Georgia Surgical
Society
Knowledge, Skill, Compassion
Constitution and Bylaws
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be the Georgia Surgical
Society.
ARTICLE II
Object
The object of this society shall be the advancement of the
art and science of surgery, for
the encouragement
of its members to
pursue
original investigative work, to encourage the
improvement of surgical teaching
and
education in the State, and to provide
an atmosphere
for informal exchange
of ideas concerning surgery among
its members and provide a
vehicle for continuing
medical education and foster high standards of ethical practice.
ARTICLE III
Membership
There shall be 4 types of membership, namely, (1) Active, (2)
Senior, (3) Honorary, and
(4) Inactive,
Out-of-State.
Qualifications shall be as
follows:
(1) Active:
a) Candidates for membership must be certified by the
American Board of Surgery or by
the
appropriate Board of the
candidate's
subspecialty and be a practicing surgeon in the
state of
Georgia for two years.
b) Candidates must have had at least two years in
the
practice of surgery in the state of
Georgia
following completion of
formal
training.
c) Candidates must be proposed by a member and sponsored by
two additional members
who
have
good knowledge of
the candidate.
d) On the approval of Council and two-thirds vote of the
membership present and voting
at the
annual meeting, a candidate
may be elected
to membership.
e) After consideration of a candidate for three consecutive
years without approval the
candidate
will
not be considered for
membership for
three more years and then only on reproposal.
f) Members of Council may propose or sponsor candidates.
g) An active member who moves to another state or country may
retain active membership
by
carrying
out the other
requirement for membership,
or may apply for an Inactive, Out-of-State
status.
h) The waiting period of
two years for membership will be waived for members of the military
who reside
in Georgia during their period of service.
(2) Senior:
a) Active members, after 30
years of membership, or upon retirement, shall become Senior
members.
These
members shall pay
no dues but shall enjoy all privileges. Attendance at
meetings
will not be required.
(3) Honorary:
The Society may want to honor outstanding surgeons who reside
outside the state of Georgia and
who
have
participated in or contributed
to one
of our meetings as a guest speaker. Honorary
membership may
be awarded
to
recognized surgeons who have retired from active
practice
and presently and
permanently
reside in the state
of Georgia. Such may be proposed by Council
and
voted on at any regular meeting
of
the Society.
(4) Inactive, Out-of-State:
An Active member in good standing that moves out of state may
request an Inactive, Out-of-State
(OOS)
status
from the Council. If approved
by
the Council, dues would be $50.00 annually,
while maintaining the
other requirements for membership.
(5) Termination of Membership:
a) If a member fails to attend the annual meetings for three
consecutive years without adequate
excuse acceptable to Council, or fails to
meet financial obligations, that member will be dropped
from membership.
b) Any member whose conduct is contrary to the objectives of
the Society, stated or implied,
may
be dropped from membership by
recommendation
of the Council and two-thirds vote
of the members
present and voting at the
annual meeting.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Section 1. The officers
of the Society shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a
Secretary/
Treasurer,
and three Councilors, who shall be the three most recent
past presidents of the Society.
Section 2. The Council
shall consist of the officers of the Society and the three most recent past
presidents,
who will serve as Councilors.
The Vice-President, who shall be President-Elect, shall be
elected at the annual meeting of the Society.
The
President and the
Vice-President
shall serve until the next annual meeting of the Society or until
their respective
successors have been elected and qualified. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be elected
at an annual meeting of
the Society, shall serve for
three years or until a respective successor is elected
and qualified.
Section 3. An Active
member, under 40, shall be selected by the Council every two years to serve as
a Council
member.
ARTICLE V
Duties of Officers
Section 1. It shall be
the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the organization and to
see
that the
rules of order and decorum
are properly enforced at all
deliberations of the organization. The
President shall
call a special meeting of
the Society on written request of
20 members.
Section 2. In the absence
of the President, the Vice-President shall preside.
Section 3. It shall be
the duty of the Secretary/Treasurer to keep a correct record of the proceeding
of
the
meetings, to attest to all orders
drawn on by the Secretary/Treasurer for
monies appropriated by the
organization,
and to keep an attendance roll, which
shall be made available
to members at each meeting.
The Secretary/Treasurer
shall supervise and conduct all the correspondence of the organization, and
shall
act as
secretary for
the meetings of Council.
Section 4. It shall be
the duty of the Secretary/Treasurer to collect all monies, keep accurate
accounts,
and
to disburse funds for duly authorized
expenses of this
organization. The Secretary/Treasurer shall
present a
detailed financial
statement to the Council at each annual meeting.
ARTICLE VI
Vacancies
Vacancies occurring in the offices of the organization shall
be filled by appointment of the President until
the
next meeting. The President
shall
also appoint other committees not provided for. Whenever
necessary,
the
Vice-President will act for the President.
ARTICLE VII
Amendments
The Constitution shall take effect immediately upon the time
of its adoption, and shall not be amended
except
by written resolution, which
shall
lie over until the next regular meeting, and receive a vote of
two-
thirds
of
the members present.
ARTICLE VIII
Disbandment
If and when this organization shall be disbanded, any monies or
properties, either real or vested, shall be
distributed to some non-profit
educational
institution or institutions for the furtherance of the education of
surgeons.
BYLAWS
Article 1.
The Georgia
Surgical Society shall meet annually at a time and place decided by the Council.
Article 2.
The members
present shall constitute a quorum for business.
Article 3.
Annual dues
shall be set by the Council and approved by the Society.
Article 4. The usual
parliamentary rules governing deliberative bodies shall govern the business of
this
organization. A majority vote shall be necessary for the passage of any
motion before the organization.
Article 5. The Council
may, at the annual meeting, recommend an honorarium for the Secretary/
Treasurer.
The Secretary/Treasurer shall be
reimbursed by the Georgia Surgical Society for
any
lawful
expenditures personally made for this organization.
Article 6. It shall be
the duty of the Secretary one month prior to the annual meeting to notify each
member
of the organization of said meeting and
of the candidates for membership.
Article 7. The duties of
the Council shall be to manage all the affairs of the organization not covered
by
the
duties assigned to the elected officers. It shall approve all details for
the arrangements of the annual
meeting.
Article 8. The Secretary
shall act as Chairman of the Committee of arrangements, and two other members
of
this Committee shall be appointed by
the President at each annual meeting. This
Committee will make all
necessary arrangements for the annual meeting.
Article 9. On retirement
from practice or after 30 years of membership, annual dues and attendance are
no longer required, but the member may still
hold office and vote.majority
Article 10.
These Bylaws
may be amended at any annual meeting by a vote of those members
present
and voting, provided that notice of proposed changes in the Bylaws have been
sent to all of the
members
at least 30 days prior to the meeting
at which they
are to be discussed.
Last Updated:
4/18/2011
