New England Fertility Society Bylaws
New England Fertility Society Bylaws
A. PHILOSOPHY
New England-based society is formed to promote awareness, standards of information and assistance to providers, the public and ultimately patients in the field of infertility in the New England area.
B. NAME
The name of this society shall be: New England Fertility Society.
C. OBJECTIVES
1) The Society will promote the interchange of ideas, data, observations and anecdotes amongst its members and to the New England medical community at large.
2) The Society will establish a forum for the presentation of timely reports on current activities, and summaries of data on programs in the area of infertility.
3) The Society will provide a forum for the presentation of new data and research projects pertinent to reproductive medicine, and in particular, to the special interests of these technologies in the New England area.
4) The Society will air the status and developments of the particular needs of the providers and the patients in the field of infertility in New England
5) The Society will be the trustee of funds and other sponsorship of researchers working in New England .
6) The Society will be the spokesman in the New England region for current and future developments in the field of infertility.
7) The Society will be the trustee of historical documentation of developments in infertility in the New England area.
8) The Society will seek out the interchange of information on articles 1-7 with neighboring societies in this field, similar societies at regional and the national level; as well as promotion of such interchange with societies at the international level.
D. MEMBERSHIP
1) Membership is open to all professionals with a special interest in the field of infertility.
2) The mechanism for attaining membership will be to complete an application which can be obtained from the NEFS website at www.nefs.org or by contacting the Executive Administrator in the NEFS office. Dues are payable upon remittance of membership application and are valid for one calendar year.
3) Membership will be terminated by the treasurer should the member not respond to usual and customary notifications of failure to pay dues. The member will be reinstated immediately upon payment of such dues.
4) The Executive Committee shall have the right to review and revoke membership if a member has been adjudged by a professional body to be unfit to practice his or her profession; or a judicial body has determined that a member has committed a criminal offense.
5) Duties of a member shall be to support the philosophy and objectives of the Society. At official meetings a member may vote on motions, amendments, and members who are running for office. A member may also choose to run for executive office.
E. MEMBERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP
The Society will comprise members, senior members, honorary life members, the founder of the Society, and executives.
1) MEMBER - A member is a person in good standing in the Society having paid the dues established for that member’s status.
2) HONORARY LIFE MEMBER - Honorary life members are appointed by the Society if a majority of the Executive Committee concurs that such a person has made a major and landmark contribution to the assisted reproductive field. Such an honorary life member should accept the appointment and be willing to receive timely reports from the Society. The honorary life member will be exempt from dues and will have voting rights.
3) FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY - The founder of the Society is Selwyn P. Oskowitz, M.D., who assisted in the establishment of the Society and prepared a slate of executives that formed the first Executive Committee. The duties of the founder as such have since ceased.
4) EXECUTIVES - Executives are members of the Executive Committee and shall include the following: president, vice president, president-elect, immediate past-president, secretary, treasurer, and members-at-large.
Elected Executives – The membership will elect the president, the treasurer, a member-at-large from each of the six New England states, and a member-at-large from industry. Members-at-large representing nursing, legal, mental health and embryology/andrology may also be elected but are not required on the Executive Committee.
Appointed Executives – The president will appoint the vice president, the secretary, and the executive member-at-large.
Terms and Term Limits
The president, vice-president, president-elect, immediate past-president, secretary, executive member-at-large, and members-at-large from industry, nursing, legal, mental health and embryology/andrology will each serve for a term of one year. The members-at-large from the states will each serve for a term of two years, which terms shall be staggered.
The treasurer will serve for a term of three years.
Each member of the Executive Committee will be elected or appointed to serve one term of the length specified in this section. Ordinarily, no member of the Executive Committee shall be elected to two consecutive terms in the same position; provided, however, that if no other member is nominated for that position, the member of the Executive Committee may run for a second or subsequent term.
F. ELECTIONS
Election of executives to open positions will take place by means of a vote, which may be conducted online, before the final fall meeting. Results of the election will be announced at the final fall meeting.
The Nominating Committee will seek nominations from the general membership of the Society; will review the qualifications of the nominees; and will create a ballot for the election that is appropriate for the needs of the Society. In the case of the member-at-large from industry, the Nominating Committee will seek to ensure individuals from a variety of companies run for office, so as not to favor any one company.
The new executives’ terms will begin as of January 1 of the next year.
6) VACATED EXECUTIVE POSITIONS:
If an appointed position on the Executive Committee is vacated before the expiration of the term, the President will appoint another member to fill the vacancy for the duration of that term.
If an elected position on the Executive Committee is vacated before the expiration of the term, a majority vote by the Executive Committee will determine the member to fill the vacancy for the duration of that term, except in these cases:
(a) a vacated president position will be filled by the vice-president (Bylaw G.1 and G.2), who will appoint a new vice-president;
(b) a vacated treasurer position will be appointed by the president, and
(c) a vacated president-elect position will be filled by an election by the general membership, which will occur at the next quarterly meeting or as soon as is reasonably possible.
G. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVES
1) DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT - The president shall be the master of ceremonies at all meetings. In the absence of the president the vice president will undertake these duties. In the event of any decision being dead-locked, the president shall have the casting vote. The president shall organize the educational program.
2) DUTIES OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT - The vice president will preside over all meetings in the absence of the president and will assume the duties of the president if he or she cannot complete their term in office.
3) DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR - The duties of the executive administrator are to assist and work with the president and the executive committee to maintain all aspects of NEFS function. Specific functions of Executive Administrator are listed in the job description for that position.
4) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY - The duties of the secretary are to assist and work with the executive administrator in maintaining documentation, minutes of meetings, notification of meetings, notification of members elected to the board or removed from the Society and maintenance of records of presentations.
5) DUTIES OF THE TREASURER - The treasurer shall oversee administration of all funds received and spent by the Society. The treasurer shall be responsible for compiling or seeking help to compile appropriate financial statements necessary for balancing the budget and for fulfilling the requirements of a non-profit organization. At the final meeting of each calendar year, a report will be presented to the Executive Committee on the condition of the finances with a budget agenda for the coming year. The treasurer will watch over the matters of any scholarship funds and steer scholarship issues at Executive Committee meetings. The treasurer will also steer fund raising concepts.
6) DUTIES OF THE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT-ELECT AND MEMBERS-AT-LARGE - The executives will attend Executive Committee meetings and participate in voting at such meetings. They may also represent the special interests of the geographical areas in which they are working.
H. MEETINGS AND SUBCOMMITTEES
1) Quarterly meetings will be held in New England
2) A quorum of the Society shall be defined as any official meeting where at least fifty members are present. There will be four meetings held each calendar year, usually in March, April/May, September, and December.
3) Election of executives will take place during final Fall meeting with the new executives taking responsibility as of January 1 of the next calendar year.
4) Additional society meetings may be called from time to time by request of the Executive Committee or after request by at least twenty members made to the Executive Committee. The purpose of the additional meetings will be for issues pertinent to the Society that cannot wait until the next quarterly meeting.
5) A quorum of the Executive Committee will comprise at least six executives.
6) The Executive Committee meeting will usually precede the main meeting at each session. A summary of the Executive Committee meeting may be presented in the main meeting that follows.
7) Motions can be approved by majority vote at any Executive Committee meeting attended by a quorum.
8) SUBCOMMITTEES - The Executive Committee may form, or may approve a request by members of the Society to form, a Subcommittee. The Executive Committee may delegate such powers and duties to these Subcommittees as the Executive Committee may deem advisable to the extent permitted by law. All Subcommittees shall conform to the following conditions:
All Subcommittee members should be members of the Society. The Subcommittee should adopt a formal statement of philosophies and goals, including the members who qualify to attend the meetings and the number of such members who would comprise a quorum. Guests to the Subcommittee can be invited on a one-time basis, as appropriate. Minutes or reports of Subcommittee meetings may be presented to the President for review at the quarterly Executive Committee meetings. A copy of minutes shall be kept in the permanent New England Fertility Society records. A yearly budget, if requested, shall be presented to the Executive Committee for approval. If a Subcommittee does not contain a member already on the Executive Committee, a member of the Subcommittee shall be appointed to be a non-voting member of the Executive Committee.
9) SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - The Executive Committee may approve a written request from a Society member to form and sponsor a special interest group. The member should present the purpose and goals in writing to the President. The Special Interest Group will be named, defined, and approved by the Executive Committee, provided the group conforms to the following conditions: A yearly written report of activities by the Special Interest Group will be presented to the Executive Committee. A copy of this report shall be kept in the permanent New England Fertility Society records. All expenditures of NEFS funds by the Special Interest Group will be approved by the Executive Committee.
I. DUES
1) Dues shall be set by the Executive Committee at the Fall meeting.
2) Changes in the dues can be made by a majority vote of the Executive meeting.
3) Dues are payable upon remittance of a membership application or, a new applicant to the Society and are valid for one calendar year renewable each January.
4) Professional Courtesy for members with hardship: Members who are experiencing financial hardship may attend the meetings as Guests of the President.
5) The Executive Committee can authorize spending of up to $2,500 on any worthy charitable donation based on a majority vote of the Executive Committee; if over $2,500 the entire membership will vote.
J. RESEARCH FUNDS AND AWARDS
1) Funds for research and awards must be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of members of the Executive.
2) Special awards (i.e., Prize Paper Competition) will be determined by a subcommittee appointed by the Executive Committee. The New England Fertility Society may use funds from any and all sources (i.e., membership dues, guest fees, corporate donations) to subsidize these prizes with no obligations to a specific source.
3) A special Lifetime Achievement Award may be voted by the Executive Committee to an individual whose contributions to the field of infertility are worthy of special recognition by the New England Fertility Society.
K. AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
An amendment can be made to the Bylaws by a majority vote of a quorum of members at a quarterly meeting. Membership will be advised that Bylaws changes have been posted on the Society's web site at least 7 days prior to the quarterly meeting at which a vote will be taken. A majority vote of the Executive Committee at that same meeting will confirm the Bylaws changes.
AMENDED 2/6/92 ; 10/18/93 ; 1/19/95 ; 12/6/95 ; 6/3/96 ; 9/24/97 ; 11/30/99 ; 6/13/00 ; 12/10/00 ; 09/06/01 EDITED AND REVISED: 1/16/04 AMENDED: 3/12/05 EDITED AND REVISED: 4/24/14, 12/2/15AMENDED, EDITED AND REVISED: 12/2/2017; 12/4/2018
NEFS Bylaws
Review the fundamental principles and rules regarding the internal management of the New England Fertility Society. View Bylaws
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