GEORGIA COLLEGE COUNSELING ASSOCIATION

BYLAWS  PREAMBLE

 Some college counselors in the state of Georgia, desiring to establish a professional counseling association distinctly for college counselors, have among themselves done so and have invited other college counselors to enlarge the membership.  These bylaws are drafted and an Executive Council has been selected from these counselors to facilitate start-up.  Members of this council are the President, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Student Representative, and Regional Representatives as defined in the bylaws.  The succeeding year’s Executive Council shall be elected in accord with the bylaws.  A convention will be held during the start-up year and will be followed by succeeding annual conventions.  Counselors joining the association prior to and during the first year’s convention shall become charter members.  

Article I

Name and Mission  

Section 1.  Name.   The name of this Association is the Georgia College Counseling Association, hereafter referred to as the Association or GCCA.  It is an affiliate of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA).  The ACCA charter was granted on March 15, 1993. Section 2. Mission.   GCCA is an Association for those persons in higher education to include colleges, universities, community and technical college settings, whose professional identity is counseling and whose purpose is fostering students’ development.  GCCA strives to support and enhance the practice of college counseling, to promote ethical and responsible professional practice, to promote communication and exchange among college counselors across service areas and institutional settings, to encourage cooperation with other organizations related to higher education and college student development, and to provide leadership and advocacy for the profession of counseling in higher education.  

Article II

Membership

 

Section 1. Membership.  Members shall qualify in the following ways: Section 2.  Types of Membership. (a) Professional Member – Employment in or retirement from higher educational institution as a counselor and possession of at least a master’s degree in counseling or closely related field from an institution of higher education. (b) Student Member – a student engaged in graduate study in counseling or a closely related field in an accredited institution. (c) Associate Member – persons who support GCCA’s objective and who have an interest in affiliation without meeting requirements for professional or student membership. Section 3.  Severance of Membership. Failure to pay dues as prescribed by the Association and by ACCA shall be interpreted as withdrawal from membership.  At that time the membership shall cease to exist.  Association members disciplined or expelled from the membership of ACCA for any reason will be dismissed from GCCA as well.    

Section 4.  Rights and Privileges.

Professional and student members are eligible to vote on matters coming before the Association and are eligible to hold office in the Association.  Associate members have no voting privileges. Section 5.  Membership Fee. A membership fee shall be assessed for each member.  The fee shall be $35.00 for Professional and Associate members.  Student members shall be free. Section 6.  General Membership. General membership does not require ACCA membership, but it is encouraged. Section 7.   GCCA members will abide by the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.  

Article III Officers  

Section 1.  Elected Officials. The elected officials shall be the President, the President-Elect, the immediate Past President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, ten Regional Representatives, and one Student Representative. Together, these officials shall comprise the Executive Council.  See Article IV.  All elected officials shall be voting members of ACCA and GCCA. Section 2.  Duties of Officers. (a) President 1. To exert leadership in achieving the purposes of GCCA. 2. To preside at Executive Council meetings, other business meetings, and conventions. 3. To appoint directors of standing and special committees that are established under the office of President, except as otherwise specified in these Bylaws. 4. To serve ex officio on all committees. 5. To submit all reports and other information as may be requested or required by ACCA. 6. To notify candidates of election results. 7. To perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Council. (b) President-Elect 1. To coordinate convention programs. 2. To perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Council. 3. To perform duties of the President in the event of the President’s resignation, incapacity, absence or death.   (c) Past President 1. To serve as Director of the Nominations and Elections Committee. 2. To perform the duties of the President-Elect in the event of the resignation, incapacity, absence or death of the President-elect. 3. To perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Council.  (d) Secretary 1. To keep records of the proceedings of all business meetings. 2. To conduct the official correspondence including the issuance of notices of meetings when requested by the President. 3. To notify ACCA of amendments to these Bylaws after adoption by the membership when requested by the President. 4. To notify ACCA candidates of election results, when requested by the President. 5. To inform the membership of their election or appointment to the Executive Council, when requested by the President. 6. To solicit such written reports of standing and special committees for the Executive Council and the GCCA business meeting as called.  (e) Treasurer 1. To review and approve requests for disbursements that have been authorized by the GCCA Executive Council. 2. To review periodic financial audit statements from ACCA. 3. To present reports of the financial status of GCCA to the Executive Council and the membership at each meeting of these bodies. 4. To present a proposed budget to the Executive Council.  (f) Student Representative 1. To perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Council. 2. To make efforts to recruit student membership.         (g) Regional Representatives              1. To report to the Executive Council the needs of the general membership.              2. To serve on the Education Committee (Article VI,2d).              3. To serve on the Membership Committee.              4. To perform other duties as directed by the Executive Council.              5. There shall be ten Representatives, one form each of ten Regions, which are Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dahlonaga, Macon, Rome, Savannah, Waycross.  Section 3.  Terms of Office.  The President and President-Elect shall serve a one-year term.  They shall not succeed themselves.  The Treasurer and Secretary shall serve a two-year term.  The Student Representative shall serve a one-year term.  Each Regional Representative shall serve a one year term, be employed within the region, and be elected by members employed within their regions.  

Section 4.  Vacancies.

 In the event of a vacancy in any office other than the President or President-elect, the Executive Council shall, by majority vote, elect a successor to serve until the next annual election. (a) If a vacancy occurs in the Office of President, the President-elect shall complete the unexpired term and shall then serve a full term in his or her own right. (b) If a vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect, the Past President shall perform the duties of the President-Elect until the next annual election.  

Article IV

Executive Council  

Section 1.  Executive Council.

 The Executive Council shall consist of the elected officials and shall be empowered to conduct the business of the association.  

Section 2.  Functions of the GCCA Executive Council.

 (a) Make all necessary policy decisions on behalf of GCCA. (b) Formulate general policies of GCCA concerning the objectives and purposes of GCCA and recommend such action as seems necessary to present these policies to the voting members of GCCA for adoption. (c) Consider all proposed amendments to these Bylaws.  

Article V

Meetings  

Section 1.  Executive Council.

 The Executive Council shall meet at least once each year.  A meeting of the Executive Council shall be held at the time and place of each Annual Convention.  Additional meetings of the Executive Council will be held as deemed necessary by the President.  At least one-half of the members shall constitute a quorum throughout any meeting of the Executive Council at which official business is transacted.  Section 2.  Membership.  A meeting of the GCCA membership shall be held during the Annual Convention for the purpose of hearing summary reports from officers and committees and conducting such business of the Association as deemed necessary by the Executive Council.  

Article VI

Committees  

Section 1.  Standing Committees.

 The standing committees are Nominations and Elections, Convention, and Membership.  The President shall appoint committee members in consultation with the Committee Director.  All standing and special committees shall be appointed by the President, approved by the Executive Council and expire when the President is succeeded.  Section 2.  Composition and Function of Standing Committees.  (a) Nominations and Elections Committee 1. The immediate Past President shall serve as Director. 2. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall conduct the nominations and elections of the Association and review and recommend procedures for conducting the annual election. 3. No member of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be a candidate for office.  (b) Convention Committee 1. The President-Elect shall be the Committee Director and the Committee shall coordinate planning for an Annual Association Convention. 2. Continuing Education shall be offered at the Convention.  (c) Membership Committee 1. The Committee Director shall direct the committee. 2. The Director shall be responsible for assisting the Area Representatives by helping to promote CE workshops as well as maintain the membership list. 3. The President shall appoint the Director. 4. Committee members shall consist of the Director and the Regional Representatives. 5. The membership committee shall be responsible for recruiting new members.  (d) Continuing Education Committee 1. The Continuing Education Director shall direct the committee. 2. The President shall appoint the Director. 3. Committee members shall consist of the Director and the regional representatives. 4. The Committee shall carry out the objectives of the Continuing Education Program outlined in Article IX.  (e) Other Standing Committees  There shall be such other Standing Committees as may from time to time be established by the Executive Council to deal with matters of a continuing or recurring nature related to the accomplishments of the general purposes of the Association.  The President, with approval of the Executive Council, shall appoint Directors of other Standing Committees.  The Director and the President will select committee membership.  (f) Special Committees 1. The Executive Council and the President may establish special committees to deal with matters of an immediate or non-recurring nature related to the specific purposes of GCCA. 2. The President shall appoint the Director and the members of special committees. 3. The term of service of each special committee shall expire when the duties of the special committee are completed or at the expiration of the current President whichever shall occur first.  (g) Committee Meetings and Reports 1. Meetings of committees shall be called by the Director. 2. The Director of each committee shall submit a written report of the committee’s activities and recommendations to the GCCA Executive Council as requested.  

Article VII

Nominations and Elections

 

Section 1.  Procedures.

(a) The Nominations and Elections Committee shall canvas the voting members for nominations for elective offices. (b) Professional members shall be eligible for nomination as Student Representatives. (c) Guided by the nominations, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare a slate of officers containing if possible, at least two names for each GCCA office to be filled. (d) The Nominations and Elections Committee shall select nominations to appear on the slate on the basis of qualifications for office, number of nominating votes received from the membership, institutional type, cultural diversity, and the consent of the nominee. Section 2.  Voting. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes for each office shall be elected to that office.  

Article VIII

Annual Convention

 Section 1.  Annual Convention. A Convention shall be held yearly for the purpose of bringing together the general membership to vote, to network, to conduct continuing education, and to renew membership.  

Article IX

Continuing Education Program  

The Association shall have a Continuing Education Program to help the professional membership meet continuing education requirements for certification and/or licensure and to otherwise enhance the professional members’ counseling knowledge and proficiency.  A Continuing Education Committee shall facilitate programming and, if necessary, create additional rules to support the following guidelines.  See Article VI, Committees, Section 2d.  A record of attendance shall be maintained for future reference by the committee for the purpose of issuing an annual Certificate of Continuing Education to each member who participates in the program.  Individual members shall independently maintain a record of her or his attendance at the sponsored programs and periodically verify its accuracy with the Education Committee Director.  Continuing Education shall be provided at the annual conference and at jointly sponsored programs with Georgia’s institutions of higher learning.  Coordination between the Association and the participating institutions of post-secondary education shall be conducted under the following rules:  1. The counseling facility (identified as a center, office services, department or similarly named facility) on the campus of any of Georgia’s private and public, accredited institutions of post-secondary education shall be the institution’s provider. 2. The institution’s provider shall have an employed counselor who is an Association member to coordinate sponsorship with the Association.  The Counselor is usually the institution’s Director or Coordinator of Counseling or similarly titled.   3. A formal request shall be submitted to the Association’s Continuing Education Committee Director on an Association form to outline the particulars of the proposed continuing education. 4. The Education Committee Director shall coordinate with the provider’s representative to insure that the proposed continuing education is approved, actually conducted, and attendance recorded.  

Article X

Business Affairs of the Association  

Section 1.  Severable or Transferable Interest.

No member shall have any severable or transferable interest in the property of the organization.

 

Section 2.  Control and Management.

All property of the Association shall be subject to the control and management of the Executive Council.  Any accumulation or disposal of real property, except upon dissolution of the Association, must be approved in advance by the Executive Council.  

Section 3.  Disposal Upon Dissolution.

Upon Dissolution of the Association, none of its property shall be distributed to any of the members and all of such property shall be transferred to such other organization or organizations as the Executive Council shall determine to have purposes and activities most nearly consonant with those of the Association, provided that such organizations shall be exempt under Section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue code or corresponding provision of the Internal Revenue laws.  Section 4.  Appropriation of Association Funds. (a) No appropriations of Association funds shall be made except pursuant to the authority of the Executive Council.  (b) The Executive Council shall adopt an annual budget.  

Section 5.  Association Year.

 The fiscal year and the governance year of the Association shall be from annual convention to the next annual convention.  

Article XI

Indemnification

 

Section 1.   The Association shall indemnify each member of its Executive Council, as described in Article IV, and each of its officers as described in Article III, for the defense of civil or criminal actions or proceedings as hereinafter provided and, notwithstanding any provision in these Bylaws, in a manner and to the extent permitted by applicable law. Section 2.  The Association shall indemnify each of its Executive Council members and officer, as aforesaid, from and against any and all judgements, fines, amounts paid in settlement, and reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fee, actually and necessarily incurred or imposed as a result of such action or proceedings, or any appeal therein, imposed upon or asserted against him or her by reason of being or having been such a Council member or officer and acting within the scope of his or her official duties, but only when the determination shall have been made judicially or in the manner hereinafter provided that he or she acted in good faith or for the purpose which he or she reasonably believed to be in the best interest of the association and, in the case of criminal action or proceeding, in addition had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.  This indemnification shall be made only if the Association shall be advised by its Executive Council acting (1) by quorum consisting of Executive Council members who are not parties to such action or proceedings upon a finding that, or (2) if a quorum under (1) is not obtainable with due diligence, upon the opinion in writing of independent legal counsel that, the Council member or officer has met the foregoing applicable standard of conduct.  If the foregoing determination is to be made by the Executive Council, it may rely, as to all questions of law, on the advice of independent legal counsel. Section 3.  Every reference herein to a member of the Executive Council or Officer of the Association shall include every Council member and officer thereof or former Council member and officer thereof.  This indemnification shall apply to all the judgments, fines, amounts in settlement, and reasonable expenses described above whenever arising allowable as above-stated.  The right of indemnification herein provided shall be in addition to any and all rights to which any Council member or Officer of the Association might otherwise be entitled and the provisions hereby shall neither impair nor adversely affect such rights.  

Article XII

Amendments  

Section 1.  Amendments with Previous Notice.

 Procedures for the amendment of these Bylaws with previous notice shall be as follows:   (a) Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Council or by a petition signed by 25 voting members sent to the Secretary of GCCA at least 60 days, or such shorter period as the Executive council shall decide, in advance of a business meeting.  Copies of all proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Secretary, who shall bring it before the Council for study and recommendation.  (b) Proposed amendments, together with such comments or written recommendations as may have been formulated by the GCCA Executive Council or the petitions, if any, shall be distributed by the Secretary in writing to the voting members, in advance of a business meeting, at which time such proposals shall be discussed and sent to the membership to be voted upon.  (c) Proposed amendments shall be considered to have been adopted or approved by a majority of votes cast.  (d) Bylaws must remain consistent with those of ACCA.  

Article XIII

Nondiscrimination  

Section 1.  Nondiscrimination.

 (a) GCCA shall not discriminate against any individual on the basis of ethnic group, color, creed, sex, age, affectional or sexual orientation or handicapping conditions.  (b) GCCA actively promotes multiculturalism within the organization.   

Article XIV

Parliamentary Authority

 

Section 1.  Parliamentary Authority.

 Roberts Rules of Order, most recent edition, shall govern the proceedings of GCCA.