Constitution

Constitution

Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators (OAAE)

Article 1-Name and Affiliation

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators (OAAE)

Section 2: The Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators is affiliated with Ohio Association for Career & Technical Education (OACTE) , Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE ) and the National Association of Agricultural Educators ( NAAE).)

Article 2-Purpose and Objectives

Section 1: The purpose of this association shall be:

A. To assume and maintain an active state leadership in the promotion of agricultural education.

B. To bring together all agricultural educators through membership in a state organization devoted exclusively to their interests.

C. To serve districts and/or county organizations of agriculture education in the solution of their problems.

D. To cooperate with other career, technical and agricultural professional organizations.

Section 1: The mission of the organization is to provide a supportive network and professional development for the continuous improvement of Agriculture Educators. This will be done through:

A. Enhancing communication regarding member services and OAAE activities.

B. Maintaining interactive and continuous legislative involvement.

C. Providing quality professional development for the professional and technical improvement of agricultural educators.

D. Recognizing and promoting accomplishments and best practices.

E. Reviewing, defining and adopting district, State and National initiatives.

F. Serving all Ohio Agricultural Educators as members.

Section 2: The objective of the Delegate Council shall be:

A. To plan and conduct an educational leadership program which will achieve the objective of the OAAE.

B. To assist in the planning and conducting of a statewide conference for the professional and technical improvement of agriculture educators.

C. To review, define and adopt policies and/or activities of the district and/or state levels.

D. To plan and direct the activities of the district and/or county organizations.

Section 3: The objective of the Executive Committee shall be:

A. To act on behalf of the OAAE when immediate action is required and when conditions make it either impossible or inconvenient for the entire OAAE Delegate Council to convene and make decisions.

Article III-Membership

Section 1: Membership shall be limited to Secondary, Adult and Post Secondary Educators, Agriculture VEPD contacts, State Teacher Education Staff, State Ag. Ed. Staff and Agricultural Education majors enrolled in teacher-preparation programs.

Section 2: The membership year shall extend from July 1 of one year until June 30 of the following year. Membership shall begin at the time of payment of dues or authorization for payroll deduction and shall end on June 30.

Article IV-Officers and Duties

Section 1: The officers of the OAAE shall consist of President, President-elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain and the immediate retired President.

Section 2: The President, President-elect, Vice President, Secretary and Chaplain shall be elected each year at the annual conference and serve until the next annual summer conference.

Section 3: The Treasurer shall be elected every three years at the annual conference and serve for a period of 3 years.

Section 4: The Executive committee shall fill any vacancy occurring in the associations offices other than the presidency.

Section 5: If the Presidency should be vacant, the office shall be filled immediately by the President-elect. The office of President-elect shall be filled by the Executive Committee.

Section 6: All Officers shall be Agricultural Educators and members of the Delegate Council at the time of the election or appointment.

Section 7: Any person elected or appointed to serve in a capacity to represent OAAE must be a dues paying member and an Agricultural Educator, including all district officer positions.

Section 8: Duties of the Officers

A. President- The president shall preside at all meetings of the association. He or she shall appoint the chairman and members of all standing committees and of any special committees deemed necessary by the Executive Committee. In the absence of the president, the president elect and the vice president respectively discharge the duties of the president. The president will help to establish goals, a calendar of events, an agenda for the meetings and serve on numerous committees. The president will also attend all NAAE functions and assist the president-elect on the Summer Conference.

B. President-elect-The president-elect shall assist the president and assume the duties of the presidency at the end of the president term. The president-elect shall contact a hotel for summer conference, design the Ag portion of the programming and oversee the banquet program.

C. Vice President- The vice president shall supervise all committees and coordinate the program of activities. He or she shall assume the duties of the presidency during the presidents temporary absence. The vice president will also develop a years of service and retiree list and order the pins and plaques to be presented at the summer conference.

D. Secretary- The secretary shall issue all notices of meetings, conduct correspondence of the association and keep a record of all proceedings of the association. The secretary will also take minutes at each meeting, prepare the agenda with the help of the president, and invite guests to the summer conference.

E. Treasurer- The treasurer shall assist with the membership drive, keep a roll of members, collect any money that is due to the association and shall have custody of all funds of the association in a bank in the name of the Ohio Association of Agricultural Educators. The treasurer will also work closely with the NAAE and the OACTE, make reservations and pay registration fees for the NAAE events and pay all memberships to organizations and bills in a timely manner.

F. Chaplain- The chaplain shall conduct devotional services at each session of the annual conference and at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Delegate Council. The chaplain is also responsible for gathering door prizes for the conference.

G. Past President- The past president shall serve in an advisory capacity.

Article V-Finances

Section 1: The treasurer shall keep the association accounts in such a manner that they may be audited at any time. Regular audits shall be conducted at the summer conference and at the time the treasurer=s records are transferred to the new treasurer.

Section 2: The treasurer shall pay all expenses approved by the OAAE membership and/or the Delegate Council.

Section 3: The treasurer shall submit a budget proposal annually at the summer conference to be approved at the Fall Delegate Council Meeting.

Article VI-Districts

Section 1: The state shall be divided into districts according to the map accompanying this constitution. There shall be a chairman, membership chairman, Mentorship Coordinator, Foundation/Citrus Coordinator, skills coordinator and Camp Board Representative, and a secretary - treasurer for each district. The district officers shall be elected by the teachers of the respective districts to serve 2 years. In the event that the chairman and/or other officers should relinquish their offices, their replacements shall be elected at the next district meeting. Other officers may be elected at the discretion of the respective districts.

Section 2: The duties of the officers of the districts shall be those commonly ascribed to such officers.

Section 3: Changes in district boundaries may be made by a three-fourths vote of the Delegate Council.

Section 4: Odd numbered districts shall elect officers in odd numbered years and even numbered districts shall elect officers in even numbered years.

Article VII-Executive Committee

Section 1: The Executive Committee shall consist of the OAAE officers, advisor and executive secretary.

Section 2: The Executive Committee shall meet at any time deemed necessary by the president or any other two or more officers. The Executive Committees powers shall be limited to acting only on business that cannot be brought before the entire Delegate Council due to inconvenience, time limitations or other reasons, which make such an assembly impossible.

Article VIII-Delegate Council

Section 1: The Delegate Council shall consist of:

A. OAAE officers: President President Elect

Vice President Secretary

Treasurer Chaplain

Past President Advisor

B. Liasons will be appointed by the President from the current District Representatives of the following:

Mentorship Membership Legislative Foundation

Camp Board Alumni. CDE

C. District Chairpersons of Ag Ed Districts

D. State Taxonomy Chairpersons of Ag Ed. Districts.

E. Representatives of: VEPD Coordinators

Teacher Educators

Post-Secondary Educators

State Supervisory Ag Ed Staff

Section 2: The Delegate Council shall meet at least 3 times a year. One meeting shall be held at the time of the annual OAAE summer conference and the other meetings will be held as determined by a majority of the Executive Committee.

Article IX-Taxonomy Areas

Section 1: Teachers in each taxonomy area shall elect representatives to OAAE Delegate Council on a biennial basis.

Section 2: Production Agriculture, Food Processing, Natural Resources and FBPA taxonomies shall elect one representative to Delegate Council on the odd numbered years. Ag Science Agriculture Business & Service, Agriculture Mechanics, Horticulture and Animal Production and Care taxonomies shall elect one representative to Delegate on even numbered years. The elected representatives shall serve a term of two years on Delegate Council.

Article X- Delegates to National Convention

Section 1: The maximum number of delegates to be sponsored by the OAAE shall be limited to the number of official delegates permitted by the National Association of Agricultural Educators.

Section 2: Delegates to attend the NAAE National Convention shall consist of the immediate past president, president, president elect, vice president, secretary, treasurer and chaplain. The remaining delegates shall be selected from the following group:

A. Committee Chairpersons

B. First year District Chairpersons

C. First year Taxonomy Representatives

D. Second year District Chairpersons

E. Second year Taxonomy Representatives

F. Other OAAE Members

Section 3: Sponsored delegates to the NAAE Regional Conference shall consists of the immediate past president, president, president elect, vice president, secretary, treasurer and chaplain. Additional delegates shall be selected in manner similar to the described in Article X, Section 2, with the exception that those members who desire to attend the National Conference but were not so designated shall be given priority to attend the Regional Leadership Conference.

Article XI-Voting Privileges at the Annual Summer Conference

Section 1: Any current dues paying member of the OAAE shall be entitled to vote at all business sessions during the summer conference.

Article XII-Conduct of Business

Section 1: All items of business must have been presented and received a majority vote at the District or Taxonomy level prior to the OAAE Delegate Council. The OAAE Delegate Council shall then determine the dispensation of each item. All items must be acted upon by the OAAE Delegate Council, OAAE Standing Committee or by the entire OAAE membership at the annual OAAE summer conference.

Section 2: Robert=s Rules of Order shall govern the conducting of business.

Section 1: This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 vote of all members present at the regular business session of the association at the annual summer conference. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the secretary in writing no later than the first day of the conference.

Section 1: The Executive Secretary shall be responsible for managing the general affairs of the Association. Under the direction of the President and Executive Council, the Executive Secretary will assist the Association in carrying out policy and implementing administrative procedures. The Executive Secretary will be expected to:

A. Provide continuity for the organization through maintenance of records and organizational documents.

F. Coordinate leadership for the OAAE portion of the All-Ohio Career-Technical and Adult Education Conference.

Section 2: The Executive Committee may enter into a contract with the Executive Secretary for services to be rendered on a consultative, advisory and independent contractor basis, and may set the compensation for the services of the Executive Secretary in such an amount as the Executive Committee may determine. The Executive Secretary shall be accountable directly to the Executive Committee.

Section 3: The Executive Secretary shall have an annual evaluation of performance by the Executive Committee.