IAWW-By-Laws

Article I. Membership

1. Any person, of 18 years of age, irrespective of caste, color, creed, race or any national origin, can join the Association.

2.The Association shall offer the following types of memberships: (i) Single, (ii) Family, (iii) Single Student (18 years or over), (iv) Corporate, (v) Life Member – Single, (vi) Life Member – Family.

3. A family is assumed to consist of a husband, a wife, and dependent children and hence is entitled to two (2) votes (husband and wife) in matters of Association.

4. Single and single student memberships each carry one (1) vote.

5. The membership fee may be revised by the Committee.

6. The single, family, and single student memberships are based on a calendar year. The renewal of membership shall be due on January 1 each year.

7. The Committee shall have the authority to bestow honorary membership to deserving candidates. The same process shall be followed for deletion of honorary memberships.

Article II. The Executive Committee

1.The General Body shall elect fifteen (15) members of the Executive Committee at the annual General Body meeting. All candidates for the election must be members in good standing. The Committee members shall elect President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer,

2. Joint-Secretary, and Joint-Treasurer of the Association.

3. The office bearers may serve in the same office for no more than two consecutive years.

4. The Committee shall meet no less than four (4) times a year. Any member of the Committee who absents himself/herself from two (2) consecutive meetings without
informing the Secretary of the reasons of his/her continuous absence shall not be
considered as a Committee member in good standing.

5. The Committee shall carry out the policies and programs formulated for the Association.

6. The Committee shall prepare annual plans and budget each year.

7. The Committee, within the approved budget, is authorized to give donations, grants, aid etc., for educational, social, medical and humanitarian purposes.

8. The Committee shall have the power to appoint special committees for specific purposes and functions, as well as to appoint individuals for rendering services to the Association as may be required from time to time.

9. All the decisions in the meetings of the Committee shall require a majority vote of the Committee members present and voting.

10. The Committee shall appoint a new member for the remaining term in case a vacancy occurs.

Revised on 02/12/04

Article III. Duties of Officers

President: The president of the Committee shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the association. He/She shall also be the Chairperson of the Committee and will preside over all Committee members.

Vice President: He/She shall assume the duties of the president in the event of the President’s absence.

Secretary: The secretary shall assist the president in implementing the policies and decisions. He/She shall keep records of the minutes of the Committee and the General Body meetings, prepare the agenda of the meetings and the progress reports, in consultation with the president.

Treasurer: The Treasurer shall collect the dues, keep accounts of all the receipts and expenses, and deposit all funds received in the name of the Association. The bank account(s) shall be joint accounts in the names of the Treasurer, Joint-Treasurer, President and Secretary. He/She must deposit the money received in the bank account of the association within one week of its receipt. The Treasurer shall sign all checks and make payments in the name of the Association. All checks for payments over $500 (five-hundred dollars) shall be co-signed by another authorized office bearer. Excess payments over $200 (two-hundred dollars) or 10% (ten percent) of the approved budget for an item, whichever is larger, must be approved by the Committee.

Joint-Secretary: He/She shall assume the duties of the Secretary in the event of his/her absence.

Joint-Treasurer: He/She shall assume the duties of the Treasurer in the event of his/her absence.

Article IV. Elections and General Body

1. An annual meeting of the General Body shall be held on the date and in the place decided by the Committee to conduct the following business before the end of the calendar year:

Progress Report by the President.
Financial Statement by the Treasurer.
Election of the Committee members.
Any old business.
Any new business

2. Election of the Committee Members

All nominations shall be filed and confirmed with the Secretary of the Association at least seven (7) days before the election date.
All elections shall be by the majority vote of members present in the meeting and voting. Only members in good standing for at least thirty (30) days prior to the election date will be eligible to vote.
The President or his/her nominee shall act as an Election Officer to conduct the election. All disputes shall be resolved by the Election Officer.

3. The proposal(s) for inclusion of additional items on the Agenda of the General Body meeting shall require written endorsement of at least twenty-five (25) members.

4. At least fifteen (15) days advance notice, indicating the date, time, place, and agenda of the General Body meeting shall be given to members.

5. In special cases, the Secretary, in consultation with the President, may call a short notice meeting of the General Body to discuss important issues.

Revised on 02/12/04

6. If twenty-five (25) or more members send a written request for convening a special meeting of the General Body, specifying the issues/questions to be discussed, the Secretary shall comply with the request within a period of thirty (30) days.

7. All General Body meetings shall be presided over by the President or his/her nominee.

Article V. Budget and Finance

1. The financial year of the Association shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31.

2. A yearly financial summary report shall be presented to the members at the General Body meeting. Audit reports shall be available by May 31 of the next year for examination by any member in good standing.

3. Annual plans and the budget shall be prepared and approved by the Committee and the Treasurer, respectively, by no later than February 15 . The plans and the budget shall include events planned for January and February of the next year.

4. The Committee shall maintain, store, and archive all financial records of the Association. Up-to-date records and registers of the Association shall be handed over to the next Committee at its’ first meeting.

5. Audit: The Committee may appoint a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or nominate an Audit Team from within its membership as per the IRS regulations. The Committee shall make all the books and records available to the Audit Team or CPA and shall submit an audit report once a year.

Article VI. Checks and Balances

1. A No-Confidence resolution can be moved against the member(s) of the Committee providing such a resolution is presented with the written endorsement of at least twenty-five (25) members in good standing and is discussed in the General Body meeting to be called within thirty (30) days of such a notice. Such a resolution shall require for its passage the support of a two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present and voting.

2. The Association has the right to remove from its membership any individual whose activities are considered detrimental to the interest of the Association. Such expulsion(s) shall be discussed in the General Body meeting to be called within thirty (30) days of such a notice and passed with an approval of a two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present and voting. The appropriate procedures, affording full opportunity to the individual(s) concerned to be heard, shall be followed.

3. The Committee may Censure one of its own members with a two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present and voting. If the matter cannot be resolved in the Committee meeting, the Committee shall call a General Body meeting to resolve the matter.

Article VII. General

1. Assets and Liabilities of the Association shall be administered by the Committee. No Committee member shall be personally responsible for any liability(ies) of the Association, if incurred in the best interests of the Association.

2. Voting: All the general matters, unless otherwise specified, shall be adopted by a majority vote of the Committee.

3. The presiding officers in all organs of the Association shall have the right to exercise an additional vote to break a tie, if necessary.

4. Quorum: The quorum for the meetings of the Committee shall be fifty percent (50%). For the General Body meetings, the quorum shall be ten percent (10%) of the total members.

Revised on 02/12/04

5. Meetings: The General Body meeting shall be held at least once a year to apprise the members of the progress and the problems of the Association.

6. Certain cases and situations may arise, with regard to which specific provisions do not exist in this text. Such cases or situations shall be dealt with in accordance with generally accepted democratic principles.

7. Rules of Order: The general procedure of meetings of this Association shall be in harmony with the principles set forth in “Mr. Chairman, Roberts Rule of Order”. Newly revised, this shall be the final authority as to parliamentary procedure, in so far as they do not conflict with any provisions of this Constitution and By-laws.

8. Any amendments to the Constitution or the By-laws become effective only after it is printed or typed and distributed to all the Committee members and is available to members on request.