Approved February 2018

As required by the

SME Board of Directors

 

PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE SECTION

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Mission of SME

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SME advances the worldwide mining and underground

construction community through information exchange and

professional development.

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Who We Are

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The Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Inc. (SME) is a professional

society (nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation) whose more than 15,000 membership

represents all professionals serving the minerals industry in more than

100 countries.  SME members include engineers, geologists,

metallurgists, educators, students and researchers.

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BYLAWS

 

Pennsylvania-Anthracite Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (The official abbreviation of SME is used hereafter.)

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Article I

Name

 

Section 1.  The name of the organization shall be the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME), (hereinafter the "Section"), a member society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME).

 

Article II

Purpose

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The aims and purposes of the Section shall be the promotion of mutual cooperation in furthering the objectives of SME by providing regular meetings for the free discussion of subjects relating to those objectives as well as topics of local concerns to our members.

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Article III

Jurisdiction

 

Section 1. The jurisdiction of this Section will encompass the following counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey.

 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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State of New Jersey

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Article IV

Membership

 

The Section membership shall consist of SME members and non-SME members within the geographic area of the Section.

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• SME Members* (Professional, Registered, Student, Retired and Legion of Honor)

• Non-SME Members with an interest in the advancement of the mining and minerals industry, including mining engineers, geologists and other allied professions.

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* all Section officers must be SME members.

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Section 1.  All members of SME residing or doing business within the Section's jurisdiction shall be eligible for membership. This includes members of member societies of AIME residing or doing business within the same geographical area where there is no Section representation by that society.

        

Section 2.  Honorary membership recognizes outstanding service to the Section or community. A candidate for Honorary Membership can be proposed at a regular meeting by any three members of the Section. The Chair shall charge the Membership Committee to investigate the qualifications of the candidate and present a report at the next regular meeting: election by majority vote of eligible members.

 

Section 3.    Local members can be nominated by a Member or Associate Member of SME who is a Section Member at any time. Upon approval of the qualifications of the candidate for local membership by the Membership Committee, and elected by a majority vote at the next regular meeting. Local members shall be encouraged to join SME.

 

 

Article V

Officers and Committees

 

Section 1. The officers of the Section shall be a Chair, a Past Chair (Section Representative) , a 1st Vice Chair, a 2nd Vice Chair, and a Secretary-Treasurer (or Secretary and Treasurer), each of whom shall be elected annually.  The Chair  shall  not succeed himself/herself.

Section 2. The Executive Committee of the Section shall be composed of the forenamed officers and nine other members of the Section duly elected to three (3) year terms.  The Executive Committee shall function in all respects the same as a board of directors or board of managers of the Section.

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Section 3.  SME membership is a requisite to serve as a Section Officer.

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Section 4.  All officers must be Members in good standing in SME.

 

Section 5.  Officers shall continue to serve until their resignation or retirement or the election of their successors by the Members.  Vacancies in the elected offices of the Executive Committee, with the exception of the Section Chair, shall be filled for the balance of the term by majority vote of the Executive Committee on a candidate selected by a nominating committee under direction of the Chair.  Vacancy in the office of Section Chair shall be filled for the balance of the term by the immediate past Chair and if necessary, progressing in order of past Chairs.

 

Section 6.  Committee Chairs shall be appointed by the Section Chair for a term of one (1) year and shall be members of the Executive Committee.

 

Section 7.  The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees for the investigation of any subject; such committee to report at any meeting of the Section.

 

 

Article VI

Election of Officers and Executive Committee

 

Section 1.  No later than January of each year, the Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint, a Nominating Committee composed of a minimum of three members of the Section to present a slate of at least one candidate for each office at the Annual (April or May) meeting of the Section.  Additional nominations may be made from the floor.

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Section 2.  At each annual meeting there shall be a Chairman, two Vice Chairmen and a Secretary-Treasurer elected for a period of one (1) year, and three members elected as Director for a period of three (3) years. These elected officers, along with three Directors elected two (2) years previous and three Directors elected one (1) year previous, shall comprise the Executive Committee.

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Section 3.  The method of voting shall be determined at each Annual Meeting by the membership present.

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Section 4.  The newly elected officers and board members shall be installed into office at the June or July summer meeting.

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Section 5.  The Secretary of the Section must notify the Member Services Department of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration of the new slate of officers each year no more than ten (10) days following the election.

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Section 6.  Terms of Service of officers and other Member on the Executive Committee elected by the members shall begin on August 1 and end on July 31 of the subsequent year.  SME membership is a requisite to vote for the Section Officers and for the other members of the Executive Committee.

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Section 7. Past Chairmen of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Section, without further confirmation by the Section membership, shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee, to serve as long as they shall retain membership in SME and shall have all privileges of a member of the Executive Committee, including the right to vote.

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Section 8.  Honorary and Local members will be eligible to vote on election of officers and other Section matters.

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Article VII

Duties of Officers

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Section 1.  Responsibilities of Section Officers and Committee Chairmen shall be:

 

•   Chair

Nominated by Nominating Committee

Elected by majority vote of eligible members

Term: One year

   

   1.  Calls all meetings as required to transact business of Section

   2.  Presides at Section meetings

   3.  Chair of the Executive Committee

   4.  Appoints all Section committees

   5.  Responsible for coordinating activities of Section committees

   6.  Responsible for effective performance of Section committees

   7.  Responsible to ensure Section representation at the Regional Meeting of  

        Section Representatives. May himself be Section Representative.

   8.  Advises SME Headquarters of all appointments and actions taken

   9.  Responsible for seeing that appropriate courtesies are offered to visiting

        speakers, official guests and their families, if present.

 

•   First Vice Chair

Nominated by Nominating Committee

Elected by majority vote of eligible members

Term: One year

   

   1.  Member of Executive Committee

   2.  May serve as Chair of a committee

   3.  Serves as Audit Committee chair

   4.  In the temporary absence of the Section Chair, he shall preside at Section

        or Executive Committee meetings

 

•   Second Vice Chair

Nominated by Nominating Committee

Elected by majority vote of eligible members

Term: One year

   

   1.  Member of Executive Committee

   2.  May serve as Chair of a committee

   3.  Serves as golf committee chair

   4.  In the temporary absence of the Section Chair and First Vice Chair,

        he shall preside at Section or Executive Committee meetings

 

•   Secretary-Treasurer

Nominated by Nominating Committee

Elected by majority vote of eligible members

Term: One year

 

   1.  Member of Executive Committee

   2.  Custodian of all records and files of the Section

   3.  Custodian of Section membership rosters

   4.  Prepares and circulates meeting announcements and other information of

        interest to Section membership

   5.  Records Section and Executive Committee meeting minutes

   6.  Answers correspondence unless otherwise directed

   7.  Custodian of Section funds

   8.  Keeps complete and accurate records of Section finances

   9.  Receives and disburses Section money with the approval of the Executive

        Committee

   10. Submits records for an annual audit by a committee to be named by the

         Chair

   11. Provides SME headquarters with all necessary required information

 

•   Director

Nominated by Nominating Committee

Elected by majority vote of eligible members

    Term: Three years

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   1. Member of Executive Committee

   2. May serve as Chair of a committee

   3. Responsible for aiding in the Section operations through the planning activities

       of the Executive Committee

 

•   Section Representative (Formerly Section Delegate)

Immediate past Section Chair, or selected by the Section Chair

Term:  One year

-   Duties outlined in SME Manual of Operations

 

•   Nominating Committee Chair

Retiring Chair

Term:  One year

 

   1.  With his committee, composes a slate of candidates for the elected offices of

        the Section

        a.  Candidates should be so selected as to provide continuity in personnel by

             avoiding a complete change of officers and Executive at one time.

 

• Other Committee Chair (such as MEC Committee Chair, Membership Committee Chair. Publicity Chair, Student Relations Committee Chair Auditing Committee Chair, Scholarship Chair)

Appointed by Chair

Term:    One year

 

   1.  Duties outlined in SME Manual of Operations for all but Scholarship Chair

        to be as described under Sec. 2.

 

Sec. 2.    Honorary and Local members shall be permitted to serve as director, on committees, and as Committee Chair, but shall not be eligible for election to the offices of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, or Section Representative.

 

Sec. 3.    A Scholarship Committee will be tasked with advertisement, acceptance, evaluation, and award of such scholarships determined by and funded by the Executive Committee.

 

   1.   All member classes may become committee members.

         Term: 1 Year

   2.   The committee Chair must hold SME member grade.

   3.   The committee shall recommend the candidates meeting the requirements

         stated in the application form to the Executive Committee sub-committee

         consisting of the sitting Chair, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the

         Scholarship Committee Chair for final selection.

   4.   The Executive Committee shall be able to “name” the scholarships after

         deserving members or former members.

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Article VII

 Dues and Finances

 

Section 1. The ordinary expenses of the Section shall be met by appropriate measures: charge for meetings and encourage corporate sponsorship of the meetings.

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Section 2.  Accounts payable shall be paid by check or other form of bank issued payment at the direction of the Secretary-Treasurer.  Checks or payments greater than $1,000 must also be approved by a second officer.

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Section 3.  The Section shall operate on a fiscal year in accordance with the fiscal year set by the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. (August 1 - July 31).  Section financial statements must be provided to SME Section Coordinator (sections@smenet.org) no later than November 15 annually.

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Section 4.   Local members’ dues will be established by the Executive Committee.

 

 

Article IX

 Meetings

 

Section 1.   The Annual Meeting of the Section for the election of officers shall be held in the month of April or May.

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Section 2.  The time and place of all meetings shall be designated by the Executive Committee. There shall be not less than three meetings per year, at such points in the region as may be thus designated by the Executive Committee.

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Section 3.  Regular meetings of the Section's Executive Committee and its members shall be held as joint meetings at the call of the Chair.  Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be open to all Section Members, except the Executive Committee my vote to go into Executive Session without other Members present.

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Section 4.  At all meetings of the Section or of the Executive Committee, properly announced, those present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

 

Section 5.  The Secretary-Treasurer shall announce the program of all meetings at least one (1) week in advance; notice may be by electronic media, including email, and any social media used by the Section.

 

Section 6.  Special meetings of the Section or of the Executive Committee to consider important business or to hear technical papers or discussions that cannot be scheduled at regular meetings, may be called by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

 

Article X

 Quorum

 

Section 1.   A quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Section shall consist of ten Members, present in person (including telephone or internet participation) or by proxy.

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Section 2.   A quorum at a meeting of the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee present in person or by telephone.  Executive Committee members cannot vote by proxy, but actions of the Executive Committee may be taken by written consent of the requisite number of Executive Committee members so long all Executive Committee members receive prior notice of the matters to be covered by the Consent and no Executive Committee member requests a meeting to consider the matters prior to its approval.

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Article XI

Amendments to Bylaws

 

Section 1.  Amendments and alterations of these Bylaws may be made by a two-thirds vote of the members voting at regular meeting, provided the text of the proposed change be sent with the notice of the meeting.

 

Section 2.  Any five members of the Section may propose an alteration or amendment to these By-Laws by submitting written Copy of the proposed alteration or amendment to the Secretary-Treasurer.

 

Section 3.  Amendments will be reviewed by a staff liaison and if warranted, the amendments will be reviewed by the Structure & Governance Strategic Committee.  After the SGSC approves the changes, they will be submitted to the SME Board of DIrectors.  The SME BOD must approve final amendments to Section Bylaws.

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Article XII

Disposal of Funds on Dissolution

 

On dissolution of this Section, all funds remaining after the payment of its debts and obligations shall be turned over to and paid to SME.  Every effort will be made to use the funding for its original intention (professional development, scholarships or support of the mining industry).  This Article XII is not amendable during the existence of this Section.

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Article XIII

Order of Procedure

 

Unless otherwise determined in a particular case by a vote of the Executive Committee or of the Members, as the case may be, Robert's Rules of Order shall be the official guide of this Section in conducting business at its meetings.

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1.   Reading of Minutes

2.   Reports of Officers and Committees

3.   Unfinished Business

4.   Election of Officers at Annual Meeting

5.   Installation of officers at Summer Meeting

6.   Presentation of Awards at Summer Meeting

7,   New Business and Communications

8.   Reading of Papers and Discussion

9.   Adjournment

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