Proposed Changes to Our Chapter Bylaws
By Shannon Daggett
The year 2007 marked the debut of the iPhone and the release of the last Harry Potter book. It is also the last time our Chapter officially amended our bylaws. A lot has changed in 14 years, including SMPS! Accountability, transparency, protection, and guidance are the reasons behind having chapter bylaws. It provides rules and structure for corporate governance and serves as the operating agreement between members and chapter leadership.
At our Chapter’s Annual Business Meeting on Thursday, Aug. 19th, as Chapter President-Elect I will give an overview of the amendments to our Chapter’s bylaws to reflect National Society standards and how our own chapter operates. To adopt the new bylaws, members will be asked to approve or reject them. If a majority approves, the new bylaws will be officially adopted.
We have linked here three documents for those of you who want to do a deeper dive: a table that details all of the changes, our current bylaws, and our proposed bylaws. Here are some key takeaways:
- A fourth membership category has been added: Retired Membership. (The other categories are Regular, Student, and Distinguished Life.)
- The membership voting quorum to be lowered from 30% to 20%; special meeting from 30% to 10%; and regularly scheduled meeting changes from 30% to 20%.
- Firms who pay for individuals’ memberships may transfer a membership to another person affiliated with the firm.
- Term limits are set as well as the number of members on the Board of Directors.
- More details are provided on the process of the Slate Method to select the Board of Directors, but the two methods of “self-nomination” and “by petition” remain.
- To amend our bylaws today, we need to provide 30-day notice and have a majority of members present vote to approve them. Going forward, 20% of members our members must participate.
For more information, please reach out to me at [email protected].
Shannon Daggett, CPSM, is a Marketing Manager for Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc., covering offices in California, Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest. She is the President-Elect for SMPS-SFBAC.
