Peel Halton Etobicoke Affiliate of TESL Ontario Operating Guidelines

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The Board is comprised of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 15 members: the Core Executive Committee and the Board Members

Core Executive Committee

The Core Executive Committee comprises the positions of President, Past President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary and Affiliate Director. All the Board members, including the Affiliate Director, have the right to vote.

Duties
The Board members select the Committee chairs for a two-year term by a simple vote.

President

• Is one of three signing officers
• Signs all correspondence
• Guides Affiliate activities
• Organizes and chairs Board meetings
• May attend Committee meetings as an ex-officio member
• Responds to all queries received through the PHE Web site
  
  

President-Elect

• Is in training for the position of the President
• May fill in during an absence of the President
  
  

Past President (ex-officio, non-voting)

• Reports and advises the Core Executive on previous Affiliate activities
• May fill in during an absence of the President
  
  

Secretary

• Is one of three signing officers
• Records minutes of Board meetings and distributes them to all members of the Board and distributes the minutes to Board members at least 1 week before the next scheduled meeting
• Prepares correspondence as required by the Board
• Maintains electronic an hard copies of all Minutes and correspondence and passes them on to his/her successor
  

Treasurer

• Is one of three signing officers
• Manages the financial activities of the Affiliate nd reports to the Executive at every meeting
• Reports the financial status of the Affiliate to TESL Ontario, to the Board and to the membership at P/H/E AGM
• Is responsible for pre- and on-site registration of the membership for affiliate-organized professional development activities, and collects appropriate fees
• Creates and stores a backup of all financial statements in hard copy and electronic version
• Forwards to the Affiliate Director a list of participants at TESL PHE PD events
  

Membership Secretary

• Promotes TESL membership of ESL professionals living or working in Peel, Halton and Etobicoke
• Verifies membership status of workshop participants and all members of the Board
• Obtains Affiliates mailing labels from TESL Ontario as required
• Maintains a list of Affiliate members who are interested in volunteer opportunities in the organization and forwards names to the Volunteer Committee Chair
• Chairs the Membership Committee
  
  

Affiliate Director

• Attends TESL Ontario Board meetings
• Liaises between TESL Ontario and the Affiliate

• Sits on and has an active role on one of the TESL Ontario Committees
• Forwards a list of attendees of PD events to the Certification chair after reviewing

Board Members

Up to eight (8) non-Executive positions shall comprise the remainder and will include the Committee chairs and Members-at-Large.

Duties

Chair, Professional Development Committee

• Facilitates the planning and implementation of at least two (2) Affiliate professional development activities per year
• Coordinates work on PD Reports
• Requests insurance from TESL Ontario for appropriate coverage
• Updates the presenters on the projected final numbers for workshops three days before the event
  

Chair, Newsletter Committee

• Facilitates the publication and distribution of at least two (2) Affiliate newsletters per year
  
• The Committee shall be comprised of the Chair and at least 2 active members
  

Chair, Annual General Meeting Organizing Committee

This position is held by either the President, Past-President, Affiliate Director, former President or past member of one of the Executive Committees.

• Facilitates the planning and organizing of the Affiliate Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Is responsible for all publications/correspondence associated with AGM
• Proofreads and approves the AGM package

Members-at-Large

• May assume the responsibility for chairing a committee
• Commit to the betterment of the profession by participating at the committee level
• Represent a specific sector such as universities, colleges, elementary, secondary, adult or LINC
• Must participate on at least one (1) committee of their choice

Nominating Committee

• The Committee will consist of the President (ex-officio) or the Past-President and one (1) additional Board member
• The Committee will submit a slate of officers, as outlined in the Organizational Guidelines, to the Board, which will be forwarded to the membership with notice of the AGM

Professional Development Committee

• The Committee shall promote the professional development of Affiliate members and other ESL professionals, taking into account the sectors represented in its jurisdiction
• The PD Committee Chair, President or Past-President an authorize last minute changes that may arise
• It is the responsibility of the Chair to get PD event information on the Affiliate website in a timely manner by coordinating with the Website Committee Chair as soon as PD event info is finalized

Newsletter Committee

• The Committee will facilitate the publication and distribution to Affiliate members at least two (2) times per year, in the Spring and Fall
• Any member of the Executive Committee shall edit and review the completed newsletter before it is distributed
• In addition to the Chair, two (2) active Board members shall be part of the committee
• Final approval rests with the President

Membership Committee

• The Committee is the contact liaison between the Board and the TESL member.
• The Committee will be chaired by the elected Membership Secretary
  

Volunteer Committee

• Is responsible for contacting the membership for the purpose of promoting volunteer opportunities on the Board and its committees, Affiliate events and so on
• Coordinates the above mentioned volunteer activities on behalf of the Board
  

Website Committee

• The Chair monitors the Affiliate web site and liaises with the Board members and TESL Ontario webmaster to request changes / updates / content removal at the recommendation of the Board
• Final approval for the Web site changes rests with the President

General Membership

Affiliate membership is open to persons over 18 years old involved or interested in the teaching of English as a Second Language, and who have paid the appropriate membership fees to TESL Ontario.

Honorary Life Membership

The Affiliate can make recommendations to TESL Ontario of names for consideration for Honorary Life Membership.

Membership Fees

Annual fees are payable to TESL Ontario according to their fee schedule.

Conduct of Business

• The Annual General Meeting for the Affiliate shall be held no later than December 31 of each year
• Board Meetings shall be held at least 7 times in a year
• The President shall prepare an agenda of all meetings, or in her/his absence, the Past President
• The meeting shall be conducted in a democratic fashion and the Secretary shall keep adequate notes of the meetings
• Committee meetings shall be held informally at a frequency and timing to suit their purpose.  The Chairs of the various Committees shall facilitate communication between their Committee and the Board
• Each Committee member shall be a TESL member within ten (10) days of his or her election and throughout his or her term of office

Quorum

• Quorum at the Affiliate meetings shall be one-third of paid members.  The acceptance of motions shall be by a simple majority.
• Quorum at the Board level shall be two-thirds of the Board members
• If any member of the Board is absent from three (3) consecutive scheduled meetings without sending regrets, he/she will be called before the P/H/E TESL Board to resign his/her position at the next scheduled meeting.  At the meeting, the Board member in question may explain his/her absences before a vote is taken by the Board.  The vote must be carried by a two-thirds majority, pending quorum.

Business Year

The official business year commences on April 1 of any year and ends on March 31 the following year to coincide with the TESL Ontario financial year-end.

Spending Guidelines

• The President may commit spending up to $100 without prior approval of the Board
• All other expenditures require Board approval prior to reimbursement

Terms of Office

• Affiliate Board members shall be TESL members within ten (10) days of their election and throughout their term of office
• President-Elect, President and Past-President: All three (3) positions must be contested for election in the same year and their terms of office are fixed at two (2) years
• President-Elect is nominated at a meeting prior to the AGM event. If more than one member is nominated, President-Elect is elected through a secret ballot.
• The President shall be an active member of the P/H/E TESL Board for at least three (3) years prior to his/her election
• Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Secretary: All three (3) positions must serve a fixed two (2)-year term with the option to renew for another two (2) years, to a maximum of four (4) years consecutive service in the position
• Members-at-Large: Members-at-Large must serve a fixed term of two (2) years with the option to renew with no maximum number of years in the position
• Affiliate Director: The position of Affiliate Director may be filled by anyone on the Board who has minimum four (4) years of service of which two (2) years must have been served as a member of the Core Executive. The Affiliate Director is nominated by the members of the Board and is voted on by a secret vote prior to the last Board meeting before the AGM
• If the Affiliate Director resigns before completing his/her term, the Past-President will assume the Affiliate Director position on an interim basis, but not longer than for a year.  If the Past-President is not available, or unwilling to do so, the President may nominate another member of the Executive with a minimum of two years’ experience on the Board to the position until the time of the next election
• All other Core Executive members shall be members of TESL for at least one (1) year prior to their election
• Other Board members shall be TESL members
• Where possible, we will strive to include on the Board representatives from all geographic areas and all interest areas represented by the Affiliate

Signing Authority

• The President and the Secretary have the joint authority to sign all legal documents pertaining to the Affiliate
• Any two (2) of the President, Treasurer or Secretary shall sign disbursement cheques of the Affiliate
• Signing officers shall be changed within six (6) weeks of the Annual General Meeting

Eligibility

• Only members paid in full or honorary life members shall be eligible to contest and/or vote in the election
• To contest the position of the President-Elect, a member must have at least one (1) year of experience on the Board
• To contest a Core Executive position, a member must have been a member of the Affiliate for at least one (1) year
• A new member may contest for the position of a Member-at-Large
• Any two (2) members, paid in full, may nominate another member, paid in full, to the Board

Nominations

• Call for nominations shall be issued no later than thirty days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting
• In addition, the Nominating Committee may actively canvass for nominations any time of the year to prepare a slate of candidates for the election
• A nominee for any position shall have a nominator and a seconder
• The prescribed form, which includes eligibility criteria for each position, shall be completed and sent to the Chair on the Nominating Committee by the nominator to the seconder before the scheduled closing date and time
• Acceptance of nominations shall close 48 hours before the scheduled time for the election

Conduct of Elections

• The Nominating Committee Chair, or designate, as Returning Officer, shall conduct elections at the Annual General Meeting
• A slate of candidates shall be presented to the membership
• Election for each position shall be conducted separately
• Contesting candidates may present their platform in a short speech.  Nominated candidates absent on Election Day may forward their speech to the Nominating Committee before the day of the elections
• Election will be by acclamation if there is only one candidate for a position
• Voting cards shall be distributed to paid members only, prior to any vote by the general membership
• The Nominating Committee or designates (minimum of 3 people) shall count and scrutinize the ballots.  The AGM Chair is responsible for taking a vote only if there is a tie
• Ballots shall be kept for a period of 6 months following an election at which time they will be destroyed by the Returning Officer or a person chosen by the Core Executive
• In case no nominations are received for a particular position/s before the scheduled closing time, elections will be conducted for all the other positions.  The incoming Board shall have 60 days to select members, paid in full, to fill the vacant positions
• Members must be present to vote.  There shall be no proxy votes.