By-Laws

Missouri Chapter of the

American Academy of Pediatrics (MO – AAP)

Article I.  – Name

The name of this society shall be the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Article II – Object

The object of the Chapter shall be to promote and execute in Missouri the policies and objectives of the American Academy of Pediatrics and to increase and improve in every way health services for children in Missouri.

Article II – Membership

Section 1:         There shall be eight (8) classes of membership:
Fellows
Associates
Honorary Members
Resident Fellows
Candidate Fellows
Residents
Medical Students
Affiliate Members

Section 2:         Fellows – Fellows of this Chapter shall be members in good standing of the American Academy of Pediatrics, practicing and/or residing in Missouri who have paid current Chapter dues.

Section 3.         Pediatric Physicians – Any physician, practicing in Missouri, whose primary area of practice is in Pediatrics may become an pediatric physician member of this Chapter upon recommendation of two (2) Fellows of the Chapter and payment of Chapter dues.

Section 4:         Honorary Members – Honorary Membership may be extended to those physicians who have distinguished themselves in Pediatrics and/or who have retired from active practice and/or active membership in the Chapter. Honorary Members may attend all meetings but may not vote, and are perpetually exempt from dues and assessments.

Section 5:         Resident Fellows – A Resident Fellow must be in the first three (3) years of Pediatrics specialty training which is approved for credit toward certification. Resident Fellows may attend meetings, but may not vote or hold either Chapter or national offices. They may become members of both Chapter and National Committees and may become members of Sections,

Section 6:         Candidate Fellows – Candidate Fellowship membership is available to applicants irrespective of board certification status, but is limited to a period of four (4) years, following the completion of the third year of residency. Candidate Fellows may attend meetings, but may not vote or hold either Chapter or national offices. They may be appointed to serve on national committees and may become members of sections.

Section 7:         Medical Students –Membership is available to all medical students who complete the AAP’s medical student application to meet their standards and who are being educated in Missouri. Medical students may attend all Chapter meetings but may not vote or hold Chapter offices.

Section 8:         Affiliate Members – Affiliate membership is reserved for those members who have a particular interest in the well-being of children’s healthcare issues, (i.e., pediatric dentists; dentists; etc.) Affiliate members may attend all Chapter meetings but may not vote or hold Chapter or national offices.

Article IV – Officers

Section 1:         The officers of the Chapter shall be a President, President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer. The officers must be Fellows of the Chapter and members of the national American Academy of Pediatrics. Nominations for election shall be submitted by a Nominating Committee.  Election of Chapter officers shall be by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 2:         The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter. (S)He shall, by virtue of his/her office, be the State Chairperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics  and the President-Elect shall be his/her alternate. (S)He shall appoint all committees subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. (S)He shall be a member ex-officio of all committees. His/Her term of office shall be limited to one (1) two-year term. (S)He shall submit a report at the Annual Meeting.  Standing Committees appointed by the President shall include but not be limited to:

  1. Nominating Committee
  2. Membership Committee
  3. Communications Committee
  4. Legislative Committee

Section 3:         The President-Elect shall act as the President in his/her absence in full authority. His/Her term of office shall be limited to one (1) two-year term.

Section 4:         The Secretary-Treasurer shall, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, give notice of all meetings and keep records of all business conducted by the Chapter. (S)He shall, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, send to each member, at least three (3) weeks before the Annual Meeting, the nominations for officers for the ensuing year as submitted by the Nominating Committee. (S)He shall, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, conduct all elections. (S)He shall, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, collect all dues and assessments. (S)He shall make certain all funds deposited with or collected by the Chapter are held in appropriate financial institutions, and pay such bills as are approved by the Chapter. (S)He shall, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, provide monthly Balance Statements and an Annual Budget. . (S)he shall have the option of ascending to the office of President-Elect upon the completion of his/her two-year term of office.

Section 5:         In the event that the President or President-Elect position becomes vacant, the remaining officer(s) will ascend to the next position and fulfill the unexpired term. If the president-elect ascends to the presidency by this section with less than 1 year remaining in the term, (S)he will then have the option to serve his/her own two-year term of office. As the result of this transition will be a vacancy in the Secretary-Treasurer position, the President shall appoint a Secretary-Treasurer from within the Board of Directors until the Nominating Committee can convene and propose one or more candidates for Secretary-Treasurer to be voted on by the membership in accordance with the by-laws for the election of officers.

Article V – Meetings

Section 1:         The Annual Meeting shall be held when and where it is most practical to have a majority attendance of the members of the Chapter. Other Chapter meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Board of Directors. There shall be at least two (2) meetings of the Board of Directors per year. One shall be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting, the other at a location that will attract the greatest participation of the Board of Directors.

Section 2:         Special meetings may be held at the call of the President, the Executive Committee or by a written request signed by ten (10) members of the Chapter, elected officials excepted.

Section 3:         The time and place of all meetings shall be determined by the President-Elect . Notice of meetings shall be mailed to all members at least three (3) weeks in advance thereof by the Secretary-Treasurer, with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director.

Section 4:         A quorum for the annual meeting shall be met if a majority of board members are present and the total attendance is at least 5% of the membership.

Section 5:         All business meetings of the Chapter shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.

Article VI – Executive Structure

Section 1:         The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers, the immediate Past-President, the chair of the Legislative Committee, the PROS and CATCH coordinators, and six (6) members-at-large. The members-at-large, selected to represent the breadth of experience and geographic distribution of the membership, shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee. Election of members at large shall be by a majority of the votes cast. The members-at-large will serve three (3) year terms.

Section 2:         The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers of the Chapter and the immediate Past-President. The Executive Committee shall act for the Board of Directors between meetings.

Section 3:         The Board of Directors shall act for the Chapter between meetings and shall submit to the Chapter plans and policies for accomplishing its objectives.

Section 4:         In the event that any member of the Board of Directors is unable to serve his/her full term of office, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the President until the next election is held.

Article VII – Dues and Assessments

Section 1:         Dues shall be set by the Board of Directors and are payable in accordance with dues payment guidelines set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Section 2:         A member shall become delinquent after failure to pay dues as set forth by the dues payment guidelines set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics unless their dues payment has been waived for a specific reason.

Section 3:         Assessments may be levied on the recommendations of the Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the members present at the Annual Meeting. Notice of a proposed assessment shall be included in the notice of the meeting.

Article VIII – Amendments

Section 1:         These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members, provided that a copy of such proposed amendment shall have been submitted in advance to the Board of Directors for its consideration. A copy of any proposed amendment, together with the recommendation thereon of the Board of Directors shall be sent to the members by the Secretary with the assistance of the Chapter Executive Director, at least three (3) weeks before the deadline for receipt of votes.