Constitution

Friedrich Gerstäcker Arkansas Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German
Revised: Fall 1984, Spring 2002

I. Name: The name of the chapter shall be the Friedrich Gerstäcker Arkansas Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German.

II. Purpose: The purpose of the chapter conforms to that of the National Organization. It proposes to promote and improve the teaching of German and to encourage a spirit of cooperation and fellowship among its members.

III. Membership:
1. Categories of membership are regular, student, emeritus, and honorary. Any German teacher or anyone interested in the teaching of German may become a regular member of the Chapter and the National Organization upon payment of the annual dues as specified by the By-Laws of the National Organization.
2. The dues, which cover subscriptions to the official publications of the National Organization, are payable annually in September. Only members in good standing are eligible to vote and hold office.
3. Graduate and undergraduate students who are certified by the chairman of their department may become Junior Members upon payment of the annual dues for Junior Membership. Students will not be considered voting members of the chapter, nor will they be allowed to hold office.
4. A teacher who at the time of retirement has been a member of AATG for at least fifteen years may elect Emeritus Membership. The dues for this type of membership are de fined in the By-Laws of the National Organization.
5. Honorary Membership in the AATG may be granted only in accordance with the stipulation in the National Constitution.

IV. Organization:
1. The officers of the Chapter shall be the president, the vice president (president elect) and the secretary- treasurer.
2. The president shall serve as the chief executive officer. He/she shall call meetings in accordance with requirements of the constitution and shall preside at meetings.
3. The vice president shall preside in the absence of the president, and shall succeed the president in even- numbered years.
4. The secretary-treasurer shall keep permanent records of the membership, shall take minutes, and shall serve as financial officer.
5. The elected officers and the immediate past president shall serve as the Executive Council and shall be empowered to act on behalf of the chapter in the interim between regular meetings. In addition, the immediate past president will serve as membership/publicity chair if possible. If not possible, sitting president will appoint a membership/publicity chair from the membership at large to serve on the Executive Council.
6. Officers shall serve two-year staggered terms with the vice president elected in even years and the secretary-treasurer in odd years.
7. No president may be reelected for more than three consecutive two- year terms (total of six consecutive years).
8. Terms of office must be alternated between post-secondary and pre- collegiate colleagues, whenever possible.

V. Nominations, Elections, and Appointments:
1. The immediate past president shall serve as chair of a nominating committee appointed by the president. The nominating committee shall prepare a slate of two candidates for each position to be filled. No member of the nominating committee shall be considered a candidate for office.
2. The slate shall be made known to all chapter members at least three weeks prior to the time of election.
3. Elections shall be held at the annual spring meeting. At this occasion, additional nominations may be made from the floor.
4. Elections shall be made by secret ballot.
5. Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the members in good standing present at the meeting.
6. There is no provision for proxy voting.
7. When an office falls vacant before the expiration of a term, the Executive Council shall appoint a replacement. This person shall serve until the next regularly scheduled election which shall be held according to the provisions provided above.
8. Testing and Award Chair: The president shall appoint annually one member from a college or university to act as Testing and Awards Chair for the administration of the National Contest.

VI. Meetings: The Chapter shall meet at least once a year. The time and place of meetings shall be determined by the president after consultation with the Executive Committee.

VII. Procedure: This organization shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, unless otherwise stated in this document.

VIII.
1. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership present at a given meeting.
2. Such amendments may be proposed by the Executive Council or by written notice to the secretary-treasurer of the Chapter at least two weeks in advance of the meeting at which action is to be taken.
3. The secretary-treasurer shall submit such proposed amendments to the membership for a vote.