National Association of Scientific Materials Managers By-Laws

BY - LAWS of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC MATERIALS MANAGERS ARTICLE I MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1.	Regular membership shall be extended to: persons representing educational scientific materials stores; persons representing state or federal government scientific stores; persons representing hospital scientific materials stores; persons representing commercial scientific materials stores; persons representing procurement and/or administration in any of the above institutions and who deal with scientific materials; unemployed/retired members may retain regular membership. Note: Regular members in good standing may hold office and have voting privileges (in person or absentee) at the Annual Meeting. Persons qualifying for regular membership may not be granted corporate membership.
SECTION 2.	Associate membership shall be extended to persons representing commercial wholesale/retail scientific materials companies not otherwise represented by Corporate membership. Associate members may not hold office or vote on matters submitted to the regular membership for votes.
SECTION 3.	Corporate membership shall be extended to companies/corporations who are manufacturers/vendors of scientific materials and not to individuals who qualify for regular membership. Corporate members may not hold office or vote in matters submitted to the regular membership for votes. Corporate members may designate up to three (3) corporate officers as their representatives.
SECTION 4.	Honorary membership shall be conferred by the Board of Directors upon persons rendering outstanding service to NAOSMM. The membership may submit names to the Board of Directors for consideration for Honorary membership. Honorary members may not hold office or vote in matters submitted to the regular membership for votes.
SECTION 5.	Lifetime membership may be conferred upon a member in the manner prescribed for the Honorary membership and to any member who has been in good standing with the NAOSMM for five (5) years prior to retirement, upon request by the member and notification by the member that s/he is retiring. Lifetime members may not hold office or vote in the matters submitted to the regular membership for vote.* *Members granted Lifetime status prior to July 31, 1998 have been grandfathered and retain voting and office holding status.
SECTION 6.	The above membership categories are mutually exclusive. No individual or entity may hold membership in more than one category.
ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP DUES
SECTION 1.	Regular membership dues shall be established by the Board of Directors, subject to approval of the voting members at the Annual Business meeting.
SECTION 2.	Associate membership dues shall be established by the Board of Directors, subject to approval of the voting members at the Annual Business meeting.
SECTION 3.	Corporate membership dues shall be established by the Board of Directors, subject to approval of the voting members at the Annual Business meeting.
SECTION 4.	Honorary Membership: There shall be no dues assessed for Honorary membership.
SECTION 5.	Lifetime Membership: There shall be no dues assessed for Lifetime membership.
SECTION 6.	Membership Dues Payment: Failure to submit dues payment within sixty (60) days after the due date will result in membership termination as specified in the Constitution, Article 1, Section 5.
SECTION 7.	The due date is defined as the first day following each member's anniversary, but no later than January 1st of the next calendar year.
ARTICLE III ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
SECTION 1.	The Annual Business Meeting of the membership is for the purpose of transacting such business as may be necessary.
SECTION 2.	Election of Officers shall be conducted at the Annual Meeting every other year in conjunction with the end of an administrative term. Appointment and removal of officers shall be approved as specified in the Constitution, Article II, Section 4.
SECTION 3.	The geographic location and the general dates for the meetings shall be recommended by the Site Selection Committee and approved by the Executive Board.
SECTION 4.	At any Annual Meeting of the membership, the members present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SECTION 5.	"ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER" shall govern all proceedings of the NAOSMM. A Parliamentarian shall be appointed for each Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE IV ELECTION PROCEDURES
SECTION 1.	Members seeking election to office but not attending the meeting at which they are seeking election shall send a letter of intent to the President of the NAOSMM and/or to the Nominations Committee Chair, thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting. The letter of intent shall designate: 1) the office that is being sought, and 2) the qualifications of the member for that office. The Chair of the Nominations Committee shall send copies of all letters of intent to the President of the NAOSMM.
SECTION 2.	Nominations from the floor may be accepted from a member at the Annual Meeting nominating himself/herself or another person. The nominator shall give a concise statement of the nominee's qualifications at the time of the nomination.
SECTION 3.	In the event that more than one (1) person shall have been nominated for the same office, an election shall be held. A ballot shall be distributed to the voting members present at the Annual Meeting. The voting members shall indicate the name of the candidate of their choice. The ballots shall be tallied by the Election Committee. Those candidates receiving a plurality of the votes cast for the respective offices in the contest shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie, the winner shall be decided by a second ballot, or additional ballots, if necessary. In the event of a deadlock, defined as three (3) consecutive ballots resulting in a tie, the Election Committee is empowered to select members at random from those not present at the conference for direct phone contact. A total of five (5) members must be contacted and their votes must be received by Fax before the closing of the meeting. Votes for the office in question shall be the only votes tallied in this manner.
SECTION 4.	All candidates elected shall assume office at the close of the business meeting in which they were elected. There shall be a debriefing meeting called by the new President following the close of the Annual Meeting at which elections were held.
ARTICLE V COMMITTEES
SECTION 1.	Appointments to committees and temporary appointments to the Board of Directors of the NAOSMM, as provided in ARTICLE III, SECTION 1, of the Constitution, shall be made by the President of the NAOSMM with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors. All committees shall be appointed as specified in this Article.
SECTION 2.	Vacancies on any committee shall be filled by Presidential appointment.
SECTION 3.	An Election committee, consisting of not less than three (3) members of the NAOSMM, shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, to supervise and conduct the election of officers, make initial decisions concerning disputes arising during said election, and to tally the ballots cast in the election.
SECTION 4.	At least two (2) Auditors shall be selected at the Annual Conference by the President with the advice of the Board of Directors for the purpose of inspecting the financial books and records of the organization. The names of the Auditors shall be submitted for approval by the members present at the opening meeting. An audit shall be accomplished prior to surrender of the books to a new Treasurer. The Auditors will report findings at the Annual Business meeting.
SECTION 5.	The appointment of committees in Sections 3 and 4 above are mandatory and critical to the function of the NAOSMM. Other committees may be appointed as specified in Section 1, above, to meet the changing needs of the NAOSMM.
ARTICLE VI FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
SECTION 1.	The Treasurer of the NAOSMM shall deposit all funds into an interest bearing account, in a federally insured institution, approved by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall maintain records of all financial transactions conducted in the name of the NAOSMM.
ARTICLE VII ADMINISTRATIVE TERM
SECTION 1.	The administrative term of the NAOSMM shall be defined as the period immediately following one Annual Meeting and continuing through the last day of the second Annual Meeting, two years hence.
ARTICLE VIII RIGHT OF PROXY
SECTION 1.	Every voting member shall have the right to vest his/her voting privilege with another voting member. This right to vote by proxy shall be submitted, in writing, to the Secretary at the Annual Meeting and shall be signed and dated by both members. The date of signing shall not precede the election by more than ninety (90) days, and the holding of the proxy shall be declared to the Election committee prior to the election.
ARTICLE IX AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
SECTION 1.	These By-Laws may be amended or repealed, or new By-Laws may be made and adopted by a four-fifth (4/5) vote of the members of the Board of Directors and ratified by a majority vote of the voting members attending the next Annual Meeting of the NAOSMM.

HISTORY

The official By-Laws of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers were presented to, voted on, and ratified by the regular members present at the Twenty-sixth Annual Business Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO on July 29, 1999.

The official By-Laws of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers were presented to, voted on, and ratified by the regular members present at the Twenty-fifth Annual Business Meeting, Portland, ME, on July 30, 1998.

The official By-Laws of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers were presented to, voted on, and ratified by the regular members present at the Twenty-third Annual Business Meeting, held at the Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans, LA on August 1, 1996.

The official By-Laws of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers were presented to, voted on, and ratified by the regular members present at the Twenty-second Annual Business Meeting, held at the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL on July 27, 1995.

The official By-Laws of the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers were presented to, voted on, and ratified by the regular members present at the Twenty-first Annual Business Meeting, held at the Hyatt Regency, Tampa FL, on August 4, 1994.