As you may be aware, the IVMA Board of Directors appointed a Governance Task Force over a year ago to assess the viability of the current IVMA governance structure – both for the Board of Directors and the standing committees of IVMA. After considerable review by the task force and careful analysis by the IVMA Board of Directors, the Board voted to amend the IVMA Bylaws at their board meeting on September 7, 2017. The proposed amendments to the IVMA Bylaws must be approved by the IVMA Membership.
The proposed draft of the new Bylaws is listed below. Please note the language recommended to be deleted and the new language listed in bold. The vote of the membership will occur at the IVMA Membership Reception on Friday evening, March 2, 2018, during the IVMA Annual Meeting.
The main proposed amendments to the Bylaws include changing how the IVMA Board of Directors is formed and comprised. Additionally, the Board voted to support eliminating all standing committees and transitioning to a task-force-based method of accomplishing the work of the association.
You can learn more about the Governance Task Force and their recommendations at http://invma.org/governance-task-force-updates/. If you have any questions, comments, or observations, please feel free to contact the IVMA office at lisa@invma.org or IVMA President, Dr. Maria Cooper, at mcooper1@boah.in.gov.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1. The elected officers of the IVMA are President, President-Elect, Vice President, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President.
Section 2. Qualifications and duties for officers are outlined in the IVMA Position Description for each office in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 3. Election, term and succession for each office are outlined in the IVMA Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Election of Officers in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 4. All offices of the IVMA are declared to be places of honor to which no compensations are attached. Incurred expenses will be reimbursed by the IVMA, as outlined in the SOP Reimbursement of Expenses in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 5. The IVMA Board of Governors will consist of the President, President-elect, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, AVMA Delegate, and AVMA Alternate Delegate. The description of duties of the Board of Governors will be listed in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE V
INDIANA DELEGATE AND ALTERNATE DELEGATE TO THE AVMA
Section 1. The Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the American Veterinary Medical Association are elected by the membership to represent the interests of the IVMA to the national association.
Section 2. The qualifications, election, term, succession, and duties of the Delegate and Alternate Delegate are outlined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE VI
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors is the administrative body of the IVMA, and all matters pertaining to the administrative affairs of the IVMA will be referred to it for consideration. The Board will receive the reports of the officers and committees task forces and make such recommendations to the IVMA relative to such reports as it may deem desirable. It will perform such other duties as may be prescribed in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 2. The qualifications, membership, election, term, succession, duties, and meetings of the Board of Directors are outlined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE VII
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Section 1. The Executive Director is the chief operating officer of the IVMA and is selected and employed by the Board of Directors.
Section 2. The duties, responsibilities, and authority of the Executive Director are outlined in the Executive Director Position Description in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 3. The Executive Director is a paid position and receives such compensation as the Board of Directors determines.
Section 4. Incurred expenses of the Executive Director will be reimbursed by the IVMA as outlined in the SOP Reimbursement of Expenses in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE VIII
COMMITTEES TASK FORCES
Section 1. There will be the following Committees of the IVMA:
- Executive
- Subcommittees:
- Executive
- Strategic Planning
- Leadership Development
- Ethics
- Financial
- Subcommittee:
- Audit and Budget
- Public Affairs
- Subcommittees:
- Animal Welfare
- Legislative
- Public Relations
- Membership Services
- Subcommittees:
- Annual Meeting
- Continuing Education
- Health and Wellness
- Membership
Section 1. Task forces and working groups will be formed at the direction of the IVMA officers to accomplish the goals of the organization as set by the Board.
Section 2. Membership, qualifications and duties for committees task forces are outlined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 3. Subcommittees may be appointed by Committee Chairs and ad hoc Committees may be designated by the President as defined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE IX
CONSTITUENT ASSOCIATIONS
Section 1. To become a Constituent Association and be represented by a member on the Board of Directors, that association must have organizational documents, have at least 20 members, and meet regularly throughout the year.
Section 2. Each constituent association electing a representative to the Board of Directors, will notify the Executive Director of the IVMA of the election, not less than 30 days before the annual meeting.
Section 3. The IVMA Board of Directors will be comprised of one member elected by each of the following district constituent associations:
District 1 Lake and Porter counties
District 2 Newton, Jasper, Starke, Pulaski, Benton, White, Cass, Carroll, Tippecanoe, Fountain, Montgomery,
Warren, Clinton, Boone, Vermillion, Parke and Hendricks counties
District 3 LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, and Marshall counties
District 4 LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, Dekalb, Whitley, Allen, Wells, Adams, and Jay counties
District 5 Fulton, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Grant, Blackford, Howard and Tipton counties
District 6 Veterinary Students at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine
District 7 Vigo, Clay, Putnam, Owen, Sullivan, Greene, Knox, Daviess, and Martin counties
District 8 Posey, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Orange, Washington, Harrison, Crawford, Perry, Spencer, Warrick and Vanderburgh
District 9 Morgan, Johnson, Monroe, Brown, Bartholomew, Lawrence, Jackson, Jennings, Ripley, Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland, Jefferson, Scott, Clark, and Floyd counties
District 10 Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Randolph, Hancock, Henry, Wayne, Shelby, Rush, Fayette, Union, Franklin, and Decatur counties
District 11 Marion County
District 12 Public Health/Regulatory Interest Group
District 13 Swine Interest Group
District 14 Equine Interest Group
District 15 Bovine Interest Group
MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of:
- The Officers, which includes President, President-elect, Treasurer and AVMA Delegate. The Immediate Past President and the AVMA Alternate Delegate are non-voting ex officio members of the Board of Directors.
- One representative from three regions of the state. These three regions are defined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual by counties in order to balance representation of IVMA members in each of the three regions.
- Four At-Large representatives elected by the general membership as defined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 2. The term of office for each board member shall be for three (3) years with staggered terms of service as defined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 3. Temporary Language Provision – The IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual will detail the succession of board members until 2020 when the implementation of the new composition of the Board is complete.
ARTICLE X
MEETINGS
Section 1. The Annual Meeting will be held at a time, place, and of a duration designated by the Board of Directors.
Section 2. Special meetings and Committee meetings may be called as outlined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 3. Meeting conduct and establishment of quorums for the purpose of voting will be as outlined in the IVMA Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section 4. The officers, Board of Directors, and committees task forces of this Association may consider and act by mail or telecommunication medium upon any matter pertaining to the affairs of the IVMA; and when a vote is so recorded in writing and duly entered in the minutes of officers, Board of Directors or committees, task forces it will stand as their official action.
Section 5. Any member may request to bring a non-member guest to any IVMA meeting. The IVMA retains the right to exclude any non-member from any IVMA meeting.