Constitution of the Agricultural Education Society 2006-2007

ARTICLE - NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1:       The name of this organization shall be the Agricultural Education Society (AES).

Section 2:       The purpose organization shall be:

• To promote food, agricultural, and environmental sciences;
• To stimulate interest in the profession of agricultural education and in leadership;
• To acquaint the members of the organization with the program of agricultural education;
• To provide fellowship opportunities among those who are interested in agricultural education;
• To cooperate with other youth agencies and organizations whose objectives are similar to those of the organization;
• To develop professional competencies and improve the abilities of agricultural education majors to conduct activities and work with organizations encountered in their professions.

ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:       Active Membership:  Any student at The Ohio State University who is interested in agricultural education shall be an active member upon payment of annual membership dues.

Section 2:       Honorary Membership:  Individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the Agricultural Education Society, the program of agricultural education, and to the general improvement of agriculture may be elected to honorary membership by the Executive Committee with approval of the Advisor.

Section 3:       Each quarter of internship is considered a quarter of active membership without the member attending the required number of meetings.

ARTICLE III - OFFICERS

Section 1:       The officers of the organization shall be:  President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, CFAES Council Representative, and the Advisor.

Section 2:       The constitutional officers of the organization, except for the Advisor, shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the members present at a regular business meeting.  The Chairperson of the Department of Human and Community Resource Development shall appoint the Advisor.

Section 3:       Dues paying members of the organization who have had at least one quarter of active membership may be elected to any office.  No elected officer shall hold more than one office nor chair any committee during their term of office.  *Except when deemed necessary by the executive committee.

Section 4:       Any member of the organization holding a constitutional office shall:

·         Maintain a 2.50 cumulative point hour ration in all academic work pursued at the university;

• Be enrolled at least half-time at The Ohio State University;
• Not be on disciplinary probation as defined in the Code of Student Conduct.
• If an officer’s point hour ratio falls below a 2.50, the officer shall continue in office on probation until the following quarter’s grades are determined.  If the cumulative point hour ratio continues below a 2.50, a new officer will be elected according to the procedures in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE IV - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1:       The President shall:

1.  Begin meetings promptly.
2. Plan order of business with the Vice President and with the Executive Committee.
3. Appoint all committees with the approval of the Executive Committee.
4. Appoint committee for each of the areas of committee activity in the program.
5. Appoint one or more underclassmen to each committee.
6. Work with the faculty advisors.
7. Listen and facilitate the needs of AES members.
8. Register organization with OSU through office of student activities.
9. Make preparations for spring planning meeting.
10. Make preparations for autumn officer & committee planning meeting at FFA Center.

Section 2:       The Vice President shall:

1.  Preside over meetings in the absence of the President.
2. Preside over meetings of the Executive Committee.
3. Assume responsibility for publicity of Executive Committee meetings.
4. Publicize appointments made by the Executive Committee.
5. Be informed of activities and work with the President.
6. Facilitate functioning of committees.
7. Maintain Program of Activities.

Section 3:       The Secretary shall:

1.  Provide a summary of minutes to be presented at the regular meeting.
2. Keep a record of the business conducted at the Executive Committee meetings.
3. Maintain a file in Agricultural Education office.
4. Create and distribute all correspondence for AES
5. Prepare an agenda for all regular business meetings.
6. Serve as an ex-officio member of the membership committee.

Section 4:       The Treasurer shall:

1. Assess member $10.00 per year for dues and write receipts.
2. Provide a list of paid members to the Membership Chair at every meeting.
3. Make the Society’s contributions.
4. Have a report of financial status of AES at each meeting.
5. Have the books audited quarterly.
6. Develop a budget for the organization.
7. Serve as an ex-officio member of the Fundraising committee.

Section 5:       The Reporter shall:

1. Distribute Agricultural Education Department Newsletter to members quarterly.
2. Submit information to Good News and the Agri-Naturalist.
3. Responsible for AES bulletin board.
4. Responsible for year in review.
5. Publicize all meetings and activities.
6. Responsible for taking photos and compiling clubs history in yearly scrapbook.
7. Serve as an ex-officio member of Public Relations committee.

Section 6:       The CFAES Council Representative shall:

1. Attend every Council meeting and must find a replacement to attend Council functions in their absence.
2. Present report from each meeting to the AES meetings.
3. Attend AES Executive Committee Meetings.
4. Check CFAES Council Mailbox

Section7:        The Standing Committee Chairs shall:

1. The Program Committee Chair:

                                    a.    Plan educational programs for the membership of AES.

                                    b.   Make room reservations

c.       Obtain keys before meetings for the auditorium

d.      Provide refreshments, themes and décor for meetings

e.       Help the secretary write thank you notes

2. Membership Committee Chair:

a.       Greet attendees at the meetings

b.      Introduce new memebers

c.       Keep records of members

d.      Keep attendence of members

e.       Put flyers up in the dorms about events and meetings

f.       Write thank you notes for attendees

g.       Distribute member list to officers/advisor

h.       Name Tags

3. Public Relations Committee Chair:

a.       Maintain AES display board

b.      Create/Maintain Brochure and Web page

c.       Promote fellowship through social interactions

d.      Develop and implement community outreach programs

4. Fundraising Committee Chair:

a.       Be in charge of Silent Auction at Banquet

b.      Appoint Farm Science Review Chair

c.       Oversee Farm Science Review Booth

d.      Seek new fundraising projects

e.       Maintain fundraisers

f.       Explore avenues for special projects

g.       Oversee State FFA Convention Fundraiser

5. McCaslin Leadership Development Committee Chair:

a.   Provide Assistance at State and National FFA Convention

b.  Establish Leadership Development Opportunities

c.  Appoint CFAES Representative

d.  Develop and implement ATI Day

6. Dairy Barn Tours Committee Chair:

a.  To Host tour training events

b.  Provide name tags and T-shirts to volunteers

7. Banquet Committee Chair:

            a. Conduct a banquet for AES members

8. Scarlet and Gray Ag Day Committee Chair:

            a.  Conduct the annual Scarlet and Gray Ag Day for youth

b.      Provide a dinner for teachers at orientation

9. District Officer Training Committee Chair:

            a.  To conduct seminars and sessions at district FFA events

10. Wellness Committee Chair:

            a.  Strive to keep and infom members about healthy living

            b.  Participate in Relay for Life

Section 8:       The Advisor shall:

a. Be a member of the faculty of the Department of Human and Community Resource Development or the Cooperative Extension Service.

b. Evaluate the program and the general conduct of the organization whenever it is deemed advisable.

c. Provide advising to the club, but cannot overrule a decision of the membership unless the decision is in violation of school policy.

Section 9:       The Assistant Advisor shall:

a. Be a graduate student in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development.

                                    b. Assist the organization in cooperation with the Advisor.

ARTICLE V - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1:       The Executive Committee shall consist of the Advisor and Assistant Advisor, officers, and committee chairpersons.  All members are welcomed at Executive Committee meetings.  Voting members shall be the officers and one committee co-chairperson (one vote per committee).  It shall be the duty of this committee to prepare a tentative program of activities and attend to such other business as is necessary for the proper functioning of the organization.  The Executive Committee shall have the power to act as necessary for the organization in accordance with actions taken at AES meetings and the provisions of the By-Laws.

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS

Section 1:       The organization shall meet on a regular basis during the academic school year.

Section 2:       The Executive Committee shall meet at the discretion of the officers.

Section 3:       Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the President.

Section 4:       One-fourth of the active membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 5:       Roberts Rules of Order shall govern in all cases not provided for by the Constitution or By-Laws.

ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS

Section 1:       Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted to the organization in writing at least one regular meeting previous to final action.  Its adoption shall require the concurrence of two-thirds of the active members present at a regular business meeting.

Section 2:       All amendments to the Constitution shall become effective at the next regular business meeting after adoption unless otherwise specified in the amendment.

BY-LAWS OF THE

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION SOCIETY

SECTION 1 – MEETINGS

Section 1:       The regular business meetings of the organization shall be held on the second and fourth Tuesday night of each month of the school year except when the Executive Committee deems it necessary to change the meeting time.

ARTICLE II - ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Section 1:       The Nominating Committee, composed of one agricultural education faculty-member, one Agricultural Education Society member of senior rank, and one member at large from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences to be approved by the Executive Committee shall slate one nominee for each for the following five elected offices:  President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, and CFAES Council Representative.

Section 2:       The slate of nominations, along with a list of members applying for each office, will be compiled.

Section 3:       The election of officers will be by adoption of the nominating committee’s slate and will be the first item of business during the first meeting of Spring Quarter. 

Any deviation from the election process identified in Section 3 will be at the discretion of the advisors.

Section 4:       Only those persons in attendance who are dues paying members prior to elections meeting will be eligible to vote.

Section 5:       The newly elected officers shall appoint The Committee Chairs from the applicants, and the appointments must be confirmed by the membership at a regular business meeting.  No persons shall chair more than one committee.  Should the members not confirm the appointment or there are still vacancies, the process outlined above must be pursued until the vacancies are filled. SGAD chairs will interview and be appointed by letter from the HCRD Department Chair. DOT chairs will be seniors who have served as shadows and mentors of DOT. Banquet co-chairs will be first choice to the immediate retired President and Vice President at the Advisor’s discretion.

Section 6:       Instillation of officers shall take place at the annual banquet.  Officers shall assume responsibilities at the annual banquet.  Among other things, the instillation will include having the officers assembled before the membership where they shall make an affirmation to the following:  “Do you hereby solemnly promise to perform faithfully the duties of your office for the Agricultural Education Society?”

ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP DUES

Section 1:       The annual membership dues of the organization shall be $10.00.

Section 2:       Members in good standing withdrawing from school for one or more quarters shall be reinstated upon returning and shall be exempt from all dues while absent.

ARTICLE V - ORDER OF BUSINESS

Section 1:       a.  Call to Order

                        b. Reading an Approval of Minutes

                        c. Officers Reports

                        d. Old Business

                        e. Guest Speaker

                        f. Committee Reports

                        g. New Business

                        h. Adjournment

ARTICLE VI - AMENDMENTS

Section 1:       The By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of all members present at any regular business meeting, provided the amendments shall have been proposed in writing at a previous regular business meeting.