Title III - OrganizationArticle 7 The Association is composed of two main branches: the European branch and the North American branch. Each branch is composed of Chapters. In Europe the Chapters are identical with the European countries contributing or having contributed in the past to the international budget of VKI. Alumni working in other countries may affiliate to the Chapter of a country of their choice. There are three Chapters in North America: Canada, US west of the Mississippi river, and US east of the Mississippi. The members of each Chapter elect delegates who are by definition members of the Board of the Association. The establishment of a Chapter requires a minimum number of 10 Alumni. Alumni of countries with an insufficient number of members to form a Chapter may join together to reach this critical number to form a Chapter or may apply for membership to the Chapter of a neighbour country. Chapters with l0 to 50 members may elect 1 delegate to the Board, Chapters with 50 to 100 members 2 delegates, Chapter with 100 to 150 members 3 delegates and Chapters with more than 150 members 4 delegates. Hence, each Chapter disposes of respectively 1, 2, 3 or 4 votes at the board meetings, independent of the number of their delegates actually present or represented at the board meeting. The delegates of all Chapters form the Board of the Association. They elect the President of the Board by simple majority of the votes for a period of 3 years after a call for candidates issued at least 3 month before the election. The candidate is re-eligible for only one second 3-years term. The Board elects also two Vice Presidents, one is elected by delegates of the European branch and the other is elected by the North American branch. The Board also elects a Secretary and a Treasurer. The duration of the mandates of the Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer will be decided upon at the first board meeting. The following competences are attributed to the Board : The Board meets at least once a year. The meeting must be convened and presided over by the President of the Board. It is held preferably at VKI but may be held at any place specified in the notice convening the meeting. A resolution adopted by the Board is valid if and only if at least 51% of the board members are present or represented at the meeting. Any member with voting rights may be represented by another member with voting rights, provided written authorization has been given. A resolution shall be adopted by simple majority of the votes cast by those members with voting rights who are present or represented. In case of equal votes the President’s vote will be preponderant. The President, the Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer treat current affairs. The accountancy of the Association is under the direct responsibility of the Treasurer. In case the Association requests the support of the VKI accounting services it is ensured that the accounts of the Association are entirely separated from those of VKI. Important payments require the double signature of the Treasurer and the Secretary. The Secretary and the Treasurer report to the President who shall keep the Vice-Presidents informed. In case of temporary unavailability of the President, the Board will delegate the tasks of the President to one of the Vice-Presidents or the Secretary. Resolutions of the board meeting are recorded in a register signed by the President and kept at, and only at, the seat of the Association. A copy of the Minutes will be sent to all members of the Association. The tasks of the secretariat and the corresponding budget are defined by the Executive Board and approved by the Board. The work to be carried out by the secretariat requires both secretarial (website and database maintenance, promotional activities, etc.) and technical competences (set up of databases of technical content, of conference programs, assistance in research programs, etc.). All secretarial work is carried out under the direct supervision of the Secretary of the Association. The expenses for the secretariat or any other activity serving the Aims of the Association may by no means exceed the budget provided by the membership fees. |