ARTICLE I: Membership
Membership in the Wyoming Geological Association shall consist of (1) Members, (2) Honorary Life Members, (3) Associate Members and (4) Student Members. Applicants for Member, Associate Member and Student Member classification shall submit an application to the Association. Only members and Honorary Members shall be eligible to hold elective offices.
- Members. Any person eligible to membership, emeritus, honorary, or associate membership in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, as outlined in the constitution of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, shall be eligible for membership in the Wyoming Geological Association upon application. In addition, any person who is a recipient of a degree in geochemistry, paleontology, petroleum engineering, or mining engineering, shall be eligible for membership upon application.
- Honorary Life Members. The Board of Directors may recommend and the Association by majority vote of the membership may elect to honorary life membership any person deemed to have made outstanding and conspicuous contributions to the geologic profession or the Wyoming Geological Association. Honorary Life Members shall have the same rights and privileges as regular members of the Wyoming Geological Association.
- Associate Members. Persons whose interests are closely associated with the profession of geology, but who are not eligible for full membership, may be Associate Members upon application. Associate Members shall have all rights and obligations as members except that they shall not hold the offices of President and President-Elect.
- Student Members. Any undergraduate student majoring in geology at a college of acceptable academic standards shall be eligible for membership upon application. Student members shall have all rights and obligations as Associate Members except that they shall not hold an elective office. Eligibility for student membership shall terminate 12 months after termination of academic enrollment.
ARTICLE II: Officers
The officers of the Association shall be a president, a president-elect, a first vice-president, a second vice-president, a secretary, (in the absence of a WGA-employed office manager) a treasurer, an editor and the past-president. With the exception of the president and past-president, they shall be elected annually by the general membership. Nominations will be accepted from the general membership and current officers during a nominating period. This period shall be open at the first meeting and close at the last meeting of October. The president and president-elect shall review the nominations for qualifications for serving as an officer in WGA and will generate a slate from those qualified nominees after contacting those nominees to see if they agree to the nomination. The slate will then be presented to the general membership for a vote as part of the annual membership renewal mailing. Provisions shall be made on the ballot for write-ins. If elected, the write-in must meet the criteria for that position. Next year’s board will be considered elected upon 2/3 of general membership approval that is postmarked December 10 (and received by December 15) or emailed by December 15 to the general WGA email address. The officers shall hold office from January 1, to December 31, both dates inclusive, or until their successors shall have been elected and qualify.
ARTICLE III: Duties of Officers
Section 1. President. The President shall preside over all meetings of the association and of the Board of Directors, shall sign, as President, all contracts and other instruments of writing which have been approved by the Board of Directors, shall appoint all committees not otherwise provided for, and serve ex-officio as a member of such committees, and shall perform all other duties in keeping with the office of President.
Section 2. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall serve for one year as such and in the following year he shall assume the office of President. He shall acquaint himself with all the details of the office of President and generally prepare himself to serve as President. He shall be responsible for the preparation of the annual budget, in conjunction with the Treasurer, for the ensuing fiscal year, and will be an ex-officio member of all active committees. The President-Elect shall chair the annual field conference committee (except in years when the WGA hosts the Rocky Mountain Section meeting of the AAPG, in which case the President-Elect will serve on the conference committee). In such case as the President is unable to perform his duties, the President-Elect shall take over duties until such time as the President is able to resume his duties.
Section 3. First Vice-President. In the absence of the President, President-Elect, and First Vice-President, or in each other case of their inability to serve as such, the First Vice-President shall possess all powers and perform all of the duties of the President. The First Vice-President’s duties shall consist of assisting the President-Elect in planning the annual field conference and will chair the technical session for the field conference (except in RMS-AAPG years).
Section 4. Second Vice-President. In the absence of both President and First Vice-President, or in each other case of his inability to serve as such, the Second Vice-President shall possess all the powers and perform all of the duties of the President. In addition, the Second Vice-President shall serve as Chairman of the weekly Program Committee. The second Vice-President duties may be shared between two elected individuals.
Section 5. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep minutes of meetings of the membership and Board of Directors and shall have custody of the corporate records, other papers, and seal, and shall attest under said seal all instruments requiring said seal and shall likewise perform such other duties as may be required by the Board of Directors. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to prepare, mail, receive and tabulate all ballots and report the results thereof; to prepare and file all reports required by law; to distribute all press releases except those relating to the Annual Field Conference; and to act as President in the absence of the President and both Vice-Presidents. These duties may be transferred to an employee (Office Manager) of the WGA, in which case the board position will become dormant.
Section 6. Treasurer. The treasurer shall receive, properly care for and dispose of, such funds and other property of the association as directed by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer, in conjunction with the President-Elect, shall prepare the annual budget and submit it to the membership. The Treasurer shall act as President in the absence of all other officers. It is the duty of the Treasurer to provide oversight of financial operations of the association, including the day-to-day finances as managed by the Office Manager. The Treasurer shall also oversee the disbursement and finances of the scholarship funds.
Section 7. Editor. The Editor shall be in charge of the monthly publication (via The Contact newsletter) of the weekly programs which may include, but is not limited to, advertising, geology-related articles and events, and a President’s letter. As of this revision, the monthly publication is available both in hardcopy and electronic formats. The Editor is also responsible for managing the upkeep of the organization’s website.
Section 8. Past-President. The Past-President shall serve as an advisor to the Board and any committees which he sees fit.
ARTICLE IV: Board of Directors
General supervision over all affairs, activities, business and properties of the association shall be vested in a Board of Directors, which Board shall be composed of all current officers and the immediate Past-President. Any four members of the board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Vacancies in any office and the Board of Directors may be filled by a quorum of the remaining directors in office. In the event of a tie in the vote in any ballot, the Board of Directors shall, by secret ballot, determine and cast one additional vote. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to approve the formation of local chapters of the Association. Voting may take place during a monthly board meeting or via electronic means if a board member is otherwise unavailable. Voting via electronic methods shall be documented by the secretary or employed office manager.
ARTICLE V: Committees
The Board of Directors shall serve ex-officio on the following standing committees:
a. Finance Committee
b. Membership Committee
c. Program Committee
The President shall appoint the following committees and such other committees as may be necessary in the opinion of the Board of Directors:
a. Nomenclature Committee
b. Field Conference Committee
ARTICLE VI: Duties of Committees
Section 1. Finance Committee. The Finance Committee shall perform the following duties.
a. Prepare and submit for approval by membership at a regular meeting on or about January 1 of each year a budget for the ensuing year.
b. Supervise the expenditures of the association within the limits of such budget as approved by the membership.
c. Audit the books of the treasurer periodically and certify to the financial reports of the treasurer.
Section 2. Membership Committee. The Membership Committee shall perform the following duties:
a. Receive applications for membership and approve or reject applications.
b. Receive complaints against members involving unethical practice or conduct detrimental to the association and to expel members upon proof of such charges.
Section 3. Program Committee. The Program Committee shall perform the following duties.
a. Provide for and present lectures upon geological and related subjects.
b. Provide for and arrange social activities.
Section 4. Nomenclature Committee. The Nomenclature committee shall perform the following duties:
a. Recommend geological nomenclature for adoption by the association.
b. Maintain cognizance and supervision of such studies and projects as are approved by the Board of Directors.
c. Recommend association members for appointment to National Nomenclature committees.
Section 5. Field Conference Committee. It is the intent of the association that a field conference shall be held annually at the discretion of the Board of Directors. If the Board of Directors decides that such field conference shall be held, the Field Conference Committee shall perform the following duties:
a. Plan and conduct the field conference.
b. Arrange for the publication of guidebooks for the conference.
c. Choose jointly with the Board of Directors the area to be studied by the conference.
d. Maintain and be responsible for records of all financial transactions related to the field conference.
e. Render a financial report of the field conference to the association treasurer on or about October 1 of the conference year.
ARTICLE VII: Finances
Section 1. Dues. Membership dues for all membership types shall be determined by the Board annually. Dues shall be payable within 60 days after January 1 of each year for the ensuing year to December 31. The treasurer may suspend the membership of any member remaining in arrears over 90 days. Members in arrears over 50 days will not be guaranteed directory listing. Honorary life members of the association shall be exempt from membership dues.
Section 2. Special Fund. A special fund known as the Field Conference Fund shall be accumulated from the receipts of the Field Conference Committee and the sale of Field Conference Guidebooks for the exclusive use of the Field Conference Committee in preparation and printing of guidebooks and underwriting of other expenses of the Field Conferences. Any amount in excess of $4,000 so accumulated may at the discretion of the Board of Directors be transferred to the general funds of the association.
Section 3. Donations. No donations of association funds shall be made except for the purpose of advancing the geological sciences or the geological profession.
ARTICLE VIII: Seal
The official seal of the association shall be two concentric-circles with the words “WYOMING GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION” between said circles and the words “CORPORATE SEAL” in the center.
ARTICLE IX: Amendments
These By-laws may be amended to, altered or repealed at any time in the following manner:
a. Such proposed amendment or change must be presented in writing to the Board of Directors for review. If in the opinion of the Board of Directors such proposed amendment or change has sufficient merit to warrant a vote by the membership, then and in that event, the secretary shall mail to each member a ballot stating the proposed amendment or change to the By-laws, such ballots providing for “yes” or “no” voting. A “yes” vote on two-thirds (2/3) of all ballots returned within fifteen (15) days of mailing of such ballots shall be required to approve the adoption of such amendment or change.
b. By written petition signed by at least one fourth of the association membership any proposed amendment must be submitted to the membership by mail ballot regardless of the opinion of the Board of Directors or the failure of the Board to act.
