Section By-Laws

APPROVED BY SPE

OKLAHOMA CITY SECTION

17 APRIL 2014

FINAL VERSION

SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS (SPE), INC.

BYLAWS

OKLAHOMA CITY SECTION

ARTICLE 1:   Name

The name of this Section shall be the Oklahoma City Section (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Section’) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as ‘SPE’).


ARTICLE 2:  Purpose

Sec. 1.  The purpose of this Section shall be the promotion of mutual cooperation in furthering the objectives of the Society by providing regular meetings for the free discussion of subjects relating to the exploration and development of petroleum and natural gas.

Sec. 2.  The secondary purposes of this Section shall include the promotion of math and science education through scholarships and community outreach.  


ARTICLE 3: Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Section shall consist of the following counties in the State of Oklahoma:

Alfalfa Coal Greer Love Pontotoc
Beckham Custer Hughes McClain Pottowatomie
Blaine Dewey Johnston Major Roger Mills
Caddo Ellis Kingfisher Marshall Seminole
Canadian Garfield Kiowa Murray Washita
Carter Garvin Lincoln Okfuskee Woods
Cleveland Grady Logan Oklahoma Woodward

 

ARTICLE 4:  Membership

All SPE members in good standing shall be eligible for membership in accordance to SPE International registration guidelines.

 

ARTICLE 5:  Officers and Volunteers

Sec. 1.  The Officers of the Section shall be a Chairman, First Vice-Chairman (Programs), Second Vice-Chairman (Education), Third Vice-Chairman (Membership), Fourth Vice-Chairman (Young Professionals), Treasurer, Secretary, and eight Directors.  Directors serve for a term of two years.  New directors shall be elected annually as necessary to fill vacancies that occur as terms of service expire.  The Chairman succeeds to a Directorship for the two years following his term as Chairman.  All other officers shall be elected annually.

Sec. 2. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the forenamed officers and the eight Directors.

Sec. 3.  All Officers must be professional members (non-students) in good standing of the Section at the time of their election and throughout their term of service.

Sec. 4.  A vacancy in any elected office occurring between annual elections shall be filled by vote of the Executive Committee.

Sec. 5.  Executive Committee members serving within the Section shall have equal voting rights when a quorum is convened (see Article 13).  Should occasion require that a member of the Executive Committee fill multiple roles, that individual shall regardless have only one vote in Committee proceedings.

Sec. 6.  Executive Committee members may also fill volunteer roles.  

Sec. 7.  Those individuals who serve the section in capacities other than those listed in Article 5, Section 1, are not elected by the section, but serve as volunteers.  Their term of service ideally begins on July 1st (concurrent with Executive Committee members) and may continue indefinitely.

 

ARTICLE 6:  Elections

Sec. 1.  The Chairman, with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint in February of each year a Nominating Committee composed of not less than three members of the Section, two of whom shall be members of the Executive Committee.  The immediate Past Chairman of the Section shall serve as Chair, if available.  The Nominating Committee shall present the name of at least one candidate for each office.  Additional nominations for any office may be made by a petition signed by not less than five Section members to the Chairman of the Section prior to April 1.  All nominees must be selected from the Section membership.  Executive Committee members may be re-nominated to serve in any position, but may not serve more than two consecutive terms in any single office. (see Art. 8, Sec. 8).  

Sec. 2.  Once candidates have been identified per Art. 6, Sec. 1, a notice of upcoming election shall be sent to each member of the Section in good standing.  At its sole discretion the Executive Committee may hold a live vote at the April or May general section meeting or via other method(s) deemed prudent by vote of the Executive Committee (e.g. electronic voting, mailed ballot, etc.).  In any case, notice of the election shall be provided at least two weeks prior to the close of the voting period and must include the date of the election, a list of offices and candidates, and instructions as to how voting will be conducted.  Results of the election shall be publicized on the section website, in the section newsletter, and at the next general section meeting.

Sec. 3.  The Secretary shall be responsible to issue ballots and count the votes (both live and via email, as the case may be).  Any voting that results in a tie shall be resolved by vote of the Executive Committee.  

Sec. 4.  The terms of elected officers shall begin on July 1st.

Sec. 5.  Should the Executive Committee deem it necessary to remove an elected officer or volunteer for any reason, this must be done by a 2/3 supermajority vote of a quorum of the Executive Committee.  

 

ARTICLE 7:  Government

The executive committee shall be the governing body of the Section.  It shall act subject to the provisions of these Bylaws, the Constitution and Bylaws of SPE, and subject to a vote of the membership of the Section initiated under the provisions of Article 12.

 

ARTICLE 8:  Duties of Officers

Sec. 1.  The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the section and the Executive Committee.  The Chairman shall perform all duties that pertain to the direction of the section.  The Chairman shall bear ultimate responsibility for the preparation of the Section’s annual report and financial statement for submission to SPE.

Sec. 2.  The First Vice Chairman (Program Chairman) shall be responsible for the arrangement of programs, entertainment, and incidental details relating to meetings.  In the absence of the Chairman, he/she shall serve as Chairman. 

Sec. 3.  The Second Vice Chairman (Education Chairman) shall be responsible for arranging continuing education programs through the development and coordination of section study groups, seminars, and forum meetings.

Sec. 4.  The Third Vice Chairman (Membership Chairman) shall be responsible for membership activities including recruitment and retention efforts and recognition for long-term members

Sec. 5.  The Fourth Vice Chairman (Young Professionals Chairman) shall be responsible to conduct activities of the section for the special benefit of young professionals (aged 35 and under) and the section-at-large.

Sec. 6.  The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all money received by the section, with the approval of the section's Executive Committee.  The Treasurer shall submit his/her records for regular audit as provided in Article 11.  The Treasurer shall work with Section Officers to prepare an annual budget for the Section, which must be approved by the Executive Committee prior to the completion of the Section’s annual report.

Sec. 7.  The Secretary shall record the proceedings of the meetings of the section and the Executive Committee, and attend to all correspondence.  

Sec. 8.  The Directors of the section are responsible to assist in the coordination of each of the section’s major initiatives, which may include (but are not limited to) scholarships, social events, conferences, awards, mentoring, Young Professional activities, community relations, Section communications (including the Section newsletter and website), and liaising with student chapters of SPE.

Para. 1. At the beginning of his/her term of office the Section Chair shall assign committee responsibilities to each Director (see Art. 6, Sec. 4).  These assignments need not be the same for the entire duration of a director’s term.

Para. 2. During the first year of his/her directorship, the former section chair shall be responsible to counsel and mentor the current section chair.  During the second year of said directorship, his/her focus shall be on the continuous improvement of the section.  

 

ARTICLE 9:  Committees

Sec. 1.  Standing committees are to be established as needed by the Executive Committee, which shall determine the chair of the same.

Sec. 2.  Vice-Chairmen and directors may organize committees to assist them in the fulfillment of their duties.  Membership in these committees must be ratified by the executive committee.

Sec. 3.  The Executive Committee or the Chairman may designate from time to time such special committees as it may consider necessary or desirable.  The duties of the special committees shall be clearly defined and a committee is to be discharged as soon as its work is completed.

 

ARTICLE 10:  Meetings

Sec. 1.  Regular meetings of the section shall generally be held each month of the year.  The meeting day shall be determined by the First Vice Chairman (programs) or his/her designee. 

Sec. 2.  The Newsletter Coordinator shall notify, by email or other convenient means, each member in good standing of upcoming meetings.

Sec. 3.  Special meetings of the Section or of the Executive Committee to consider important business or to hear technical papers or discussions that cannot be scheduled at regular meetings may be called by the Chairman, with approval of the Executive Committee.

 

Article 11:  Dues and Finances

Sec.1.  Routine expenses may be paid by the Treasurer without additional approval from the Executive Committee.  Routine expenses are those which are approved in the annual section budget.  Such expenses paid shall be reported monthly and shall be subject to regular audit by professional Certified Public Accountants and/or by a Section Audit Committee established by the Chairman.

Sec. 2.  Special expenses of the Section shall be paid from the moneys appropriated by the Executive Committee and such other moneys as may be collected from other sources.

Sec. 3.  Moneys collected from dues, meeting fees, contributions, donations, special events, etc., shall be sent to the treasurer.

 

ARTICLE 12:  Amendments to the Bylaws

Sec. 1.  These Bylaws, with the exception of Article 15, may be amended.  

Sec. 2.  Changes may be proposed by two methods:  1) by majority vote of the Section Executive Committee, and 2) by written petition coming from not less than ten (10) members in good standing of the Section.  

Sec. 3.  The procedure for balloting is the same as that for the election of Executive Committee members (see Art. 6, Sec. 2), except as follows: 1) amendments to the bylaws shall be adopted with a 2/3 supermajority of all section members who participate in the election, and 2) amendments to the bylaws may be voted upon at any time as long as proper notice has been given (see Art. 6, Sec. 2).  

Sec. 4.  Results of the election shall be publicized on the Section website, in the Section newsletter, and at the next general Section meeting.  Amended Bylaws, or portions thereof, shall be submitted to the SPE, Inc. Executive Committee as a courtesy.

 

ARTICLE 13:  Quorum

Sec. 1.  A quorum at any regular or special meetings of the section shall consist of 50 members of the section.

Sec. 2.  A quorum at a meeting of Executive Committee shall consist of eight or more members of the Executive Committee, and must include at least the Chairman, or the First Vice-Chairman, or the Second Vice-Chairman.

Sec. 3.  Occasion may require that a vote of the Executive Committee by email.  These occasions should be kept to a minimum.  Nevertheless, should it prove necessary in the judgment of the Chairman to hold such a vote, such vote shall require a simple majority of the Executive Committee to be considered binding.  

 

ARTICLE 14: Parliamentary Authority

Robert’s Revised Rules of Order shall be the official guide of this Section in the conducting of business.

 

ARTICLE 15:  Disposal of Funds on Dissolution

On the dissolution of this section, all funds remaining after the payment of its debts shall be turned over to and paid to the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Inc., unless such corporation shall be nonexistent or shall be in dissolution in which event the funds shall be turned over to some other organization exempted under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.  This Article of the Bylaws is not amendable during the existence of this Section.