Bylaws

Bylaws of the Aurora Borealis Branch of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc.

Article One – Name

This organization shall be known as the Aurora Borealis Branch of the Commissioned Officers Association of the United States Public Health Service. This organization is open to any active-duty, reserve, or retired officers who have served in Southcentral Alaska.

Article Two – Mission Statement

The mission of this Branch includes the furtherance of the mission of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service by extending the national organization’s activity in the state of Alaska.

In addition to cooperating in the furtherance of the mission of the Association, the Branch will carry out such functions as mentoring, counseling, facilitation of discussion and social activities on behalf of its members; fostering relations among retired, active, inactive reserve, and former officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps; protecting the rights and interests of personnel of the PHS; serving the community and nation.

Article Three – Membership

All members of the Branch must be members in good standing of an authorized membership category as defined in the National COA bylaws. All members of the Branch are eligible to vote and hold office.

Article Four – Dues and Assessments

Section One: The membership dues for the Branch shall be $20.00 per year. Any change to these dues must be approved by a majority of the Branch members and communicated to the National COA so that it can be reflected in the annual dues billing.

Section Two: Branch dues will be billed directly from the National COA and are payable with national dues. Once a year, the Branch treasurer will request from the national office the disbursement of all dues collected on behalf of the Branch.

Section Three: Any member transferred to the geographical area of this Branch who was in good standing with dues paid to the Branch from which he/she transferred will be entitled, for the balance of the fiscal year, to full membership in this Branch.

Article Five – Meetings

The meetings of the Branch shall be held monthly or as the Branch designates. For conducting the business of the Branch, a quorum of at least 20 (twenty) members shall be present or achieved by proxy or teleconference.

Article Six – Governing Body

Section One: The governing body of this Branch shall be known as the Executive Committee and shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President.

Section Two: Duties of Officers. The duties of the officers shall consist of the following:

President – The president shall preside at meetings, serve as an ex-officio member of all standing committees, and perform such other functions as may be specified in these bylaws. The president shall send quarterly branch activity reports to the national COA.

President-Elect – The president-elect shall act for the president in the absence of the president. He/she shall be mentored by the president and become prepared to take over as the president after serving as president- elect for one year. This should allow for continuity and enhance effectiveness in the Branch dynamics and leadership.

Secretary – The secretary shall maintain accurate minutes of the meetings. The minutes shall be prepared and presented at least one week in advance of the next monthly Branch meeting. He/she shall carefully preserve, on file, all reports and papers presented to the Branch and shall be charged with the necessary business and professional correspondence. He/she shall notify every Branch member at least one week in advance of the time and place of each meeting.

Treasurer – The treasurer shall steward the funds of the Branch. He/she shall present to the membership at each business meeting a statement of the account of the Branch, which will be certified by the Executive Committee.

Immediate Past President- The past president shall serve on the Executive Committee and will assist with Branch affairs when needed.

Article Seven – Election of Officers

At least 60 days before the end of the term (April) of the incumbent officers the Executive Committee shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three to five (3-5) Branch members in good standing, not currently holding elective or appointive office to nominate candidates and prepare ballots for the elective offices. The Nominating Committee, chaired by the President-Elect, shall review and make sure potential candidates for each office are in good standing nationally and locally and then nominate these potential candidates for such vacancies as they occur.

An attempt shall be made to nominate at least two (2) candidates for each vacant office. The candidates must submit a position statement as to the reasons why they would like to run for office to the Nominating Committee. If there are less than two (2) candidates for a position, then an email shall be sent to the branch listing the self-nominated officer and soliciting branch members to directly nominate additional candidates not currently on the ballot. The newly nominated officers must respond to accept or decline the nomination no later than June 11^th prior to the election. Upon accepting the nomination, the officer shall promptly submit the required candidate position statement information.

The Nominating Committee shall prepare the ballot and electronically distribute it, along with the candidates’ position statements, to all members of the Branch no later than June 15 for review prior to the June meeting.

The Nominating Committee will have ballots (paper or electronic) available at the June meeting for voting. Only members in good standing may cast votes. Voting shall begin after the candidate’s bios have been provided to the branch for review either electronically or in person. All members must submit their ballots by the designated time provided to the branch. Members in good standing who are unable to attend the meeting may print out the prepared ballot, sign it, seal it, and submit it to a member of the Nominating Committee prior to the meeting (if using paper ballots). The Nominating Committee will tally the ballots privately and confidentially at the end of the meeting.

Results of the election shall be announced electronically on the day after the meeting and at the following meeting. All outgoing and incoming Executive Committee members shall make every effort to be present for the June meeting. The newly elected officers shall assume their elected positions immediately following the June meeting.

The newly elected Secretary shall report the names and elected positions of the new officers to the National Association by July 31. Elected Officers shall serve one year in their respective offices or until the successors are chosen.

Special elections to fill vacancies shall be called by the Executive Committee at any scheduled meeting. In the case of a vacated Executive Committee member, the President may appoint or nominate with quorum approval an interim Executive Committee member until general election are to be held. In the case that general elections are more than four months away, a special election may take place; an electronic message shall be sent stating a position has been vacated and seeking potential candidates.

In all elections, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes for the office to which the officer is nominated shall be declared elected. In the presence of a tie, the names of only those respective candidates will be resubmitted to the Branch for a second vote.

Article Eight – Committees

Section One: The President, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, shall annually appoint standing and special committees such as might be required by the bylaws or might be advisable.

The Executive Committee appoints the committee chairs and there are no term limits on committee chair positions. When a committee chair vacancy occurs, an announcement shall be sent out seeking interested volunteers to fill the position.

Section Two: The COA Aurora Borealis Branch consists of eleven standing committees: Officer Development, Membership, Publications, Readiness Advocacy Team (RAT), Community Outreach, PHS Athletics, Promotion/ Retirement Ceremony, Uniform, Website, Social Events, and Advocacy.

Section Three:  Nominating Committee. At least 60 days before the end of the term (April) of the incumbent officers, the Executive Committee shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three members, not currently holding elective or appointive office, to nominate candidates and prepare ballots for the elective offices. The President-Elect shall chair the Nominating Committee.

Article Nine – Amendments

The bylaws may be amended, repealed, or altered in whole or in part by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any duly organized meeting of the Branch (given a quorum is present as defined in Article Five of these bylaws) provided that a copy of any amendment proposed for consideration has been mailed to each member qualified to vote at least 15 days before the meeting.

This is to certify that these bylaws were approved and adopted at the organizing meeting of the Branch on September 25, 2024

CDR Scott Mitchell, Active Duty

President

 LCDR Heather Wheelock, Active Duty

Secretary