The 41st annual meeting of the AAPG House of Delegates will be held Sunday, April 10, in Houston. All are invited to attend, though only your delegates may vote.
When we started our terms last year, HoD chairman-elect Jeff Lund, secretary-editor Patrick Gooding and I set several goals for our work and that of the HoD committee chairs and their members.
First, I believe we populated the committees with people from all Sections, Regions and age ranges who were eager and willing to share their judgment and problem solving skills.
We wanted to continue and expand the policy of transparent actions and decisions that our predecessors had implemented. While certainly not being perfect, we have listened with open minds to suggestions for changes to the Bylaws and Rules and Procedures and have tried to communicate in a timely fashion with all who commented.
We have broadened the issues of The Delegates’ Voice with columns explaining the role of the HoD, the work of its committees, why geoscientists belong to AAPG and the need to begin planning now for the future of our Association.
One of our goals was to give visibility to the proposals of the AAPG membership committees, which they believe will encourage growth and provide more flexibility to students moving to Active membership when they fully meet the qualifications.
We have worked diligently through the Resolutions Committee to ensure that every affiliated society and all the Regions had their full complement of delegate representation in Houston and throughout the next year. We certainly encourage all those societies who have affiliated to retain this relationship and participate as fully as possible. The more geoscientists contributing to the shared knowledge base the better we are.
The Nominations Committee has brought an excellent slate of well-prepared and ready-to-serve candidates for chair-elect and secretary (see accompanying story). The Honors and Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting well-qualified current and former delegates who have distinguished themselves, AAPG and the House. These are individuals who not only have long service, but through their work and dedication they have made noteworthy, meaningful contributions to the House.
The HoD is the caretaker of AAPG’s guiding documents and operating principles, our Constitution and Bylaws. Proposed changes are not brought before the House without serious discussion and reflection.
Delegates in Houston will consider four items suggested by the C&B Committee and approved for HoD consideration by the HoD Executive Committee:
- Legislation is proposed that expands membership classifications and redefines the term “member,” adding Certified as a member classification.
- Student membership will be extended to 24 months following termination of academic enrollment.
- The limitations on AAPG Honors and Awards relating to officers, candidates and division presidents have been clarified.
- Gender neutral language for these documents is proposed.
The House Rules and Procedures Committee has proposed changes that:
- Set a protocol for filling delegate appointments when an Affiliated Society has failed to act.
- Propose gender neutral language.
- Clarifies eligibility for House honors and awards has been clarified.
- Allow HoD past chairs (whether serving as a current delegate or not) to serve at the Chair’s request as a non-voting member of an HoD Committee.
This year, three past HoD chairs served on an ad hoc committee sharing experiences and judgment with the EC and the committees; we were better for their participation. Thank you to Ed Heath, Larry Jones and George Bole.
My thanks, too, go to the HoD committees for their quality work on behalf of all – and particularly a thank you to the staff at AAPG, especially Regina Gill and Donna Riggs, whose organization and direction are invaluable.