Constitution- By Laws
Article i
Name : This student organization will be named “Alpharetta’s Environmentally Green Organization”. It will utilize the abbreviation of “Alpharetta’s EGO”.
Article II: Purpose
The goal of the organization will be two-fold. First is to organize and participate in community-based activities (civic engagement) that will assist in alleviating environmental issues that citizens are facing in the greater Metro Atlanta area. Second is to develop educational materials that can be disseminated through local media that highlight the need for (and provide pathways for) solutions to the environmental issues occurring locally. This purpose is fully aligned with the growth in “civic engagement” and “sustainability” that have been the new directions adopted by the Georgia Perimeter College administration and faculty. To accomplish the stated purpose “Alpharetta’s EGO” will form temporary agreements with many local governing bodies, e.g. Home Owners Associations (HOA), County Extension Agents, and State, City and County governing organizations.
Article III: Membership
Some form of membership in “Alpharetta’s EGO” is open to all members of the Georgia Perimeter College “family”. Voting membership and the holding of elected office is limited to students that are full-time, or part-time greater than six credit-hours, and not on probationary status. Participating members will include faculty and staff that are interested in assisting with implementing environmental solutions.
To gain membership, interested individuals need only to fill in a membership form, providing contact information and current GPC status. There will be no “dues” charged for being a member of the club. There is no screening or rejection of individuals desiring membership, who meet the criteria of the previous paragraph. Membership does not require any formal initiation, hazing, or any practice intentionally or unintentionally that could be constructed as abusive in any manner. The organization will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status or national origin. Once a member has given up their official status as being an active member of the GPC community, they will be dropped from the membership rolls.
Article IV: Officers, Duties, and Requirements
The officers of “Alpharetta’s EGO” shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer; each being elected from the student members of the organization. The four officers and the faculty advisor will serve as members of the Executive Board. The faculty advisor will only cast a vote at Executive Board meeting in case of a tie.
The President shall conduct the regularly scheduled business meetings, preside over the Executive Board, and represent the club at official GPC functions and events. The Vice President will assume the duties of the President at times when the President cannot attend meetings, functions or events; and she(he) will assume the on-going duties of the President when the club has had a resignation of the President or when the President is no longer a student at the college. The Vice President will be in charge of getting speakers for short “programs” at the regular meetings of the club. The Secretary will record, distribute, and keep minutes of both club meetings and the executive board meetings. The Secretary will also handle publicity for meetings, events, and functions. The Treasurer will be charged with keeping up-to-date membership rolls, and will keep an accurate accounting of club funds. The Treasurer will be responsible for budgets, the writing and presentation of funding proposals for club activities before funding groups, and for making reports of all expenditures in proper accordance with the financial rules of GPC. All officers must maintain a good academic standing at GPC during the term of their office. If an officers goes on to a probationary academic status, they should be replaced in accordance with the policies listed under Article VI.
Article V: Meetings
The club shall have three regularly scheduled meetings during the Fall and Spring Semesters. In addition the club may meet for organized activities and events that have been planned during the regularly schedule meetings. The meetings will be called by the President, usually in the third week, the seventh week, and the eleventh week of the semester, with two organized activities occurring after the first meeting and after the second meeting. The schedule meetings of the 3rd, 7th, and 11th weeks will begin with a business meeting presided over by the President using Roberts Rules of order to conduct any business. At these business meetings each officer should give a report of recent activities. These three meetings will normally include a brief program/presentation of interest to the environmentally concerned pubic and membership, following the conclusion of the business meeting.
Article VI: Elections and Officer Replacement
The officers shall be elected at the first meeting of the Fall Semester, and shall serve for one academic year. Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the student membership in attendance at the meeting, which must be publicized for at least one week in advance by prominent flyers around the GPC Alpharetta Center. Elections shall be conducted by the Past President, if available, or by the Faculty Advisor, following Robert’s Rules of Order. If any officers misses four consecutive meetings and/or planned and scheduled activities in a row they will forfeit their office, and a volunteer will be accepted by the President to fulfill the duties of that officer for the remainder of the term (unless the vacancy is for the President, in which case the Vice President becomes the President and a volunteer can be approved to fulfill the duties of the Vice President for the remainder of that academic year). The replacement of any officer who resigns during their term will also be by acceptance of a volunteer by the President.
Article VII: Judicial Action
There shall be no punitive or disciplinary action taken by the club toward its membership. While on campus every member is expected to follow the rules and regulations of Georgia Perimeter College, and while performing civic activities every club member is expected to obey the laws of the City, County, and State of Georgia. Any grievous infraction of these rules, regulations, and laws will be reported to the corresponding officials and these entities can proceed with appropriate disciplinary procedures as they see fit.
Article VIII: Finances
The financial income for this organization will primarily be through SGA allocations. Many of the community activities and civic engagement projects will receive funding (and directly allotted resources) from local and State governments and the Office of Civic Engagement at GPC. No dues will be charged members of the club.
Article IX: Advisor
The advisor to the club must be a full-time faculty member or a full-time staff member who has an official address on the Alpharetta campus. The advisor will assist at Executive Board meetings, where he/she can vote only when needed to break a tie. If the advisor is not participating or active in any of the club meetings during a whole semester, the President can consult with the Director of Student Life, regarding the replacement of the advisor. The Director of Student Life reserves the right to remove and/or appoint a new organization advisor, after having consulted the President of the Club. The advisor position is a voluntary position, and when in need of a new advisor, the current officers should seek a suitable replacement in consultation with the Academic Dean, the Dean of Students, and the Department Chairs at the Alpharetta Center.
Article X: Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution or the By-Laws will require a simple majority vote of the student members attending two regularly scheduled meetings of the Club. The proposed amendment must first be approved at one regular business meeting, and then final approval is done at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order will be followed in the making of a formal motion to amend the constitution or By-laws, discussing the motion, and the voting on that motion.
By-Laws
Duties of Officers
President: The President will preside over the general meeting. Each general meeting, a least three a semester, will follow a similar format as listed below.
1. Call to Order by President
2. Sign-up of new members from qualifying individuals attending the meeting
3. Report of Secretary and Approval of Minutes (available as a handout at the meeting)
4. Report of Treasurer (regarding current balance, and all financial transaction since last meeting)
5. Report of President (or designee) on civic engagement activities occurring since last meeting
6. Call for General Announcement from the floor for items of interest to general membership
7. Old Business
8. New Business
9. Announcement of Details for next planned civic engagement activity – plus handout & sign-up list
10. Vice President to Introduce “Speaker” for a short (30-40 minute) Program of Interest
11. After program has concluded – Call for adjournment & Allow time to chat over refreshments
The President shall preside at Executive Board Meetings
The President shall work with the Treasure in preparation and presentation of funding requests, both within GPC and the community.
The President shall represent the organization at any function where club participation is expected within the GPC community. If the President cannot participate at such a scheduled function, then he must appoint an appropriate member of the Executive Board to fulfill this role as a representative of Alpharetta’s EGO.
The President will work with other officers and interested members of the organization to arrange at least two civic engagement activities a semester. Each of these activities will have a designated leader, who will act as an interface with any coordinating agency, government body, GPC administrative office, or civic group that is involved in the activity. The designated leader for the activity will produce a short flyer describing the activity, make an announcement at a regularly scheduled meeting and be responsible for sign-up sheets getting names, phones, and emails of all individuals that are interesting in participating in the activity. The designated leader will be on hand to participate, and assist with logistical support for the activity.
Vice President: The Vice President will preside over the general meeting, when the President is unavailable to do so. He/She will take over all duties of the President when the President has resigned, graduated, or becomes ineligible for holding a position in a GPC student organization.
The Vice President will be in charge of getting a speaker to present a short program at each of the regularly scheduled general meetings of the organization. The speakers will present some aspect of interest in the area of environmental problems and solutions that are faced by our society. The Vice President will make the necessary arrangements for the speakers to have all materials needed for his/her presentation, and they will introduce the speaker after the business portion of the regular meeting. The Vice President should try to get the program information to the Secretary in time (10 days prior) for campus wide publicity to be generated and distributed.
Secretary: The Secretary will be responsible for taking minutes, writing up and distributing minutes as handouts, at both the regularly scheduled meeting and the Executive Board meetings. He/She will also be in charge of distribution of publicity (was program information if available) throughout the campus and its communication network for all regularly scheduled meetings. The publicity must be distributed one week in advance of the scheduled meeting.
Treasurer: The Treasurer will be the chief financial officer for the organization and will keep accurate records of income, expenditures and balances. He/she, in conjunction with the President, shall be responsible for writing and presenting financial proposal to the Student Government Association and other entities who may fund activities of the organization. He/she will be responsible for filing of all financial reports and fulfilling all administrative obligations related to distribution of funds granted to the organization. The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of membership in the organization that consist as a minimum of name, GPC affiliation and contact information (email, phone, and postal address). The Treasurer will have membership forms available at each regularly scheduled meeting of the organization, and encourage eligible members of the GPC community to join the organization so they can fully participate in our activities.
Committees
Any officer may subdivide some of his/her responsibilities by organizing a Committee with an appointed Committee Chair, who will report to that officer. Examples of such are a Publicity Committee that would report to the Secretary and/or a Membership Committee that would report to the Treasurer. The development of committee should only occur when the organization’s growth results in a burden to the officer to fulfill all the duties assigned to him/her in the above By-Laws.
Committee Chairs will not be members of the Executive Board, but they are encouraged to attend Executive Board meetings as non-voting participants that can provide additional information for discussion purposes.
Executive Board
The Executive Board will make decisions following the procedures of Robert’s Rules of Order. Board meetings can be called by either the President or the Faculty Advisor and advanced notice of at least one week must be given to all officers and the advisor. Decisions will be made by a simple majority of the members in attendance at the duly called meeting. All Board decisions must be approved by a simple majority vote of the general membership in accordance with the By-Laws at duly publicized regular meetings of the organization.
Name : This student organization will be named “Alpharetta’s Environmentally Green Organization”. It will utilize the abbreviation of “Alpharetta’s EGO”.
Article II: Purpose
The goal of the organization will be two-fold. First is to organize and participate in community-based activities (civic engagement) that will assist in alleviating environmental issues that citizens are facing in the greater Metro Atlanta area. Second is to develop educational materials that can be disseminated through local media that highlight the need for (and provide pathways for) solutions to the environmental issues occurring locally. This purpose is fully aligned with the growth in “civic engagement” and “sustainability” that have been the new directions adopted by the Georgia Perimeter College administration and faculty. To accomplish the stated purpose “Alpharetta’s EGO” will form temporary agreements with many local governing bodies, e.g. Home Owners Associations (HOA), County Extension Agents, and State, City and County governing organizations.
Article III: Membership
Some form of membership in “Alpharetta’s EGO” is open to all members of the Georgia Perimeter College “family”. Voting membership and the holding of elected office is limited to students that are full-time, or part-time greater than six credit-hours, and not on probationary status. Participating members will include faculty and staff that are interested in assisting with implementing environmental solutions.
To gain membership, interested individuals need only to fill in a membership form, providing contact information and current GPC status. There will be no “dues” charged for being a member of the club. There is no screening or rejection of individuals desiring membership, who meet the criteria of the previous paragraph. Membership does not require any formal initiation, hazing, or any practice intentionally or unintentionally that could be constructed as abusive in any manner. The organization will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status or national origin. Once a member has given up their official status as being an active member of the GPC community, they will be dropped from the membership rolls.
Article IV: Officers, Duties, and Requirements
The officers of “Alpharetta’s EGO” shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer; each being elected from the student members of the organization. The four officers and the faculty advisor will serve as members of the Executive Board. The faculty advisor will only cast a vote at Executive Board meeting in case of a tie.
The President shall conduct the regularly scheduled business meetings, preside over the Executive Board, and represent the club at official GPC functions and events. The Vice President will assume the duties of the President at times when the President cannot attend meetings, functions or events; and she(he) will assume the on-going duties of the President when the club has had a resignation of the President or when the President is no longer a student at the college. The Vice President will be in charge of getting speakers for short “programs” at the regular meetings of the club. The Secretary will record, distribute, and keep minutes of both club meetings and the executive board meetings. The Secretary will also handle publicity for meetings, events, and functions. The Treasurer will be charged with keeping up-to-date membership rolls, and will keep an accurate accounting of club funds. The Treasurer will be responsible for budgets, the writing and presentation of funding proposals for club activities before funding groups, and for making reports of all expenditures in proper accordance with the financial rules of GPC. All officers must maintain a good academic standing at GPC during the term of their office. If an officers goes on to a probationary academic status, they should be replaced in accordance with the policies listed under Article VI.
Article V: Meetings
The club shall have three regularly scheduled meetings during the Fall and Spring Semesters. In addition the club may meet for organized activities and events that have been planned during the regularly schedule meetings. The meetings will be called by the President, usually in the third week, the seventh week, and the eleventh week of the semester, with two organized activities occurring after the first meeting and after the second meeting. The schedule meetings of the 3rd, 7th, and 11th weeks will begin with a business meeting presided over by the President using Roberts Rules of order to conduct any business. At these business meetings each officer should give a report of recent activities. These three meetings will normally include a brief program/presentation of interest to the environmentally concerned pubic and membership, following the conclusion of the business meeting.
Article VI: Elections and Officer Replacement
The officers shall be elected at the first meeting of the Fall Semester, and shall serve for one academic year. Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the student membership in attendance at the meeting, which must be publicized for at least one week in advance by prominent flyers around the GPC Alpharetta Center. Elections shall be conducted by the Past President, if available, or by the Faculty Advisor, following Robert’s Rules of Order. If any officers misses four consecutive meetings and/or planned and scheduled activities in a row they will forfeit their office, and a volunteer will be accepted by the President to fulfill the duties of that officer for the remainder of the term (unless the vacancy is for the President, in which case the Vice President becomes the President and a volunteer can be approved to fulfill the duties of the Vice President for the remainder of that academic year). The replacement of any officer who resigns during their term will also be by acceptance of a volunteer by the President.
Article VII: Judicial Action
There shall be no punitive or disciplinary action taken by the club toward its membership. While on campus every member is expected to follow the rules and regulations of Georgia Perimeter College, and while performing civic activities every club member is expected to obey the laws of the City, County, and State of Georgia. Any grievous infraction of these rules, regulations, and laws will be reported to the corresponding officials and these entities can proceed with appropriate disciplinary procedures as they see fit.
Article VIII: Finances
The financial income for this organization will primarily be through SGA allocations. Many of the community activities and civic engagement projects will receive funding (and directly allotted resources) from local and State governments and the Office of Civic Engagement at GPC. No dues will be charged members of the club.
Article IX: Advisor
The advisor to the club must be a full-time faculty member or a full-time staff member who has an official address on the Alpharetta campus. The advisor will assist at Executive Board meetings, where he/she can vote only when needed to break a tie. If the advisor is not participating or active in any of the club meetings during a whole semester, the President can consult with the Director of Student Life, regarding the replacement of the advisor. The Director of Student Life reserves the right to remove and/or appoint a new organization advisor, after having consulted the President of the Club. The advisor position is a voluntary position, and when in need of a new advisor, the current officers should seek a suitable replacement in consultation with the Academic Dean, the Dean of Students, and the Department Chairs at the Alpharetta Center.
Article X: Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution or the By-Laws will require a simple majority vote of the student members attending two regularly scheduled meetings of the Club. The proposed amendment must first be approved at one regular business meeting, and then final approval is done at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order will be followed in the making of a formal motion to amend the constitution or By-laws, discussing the motion, and the voting on that motion.
By-Laws
Duties of Officers
President: The President will preside over the general meeting. Each general meeting, a least three a semester, will follow a similar format as listed below.
1. Call to Order by President
2. Sign-up of new members from qualifying individuals attending the meeting
3. Report of Secretary and Approval of Minutes (available as a handout at the meeting)
4. Report of Treasurer (regarding current balance, and all financial transaction since last meeting)
5. Report of President (or designee) on civic engagement activities occurring since last meeting
6. Call for General Announcement from the floor for items of interest to general membership
7. Old Business
8. New Business
9. Announcement of Details for next planned civic engagement activity – plus handout & sign-up list
10. Vice President to Introduce “Speaker” for a short (30-40 minute) Program of Interest
11. After program has concluded – Call for adjournment & Allow time to chat over refreshments
The President shall preside at Executive Board Meetings
The President shall work with the Treasure in preparation and presentation of funding requests, both within GPC and the community.
The President shall represent the organization at any function where club participation is expected within the GPC community. If the President cannot participate at such a scheduled function, then he must appoint an appropriate member of the Executive Board to fulfill this role as a representative of Alpharetta’s EGO.
The President will work with other officers and interested members of the organization to arrange at least two civic engagement activities a semester. Each of these activities will have a designated leader, who will act as an interface with any coordinating agency, government body, GPC administrative office, or civic group that is involved in the activity. The designated leader for the activity will produce a short flyer describing the activity, make an announcement at a regularly scheduled meeting and be responsible for sign-up sheets getting names, phones, and emails of all individuals that are interesting in participating in the activity. The designated leader will be on hand to participate, and assist with logistical support for the activity.
Vice President: The Vice President will preside over the general meeting, when the President is unavailable to do so. He/She will take over all duties of the President when the President has resigned, graduated, or becomes ineligible for holding a position in a GPC student organization.
The Vice President will be in charge of getting a speaker to present a short program at each of the regularly scheduled general meetings of the organization. The speakers will present some aspect of interest in the area of environmental problems and solutions that are faced by our society. The Vice President will make the necessary arrangements for the speakers to have all materials needed for his/her presentation, and they will introduce the speaker after the business portion of the regular meeting. The Vice President should try to get the program information to the Secretary in time (10 days prior) for campus wide publicity to be generated and distributed.
Secretary: The Secretary will be responsible for taking minutes, writing up and distributing minutes as handouts, at both the regularly scheduled meeting and the Executive Board meetings. He/She will also be in charge of distribution of publicity (was program information if available) throughout the campus and its communication network for all regularly scheduled meetings. The publicity must be distributed one week in advance of the scheduled meeting.
Treasurer: The Treasurer will be the chief financial officer for the organization and will keep accurate records of income, expenditures and balances. He/she, in conjunction with the President, shall be responsible for writing and presenting financial proposal to the Student Government Association and other entities who may fund activities of the organization. He/she will be responsible for filing of all financial reports and fulfilling all administrative obligations related to distribution of funds granted to the organization. The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of membership in the organization that consist as a minimum of name, GPC affiliation and contact information (email, phone, and postal address). The Treasurer will have membership forms available at each regularly scheduled meeting of the organization, and encourage eligible members of the GPC community to join the organization so they can fully participate in our activities.
Committees
Any officer may subdivide some of his/her responsibilities by organizing a Committee with an appointed Committee Chair, who will report to that officer. Examples of such are a Publicity Committee that would report to the Secretary and/or a Membership Committee that would report to the Treasurer. The development of committee should only occur when the organization’s growth results in a burden to the officer to fulfill all the duties assigned to him/her in the above By-Laws.
Committee Chairs will not be members of the Executive Board, but they are encouraged to attend Executive Board meetings as non-voting participants that can provide additional information for discussion purposes.
Executive Board
The Executive Board will make decisions following the procedures of Robert’s Rules of Order. Board meetings can be called by either the President or the Faculty Advisor and advanced notice of at least one week must be given to all officers and the advisor. Decisions will be made by a simple majority of the members in attendance at the duly called meeting. All Board decisions must be approved by a simple majority vote of the general membership in accordance with the By-Laws at duly publicized regular meetings of the organization.