BYLAWS
OF
THE
FLORIDA
PARK
SERVICE
ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION, INC.
SECTION
I - NAME
The
Florida Park Service Alumni Association is the name
under which incorporation was sought in 1989.
SECTION
II - DEFINITION
In
the context of these Bylaws, the Florida Park Service
shall mean the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks and its
predecessor and successor agencies.
SECTION
III – OBJECTIVES
The
objectives sought through the formation of this
Association are as follows:
A.
To
foster a continued close personal relationship among
past and current Florida Park Service employees.
B.
To
engage in activities and programs which directly or
indirectly benefit the Florida Park Service.
C.
To
support and further the interests of
Florida
's state parks.
D.
To
make available the considerable expertise of its
membership in an advisory capacity, as requested.
E.
To
provide members with up-to-date information regarding
events which may affect them or the Florida Park
Service.
F.
To
further the good of the Florida Park Service wherever
possible and perpetuate the spirit of unity, service
and mutual benefit among its membership.
SECTION
IV - MEMBERSHIP
There
shall be four classes of membership in the
Association. Admission shall be contingent upon
qualification in the appropriate class as follows:
A.
Regular
Membership - Any individual who has attained permanent
status with the Florida Park Service as defined
herein, or in a position of direct line authority over
the Florida Park Service. Spouses, widows or widowers
of individuals eligible for regular membership on the
above basis may also be admitted to regular
membership.
B.
Honorary
Membership - Those Regular Members who have served the
Association, its members, or the Florida Park Service
in an exemplary fashion and who may be approved by the
Membership Committee and confirmed by the Executive
Board. Spouses,
widows or widowers of individuals eligible for regular
membership may also be considered for Honorary
Membership.
C.
Lifetime
Membership - Any Regular Member can obtain Lifetime
membership by paying the lump sum equivalent of 20
years of annual dues in advance. Spouses, widows and
widowers of Regular Members are also eligible for
Lifetime Membership.
D.
Affiliate
Membership - Any individual, not otherwise eligible
for membership, who has demonstrated a commitment to
the objectives of the Association through continuous
participation in Association events and whose
membership is approved by the Executive Board.
SECTION
V - DUES AND VOTING PRIVILEGES
A.
The
Association shall assess annual membership dues. The
initial dues shall be $15 annually.
B.
Membership
dues shall be established by the Executive Board,
which shall devise a method for their assessment.
C.
The
fiscal year for the Association shall be from January
1 through December 31. Annual dues will be considered
in arrears if not paid by March 1.
D.
Regular
Members shall pay annual dues and have voting rights.
They shall be entitled to all the benefits and
privileges of the Association.
E.
Honorary
Members shall pay no dues, but shall be entitled to
the same rights and privileges as Regular Members.
F.
Affiliate
Members shall pay annual dues but have no voting
rights or right to hold office. They shall be entitled
to all other benefits and privileges of the
Association.
G.
Two
dollars ($2.00) of each individual member’s dues
each year shall be automatically transferred to the
F.P.S.A.A. James Cook Memorial Fund, Inc., for use by
that organization for its authorized purposes; except
that such automatic transfers shall be suspended when
the balance in the said James A. Cook Memorial Fund
shall exceed $5,000.00 and shall resumed only when the
balance in the said Fund falls below $3,000.
Nothing in this provision, however, shall
preclude the Association from transferring any amount
of its excess funds to the said James A. Cook Memorial
Fund at any time it may deem it appropriate to do so.
SECTION
VI - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
A.
Officers
Officers of the Association shall consist of a
President, a Vice President and President Elect, and a
Secretary. All officers and directors shall be a
Regular Member with 10 years or more service in the
FPS and shall be elected by a majority of voting
membership at an annual meeting. All officers and
directors will serve two-year terms and may succeed
themselves for additional two-year terms at the
pleasure of the voting membership. In the first
election, three Directors shall be elected for one
year and three for two years, so that future two-year
terms will be staggered, with three Directors elected
each year for a two-year term.
B.
Executive
Board
The
Association shall have an Executive Board composed of
the President, the Vice President and President Elect,
the Secretary, the immediate Past President and six
elected Directors. In the event the President is
re-elected, his immediate predecessor will continue to
serve as immediate Past President.
The President shall be Chairman of the Executive
Board. The Executive Board shall be the administrative
governing body of the Association and shall have full
power to act on all matters related to the
Association.
C.
Election
and Term of Office
The election of the officers and directors shall be at
an annual meeting, and conducted in the following
manner. Members may make nominations in writing to the
Chairman of the Nominations Committee 45 days prior to
the Annual Meeting. At the Annual Meeting, all
nominations received shall be presented to the
Membership. If only one nomination for each office or
directorship is received, voting shall be by voice. If
more than one nomination is received for an office or
directorship, that particular office or directorship
shall be voted on by written ballot. Ballots shall be
collected and counted by the Executive Board.
All officers and directors shall take office at the
close of the annual meeting and shall remain in office
until their terms expire.
Vacancies which occur during the year will be filled
through appointment by the Executive Board for the
duration of the term.
D.
Responsibilities
and Powers of Officers
(1)
PRESIDENT:
The President shall act as presiding officer at all
meetings of the organization. He shall be an
ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees except
the Nominating Committee. He shall convene the
Executive Board whenever, in his opinion, the affairs
of the Association demand or upon the request of any
three members of the Executive Board. He may appoint
temporary committees to act during his term of office.
(2)
VICE-PRESIDENT
AND PRESIDENT ELECT:
The Vice-President and President Elect will assist the
President and serve as chairman of the Membership
Committee. The Membership Committee shall consist of
three other members selected by the Vice President. In
the event of circumstances leading to vacancy of the
office of President before expiration of the full
term, the Vice-President and President Elect shall
immediately assume the office of President with all of
its powers and duties.
(3)
SECRETARY:
The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping
accurate minutes of all Executive Board meetings and
all meetings of the membership. The secretary will
provide notification of all meetings to those who
should receive them and keep accurate records of the
business of the Association. All records for the
Association will be turned over to the incoming
Secretary by the outgoing Secretary within 30 days of
the election of a new Secretary. The Secretary shall
be responsible for developing and distributing the
ballot for the election of officers at the annual
meeting, if necessary.
(4)
DIRECTORS:
The Directors shall perform such duties as assigned to
them by the President or as designated by these
Bylaws. One Director shall be elected to serve as
Chairman of each of the following committees: Finance,
Events & Education, and Recognition & Awards.
E.
Responsibilities
of the Director of Finance
The Director of Finance shall serve as treasurer. The
Treasurer shall be responsible for the proper
financial transactions of the Association. He will
establish a checking account in the name of the
Florida Park Service Alumni Association, Inc., and
will maintain all financial records in a manner which
can be easily audited by a Certified Public
Accountant.
SECTION
VII - COMMITTEES
The
Association shall have the following standing
committees and such other temporary committees deemed
advisable by the Executive Board and appointed by the
President.
A.
MEMBERSHIP
COMMITTEE:
The Vice-President and President Elect shall be
chairman, with at least three additional members
selected by the chairman. The committee shall foster
membership in the Association and process all
applications for membership. This committee may
nominate an applicant to any class of membership, for
which he is qualified, by majority vote.
B.
FINANCE
COMMITTEE:
The Director of Finance will serve as chairman of the
Finance Committee, and shall select three other
members to serve on the committee. A financial
statement shall be presented annually to the
membership for review. The Finance Committee will
assist the Executive Board in all financial matters as
requested.
C.
RECOGNITION
AND AWARDS COMMITTEE: The Director of Recognitions
and Awards will serve as chairman of this committee.
The Chairman shall select two other members to serve
on the committee.
This committee shall be responsible for
receiving nominations for various awards and
citations. Nominations
may be submitted to the Chairman for presentation at
the Annual Meeting.
This Committee shall also make recommendations
to the Board for new awards and criteria, as well as
recommending awards and citations to be given as part
of a membership event. This committee may also appoint
a sub-committee for awards or citations to be given as
part of a membership event.
One
award currently recognized by the Association is as
follows:
The
Carlos Maxwell Award is an award that recognizes
significant contributions by individuals who have also
dedicated themselves to the
Florida
Park
system and who have been properly nominated.
The
Criteria for above award as well as nomination
procedures is listed as an attachment at the end of
these By-Laws.
D.
EVENTS
AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE:
The Director of Events and Education will serve as
Chairman of the Events & Education Committee. The
Chairman will select at least three other members to
serve on the Committee. The committee will be
responsible for planning meetings, events or
gatherings of the Association membership. This
committee also will be responsible for providing to
the membership any information which may be of value
to or impact the Association or its membership.
Information will be gathered from the membership, the
Executive Board, any standing committee, the press, or
any other reliable source and disseminated by the
Events and Education Committee to the membership.
E.
PROTOCOL
AND LIAISON COMMITTEE:
The Chairman of the Protocol and Liaison Committee
shall be appointed by the President within 30 days of
the election of the President. The Chairman shall
serve as parliamentarian of the Association. The
committee will have at least three other members
selected by the Chairman and will represent the
Association as requested by the membership or the
Executive Board. This committee will maintain decorum
at any meetings of the membership.
F.
NOMINATING
COMMITTEE:
The Chairman of this committee will be the immediate
Past President of the Association. It will have at
least three other members selected by the Chairman and
will be responsible for soliciting input from the
Executive Board and the membership in preparing a
slate of candidates for expiring offices. This
committee will provide to the Secretary, two weeks
prior to the annual meeting, the slate of candidates
as approved by the Executive Board. In the event of
the absence of an immediate Past President, the
chairman of this committee shall be appointed by the
President.
SECTION
VIII - MEETINGS
A.
Meetings
of the membership of the Association may be called by
the Executive Board or by the membership. A petition
by 10% of the Association membership will be required
to call a general meeting of the Association.
B.
The
President or three members of the Executive Board may
call a meeting of the Executive Board.
SECTION
IX - ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER
Questions
not answered by these Bylaws or other official
enabling documents of the Association shall be settled
according to Robert's Rules of Order as interpreted by
the Protocol and Liaison Chairman.
SECTION
X - AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
The
Bylaws may be changed or amended by the following
procedure provided the proposed amendments have been
first approved by the Executive Board.
A.
Proposed
amendments to the Bylaws may be placed on annual
election ballots or presented at annual meetings and
must be approved by a majority of the voting
membership present at the annual meeting. Proposed
amendments to the Bylaws must be filed with the
Secretary and a description of the proposed amendment
circulated to the membership at least thirty days
prior to annual balloting.
B.
Any
amendment to the Bylaws becomes effective upon
approval by the membership following the balloting.
Revised
- 04/29/06
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