BY-LAWS

The By-Laws Committee consists of three (3) members appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Committee. The By-Laws Committee is chaired by a Member-at-Large.

The By-Laws Committee reviews the existing By-Laws and proposes amendments which are in accordance with recommendations for amendments or improvements for clarification.

The proposed By-Law amendments are submitted to the Executive Committee for their approval and then sent to the Webmaster for posting on the website least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting.

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FINANCE

The Finance Committee, composed of three or more members, is appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer is the Chairperson of the Finance Committee.

The Executive Committee should submit recommendations or items for inclusion in the budget, including requests for budget from all other Standing Committees. The Finance committee reviews expenses and assets and prepares a budget to be presented to the Executive Committee for their approval at the meeting immediately prior to the Annual Meeting.

The annual budget should include:

1. cost of reimbursing the Association’s members who represent ASTDN at meetings approved by the Executive Committee and deemed significant to the interests of the Association or to public health nursing;
2. Costs associated with the Mid-Year and Annual Meetings;
3. Archive fee;
4. Web-site management and other costs;
5. Special Association projects;
6. Administrative support staff; and
7. Special notices, awards, Presidential Plaque or Presidential Gift, and other regular business expenses. The Committee may wish to meet immediately following the Annual Meeting.

The Finance Committee also makes recommendations as to other financial matters, including financial policies, and means of raising funds to support the required Association activities.

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HISTORY

The History Committee is appointed by the incoming President and approved by the Executive Committee. It is chaired by the Immediate Past President and usually consists of three (3) individuals interested in preservation of records.

The History Committee is responsible for preserving copies of minutes of Annual Meetings, pertinent information and documents of the Association.

The Association has established the University of Virginia School of Nursing, Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry (CNHI) as the official repository of the Association’s historical documents. Following the Annual Meeting, the Immediate Past-President compiles materials from her/his term as President and may consult the History Committee on selecting documents to be sent to the CNHI for preservation.

The following documents should be sent:

• Membership list
• Executive Board members and committee chairs list
• Minutes of Executive Committee meetings
• Annual Meeting brochure, agenda and minutes
• Budgets
• Committee and Partner reports
• Correspondence
• Newsletters
• By-Laws & Policies and Procedures
• Quad Council Membership list and minutes
• Contracts and agreements adopted that year
• Position statements compeleted that year
• Pictures
• Other significant documents

The following guidelines are suggested by CNHI:

• Do not send any documents needed for reference, action or information
• Do not punch holes in the doucuments or put them in a notebook
• Send as much information as possible with photos, such as who is in the photo, the event, and year and date. Do not write on the back of the picture; put the information on a "stickly note."

The Association should maintain in its immediate possession all documents needed for reference, action or information. As a rule, documents that are sent to be archived should be at least five (5) years of age. However at the time of the Annual Meeting, the History Committee is responsible for reviewing and selecting all official documents and selects at its discretion materials, documents, and papers believed to be of significance for preservation.

An initial donation of $600 was paid in 1999 to CNHI, to establish the ASTDN repository and to preserve and process existing documents. The Association will donate funds annually thereafter to cover the cost of maintaining the repository and to manage all additional donations of documents. The History Committee is charged with assuring inclusion in the ASTDN annual budget of the yearly remittance to the Center For Nursing Histotical Inquiry.

Contact informaion for CNHI is as follows:

The Center For Nursing Histotical Inquiry
School of Nursing/McLeod Hall
PO Box 800782
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0782

E-mail: nurs-hxc@virginia.edu

Phone: (434) 924-0083
Fax: (434) 982-1809
http://www.nursing.virgina.edu/centers/cnhi/default.asp

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MEMBERSHIP

The chairperson of the Membership Committee shall be one of the Members-At-Large on the Executive Committee and there shall be at least two other members. The purpose of the Membership Committee is to:

1. Provide a mechanism for assessing membership in the organization.
   
2. Provide recommendations for membership changes or policies on membership as needed.
   
3. Develop materials for recruitment of members and for new members.

To be eligible for voting membership in the Association, a person must be a registered nurse and serving as the Director of Pubic Health Nursing for the official state or territorial health agency or the District of Columbia and a dues-paying member. If that position is vacant or non-existent, the state health official may designate an RN representative to the organization. Alumni, former members of ASTDN, and Associates, others interested in ASTDN’s missions and goals, may become Alumni or Associate members upon payment of dues. Alumni and Associate members may serve on committees but may not serve as officers and are not accorded voting privileges. The Membership committee will work with the President and officers of the association, and the contracted administrative support staff person to keep the information regarding the membership mailing list current, Chairperson of Membership Committee will notify administrative support staff of materials to be sent to new members.

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COMMUNICATIONS

The Communications Committee consists of the Chair, appointed by the President with approval of Executive Committee, and at least two (2) other members. The Secretary serves as an ex-officio member. The chair compiles and assures regular and timely communication to the membership of the Association via the newsletters, the website and other means as determined by the Committee or Executive Committee.

The committee may designate one member as the primary contact for each category of information on the website and shall share that list of contacts with the “webmaster.” The committee shall determine the appropriateness for communicating specific types of information to the members.

The newsletter generally includes, but is not limited to:

1. President’s message.
   
2. Reports on Association initiatives and projects.
   
3. Details on Annual Meeting including registration, educational offering and other useful information, state gift process, etc.
   
4. Items of interest to Association members from partner's newsletters and condensed for inclusion on the website.
   
5. Summary of official minutes of Executives Committee.
   
6. Notices, information, and summaries of pertinent activities of ASTDN and other nursing organizations.

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NOMINATIONS

The Nominations Committee of three (3) members is appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Committee. The chairperson is the Immediate Past President. If that member is unable to serve, the President with the approval of the Executive Committee shall appoint as chairperson a member who has served at least one term on the Executive Committee.

The Nominatons Committee prepares a slate of nominees. The ballot shall include no less than two candidates for each office to be filled unless an exception is approved by the Executive Committee. The sequence of offices is as follows:

Elected in even numbered years: President-elect, Treasurer, two (2) Members-at-Large.

Elected in odd numbered years: President-elect, Secretary, one (1) Member-at-Large.

The Nominations Committee’s responsibilities include:

1. Obtain member’s consent to serve if elected.
   
2. Prepare short biographic summaries of candidates.
   
3. Assure the ballot and biographic sketches are provided to the membership at least 30 days before the Annual Meeting.
   
4. Accept ballots from eligible voting members until 5 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

The Chairperson of the Nominations Committee will bring the sealed ballots to the Annual Meeting at which time the President will appoint three tellers to count the votes, and report the results to the membership. Those elected will take office at the end of the final business meeting, and begin their term of offices at the Post-Annual Executive Committee Meeting.

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PROGRAM

The Program Committee is composed of three or more members appointed by the President with approval by the Executive Committee at the Post-Annual Meeting. A designated Member-At-Large serves on the Program Committee and may be asked to serve as chairperson. It is customary that the host-state member for the next Annual Meeting serves on the Program Committee. The Program Committee plans the Annual Meeting and makes arrangements for other meetings as requested by the Executive Committee. All arrangements must be approved by the Executive Committee.

Program planning includes:

1. Arranging for the education content of the Continuing Eduction day.The dates, sites and general program theme are determined in consulation with the Executive Committee.
   
2. Coordinating the business session agenda with the President,
   
3. Coordinating communications with the membership and the Secretary,
   
4. Coordinating registration fees and arrangements with the Treasurer,
   
5. Coordinating all local events with the host-state member. (The host-state member must work closely with the chairperson in planning the Annual Meeting.)

Special responsibilities of the host-state member are as follows:

1. Select hotel meeting site with offers all required space and accommodations.
   
2. Obtain hotel reservation cards, brochures of state attractions, and information on transportation service to and from the airport. Information and pertinent materials should be posted on the website. .
   
3. Suggest and arrange for special activities in the area approved by the Executive Committee.
   
4. Arrange for continuing education credit for the continuing Education day of the Annual Meeting.
   
5. Request Program Committee designee to assist with registration of the continuing Education Day.
   
6. Issue invitations to continuing Education Day Program to local area nurses.
   

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SPECIAL COMMITTEES

The President with the approval of the Executive Committee may appoint other Ad Hoc and Special Committees as may be deemed necessary to conduct the business of the Association.

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ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE ASSOCIATION LIAISON TO OTHER ORGANIZAITONS

The President may appoint a memberof the Executive Committee or general membership to work with other public health nursing organizations and partners to promote the Association's goals:).

Responsibilities include:

1. Identify programs and activities of the respective liaison organizations that impact public health nursing or the interests of the Association.
   
2. Inform the liaison organization about actions and/or concerns of the Association.
   
3. Inform the Executive Committee of any issues to which the Association should respond.
   
4. Inform Association members about the liaison organization’s major activities at the Annual Meeting.
   
5. Attend meetings of the liaison organization if appropriate.
   
6. With the approval of the Executive Committee, assure that the respective liaison organizations are sent copies of resolutions or actions from the Annual Meeting.

In addition to attending liaison organization meetings, methods of liaison activity should include:

1. Review journals for programs and activities of the organization that may be of significance to the Association.
   
2. Maintain personal correspondence or communication with persons on the executive body of the liaison organization to assure exchange of essential information.
   
3. Prepare written reports of liaison organization for the Annual Meeting.
   

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Forward - Appendix I Meeting Agendas

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PDF of complete ASTDN Policy and Procedures Manual