CONSTITUTION
of
The Georgia Chapter
of the
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF FRENCH
Ratified: October 20, 2001
Mission statement
The mission of the American Association of Teachers of French is "to represent the French language in North America and to encourage the dissemination, both in the schools and in the general public, of knowledge concerning all aspects of the culture and civilization of France and the French-speaking world. The Association shall by all means at its disposal support projects destined to advance the French language and literature. It encourages reciprocal communication between all levels of the teaching of French in North America." (Constitution of the AATF, http://aatf.utsa.edu/hq/constit.htm ). The role of the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French is to assist the AATF in the fulfilment of its goals at the level of the State, or, in concert with the national association, at the level of the nation, and to organize activities and formulate policies which will facilitate the academic or cultural mission of its members. With the above objectives in mind, the members of the association have adopted the following constitution :
ARTICLE I. Name of the Association -- Geographic Delineation
Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French, hereinafter referred to as the Chapter.
Section 2. The name of the Chapter shall never be the object of an amendment unless, by majority vote of its members.
ARTICLE II. Rights of Membership -- Membership Fees
Section 1. All members of the Chapter must be members in good standing of the national association.
Section 2. Membership in the Chapter shall be divided into four categories:
a) active membership;
b) emeritus membership;
d) student membership.
Section 3. Active membership: any person engaged in the teaching of the French language or
professionally involved in the teaching of the literature or the culture of a French-speaking nation may become an active member of this chapter.
Section 4.Emeritus membership: emeritus membership may be conferred upon any member who:
a) has received emeritus status by the national association;
b) is over 55 years old;
c) has retired from active teaching;
d) has been a member of the AATF for at least ten consecutive years;
e) is a member in good standing of the Chapter when applying. Emeritus members are considered full-fledged members of the AATF Chapter and enjoy all the benefits of regular membership.
Section 5. Student membership: student membership shall be granted if one: a) is enrolled in courses leading to a degree in French; b) is carrying less than a full-time teachingload; c) carries a title lower than "instructor."
Student members pay half the annual dues for a regular member and are considered full-fledged
members of the Chapter.
Section 6. Each member in good standing has the right to vote at meetings of the Chapter and to
participate in the programs on an equal basis with other members.
Section 7. Chapter membership fees may be assessed from time to time by majority vote of the
members attending an annual meeting of the Chapter.
Section 8. Provided that membership in the national organization is maintained, emeritus and student members shall be exempt from the payment of Chapter fees.
ARTICLE III. The Executive Board -- Eligibility
Section 1. The Chapter shall be administered by an Executive Board composed of the President,
the Vice-President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Editor of Le bulletin français (the Chapter's
newsletter), and the Director of the French Contest.
Section 2.The President and the Vice-President shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, which term may be renewable.
Section 3. The Secretary-Treasurer, the Director of the French contest and the Editor of Le bulletin françaisshall be selected by the President for a term of three (3)years, renewable at the President's discretion.
Section 4. Any active, emeritus or life member of the Chapter, provided s/he is in good standing with the Chapter and with the national association, shall be eligible for office as President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, or director of the Grand Concours.
Section 5. Nomination : Any member may nominate another member for the offices of President and Vice-President.
Section 6. Election: the slate of candidates for office on the Executive Board shall be presented and voted upon at the annual business meeting of the Chapter, generally held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG).
Section 7. Any member of the Chapter may nominate another candidate from the floor at the annual business meeting and such name shall be added to the slate, provided one of the following conditions is met:
a) that the candidate nominated from the floor be present at the meeting;
b) that the member placing a name in nomination present to the officer presiding at the annual meeting a letter of acceptance signed by the candidate whose name is being placed in nomination.
ARTICLE IV. Duties of the Executive Board
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter. S/he shall appoint the director of the AATF National French Contest, members of all special committees, and the delegates to the national convention of the AATF. The President shall receive and process applications for AATF Summer Scholarship, rank them, and send them to the Regional Representative. The president shall appoint directors who will administer the various contests at the state level. The President may convoke or poll the Executive Board as needed. It is the duty of the President to see that the other officers of the Chapter carry out their duties in a timely fashion, and in the case of resignation or failure of an officer or Executive Board member to perform his functions, the President of the Chapter shall appoint a replacement to fill out the term of office in question. The President shall assist the Vice-President in planning the program of the annual meeting of the Chapter.
Section 2. The Vice-President: S/he shall act as an advisor to the President. It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to plan the programs for the annual meeting of the Chapter. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall preside at the meetings of the Chapter. The Vice-President shall assume the duties and functions of the President if the latter is unable or unwilling to perform his duties.
Section 3. The Secretary-Treasurer: S/he shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the chapter and send an account to Le Bulletin français to be published in the next issue. S/he shall maintain liaison with National Headquarters and regional representatives by reporting the results of chapter elections. As the Treasurer, s/he shall have charge of all payments and records. S/He shall assume supervision of the National French Contest account. Each year she shall present annual reports on the finances of the Chapter and the National French Contest. S/he shall also report yearly interest to National Headquarters. S/he shall process memberships and submit membership reports to the National Headquarters, to the Executive Board, and to the members at the annual meeting. S/he shall recruit new members when possible and encourage former members to renew membership. The treasurer shall handle Chapter mailings to local members.
Section 4. The Executive Board shall determine the general policy of the Chapter and decide upon all matters not within the purview of this Constitution. It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Board to establish ways of implementing the aims and means of developing the welfare of the Chapter. In instances when a special meeting of the Chapter is not deemed feasible or necessary, the President may call a meeting of the Executive Board to deal with pressing matters affecting the Chapter.
Section 5. The Editor of Le bulletin français, under the supervision of the President, shall ensure the publication of Le bulletin français and of fliers announcing various chapter events, and determine, in consultation with the Board, the number of yearly issues and the list of recipients of Le bulletin français. The Editor shall serve on the Executive Board. All chapter-sponsored events must be publicized either in the Le bulletin françaisor in fliers specifically designed for the occasion as well as on the chapter's web site. Events not publicized in such a way will not be considered as activities of the Georgia Chapter of the AATF.
Section 6. The Director of the National French Contest: s/he shall be responsible for all aspects of the development, publicity, and administration of the annual association contest., in conformity with policies and practices as established by the National Contest Director. S/he shall report annually on the results of the contest and present a financial statement to the Board.
ARTICLE V. Meeting of the Chapter
Section 1. The Chapter shall have at least one annual meeting which shall be held at the same time and at the same place as that of the other chapters of the AAT'S.
Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the President at the request of the Executive Board or at the request of the members at large previously submitted to the Executive Board for action.
The meeting place shall be centrally located in order to facilitate attendance from all members.
ARTICLE VI. Finances and Compensation
Section 1. The Director of the French Contest may receive compensation by action of the Executive Board and the
agreement of the membership. Such compensation will be paid out of the French Contest budget.
Section 2. The President shall serve as co-signer with the Treasurer on any bank accounts maintained by the Georgia
Chapter of AATF and the Treasurer shall serve as co-signer for the accounts maintained by the Director of the French contest.
Section 3.Investment of available current funds in the checking account may be made by the Treasurer.
ARTICLE VII. Amendments
Section 1.The present constitution may be amended at any annual meeting, provided that copies of such amendments are distributed to members or posted on the chapter's web site one month before the Chapter's meeting.
Section 2. A proposed amendment shall pass if it receives an affirmative vote from two-thirds of the members present at the meeting.
ARTICLE VIII. Ratification
Section 1. The present Constitution shall become effective upon ratification by two-thirds of the members present at the annual meeting.
Section 2.Ratification of this Constitution implies acceptance and recognition that all articles of the Constitution of the national association shall apply to the Chapter.
ARTICLE IX. Dissolution
Section 1. The Chapter may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of all members present at an annual meeting or at a special meeting called by the President when no annual meeting has been scheduled within a period of 14 months.
Section 2. If the President takes no action to call a regular meeting, any member of the Chapter, with written notification to all other members, may call a special meeting to consider a motion for dissolution.
Section 3. In the event that the Chapter is dissolved, all assets held by the Treasurer of the Chapter shall be transferred to the national treasury of the AATF and shall be subject to the regulations of the national association which may then be in force.