Items in Quotes and Bold Are from the AASG Constitution.

GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATION AS AN

HONORARY MEMBER

(Items in quotes and bold are from the AASG Constitution.)

9 October 2006

1. “A former Association member who has served for a substantial period of time, generally more than seven years, as head of a State, Commonwealth, Possession, or Territorial geologic organization is eligible for election to honorary membership in the Association.”

a. The committee may vote (and has done so in the past) on soon-to-be-former Association members, making the appointment as an Honorary Member contingent on actually leaving the position as State Geologist. This is particularly helpful in allowing someone to be considered in time for them to register for the annual meeting as an Honorary Member rather than be in limbo for a year. That is, the person does not have to be “former” at the time of consideration.

b. The committee can consider (and has recommended in the past) some individuals who have not served as State Geologist for a full seven years, but who have had exceptionally strong records of service to the Association.

2. “Honorary membership is to be based on substantial participation in and significant contributions to the affairs of the Association and is not to be conferred automatically upon retirement or leaving office.”

a. We have not conferred Honorary Membership to some individuals who have served as State Geologist for at least seven years but who did little or nothing for the Association.

b. The committee evaluates service to the Association by considering such activities as serving as an officer or as an active committee chair. The committee recognizes that significant contributions to the affairs of the Association do not necessarily involve service as one of the Executive Committee officers, who are generally expected to have sufficient travel budgets to participate in the annual, mid-year, and Liaison Committee meetings of the Association. Serving as Editor, Historian, and Statistician can be significant contributions, as can hosting the annual meeting or serving as an active committee chair. [A spreadsheet on service as officers and hosts to annual meetings is being maintained by the Historian and the chair of the Honorary Members Committee – see the attachment. We will begin to compile a list of committee chairs over time.]

3. “Persons considered eligible should be recommended to the Honorary Members Committee by Association members.”

a. Recommendations can come from the State Geologist or Acting State Geologist of the state in which the individual served. The Committee expects that these recommendations will include thorough documentation of service to the Association.

b. Recommendations can also come from other members of the Association, including Honorary Members, who generally are familiar with the record of service of the nominee. The Committee expects that these recommendations also will include thorough documentation of service to the Association.

4. “Any Association member retiring or leaving office after at least seven years of service to the Association shall be evaluated by the Honorary Members Committee for election.”

a. If a nomination has not been made by an Association member, the committee must evaluate any former State Geologist who has clearly served the Association for a period of seven years or more. The committee may evaluate any former or soon-to-be-former Association member who has served at least seven years in the position of State Geologist. If the evaluation is favorable, the committee may judge the individual to be eligible for membership.

5. The chair of the committee shall keep a record of evaluations and actions taken on recommendations and convey that record to the next chair of the committee. Specifically, the record should include names of individuals who were considered but were rejected, including names of individuals who had served as State Geologists for seven years or more but were not recommended for Honorary Membership because their record of service to the Association was determined to be insufficient. This will help future committee chairs.

6. The committee will normally meet face-to-face during the first part of each AASG annual meeting. It may meet at other times as well, either face-to-face, at an announced time (such as associated with the AASG mid-year meeting or an AAPG annual meeting), or it may meet electronically (by e-mail) or by teleconference. A quorum will consist of five committee members. Voting by proxy is permitted. Committee members may vote by proxy by e-mail, letter, or telephone (calling the committee chair to give a proxy vote). At least five committee members must participate in a vote for nomination to Honorary Membership. To record a positive vote, the majority of voting members, including those who voted to abstain, must be in favor of the nomination. For example, if only five members vote, at least three must be in favor or the vote will not carry (that is, if three of the five people abstain and two are in favor, the vote will not carry).

7. “Persons considered eligible for honorary membership are recommended by the Honorary Members Committee, and election is by majority vote of the members at the Annual Meeting or Special Business Meeting. Honorary Members of the Association are non-voting members.”

GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATION FOR THE

HONORARY ASSOCIATE

OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN STATE GEOLOGISTS

AND BENEFITS OF THE DESIGNATION

7 July 2010, based on discussions at the AASG meeting on 27-30 June 2010

At the AASG midyear meeting in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, 20 October 2009, we discussed establishing some recognition of the Associates of AASG who have contributed to the Association and would be honored to be invited to future meetings, after their retirement. There was consensus among the 20 or so participants that this is a good idea. Using Larry Fellow’s general guidelines as a starting point, we asked for and received a few suggestions, which are incorporated herein. Further discussion at the 2010 AASG annual meeting in New Brunswick, New Jersey led to adoption of the following guidelines, in principle, although exact wording was not specifically approved.

1.  Any sitting State Geologist or Honorary Member of AASG may nominate a recently retired or soon-to-retire Associate of AASG (an individual so designated by the State Geologist of that state) to be honored as an “Honorary Associate of the Association of American State Geologists.” The nomination must be presented to the Honorary Members Committee for its review and recommendation. The nomination must include documentation of the level of service that the nominee has had to AASG. The nominee must have served with the state geological survey for at least seven years and must have supported AASG activities (for example hosting meetings, participating in committees, organizing AASG sessions at GSA meetings, representing AASG elsewhere in government or within the geological community). The State Geologist making the nomination is encouraged to discuss the nomination with the AASG Associates Committee, which may be able to provide additional documentation on service to AASG. Service to AASG is a requirement of the designation. The nomination must include the endorsement of the sitting State Geologist or the acting State Geologist in the state where the nominee served. That is, the sitting or acting State Geologist could essentially veto the nomination, because the nomination will not be accepted by the Honorary Members Committee without this endorsement.

2.  Upon review of the documentation in the nomination, if it feels that the nomination meets the service criteria set above, the Honorary Members Committee will make a formal nomination to the AASG membership. The Honorary Members Committee, which may do its work electronically, must have at least ten members participate in the discussion of the nomination. A majority of those who vote is needed to move the nomination forward. Once cleared by the Honorary Members Committee, the nomination is considered a motion for consideration by the AASG Members (sitting and acting State Geologists). The AASG President shall then present the motion to the membership. AASG Members may vote either electronically or in person at a meeting with a quorum of State Geologists (16). This could be at the annual meeting, the midyear meeting, or one of the Liaison Committee meetings with a sufficient number of state geologists in attendance. Votes by proxy are allowed. The vote must be preceded by an agenda item, thereby giving an opportunity for discussion prior to the vote, either with sufficient time for discussion by e-mail or in person. The vote can be conducted by e-mail. Approval must be by at least a majority (51%) of those who voted.

3.  Honorary Associates will be invited to all future AASG annual meetings and midyear meetings and be presented with a plaque (arranged by the Executive Committee and paid from the AASG budget). This makes the Honorary Associate similar to an Honorary Member of AASG, but without such a title. The Honorary Associate is welcome to participate in closed sessions of the AASG membership, along with Members and Honorary Members. The Honorary Associate has no voting rights but may be recognized to participate in discussions of AASG business. Fees charged to Honorary Associates shall be the same as those charged to Honorary Members. The presentation of the plaque shall be made by the AASG President at the first convenient opportunity – preferably during a business meeting of AASG. The invitation to attend the next AASG annual or midyear meeting should be extended as soon after the AASG membership has voted and approved the nomination. In general, the Honorary Associate will pay his or her own expenses for attending AASG meetings, as is the case with Honorary Members. The Executive Committee is free to make exceptions. In general, the recipient will not be invited to Liaison Committee meetings, unless the sitting or acting State Geologist requests that an invitation to those meetings be extended.

4.  Only Associates of AASG who have retired, left service of the state geological survey, or have announced their pending retirement from their state geological survey are eligible for this designation. If the retirement is pending, the benefits of the designation will not go into effect until the actual retirement. An individual who was designated by the State Geologist as an Associate but no longer holds that designation and still works for the state geological survey may not be considered for the designation until after retirement or departure from service of the state geological survey. The logic for this rule is that the main benefit of the Honorary Associate designation is the standing invitation to attend all future AASG annual and midyear meetings. The sitting State Geologist is welcome to bring any current or former state geological survey employee to these meetings, whether or not currently designated as an AASG Associate.

5.  The chair of the Honorary Members Committee shall keep a record of evaluations and actions taken on recommendations and convey that record to the next chair of the committee. Specifically, the record should include names of individuals who were considered but were rejected because their record of service to the Association was determined to be insufficient. This will help future committee chairs.

6.  The minutes of Secretary of AASG shall include action to approve the designations of individual Honorary Associates, so that our historical records document who received the honors.

7.  The Statistician shall include in his/her request for statistical information from each survey a list of any and all Associates named at the survey, and the date the Associate was granted the Associate’s title.

GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATION OF

AASG EMERTI (AASG Emeritus and AASG Emerita)

17 June 2015

At its 17 June 2015 annual meeting, AASG approved the following guidelines, which were recommended by the Honorary Members Committee.

The designation of AASG Emeritus or Emerita may be given to a former Association Member who has served in the position of State Geologist or designee to AASG and participated in the functions of AASG at annual, mid-year, or Liaison Committee meetings.

AASG Emeriti shall be invited to annual and mid-year AASG meetings but not be voting members of the Honorary Members Committee.

Any AASG Member or Honorary Member may nominate an individual for this designation.

The Honorary Members Committee shall review nominations for AASG Emeriti and make recommendations to the AASG Membership.

The AASG Membership shall vote whether to approve the recommendations of the Honorary Members Committee.