Article I - General

  1. The name of the corporation is STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION OF OREGON and its offices shall be in Portland, Oregon

Article II - Purpose

  1. To provide a active association for better acquaintance and understanding among engineers; to encourage practice with ethical standards; to promote the highest standards of structural engineering to the end that the best interests of the client, the community, the public, and the profession will be served; and to cooperate with other professional organizations.
  2. The education of the design community with regards to structures & other matters pertaining to “LIFE SAFETY”
  3. The implementation of research, development, and testing standards for design and construction practices
  4. The development of criteria, through mathematical and scientific calculations, that will enhance building codes and their requirements on a state and national level
  5. To increase the professional skills of the design community, to include, but not limited to: engineers, building owners, contractors, architects, etc., through an exchange of ideas, seminars, and professional development hours as required by the state of Oregon Licensing Board of Engineers

Article III - Membership

  1. Membership shall be open to all persons actively engaged in the profession of Structural Engineering in the State of Oregon, or connected with said profession in the capacity hereinafter set forth.  Members of the Corporation shall be as follows:
    1. A MEMBER shall be a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Oregon, in good standing, and engaged in the practice of structural engineering, research relating to structures of major importance, or is engaged in teaching the profession of Structural Engineering.
    2. An AFFILIATE MEMBER shall be one who is not a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Oregon, but who is regularly engaged in a business relative to Structural Engineering.  An affiliate member shall automatically be enrolled as a Member upon notification to the Board of registration as a Professional Engineer by the state of Oregon.
    3. A LIFE MEMBER shall be a member who, in the opinion of the Board, has by virtue of his wide reputation, his outstanding professional accomplishments, and his long and devoted professional life, brought distinction, eminence and esteem to his profession and this Association.  Such a member shall have been a member in good standing of this Association for a minimum of 20 years and shall be at least 60 years of age; or in the opinion of the Board is entitled to LIFE membership because of special circumstances.  Such member may be selected by the Board of Directors and presented with an appropriate LIFE MEMBER CERTIFICATE, which shall entitle him or her to henceforth enjoy all privileges of full membership and be exempt from any further dues.
    4. A STUDENT MEMBER shall be one who is not a registered engineer in the state of Oregon, but who is enrolled as a full-time student in the field of Civil or Structural Engineering.  A full-time student is defined as one who is enrolled at a recognized Engineering College or University with a minimum of 12 credit hours per term.
    5. A MEMBER (RETIRED) shall be retired from active practice in engineering, shall have been a Member in good standing of this Association for a minimum of 5 years, and shall be at least 60 years of age.
    6. An AFFILIATE MEMBER (RETIRED) shall be retired from active practice in business, shall have been an Affiliate Member in good standing of this Association for a minimum of 5 years, and shall be at least 60 years of age.
  2. Those wishing retired status shall apply to the Board of Directors in writing.  Upon acceptance, Members (Retired) shall have the same voting privileges and other privileges as Members and Affiliate Members (Retired) shall have the same voting privileges and other privileges as Affiliate Members.
  3. The Board of Directors shall have the right to refuse any application for any reason, which to them shall seem sufficient, provided that such refusal shall be majority vote of the Board of Directors present at any meeting at which there shall be a quorum present.
    1. Application for membership shall be made in the manner prescribed by the Membership Committee.  Investigation of the applicant shall be in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Board of Directors.
    2. Resignation from membership shall be presented to the Board of Directors, but shall not relieve a member from liability for any dues or assessments accrued and unpaid at the time when such resignation is filed.

Article IV: Directors and Officers

  1. This Corporation shall be managed by a Board of Directors.
  2. The Board of shall include the officers, the last available past president, and at least two (2) directors.  The officers, past president, and one director shall be Members.  The other directors may be a Member or Affiliate Member.
  3. The Board of Directors may make such rules and regulations covering its meetings as it may deem necessary.  All meetings shall be conducted under Roberts Rules of Order.  The President of the Corporation shall be Chairman of the Board of Directors.
  4. Vacancies on the Board of Directors shall be filled by the remaining members until the next annual meeting.
  5. A member of the Board may be removed with or without cause by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members of the Corporation by letter ballot approved at the regular meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose.
  6. Should any member of the Board of Directors absent himself unreasonably from three consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors without sending a communication to the President or Secretary stating his reason for so doing, and if his excuse should not be accepted by the members of the Board, his seat on the Board may be declared vacant.
  7. There shall be no more than two members of the Board of Directors employed by the same employer.
  8. The Board of Directors of the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon shall also serve as the Board of Directors for the SEAO Scholarship Foundation.

Article V - Officers

  1. The officers shall be a President, Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.  The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected annually by the members of the Corporation for a term of one year.  The two directors shall be elected for a term of two (2) years on alternate years.  The President, Vice-President and Directors shall be ineligible to succeed themselves.
  2. The President shall preside at all membership meetings; he shall appoint all committees, with the exception of the Nominating Committee; he may be one of the officers authorized to sign papers in the name of the Corporation; he shall see that Corporation responsibilities are adequately provided for; and he shall have such powers as may be reasonably construed as belonging to the chief executive of an organization.
  3. The Vice-President shall exercise the office of the President in the President's absence.
  4. The Secretary shall keep the minutes and records of the Corporation and be custodian of the Seal, if any; he shall serve all notices to members, and he shall prepare and file any certificate, papers or other documents required of the Corporation through corporate action or by law.  Duties attending correspondence may be delegated to a corresponding secretary duly appointed by the Board.  He shall exercise all duties incident to the office of the Secretary.
  5. The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all monies belonging to the Corporation and to the SEAO Scholarship Foundation, Inc. and shall cause such monies to be deposited and invested as a fiduciary with all the powers of a fiduciary indicated in ORS 128.057.  The Treasurer shall be one of the officers signing checks or drafts of the Corporation.  The Treasurer shall exercise all duties incident to the office of Treasurer.

Article VI - Compensation

  1. No officer or member of the Board of Directors shall receive any salary or compensation by reason of his office, but nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent an officer from receiving compensation from the Corporation for duties other than as an officer or director.
     

Article VII - Committees

  1. The committees of this Corporation shall be appointed as provided in Article V, Sub-division 2 hereof.  All committees shall act on their own initiative as much as possible and these By-laws shall be construed as providing plenary powers to all committees, within their appointed agencies unless otherwise herein restricted or contrary to law.
  2. The Committees of this Association shall be:
    1. Program Committee
    2. Public Relations Committee
    3. Legislative Committee
    4. Building Code Committee
    5. Technical Committee
    6. Education Committee
    7. Membership Committee
  3. Other committees may be created by the Board of Directors as deemed necessary to carry out the purpose of this Association.
     

Article VIII - Dues and Fees

  1. All applications for Members and Affiliate Members shall be accompanied by an application fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00).  Applications for Student Members shall be exempt from application fees.
  2. Annual dues for Members shall be one hundred and two dollars ($102.00).  Annual dues for Affiliate Members shall be ninety five dollars ($95.00).  Life members shall pay no dues.  Annual dues for Student Members shall be sixteen dollars and fifty cents ($16.50).  Annual dues for Members (Retired) shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).  Annual dues for Affiliate members (Retired) shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).  Annual dues shall be payable in advance, and any member whose dues are more than one year in arrears shall, except as herein provided, cease to be a member of the Association.  Any member whose dues are more than ninety (90) days past due shall be removed from the Association mailing list until dues are current.  Dues may be increased up to 10% every two years at the discretion of the board.
  3. The Board of Directors, at its discretion, may, on application from any member and for cause, remit part or all of the dues and/or assessments of the member or extend the time of payment.
  4. Any additional monies required to carry on the activities of the association shall be raised through assessments which shall not exceed the annual dues for any one calendar year.  Any assessments proposed by the Board of Directors shall be referred to the members by letter ballot.  If two-thirds (2/3) of those voting vote favorably, provided at least fifty (50) percent of the members vote, the assessment shall be declared adopted and approved.
  5. The Board of Directors is empowered to receive contributions from any source, provided the funds so received are used to further the aims and objectives of the Association.

Article IX - Meetings and Elections

  1. Regular meetings of the Association shall be held monthly or at times determined by the Board of Directors at places selected by the Program Committee.  Special meetings may be called by the President or the Board of Directors.
  2. Thirty members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Association.  Four (4) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Directors, and a majority shall constitute a quorum of all committees.
  3. The Board of Directors shall meet at least six (6) times a year, and at the will of the President.
  4. Eligibility to vote shall be defined as any member in good standing and with dues current.
  5. Candidates for the offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Directors shall be nominated and elected in accordance with the following procedure:  a Nominating Committee consisting of the last available Past President and two (2) members of any classification shall be nominated and elected by ballot at the first meeting in April of each year.  Nominations for this committee shall be made by members of any classification, but only Members shall be nominated.  Attendees shall vote for two (2) from a list of at least five (5) nominees.  The two (2) receiving the highest votes shall be declared elected to the Nominating Committee.  Incumbent officers and directors and members of the Nominating Committee for the preceding year are ineligible for the current Nominating Committee.  Service on the Committee shall not affect a Member's eligibility for office.  The Nominating Committee shall select their nominations for office - at least one (1) name for President and at least two (2) names for Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Director to be elected.  Their report, upon acceptance of nominees, shall be made to the membership at the last meeting before June 1.  Additional nominations may be made from the floor at this meeting.
  6. Election shall be by a letter ballot prepared and distributed by the Secretary, and counted by the Tellers Committee consisting of three members of any classification.  The Tellers Committee shall be appointed by the President at the last meeting before June 1, after nominations for officers have been closed.  Incumbent officers and directors, nominees for office, and members of the Nominating Committee shall be ineligible to serve on the Tellers Committee.  Ballots shall be counted prior to the June Meeting and the results announced at the June Meeting.  Ballots shall be destroyed after the results are announced.
  7. The election of officers shall be by a majority of votes cast.
  8. Officers shall be installed at the first regular September meeting.

Article X - Admissions, Leaves, Resignations and Expulsions

  1. Admission to the Association as Member, Affiliate member or Student member shall be in accordance with the following procedures: The application of the proposed member shall be submitted to the Board of Directors through the Vice-President, with the endorsement of at least three (3) Structural Engineers, one of whom must be a Member of the Association.  The applicant shall be duly elected to membership upon receipt of at least five (5) favorable votes of the Board of Directors.
  2. A member of the Association may apply for a leave of absence by written communication to the Secretary, who shall present same to the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors, at its discretion, may grant the leave of absence for the current year.  A leave of absence may be renewed at the discretion of the Board of Directors when requested in writing.
  3. If all his dues have been paid, a member of the Association may apply for resignation by written communication to the Secretary, to be presented to the Board of Directors which is empowered to accept the resignation.  A member thus resigned may be reinstated by the Board of Directors without payment of the application fee.
  4. A member dropped because of delinquent dues or assessments may be reinstated by the Board of Directors upon payment the delinquent and current dues plus a re-application fee of ten dollars ($10.00).
  5. The Board of Directors may consider proceedings toward the expulsion of a member on receipt of written information properly signed, that for cause set forth, the member be expelled.  The Board of Directors shall consider the case, and if the member so desires, present a defense either in person or in writing which shall be considered at a meeting of the Board of Directors, of which the member shall receive due notice.  No member shall be expelled from the Association except after due notice has been given him or her and then only by majority vote of the Board of Directors.  A member expelled by the Board of Directors may request a vote of the membership where a majority vote will prevail.
  6. Actions for which a member may be expelled are those which will tend to discredit the honor or dignity of the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon.

Article XI - Amendments to the By-Laws

  1. An Amendment of the By-Laws may be initiated through the Board of Directors or upon petition of at least ten (10) percent of the members.  The Board of Directors shall notify all members of the proposed change one (1) month before balloting.  The Amendment shall be adopted only upon an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.