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Article I - Membership and Dues

Section 1. The categories of membership are: Individual (any person who has an interest in microscopy and supports the purpose of AREMS), Corporate (any person associated with a commercial venture actively marketing microscopy equipment, services, and/or related products and who supports the purpose of AREMS), Distinguished (any member so elected unanimously by the Executive Committee on the basis of significant contribution to AREMS by service or participation), and Honorary (any person selected by the Executive Committee whose association with the Society is deemed important to Society functions).

Section 2. Individual, Corporate, and Distinguished members in good standing shall have the right to vote in any election or Society matter and to hold elective office.

Section 3. The rates for dues in each category, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, shall be established by majority vote of the membership at any meeting. Dues shall become payable on January 1 for that calendar year.

Section 4. Application for membership shall be accompanied by payment of the current year’s dues. Membership shall be approved by the Executive Committee, and new memberships shall be announced in the newsletter.

Section 5. Members with dues in arrears shall be ineligible to vote or hold elective office. Those in arrears for twelve (12) months shall be dropped from the membership. To be reinstated, a member dropped for non-payment of dues must submit an application accompanied by the current year’s dues and dues for the period of non-membership up to three (3) years.

Article II - Elections

Section 1. The Nominating Committee, composed of the Past President (Chairman) and the three Members-at-Large, shall prepare a slate of two nominees for each Society office and shall submit, with approval of the Executive Committee, the ballot to the membership in the Winter Newsletter.

Section 2. Individual, Corporate, and Distinguished members in good standing are eligible for nomination, provided that he/she, if elected, will not simultaneously hold elective office in any other society maintaining affiliate society status with either the Microscopy Society of America or the Microbeam Analysis Society.

Section 3. The ballots shall be returned in an envelope bearing the member’s signature to the Secretary-Treasurer who will count the ballots and have the count verified by the President. Ballots will be accepted for thirty (30) days after the mailing date of the Winter newsletter.. A majority of votes shall constitute election to office, and a tie shall be resolved by the President. All ballots received shall be retained by the Secretary-Treasurer.

Section 4. The results of elections shall be announced by the President at the Spring Meeting and in the Summer Newsletter. Those elected shall take office at the close of the Fall Meeting, at which time the current President-elect and Secretary-Treasurer-elect become the President and Secretary-Treasurer.

Article II - Elections, Continued.

Section 5. In the event that the President or Secretary-Treasurer leaves office during her/his term, the President-elect or the Secretary-Treasurer-elect assumes the respective office and serves for the remainder of the term and then assumes her/his regular term of office. If the President-elect or Secretary-Treasurer elect leaves office during her/his term, the nominating committee will initiate election of a replacement in accordance with the procedures for regular election. If any Member-at-Large leaves office during her/his term, the Executive Committee will elect a replacement from the respective membership category. If the Past President cannot serve her/his full term, the Executive Committee will elect a replacement from the Past Presidents of the Society.

Article III - Fiscal Responsibility

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall have the sole authority to select specific financial institutions for the Society’s accounts.

Section 2. Only the President and Secretary-Treasurer are authorized to sign for the Society’s financial accounts.

Article IV -Executive Committee

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall meet during each of the biannual meetings of the membership, at the direction of the President, and prior to the publication of the winter and summer newsletters.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall discuss recommendations from committees and individual members and, where appropriate, bring these matters to the general membership for consideration. In addition, the Executive Committee shall advise the President on committee appointments and society affairs.

Section 3. The Executive Committee, with the advice of the President and membership, shall select the site of and appoint a local meeting host for each spring and fall meeting.

Section 4. The Executive Committee shall maintain the AREMS Leadership Guide, which details the responsibilities of all officers and committees, and shall periodically examine the AREMS Leadership Guide to determine whether revision of the document is appropriate. All revisions of this document must be approved by the Executive Committee.

Article V - The Newsletter

Section 1. The newsletter shall be the official Society forum for communication with the membership and shall be published as a winter issue and a summer issue. The winter issue shall be published and mailed between December 1 and February 28. The summer issue shall be published and mailed between June 1 and August 31. Newsletter composition, publication, and mailing shall be directed by a newsletter Editor and/or a newsletter Publisher.

Article V - The Newsletter, Continued.

Section 2. On the recommendation of the President, the Executive Committee shall appoint the newsletter Editor and the newsletter Publisher at the fall meeting. Appointment to newsletter editor shall be open to any individual, member or non-member, with the appropriate editing skills. Appointment to newsletter Publisher shall be open to any individual member with the appropriate means of publishing and mailing the Newsletter, in a cost effective manner.

Section 3. If requested by either the President, the newsletter Editor, or the newsletter Publisher; the newsletter Editor and/or Publisher shall meet with the Executive Committee during any scheduled Executive Committee meeting. The newletter Editor and/or Publisher shall request resources, as needed, from the President or Executive Committee.

Section 4. Each issue of the newsletter shall contain, minimally, the following items: A) President’s letter; B) Secretary-Treasurer’s report; C) Society meeting announcements and registration materials; D) official items of business; and E) a list of all corporate members with the name of each member, the company represented, an address, and telecommunications numbers.

Section 5. The newsletter Editor shall provide the newsletter Publisher the appropriate issue, copy-ready for publication.

Section 6. The newsletter shall be published and mailed by the newsletter Publisher to all members in accordance with a list provided by the Secretary-Treasurer.

Article VI - Other Designated Committees

Section 1. The Audit Committee; composed of the Members-at-Large and the President-elect, who shall serve as Chair; shall audit the financial records of the society at the close of the Secretary-Treasurer’s term of office..

Section 2. The Willmarth Research Award Committee; composed of the Members-at-Large and the Past President, who shall serve as non-voting Chair; shall select the recipient of the Willmarth Research Award. The recipient shall be a member of AREMS selected according to the Willmarth Research Award guidelines. Changes in the guidelines shall be approved by the Executive Committee.

Article VII - Duties of Officers

Section 1. The President shall direct the activities of the Society, shall preside at all Society meetings and Executive Committee meetings, and shall be the Society liaison to all affiliated societies. He/she shall appoint ad hoc committees from the Executive Committee or the general membership as necessary. Each ad hoc committee shall be discharged at the close of the appointing President’s term unless reappointed by the next President.

Article VII - Duties of Officers, Continued.

Section 2. The President-elect shall support the President and shall discharge the duties of the President during her/his absence from any meeting. He/she shall administer the absentee exhibitor program for all meetings and shall serve as Chair of the Audit Committee.

Section 3. The Past President shall advise and support the President, serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee, and serve ex officio as the non-voting Chair of the Willmarth Research Award Committee.

Section 4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall monitor the collection and expenditure of all AREMS funds and shall provide financial and membership reports for all Society and Executive Committee meetings, for newsletter mailings, as requested by the President, and as requested by the Auditing Committee. He/she shall be responsible for maintaining the membership roster for the Society, filing appropriate governmental regulatory forms, and recording the minutes of all Society meetings and Executive Committee meetings. In addition, he/she shall be responsible for maintaining the present and past records of the Society, making all active Society documents available to those attending official meetings, passing all documents and records to the incoming Secretary-Treasurer, administering proposed amendment changes of the Society Constitution and Bylaws, and directing the activities of the Secretary-Treasurer-elect.

Section 5. The Secretary-Treasurer-elect shall take direction from the Secretary-Treasurer and shall discharge the duties of the Secretary-Treasurer during her/his absence from any meeting.

Section 6. The Members-at-Large will represent the interests of the three main membership components of the Society , viz., the Biological Sciences, Corporate, and Physical Sciences and shall serve ex officio on the Audit Committee and with the Past President on the Nominating Committee and the Willmarth Research Award Committee. In addition, they will assist the local meeting host with meeting arrangements and speakers.

Article VIII - Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by ten percent of the members in good standing in a petition to the Secretary-Treasurer. Suggestions for amendments shall be received at any meeting of the AREMS membership.

Section 2. Proposed amendments shall be promptly submitted by the Secretary-Treasurer with signed statements of support and/or opposition for each amendment, and the ballots shall be accepted by the Secretary-Treasurer for thirty (30) days after the mailing date of the proposed amendments. The Secretary-Treasurer shall count the ballots, and the amendment(s) shall be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

Section 3. Any member in good standing, on written request submitted with the ballot to the Secretary-Treasurer, may witness the counting of the ballots, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall retain the ballots for inspection by the membership at the next biannual meeting.