APCG BYLAWS

BYLAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS

1. DUES AND MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

a. Dues shall be for the calendar year. REGULAR members shall pay annual dues of $20.00, STUDENT and RETIRED members $10.00, CONTRIBUTING members at least $25.00, and JOINT members (two people residing at same address) $23.00. Joint members receive only one copy of APCG publications. All membership categories, including both joint members, are entitled to full voting rights.

b. Annual renewal notices shall be mailed to members early in December for the coming year, payment due by February 15. Two successive overdue notices shall be mailed to unpaid members, in early March and mid-May. Should dues remain unpaid one month after the second overdue notice is mailed, the member shall be dropped from the rolls of the Association. Reinstatement may be made by payment of current dues.

2. NOMINATION, ELECTION, AND TENURE OF OFFICERS

a. Officers may be nominated by a Nominations Committee, by a petition signed by fifteen (15) members and delivered to the Secretary-Treasurer for verification of membership status, or by write-in on the official ballot.

b. Officers and the Regional Councillor shall be elected by mail ballot sent to all paid members at least forty-five (45) days before the chosen deadline for voting, which shall be a postmark date not earlier than May 15 nor later than June 15. In the event of a tie vote for an elected office, the three voting members of the Executive Council shall vote to break the tie.

c. The President and Vice-President shall be elected for one (1) year. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for two (2) years. The Regional Councillor shall be elected for three (3) years. The Vice-President shall stand for election for President in the following year. Only the Secretary-Treasurer may be re- elected. Officers' terms begin immediately following the Annual Meeting. The Regional Councillor's term begins July 1.

3. COMMITTEES

a. Standing committees shall include an Awards Committee, Budget Committee, Membership Committee, and Nominations Committee, each except the Budget Committee composed of two or more members and a chair appointed by the Executive Council. The Budget Committee shall be composed of two members appointed by the Executive Council. The Awards Committee shall also include two advisory members, who must be Past-Presidents of the APCG and appointed by the Executive Council, to recommend Distinguished Service Awards. Committee membership is one (1) year, but members may be reappointed at the discretion of the Executive Council. Committee chairs and a Budget Committee member shall report to the Association about the activities of their respective committees at the Annual Business Meeting.

b. Membership of the Nominations Committee shall be established soon enough after the annual meeting to be listed in the Fall issue of Pacifica so that suggestions of members willing to serve as officers may be made to them. The Nominations Committee shall arrange for short biographies of the candidates to appear in the Spring issue of Pacifica.

c. The Awards Committee shall announce available grants and awards in the Spring issue of Pacifica. The committee and the Executive Council shall determine the rules and procedures to govern these grants, awards, and other honors. The recipients will be informed by letter of the award, with information to the officers of the APCG, the Editor of Pacifica, and the Chair of the Department and President of the recipient's school.

d. The Membership Committee's principal function shall be to encourage persons to join who are interested in the objectives of the APCG. The committee shall at least once a year circulate announcements to potential members as part of a campaign to encourage membership.

e. The Budget Committee shall arrange before the Annual Business Meeting to meet with the Secretary-Treasurer in order to examine the financial affairs of the Association, to audit the accounts, and to make recommendations on procedures and other matters.

f. Special committees shall include Women's Network, Applied Geographers, and various ad hoc committees that shall be appointed at the discretion of the Executive Council.

g. Program and Local Arrangements Committees for the annual meeting shall be assigned by the host institution. The Local Arrangements chair for the annual meeting shall provide the Executive Council with a reasonably detailed financial report within six months of the conclusion of the meeting.

4. PUBLICATIONS

a. A Yearbook and two issues of Pacifica shall be published annually and distributed to all members paid for the year corresponding to the year printed on the publication's cover.

b. The editor of the Yearbook, the annual APCG journal of peer- reviewed papers, book reviews, abstracts, and other Association notices, shall be appointed by the Executive Council for a period of five (5) years. The editor shall appoint, with the approval of the Executive Council, five (5) APCG members representing the breadth of geography to an Editorial Board. Editorial Board members serve at the discretion of the editor and can be replaced as necessary during an editor's tenure.

c. The editor of Pacifica, the biannual APCG newsletter, shall be appointed by the Executive Council for a three (3) year term. The editor shall publish newsletters in fall and spring. The spring newsletter shall contain the tentative program, reservation forms, announcements and other materials pertinent to the annual meeting submitted by the host institution. The spring newsletter shall also contain the slate of nominations for elected office and instructions on ballot procedures submitted by the chair of the Nominations Committee and the Secretary- Treasurer respectively. Either the spring newsletter or a condensation of it giving information about the annual meeting shall be sent to all members of the Association of American Geographers in the Pacific Division.

5. ARCHIVIST

The Executive Council shall appoint an archivist for the Association to serve a term of three years with the possibility of reappointment. The Archivist shall assemble, organize, and conserve documents and other records pertaining to the APCG. The APCG archives are held in the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University.

6. CHANGES IN THE BYLAWS

Changes to the Bylaws may be proposed by any five (5) members of the APCG or by the Executive Council. Proposed changes shall be submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer for circulation to the membership at least sixty (60) days before voting on them. As determined by the Executive Council, voting may be either by mailed ballot or at the Annual Business Meeting. In the event of a tie vote the three voting members of the Executive Council shall vote to break the tie.

Approved by vote of the membership at the Annual Business Meeting, October 17, 1998.
Modified (dues only) by vote of the membership at the Annual Business Meeting, September 16, 2000.

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