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Article I
Name

The name of this organization shall be Advanced Practice Nurses of the Ozarks.

Article II
Mission

This organization shall provide support to advanced practice nurses in Southwest Missouri by providing opportunities for networking, continuing education and public education.

Article III
Membership and Dues

Section 1. Individual membership is available to all registered professional nurses in Advanced Practice roles. Individual members are entitled to all rights and privileges of membership upon payment of the requisite dues.

Section 2. Associate membership is available to registered professional nurses who are not in an advanced practice role, to retired advanced practice nurses, and to those enrolled in an academic program to prepare them for advanced practice. There are no membership dues for this membership. Associate members may not vote or hold office.

Section 3. The officers shall establish dues as necessary to become an individual member of the organization. Dues shall be payable at the beginning of each fiscal year in order to remain an active member. Members whose dues remain unpaid as of February 1st shall be removed from membership. Dues paid after October 1st shall be applied to the next fiscal year.

Article IV
Meetings

Section 1. The Annual Meeting of the membership shall be held on the regular meeting date in the month of November of each year. The Annual Meeting will be held in Springfield, Missouri, or at such other place as the Officers shall determine.

Section 2. General membership meetings will be held monthly on a day to be determined at the annual meeting. Business meetings will be held in odd months preceding the general membership meeting.

Section 3. Ten percent of the votes entitled to be cast on a matter shall constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting business at meetings.

Article V
Officers and Executive Board

Section 1. The officers of the organization shall be the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. These officers, along with the Immediate Past President, the chair of the Networking/Public Education Committee and the chair of the Membership/Newsletter Committee shall constitute the Executive Board.

Section 2. President - It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings and to enforce all regulations relating to the administration of the organization. The President shall also serve as the chair of the Executive Board and shall appoint such committees as the activities of the organization may require. The term of office is one year.

Section 3. President-Elect - It shall be the duty of the President-Elect to carry out such functions as are delegated and, in the absence of the President to act on his/her behalf. The President -Elect shall serve as the chair of the Continuing Education/Program Committee. It shall be the responsibility of the President-Elect to maintain continuing education records as required by MONA (Missouri Nurses Association) for both the monthly meetings and any additional educational offerings. Upon completion of the one year term, the President-Elect will assume the role of President.

Section 4. Secretary - It shall be the duty of the Secretary to maintain records of the organization's meeting, proceedings, and resolution; to issue notice of Executive Board meetings to members of the Board and to perform general functions commonly identified with such office. The term of office is one year.

Section 5. Treasurer - It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to be responsible for all fiscal matters of the organization and the accounting thereof. The treasurer shall disburse funds in accordance with rules and instructions established by the Executive Board. The financial records of the organization maintained by the Treasurer shall be audited on a periodic basis as determined by the Executive Board. The term of office is one year.

Section 6. Immediate Past President - It shall be the duty of the Immediate Past President to serve as a member of the Executive Board and function as the chairperson of the Nominations and Bylaws Committee. Additionally the Past President shall arrange the audit of the organizations financial records as directed by the Executive Committee.

Section 7. The Executive Board shall act on behalf of the organization in the arrangement and management of programs and in policy formation not explicitly assigned as a responsibility of the officers. Decisions of the Executive Board shall be made by a simple majority of the members present. A vacancy on the Executive Board may be filled by an appointment of an eligible member by the President for the unexpired term of office.

Article VI
Committees

Section 1. The following committees shall be standing committees of the organization:

Membership/Newsletter
Continuing Education/Programs
Networking/Public Education
Nominations/Bylaws

A. The Membership/Newsletter Committee shall be responsible for maintaining the organization's membership roster and for preparing the organization's newsletter as necessary at the direction of the Executive Board. The Committee shall issue membership cards after receiving an application and payment of dues from qualified members. The chair of this committee shall be elected pursuant to the procedure set out for other officers. The term of office shall be two years.

B. The Continuing Education/Programs Committee shall be responsible for developing quality educational programs to be brought to the general membership. Additionally the committee shall be responsible for arranging meeting sites for membership meetings.

C. The Networking/Public Education Committee shall be responsible for keeping the membership informed regarding issues impacting on health care at the local, state and national levels. The chair of this committee shall be elected pursuant to the procedure set out for other officers. The term of office shall be two years.

D. The Nominations/Bylaws Committee shall be responsible for soliciting nominations for offices which need to be filled and for preparing a written ballot for such offices. Thirty days prior to the annual meeting, the ballots shall be mailed to all eligible members. Ballots shall be returned to the organization, postmarked no later that seven (7) days prior to the annual meeting date, to be included in the balloting. The person receiving a majority of the votes cast for a particular office shall be elected to that office. The results of each election shall be announced at the Annual Meeting.

The Nominations/Bylaws Committee shall also be responsible for suggesting and receiving proposed changes to the bylaws. These bylaws may be amended at any business meeting, by a two-thirds affirmative vote; provided that such proposed amendments shall have been submitted to the members in writing at least fifteen (15) days prior to said business meeting.

Section 2. Additional committees may be appointed by the Executive Board as necessary for the proper conduct of the organization's business.

Article VII
Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the organization shall be January 1 through December 31.

Article VIII
Conduct of Business

The current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the conduct of business of the organization, unless superseded by these bylaws.

Article IX
Dissolution

In the event of dissolution or final liquidation of the organization, the Executive Board shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the lawful debts and liabilities of the organization, distribute all the assets of the organization to one or more nonprofit organizations having similar aims and objects as the organization and which shall then qualify as a governmental unit under section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code or as an organization exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(a) of such Code or as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such Code.