By-Laws

Article I: NAME

The name of this association, incorporated under the laws of Virginia, is the Virginia Public Health Association, herein after referred to as "this Association."

MISSION: To assist in protecting the public's health through promoting the
individual personal health of all Virginians and the continuing education of the
public health professionals.

Objectives:

1. To advance public health policy.
2. To stimulate public support for public health.
3. To improve public health practice.
4. To strengthen and support the Association.

Article II: PURPOSE

The purposes and objectives of this Association are:

• To provide an opportunity for persons actively engaged or interested in the broad field of public health to meet together and share knowledge and experiences in order to achieve the primary goal of protecting and promoting public and personal health.
• To provide leadership in public health in the state or region by studying and becoming familiar with public health needs and problems, and then initiating and supporting action to meet need or remedy problems.
• To promote continuing educational opportunities for public health and allied workers in order to acquire new or broader knowledge and to develop new skills and techniques for more effective services.
• To stimulate, initiate or undertake studies or surveys in public health.
• To encourage collaborative effort in support of public health objectives among official, voluntary and professional organizations concerned with such fields as health, welfare, mental health, education, and public administration.
• To stimulate high professional standards in the field of public health.
• To initiate and support legislative action that will strengthen public health.
• To involve the public and a variety of community groups in public health programs to increase their knowledge of the field and to gain their support.
• To function actively as an affiliate of the American Public Health Association.

Article III: MEMBERSHIP

There shall be six categories of membership: Active, Retired, Student, Honorary, LifeTime, and Organization.

Active: Any person who is engaged professionally or interested in the field of public health shall be eligible for membership. Members in good standing shall enjoy all privileges of this Association.

Retired:  Any person who has retired from active practice and no longer derives significant income for work-related activities shall be eligible for membership.

Student: Students enrolled in full time undergraduate and graduate studies shall be eligible for student membership and shall enjoy all privileges except holding office or committee chairmanship in this Association.

Honorary: Honorary membership may be conferred upon any person who has rendered distinguished service in public health and has been approved by the Board of Directors. Honorary members shall enjoy all privileges of this Association, and shall retain their honorary status for a time determined by the Board.

LifeTime: Any Person meeting these criteria and has Board approval, shall enjoy all privileges of this Association for life. The criteria include:
· VPHA membership for a minimum of ten years;
· Served minimum of one term on VPHA Board of Directors or two on VPHA Board Standing Committees
· Submission of a one-page paper from the candidate's sponsor for presentation to the VPHA Board of Directors outlining candidate's "distinguished" service in Public Health along with two letters of support from VPHA members.
The VPHA Life Membership can only be approved once a year and cannot exceed two memberships per year.

Organization: Organizations or corporations interested in public health may be elected to sustaining membership subject to rules prescribed by the Board of Directors and shall enjoy all privileges of membership except holding office or committee chairmanship in this Association. Relate to Dues Structure with levels of organizations with different categories of dues.

Article IV: DUES

Dues for all categories of membership shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Honorary members will not be required to pay dues. A member in good standing is one who has paid his dues during the current fiscal year.

Article V: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1: The governing body of this Association shall consist of the four officers of the Association, the Immediate Past President, and the three appointed Regional Directors who shall serve for two years each. Staff to the Board: Executive Secretary.

Section 2: A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the board; two shall be officers.

Section 3: The duties of the Board of Directors shall include:

A. Exercising the full powers of this Association in all matters requiring action between meeting of this Association and submitting a report to the membership of all actions taken.
B. Reviewing and approving policies for this Association.
C. Determining the time and place of meeting of this Association.
D. Approving the appointment of all committees of this Association.
E. Reviewing all committee reports before their presentation to this Association.
F. Acting as trustees of this Association's property.
G. Reviewing all resolutions to be submitted to a vote of this Association.
H. Determining the publications of this Association, all of which shall become the property of this Association.
I. Executive Secretary: All tasks and duties consistent with the position of Executive Secretary.

Article VI: OFFICERS

Section 1: The officers of this Association shall be President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2: The officers of this Association shall be elected for a term of two years or until their successors are elected. Officers shall assume their duties at the close of the annual business meeting of the year in which they are elected.

Section 3: Vacancies in the office of President shall be filled automatically by the President-Elect. Vacancies other than President and President-Elect shall be filled by election at the next meeting of the Board of Directors.

Section 4: Officers may, at the discretion of the Board, be removed from office under the following conditions:

a.  Absence from more than three (3) consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors or more than fifty (50) percent of the meetings during their term in office.

b.  Misappropriation of funds of the Association.

c.  Failure to carry out the duties of their office as specified in this Constitution and By-laws, and as directed by the Board.

Section 5:  Procedures for removal from office:

a.  The Board of Directors will initiate a review process of the individual in question. An affirmative majority vote of the remaining Board members will remove the individual from the Board of Directors. The final outcome of the vote will be communicated to the individual in question in writing immediately following the decision.

b.  Any member of the Association having evidence of reason for removal from office under provisions of Section 4b and 4c shall present said evidence to the President. The President shall notify the accused officer of the charges and inform that officer that the matter will be placed on the Agenda for the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Following presentation of the evidence to the Board of Directors, the accused officer shall be given the opportunity to defend the charges. The Board of Directors shall determine if the evidence is sufficient for the removal of the officer. Two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board of Directors present must concur in the removal of the officer.

c.  Vacancy caused by the removal of any officer shall be filled as provided in Section 3.

d.  The provisions of Section 4 shall apply equally to members of the Board of Directors. 

Article VII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: The President shall be the executive officer of this Association and shall preside at the Annual Business Meeting and all sessions of the Board of Directors.

Section 2: The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the absence of the President and shall automatically succeed to the office of President at the expiration of the officer's term. In the case of a vacancy in the office of the President, President-Elect shall become President and subsequently fill the office of President as is entitled the President-Elect. The President-Elect shall serve as the APHA representative.

Section 3: The Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes of the Annual Business Meeting and all meetings of the Board of Directors, maintaining and publishing a roster of all standing committees of this Association and conducting all correspondence necessary for conducting the business of this Association. The Secretary shall also represent this Association as the agent maintaining corporate status.

Section 4: The Treasurer shall collect dues from members of this Association, shall be custodian of all funds collected and be responsible for disbursements made, upon authorization from the President; shall make an accounting of receipts and disbursements at each annual educational conference and at such other times as requested by the Board of Directors; and shall furnish a financial statement with supporting books, vouchers and other documentation to the Audit Committee. The Treasurer shall serve as chair of the Finance Committee.

Section 5: The Regional Directors shall be appointed and shall be responsible for promoting membership within the region coordinating regional activities, and providing leadership and structure which meets the needs of the membership within the region and promotes the purposes of this Association.

Article VIII: COMMITTEES

Section 1: Committees of this Association may be created by the President or Board of Directors by formal resolution. The Chairman and members of all committees shall be appointed by the President except as otherwise provided for by these By-laws. The terms of all committees shall expire no later than twelve months from the date of appointment except in the case of special committees which shall cease to function at the conclusion of their special tasks or when discharged by the Board of Directors.

Section 2: The following standing committees shall be appointed:

A. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Immediate past President, the four Officers and the three Regional Directors. The function of this committee is to act on behalf of the Board of Directors when the Board is unable to meet. Additional functions shall be to collaborate as needed regarding activities that relate to public health and assist in the coordination of these activities within this Association and to act on Association and public health issues. All action by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Board of Directors at the next scheduled meeting.

B. Public Policy and Resolutions Committee: This committee shall consist of a chairman and members appointed by the President. The functions of the Public Policy and Resolutions Committee shall be to study and make recommendations regarding legislative, public policy and resolutions to the Board of Directors. The committee will be responsible for following the proposals of federal, state and local legislative bodies in order to provide this Association with information concerning current legislative actions. The recommendations of this committee, approved by the President, shall be transmitted to appropriate entities and to aid in promotion of good health practices.

C. Nominating Committee: This committee shall consist of three members including the Immediate past President who shall serve as chairman or the board's appointee. The remaining members shall be elected at the annual meeting of this Association. It shall be their duty to present a slate of nominees for approval by the Board of Directors no later than 60 days before the annual meeting. These nominees shall represent various fields of interest within public health and geographic regions of Virginia.

D. Program Committee: The committee shall consist of a chairman and members appointed by the President. The function of this committee shall be to plan the program for the annual meeting, which shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.

E. Marketing and Membership Committee: The committee shall consist of a chairman and members appointed by the President. The primary function of this committee shall be to promote the membership in the Association and develop and implement marketing strategy activities and materials designed to promote the VPHA mission and vision. The committee shall also be responsible for developing and disseminating informational flyers/brochures for VPHA sponsored educational program and annual conference. All of the committee's planned activities/materials shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.

F. Ad hoc committees: The following committees are appointed by the President:
1) Audit Committee: The duties of this committee shall be to examine and audit books of this association and report their findings to the Board of Directors.
2) Awards Committee: This committee is responsible for recommending award recipients to the Board of Directors prior to the annual conference.
3) Continuing Education: This committee is responsible for the provision of continuing education credit units for VPHA sponsored educational programs.
4) Finance Committee: The committee shall make recommendations to the
Board of Directors regarding the fiscal management of this association, in
collaboration with the Treasurer.

Article IX: ELECTIONS

Section 1: Officers shall be elected by mail ballot of the total membership. No person shall be eligible for election that is not a member in good standing. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for conducting the election. A ballot and biographical information on each nominee shall be mailed to the membership at least 30 days prior to the first day of the annual meeting. The President shall appoint a three member Tally Committee at the annual meeting. The nominees in each category receiving the highest number of votes shall be reported by the Tally Committee at the final business session of the annual meeting.

Section 2: All ballots cast shall be turned over to the Executive Secretary who shall keep them for a period of one year. If the results of an election are challenged, the President shall appoint two or more inspectors of election, who shall examine the ballots and certify their acceptance or rejection of ballot based on the official records of this Association.

Article X: FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of this Association shall be from January 1 to December 31. Annual membership dues are to be collected throughout the year.

Article XI. MEETINGS

Section 1: The annual meeting shall be held at a time and place decided upon by the Board Directors. Other meetings may be arranged, as the Board of Directors deems necessary.

Section 2: A quorum of this Association shall consist of 25 percent of the current membership of whom at least two shall be officers of this Association.

Section 3: Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the President four times per year and may be by teleconference. Special meetings or conference telephone calls may be called by the President or at the request of the Board of Directors. Notice of special meetings will be issued stating the purpose of the meeting.

Section 4: The business sessions of this organization shall be conducted according to "Robert's Rules of Order", revised except in the announcement of ballot results where only the names of the winners shall be announced.

Article XII. AMENDMENTS

These By-laws may be amended by 50 percent of members in good standing, voting by mail ballot, provided that the amendment has received prior approval of the Board of Directors. In order to be considered valid, return ballots must be post-marked no later than 30 days from the dates of mailing the ballot. All ballots shall be returned to the Executive Secretary.

By-laws amended January, 2005.