As amended and approved by Cincinnati Section Executive Committee, September 20, 2001, by adoption of these Bylaws, nothing in these bylaws is intended to be contrary to the 1) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Incorporated (IEEE) Constitution, 2) IEEE Bylaws, 3) IEEE Policy Manual, and 4) Regional Activities Board (RAB) Operations Manual. In all instances these documents will prevail when there is conflict between these documents and the Cincinnati Section Bylaws.
ARTICLE I – Name and Territory
Section 1
This organization shall be known as the Cincinnati Section of the IEEE.
Section 2
The territory of the Cincinnati Section, as approved by the RAB, includes the following counties
- in Ohio: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Gallia, Hamilton, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Warren.
- in Kentucky: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant Harrison, Kenton, Mason, Owen, Pendleton, and Robertson.
- in Indiana: Dearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley, Switzerland, Union, and Wayne.
Section 1
Section members are defined as members of all grades of the IEEE in good standing whose IEEE mailing address is within the Section territory, or others who would logically belong in this section.
Section 2
Members of IEEE, who reside in a contiguous territory, may submit a request to the Regional Activities Department indicating their desire to be affiliated with the Cincinnati Section.
Section 3
All Section members receive the benefits of IEEE membership. IEEE Affiliates are not members of the IEEE, and are not consequently, eligible to receive the benefits of membership.
ARTICLE III – Officers
Section 1
The elected officers of the Section shall be a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2
The terms of office of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer, shall be elected for a term of two years. No officer may serve more than two consecutive years in the same office. An officer who has been out of office for one term may be re-elected to that same office only after the lapse of at least one year.
Section 3
Terms of office will begin on January 1st, but in any case the outgoing officers will continue until their successors are duly elected and take office.
Section 4
Should a vacancy occur in the Office of the Chair of the Section, the Vice Chair shall take his/her place, and a new Vice Chair shall be appointed by the Section Executive Committee. A vacancy in any other office occurring during the year shall be filled through appointment by the Chairperson, with approval by a majority vote of the Section Executive Committee.
Section 5
The duties of the elected officers shall be as described in the job descriptions available from the Regional Activities Department (RAD), and any other duties as determined by the Cincinnati Section Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IV – Standing Committees
Section 1
The Standing Committees of the Section will be Membership, Professional Activities (PACE), Arrangements, and Newsletter/Communications.
Section 2
The Section Chair will appoint the Chairpersons of the Standing Committees, with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, and their terms will expire on December 31st.
Section 3
Each Committee Chair will appoint his/her committee members with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, and their terms will expire on December 31st.
Section 4
Duties of the Standing Committees will be generally as described in the IEEE Section Operations Guide and as determined by the Section Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V – Management
Section 1
The management of the section shall be by the Section Executive Committee which shall consist of the elected officers, the Past Chair, two elected Members-at-Large, the PACE Chair, Chairs of any Society Chapters or Affinity Groups, and no more than four other persons appointed by the Chairman and approved by a majority of the Section Executive Committee.
Section 2
The two Members-at-Large elected by vote of the Section membership shall serve two year terms, with one being elected every other year.
Section 3
The presence of fifty one percent or more of the members of the Section Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
Section 4
A quorum shall be present to conduct Section Executive Committee business.
Section 5
Meetings of the Section Executive Committee will be held quarterly on dates selected by the Chairman. Additional meetings can be called by the Chairman or by any three members of the Committee.
Section 6
The fiscal year of the Section will be based upon a calendar year.
ARTICLE VI – Nomination and Election of Officers
Section 1
A Nominating Committee, consisting of three (3) members of the Section, not currently officers of the Section, shall be appointed by the Section Chair with the approval of the Section Executive Committee. The Past Section Chair will serve, if available, as the Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Section 2
The nominations by the Nominating Committee will be announced to the Section membership, and following this, a minimum of twenty-eight (28) days allowed for additional nominations by petition. To be valid, the petition must be signed by one percent (1%) or more of the voting membership.
Section 3
Candidates for office must be of Member grade or higher. Associate and Student members are not eligible to hold office in the Section.
Section 4
Election will be by ballot sent by mail or electronic format to the membership (may be a part of the monthly newsletter) with the votes counted by a Tellers Committee appointed by the Section Chair, with approval of the Section Executive Committee.
Section 5
Section Members must be an Associate or higher grade of membership to vote in the Section election. Student members are not eligible to vote in the Section elections.
Section 6
The timetable for the election procedure is as follows:
31 August – Appointment of Nominating Committee.
30 September – Announcement of Nominations.
30 September – Call for petition candidates.
31 October – Deadline for petitions to be submitted.
31 October – Tellers Committee appointed.
15 November – Ballots mailed
15 December – Deadline for ballots to be returned.
20 December – Deadline for election results to be announced.
Section 7
A plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient for election.
Section 8
In the event that a nomination for office is uncontested, the election of that position will be declared by acclamation by a vote of the Section Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VII – Finances
Section 1
All expenditures of Section funds must be approved by the Section Executive Committee. Expenditures that are part of an approved budget are considered approved the same date the budget is approved.
Section 2
Without prior authorization of the IEEE Executive Committee, Section funds can be used only for normal operations of the Section, as per the IEEE Finance Operations Manual (FOM 2, Section E).
Section 3
The Treasurer shall be authorized to draw funds as approved by the Section Executive Committee. One other Section officer shall have his/her name on the bank account and be authorized to draw funds in the event the Treasurer is temporarily unable to fulfill his/her duties. The IEEE Staff Director, Financial Services, shall also be an authorized signer on all unit bank accounts.
Section 4
The Chairman shall appoint an independent auditor to audit the records of the Treasurer annually. The audit should be conducted within the first quarter of the next year or if a new Treasurer is appointed.
ARTICLE VIII – Amendments
Section 1
Proposals for amendments to these bylaws may originate in the Section Executive Committee, or by a petition signed by twenty (20) or more voting members.
Section 2
Amendments to these bylaws will be reviewed in the Regional Activities Department for IEEE compliance, then for review and approval of the Region 2 Director. The Director will have the bylaws placed on the consent agenda of the next Regional Activities Board.