Constitution of the
NWC NOAA Employees Association
(NEA)
Approved May 2008
ARTICLE I
Name and Purpose of the Organization
Section 1. This organization shall be known as the NWC NOAA Employees Association (NEA).
Section 2. The principal office of the NEA is located at 120 David L Boren Blvd., Norman, OK, 73072.
Section 3. The NEA provides a means of social interaction.
Section 4. The NEA provides services as needed and requested by NEA membership.
Section 5. The NEA shall be a non-profit organization.
ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 1. Any person is eligible for membership in NEA who is employed by the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Storm Prediction Center, WFO Norman, Warning and Decision Training Branch, Radar Operations Center, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies and student employees affiliated with (i.e. duty at) any of the NOAA entities stated above.
ARTICLE III
Officers
Section 1. The officers are elected prior to the beginning of their term in office and must be a member of the NEA. The term of office is March 1 thru the last day of February of the following calendar year. No member may hold more than one office at a time, and no member may be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
Section 2. The NEA officers are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Points of Contact (POC) for NSSL (2), SPC, WDTB, WFO Norman and the ROC.
Section 3. The duties of the officers are:
President: Presides at meetings and administers the affairs of the NEA.
Vice-President: Serves as principal assistant to the President, for the President when absent, and as Liaison on all standing committees.
Secretary: Maintains a record of proceedings and minutes, a file containing the Constitution and By- Laws, special rules and committee reports, and all other papers belonging to the NEA; prepares, with the President's assistance, an agenda for each meeting to be posted prior to the meeting; conducts and maintains records of general correspondence.
Treasurer: Maintains a record of all monies and posts quarterly reports.
POC: Represents their specific organization and is the principal person responsible for collecting dues, votes and providing general information regarding ongoing and planned activities in NEA. POCs are not subjected to the same restrictions as elected officers in terms of term length and are volunteers as opposed to elected.
Section 4. The officers are elected by receiving a majority of votes cast during a secret ballot. If no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election will be held.
ARTICLE IV
Meetings
Section 1. A quorum for NEA meetings is defined as 10% of NEA membership. A quorum must be present to transact any business.
Section 2 Regular meetings of the NEA are held at least quarterly. The announcement for regular meetings shall be distributed through e-mail by the POC and posted on the NEA website at least (1) week prior to the meeting time.
Section 3. Order of business for regular meetings:
a. Attendance
b. Minutes of previous meeting
c. Correspondence
d. Officer reports
e. Committee reports
f. Old business
g. New business
h. Announcements
i. Adjournment
Section 4. Special meetings of members shall be held at the call of the Executive Committee or upon request of at least three members. The announcement for special meetings shall be distributed through e-mail by the POC and posted on the NEA website at least prior to the meeting time. Special meetings shall be limited to the discussion and/or voting shall be limited to the agenda items for which the meeting was called.
ARTICLE V
Voting
Section 1. A majority of votes is required for all business unless otherwise specified in the Constitution and By-Laws of the NEA.
Section 2. Voting shall consist of either
a. Show of Hands: President will ask for and count the Yea votes and then ask for and count the Nay votes.
b. Secret Ballot: The President or an assigned member will distribute slips of paper, that designate either a Yea or Nay vote for the POCs to distribute to members.
Section 3. A Show of Hands will be the standard method of voting unless otherwise specified. A request for a Secret Ballot may be made by any member of the NEA and will supersede the standard method.
Section 4. The President shall not be permitted to vote unless
a. the voting is by Secret Ballot
b. if there is a tie vote, the President's vote in the affirmative will pass the motion; or where the President's vote in the negative will make a tie and effectively defeat the motion.
ARTICLE VI
Miscellaneous
Section 1. The Constitution of the NWC NOAA Employee Association shall govern the proceedings of the NEA in all cases to which it is applicable.
Section 2. By-Laws may be adopted by the NEA but must not conflict with the Constitution of the NEA.
ARTICLE VII
Amendment of Constitution
Section 1. The Constitution can be amended by polling all members of the NEA in a Secret Ballot and approved by a two-thirds majority of votes cast, provided that the proposed amendment has been tabled for at least one regular meeting and distributed through e-mail by the POCs and posted on the NEA website at least (1) week prior to the meeting time.