Proposed By-laws Changes for Consideration at the 2002 Annual Meeting in Spokane, Washington

Note that consideration of these changes have already been addressed at the annual meeting.
This page has been posted to the web-site for archival purposes only.

The following text is directly from the announcement in the March 2002 newsletter.

There are two proposed changes to the Western Division By-laws.

Existing by-laws may only be modified after 30 days advance notice to all members, and a 2/3-majority approval at the annual business meeting (Spokane), including an opportunity for voting by mail for those unable to vote at the annual meeting.

Please review the two proposals below and prepare to vote at the annual business meeting in Spokane. If you have specific comments or would like to vote by mail, please do so by mail to:

Bill Bradshaw, WDAFS Past President
c/o WGFD
P.O. Box 6249
Sheridan, WY 82801

To be received by April 20, 2002.

Pending membership approval in Spokane, and then AFS Governing Board approval in Baltimore, the changes will become effective at the conclusion of the annual AFS business meeting next August.

By-Law Change 1. Proposal To Create A Grants Funding and Investment Committee

Division members unanimously approved a proposal to establish a fund promoting the longterm sustainability of our grants program at the Two Proposed Western Division By-Law Changes 2001 business meeting in Phoenix last August. Background and procedural information about the proposal were presented in Phoenix and are posted on the Division website (www.fisheries.org/wd/committee/grants/grants.htm) and the complete text of the motion as introduced and approved is reproduced below:

“Establish a Western Division Grants Fund with an initial infusion of $50,000 from Western Division cash reserves. Pursue a fund target of $100,000 through investments, donations, periodic contributions from the Division, or other means and begin using interest from the Grants Fund to support the Grants Program upon attaining this target. Develop criteria for evaluating proposals and identify areas of emphasis for using these grant funds.”

The proposal adopted in Phoenix represents a long-term commitment, and the intent to institutionalize this effort was discussed at the business meeting. At that time it was made clear that a change in Division bylaws would be pursued to accomplish this. Namely, the Grants Funding Committee is currently an ad hoc committee, appointed by the President each year. This proposed by-law addition would make the committee permanent by creating a new standing committee. Consequently, the following addition to Division bylaws under “Section IX: Division Standing Committees” is proposed for membership consideration at the 2002 annual business meeting.

Proposed addition to Section IX of Western Division bylaws:

J. A Grants Funding and Investment Committee responsible for making investment recommendations to the Western Division Executive Committee, quarterly (minimum) review of existing Grants Fund investments with recommendations as appropriate, establishment and review of grant solicitation and funding criteria, and implementing programs to increase and maintain the base funding for the Grants Program endowment. The committee consists of a Chair appointed by the President and at least 4 Division members. Grants Funding and Investment Committee activities may be accomplished through ad hoc subcommittees appointed by the Committee Chair or at the direction of the President.

By-Law Change 2. Proposal to allow electronic voting.

Electronic balloting, either on the web or by email, may be a more efficient and less expensive method for annual elections. Several AFS subunits have successfully instituted electronic balloting, using on-line methods. Section VII of the current Western Division By-laws states:

“Election of officers and the Division Representative to the Society Nominating Committee shall be by mail ballot. The procedure for the conduct of the mail ballot shall be determined by the Executive Committee and executed by the Secretary.”

To clearly allow electronic balloting, the proposed modifications to Section VII would be as follows (changes in bold or strike-through):

“Election of officers and the Division Representative to the Society Nominating Committee shall be by mail, e-mail, and/or on-line ballot, with appropriate provisions for equal access to balloting. The procedure for the conduct of the mail ballot shall be determined by the Executive Committee and executed by the Secretary.”

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