Constitution & Bylaws

Article I: Name and Purpose

The name of the society shall be the Charlotte Area Psychiatric Society (CAPS).

The purpose of the Society is to advance psychiatry as a science and profession by:

Providing fellowship and support for the health and quality of life of our members
Promoting interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary communication, networking, and cooperation
Contributing to, analyzing, and disseminating scientific knowledge
Applying this scientific knowledge in professional practice to improve the health and wellbeing of our patients and to enhance the welfare of the greater community.

Article II: Membership

General Membership is available to board-eligible and board-certified psychiatrists with either a North Carolina (NC) or a South Carolina (SC) active medical license in good standing, or currently employed at a NC or SC VAMC. Psychiatry residents-in-training are eligible to join as General Members after providing verification of residency status from their program director, and also of their medical license; membership dues are waived for residents.
Application for Membership: Each applicant for election as a member must complete the application form approved by the Executive Committee. This will be turned over to the Secretary, along with a check in the amount of $75.00 (made payable to Charlotte Area Psychiatric Society) and a copy of the physician’s current/active medical license (either NC, SC or both). Residents will provide a completed application, a letter of verification of training status from their residency director, and a copy of their NC/SC medical license.
Applications will be reviewed by the Executive Committee for approval.
Each member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the members.

Article III: Meetings

The Society will hold two meetings per year and will coordinate a third meeting per year in association with the Mecklenburg Psychological Association (MPA) and the Mental Health Alliance (MHA). Additional meetings (and other events) may be proposed to the membership and carried out by membership and/or Executive Committee. Meeting dates will be communicated with notice by email and/or postal mail. A quorum for a Society meeting shall be 10% of the full membership.

Executive Committee meetings will be held as needed to plan and execute the business of the Society and will be announced at least 24 hours in advance unless all members are present or all can be contacted and all agree to meet with less notice. A quorum for an Executive Committee meeting shall be a simple majority of the Committee.

Article IV: Officers and Executive Committee

Officers of the Executive Committee will be the President, President-Elect, Past-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and as needed a Member-at-Large. Terms of the Treasurer, and Secretary will be for two years (except for the 2018-2019 service terms, the Secretary will be a 3 year term in order to stagger the Secretary and Treasurer elections). The term for the President, President-Elect, and Past-President will be one year, and the President-Elect will automatically assume the office of the President: a) at the completion of their term as President-Elect; or b) should the President resign or become unable to carry out the duties of that office. The term for the Member-at-Large will be determined as needed not to exceed two years.

Article V: Selection and Election of Officers

The Executive Committee will solicit nominations from the membership and may also, in the absence of nominations from the general membership, select nominees each year for the office of President-Elect and every other year for Treasurer and Secretary.
Nominations will be presented to membership at the Fall meeting. Other nominations may be made (including self-nomination) at the Fall meeting. All nominees must give consent prior to being placed on the ballot.
All members will be notified of election nominees in writing and/or email.
Voting will be by secret ballot. If there is only one nominee for each office, the Secretary may be directed to cast a ballot for the Society.
Election results will be announced by email.
In the event of a vacancy in the Executive Committee other than President (who shall be replaced by the President-Elect), the Executive Committee will appoint a replacement for completion of the current term of office. The replacement member will be determined by gaining a majority vote of the remaining Executive Council.

Article VI: Duties of the President

Set the agenda for Executive Committee meetings as well as conduct the meetings of the Executive Committee and the Society.
Carry out the business of the Society as directed by membership, which includes appointing and overseeing the activity of various standing and ad hoc committees.
Appoint a 3-member committee to review the Society finances annually. Findings will be presented at the January meeting.
Act as a co-signer with the Treasurer for any disbursement check in the amount of $100.00 or greater.

Article VII: Duties of the President-Elect

Conduct Society meetings in the absence of the President.
Assist the President in carrying out the business of the Society.
Assume the duties of the President in the event of incapacity.

Article VIII: Duties of the Secretary

Record and report minutes of the Society’s meetings as well as the Executive committee meetings.
Correspond as needed to address the business of the Society, including notifying members of meetings, and supplying members with pertinent information.
Act as membership coordinator, processing applications and submitting dues to the Treasurer.

Article IX: Duties of the Treasurer

Establish and maintain a Society checking account (with/without a linked credit card account as needed).
Collect and deposit dues and other assessments.
Disburse funds as directed by the membership with any disbursement over $100.00 being co-signed by the President.
Provide an annual reconciliation of the income and expenses to the membership and assist with an audit at the end of each calendar year.

Article X: Duties of the Past-President:

The President, upon completing their term, will become the Past-President member of the Executive Committee. This will allow the composition of the Executive Committee to be five members, avoiding the possibility of a tie in voting matters that come before the Committee. The Past-President will assist the EC in managing the business of the Society as determined by the President.

Article XI: Duties of the Executive Committee

Set time and place for all meetings.
Fill any vacancies arising as depicted above in Article V, item 6.
Meet prior to regularly scheduled Society meetings to help promote more effective direction and function of the meetings and the Society.
Facilitate formation of, provide supervision of, and receive reports from committees.

Article XII: Dues and Assessments

Annual dues will be based on current and projected needs of the Society.
Annual dues changes will be presented to the membership by the Executive Committee at the fall meeting and voted on by membership prior to the election of new officers.
Dues will not be prorated.
Residents-in-training will not be charged dues.

Article XIII: Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Society shall begin on the first day of January and end on the last day of December in each year.

Article XIV: Amendments

Amendments to the Bylaws must be introduced to the membership through the Executive Committee, approved by a majority of the members present at a meeting, and then ratified by a majority of the total membership by mail or email ballot by the time of the following regular meeting. A failure to respond will be considered as a vote of approval at that time when the votes are counted.
If an amendment to the Bylaws fails to pass, an interim period of at least 3 months will be observed before further amendment consideration of a similar nature can be introduced for a vote.

Article XV: Constitutional Order

Once approved by the membership, new constitutional documents or amended Bylaws shall supersede any previous documents.

Article XVI: Plan of Dissolution

Upon the dissolution of the corporation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a court of competent jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.