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By-Laws of the Western New York Volunteer Firemen's Association as of July 2005ARTICLE I – DUTIES OF OFFICERSSection 1 - President
Section 2 - Vice President In the absence of the President at a meeting, the First Vice President, or in the absence of both the President and First Vice President, the 2nd Vice President shall respectfully preside and perform all other duties of the Presiding Officer. If a vacancy shall occur in the office of President by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, the First Vice President shall thereupon become President of the Association. The Second Vice President shall become First Vice President and shall continue as such, until the Association has been chosen a successor. In the event of vacancies in both the President and the First Vice President offices, the Second Vice President shall become President of the Association and hold office, until the Association has chosen a successor. Section 3 - Past President It shall be the duty of the Immediate Past President to attend all meetings of the Executive Committee and perform such duties as may be assigned to him from time to time by the President of the Executive Committee. He shall be the delegate from the Association to the Convention of FASNY. In the event of his inability to attend such convention he may delegate any member of the Executive Committee to act as delegate. Section 4 – Secretary
Section 5 – Assistant Secretary
Section 6 - Treasurer
Section 7 – Assistant Treasurer
Section 8 – Trustees The duties of the Trustees shall be to act as members of the Executive Committee and to act as a Membership Committee. The chairman of the Trustees shall be the chairman of the Audit Committee. ARTICLE II – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Section 1
ARTICLE III – STANDING COMMITTEE Section 1 All standing committee shall meet in the convention city or town at 8:00 pm on the night before the date fixed for the opening of the Annual Meeting for the purpose of hearing all persons who may desire to appear, and for the further purpose of preparing their report to the convention. They shall meet at any other such time and place at the call of the chairman of the respective committee or the executive Committee. Section 2 The COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS shall receive all resolutions from the members of the Association and present resolution to the convention, provided, however, that this does not preclude any member from presenting a resolution to the convention at the proper time. Section 3 The COMMITTEE ON LAWS AND LEGISLATION shall maintain close contact with the Legislature and the Congress and shall review all bills that are before or will be presented to those bodies relating to the welfare of this Association or any of its members, and they shall further advise the organization members of this Association of the progress of any such legislative matters. The chairman of this committee shall be authorized to attend the Legislative Conference of the Legislative Committee of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York and the Legislative Mini-Conference held in the spring, and his expense shall be charge against the Association. In the event of the inability of the chairman to attend such meetings, he may designate any other member of his committee to act as an alternate. The appointment of the chairman will become effective on November 1st and will continue until the following October 31st. SECTION 4 It shall be the duty of the NOMINATING COMMITTEE to present to the Association and place in nomination, at the Annual Convention a full slate of candidates for office; reserving the right however of the delegates and members of the Association to place in nomination other candidates for office, all of whom shall be balloted upon at the regular annual election of officers. The Nominating Committee shall make its report on the first day of the convention. All endorsements for office in this association must be in the hands of the Chairman of the Nomination Committee at least twenty-four hours in advance of the night before the date fixed for the opening of the convention. The convention in assembly is to take action on the report of the Nominating Committee directly after the report is given. Any further nominations for elective office shall be made from the floor at this time. Any candidate for elective office will have the right to appoint three checkers at the election polls and at the counting of the ballots. The election should take place from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM on the second day of the convention. SECTION 5 It shall be the duty of the MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE to stimulate growth of the Association. They shall encourage the application for membership of all qualified prospects; and each member of the committee shall do all in his power to maintain interest in the Association of all members within his respective county. SECTION 6 The duties of the EMERGENCY MEDICAL COMMITTEE shall be to foster interest in emergency medical service work by member organizations and to encourage the formation of emergency medical service squads. They shall assist the local convention committee in arranging for a First Aid Contest and help secure judges. SECTION 7 The FIRE PREVENTION COMMITTEE shall consist of a least one member from each of the member counties represented by this Association. The duties of this committee shall be to encourage and foster fire prevention by setting up a program for the Association. SECTION 8 STEERING COMMITTEE. The Committee shall consist of one member from each of the member counties of this Association. Each respective County shall appoint a member to serve for a five-year term. An alternate member can be appointed to represent the County if the member is unable to attend a meeting. If an appointment cannot be made from a County, that seat will remain vacant until an appointment is made. The appointed member of this Committee shall select a Chairman, Co-Chairman and Secretary. Any appointed member must attend at least 75% of the meetings, round to the nearest whole number or be removed from the committee. If any appointed members become a FASNY or Firemen’s Home elected official they may be replaced for the remaining term. The President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, JR Past President, and Treasurer of this Association and any elected officers of FASNY and the Firemen’s Home may serve as Ex-officio members of this committee. Ex-officio members must attend at least 75% of the meetings, rounded to the nearest whole number or be removed from the committee. No county is to have more than one vote. A simple majority of the votes cast will constitute approval. In the absence of the appointed member from a county, an ex-officio member present from the respective county shall cast a vote. A Past President of FASNY, who is from a WNYVFA member county and is a good standing member of this Association shall serve as a Resource to the Steering Committee for a term of five years following the completion of his term as President. He will only have full voting power if his county does not have representation at a time of voting. There will be two counties terms expiring every year except in the fifth year there will be three. Initial implementation of this bylaw will take place at the annual reorganization meeting of this committee. The newly elected Chairman will use a random selection process to determine which two counties (or three) term will be expiring in succession order. The duties of this committee shall be to encourage and promote candidates to any state or regional association. SECTION 9 The BUDGET AND PROGRAM BOOK COMMITTEE shall consist of a least five (5) members, whose duty it shall be to prepare and recommend a budget and publish proceedings of the annual convention. SECTION 10 The duties of the PARADE RULES COMMITTEE shall be to:
SECTION 11 The FIREMEN OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE shall consist of a least five members. It will be their responsibility to notify all member organizations of the requirements for the Fireman of the Year and the Fire Service Awards. They shall receive and investigate all applications and select the recipients of these awards. SECTION 12 The FIRE POLICE COMMIITTEE shall consist of at least five (5) members. It shall be their duty to become sufficiently proficient in the subject to serve in an advisory capacity for any member company in matters regarding fire police work to be presented at the annual convention. They shall be responsible for the preparation of the Fire Police Forum. SECTION 13 The PUBLIC RELATION COMMITTEE shall have the responsibility of improving the public image and providing a clear viewpoint of the objectives and desires of the WESTERN New York Firemen’s Association. They shall at all times express the aims, expose the fallacies, and provide hope for the future expansion through public understanding. SECTION 14 The BY-LAWS COMMITTEE shall consist of a least five (5) members. It shall be their responsibility to review the By-Laws each year and make any recommendations for any changes, which deem necessary for more efficient operation of the Association. They shall review all proposed amendments submitted to them. SECTION 15 The TOPICS COMMITTEE shall provide one outstanding speaker on each of the two days of the annual meeting of the Association. SECTION 16 The AUDIT COMMITTEE shall consist of six Trustees, minimum of three to function, appointed by the chairman of the Board of Trustees. They shall audit the books of the Secretary and Treasurer of the Association twice a year. The first audit should take place at 1:00 PM on the Wednesday of the Convention. The second Audit shall take place at 11:00 AM on the Sunday of the September meeting. Other audits may be conducted at such times as may be deemed necessary by the Executive Committee. SECTION 17 The PAST PRESIDENT COMMITTEE shall consist of all Past Presidents with the JR Past President to act as chairman. They shall plan all activities concerning their members. SECTION 18 The HISTORY COMMITTEE shall consist of at least two (2) members. They shall keep a yearly summary of the outstanding events and report the current year’s activities at the annual convention. SECTION 19 The FIRE CHIEF’S COMMITTEE shall consist of at least five members. They shall be persons who are well versed in fire chief duties and responsibilities. This committee shall serve in an advisory capacity and be available to give aid in this area to all members. They shall set up and maintain an information service at the annual convention. SECTION 20 The WNYVFA BOWLING TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE shall consist of at least four members, whose duty is to sponsor a Bowling Tournament for the good of the WNYVFA. Any funds raised at such an event will go to the WNYVFA to help support such organization as the Association so desires. SECTION 21 The QUEEN’S PAGEANT COMMITTEE shall have the responsibility of improving the public image of the Western New York Volunteer Firemen’s Association by creating greater fire company and community involvement via the production of a Queen’s Pageant at the annual convention. It shall be the duty of the Queen’s Pageant Committee to assist the local Pageant Committee in every way possible upon their request. SECTION 22 The CONVENTION COMMITTEE, to consist of at least six (6) members to be made up of the previous years Convention General Chairman, who will act as Chairman of the Committee, and three (3) upcoming convention General Chairman and two (2) appointed members who have served as convention General Chairman and will be appointed by the President of the WNYVFA. This committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Local Convention Committee, and shall in no way interfere with the operation of the convention. This Committee will also select a site for the annual convention as per the following: When a person is elected to the position of Second Vice President of the WNYVFA in July, he/she will have until the September meeting to select a convention site for the Annual Convention during the year as President of the WNYVFA. If the Fire Company of the Second Vice President does not wish to host the convention, then the Second Vice President will meet with the Convention Committee to select a host Fire Company or organization from the list of convention bids proposals on file with the Secretary. Then the Convention Committee will submit the selection to the membership for approval at the January meeting of the membership. SECTION 23 NOZZLE PRACTICE COMMITTEE shall consist of a chairman, co-chairman, and no more than ten other members on the committee to be responsible for the Western New York Nozzle Practice Competition to beheld at the Annual Convention. SECTION 24 The PRESIDENT’S PARTICIPATION AWARDS COMMITTEE shall be represented by at least one (1) member from each of the Western New York Volunteer Firemen’s Association counties and shall be responsible for the selection of the overall company that obtains the highest number of points by attendance at all phases of the WNYVFA Convention. SECTION 25 The SERVICE AWARD and 2% TAX COMMITTEE shall consist of five members appointed by the President to serve for one year on a committee to be titled Fire Service Award and 2% Tax Committee. The committee shall be an advisory group to the Executive Committee and the membership on all matters pertaining to the Fire Service Award being Article 11A of the General Municipal Laws of New York State, and to all matters relating to the distribution and use of the foreign fire insurance tax, being Sections 9104 and 9105 of the Insurance Laws of New York State. The committee shall report on any other matters the president deems necessary. SECTION 26 The MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE shall consist of the First Vice President, Second Vice President, and five (5) appointed at large members of which at least one (1) shall be a Past President. The Treasurer shall serve as an ex-officio member. The President shall appoint annually one of the five (5) at large members as a chairperson. The Committee shall establish all criteria for annual awards and set their amounts and number. It shall also fix the date (year) for the first award and any subsequent awards. ARTICLE VI – DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS, LIFE MEMBERS, AND DELEGATES Section 1 It shall be the duty and privilege of the “Organization Members” to elect two delegates to the annual convention of the Association. A Chief or President of a member organization shall be entitled to all rights and privileges of a delegate during his term of office. All delegates shall be required to furnish credentials from his organization, certified to by the residing officer and secretary, that he has been duly elected to represent them, that he is and has been a member of such organization for at least six months previous to his election and a resident of the place where the organization is located. A delegate elected for the annual meeting at which he shall attend shall be entitled to vote at such annual meeting and such meetings, provided his dues are paid. Section 2 Chiefs, Presidents, and delegates may retain their individual membership in the Association once they have been admitted, provided their dues are paid. Section 3 Any person may be elected to life membership of this Association by the majority vote of all members present at the annual meeting upon the following conditions and restrictions: upon his retirement as President of the Association, for five consecutive years as an attendant at the annual meetings, as a regularly elected delegate from any member organization in good standing, for being five years an attendant at our annual meetings as Chief or President of any fire departments or fire company within the counties holding membership in this Association. After the expiration of five years from the time when he first become a delegate and the payment of his annual dues over the period. In either of the above capacities, he shall be entitled to life membership. Upon fulfilling said requirements, the Secretary shall issue a certificate and membership pin to such person achieving the status of a Life Member. Section 4 Each delegate shall be entitled to the same privileges as an annually elected delegate, so long as his dues are paid, but shall cast only his own ballot. Section 5 A life member shall not be suspended for non-payment of dues until he shall be two years in arrears, and if suspended for non-payment of dues may be reinstated at any time on the payment of all arrears. Section 6 Any active member of a department belonging to the Western New York Firemen’s Association may become an individual member of this Association without becoming a delegate to the Western New York Volunteer Firemen’s Association from their respective Company. Each prospective applicant may become a member after completing the membership application and paying an initiation fee and first year’s dues. ARTICLE V - DUES Section 1 Initiation Fee for all Organizations ……………………………$10.00 Section 2 After five years of service, one shall be considerate as a life member and receive a membership pin. Upon completion of another fifteen years of paying dues, or completion of term as President, one shall receive a Fully Paid Life Membership Card and Certificate of Fully Paid Life Membership and no further dues shall be required. Section3 Reciprocal Membership. Any sectional organization is entitled to reciprocal membership in this Association through exchange of delegates. ARTICLE VI – QUORUM Section 1 A majority of the Executive Committee plus fifty members shall constitute a quorum of the Association. Section 2 A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Committee. ARTICLE VII –PARLIAMENTARY RULES Section 1 Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall be the authority in all questions of Parliamentary Law not covered by the Constitution and By-Laws. ARTICLE VIII –AMENDMENTS Section 1 These By-Laws may be amended on the second day of any annual convention by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting provided the By-Law Committee presents the proposed amendments to the convention at the first day’s meeting. All proposed amendments must be submitted in duplicate to the Secretary at least thirty days prior to the annual meeting. ARTICLE IX – ORDER OF BUSINESS Section 1 The order of business is to be regulated by the Executive Committee. |
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