• To promote program evaluation as an integral component of human services, education, health, faith-based, criminal justice and other fields.
• To foster and promote high-quality program evaluation by providing opportunities to exchange of information, ideas and tools.
• To promote the use of professional evaluation standards and practices.
• To facilitate training on evaluation methods.
• To promote accountability for evaluation methods and practices at all levels of policy and programs.
• To provide a regional, interdisciplinary forum for professional development and exchange of ideas related to local evaluation issues.

Article III: Membership

Section 1. Members in Good Standing. Membership of the organization shall consist of individuals who pay the currently stipulated membership dues to support the organization’s mission and who subscribe to the purpose of this association. Membership shall be voluntary.

Section 2. Members’ Rights. All members in good standing shall be entitled to full rights and privileges of membership, including the right to attend all meetings of the organization, to participate in its affairs, to vote, and to hold office.

Section 3. Application. An individual wishing to join the organization may ask for consideration by completing an application and submitting it along with the appropriate fee to the organization’s Secretary or other Executive Board-appointed agent. Upon review and approval of the application by the Secretary or duly authorized agent, the applicant shall be admitted for membership.

Section 4. Membership Year. The membership year of the organization shall be from January 1 through December 31.

Section 5. Membership Dues. The annual membership dues shall be determined by the organization’s Executive Board and voted on by the full membership.

Section 6. Termination of Membership.

a. Resignation. Any member may resign by submitting in writing to the Executive Board his or her resignation. Thereupon, such resignation will become effective forthwith without need of acceptance.
b. Failure to Pay Dues. Membership dues are due January 1. Failure to pay dues for any membership year by January 31 shall automatically result in loss of good standing and suspension of all rights and privileges of membership. Upon receipt of payment of dues for the current year, the Treasurer will restore full rights and privileges. Dues will be prorated on a monthly basis.
c. Removal for Cause. If continued membership of any person is believed to be contrary to the interests, purposes, or ethical standards of the evaluation profession and hence of the Southern Georgia Evaluation Association, the President shall appoint a committee to conduct hearings at which time the member shall be given the opportunity to present a defense. Membership may be terminated by a two-thirds vote of Executive Board pending the outcome of such hearing.

Section 7. Open Meetings. The organization shall hold quarterly membership meetings. Those members present at membership meetings shall constitute a quorum. One of the quarterly membership meetings shall constitute the annual professional and business meeting, which will be held at a time and place designated by the Executive Board. Each member present at a quarterly business meeting shall have one vote on any issue brought to the floor by an Executive Board Officer. The Executive Board will establish the agenda for the meetings. At least thirty days in advance of the annual membership meeting, the Executive Board shall notify each member of the annual meeting and request input on the agenda. The annual meeting will be coordinated in cooperation with the Program Committee.


Article IV: Executive Board

Section 1. Titles, Term of Office, Duties. Officers make up the Executive Board of the organization. Officers shall include the President, a Past President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. All Officers shall be active members in good standing. Officers shall be elected to serve no more than two consecutive terms, after which at least two years is required from the date of previous occupancy of an office to be eligible for nomination for elected office.

a. President.
1. The President shall serve a one-year term and continue to serve one additional year as Past President subsequent to a term as President.
2. It shall be the duty of the President to preside over all meetings of the full membership and the Executive Board, to appoint committees as provided by Article VIII hereof, and to exercise general supervision over the affairs of the organization.

b. President-Elect
1. The President-Elect shall serve a one-year term and will automatically become President at the close of the year, serving one additional year as President.
2. It shall be a duty of the President-Elect to act as President in the temporary absence or incapacity of the President.
3. The President-Elect and Past President shall co-chair the Elections Committee.

c. Past President
1. The Past President shall serve as general advisory on the affairs of the organization for one year after completing his or her term of office as President.
2. The Past President and President-Elect shall co-chair the Elections Committee.

d. Secretary
1. The Secretary shall serve a one-year term.
2. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to record and maintain records of all meetings of the Executive Board and the organization’s full membership body and maintain files of all materials distributed during meetings.
3. The Secretary shall handle the organization’s correspondence and maintain files of all of the organization’s correspondence.

e. Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall serve a one-year term.
2. It is the duty of the Treasurer to maintain adequate records of receipt of all funds, as well as disbursements.
3. The Treasurer shall sign checks on behalf of the organization for disbursement of funds upon authorization of the President.
4. The Treasurer shall maintain and provide to the Executive Board a current list of members in good standing.
5. The Treasurer shall be responsible for preparing the annual budget and for keeping the organization’s financial records.
6. The Treasurer shall present a monthly financial report to Executive Board and report on the organization’s finances at quarterly business meetings.


Section 2. Vacancies. Vacancies on the Executive Board that occur by virtue of the death, incapacity, resignation, or loss of good standing shall be filled within 30 days. Within 14 days of any of these occurrences, with the exception of a vacancy due to death, the remaining Executive Board members shall notify the individual of the vacancy and proceed to fill the vacancy as provided herein.

a. The President-Elect shall fill a vacancy in the office of the President. If the President-Elect is unable to serve, the Past President shall fill the vacancy in the office of the President.
b. The Executive Board by a two-thirds vote will appoint an individual in good standing from the full membership body to fill a vacancy in any of the following offices: President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.


Article V: Governing Powers and Duties

Section 1. Executive Board. The Executive Board of the organization shall consist of the President, the President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and the immediate Past President.

Section 2. Powers and Duties. The Executive Board shall have all powers and duties necessary or appropriate for the administration of the organization’s affairs, in accordance with these By-Laws. The duties of the Executive Board shall include:

a. General supervision over the affairs of the organization.
b. Legislative and advocacy for the organization.
c. Annual adoption of operating budget and authorization of expenditures falling outside the pre-approved budget
d. Establishing and overseeing the operation of standing committees and subcommittees of the organization.
e. Establishing procedures for awards or other recognition of outstanding contributions made to the field of evaluation
f. Authorizing any matters to be submitted to a vote of the general membership

Section 3. Meetings. The Executive Board shall meet at least quarterly, with one of those meetings held in conjunction with the annual membership meeting. Additional meetings of the Executive Board shall be held on the call of the President. All meetings of the Executive Board shall be open to the membership except for those times when the Board will discuss matters involving personal privacy. A majority vote of the Executive Board members present shall be sufficient to hold a closed meeting. A majority of officers shall constitute a quorum. Any issue discussed at an Executive Board meeting and held over because of the absence of a quorum may be decided by e-mail or mail ballot or telephone poll of the Executive Board unless three members of the Board request a deferment to a subsequent meeting. Other persons may be permitted to speak to such matters at the discretion of the Presiding Officer.

Section 4. Fiscal Management. Executive Board Officers shall have the power to authorize expenditures of the organization’s funds. Ordinary expenditures shall be authorized by the approval of an annual budget by at least two-thirds vote of the Officers. Expenditures in excess of, or in addition to, amounts pre-approved shall be authorized only upon a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board. Votes may be conducted at a meeting or by mail or e-mail. Any bank accounts of the organization shall be established by at least a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Board. Such accounts may include interest-bearing accounts or short-term certificates of deposit, into which Executive Board members may authorize the deposit of organizational funds. Two signatures shall be required to authorize checks or otherwise withdraw funds of the association. Individuals authorized to authorize checks or fund withdrawals are limited to the Treasurer, the President, and the President-elect.

Section 5. Removal of Executive Board Members. A motion to remove any Executive Board member for cause must be circulated to all Executive Board members in writing thirty days prior to a vote on removal. During this thirty-day period, the Executive Board member in question has the right to respond in writing to the motion for removal. A confidential ballot vote of Executive Board members can be conducted by mail or e-mail and handled by an Executive Board member as designated by the President or President-Elect. The Executive Board member in question shall not be allowed to vote on his or her removal. The votes of two-thirds of the remaining Executive Board Officers are necessary to remove the member in question. Upon removal of a Board member, the position will be filled in accordance with vacancy provisions as stated in Article IV, Section 2.

Section 6. Fundraising. Only after the organization has applied for and been granted 501(c)(3) status by the State of Georgia may it receive grants and contributions from interested parties and organizations to help carry out its mission and objectives. Unrestricted grants will be applied to the general operating account and monitored and controlled by the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall also ensure that restricted grants are used exclusively for the purposes agreed upon by the Southern Georgia Evaluation Association and the granting organization or individual. All fundraising efforts must receive prior approval by the Executive Board.

Section 7. Compensation. Compensation shall not be paid to Executive Board members for their service in their capacity as Officers. However, Officers may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties, as approved by a majority of the Executive Board.


Article VI. Nomination, Election, and Installation of Officers.

Section 1. Terms of Office. Terms of office shall begin January 1 after election and shall correspond to the calendar year, ending December 31 of the final year. All elected Officers of the Executive Board shall serve one-year terms.

Section 2. Nominations. An Elections Committee consisting of a minimum of two organizational members, plus the President-Elect of the Executive Board serving as chair of the committee, shall nominate at least one qualified person for each office to be filled.

Section 3. Notice of Nominations. The names of nominees shall be e-mailed or mailed to active members with notice that additional persons may be nominated by petition. Such notice shall establish a date after which nomination petitions will not be accepted.

Section 4. Qualification. The Elections Committee shall ensure that its nominees and others nominated by petition are members in good standing as defined in Article III, Section 1. Officers may be elected to no more than two consecutive terms of office. Otherwise, a period of at least two years is required from the date of previous occupancy of an office for an individual to be eligible for nomination for elected office.

Section 5. Elections. Elections will be held by secret ballot. The Elections Committee shall secure nominations for at least one candidate for each expiring elected office and shall with authorization of the Executive Board submit the slate of candidates to the membership for vote by mail or electronic ballot. The committee will solicit nominations from members as well as the Executive Board. The Committee will include nominees to the ballot and at least 60 days prior to the annual meeting the Committee shall submit to the membership a complete ballot for the election of officers. The membership shall be instructed to return the completed ballot to the Secretary or duly-authorized Executive Board-appointed agent by a date specified by the Elections Committee. Ballots received after voting has closed will not be counted. The Secretary or authorized agent shall be responsible for protecting the security of the ballots, for verifying the ballots, obtaining independent corroboration of the ballot counts and reporting the results to the Elections Committee, the Executive Board, and to the membership. The candidate for each office receiving the largest number of votes shall be considered elected. In the case of a tie, a run-off election shall be held. In the case of a second tie, the officer shall be elected by a coin toss by the Elections Committee chair. Newly elected officers shall take office following the close of the business session of the Annual Meeting.


Article VII. Topical Interest Groups

Section 1. Formation. Groups of members with similar interests may petition the Executive Board to form a Topical Interest Group.

Section 2. Leadership and Elections. Each Topical Interest Group must elect a Chair or Co-chairs. The leaders must be elected for a term of no more than two years.

Article VIII. Special Committees

Section 1. Elections Committee. Chaired by the President-Elect, co-chaired by the Past President and composed of at least two appointed members of the organization, the Elections Committee shall nominate qualified members for office to be filled by election as stipulated in Article VI, Section 4.

Section 2. Program Committee. The President shall appoint a Chair of the Program Committee for a two-year term. The Chair will appoint members to serve on the Committee and its subcommittees. The Program Committee shall poll membership and make recommendations to the Executive Board on professional development and training activities and assist the Board in identifying appropriate professionals to facilitate professional development and training. The Program Committee shall coordinate all professional development and training activities. The Chair also will recruit members of the organization to plan, facilitate and evaluate the annual membership conference, in consultation with the Executive Board. Subcommittees may be formed at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Article IX. Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended by two-thirds vote of the Executive Board and ratified by the membership. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Board or by petition to the Executive Board by at least 15 percent of active members of the organization. Such amendments, following affirmation, shall become effective during the next quarterly membership meeting.