The name of this organization shall be the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Student Branch (ASABE, UIUC Student Branch, referred to in this document as the Society). The Society shall be governed by the provisions of these Bylaws.

The Society is a recognized Student Branch of the International Pre-professional Community of ASABE and must abide by the rules of the International Pre-professional Community.

The objectives of the Society shall be:

1. To promote leadership development and professional advancement of members of the Society.

2. To promote the interests and activities of members of the Society.

3. To promote the objectives of the Society amongst members of the Society and all other students in the discipline of Agricultural and Biological Engineering or Technical Systems Management.

Members of the Society must be students at the University of Illinois who have paid their semesterly dues to the Society as defined in Article V..

Dues shall be $5 per semester and shall be collected by the Treasurer. This can be enacted if the combined total of the Society accounts is lower than $1,000 at the start of a Presidential term.

Section 1. Structure

The Executive Council shall consist of the President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer as well as other positions decided by the Executive Council and Members.

Section 2. General Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Executive Council shall be to:

1. Provide leadership and direction for the organization,

2. Assist general officers when needed to maintain the functioning of the Society,

3. Develop and maintain the cohesiveness, working ability, and functioning of the Society,

4. Carry on Society business throughout the school year and during the summer session as needed,

5. Attend and facilitate general meetings of the Society.

Section 3. Specific Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the specific officers on the Executive Council shall be as follows;

President

1. Shall interpret the bylaws;

2. Shall oversee the functioning of the Society as well as the Executive Council;

3. Shall set the dates of the semester meetings at least two weeks before each meeting is to take place;

4. Shall call and preside over meetings of the Society and the Executive Council, and shall also create agendas for such meetings;

5. Shall preside over elections that are held twice each semester.

6. Shall coordinate the transferring of offices between outgoing and incoming officers each semester by holding a new officer meeting and ensuring that officer binders are maintained and passed on;

7. Shall remain impartial during all meetings;

8. Shall act as a liaison between the Society and all outside organizations;

9. Shall maintain communication with the International Pre-professional Community as necessary;

10. Shall perform any other task as delegated by the Society, Executive Council or the International Pre-professional Community.

11. Should no single member run nor be elected to the position of social chair, the duties of the social chair outlined in Article VII Section 6 will be delegated to the President and Vice President(s) (DP 10/6/ 2020)

First Vice-President

1. Shall assist the President and be prepared to assume the duties of President in case of the president’s absence or inability to perform those responsibilities;

2. Shall coordinate the post-meeting activities for general meetings;

3. Shall oversee AEM Report, Community Service, Fundraising, and Social chairs;

4. Shall perform any other task as delegated by the Society, Executive Council or the International Pre-professional Community.

Second Vice-President

1. Shall coordinate the food for general meetings;

2. Shall oversee ACES Council Representatives, Awards Banquet Chairs, Engineering Council Representatives, Parliamentarian, and Webmaster;

3. Shall perform any other task as delegated by the Society, Executive Council or the International Pre-Professional Community.

4. Shall aid the Social Chair in the organization of social events.(4/30/2019, MS)

Secretary

1. Shall maintain the minutes for each general meeting and Executive Council meeting, and shall assign a substitute in the case that the secretary cannot attend a meeting;

2. Shall maintain and distribute the current Society Members list each semester;

3. Shall maintain attendance records of any Society activities including, but not limited to, general meetings, Executive Council meetings, fundraising activities, community service activities, and any joint activities with other organizations;

4. Shall maintain the list of current Members each semester as defined in Article IV;

5. Shall perform any other task as delegated by the Society, Executive Council or the International Pre-Professional Community.

Treasurer

1. Shall oversee all expenses, income, and balances for the various Society accounts;

2. Shall be responsible for submitting dues to Engineering Council and ACES Council;

3. Shall give a monthly budget update to the Society at general meetings;

4. Shall assist the President in obtaining funding from campus resources for any Society activity that can apply for such funding;

5. Shall collect dues and report those who have paid to the Secretary;

6. Shall perform any other task as delegated by the Society, Executive Council or the International Pre-Professional Community.

Section 4. Meetings

The Executive Council shall meet on a monthly basis or more as needed.

Section 5. Enforcement

The Executive Council shall have the power to enforce the Society bylaws.

Section 1. Eligibility

1. Officers must be Members of the Society as defined in Article IV.

2. Officers of the Society cannot concurrently hold more than one position on the Executive Council.

3. Officers must have been Members of the Society as defined in Article IV for at least one semester before holding the position of any Executive Council Position. All other offices may be filled by members of the Society regardless of the length of their membership.

Section 2. Appointment

Officers of the Society shall be elected according to Article VII of these bylaws.

Section 3. Terms of office

1. The term of office for the following ASABE officer positions shall be one semester: Fundraising Chair, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Social Chair, ACES Council Rep, Engineering Council Rep, Awards Banquet, AEM Report, Recruitment Chair, and Fountain Wars co-captains.

2. The term of office for the following ASABE officer positions shall be two semesters: Treasurer, Webmaster, and Historian.

3. The term of office for President, 1st Vice-President, and 2nd Vice-President shall be one semester, but with the following proceeding: The 1st Vice-President of the fall semester shall become the President the following spring semester, and the 2nd Vice-President of the fall semester shall become the 1st Vice-President the following spring semester. These changes will occur without an election.

4. Officers are required to volunteer at a minimum of one fundraising event during their term.

Section 4. Removal of an Officer

1. Justification for removal requires 3 accounts/warnings of gross negligence and/or gross misconduct by any officer of the Society. Before an impeachment charge can be made, said member must have been issued 3 warnings.

2. Any Member of the Society can bring impeachment charges against an officer.

3. The Executive Council will hear such charges and if deemed appropriate will continue with impeachment proceedings by informing the accused of the charges.

4. The Executive Council will hold a meeting with the accused within one week of notifying the accused of the charges. At this meeting the accused may speak on his or her behalf after which point the accused must leave the meeting premises. At this point the officer in questions will have until the next general meeting to demonstrate their capacity to execute the duties of their office, whereas if the charges against them remain the Executive Council will vote whether or not to maintain the officer in his or her position. A 3/5 majority of the Executive Council officers must be reached to remove an officer. In the case that the accused is a member of the Executive Council, said member will not be part of the vote and a 3/4 majority of the remaining Executive Council officers must be reached to remove the officer.

5. In the case that a member of the executive council commits 3 accounts/warnings of gross negligence and/or gross misconduct, they will be barred from applying for another position for one semester.

Section 5. Vacancy in an Elected Office

See Article VII, Section 4A.

Section 6. Officer Duties

The responsibilities of Officers of the Society shall be as follows:

ACES Council Representatives (at least 2 officers)

1. To attend all ACES Council meetings

2. To vote as representatives of the Society at ACES Council meetings.

3. To report any ACES Council news pertinent to the Society at the Society meeting immediately following the ACES Council meeting.

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Report Writer Chair

1. To create and submit the annual AEM Report to the national Society.

2. Write the AEM report, with the help of the Historian and the Webmaster.

3. To be present and record the events of the Society, or to appoint a Society member to do so, in order to successfully facilitate the duties of A.

Awards Banquet Chairs (at least 2 officers)

1. To organize and facilitate the spring awards banquet.

2. To obtain funding for the banquet from ticket sales, the Ag Mech club, the Society, and any other organizations that take part.

Engineering Council Representatives (at least 2 officers)

1. To have at least one representative at every Engineering Council meeting.

2. To vote as representatives of the Society at Engineering Council meetings.

3. To report any Engineering Council news pertinent to the Society at the Society meeting immediately following the Engineering Council meeting.

4. To coordinate the Society’s involvement in E-week (spring).

5. To coordinate the Society’s involvement in Engineering Open House (spring);

6. To update the Society’s display for EOH;

7. To ensure the completion of the Society’s required volunteer hours for EOH and SITE (spring).

Recruitment Chair (At least 1 officer, Year long position)

1. Host a table on quad day

2. To coordinate the Society’s involvement in ExploreACES, IGED (Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day), and EOH (spring);

3. To update the Society’s display for ExploreACES and the project for EOH and IGED

4. To work with the ACES Council and the Departmental ExploreACES, along with the EOH and IGED heads, liaison to fill out forms, attend safety meetings, and complete any other business that involves the club, ExporeACES, IGED, and EOH.

5. Functions as a liaison between other RSO on campus in an effort to work with members of the community and increase outreach.

Fundraising Chair (at least 2 officers spring semester)

1. To organize, facilitate, and run Lawnmower Summerization (spring).

2. To organize other fundraising activities throughout the semester.

Historian

1. Attend all Society activities, or delegate another Member to attend such activities, and record the activities through photographs;

2. To upload the photographs onto the U-drive into the ASABE folder or into a different location as decided upon by the Executive Council;

Parliamentarian

1. To ensure that meetings are run following Robert’s Rules of Order.

2. To correct officers or Members at meetings who do not follow the above rules.

Social Chair

1. To organize social activities that the Society can partake in.

2. To contact other departmental student clubs to organize cooperative social activities.

Webmaster

1. To update the website as needed.

Fountain Wars co-captains

1. In charge of leading a team to compete in the annual Fountain Wars competition, hosted at the AIM Conference in the summer.

2. At least one captain needs to attend the conference to lead the team.

3. Meet all criteria for the competition.

Section 1. Occurrence

Elections shall occur at the first and last meeting of each semester. With the following offices being elected at the indicated meetings:

Last Fall Meeting:

Second Vice-President

Secretary

ACES Council Representatives

AEM Report Writer

Award Banquet Chairs

Engineering Council Representatives

Fundraising Chairs

Parliamentarian

Social Chair

Recruitment Chair

Last Spring Meeting:

President

First Vice-President

Second Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Fundraising Chairs

Parliamentarian

Social Chair

ACES Council Representatives

AEM Report Chairs

Award Banquet Chairs

Engineering Council Representatives

Fundraising Chairs

Parliamentarian

Webmaster

If positions are not filled at the last meeting of each semester as listed above, elections can take place at the first meeting of the next semester to fill the empty positions.

Section 2. Nomination Procedure

Nominations will open for each position after the final voting and result has been recorded from the previous office position elected. Nominations will be received orally at the meeting, except for those that have been written and submitted to the President as described in Section 4, and those nominated must accept the nomination before voting can take place. Should no nominations for officers come from the floor, the president may offer nominations for office.

Section 3. Election Order

The election order shall be decided by the Executive Council and presented to the general members at the beginning of the meeting at which elections are to take place.

Section 4. Election Procedures

1. If an elective office has no nominated candidates, the Executive Council may postpone the election for that office until the end of the elections of other offices. If there are still vacant offices, the elections for that office will be automatically postponed until the next regular meeting. If at the next meeting no nominations are presented, the Executive Council may appoint a Member to hold the office. The appointee must accept the appointment otherwise the Executive Council will perform the duties of the vacant office until an appointee can be found.

2. A candidate for office need not be present at the Election, but he/she must present/accept their nomination in writing to the President before the Election.

3. Candidates will be allowed to address the general membership briefly (3 minutes for Executive Council Positions, and 1 minute for all other positions) prior to the vote on the office. If there is more than one candidate each candidate will be allowed to speak, while the other candidates wait outside of the room.

4. Candidates will be asked to leave the room after speaking during which time members may make a maximum of two (2) seconding speeches in POSITIVE favor for each candidate.

5. After such discussion the candidates will be allowed back into the room and a vote will be taken. Only current Members of the Society, as defined in Article IV shall be allowed to vote.

6. Should only one (1) candidate be nominated for a position, a motion for a white ballot may be entertained. Should such a motion be made and seconded, a simple majority (one-half plus one of Members present) must vote in favor of the white ballot for the candidate to be elected. In such an instance it is not necessary for the candidate to make a speech before the Society. If a white ballot is not entertained, procedure will proceed according to the rules in parts C, D, and E of this section.

7. The vote shall be recorded, but not published in the meeting minutes.

8. Officers shall be elected by a majority (one-half plus one) of Members present at the election meeting, provided quorum (25% of Members) is met. If more than two candidates are running for any office, successive votes shall be taken until one candidate receives a majority. In successive votes, the candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be eliminated.

9. Should a member that applies for a position fail to be elected, they may only apply for, at most, one other position. Should they fail to be elected for their second-choice position, they will not be allowed to run for a third until the next round of elections.

Section 1. Meeting Frequency

There shall be at least four general meetings each semester.

Section 2. Meeting Procedures

All meetings will proceed using Roberts’ Rules of Order with the President (or Vice-President if the President cannot be present) facilitating the meeting.

The Bylaw Process shall be overseen by the President and by the Executive Council in the absence of the President. Amendments to the Bylaws shall be introduced in writing or orally at any general meeting by any Member of the Society. A vote shall be taken on the amendment in question one (1) general meeting after it is brought before the Society. The President shall inform all Society members via email of the proposed amendment one week before the general meeting at which the vote will take place. Amendments to these bylaws become effective when approved by a 2/3 majority vote of Members present at the general meeting provided a quorum (as described in Article VII, Section 4, H).

The Executive Council has the power to make technical and grammatical revisions to these Bylaws so long as the revisions will in no way alter the meaning of any part of the Bylaws.

Section 1. Transition Meetings

There shall be mandatory meetings set up between all officers transferring their leadership to the newly elected member as to better transfer power within the club. These meetings shall take place within the week of election results being posted.

Section 2. Information to be Shared

Information that is to be disseminated to the newly elected members shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Any GoogleDrive ownership of files to the new President

   • This includes files containing past meeting slides, and pertinent information for each position to be amended and treated as a breathing constitution as the club stands.

2. Any Venmo passwords / Bank Account numbers and information are to be passed to the new Treasurer. These are not to be placed in any sort of public document as to keep this sensitive information confidential.

3. How to best perform the assigned role (mentorship - suggested, but not enforceable).

4. Slack and or GroupMe ownership is to be passed to the new President. It is then their responsibility to ensure all executive and general members can access communication channels and receive notifications.

Section 3. Documentation

The information shared between the former and current chair shall be recorded into transition report statements to be made available in the ASABE GoogleDrive for all executive members to access.