CONSTITUTION

OF THE

INDIANA VETERINARY TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I - Title

      Indiana Veterinary Technicians Association

ARTICLE II - Purpose

1. To provide the professional and educational advancement of Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVT's).

2. To promote and maintain communication and cooperation among Registered Veterinary Technicians.

3. To maintain and improve professional standards of Registered Veterinary Technicians.

4. To develop and maintain a code of ethics among Registered Veterinary Technicians.

5. To support and inform all members of all subject matter dealing with Registered Veterinary Technicians.

6. To promote and maintain communication and cooperation between Registered Veterinary Technicians employed in all aspects of veterinary medicine. 

ARTICLE III - Membership

Section I

1. Members shall not be discriminated against because of nationality, race, creed, color or sex.

Section II

1. REGISTERED VETERINARY TECHNICIAN (RVT) shall be defined as a person who is currently Registered with the Health Professions Bureau in the State of Indiana. Persons who are not registered as such must consider themselves non-Registered.

Section III.

1. ACTIVE IN-STATE membership shall be defined as any Registered Veterinary Technician (Article III. Section II #1) who resides in the State of Indiana. Active members in good standing (Article IV, Section 1, #3) shall also have the right to hold office providing criteria set by the Executive Board are met.

Section IV

1. ACTIVE OUT-OF-STATE membership shall be defined as any Registered Veterinary Technician (Article III, Section II. #1) who lives outside the state of Indiana. This member has the right to vote and pay dues, but does not have the right to hold office.

Section V

1. ASSOCIATE members are Veterinary Technicians who are not registered with the Health Professions Bureau, veterinary hospital employees, veterinarians, and, veterinary clinics. Associate members cannot vote or hold an office in the Association. They will be assessed lower dues than active members.

Section VI

1. STUDENT members shall be those students who are enrolled in a training program acceptable to the Executive Board of the IVTA. Student members shall not have the right to vote, or hold office, but do have the right to be involved in all activities of the organization.

ARTICLE IV Dues

Section I 

1. Dues shall be assessed to members annually (Article V, Section II, #5)

2. Annual Dues shall cover a membership period from January 1 through December 31 of any calendar year.

3. Any member who has paid dues for the current year is a member in good standing.

4. Any person who fails to pay dues after 2 billings by the Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall be dropped from the membership.

5. Students from an Indiana AVMA Accredited Veterinary Technology Program shall have no dues assessed for the balance of the calendar year following graduation.

ARTICLE V Officers and Their Duties

Section I - Executive Board Authority

1. The Executive Board shall be the executive body of the IVTA and shall have the responsibility for administering Association affairs.

Section II - Executive Board

1. The Executive Board shall be composed of the President, President-Elect, Recorder, Executive Secretary/Financial Officer, Past President, and the District Representatives.

2. Executive Board Members must be Active In State members of the IVTA.

      3. The Executive Board members shall advise and assist the President.

4. The Executive Board shall appoint a new officer in the event of a resignation or a recall for the unexpired term.

      5 The Executive Board shall determine annual dues.

6. The Executive Board shall meet a minimum of three (3) times per year. A quorum (Article VII, Section I, #2) must be present at all meetings to conduct business.

7. The Executive Board shall approve all expenditures and financial statements.

8. The Executive Board Members shall submit a copy of any written and received correspondence to the Executive Secretary/Financial Officer for preservation.

9. The Executive Board Members with the exception of the District Representatives shall keep a journal of yearly responsibilities and duties to be passed on to the new Executive Board at the end of their term.

10. The Executive Board Members' term of office shall run from January 1 to December 31.

11. The Executive Board Members shall pass on all previous responsibilities including journals, materials and books by January 15.

12. The Executive Board shall have the authority to hire and fire the Executive Secretary/Financial Officer (Article 4 Section 6, #4)

13. The Executive Board Members shall have paid their dues prior to accepting office (January 1).

14. The Executive Board shall appoint, oversee and determine compensation of the newsletter editor(s).

15. The Executive Board shall provide guidelines for all committees.

Section III - President (one-year term)

1. The President shall preside over all meetings and shall enforce the constitution and by-laws.

      2. The President shall appoint committee heads or chairs.

3. The President has the power to call special meetings with the approval of the Executive Board.

4. The President shall serve as the Indiana NAVTA representative.

Section IV - President-Elect (one-year term)

      1. The President-Elect shall preside in the absence of the President.

2. The President-Elect shall be in charge of all committee heads or chairs, and shall report back their progress to the Executive Board and organization.

3. The President-Elect shall interpret Robert's Rules of Order as parliamentarian.

4. The President-Elect shall work with the program chairs of the IVMA/IVTA Technician program for the upcoming year.

5. The President-Elect shall audit or appoint an auditor for the financial records at the end of the calendar year. 

      6. The President-Elect shall serve on the nominating committee.

7. The President-Elect shall assume the role of President at the end of the term.

Section V - Recorder (one-year term)

      1 The Recorder shall keep the minutes at all meetings.

2. The Recorder shall preserve all minutes of the meetings and supply a copy to the Executive Secretary/Financial Officer for distribution to the members.

Section VI - Executive Secretary/Financial Officer (ES/FO)

1. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer will be hired by the Executive Board on an annual basis.

2. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer must be an active member of the Indiana Veterinary Technicians Association.

3. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer currently serving will have the option of continuing or relinquishing the office at the discretion of the Executive Board.

4. The Executive Board will have the authority to hire or fire the Executive Secretary/Financial Officer.

5. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer will be compensated for performing the duties of the office. Adequate compensation will be determined on an annual basis at the Fall Conference.

6. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer will keep accurate records of names and addresses of all members.

7. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall assist the Nomination Committee.

8. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall receive and deposit funds for the payment of bills and keep itemized accounts of all transactions. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall give a financial report at the beginning of each business meeting.

9. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall prepare a signed written financial report for all members for publication in the newsletter following all business meetings. 

10. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer may enlist the aid of any IVTA member to assist with distribution of information to members.

11. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer.shall forward all business correspondence to the appropriate person(s).

12. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall give adequate notice in the event that he/she wishes to leave the office. He/she shall assist a replacement in learning about the duties.

13. In the event that the current Executive Secretary/Financial Officer wishes to leave the office prior to the annual audit, the President-Elect (or appointee) will audit the records at that time.

14. The Executive Secretary/Financial Officer shall keep a written journal of the tasks and responsibilities of the position. This shall include standard operational procedures for all required tasks and duties

Section VII - District Representatives

1. The Representatives are elected to represent their district of the state. There shall be a maximum of 2 representatives per district.

2. The Representative's home address shall determine the district that he/she represents.

3. The Representatives shall promote the Veterinary Technology profession within their district. This shall be done by presenting information to the public at schools, community organizations, fairs, etc. through media made available by the IVTA.

      4. Each Representative shall serve a 2-year term.

5. Each representative shall submit information to the IVTA Newsletter on a regular basis while they are in office.

Section VIII - Past President

1. The Past-President shall be defined as the person holding the office of President during the preceding year.

2. The Past-President shall be a voting member of the Executive Board.

3. The Past-President shall serve as the chair of the Nomination Committee.

Article VI - Nomination and Election of Officers

Section I - Nominations

1. Nominations shall be open to any Active In State member in good standing. All nominees must meet criteria set forth by the Executive Board.

2. The Nomination Committee shall oversee all aspects of the nomination and election process following guidelines set forth by the Executive Board.

Section II - Elections

1. Each member who paid his/her dues has one (1) vote. (Exception--see Article III, Sections 5 and 6)

2. All elections shall be by secret ballot; the ballot (including biographical data) shall be sent by mail no less than (30) days before the fall meeting.

3. Ballots shall be returned and counted no later than ten (10) days before the fall meeting.

4. The person with the most popular votes wins the election.

Article VII - Meetings

Section I

1. General business meetings shall be held biannually. They shall be open to all IVTA members

2. A quorum shall be defined as those members present at a scheduled business meeting who have been granted voting privileges as defined in Article III.

      3. Meetings shall be run by Robert's Rules of Order.

Article VIII - Amendments

Section I

1. Amendments to the constitution must be approved at a general IVTA business meeting. A two-thirds (2/3)-majority vote of those members present is required. All proposed changes must have been sent to the membership sixty (60) days prior to the scheduled meetings.

2. Appointees of the Executive Board shall review the Constitution at five (5) year intervals. Any changes shall be reviewed by the Executive Board prior to presentation to the membership.

3. The Executive Board has the authority to review the Constitution during the five year interval if deemed necessary.