B.J. Medical College Ahmedabad Alumni Association In America Constitution and By-Laws

PREAMBLE:

Whereas the need for cohesive action on the part of the physi­cians of Gujarat (India) origin residing in the United States of America and Canada exists, it is hereby resolved that a non-prof­it organization be formed to maintain the identity of the said group of physicians to provide forum for scientific, educational, cultural, and social interaction among its members.

ARTICLE I – NAME

  1. The name of the association shall be the B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad Alumni Association in America.
  2. It shall maintain its office in the state designated by the executive committee.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES

Section 1

  1. To bring together the physicians practicing in the United States and Canada under one umbrella organization.
  2. The Association is organized for educational, scientific, cultural and charitable purposes.
  3. To assist medical students and physicians in obtaining professional training.
  4. To conduct seminars and other educational programs to acquaint members of scientific developments in the field of medicine.
  5. To render medical assistance to indigent people in the United States and in India and elsewhere.
  6. To make contributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law.
  7. To provide mutual understanding and cooperation between this Association and other medical societies and associ­ations in the United States, Canada, and India.
  8. To maintain a directory of members.
  9. To cooperate with the concerned medical organizations elsewhere in the US A. and India with similar objectives and goals.

Section 2

No part of the net earnings or assets of the Association shall be used to the benefit of or be distributable to its members, officers, or other private persons except that the Association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the proposed set forth in Section 1 hereof. The Association shall not carry out any activities not permitted to be carried on: (a) by a corporation exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law.

Section 3

Upon dissolution of the Association, the Governing Board shall, after paying or making the provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of the Association, dispose of all the assets of the Association exclusively for the purpose of charitable, cultural or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt orga­nization or organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law as the Executive Committee shall detennine. Any of such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by the court of appropriate jurisdiction of the country in which principal office of die Association is then located, exclusively for such purposes.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1

Active member: Defined as physician or teacher who is a gradu­ated of BJ.M.C. (Ahmedabad, India) origin who is practicing medicine in at least one state of the United States or one province of Canada, or retired from such practice, and has paid their membership dues.

SECTION 2 – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Honary Member: The Executive Committee may, from time to time, award Honorary Membership to physicians recognition of their outstanding achievements in the health care field or ser­vices to the community.

SECTION 3

Courtesy Member: Defined as any physician or his/her spouse who cannot be included in any of the above categories but is interested in the activities of this organization

SECTION 4

Voting rights: Only Active members will have voting rights. Only Active members can hold office.

SECTION 5

Approval of Membership: The application for membership shall be reviewed of eligibility and good moral and ethical stan­dards by the Executive Committee and approved by a simple majority.

SECTION 6

Revocation of Membership: Membership may be revoked for violations of articles of the Constitution and/or Bylaws by the two-thirds majority of the Executive Committee after due noti­fications. Such notifications shall be made in writing thirty days in advance. Any member or officer may appeal such revo­cation and may be reinstated by the two-thirds majority of the membership entitled to vote in a meeting constituted for that purpose.

ARTICLE IV – THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SECTION 1

The Executive Committee of the Association consists of the immediate Past President, the President, the Secretary/Treasurer and three members-at-large.

SECTION 2

Eligibility: Only voting members of the Association as described in Article III in good standing in the Association shall be eligible for nomination to any office.

ARTICLE V – DUTIES OF OFFICERS

SECTION 1 – PRESIDENT

The President shall be the Executive Officer of the Association and shall perform all duties incidental to the office of the President and such other duties as may be designated by the Executive Committee. He shall preside at all the meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee. He shall make such appointments as are required or authorized by the constitution and/or by the Executive Committee. He may sign with the Secretary or any other proper officer of the Association approved by the Executive Committee any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts or other instruments which the Executive Committee has authorized to be executed except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly Association. He shall designate delegates or representatives to other groups; he shall appoint such special and Ad Hoc Committees as may be necessary to further the Association’s objectives; and he may dissolve any such committee when its purpose has been served, in consultations with the majority of the Executive Committee Members. The decision shall be con­veyed to all the Executive Committee Meeting.

SECTION – 2 – VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice President shall perform the functions of the President in his/her absence and other duties assigned by The Executive Committee. He/She shall succeed the President in case of death, disability or resignation of the President before the end of term.

SECTION – 3 – SECRETARY/TREASURER

The Secretary/Treasurers shall:

  1. Keep account of and the minutes of all meetings.
  2. Maintain an updated list of all members of the Association.
  3. Issue an agenda of all regular and special meetings.
  4. Keep a copy of all official correspondence of and to the Association, including newsletters, program brochures of or for the activities of the Association and reports submitted by the committee’s chairperson.
  5. Keep an attendance record of all meetings of the organiza­tion.
  6. Be custodian of the Constitution, By-Laws and Amendments of the Association.
  7. Notify Committee members of their appointments and duties they are to perform.
  8. See that all books, reports, statement, certificates, and other documents and records required by law to be kept and filed are property kept and filed.
  9. Be a member of the Executive Committee in the same capacity.
  10. Be responsible for transferring all of the organization with­in thirty days after the annual meeting to the incoming Secretary/Ireasurer.
  11. Be responsible for transferring all the records of the orga­nization within thirty days after the annual meeting to the incoming Secretary/Ireasurer.
  12. Shall have custody of all receipts and disbursements which shall be open at all reasonable times for inspection by the Executive Committee.
  13. Shall submit a financial report to the Executive Committee at its annual meeting and at regularly held Executive meetings. If the Executive Committee requires, he/she shall give a bond with surety and in such amount as the Executive Committee may designate.
  14. Shall perform such other duties and exercise such other powers incident to the office of the Treasurer and as may be assigned by the Executive Committee as required by law.

SECTION 4 – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Association and implementation of the decisions of the General Body. Executive Committee shall fill any vacancy in the office of Secretary/Teasurer by appointment in accordance with the provisions of the constitutions. It shall have the authority to create staff positions and assign appropriate titles thereto. It shall create all standing committees and direct their activities.

SECTION 5- GENERAL BODY

The General Body shall consist of all the Active Members of the Association and shall be the ultimate authority of the orga­nization.

ARTICLE VI-MEETINGS

SECTION 1 – GENERAL BODY MEETING

  1. All annual General Body meetings shall be held along with the National Convention of the Association. If no such con­ference is held within a year; the President shall have the power to call a General Body meeting.
  2. If fifty members of more request a General Body meeting with sixty day advance notice and signed petition, the President shall convene such a meeting.
  3. All members shall be notified of all General Body meetings by mail at least thirty days before each General Body meetings.
  4. The National Convention and the General Body meeting shall be attended by and open to all members.
  5. The quorum for the General Body meeting is set a one- third of the membership of 50 which ever is lower. In the event there is no quorum for a General Body meeting or meeting of the Executive Committee, the number of attendees of the meet­ing which was adjourned for lack of quorum shall be die quo­rum for the subsequent meeting that was called for that pur­posed.

SECTION 2

The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a year. Fifty percent shall constitute a quorum.

SECTION 3 – PARTICIPATION IN MEETING BY TELEPHONE

Members of the Executive Committee or any committee desig­nated by such Executive Committee may participate in a meeting of committee by mean of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons partici­pating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation in a meeting pursuant to this subsection shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

ARTICLE VII – AMENDMENTS

SECTION 1

Amendment to this Constitution may be affected by two-thirds of the active members present at a regular meeting provided that such amendment had been mailed to all members at least thirty day prior to this meeting.

SECTION 2

Any proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Executive Committee in writing by one-third of the Executive Committee members.

SECTION 3

The Constitution can be amended by the general body only.

SECTION 4

By-laws can be amended by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VIII – COMMITTEES

SECTION 1

All committees shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.

SECTION 2

The special and Ad Hoc Committees shall be created by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE IX – TRUSTEESHIP

A. Trust to accomplish the objectives of the Association shall be established.

ARTICLE X -BY-LAWS

SECTION – DUES

Active and Associate members shall pay annual dues which shall be determined and reviewed as needed by the Executive Committee. Courtesy members are not required to pay dues. The fiscal year shall be the calendar year.

Annual dues shall be due and payable on or before December 1 of the preceding year. If the dues are paid after January 15th of the fiscal year; a notice will be sent. After March 31, if dues remain unpaid, the membership with all rights and privileges shall be suspended until dues are paid in M1.

Any individual of couple paying ten years annual dues in advance shall be considered a Life Member with the following benefits.

  1. No further annual dues are expected from the member/members for the rest of his/her life.
  1. They will be automatically exempted from paying any dues for the Continuing Medical Education programs held in con­nection with the Annual Meeting.

SECTION 3 – ELECTIONS

  1. Election shall be held at the annual meeting which will be held prior to December 25th of every year
  2. The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee to select the officers four months before the starting date of the National Convention. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members selected in the following manner
  1. One Member – nominated by the President
  2. Three members – nominated by the Executive Committee

In determining the Nominating Committee, year of graduation and geographical location of a member should be kept in mind.

  1. The immediate Past President will be the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee.
  1. The Nominating Committee shall submit its slate to the Executive Committee eight weeks prior to the election.
  2. The Executive Committee shall notify the membership of the proposed slate. Alternative slate (or slates) may be submitted by an Active Member by mailing a completed nomination paper to the President as outlined in Section E
  3. The completed nomination paper; which should have the signa­ture of the proposer and the candidate signifying his/her consent, should be received by the Executive Committee no later than eight weeks prior to the day of election. The Executive Committee shall submit the entire slate (or slates) to the general membership at the Convention.
  4. All nominations to the Executive Committee should be pre­sented as a single slate.
  5. If a member of the Nomination Committee is nominated for any office, he/she shall then abstain from the proceedings of the meeting when his/her nomination is being discussed.
  6. The results of the election will be announced at the annual General Body meeting.
  7. The newly elected officers shall take office at the conclusion of the convention.

SECTION 4 – TERMS OF OFFICE

  1. The terms of office of the President and the Executive Committee shall be one year The President may be re-elected only once.
  2. The terms of office of the Executive Committee shall be for one year
  3. Any vacancies shall be filled by the President and ratified by the Executive Committee.
  4. If any member of the Executive Committee fails to participate in three consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee without an appropriate reason, he may be relieved from the Executive Committee by a two-thirds vote of its members.

SECTION  5 – COMMITTEES

  1. The following shall be the standing committees of the Association. The Chairman of each of these committees shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee, the remaining members of the committee shall be selected from the general membership by each Chairperson and approved by the Executive Committee.
  2. Constitution and By-laws
  3. Membership and Finance
  4. Medical Education and Research
  5. Nomination
  6. Publications and Public Relations
  7. Social Programs and Entertainment

SECTION 6

In addition to the standing committees, the Present can appoint special committees as deemed necessary. Such committees should be approved by the Executive Committee at the next meeting.

SECTION 7 – QUORUM

The quorum for any meeting of the Executive Committee shall consist of a simple majority, the quorum for any meeting of the General Body shall be one-third of the total membership or 50, whichever is less.

SECTION 8 – PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

In the absence of any provision in the By laws of this Association, all members of the Association, Executive Committee, and all committee members shall be guided by the Parliamentary Rules as contained in the current edition of Roberts “Rules of Order”.

SECTION 9 – UTILIZATION OF FUNDS

  1. All funds of the Association shall be vested or invested utilizing the maximum conservative strategies with minimal speculation.
  2. Any expenditure in excess of $3,000 should be authorized by the Executive Committee and any expenditure in excess of $10,000 should be approved by the General Body.
  3. Any monetary assets in excess of $2,000 should be deposited in an interest-bearing account in a financial institution operating in the contiguous states of the United States.

SECTION 10 – MISCELLANEOUS

Whenever in this document, the masculine gender is used, it shall be deemed to include the feminine and neutral genders as well, and singular usage shall include plural usage and vice versa. Similarly, whenever United States is used in this document, it shall be deemed to include Canada.

Structure and function of Board of Trustees

Functions of the Board of Trustees

  1. Board of Trustees shall be advisory body to executive committee as to stability and fiscal welfare of the association.
  2. Board of Trustees shall be involved in long range planning.
  3. Board of Trustees shall advise executive committee as to use of funds.
  4. Board of Trustees shall meet no lees than once a year.
  5. Any dispute between the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee shall be resolved by the next general body meeting.
  6. Executive committee will be responsible for the day to day operation as well as disbursement of funds as depicted in the constitution.

Proposed Composition of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees shall be made up of seven members as follows:

  1. Two trustees shall be elected from the past office bearers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer)
  2. Five trustees shall be elected by General body from LIFE members
  3. The current year president shall be a non voting member of the Board of Trustees.
  4. Chairman of the Board of Trustees shall be non voting member of the Executive Committee.
  5. Each member of the Board of Trustees shall serve for two years. In the very first year; three members of the Board of Trustees shall serve only one year
  1. The Executive Committee shall appoint a nomination committee to collect nominations and conduct elections for the Board of Trustees.
  1. The chairperson of the Board of Trustees shall be elected by members of the Board of Trustees each year.