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Fees and Dues Annual dues in the Association shall be fixed by a majority vote of current
members present at the Annual Meeting and shall be payable in advance of January 1st in the
manner prescribed by the Executive Board. A prospective member shall submit his application
for membership, which upon admission, will pay his dues until January 1st following approval of
his application. Failure to pay dues within ninety (90) days of the due date shall be a forfeiture of
membership.
The Executive Committee may upon recommendation by the Finance Committee and on good
cause being shown, authorize that a branch or chapter defers the payment of one or more of
their members' dues and fees to a specified date or dates within that year, without forfeiting
their membership. Should payment not be made on or before the specified date, membership
shall be forfeited.”

Recommendation 4: Branch and Chapter Charters
Following a review of the Branch and Chapter Charters it has been determined we need to consider
rewriting them and setting out the minimum requirements for granting and/or withdrawing a charter.

In the meantime, the Constitution By-laws and SOP Committee and the Board have recommended the
following amendments to the Constitution.

Recommendations

1. The following change to Article 5, Section 1 of the constitution be put to the members.

“Article 5

Section 1. Regional Chapters/Branches

The Executive Board may recognize a Regional Chapter/Branch of the Association only after written
application to the Association by such Chapter/Branch. The application shall include a proposed
Constitution and By-Laws for such Chapter/Branch. Upon approval by the Executive Board of the
application for recognition, a Charter shall be issued as the official document authorizing the Chapter’s/
Branch’s operation and use of the name and logo of the Association. The Executive Board shall peruse
the application for recognition and, upon being satisfied that its Constitution and By-laws are compatible
with this Constitution and that the establishment of the proposed branch/ chapter is in the best interests
of the Association, the Executive Board shall, after a two thirds (2/3) majority vote, issue a charter as the
official document authorizing the Chapter’s/Branch’s operation, use of the name and logo of the
Association, subject to this Constitution and, where provided for, any specific terms, conditions and
responsibilities set out in the charter. Where the Branch/ Chapter consistently fails to uphold this
Constitution, and /or fails to comply with the specific terms, conditions or responsibilities imposed on it,
or conducts itself in a manner which is inconsistent with the objectives of the Association, the Executive
Board may, after affording the branch/chapter an opportunity to be heard, withdraw the charter by a
two thirds (2/3) majority vote. Changes to the Regional Chapter’s/Branch’s Constitution and By-Laws
must be submitted in writing and approved by the Executive Board before they can be implemented.”

As each branch or chapter has two representatives on the International Board, the same should
apply to the International on the Branch and Chapter's Board. This would require the inclusion of
an additional sentence to Article 4 Section 5 of our constitution. (As can be seen in section 4, the
President is already an ex-officio member of each Branch and Chapter’s board).

“Article 4 – Government

Section 4. President

The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, and it shall be his responsibility to
supervise and coordinate the activities of the Association and to preside at meetings of the Association
and Executive Board. He shall appoint appropriate individuals or committees for the conduct and
activities of the Association and shall require reports from each, as he deems fit. At the Annual Meeting
of the Association, he may call upon a designated representative of each Regional Chapter/Branch to
report to the membership regarding the activities of the Chapter/Branch during the past year. The

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