Board of Directors Approve Minimum Standards for Sections
October 25, 2012
The AACE International Board of Directors approved minimum standards for sections its October 20-21, 2012 Board of Directors Meeting in Orlando, FL. The board action had been anticipated as part of the approved Strategic Plan adopted in April 2010. The specific language in the strategic plan may be found in Action 2-A-5: “AACE will develop enforceable minimum standards for sections to encourage improved performance by December 2012.” The Board of Director’s action was taken after receiving the recommendation of the elected regional directors and the Vice President-Regions to approve the proposal.
Under the provisions of the new policy, each Section must do all of the following to be considered as maintaining active status:
Communicate with their Regional Director and file quarterly health reports
Submit their Section officers roster to Headquarters by June 1 of each year
US based sections must file appropriate financial records with IRS
Maintain at least five (5) members (minimum required to start a Section)
Hold a minimum of three (3) technical meetings per year
Hold a minimum of two (2) board planning meetings per year
Maintain current Bylaws & Constitution (revision dates should not exceed 7 years)
Plus each Section must do two (2) or more of the following per year:
Produce newsletter for membership to be issued quarterly at a minimum
Maintain a Section website
Submit an article for inclusion in the AACE Section Bulletin in Cost Engineering/Source
Hold certification workshops, joint meeting, or symposium
Section recognition awards submission
Attend Annual Meeting or International TCM Conference
Under the new policy, a section will be placed on inactive status if the section fails to meet the minimum standards outlined above. Inactive status will be determined by the Regional Director after consultation with the Vice President-Regions. If both agree that a section is not in compliance with the above policy, a notification letter will be sent by VP Regions to the appropriate section officers with a copy to the Vice President-Administration and AACE International Headquarters outlining the deficiencies that need to be addressed.
According to Vice President-Regions Julie Owen CCC EVP, regional directors will work closely with section officers and members to take necessary actions to remedy the operational deficiencies, including working closely to recruit new members and leaders, find suitable meeting resources and leverage activities with neighboring sections to keep the section viable. Once those options have been exhausted and no progress is being made, the integrity of the section system needs to be maintained by enforcing these minimum standards to protect the interests of individual members as well as the Association as a whole.
If a Section is placed on inactive status, but then complies with an appropriate response to remedy the deficiencies within six (6) months, the Section will be removed from inactive status. If after six (6) months, the Section fails to comply with an appropriate response or does not address the deficiencies to the satisfaction of the regional director and VP-Regions, the Section will be placed on dormant status. Then after an additional six (6) months, if the Section fails to comply with an appropriate response that addresses the deficiencies, the Section’s charter will be revoked and all members will be given the option to be transferred to at-large member status within that region or to the section of their choosing.
Should a section have its charter revoked, it may become a section again by following the steps as outlined under “Organization of a Section” and formal approval by the Board of Directors.
In the case where a section’s charter is revoked, the regional director responsible for that section will:
Notify all section officers and members regarding their options to reinstate the section and will inform all section members as to their options to become at large members or transfer to another section.
Find any section banking funds and transfer to AACE International general fund in accordance with the provisions of the section bylaws and the Association’s policies.
Remove the section’s name from AACE International website and all other references within the Association.
For more information on the new policy, please contact your regional director or the Vice President-Regions.
