BY-LAWS 

North Central Mosquito Control Association

 

Article I

Name

This organization shall be known as the North Central Mosquito Control Association (North Central MCA) and shall include the U.S. States of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Canadian Provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Western Ontario.

 

Article II

Purpose

 

Purpose of the North Central Mosquito Control Association is:

 

  • to promote the education of people working in mosquito control, vector control and/or related industries;
  • to maintain public interest in areas where mosquitoes are now being controlled;
  • to keep up with new developments in methods of control, surveillance, integrated pest management, environmental safety and related fields of study;
  • to disseminate information concerning mosquitoes and diseases they transmit to its membership and the general public through publications and meetings;
  • to promote mosquito control in our region whenever same is feasible;
  • to unite and coordinate common interests and efforts.

 

                                                                               Article III

 

Membership

 

(a)        Any individual who supports the purpose of this Association, as stated in Article II, and will work toward the accomplishment of the Association’s objectives, is eligible for regular membership.   The Board of Directors reserves the right to reject applications for membership.

 

(b)       Classes of Membership:

 

  1. Regular Member. Anyone meeting the criteria listed in Article III (a) may become a regular member of the North Central MCA by filing an application and paying dues owing.  Regular members shall pay annual dues set by the Board; be entitled to hold office; may serve on committees; may serve as conference delegates; propose motions; and participate at officially called business meetings.

 

  1. Student Member. Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college or university, and taking at least one-half full schedule as defined by the college, is eligible for student membership.  A student must be certified as meeting these requirements by his/her department head or major advisor upon application and at each renewal date.  Student members shall pay annual dues set by the Board and enjoy the same privileges and carry the same responsibilities as regular members.

 

  1. Sustaining Members. Any agency, organization, company, or individual meeting the criteria listed in Article III (a) may become a sustaining member of the North Central MCA.  Sustaining members shall pay dues set by the Board and shall be listed in the program of the Annual meeting.  A sustaining member shall be entitled to all rights and privileges provided a regular member by the association.

 

  1. Honorary Members. Is a member elected by the association in recognition of outstanding contributions to the association, their profession and/or to their field of study. These memberships are permanent, non-dues paying and shall have the same privileges as Regular Members.

 

Article IV

 

Financial Income

 

(a)        The officers of the association are empowered to accept contributions for the purpose of financing the association’s affairs. All contributions should be directed to the association’s Treasurer and properly recorded to maintain financial records of the organization. Dues, registration fees and costs of the proceedings of the annual meeting shall be set by the Board of Directors and re-evaluated each year.

 

(b)        The fiscal year shall be from January 1 to December 31.  Membership dues shall be set by the Board of Directors yearly and are payable at or before the annual conference. After the conference, or May 1, any unpaid dues shall be declared in arrears, and the delinquent member shall not be in good standing.  New membership dues received before September 1 shall be counted as membership for the current year.  New membership dues received on or after September 1 shall be effective through the next year.

 

(c)        In the event that the North Central Mosquito Control Association is disbanded, the funds remaining in the treasury shall be donated to the Treasurer of the American Mosquito Control Association. This donation will occur only after all Association debts and/or obligations are paid in full.

 

(d)        Any funds of North Central Mosquito Control Association may be invested at the discretion of the Board.  Investments are to be directed to conservative, income-generating investments such as: savings accounts, certificates of deposits, treasurer’s notes, and money markets.

 

Article V

 

Board of Directors

 

(a)                The Board of Directors of the Association will consist of nine members and shall attempt to consist of representatives of each of the five U.S. states, two representatives of the listed (Article I) Canadian provinces, one at-large member, and a mosquito-related industry representative. If in the event that the association is unable to acquire candidates to fill the board positions with representatives of each state, province and/or industry, the board may fill candidate positions with other association members accepting responsibility to represent those respective areas.

 

(b)                The Board of Directors of the Association will have elected officers and will consist of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and five trustees who shall perform such duties as are usually incumbent upon such officers per Robert’s Rules of Order, or as assigned by the president.

(c)                The terms of office of the Board of Directors shall be as follows:

 

 

President      –                            Serves a one year term. The association will recommend the president has previous experience serving one year as vice president and a minimum of one year experience as a trustee and/or other officer position of the association.

 

Vice President –                         Serves a one year term then succeeds to the office of president. The association will recommend the vice president has previous experience serving a minimum of one year as trustee and/or other officer position of the association.

 

Secretary      –                            Serves a two year term with election to office. Association will attempt not to replace both positions of secretary and treasurer in the same calendar year.

 

Treasurer      –                            Serves a three year term with election to office.

 

Trustees       –                            Serves a three year term with elections to office staggered so new trustee(s) are elected each year. Trustee may leave this position to fill another office position after serving as a trustee one or two years. The remainder of the trustee term would be filled by appointment of the board president with respect to the Article V (a).

 

(b)        The Board of Directors shall be the legal representative of the Association, and as such shall have full control of the Association.  It shall hold a meeting immediately after the annual meeting. Other meetings shall be held at the call of any nine members of the Board of Directors.  Notice of all special meetings shall be issued by the Secretary, at least ten days in advance of such meeting, to all members of the Board of Directors.  Five members shall constitute a quorum of the Board.

 

(c)        The Executive Board shall consist of the president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer, which shall act for the Board of Directors in the interim between meetings.

 

(d)                If a position held by an officer of the association is left vacant by death, resignation or otherwise, the president is empowered to fill the office thus left vacant, by appointment until the next general election.  If the position of president is left vacant by death or resignation or other incapacity, the vice-president shall become president and is empowered to fill his/her vacancy on the Board of Directors by appointing an interim board member or officer. All appointments will be with respect to the Article V (a).

 

(e)                The Board of Directors shall maintain the right to replace a board member that is unresponsive, uncooperative and/or otherwise disruptive to the Board’s ability to function effectively and efficiently. The board reserves the right to call a special meeting and take a board vote to remove the board member. It would require a minimum of 8 of 9 votes to remove a board member. The position would be filled with respect to Article V (d).

 

Article VI

 

Elections

 

(a)        The election of the Board of Directors of the Association shall be held annually and open Board of Director’s seats will be filled when appropriate in regards to their respective terms. Elections will be by mail or personal ballot and only regular, Student, honorary and sustaining members in good standing shall be eligible to participate in the election. These votes will be counted at the annual meeting. (With the only exception of the initial board members who have been appointed to establish and organize the Association). All votes (mailed or completed at annual meeting) must be received by the secretary prior to the closing of the ballot conducted at the annual meeting in order to count in the election. In the event of a tie vote, a special runoff election will be held at the business meeting of the annual meeting. This runoff election may be determined by a coin flip if both candidates agree to these terms.

 

(b)        The chairman of the Nominating Committee shall be the secretary of the North Central MCA. The Nominating Committee shall solicit qualified members who are willing to serve as officers.

 

(c)        The chairman of the Nominating Committee shall conduct the election.  The election of the Board of Directors shall be by majority vote of the members present at the annual meeting by secret ballot.  All board members must be association members in good standing.

(d)           Elected Board members shall be limited to serving two consecutive terms in the same capacity.

 

(e)        Members of the Board of Directors shall serve from the time of their election at the annual meeting until new officers are elected.

                                                                    Article VII

 

Committees

 

(a)                Following taking office the President shall appoint chairmen to the following standing committees: Scientific; Awards and Recognition; Planning; Public Education/Information.

(b)                Each committee will be chaired by one of the board members. The President will assign each of the board members to be chairman of one of the unassigned standing committees. In order to build relationships across the association, each committee should be assembled to use people of different states, provinces or organizations to expose many members to the issues of the association, foster the growth of leadership ability and build overall association organizational skills.

 

In addition, the President may appoint and designate other special committees as needed. Members of Special Committees may or may not be members of the Association.

 

(b)        All committees shall present a final written report to the Board of Directors and report to the Association members at the annual meeting and at such other intervals as may be necessary.

 

(c)        The duties of the standing committees are as follows:

 

  1. The Scientific Committee shall be chaired by a board member appointed by the president. The committee shall develop and prepare position papers based upon solid scientific evidence. Review where appropriate, literature and new technology so as to keep members abreast of latest developments in mosquito control.

 

  1. The Finance Committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer. At the Board of Directors meeting each year, the Finance Committee shall present a budget for the conduct of activities of the Association for the fiscal year. The Finance Committee shall also study means of raising funds for financing activities of the Association and shall perform other duties as directed by the Board of Directors.

 

  1. The Nominating and Membership Committee shall be the Secretary. The committee shall be responsible for duties as outlined in Article VI and further shall be charged with the duty of recruiting new members and encouraging payment of dues by delinquent members.

 

  1. The Awards and Recognition Committee shall be chaired by a board member appointed by the president. The committee shall nominate and/or select from nominations submitted, the recipients of Association awards and shall present their selections to the Board of Directors for final approval.

 

  1. The Planning Committee shall be chaired by a board member appointed by the president. The committee shall make short and long range plans for the Association.Such plans shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.

 

  1. The Public Education/Information Committee shall be chaired by a board member appointed by the president. The committee shall be responsible for the development of educational and informational materials, and the dissemination of such materials to the general public. Further, this Committee shall assist in the development of position papers, media releases and organization of a Speaker’s Bureau for the purposes of public speaking.

 

Article VIII

 

Meetings

 

(a)        The date, time and place of the annual meeting shall be set by the Board of Directors, after soliciting opinions of the membership at the annual business meeting.

 

(b)        All business conducted shall be according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

 

(c)        A quorum shall be constituted when two officers of the Board of Directors meet with the minimum of 10% of the organization’s membership at a stated meeting.

 

(d)        A special meeting may be called by the president after all members have been notified by mail at least two weeks in advance.

 

 

Article IX

 

Amendments

 

The By-Laws may be amended by the original Board of Directors until the first scheduled election in 2012. In 2012 and thereafter, the Association’s by-laws may be amended by vote of three-fourths of the members present at the annual meeting, provided that a notice of the proposed amendment and the meeting shall be furnished to the members at least two weeks prior to the meeting. All accepted amendments will be shown under “Amendment Notes” outlining the change, date, person introducing for amendment, and at the meeting amendment was approved.

 

 

 

 

Amendment Notes

 

15 July 2009                  Bylaws established for Incorporation of Association           Mark E. Smith, Treasurer

15 Jan 2010                   Board membership expands from 7 to 9 members              Board Vote

15 Feb 2010                  Election and Bylaws amendment language change              Executive Board Vote

 

 

ADDENDUM

 

Code of Ethics and

Standards of Practice

 

 

As an Association member I will:

 

demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty and fortitude in all mosquito-related activities;

 

strive for personal, professional excellence and encourage the professional development of associates and those seeking to enter the field of mosquito control;

 

serve the public with respect, concern, courtesy and responsiveness;

 

encourage research, planning, design, management and review of activities in a scientifically and technically objective manner.  I will recognize that environmental management involves the consideration of all environmental factors: technical ecological, economic and sociopolitical.

 

conduct activities in a manner that ensures consideration of technically and economically feasible alternatives.

 

incorporate the best principles of environmental planning when recommending control measures to reduce environmental harm and enhance environmental quality.