Chapters

To delineate the National Association of EMS Physicians’ (NAEMSP®) process for developing andsupporting chapters of the Association.

NAEMSP promotes chapters of the Association as a means to expand membership, increase networks of communication and support among members with similar interests, and enhance the activities of the Association.

The Board of Directors (Board), at its sole discretion, shall charter any and all chapters of Association, and may, with cause, revoke or revise charters as it deems appropriate for the welfare of the Association.

The Board may grant a charter when:

• At least five Association members in good standing have submitted their intent to form a chapter;
• The proposed chapter has geographic boundaries that do not cause it to conflict with any other existing or proposed chapter and that provide potential for a meaningful number of possible members;
• The proposed chapter has held an organizational meeting(s) at which officers were selected and bylaws were developed;
• The proposed chapter has submitted bylaws to the Board, and they are consistent with those of the Association;
• The purpose and planned activities of the proposed chapter are consistent with those of the Association.

Chapters shall be defined on a geographic basis, and may be:

• A state or part of a state;
• Multiple states or contiguous parts of multiple states;
• A country or multiple countries with similar interests (except the United States);
• An exception may be made for a military chapter, for which geographical boundaries may not apply.

Chapters may share boundaries but not the geography those boundaries include, so that the entire area served by any chapter is unique unto itself (see exception above).

The Board shall determine chapters’ boundaries in consultation with the officers of any proposed chapter and those of any other affected existing or proposed chapter.

Association members wishing to start a new chapter shall notify the Executive Office of their intent by submitting a Chapter Intention Form (Chapter Handbook – Form A).

The Board shall review the Chapter Intention Form at its earliest convenience.

• The Board shall provide its authorization to proceed further to chapter formation or deny the request.
• Requests may be denied for, among other reasons the Board may find compelling, lack of member support and perceived conflict with other existing or proposed chapters.

Within six months of receiving the Board’s approval to proceed, members wishing to start a new chapter shall:

• Hold an organizational meeting(s);
• Select officers;
• Develop bylaws;
• Submit a Petition for Chapter Charter (Chapter Handbook – Form B)

The Executive Office shall assign a staff liaison to provide advice and counsel to potential chapters that are preparing their bylaws and Petition for Chapter Charter.

The Board shall review a Petition for Chapter Charter at its earliest convenience.

• A simple majority of the Board shall constitute the will of the Board in terms of granting or denying a charter.
• In evaluating the merits of a petition, the Board may consider, among other things, the proposed chapter’s boundaries, possible members including potential for critical mass, purpose, consistency with the Association’s mission and activities, and perceived likelihood of long‐term success.
• The Board may request additional information that it might find helpful from the petitioners.
• The Board, at its discretion, may modify the geographic boundaries of the proposed chapter in order to optimize membership or reduce conflict with other proposed or existing chapters.
• Decisions of the Board may be re‐visited at the Board’s discretion, but they are otherwise final.

Chapter names shall follow the convention, “NAEMSP  __________________ Chapter.”

Each and every member of a chapter must be or become a member in good standing of the Association.  However, a member of the Association need not be a member of a chapter even if one exists to serve the member’s location.

For a chapter to maintain its charter it must:

• Hold at least one meeting each year, including a business meeting, which must be in addition to any meeting that occurs at the NAEMSP® Annual Meeting;
• Function in accordance with its own bylaws;
• Conduct activities that are consistent with its purposes and those of the Association;
• Submit an annual report to the Association in June of each year (Chapter Handbook – Form C);
• Meet additional criteria as might be established and communicated from the Board.

The Board may revoke a charter if it finds that a chapter is not meeting the criteria for maintenance of its charter.

• The Board may choose to place a chapter on provisional status, meaning that the chapter is out of compliance for maintaining its charter and has a defined period to achieve compliance.
• The term of provisional status shall be at the discretion of the Board, but will generally be six months, but not more than one year.
• A decision to revoke a charter shall be by 2/3 majority of the Board.
• A chapter whose charter is revoked shall no longer identify itself in any way as a chapter or affiliate of NAEMSP.

Chapters may raise funds and spend them in manners that reflect their purposes and activities to support them.

• Chapters may establish and collect dues from their members.
• Chapter dues shall be collected by the Association along with its dues.

All chapter financial matters will be managed by the Association.

• For each chapter a separate accounting sheet within the Association’s accounts will provide for the ability to track the chapter’s income, expenses, and balance.
• For all chapter income, the Association will transfer 20% to its accounts to offset administrative costs; 80% will be maintained for the exclusive use of the chapter.
• Chapters shall request use of their funds through the Executive Office, which shall provide for advance payment, invoice payment, or reimbursement, depending on the nature of the expense.

Chapters and their officers are not authorized to enter into contracts of any nature on behalf of the Association or commit the Association to any financial obligation.

In the event of chapter dissolution, the chapter’s bylaws shall direct the disposition of any funds being managed by the Association, except that any funds previously allocated to the chapter from the Association shall first revert back to the Association.

The Association may allocate funds to help support chapter development in the form of
one‐time start‐up money.

• Within each annual budget, the Board shall allocate an amount that will be appropriated for the use of each newly developing chapter within the budget year.
• The amount may change with each new budget year, depending on the financial circumstances and priorities of the Association.
• Once appropriated to a newly developing chapter, one‐time start‐up funds remain available for its exclusive use going forward.