ARTICLE I - NAME
The organization shall be known as the Deep South Section, American Industrial Hygiene Association.
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
Section 1. The purpose of the Deep South Section (DSS) shall be to promote purposes of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), as set forth in its Articles of Incorporation, within the geographic boundaries of Louisiana.
Section 2. The purpose shall include the following: to increase the knowledge of industrial hygiene through interchange and dissemination of information; to promote the study and control of environmental factors affecting the health and well-being of industrial workers; to correlate such activities as are conducted by individuals and agencies throughout industrial, educational and government groups; and to bring together persons interested in the various phases of industrial hygiene.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Any member of AIHA, residing within the state of Louisiana, may become a Member of the DSS upon payment of local dues. Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, any member of AIHA living outside the state of Louisiana may become a Member of the DSS by giving written notice to the DSS and the Executive Director of the AIHA and upon payment of DSS dues. A member of AIHA may be a member of more than one Local Section
Section 2. On payment of local dues, and the approval by two-thirds vote of the Local Section Executive Committee, any person having a professional interest in industrial hygiene may become an Associate Member of the DSS, entitled to the privileges of DSS membership. Associate Members may subscribe to the AIHA Journal at a reduced price through the Treasurer of the DSS for up to two years.
Section 3. Additional classes of membership in the DSS may be created with approval of the Board of Directors of AIHA. Emeritus membership in the DSS may be extended to a member who has retired from the practice of the industrial hygiene profession, with approval of the DSS Executive Committee. An Emeritus Member retains all privileges of a member of the DSS, but will not be assessed local dues.
ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Section 1. Meetings of the DSS shall be held at the time and place designated by the Executive Committee, no fewer than three times per year.
Section 2. An annual meeting, at which the installation of officers shall take place, shall be held in April or May of each year.
Section 3. Special meetings shall be called at the discretion of the President, with the approval of the Executive Committee, or in response to the written request of twenty percent (20%) of the members of the DSS in good standing.
Section 4. Notice of the time and place of any meeting shall be delivered by mail not less than fifteen (15) days before the date of the meeting.
Section 5. The presence of twenty (20%) of the members of the DSS in good standing shall be required to constitute a quorum for any meeting.
ARTICLE V - OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of the DSS shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. Only members of the DSS and the AIHA may be elected as officers. No person shall serve as officer in more than one Local Section at the same time. Officers shall be elected by the members of the DSS at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting by mail ballot, and the DSS shall give notice of the names and addresses of the newly elected officers to the Executive Director within (30) days of such election. The officers shall serve a one year term unless a successor is elected and installed at a special election. The President-Elect automatically shall succeed the President in office upon completion of the President’s term of office.
Section 2. A vacancy in office because of the death, resignation or removal of an office may be filled by appointment from the Executive Committee for the expired term. If the vacancy occurs in the Office of President-Elect, the member appointed to fill the vacancy shall not automatically succeed the President, and the President for the following year shall be elected at the next annual election of the DSS, or by special election called for by the Executive Committee.
Section 3. An officer may resign by oral tender of resignation at any meeting of the Executive Committee, or by giving written notice thereof to the Executive Committee. Such resignation shall take effect at the time specified and acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
Section 4. An officer may be removed, with or without cause, at a meeting expressly called for that purpose, by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 5. The President shall preside at all meetings of the DSS membership and Executive Committee and shall perform such other duties as may be directed by the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint a Technical Committee, Nominating Committee and such other committees as the Executive Committee may deem necessary for the orderly function of the DSS. The President shall appoint members of the committees. All committee appointments shall be for a one year term. The President shall be any ex-officio member of all committees.
Section 6. The President-elect automatically shall succeed the President in office upon completion of the President’s term of office. The President-elect shall perform any duties delegated by the Executive committee or assigned by the President.
Section 7. The Treasurer shall receive, disburse and be custodian of all funds of the DSS. All disbursements shall be made upon authorization of the President. The Treasurer shall prepare a preliminary annual financial report and submit the accounts of the DSS for audit at the last meeting of the Executive Committee prior to the Annual Meeting of the DSS. The Treasurer shall present a final annual financial report to the Executive Committee at the Annual Meeting of the DSS. After the Annual Meeting, the Treasurer shall transmit to his successor in office, all funds and property of the DSS.
Section 8. The Secretary shall give notice of all meetings of the DSS and the Executive Committee; maintain accurate list of the members and their membership status; keep a record of the transaction of business that may come before such meetings; and be custodian of the records of the DSS.
Section 9. Two elective directors shall serve terms of two years. One director shall be elected each year.
ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the DSS, the Directors and immediate Past President. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the governance and management of the DSS and approval of new members. The President shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee. The presence of a majority of the Executive Committee is necessary to constitute a quorum of a meeting. The act of a majority present at a meeting at which a quorum exists is the act of the Executive Committee. Each member of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to one vote. Meetings of the Executive Committee may be called at the discretion of the President on not less than five (5) days notice.
Section 2. The Technical Committee shall consist of not less than three (3) members. The President-elect shall serve as its chairman. The Technical Committee shall present a tentative schedule of programs for the year to the Executive Committee for its approval. On approval of the Executive Committee, the Technical Committee will implement arrangement of the programs and provide the Secretary with information to circulate to the members of the DSS. The Technical Committee will also present to the Executive Committee proposed training programs, seminars, technical meetings (Louisiana Industrial Hygiene Council), and other special programs.
Section 3. The Nominating Committee shall consist of a least two (2) members appointed by the President at least sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the DSS, and the immediate Past President shall serve as its Chairman. The Nominating Committee shall nominate persons for officers of the DSS, and it shall deliver its nominations for each office in writing to the Secretary for circulation with the ballots of the annual election. In addition to nominations made by the Nominating Committee, nominations from the members shall be made to the Chairman not less than ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting.
Section 4. The Fred S. Venable Scholarship Committee (FSV Committee) shall consist of at least three (3) members. These members shall be appointed by the DSS President, shall be past officers of the DSS, and shall be in good standing with the DSS and the National AIHA. Each member shall serve a three-year term, with the senior member of the Committee serving as the Chairperson. The FSV Scholarship Committee shall meet a minimum of two (2) times during each year: once prior to December 30, to begin the applicant solicitation process and again prior to April 30 to determine the recipient.
The FSV Committee responsibilities shall be:
- Responsible to the President, DSS AIHA.
- Manage the fund, investing the principle in a responsible, insured, interest bearing account.
- Present an annual award, either to a scholarship candidate or in the form of a contribution to the AIHA Foundation (national scholarship fund) in Fred S. Venable’s name.
- Meet at least two (2) times a year.
- Keep the DSS membership, contributors and the family of Fred S. Venable informed of scholarship activities.
- Solicit funds for the perpetuity of the scholarship.
The Chairperson of the FSV Scholarship Committee shall:
- Administer the fund.
- Co-sign all fund accounts, along with the President of the DSS.
- Call at least two meetings per year and direct the committee activities.
- Report to the DSS President following each meeting.
ARTICLE VII - LOCAL SECTION COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1. The President and President-Elect shall serve as representatives of the DSS on the Local Section Council of AIHA provided that neither is an officer or director of AIHA, in which event, the Executive Committee shall appoint another member to represent the DSS on the Local Sections Council.
Section 2. The representatives of the DSS shall report at the Annual Meeting of the Local Sections Council on the activities of the DSS and report back to the DSS, without prior consent of the Board of Directors of AIHA.
ARTICLE VIII - PUBLIC STATEMENTS
Section 1. The DSS shall not issue or publish any public statement which utilizes any form of AIHA on a policy or technical issue, other than issues which primarily affect the DSS, without prior consent of the Board of Directors of AIHA.
Section 2. No public statement on any matter, which purports to represent the opinion of the DSS, shall be issued or published, unless that statement has been authorized by the Executive Committee as expressing the opinion of a majority of the members of the DSS.
ARTICLE IX - DUES
Section 1. Annual dues for DSS membership payable on the first day of January of each year. The dues per year shall be set by the Executive Committee and approved by a 2/3 vote of the members present at any regular meeting.
Section 2. Members accepted for membership between January and June shall pay dues for a full year. Members accepted for membership between July and December shall pay for one-half of the year.
Section 3. Any member whose dues are unpaid on March 1st is not in good standing and shall have no vote or other privileges of membership in the DSS. If the dues of any member are not paid within one year of the date due, the membership of the member in the DSS shall be terminated subject to reinstatement as provided in Section 4.
Section 4. Any member terminated for non-payment of dues may be reinstated at any time before the next Annual Meeting of the year following termination, by payment of dues in arrears together with the dues for the current year.
ARTICLE X - MAIL BALLOT
Section 1. Officers of the DSS shall be elected by mail ballot of the voting members of the DSS distributed not less than sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the DSS, which ballots shall specify a deadline for return. The President shall promptly report the results of the election to the Executive Director of AIHA.
Section 2. The Executive Committee, at any time, may conduct by mail ballot, a referendum of the membership of the DSS in connection with an issue it may consider or action to be taken. Except as provided in Article XI, a plurality of the mail ballots cast in an election of any officer or in a referendum on any issue to be considered or action to be taken, shall be effective to constitute the election of a person as an officer of the DSS, and as a decision or act of the DSS with respect to any issue to be considered or any action to be taken. In the event of a tie vote in any such mail ballot, the tie shall be resolved by the vote of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended or new bylaws adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the DSS who respond to a mail ballot conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article X.
Section 2. Such amended or new bylaw becomes effective upon approval of the Board of Directors of AIHA.
FRED S. VENABLE SCHOLARSHIP FUND CHARTER
CHARTER
The Fred S. Venable Scholarship Fund of the Deep South Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, shall be used to reward an industrial hygiene graduate student, reflecting the ideas, leadership and professionalism of Fred S. Venable, one of the founding members of the Deep South Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
GENERAL
The Deep South Section (DSS) is proud to have established a scholarship fund in honor of charter member, outstanding professional, and good friend, Fred S. Venable. Fred helped to found the DSS in April 1964, and was the first president. The scholarship was founded in November 1983 when Fred retired after 32 years of service with Exxon Company, U.S.A. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Fred passed away in June 1984, and we have suffered a great loss, personally and professionally. The scholarship fund bearing his name will serve as a living memorial to a truly great individual. Through this fund, Fred’s dedication to our profession can live on and continue to benefit future Industrial Hygienists. Fred dedicated himself to the education of present and future Industrial Hygienists, devoting much of his time to this endeavor.
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING
1. Funds for the Fred S. Venable (FSV) Scholarship will be accepted through the following:
a. Private, corporate or other donations;
b. DSS income-generating activities (professional course, advertisement income, etc. with the exception of funds received for payment for dinner and dues fees). To assure perpetuity, the DSS will actively pursue fund raising for the scholarship, seeing that 100% of these funds are dedicated to the scholarship funds, with exception by a majority vote of the Executive Committee, which may choose to lower it to 50% when the DSS has a critical need for funding. The DSS will, however, make every attempt to avoid having to make such an exception, remembering that funds raised through educational projects should be used for our educational beneficiary, the FSV Scholarship recipient;
c. DSS dues, when and if the Executive Committee chooses to increase dues with a designated portion being dedicated to the FSV Fund.
2. The scholarship dollar value will be determined by the Scholarship Committee but will not be less than five hundred dollars ($500.00). When additional funds are available, the committee may decide to award more than one $500.00 scholarship. If no suitable candidate is found, the Committee may decide to donate a minimum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) to the national scholarship fund (AIHA Foundation) in Fred Venable’s name.
3. At no time will the scholarship fund monies be used by the DSS for any purpose other than those stated within this charter. There will be no co-mingling of funds from the DSS treasury and the Scholarship Fund.
SCHOLARSHIP NOMINEE SELECTION GUIDELINES
1. Nominees must be Industrial Hygiene graduate students in a “recognized” graduate Industrial Hygiene program.
2. Nominees will reflect the ideals, aspirations, and professionalism of Fred S. Venable.
3. The Scholarship Committee has sole discretion as to what constitutes a “recognized” graduate Industrial Hygiene program.
4. The Scholarship Committee has sole discretion as to the specific Industrial Hygiene graduate schools to solicit. However, the number of graduate schools solicited annually will not be less than two (2). Where feasible, the Committee shall give some consideration to those Industrial Hygiene programs in which Fred S. Venable had an on-going relationship (Tulane, Texas A&M).
5. Solicitation of nominees from program directors of recognized Industrial Hygiene graduate schools will be done in writing by the Fred S. Venable Committee. All responses by the graduate schools must be in writing, and if not in writing, will be considered invalid and not considered in the selection process. These applications must include the following:
- Name
- Address
- Year in program
- Special areas of focus in IH
- Grade point average
- Immediate plans following graduate school
- Long-range goals
- Recommendation by IH Dept. representative
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
1. Selection of the scholarship recipient will be informed by the Chairperson of the scholarship committee or by the President of the DSS of the recipient’s selection. The recipient will be invited to a meeting of the DSS where the scholarship presentation will be made. Funds for paying the expenses of the recipient to attend the meeting will be made available from the interest of the fund of from the DSS treasury.
2. Notice of the awarding of the Fred S. Venable Scholarship, the name of the recipient, and the name of the recipient’s Industrial Hygiene program will be sent in writing by the Scholarship Chairperson to the AIHA prior to the AIHA Annual Conference.
3. Every attempt should be made to contact the family of Fred Venable, informing them of the scholarship award and inviting them to attend the presentation.
FSV SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
1. Committee Members should coincide with the by-laws of the DSS, Article VI - (Revision should be made by vote of membership).
The Fred S. Venable Scholarship Committee shall consist of three (3) members. These members shall be appointed by the DSS President, shall be past officers of the DSS, and shall be in good standing with the DSS and the national AIHA. Each member shall serve a three-year term, with the senior member of the committee serving as Chairperson.
The committee shall meet a minimum of two time during each year; once prior to December 30, to begin the applicant solicitation process and again prior to April 30, to determine the recipient.
2. Committee Responsibilities
The FSV Scholarship Committee shall:
- Be responsible to the President, DSS-AIHA.
- Manage the fund, investing the principle in a responsible interest-bearing account.
- Present an annual award, either to a scholarship candidate or in the form of a contribution to the AIHA Foundation (national scholarship fund) in Fred S. Venable’s name.
- Meet at least two times each year.
- Keep the DSS membership informed of the scholarship activities
- Solicit funds for the perpetuity of the scholarship.
The Chairperson of the FSV Scholarship Committee shall:
- Administer the fund.
- Co-sign all fund accounts, along with the President of the DSS.
- Report to the President of the DSS following each meeting, and direct Committee activities.