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SECTION III: ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS

CHAPTER 1: OPERATIONS

1. GENERAL:

To ensure that the Meeting of the Members is conducted in an orderly and professional manner, this manual has been established and approved by the National Board of Directors. Each member is encouraged to be familiar with the procedures contained herein as this manual will govern the conduct of the meeting.

2. PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Meeting of the Members shall be to transact such business as shall come before the meeting and to elect national officers and members of the National Board of Directors in those years when a national election is held.

3. AUTHORITY:

Bylaw V, Section 1, USAWOA Bylaws.

4. SELECTION OF DATE AND LOCATION:

The next Meeting of the Members shall be held at a date and location selected by the members attending a duly convened Meeting of the Members or if no offers to host are made at that meeting, at the next BOD Meeting scheduled. Regions/chapters desiring to host future annual meetings shall submit proposals at least one year in advance for consideration by the assembled members at a duly convened annual meeting. The region/chapter hosting future meetings will assume the role of arrangements, credentials, and teller committees and shall function as provided in Section 1 a of Bylaw V and the procedures outlined in this manual.

5. MEETING ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE:

  1. a. Functions: It shall be the function of this committee to affect the complete arrangements, less the program, for the annual meeting. Arrangements shall include but not be limited:
    1. (1) Meeting hall with head table, PA system and recording devices; designated seating area for official visitors, other visitors, members and their guests.
    2. (2) Entertainment for banquet and cocktail hour and schedule of events for spouses and dependents during meeting hours.
    3. (3) Office space for Association and various committee administrative staff; computer(s), printers, modem access and secretarial support; telephones; and reproduction equipment..
    4. (4) Billeting for visiting members and their families and visiting dignitaries.
    5. (5) Transportation for visiting members and dignitaries to include those arriving by commercial modes.
    6. (6) Escorts for visiting dignitaries as required.
    7. (7) Advertisement of meeting; decorations; photographic coverage; preparation and distribution of registration/reservation forms (USAWOA Form 500-3) to regions/chapters; advance registration of members and registration of members upon arrival at meeting location.
    8. The final arrangements packet shall be prepared for submission to the National Board of Directors for approval during the annual COP/BOD meeting.
  2. b. Composition: The Meeting Arrangements Committee shall normally be composed of members from the Meeting of the Members host region/chapter.
    1. (1) Total Members: Nine (9).
    2. (2) Chairperson: President of host region/chapter.
    3. (3) Appointed Members: Eight (8) members of the general membership shall be appointed by the National President on the advice of the chairperson.
  3. c. Staff Liaison Representative: National Headquarters Staff.

6. REGISTRATION:

  1. a. Whenever possible, members should register in advance by completing USAWOA Form 500-3 as provided in the Newsletter and/or chapter information packets. This will ensure that members receive the accommodations and services they desire. Members unable to pre-register may do so upon arrival at the designated meeting location.
  2. b. All members registering shall pay a registration fee as established by the National Headquarters to assist in defraying the cost of additional employee salaries, administrative and equipment requirements, hotel and hall rental fees, and the association hospitality suite.
  3. c. A member whose dues have expired at time of registration shall be required to become current in the payment of his/her dues before exercising the privilege of voting and/or serving on committees.

7. IDENTIFICATION:

Only members bearing identification credentials provided by the Credentials Committee will be permitted to vote and serve on committees.

8. PROGRAM:

The meeting program shall be prepared and approved by the National Board of Directors, and published in the Newsletter approximately ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting.

9. QUORUM:

A quorum shall consist of 10% of the Association membership entitled to vote in person or by proxy for the conduct of business or for the election of national officers and members of the National Board of Directors. If a quorum is not present at any meeting a majority of the members present may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice in an attempt to obtain a quorum.

10. CONDUCT OF MEETING:

  1. a. The Articles of Incorporation, current Bylaws, and the Meeting of the Members Operations Manual of the Association shall govern as the basic rules.
  2. b. The rules contained in Roberts' Rules of Order, current edition, shall govern the assembled members in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation, current Bylaws, and the Meeting of the Members Operations Manual of the Association.
  3. c. The National President shall appoint a parliamentarian for the meeting. The function of the parliamentarian is to advise the presiding officer on rules and questions of rules.

11. PROXY REPRESENTATION:

A proxy is defined for the annual meeting as a written authorization empowering a member attending that meeting to vote (except for the election of National Officers and Directors of he National Board of Directors) or act for the member whose signature appears on the official proxy.

  1. a. Any member speaking or voting on behalf of another member must have a verified official proxy (USAWOA Form 500-10) on file with the Credentials Committee.
  2. b. There shall be no limit to the number of validated proxies any member attending the meeting may hold but only one proxy may be authorized by any one member. There will be no multiple member proxies accepted.
  3. c. Each proxy will include the printed name, signature, membership card number, date of signature, and expiration date of the member making the authorization. All proxies must be completed in accordance with the instructions on the proxy and must arrive at the address on the envelope prior to the first business day of the Meeting.
  4. d. To facilitate verification, proxies (USAWOA Form 500-10) will be printed as part of the official USAWOA ballot (USAWOA Form 500-9) and mailed to each member of the Association at their address as shown by the records of the Association. USAWOA Form 500-10 is the only official form that may be used by a member to designate another member as his/her proxy and may not be reproduced. Proxies will be verified utilizing the Association master membership file.
  5. e. The Credentials Committee chairperson will present a list of verified proxies to each proxy holder, and a list of all attending members indicating the number of proxies held by each to each meeting official prior to the start of the business portion of the meeting.
  6. f. As each proxy list is completed, the proxies will be filed in alphabetical order by the Credentials Committee to ensure that a member has not submitted more than one authorized proxy. When all proxies have been verified, listed and filed, the Credentials Committee will present the file to the Teller Committee chairperson for comparison with the ballot file.
  7. g. To be accepted, proxies for non-members will be accompanied with a completed membership application and appropriate dues.
  8. h. All members who plan to attend the meeting are encouraged to solicit proxy designation from members who cannot attend in order to maximize membership representation.

12. ADDRESSING THE MEMBERS:

  1. a. Members desiring to address the assembled members shall rise, clearly state their name and the number of proxies they may hold and they will be recognized by the presiding officer before addressing the assembled members.
  2. b. No member may speak more than once on an individual subject nor for more than 4 minutes, except that the proponent of the matter at hand may speak an additional 4 minutes in rebuttal.
  3. c. No member may yield the floor to a non-member Warrant Officer, visitor or guest.
  4. d. An attending non-member may rise, identify themselves and request the chair recognize them so they may speak. If the chairperson does so they may address the members on the subject under discussion, for no more than 4 minutes. This recognition does not authorize them to vote on the matter.
  5. e. A motion to table may not be made by a member or group spokesperson who has just spoken on the merits of the proposal. A motion to table is not in order until at least two members for the proposal and two against have been heard on the merits, unless none in favor or against desire to be heard; then the decision of the presiding officer shall prevail.
  6. f. No member shall interrupt a recognized speaker who has the floor by standing, yelling, clapping, or otherwise drawing attention to themselves.

13. CAUCUS:

Members may converse and organize into groups among themselves and may select an individual spokesperson from among them to present their views. This spokesperson must identify those for whom they speak.

14. VOTING PROCEDURES:

  1. a. Except for voting for election of national officers and Region Directors, all voting shall be by a show of hands.
  2. b. Any action or proposal brought before the assembly shall be decided by a majority vote (50% + 1) of the members present or represented by proxy, except as follows:
    1. (1) Any action or proposal to change the program or this operations manual shall require a two-thirds approval of the members present or represented.
    2. (2) Any action or proposal to be brought before the assembly through caucus shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present or represented unless a parliamentary procedure is involved, which requires a two-thirds majority vote of the members present or represented.
  3. c. Any abstention from a vote will not reflect yea or nay and will not be considered nor weighed as adopting or defeating any measure.

15. REPORTS:

All reports rendered by national officers, members of the National Board of Directors, and committees, and other material for the permanent record shall be in writing and shall be sent to the recording secretary after presentation to the assembled.

16. BUSINESS:

All business to come before the assembled members, except administrative matters, shall be in the form of a resolution, proposal, or a motion. A committee (Resolutions Committee) will be appointed to receive; research and put into a correct format all of these actions from members other than the national officers, National Board of Directors, or appointed committees.

  1. a. Functions: The Resolutions Committee is responsible for determining if any submitted resolution/proposal is legal, has not been addressed by another resolution/proposal, and when presented to the members, is in a clear, concise, understandable and proper format, resolutions will be presented on USAWOA Form 800-4.
    1. (1) A resolution/proposal offered by an individual member shall be in writing, signed by the author and the second, each of whom shall be voting members of the Association, and shall include any background and legal considerations that are important. These actions shall be sent directly to the Resolutions Committee by the President, USAWOA.
    2. (2) All resolutions/proposals offered by the National Board of Directors or by committees and all recommendations made in reports of national officers or committees shall be presented directly to the assembled members.
    3. (3) Each member who offers a resolution/proposal shall be given an opportunity to explain it to the committee if he/she so desires.
    4. (4) Authors of resolutions/proposals shall restrict their subjects to matters relating directly to the Army, dependents and the USAWOA. Resolution discussion will contain only provable facts and will not refer to hearsay information.
    5. (5) All resolutions and/or proposals should be submitted to arrive at the National Headquarters no later than two weeks prior to the Meeting.
    6. (6) The Resolutions Committee will not change the basic idea of the author's suggestion when rewriting it for presentation, to the assembled membership.
    7. (7) The Resolutions Committee shall submit resolutions/proposals referred to it to the assembled members with the committee's own recommendation as to appropriate action. The committee may decide not to report resolutions/proposals, except for questions, by a vote of two-thirds of its members.
    8. (8) The assembled members, by a majority vote, can suspend the preceding rule and can immediately consider a resolution/proposal, or can order the Resolutions Committee to report a resolution/proposal at a certain time, even if the committee has voted not to report it.
    9. (9) All resolutions/proposals favorably reported by the committee shall be considered as accepted unless at least one member shall forthwith object for the purpose of obtaining full discussion or amendment. All resolutions/proposals accepted without objection shall be adopted at one time after the reading of all resolutions from the committee. Resolutions/proposals to which objection was entered at the initial reading shall be individually and fully considered after the un-objected to resolutions/proposals have been formally adopted.
    10. (10) All resolutions/proposals not favorably reported by the committee shall be considered in the same manner described in the preceding rule.
  2. b. Composition:
    1. (1) Total Members: Six (6) +
    2. (2) Chairperson: A Regional Director (Appointed by National President)
    3. (3) Assigned Members: The National President shall appoint five (5) members from those members attending the annual meeting.
  3. c. Staff Liaison Representative: National Headquarters Staff.
  4. d. Motions submitted during the meeting will be submitted in writing to the recording secretary, signed by the author and second, including all amendments and modifications to motions being acted upon by the membership.

17. NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:

  1. a. Functions (Applicable during the year a National election is held): The Nominations Committee is formed to ensure that all nominations are fairly and properly handled. It shall be the duty of this committee to begin soliciting suggestions and/or recommendations from the membership approximately eight (8) months prior to the meeting and strive to ensure there are at least two (2) candidates for each office. The National Headquarters shall assist in this effort by publishing a nominations form (USAWOA Form 200-13) in the "NEWSLINER". The EXCOM will establish the closing date for nominations/declarations of candidacy of approximately ninety (90) days prior to the beginning of the meeting and publish the closing date in the "NEWSLINER" as part of the data on the nominations form.
    1. (1) Nominations will be mailed to the National Headquarters for verification of the member's eligibility to hold office.
    2. (2) The committee will verify the desires of those members nominated to hold elective office and request a resume and a head and shoulders photograph be sent to the National Headquarters.
    3. (3) Members desiring to declare their candidacy for any elective office should contact the committee by letter and send a resume and a head and shoulders photograph to the National Headquarters.
    4. (4) All resumes submitted will be on USAWOA Form 200-6.
    5. (5) All correspondence to prospective candidates will state the closing date for receipt of nominations/declarations of candidacy.
    6. (6) As of close of business on the announced closing date, nominations/declarations of candidacy shall be considered closed and no further nominations or candidacy declarations shall be accepted. Exceptions are those that are postmarked on or before the closing date. Nominations/declarations of candidacy received after this date will be considered as write-in candidates and may not be placed on the official ballot. There is only one official ballot/proxy and it will not be reproduced. Space for write-in votes will be provided on the ballot.
    7. (7) Within one week after closing date the committee will submit the final list of candidates, including their resumes and photographs, for the ballot to the EXCOM. At least sixty (60) days prior to the meeting, the EXCOM shall publish the final list of candidates in the "NEWSLINER" and have the official ballot/proxy forms (USAWOA 500-9 and 500-10) printed.
    8. (8) The official ballot (USAWOA Form 500-9) will be mailed by the committee to each member of the Association at his/her address as shown by the records of the Association not earlier than sixty (60) days nor later than ten (10) days prior to the meeting. For ease of handling and consolidation of effort, the USAWOA proxy form is printed as part of the ballot (USAWOA Form 500-10).
    9. (9) The ballot/proxy form will be preaddressed to the National Headquarters (or some other mailing address based on the location of the meeting), contain the return address of the member and will be postpaid.
    10. (10) All ballots must be completed in accordance with the instructions on the ballots and must arrive at the address on the envelope prior to the first business day of the annual meeting.
  2. b. Composition:
    1. (1) Total Members: Nine (9).
    2. (2) Chairperson: (Appointed by National President).
    3. (3) Assigned Members: The Immediate Past National President of the Association shall serve on this committee.
    4. (4) Appointed Members: The National President shall appoint seven (7) members from the general membership to serve on this committee on the advice of the chairperson.
  3. c. Staff Liaison Representative: National Headquarters Staff.

18. TELLER COMMITTEE:

Functions: The Teller Committee has been formed to ensure that the receipt, handling, security, and tabulation of all ballots are conducted in the manner required by regulations and law. It shall be the duty of this committee to tabulate and report the results of voting by the Association membership on annual elections of the Association officers and any other matters which requires mail voting. A ballot clerk will be appointed by the National President and charged with the handling, verifying and securing of all mail ballots received by the Association. The committee chairperson, upon appointment, is authorized to establish a post office mailing address if such does not exist at the host region/chapter location. Funding for this post office box rental will be provided from the meeting fund.

19. CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE:

  1. a. Functions: The Credentials Committee has been formed to ensure that the USAWOA membership is legally represented by the members attending the meetings. It shall be the duty of this committee to verify membership in the association and to determine the eligibility of each member to vote and/or participate in debate.
    1. (1) The Credentials Committee chairperson, directly after the opening ceremonies of the first business meeting, shall report the number of members registered as present in person or by proxy, with certified membership, and shall make a supplementary report after the opening exercise at the beginning of each day that business continues.
    2. (2) The Credentials Committee chairperson is responsible for insuring that a quorum is present prior to any vote taken. The committee chairperson will also ensure that each proxy holder has a count of his/her valid proxies and that each meeting official has a list of all members attending the meeting, and the total number of proxies for each.
    3. (3) The Credentials Committee shall devise and furnish appropriate membership identification pins, badges, or stickers.
    4. (4) The Credential Committee is responsible for performing the physical count of all floor votes (actual and proxies) during the AMM and providing those results to the National Secretary or the individual acting in that capacity during the voting.
  2. b. Composition:
    1. The Credentials Committee shall normally be composed of members from the Meeting of the Members host region/chapter.
    2. (1) Total Members: Five (5).
    3. (2) Chairperson: (Appointed by National President).
    4. (3) Appointed Members: Four (4) members of the general membership shall be appointed by the National President on the advice of the chairperson.
  3. c. Staff Liaison Representative: National Headquarters Staff.

20. ELECTION OF OFFICERS:

The election of USAWOA National Officers and members of the National Board of Directors will be accomplished by mail ballot.

  1. a. Mail ballots will be counted during the meeting by the Teller Committee. Results of the election will be reported by the Teller Committee chairperson during the last day of the meeting.
  2. b. A candidate shall not be required to be present at the meeting as a prerequisite for election to office.
  3. c. Any candidate elected to office shall be elected by a plurality vote (plurality meaning the largest number of all votes cast for that particular office.

21. VOTING PROCEDURES FOR ELECTION OF NATIONAL OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

  1. a. Upon receipt of the ballot/proxy at the host region/chapter, the ballot clerk shall perform the following:
    1. (1) After verification that the members printed name is on the reverse side of the(1) After verification that the members printed name is on the reverse side of the ballot and the proxy is properly completed, the ballot/proxy will be separated and the proxy (USAWOA Form 500-10) will be presented to the Credentials Committee chairperson.
    2. (2) The ballots (USAWOA Form 500-9) will be filed in alphabetical order to ensure that no member has voted more than once. The ballot clerk will not dispose of duplicate votes by any one member.
  2. b. All ballots will be presented in alphabetical order to the Teller Committee chairperson by the ballot clerk at a time designated by the National President.
  3. c. The Teller Committee will compare the verified proxies with the ballots received from the ballot clerk to ensure that only eligible members have submitted a ballot.
  4. d. A vote for one candidate only may be cast by any member for each of the national officers on any one ballot. Ballots will be prepared so that only the candidate(s) for the region Director in his/her assigned region appear on each individual's ballot. Votes, by check off or write-in for more than one candidate will cancel all votes cast for that office.
  5. e. All completed ballots must include the voter's signature. Unsigned ballots will be declared invalid.
  6. f. Ballots received after the opening ceremony of the first business day of the meeting will not be accepted by the Teller Committee. The ballot clerk will record time/date such ballots are received.
  7. g. If a duplicate mail ballot/proxy from any one member is on file, the ballot/proxy with the earliest date will be removed and destroyed.
  8. h. Ballots from non-members must be accompanied by a completed application and appropriate dues.

22. ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Notices for announcement to the assembled members shall be in writing, signed by the person (or proper representative of the person) under whose authority the announcement is issued, and shall be sent to the desk of the recording secretary.

23. REVOCATION OF PRIOR RULES:

All prior standing rules, procedures and amendments thereto are hereby revoked and shall become null and void immediately upon the effective date of this operations manual.

24. NOTIFICATION:

A reminder that the meeting procedures are governed by this operations manual shall be published in the Newsletter at least sixty (60) days prior to the meeting so the members may familiarize themselves prior to arrival. Copies of this manual will be available at the Registration Desk for attendees.