A. BOARD

The Core Executive and Board Members comprise the Board.

Core Executive

The Core Executive comprises the positions of President. Past President, President Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary and Affiliate Director.

Duties

President

• Guides affiliate activities.
• Organizes and chairs Board meetings.
• May attend committee meetings as an ex-officio member.

President Elect

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

Past President Ex-Officio, Non-voting

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

Secretary

• Records minutes of Board meetings and distributes them to all members of the Board.
• Prepares correspondence as required by the Board.
• Maintains copies of all minutes and correspondence and passes them on to his/her successor.

Treasurer

• Manages the financial activities of the Affiliate.
• Reports the financial status of the Affiliate to TESL Ontario and at P/H/E AGM.

Membership Secretary

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

Affiliate Director

• Attends TESL Ontario Board Meetings.
• Liases between TESL Ontario and the local Affiliate.

Board Members

8 Non-executive positions shall comprise the remainder and will include the Committee Chairs, also 4 Members-at-large and the M.I.A.G. representative.

Duties

Chair of the Professional Development Committee

• Facilitates the planning and implementation of at least two Affiliate professional development activities per year.

Chair of the Newsletter Committee

• Facilitates the publication and distribution of at least three Affiliate newsletters per year.

Chair of the Annual General Meeting

• Facilitates the planning and organizing of the Affiliate Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Member(s) at Large

• May assume the responsibility for chairing a committee.
• Commits to the betterment of the profession by participating at the committee level.
• Represents a specific sector such as colleges, elementary, secondary, adult or LINC.

B. Committees

Nominating Committee

• A nominating committee shall be struck at the first Board meeting following the AGM.
• The committee will consist of the President (Ex-Officio), the Chair and up to three others.
• 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 PD Committee shall promote the professional development of the Affiliate members and the other ESL professionals, taking into account the sectors represented in its jurisdiction.

Newsletter Committee

• The newsletter committee will facilitate the publication and distribution to Affiliate members at lease three times per year (currently April, August and before the November conference).
• The President shall review and approve the completed newsletter before it is distributed.

C. Membership

General Membership

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

Honourary Life Membership

• Honourary Life Membership in TESL may be granted to a member who has given outstanding service to the association at the provincial level, on recommendation of the TESL Ontario Board of Directors.

Membership Fees

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

D. Operations

Conduct of Business

• The Annual General meeting for the Affiliate shall be held no later than September 30^th of each year.
• Board Meetings shall be held at a frequency to suit the schedule of programs in any given year.
• The President shall prepare an agenda of any meeting.
• 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 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.

Business Year

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

Spending Guidelines

• The President may commit spending up to $100.00 without prior approval of the Board.
• All other expenditures require Board approval prior to re-imbursement.

Terms of Office

• Affiliate Board members shall be TESL members within ten days of their election and throughout their term of office.
• The President shall be an active member of the PHE TESL Board for at least three years prior to her/his election.
• The Affiliate Director shall be an active member of the PHE TESL Board for at least two years prior to her/his election.
• All other Core Executive Members shall be members of TESL for at least one year prior to their election.
• Other Board members shall be TESL members.
• Where possible, we will strive to include 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 of the President, Treasurer or Secretary shall sign disbursement cheques of the Affiliate. \

E. Elections

Eligibility

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

Nominations

• Call for nominations shall be issued no later than two months prior to the date of the AGM.
• 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 approximately one hour before the scheduled time for the election.

Conduct of Elections

• The Nominating Committee Chair, or designate, as Returning Officer, shall conduct elections at the AGM.
• 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 the 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.
• Election will be by secret ballot if there is more than 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 Returning Officer will 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 these positions.
• Members must be present to vote. There shall be no proxy votes.