Constitution and By-laws New Mexico Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Revised March 2, 2004

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1 Constitution and By-laws New Mexico Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Revised March 2, 2004 Article I Name The name of the organization shall be New Mexico Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Article II - Object The object of the organization is to promote the professional interests of its members, to gain a better understanding of each other through social and friendly contacts and to develop a sympathetic attitude toward problems relating to extension work. Article III Membership The association is committed to the active involvement of all its members regardless of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, handicap, veteran status or sexual preference. All members will be encouraged to participate in programs and activities and take leadership roles in the association as stated in the affirmative action plan. The Classification of membership shall be: 1) Active; 2) Affiliated; 3) Life. Section 1: Section 3: Active Member A. An Extension employee working in any capacity with family and consumer sciences programming, who has a degree in family and consumer sciences or a related field, upon payment of dues, may become an active member of NMEAFCS. An individual who has a degree in a related field but not in family and consumer sciences, shall have his/her credentials reviewed for approval by NMEAFCS. Affiliated Member A. An individual meeting the requirements for an active member but located where there is no affiliated state association or no state association which will allow his/her membership, may pay annual dues directly to the Treasurer of the Association and become an affiliated member. Life Member A. Any former Extension employee who has been a member of the Association for at least 10 years will be granted life membership upon payment of a onetime fee to the Association. B. Life members shall be granted the following rights and privileges: 1. They may receive awards, fellowships, and grants. 2. They may serve on committees. 3. They shall receive all publications upon payment of an annual subscription fee. 4. They shall receive the conference registration brochure at no charge. 5. They may serve as voting delegates. 6. They shall not be eligible for office. 1

2 Article III Dues Dues shall be payable in January of each year. Dues shall not be prorated. Dues for new personnel, after September 1, shall be applied to the following year. The amount of dues may be changed by a two-thirds vote of NMEAFCS members present at any annual meeting. Section 1: Section 3: Section 4: Section 5: Section 6: Section 7: Section 8: Section 9: Section 10: Article IV Officers The elected officers shall be the president-elect, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Candidates must have been a member of NMEAFCS for a minimum of three years immediately preceding election, to qualify for holding an office. The officers shall be elected at the annual meeting of the The term of office for president, president-elect, and vice-president is a period of one year. The term of office for secretary and treasurer is a period of two years. No officer shall be eligible for more than one consecutive term in the same office. The executive board will make provision for changing officers when there is not an annual meeting. The president-elect shall have had executive board experience, and shall have been a member of NMEAFCS for a minimum of three years immediately preceding her/his election. The president-elect shall assume the office of president one year after election. The president shall appoint the immediate past president as parliamentarian. The officers shall assume their duties immediately upon the adjournment of the annual meeting at which they are elected. At the end of the annual meeting, each retiring officer and committee chairman shall give their successor all reports, records, correspondence, or any other materials which are necessary or helpful in carrying out the duties of the office. The duties of the officers shall be such as are implied by their respective titles and as are specified by the by-laws. Nominating committee of no less than three members shall serve; one from each district, to be appointed by the executive board. The nominating committee shall submit at least two names for each office; President-elect, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The chairman of the nominating committee shall verify with the treasurer that members are in good standing prior to their nomination. In the event of a vacancy of the office of vice-president, secretary, treasurer or parliamentarian, the president is empowered to appoint someone with the approval of the executive board, to serve the reminder of the term. 2

3 Section 11: Section 12: In the event of a vacancy in the office of president-elect, the nominating committee shall submit two names for the president-elect, and the replacement shall be elected at the meeting following the date on which the office was vacated. If this meeting is not within three months of the vacancy, the election will be conducted by mail. In the event of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice-president shall assume the presidency. Article V-Meeting An annual meeting shall be held at least once during the calendar year. Special meetings may be called by the president. Article VI Delegates to National Meeting As long as New Mexico is eligible to have two voting delegates, they shall be as follows. Section 1: Section 3 Section 4: Section 5: The president-elect shall be one of the official delegates. If New Mexico has a home economist receiving the Distinguished Service Award, she shall serve as the other official voting delegate of the state If there is no home economist receiving the Distinguished Service Award, the state Association will elect another delegate. The delegate must have served as a home economist in the state of New Mexico for three years. In case the distinguished service recipient is the president elect and eligible to be an official delegate in that capacity, the state Association will elect another delegate. The delegate must have served as a home economist in the state of New Mexico for three years. Delegates may choose one of the following options for NMEAFCS Financial assistance: Option 1 NMEAFCS Financial assistance is based on a percentage (see map, Appendix B) of a round trip, air coach fare, from the airport nearest the delegate to the annual meeting city. Option 2 NMEAFCS Financial assistance is based on a percentage (see map, Appendix B) of a round trip, mileage, from the city or town nearest the delegate to the annual meeting city. Delegate s choice will give consideration to travel expenses with the lowest fares via air or mileage. 3

4 BY LAWS Section 1: Section 3: Section 4: Section 5: Section 6: The duties of the president shall be: 1. To preside at all regular and special meetings. 2. To serve as an ex-office member of every committee except the nominating committee. 3. To appoint all committee chairmen with the approval of the executive board. 4. To serve as the official representative of the 5. To attend the Western Region Leadership Conference sponsored by JCEP. The duties of the president-elect shall be: 1. To attend the Western Region Leadership Conference sponsored by JCEP. 2. To serve as the chairman of the Recruitment Committee. 3. To contact all new home economists and inform then about the NMEAFCS. 4. To serve as official delegate to NMEAFCS annual meeting. The duties of the vice-president shall be: 1. To act in all capacities in case of the absence of the president. 2. To be chairman of program of work committee. 3. To report all NMEAFCS news to the NEAFCS, or see that it is done by the appropriate committee. 4. To inform NMEAFCS members of national contests and events or to see that this is done by the appropriate committee. The duties of the secretary shall be: 1. To keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the association and of the executive board, and to send copies to members of the executive board. 2. To attend to correspondence as directed by the president. 3. To receive and keep properly filed all important communications and properties. 4. To serve as chairman of the handbook committee. The duties of the treasurer shall be: 1. To receive money and render an account of funds collected and paid out. 2. To serve as chairman of the budget committee. 3. To close the books and have them ready to be audited at the annual meeting. 4. To carry out the duties as outlined by the regional director and the 3 rd vicepresident of NEAFCS. The duties of the parliamentarian shall be: 1. To see that all meetings of the association are conducted according to parliamentary rules. 2. To serve as chairman of the Resolutions and Recommendations Committee. 4

5 Article II Committees Section 1: Immediately after taking office, the president shall appoint the following standing committees: 1. Bylaws 2. Program of Work (NMEAFCS vice president serves as chairman) 3. Recruitment (NMEAFCS president-elect serves as chairman) 4. Handbook (NMEAFCS Secretary serves as chairman) 5. Resolution and Recommendations (NMEAFCS parliamentarian serves as chairman) 6. Nominating (one person from each district)/credentials 7. Awards/ Public Relations/ Recognition 8. Public Affairs/ Public Policy 9. Professional Development 10. Retirement H Home Economics 12. Installation 13. Auditing/ Finance 14. Research and Studies/Member Resources Section 3: Special committees shall be appointed as needed by the president. The president serves ex-officio on all committees except the nominating committee. Article III Duties of Committees 1. Bylaws: This committee shall be appointed by the President, as needed, and shall consist of one member from each district. 2. Program of Work: The vice-president shall serve as chairman of this committee. The members shall consist of the chairman of the following standing committees: Professional Development, Recruitment, Awards/Public Relations/Recognition, and Research and Studies/Member Resources. This committee shall: 1. Become familiar with the program of work prepared by the NEAFCS committee. 2. Make suggestions for the program of work for each of the association committees. 5

6 3. Compile a program of work for the association and present it at the annual meeting for approval. The program of work shall include the areas of: Professional Development, Recruitment, Awards/Public Relations/Recognition, and Research and Studies/Member Resources. A copy of this shall be given to the handbook committee. 4. Throughout the year, encourage all agents to follow through with the adopted program. 3. Recruitment: This committee shall: 1. Become familiar with the program of work prepared by the NEAFCS committee. 2. Work with the Extension director in preparing or revising a leaflet on Extension Home Economics Programs. 3. Encourage counties to sponsor programs to inform and interest girls in the Extension Home Economics Programs. 4. Prepare three copies of accomplishments based on the program of work. This report shall be made at the annual association meeting. 5. Prepare state program of work to be approved at the annual meeting of the 6. Send copy of work and report to national committee chairman. 7. Attend to correspondence promptly. 4. Handbook: This committee shall: 1. Revise the handbook annually to include current list of committee assignments, current award winners, current membership and other relevant information. 2. Prepare, duplicate and mail to all association members, revisions or additions for the handbook for the current year. 3. A report may be made at the annual meeting. 5. Resolution and Recommendations: This committee shall: 1. Be chaired by the office of parliamentarian. 2. Prepare in writing all resolutions and recommendations to be presented before the association for approval. Any resolutions or recommendations shall be worded as to give sufficient background information explaining why the recommendation is being made. 3. Have a report for the annual meeting and if deemed necessary, at any called meeting of the 6. Nomination/Credentials: This committee shall: 1. Consist of three members; one to be appointed from each district by the executive board. 2. Submit at least two names from each office. 3. Submit to the association, subject to their approval, names of home economists being recommended to an office to the NEAFCS or to serve on the national committee. 4. Make a report at the annual state association meeting. 7. Awards/Public Relations/Recognition: This committee shall: 6

7 1. Become familiar with rules established by the NEAFCS for selecting members to receive the Distinguished Service Award. These rules may be found in the Handbook of NEAFCS. 2. Follow the rules in making the selection and submit required information to the second vice-president of NEAFCS by April Become familiar with the Florence Hall Award Program. 4. Work with the state supervisor in making recommendations for recipients of this award each year. 5. Send Florence Hall Award report to regional director by April Make report to the state association in August at the annual meeting. 7. This committee shall be composed of past award recipients. 8. Public Affairs/Public Policy: This committee shall: 1. Become familiar with program of work prepared by NEAFCS committee. 2. Report news to the NEAFCS Vice President for Member Resources. 3. Prepare three copies of accomplishment based on the program of work. This report shall be made at the annual association meeting. 4. Prepare state program of work to be approved at the annual meeting of the 5. Send copy of program of work and report to national committee chairman. 6. Select, from applications, a delegate to the Public Policy Forum. 7. Attend to correspondence promptly. 9. Professional Development: This committee shall: 1. Become familiar with program of work prepared by the NEAFCS committee. 2. Promote interest and professional attitude among agent for all types of professional improvement. 3. Inform agent about fellowships and scholarships available, and assist them with preparing applications when requested. 4. Increase interest in Grace Frysinger Fellowship-strive to have one application each year. Work with Extension director in making the selection and preparing report for the national committee. Send applications in duplicate to national professional improvement chairman by May Prepare state program of work to be approved at the annual meeting of the 6. Send copy of program of work and reports to national committee chairman. 7. Attend to correspondence promptly. 10. Retirement: This committee shall: 1. Keep the association informed as to regulations, changes or other current information pertinent to retirement. 2. Purchase or prepare gift or acknowledgement for retiring NMEAFCS members. Funds for this shall be provided through the NMEAFCS budget. 3. Make report at the annual association meeting H Home Economics: This committee shall: 1. Act as liaison with state 4-H office and administration for two-way communication regarding 4-H and home economics activities, projects, and concerns. 7

8 2. Provide guidance and contacts with state 4-H office to assure the award for the 4-H Home Economics Bowl Contest. Attempt to inform 4-H members of this contest and maintain participation in the event. 3. Attempt to secure representation on advisory-type committees by 4-H home economics professionals. 4. Work with other committees to assure functioning of NMEAFCS. 12. Installation: This committee shall: 1. Prepare and carry out the installation service for officers of the This service shall be a part of the program at the annual association meeting. 13. Auditing/Finance: This committee shall: 1. Prepare a proposed budget for the association to be presented at the annual meeting. 2. Audit treasurer s books prior to new treasurer assuming office. 14. Research/Studies/Member Resources: This committee shall: 1. Become familiar with program of work prepared by the NEAFCS committee. 2. Consult the research department at New Mexico State University and report to the 3. Prepare three copies of accomplishments based on the program of work. This report shall be made at the annual association meeting. 4. Prepare state program of work to be approved at the annual meeting of the 5. Send copy of program of work and reports to national committee chairman. 6. Attend to correspondence promptly. Gifts: Corsages: Article IV Standing Rules NEAFCS, as an association, shall contribute a gift, costing approximately $50.00, to each retiree who is an NMEAFCS member. The executive board is empowered to act on request for contributions to retirement gifts for administrative retirees. NMEAFCS, as an association shall provide national award recipients with an appropriate corsage at the NEAFCS meeting in which they are recognized. Memorials: In the event of death of a professional staff member of the New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service, the executive board shall determine an appropriate memorial. Public Policy Forum Representatives: NMEAFCS Members interested in attending the Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. should make written application stating their reasons for desiring the trip and how they will apply and distribute the knowledge gained. The Public Policy and Public 8

9 Affairs Committee shall make the selection from the applications. Applications are to be submitted to the Committee by February 1. Budgeted Funds: If funds are available, financial assistance to delegates to the NEAFCS national meeting is based on a percentage (see map, Appendix B), of a round trip, air coach fare to the annual meeting city. If funds are available, assistance, not to exceed $ for the Public Affairs/Public Policy Chairman to attend the Public Policy forum. The balance of funds, if any, to be divided equally among members, not to exceed $ per member, attending the National NEAFCS meeting. (Budgeted Funds amendment was approved at the March 15, 2001 meeting.) Article V Amendment of the By-Laws These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership at any meeting, provided a notice of any proposed changes in the by-laws has been sent to each member at least one month in advance of the meeting. 9