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IEEE Northern Virginia Section Bylaws

30 January 2002

This document contains the Bylaws from which the Northern Virginia Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) shall be governed, operated, and administered. The IEEE Constitution, IEEE Bylaws, IEEE Policy Manual, Regional Activities Board (RAB) Operations Manual and Region 2 Bylaws will prevail when there is a conflict between these documents and Section Bylaws.

ARTICLE 1- Name and Territory

Section 1

This organization shall be known as the Northern Virginia Section of the IEEE, hereinafter called the Section in these Bylaws.

Section 2

The territory of the Section, as approved by the Regional Activities Board (RAB), includes the following counties and cities within the Commonwealth of Virginia:

ARTICLE II - Officers

Section 1

The elected officers of the Section shall be: Chair, Vice-Chair (Chair-Elect), Secretary, and Treasurer. In addition, the Section membership shall elect eight Directors. All officers and Directors shall be an IEEE member of Member grade or higher (Member, Senior Member, Fellow, etc.).

Section 2

The terms of office of the elected officers shall be for one year, and two years for elected Directors. Any of the officers may be nominated to succeed themselves, but if elected, may not serve for more than one additional term.

Section 3

Terms of office will begin on 1 January and end on 31 December of a given calendar year. Outgoing officers will continue until their successors are duly elected and take office.

Section 4

Any vacancy occurring during the year shall be filled by a majority vote of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 5

The general duties of the elected officers are as follows:

Chair

Serves as the chairperson for all meetings of the Section, the Executive Committee, and the Administrative Committee, and is the Section's representative on the Region 2 Committee. The Chair is responsible for submitting the names of newly elected/appointed Section officers to the IEEE Regional Activities Department (RAD) within 20 days of the election/appointment.

Vice-Chair

Assists the Chair in the coordination of all Section activities. At the request or absence of the Section Chair, the Vice-Chair shall chair meetings of the Section, Executive Committee, and Administrative Committee. At the end of a one year term, the Vice-Chair (also known as the Chair-Elect) will become the Section Chair.

Secretary

Performs official correspondence for the Section, takes minutes at all Executive and Administrative Committee meetings, and submits Section meeting reports to the Regional Activities Department (RAD) at the end of each year.

Treasurer

Develops the Section budget for approval by the Section, accounts for all of the Section funds, keeps Section financial records, and submits the Section Financial Operations Report to the IEEE Staff Director of Financial Services as required.

The specific duties of the elected officers shall be consistent with the descriptions provided in the RAB Operations Manual.

Section 6

The chapters of the Section shall appoint a Section member to serve as the Chapter Delegate. The Chapter Delegate shall be the collective representative on the Executive Committee for the Section's Chapters. A Chapter Delegate shall be an IEEE member of Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade. When possible, the Chapter Delegate shall be a current or past Chapter Chair, and a member of an active chapter within the Section.

ARTICLE III - Standing Committees

Section 1

The Standing Committees of the Section will be as follows:

Section 2

The Section Chair with approval of the Executive Committee will appoint the chairs for each of the Standing Committees. Their terms will expire on 31 December, unless extended for another term by the Executive Committee. The Chairs of the Standing Committees shall be members of the Section's Administrative Committee.

Section 3

Each Committee Chair will appoint his/her Committee members, with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, and their terms shall expire on 31 December, unless the Committee Chair and Executive Committee extend them for another term.

Section 4

The general responsibilities of the Standing Committees are as follows:

Awards and Recognition Committee

To nominate qualified Section members for IEEE awards and honors, to include recommendations for elevation to the grade of Fellow.

Budget and Finance Committee

To prepare a yearly budget for approval by the Executive Committee and to maintain an accurate comparison between the approved budget and actual financial transactions, which occur during the calendar year. In addition, this committee shall have the responsibility for financial audit of entities under the Section's purview that are recipients of funding from the Section. The Treasurer and Past Treasurer shall be members of the committee.

Constitution and Bylaws Committee

To prepare and submit to the Executive Committee for approval, revisions to the Section's Bylaws to accommodate changes in the IEEE Constitution and/or Bylaws, or any new Section requirements, and to maintain and keep the Section Bylaws current. In addition, the Chair of this committee shall be the parliamentarian of the Section.

Educational Activities Committee

To foster the continuing education of Section members by means of educational courses, seminars, lecture series, or other methods approved by the Executive Committee.

Fellows Committee

To nominate qualified Section members for elevation to the grade of Fellow. Committee members must all be Fellows.

Membership Development Committee

To be responsible for expanding, promoting, and upgrading the Section's membership and to encourage delinquent members to retain their membership.

Nominating Committee

To prepare a slate of officers and directors for the coming calendar year, and to report the proposed slate to the Executive Committee and Section. In addition, the committee nominates candidates to fill Executive Committee vacancies and nominates candidates from the Section for Regional offices. The most recent Past Section Chair shall serve as the Committee Chair, when available; otherwise the Chair will be appointed as proscribed in Article III, Section 2.

Planning Committee

To coordinate activities for the following year in order to facilitate a smooth transition. This committee is chaired by the Section's Chair-Elect.

Professional Activities Committee

To organize programs to enhance the professional status of Section members, and to handle matters pertaining to professional engineering registration within the Section's territory, and to handle requests submitted to the Section for information concerning the engineering profession within the Section's territory.

Program Committee

To organize the programs for all Section meetings, to handle all correspondence and publicity for these programs, and to maintain the Section's calendar of the meetings and activities supported by the Section.

Public Communications Committee

To advise the Executive and Standing Committees on publicizing Section and Chapter activities, and to be the advising authority on public relations activities for the Section.

Student Activities Committee

To encourage student participation in Section affairs and activities, to develop active student branches, to distribute IEEE and engineering promotional materials to area high schools, to participate in area science fairs, and to participate in educational conferences.

Technical Activities Committee

To promote the participation of Section members in technical meetings, symposia, and seminars.

The duties of the Standing Committees shall be consistent with the RAB Operations Manual.

ARTICLE IV - Management

Section 1

The management of the Section shall be by the Executive Committee, which shall consist of the elected officers, the Past Section Chair, the eight Directors, and the Chapter Delegates.

Section 2

A simple majority of the Section Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

Section 3

A majority of the Executive Committee shall be present in order for the Committee to conduct its business.

Section 4

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for establishing the policies of the Section, establishing memorandum of agreements (MOA) with other entities, approving the yearly fiscal budget, and creating the Section's long range plan. NOTE: Any contract for services or material of $25K or more must be processed through the IEEE Procurement Department.

Section 5

The Administrative Committee shall be responsible for overseeing the business of the Section as specified in Article VI.

Section 6

Section meetings shall be Administrative Committee meetings and generally scheduled monthly. Section Executive Committee meetings shall be called on an as needed basis. The Section Chair or any three members of the Executive Committee can request a Section Executive Committee meeting.

Section 7

The Section shall support the National Capital Area Council (NCAC), a metro council created to serve the joint interest of both the Northern Virginia and Washington Sections. The NCAC responsibilities not stated in the NCAC Bylaws shall be delegated via a yearly MOA between both Sections. The NCAC is a subordinate committee to both the Northern Virginia and Washington Sections, and it receives its resources and budget approval from these Sections. Only tasks that are jointly agreed to by both Sections can be delegated to the NCAC, otherwise the tasks remain the sole responsibility of the individual Sections

Section 8

The Section shall support the Virginia Coordinating Council (VCC), a State council created to serve the joint interest of Sections within the Commonwealth (State) of Virginia. Its responsibilities shall be delegated to it via a yearly MOA approved by all Sections in Virginia.

Section 9

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall be used to govern the Section in all cases where they are applicable, and are consistent with these Bylaws, and any special rules the Section may adopt.

ARTICLE V - Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1

A Nominating Committee consisting of at least a Chair, who must be of Member Grade or higher, and two other members, all of whom are not currently officers of the Section. The Section Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee shall appoint members of the committee.

Section 2

The nominations of the Nominating Committee will be announced to the Section membership by paper and/or electronic means and, following this, a minimum of 28 days shall be allowed for additional nominations by petition. These petitions must be signed by at least 25 voting members or 1% of the voting membership within the Section, whichever is fewer.

Section 3

If only one nomination is made for each of the Section offices, then the election will be by acclamation, and the results announced during a Section meeting. If additional nominations are made, then the election will be by secret ballot, mailed (hard copy or electronic) to the membership with the vote counted by a Tellers Committee appointed by the Section Chair. Alternatively, the secret ballot election may take place at a Section meeting, assuming Section membership has had 30 days prior notification.

Section 4

The timetable for this nomination procedure is as follows:

• Appointment of Nominating Committee on or before 15 June of a given calendar year
• Announcement of Nominations on or before 15 August of a given calendar year
• Close nominations by petition by 30 September of a given calendar year
• Appointment of Tellers Committee by 31 October
• Mailing of Ballots, if needed, by 31 October
• Ballots returned by 30 November
• Results announced 15 December

Section 5

A plurality of the votes cast shall be necessary for election.

Section 6

Notification of the results of the election shall be disseminated to the Section membership.

Section 7

The Section membership shall elect the following officials: Vice-Chair (Chair-Elect), Secretary, Treasurer, and eight Directors, with four Directors being elected each year.

Section 8

Any candidate for office within the Section must be of Member grade or higher. Associate and Student members are ineligible, as are Affiliates.

Section 9

Those individuals of Member grade or higher, and Associate members are eligible to vote for Section officers. Student members and affiliates are ineligible to vote.

ARTICLE VI - Business Meeting

Section 1

The business of the Section shall be executed during the Administrative Committee meetings.

Section 2

The Administrative Committee shall be composed of the Section Executive Committee, Chapter Chairs, Standing Committee Chairs, Student Chapter Chairs, and all other appointees.

Section 3

In order to transact business at a Section meeting, at least four Administrative Committee members must be present, to include at least two Executive Committee members, to constitute a quorum.

Section 4

The Section shall use and support the Section bulletin/publication (e.g., the National Capitol Area Scanner) as the primary means of communications with the Section membership.

Section 5

The Administrative Committee shall be responsible for establishing a funding policy with the contiguous sections that make up any Joint Chapters, which shall be in consonance with the missions of the IEEE, RAB and Technical Activities Board (TAB).

ARTICLE VII - Finances

Section 1

The Executive Committee must approve all expenditures of Section funds.

Section 2

Section funds can only be used for normal operations of the Section, unless prior authorization of the IEEE Executive Committee is obtained.

Section 3

The Treasurer shall be authorized to withdraw funds as approved by the Section Executive Committee. The signature of the Treasurer is required for withdrawals. In the absence of the Treasurer, the signature of the Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary, in that order of precedence, is required for withdrawals.

Section 4

All financial procedures will be in accordance with the IEEE Financial Operations Manual and the RAB Operations Manual.

Section 5

The fiscal year of the Section shall be 1 January to 31 December for a given calendar year.

Section 6

All funds received by the Section shall be deposited in one or more IEEE concentration banking accounts, as designated by the Executive Committee. Any investment of funds will be handled through the IEEE Investment Program.

Section 7

All entities under the Section's purview, that are recipients of funding from the Section, shall provide detailed financial reports showing the expenditures of such funds. These financial reports shall be submitted to the Section's Treasurer on a quarterly basis, unless otherwise approved by the Executive Committee.

Section 8

All Section and subunit bank accounts will provide for the signature authority of the Staff Director of Financial Services.

ARTICLE VIII - Chapters and Affinity Groups

Section 1

Chapters and Affinity Groups are subunits of the Section and shall be governed under these Section bylaws.

Section 2

Chapters and Affinity Groups shall submit annual budgets to the Section on or before 1 February of each calendar year. Chapters will not be eligible for RAB and Section funds until their annual budget, prior year's financial report, and all meeting reports have been submitted to the Section.

Section 3

Chapters and Affinity Groups shall submit meeting reports to the Section Secretary within ten (10) days of a meeting. Joint Chapters only need to submit meeting reports to their Parent Section.

ARTICLE IX - Amendments

Section 1

Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may originate in the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by at least 2% of the voting members of the Section.

Section 2

Proposed Bylaws or changes thereto, along with sufficient justification, shall be delivered or mailed to the Section's Executive Committee members at least twenty days before the stipulated Executive Committee meeting at which the vote shall be taken.

Section 3

The amended Bylaws after being approved by two-thirds of the Executive Committee shall be submitted to the Regional Activities Department for review prior to forwarding to the Regional Director and Regional Activities Board for approval.

Section 4

Amendments may be debated, but shall not undergo revision at a general meeting of the Section.

    Send changes to Elsie Grant at ncac-scanner@ieee.org
    or Rex Klopfenstein at r.klopfenstein@ieee.org