American Meteorological Society

Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter

This local chapter shall be known as the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.

The Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society shall promote advancements in operational meteorology through research, forecasting, broadcasting and education. The chapter shall serve the residents of Delaware, eastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey by providing the community with a social and scientific point of contact for matters dealing with meteorology, hydrology and other related sciences. The Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society shall encourage collaborative research among its members and shall engage in continuing education on the latest developments in the various branches of the science.

1. Membership is open to any resident of Delaware, eastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania or southern New Jersey with an interest in meteorology and its related fields and who agrees to abide by the requirements of this constitution.


2. Officers shall be the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Officers shall be active members of the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.


3. Regular elections for the offices of President and Secretary shall be held in the spring of years ending in an odd number (beginning with the year 2003). Regular elections for the offices of Vice-President and Treasurer shall be held in the spring of years ending in an even number (beginning with the year 2004). Terms of office shall be two years in length, except for those of the first Vice-President and the first Treasurer which shall be three years in length. An officer may not run as a candidate for any office in the same year during which his or her term ends. However, that individual may run for election anytime thereafter.


4. The President will preside as the Chair at all local chapter meetings and is responsible for the ideological and financial well being of the chapter. The President has the authority to appoint committees, to act upon local chapter interests as necessary and to oversee the goals and aspirations of the active membership. The President shall report directly to the Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society. The President is required to be a Member, Associate Member or Student Member of the American Meteorological Society.


5. The Vice-President will preside as the Chair in the absence of the President and is the Chair of the Program Committee. The Vice-President will also assist the other officers in the performance of their duties.


6. The Treasurer will serve as the administrative focal point for all chapter activities, preside as the Chair of the Membership Committee, keep a current list of the active membership and maintain accurate financial records concerning local chapter activities. The Treasurer (or the Treasurer's designee) shall make a report of the financial status of the chapter at each meeting. In the absence of both the President and the Vice-President, the Treasurer will serve as the Chair at the local chapter meeting.


7. The Secretary will be charged with keeping the active membership informed about chapter functions, preside as Chair of the Publicity Committee, and submit reports of chapter activities to the national organization through the President. In the absence of the President, Vice-President and Treasurer, the Secretary will serve as Chair at the local chapter meeting.


8. The active membership has the right to remove anyone from office if that individual's actions or activities warrant dismissal. A majority vote by the active membership is required to dismiss a local chapter office.

1. The Executive Committee will be chaired by the President and will consist of four members: the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.


2. The Program Committee will be chaired by the Vice-President and will have up to two other members.


3. The Membership Committee will be chaired by the Treasurer and will have up to two other members.


4. The Publicity Committee will be chaired by the Secretary and will have up to two other members. The Publicity Committee will keep the national American Meteorological Society advised of all local chapter activities.


5. Additional committees shall be organized at the discretion of the President.


6. Committees shall consist of active members of the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.

Article V: Dues

1. Members shall pay annual dues of ten dollars ($10.00) to the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.


2. Student membership will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled at an accredited academic institution on at least a half time basis. Annual dues for student members shall be five dollars ($5.00) and shall be paid ro the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.


3. Members who are 70 years of age or older will not be required to pay annual dues but will be considered active members and will enjoy voting privileges.


4. Annual dues are to be paid in full by the end of the second meeting of the chapter year. Payment of dues will entitle an individual to active member status and voting privileges. If local chapter dues are not paid on time the individual's membership privileges will be revoked and that individual will no longer receive announcements of future chapter activities.


5. Use of all dues shall be for activities of the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and for the betterment of the chapter.

1. All active members of the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meterologica Society may participate in voting.


2. A simple majority of a quorum is required for the election of officers and for matters other than constitutional reform. A quorum is defined as more than one half of the active membership and must include one elected officer. If a quorum is present at a meeting, voting may take place at that time. Otherwise, all matters that require a vote will be subject to one carried out by electronic mail. If an active member does not have access to electronic mail, other arrangements will be made by the Executive Committee, upon request, to allow that individual to cast his or her vote. The President or a designee of the President shall retain copies of all ballots for a period of one year.


3. If voting by electronic mail becomes necessary for a matter other than the election of officers or constitutional reform, the vote will take place one week after the minutes from the meeting have been made available. After the one week waiting period, the President (or the President's designee) will post the question to all active members. Votes will be accepted during a seven (7) day period beginning on the day after the question is posted. This will ensure that the vote will be competed by the next meeting. Votes will be made directly to the President (or the President's designee). Results of the vote will be announced at the next meeting.


4. A two-thirds majority of the active membership is required for ammendment of the constitution. If voting by electronic mail becomes necessary for a matter of constitutional reform, the vote will take place one week after the minutes from the meeting have been made available. After the one week waiting period, the President (or the President's designee) will post the question to all active members. Votes will be accepted during a seven (7) day period beginning on the day after the question is posted. This will ensure that the vote will be completed by the next meeting. Votes will be made directly to the President (or the President's designee). Results of the vote will be announced at the next meeting.


5. In the case of the election of officers there will be an open period for the nomination of candidates. The nominations will be accepted during a period of at least twenty-one (21) days set sometime during the months of February and March. The Executive Committee will predetermine the dates for the nomination period and the Vice-President will be responsible for collecting the nominations. The Executive Committee will be responsible for informing the membership of the slate of candidates no later than 31 March. The election of officers will take place by electronic mail sometime during the second half of April. Ballots will be accepted during a period of at least seven (7) days. The Executive Committee will predetermine the election period and will be responsible for receiving and tallying the votes. The newly elected officers will be announced within fourteen (14) days of the end of the election period.


6. If an office becomes vacant, the remaining Executive Committee members shall select a qualified active member to fill the vacancy. Two votes are required to fill a vacancy in this fashion. If no candidate receives two votes, the President shall make a selection to fill the vacancy. In either case, the active member selected to fill the vacancy must be ratified by a simple majority of a quorum.


7. At the first meeting of the Delaware-Philadelphia Area Chapter of the American Meteorological Society both the nomination and election of officers shall take place.