At the Fisheries Administration Section Spring 2006 meeting, members in attendance approved presenting two bylaw changes to the entire membership for approval. An additional change has been generated by the section’s Executive Committee. These proposed changes have been reviewed by the AFS Constitutional Consultant and have been judged to adhere to parent society standards.
According to our current bylaws http://www.sdafs.org/fas/bylaws.htm, bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 majority of section members choosing to vote. The proposed changes are required to be submitted to the membership at least 30 days prior to a vote. This email is your notification of the opportunity for review. Later in July, I will send an email requesting your vote on the proposals. Voting will be open from July 20th through July 28th. If approved, the proposed changes need to be submitted to the Parent Society in early August for inclusion on the Governing Board agenda for their annual meeting at Lake Placid in September.
The proposed changes are as follows:
Section I – Name
Current:
1. The name of this organization shall be the Fisheries Administration Section of the American Fisheries Society, hereinafter referred to as the Section and Society respectively.
Proposed change:
1. The name of this organization shall be the FISHERIES ADMINISTRATION SECTION of the American Fisheries Society, hereinafter referred to as the Section and Society respectively.
Our goal for the name change, although subtle, is to insure that all AFS members who work in administrative positions or have interest in the administration of fisheries-related programs know they are welcome to join the Section. The scope of FAS is broader than just a “Fish Chief’s Club.”
Section VII – Executive Committee
New proposed language:
7. The Executive Committee can approve individual funding requests up to $500 without a vote of the membership up to a maximum of $2,000 each fiscal year.
Section IX - Registration Fees and Other Assessments
Current:
2. The annual Section membership fee shall be $5.
Proposed change:
2. The Executive Committee shall establish annual dues subject to approval of the members voting at the annual meeting.
The changes in Section VII and IX are proposed to give our section some flexibility to set the annual fee and to respond to requests for monetary support of symposium, workshops, etc. This language is the same as the AFS-Fisheries Management Section has in their bylaws.
The changes will also be posted soon on our Section’s website.
If you have any questions on these proposed changes, please contact Gary Saul, Section President
(gary.saul@tpwd.state.tx.us) or 512-389-8082.