WELCOME TO NECOA

This organization shall be known as the New England Branch of the Commissioned Officers Association of the United States Public Health Service. The geographic area that this branch will cover is Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

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 New England.

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, hold office and participate in subcommittees.

Article Four – Dues and Assessments

Section One: The membership dues for the Branch shall be $10.00 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. At least twice each year the national office will refund to the branch 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 at least quarterly with such exceptions as the executive committee may designate. For conducting the business of the branch, a quorum of at least twenty-five percent of the members of the branch or five members (whichever is smaller) shall be necessary.

Article Six – Governing Body

Section One: The governing body of this branch shall be known as the Executive Board and shall consist of the President, State Vice Presidents, State Secretary and Treasurer. A maximum of one Vice President and Secretary may be elected for each State (VT, ME, MA, NH, CT, RI).

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.

State Vice President(s) – Shall act for the President in the absence of the President and shall act as the state representative for the NECOA executive Board. The State Vice President will be responsible for initiating quarterly meetings and to promote COA membership for officers located in his/her State.

State Secretary(s) – Shall maintain accurate minutes of all meetings. He/she shall carefully preserve, on file, all reports and papers of every description presented to the branch and shall be charged with the necessary business and professional correspondence. He/she shall notify every branch member at least two weeks in advance of the time and place of each meeting. The Secretary will also maintain a roster of active and retired members of the Branch for his/her State.

Treasurer – The Treasurer shall take charge of the funds of the branch. He/she shall present annually to the membership a statement of the account of the branch which statement will be certified by the executive committee.

Article Seven – Election of Officers

The President shall send out solicitation for candidates in November, interested candidates are required to submit a brief biography and statement of interest to the Executive Board via the President (email is an acceptable means of communication). A list of interested candidates will be forwarded by the President to the Executive Board and all New England COA officers by December 1^st. NECOA members may indicate their selection for office (vote) by mail or email to the President who will tally the results with the Executive Board before December 28th. The results will be shared with the NECOA membership within 48 hours after the tally is conducted. The elected officers term shall commence the first day of January, the term limits of the Executive Board follows:

President 2 years

State Vice Presidents 1 year

Treasurer 1 year

Secretary(s) 1 year

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, members of the board will serve a term lasting one year. The term shall run concurrent with the appointment of the Executive Board.

Section Two: The standing committees of the branch shall include:

Web Site Committee

The Web Site Committee shall consist of one or more members in good standing. The Committee shall be responsible for maintenance and development of the website.

Article Nine – Amendments

The bylaws may be amended, repealed, or altered in whole or in part by a majority vote of the members provided that a copy of any amendment proposed for consideration has been mailed (or emailed) to each member qualified to vote at least 15 days before the meeting.

This is to certify that these bylaws were approved and adopted by the New England Branch on, this day of , 2007.

President-----------------------------------------------------------

Vice President-----------------------------------------------------

Treasurer-----------------------------------------------------------

Secretary------------------------------------------------------------