CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
SOUTHEAST DISTRICT of the IOWA FFA ASSOCIATION
(Updated March 11, 2006)
Constitution
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Southeast District of the Iowa Association of the National FFA Organization. However, the letters “FFA” and/or the words “Future Farmers of America may be officially used to designate the association or its members thereof.
ARTICLE II. OFFICERS
Section A. The officers shall be as follows: Southeast District State Vice President (President), Northeast Vice President, Northwest Vice President, South Vice President, Secretary, Reporter and Treasurer. These seven and the District Advisor shall constitute the executive committee.
Section B. A nominating committee shall study the qualifications of all chapter members under consideration for district offices who have submitted applications for an office. Applications for office may be submitted by members using approved application forms.
Section C. All officers shall be elected from among the active members in good standing who are currently sophomores or juniors in high school and have attained the rank of Chapter FFA Degree.
Section D. Officer elections shall be held during the District FFA Conference, with the installation ceremonies held following the elections in the final session. To be elected, a nominee must receive a majority of the votes cast by the official chapter delegates in attendance.
ARTICLE III. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS
Section A. Officers shall begin their duties after officer installation.
Section B. The duties of the officers shall be as listed:
1) Southeast District State Vice President (President)
- duties as specified by the State FFA Constitution
2) Northeast Vice President
- serve as President of the Northeast Sub-District.
- keep the chapter officers and advisors of the Northeast Sub-District informed of all district activities.
3) Northwest Vice President
- serve as President of the Northwest Sub-District.
- keep the chapter officers and advisors of the Northwest Sub-District informed of all district activities.
4) South Vice President
- serve as President of the South Sub-District.
- keep the chapter officers and advisors of the South Sub-District informed of all district activities.
5) Secretary
- perform all duties as listed in the current Official FFA Manual.
6) Reporter
- perform all duties as listed in the current Official FFA Manual.
7) Treasurer
- perform all duties as listed in the current Official FFA Manual.
Section C. With the exception of the State Vice President, any district officer may be retired by a two-thirds vote of the executive committee. A probationary period, if deemed appropriate, may be established by the district advisor.
Section D. Vacancies in office shall be filled by the executive committee.
ARTICLE IV. ANNUAL PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
Section A. By June, there shall be ready a plan for the following twelve months which has been worked out by the executive committee.
Section B. The annual program shall indicate the projects and activities to be undertaken by the district during the year, and the way and means of reaching those objectives.
ARTICLE V. DERERMINING ILLEGIBILITY OF MEMBERS
Section A. The executive committee shall review the qualifications of chapter members for participation in district activities. Qualifications shall be based on (1) active membership as verified on the official membership roster, and (2) payment of district dues by the member’s chapter as verified by the district treasurer.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
Section A. Executive committee meetings shall be held as deemed necessary. Meetings may be called by the State Vice President (President) and his/her discretion, on the advice of the executive committee as a whole or in part, or upon request of the District Advisor.
Section B. Regular attendance at executive meetings is required. Any district officer, with the exception of the State Vice President, who misses two meetings without valid excuse, may be retired from office. The State Vice President and District Advisor will evaluate all excuses for validity, with their recommendation being final and binding.
Section C. Retirement of the State Vice President will follow the policies and procedures set forth in the State FFA Constitution and By-Laws.
ARTICLE VII. FINANCES
Section A. District costs shall be met by the district as a whole through assessment of chapters and sponsorship from area businesses.
Section B. Individual officer expenses shall be met by the officer’s chapter, by the officer him/herself, or a combination of these.
Section C. District dues shall be set by a majority vote from the delegates at the District FFA Conference. The dues for this year shall be $45.00 per chapter.
ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS
Section A. Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the district secretary at least three weeks in advance of the District FFA Conference. The executive committee shall submit to each chapter its recommendation with respect to each proposed amendments. A two-thirds vote of all official delegates present at the District Conference is necessary for adoption.
BY-LAWS
Section A. When possible, executive committee meetings will be held on weekends.
Section B. All officers must meet the eligibility requirements of their individual school district and chapter to be able to serve as a district officer. Notice shall be given to the District Advisor by the individual’s chapter advisor when an officer loses his or her eligibility.
Section C. The district nominating committee shall be selected by the State Vice President (President).
Nominating COmmittee Guidleines
I. ELIGIBILITY
a. Candidates eligible for District Office shall be the following:
i. Active FFA member.
ii. Have received their Chapter FFA Degree.
iii. Sophomore or junior in high school.
b. The number of applicants per chapter shall be determined by each respective district.
c. The number of terms for district office shall be determined by each respective district.
II. APPLICATION
a. A standard application shall be developed by the Iowa FFA Officer Team.
b. The application shall be distributed to eligible candidates, completed by each candidate, and submitted prior to the interview process.
c. Each district shall set a due date for the application.
d. Each candidate shall submit their Supervised Agricultural Experience Records at the time of the interview process for verification of their SAE by the Nomination Committee Advisor.
e. The application shall be a scored component of the process evaluated by multiple individuals before the interview process following the corresponding scoring rubric.
f. Applications shall be used as a reference for the Nomination Committee members during the selection process.
III. NOMINATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS
a. Each district’s Nomination Committee shall be 7 members including the Chair and will consist of the following:
i. Current District FFA President shall serve as Chair.
ii. One active high school FFA member from each of the sub-districts.
iii. One current Iowa FFA Officer not native of the district.
iv. The remaining committee members shall be selected from the following list choosing no more than one per area:
1. Past District FFA Officer
2. Retiring District FFA Officer
3. Past Iowa FFA Officer
4. FFA member from district that has graduated from high school
v. One FFA Advisor shall serve as the Nomination Committee Advisor being an ex-officio, non-voting committee member that is not included in the 7 committee members.
IV. EXAM
a. An exam testing knowledge related to district office shall be developed by the Iowa FFA Officer Team.
b. Each candidate shall complete the exam.
c. The exam shall be a scored component of the candidate scoring rubric completed by the Nomination Committee.
V. INTERVIEWS
a. Round One - One ten minute individual candidate interview consisting of 5 questions from the following categories:
i. Personal
ii. Agriculture/SAE
iii. Leadership
iv. Additional categories can be selected by the Iowa FFA Officer Team
b. Round Two - Group activity where candidates are placed in groups for an interview with the Nomination Committee.
VI. SCORING RUBRIC
a. The following Candidate Scoring Rubric shall be used to assist the Nomination Committee in the selection of candidates:
CANDIDATE SCORING RUBRIC
COMPONENT POINTS
Application 20
Test 10
Interviews
Individual 40 (8 points per question)
Group 30
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TOTAL POINTS 100
VII. SELECTION
a. The Nomination Committee shall use the scoring system as a tool to assist them in making their decisions.
b. The Nomination Committee shall slate two candidates per office for election by the district delegates.
VIII. ELECTION
a. The Nomination Committee Chair shall announce the ballot to the district delegates.
b. Nominations shall be called for from the delegate floor for any offices. Eligible candidates who completed the interview process shall only be considered for floor nominations.
c. Nominations shall be closed and the delegates shall proceed with the voting process following a non-sliding ballot voting procedure.
d. Balloted candidates shall present a maximum two-minute speech to the delegate body.
e. Following the candidate speeches, each candidate shall answer two questions generated by the Nomination Committee. A maximum of a one-minute response shall be given to each candidate to answer each question. Balloted candidates shall rotate in the order of responding to the questions.
f. Following speeches and questions by the balloted candidates for an office, district delegates shall vote according to constitutional guidelines.
g. In case of a tie vote, one additional question shall be asked to the balloted candidates for the office followed by a re-vote by the district delegates.