current and incorporating any provisions necessary for the activities of the association.
Section 6. The community service committee shall consist of a chair, and the number of members on the committee shall be determined by the needs to carry out the functions of the committee. This committee shall coordinate community service projects such as the United Way garage sale, walk-a-thons, Children's Book Festival, and other projects supported by the association.
Section 7. The in-service committee shall be chaired by the president-elect and is responsible for planning all in-service or workshop activities and a community project. The number of members shall be determined by the needs to carry out the functions of the committee.
Section 8. The luncheon committee chair shall be appointed by the president. The chair shall select six additional members. This committee is responsible for selecting menus, reserving the meeting place, taking reservations, collecting luncheon fees, and transferring money to the treasurer for disbursement. The committee shall also be responsible for providing door prizes at each monthly meeting.
Section 9. The membership committee shall be chaired by the vice president. The number of members shall be determined by the needs to carry out the functions of the committee. The committee shall verify credentials to determine the eligibility for membership voting. The committee shall have at least one function to build membership. In October, members of the Membership Committee shall contact each member of AOP who has not renewed dues for the current year.
Section 10. A nominating and elections committee shall consist of three members elected by the membership. The president shall appoint the chair from these three members. The committee shall function according to Article VI.
Section 11. The program committee chair shall be appointed by the president. The chair shall select two additional members. This committee is open for suggestions from the membership and is responsible for a program for each month except May, June, and July.
Section 12. The PSP advisory committee shall function as an advisory group to answer questions concerning the PSP certificate, obtain information from the National Office as needed, check eligibility and certificates, and apprise the president of the university and the director of Human Resources as to when a member receives a PSP certificate.
This committee shall consist of five members and shall be appointed by the president. The president shall appoint a chair from these five members. The selected committee will serve a two-year term and may serve for consecutive terms. The chair of the committee must have received a PSP certificate.
Section 13. The scholarship committee shall consist of five members elected by the membership at the August monthly meeting with the president appointing the chair from these five members. This committee is responsible for mailing applications to members, screening applications, and selecting recipients of the AOP-MAEOP scholarship according to adopted guidelines. The committee shall also work with the affiliations committee to apprise the membership of other scholarships available through state and national associations and make recommendations regarding the USM AOP scholarship given through the USM Foundation.
Section 14. The ways and means committee chair shall be appointed by the president and the number of members on the committee shall be determined by the needs to carry out the functions of the committee. The committee shall be responsible for coordinating no less than two fund-raising activities each year.
Section 15. The historian shall keep a history and pictorial record of the association's activities to be stored in the association's scrapbook and shall also publicize the activities of the association.
ARTICLE IX
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. Robert's Rules of Order, revised, shall govern the conduct of all meetings of the association, the board of directors, and all the committee unless otherwise dictated by the bylaws.
Section 2. Twenty-five percent of the total current membership shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE X
Amendment
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the AOP by a vote of two-thirds of the active members present, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been submitted in writing to the membership for study at least three weeks before the vote.