Bylaws

Article I – Name

1.01 Name

The name of this organization is the National Extension Technology Community. The acronym NETC is usually used when referring to the organization.

Article II – Purpose

2.01 Purpose

NETC is a non-profit corporation and shall be operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future Federal tax code.

NETC’s purpose is to ensure that Land Grant Institutions and other educational institution employees and volunteers have opportunities to learn and/or collaborate with colleagues from across the nation and globally. It may do this through an annual NETC Conference, mailing lists, web conferencing, or other valid technologies.

The NETC Conference is an annual event, usually hosted by any institution in the Extension System as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or subsequent federal organizations. Proposals to host will be given to the NETC Board, and the Board will decide who will host. Ideally, next year’s host will be chosen before this year’s conference. The NETC Board works with and assists the host institution as requested to ensure a successful conference.

2.02 Distribution Upon Dissolution

At the termination or dissolution of NETC, the allocation of resources will be determined based on the purpose of the breakup. If it is to make way for a new organization, then all assets shall be passed along to the new organization.

In all other cases, any monetary resources shall be split in half. The first half will be given back to the hosts of the previous three (3) NETC Conferences. The funds should be split evenly among these institutions. If an institution is not able to accept the funds, or declines to do so, their share will get distributed in the same method as the rest of the funds.

The rest of the funds will be given to one or more Section 501(c)(3) organization(s). The Board will decide on the appropriate organization(s). Ideally, the chosen organization(s) will promote the use of education and/or technology in underserved populations.

Should NETC hold any non-monetary assets, the Board will determine how to distribute them.

Article III – Membership

3.01 Membership

There are two ways to become a member.

  1. Register for a NETC Conference where the conference organizers pay NETC a membership fee for each person that registers.
  2. Pay a registration fee directly to the NETC organization.

3.02 Membership Fees

The annual membership fee will be set by the Board.

3.03 Duration of Membership

The membership duration is from the beginning of the NETC Conference until the beginning of the following Conference.

Article IV – Board

4.01 Board Members

Any NETC member can run for the Board, and Board members will remain active NETC members.

The offices of the Board are:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • VP-Elect
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Communications Manager

Regional Representatives include:

  • 1862: North Central Region – North Central Cooperative Extension Association (NCCEA)
  • 1862: Northeast Region – Northeast Extension Directors Association (NEED)
  • 1862: Southern Region – Association of Southern Region Extension Directors (ASRED)
  • 1862: Western Region – Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA)
  • 1890 Region – Association of Extension Administrators (AEA)
  • 1994 Region –

Conference Representatives:

  • Past Conference host
  • Current Conference host
  • Future Conference host

See http://www.aplu.org/members/commissions/food-environment-and-renewable-resources/board-on-agriculture-assembly/cooperative-extension-section/ecop-members/regions.html and https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/1994-land-grant-colleges-and-universities-map

Each institution should have no more than 3 Board members and each region should have no more than 7 members. The president, secretary, and treasure should not be from the same institution, unless they run unopposed for the office.

4.02 Officers

  • President – (1 year term)
    • President conducts business meetings, and serves as the point person for the Board.
  • Vice President (1 year term)
    • Vice President assists the President and serves as an auditor for the finances.
  • VP Elect(1 year term)
    • VP Elect assists the President and Vice President
  • Secretary
    • Secretary will record the meeting minutes, and make them available.
  • Treasurer
    • Treasurer maintains the bank account, handles the incomes and expenses for the organization, and provides reports on the accounting. They will also file any required paperwork to state and/or federal entities. The board will review the treasurer each year and will have an independent overview of the account each year. The board has the ability to remove the treasurer for cause.
  • Communications Manager
    • Communications Manager maintains mailing lists and handles communications from the board.

4.03 Terms and Elections

Each elected Board member will serve a 3 year term. The terms begin/end during a meeting of a conference. See section 5.01 of this document for what happens when there isn’t a NETC Conference in a given year.

  • Year 1 – VP Elect, Communication Manager, Northeast, 1890s, and 1994s
  • Year 2 – VP Elect, Treasurer, North Central, and Western
  • Year 3 – VP Elect, Secretary, and Southern

The VP Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected in a general election, i.e. any NETC member can vote. The regional member elections are open to members from the represented institutions. The VP Elect will serve one year as VP Elect, the next year as Vice President, and the third year as President.

Elections should be scheduled approximately 1 month before a conference. Regular elections for the Board members will be held in May/June and the newly elected Board will start July 1. Voting should be open a minimum of 5 working days.

In the event that a member of the Board resigns, a special election can be held to fill the remaining term of that position. The Board will determine whether the special election should take place.

The Board can call other special elections if needed, such as to fill the positions on the initial Board.

For the member representing the past, current, and future NETC Conferences, they will have a 2-3 year term. Their term begins up to 2 years before the conference they host and ends the year after they host.

4.04 Liaisons

The Board has the option of adding/removing liaisons to the Board at any time. The liaisons would be non-voting members of the Board. Their purpose would be to ensure that NETC maintains a good working relationship with other organizations.

4.05 Meetings

The Board will have a face-to-face meeting at every NETC Conference.

The President may call additional meetings as needed. These meetings will use whatever technology is appropriate for the meeting.

The President and/or the Board will decide for each meeting whether it is for Board members only, or open to all NETC members.

To be an official meeting, a quorum of the Board is required. Half of filled voting positions plus one need to be present for a quorum, and must include at least one member of the presidential track.

4.06 Voting During Meetings (not elections)

Motions are made and seconded by a member of the Board. This is to ensure that at least some of the Board support any motion that is made.

Any NETC member can contribute to discussions, either before or after the motion is made. For open meetings, any NETC members can vote. For closed meetings, only Board members can vote, not regular members or liaisons.

Oral votes are OK. When it’s not obvious whether a motion passes or fails, a re-vote will be conducted, using a more verifiable method to be determined by the President.

If a member holds 2 voting positions, only one vote is counted.

4.07 Transparency

The Board will operate in a transparent way whenever/wherever possible. It is best to err on the side of transparency.

4.08 Compensation for Board Service

Serving on the Board is a voluntary action, and no compensation will be made to the Board members.

Article V – Miscellaneous

5.01 Years without a NETC Conference

The NETC Conference is a huge reason for the existence of the NETC organization, so we hope there is a conference every year. However, many of the dates in the bylaws are based on the conference, so this is what happens in a year where there isn’t a conference.

  • The membership would begin/end July 1. Members would need to pay dues in order to maintain membership. The Board will determine the amount for membership contribution.
  • The size for the Board will decrease because there won’t be a member for the current conference. It will increase again when we have the full compliment of past, current, and future NETC conference host members.
  • The terms of the Board would be extended an additional year.
  • The Board will meet sometime during Spring or Summer. This meeting can be, but does not have to be, a face-to-face meeting. Treasurer and Secretary reports will be read.

5.02 Reports

The treasurer and secretary will give complete reports at the face-to-face meeting during the NETC Conference and will give updates at other meetings as appropriate.

5.03 Fiscal Year

The fiscal year shall be January 1 to December 31 of each year.

5.04 Committees

There are no standing committees for the organization. The Board may put together committees to work on recommendations and/or other projects. Any NETC member can be on one of these committees, as well as non-NETC members where appropriate.

5.05 Standard Operating Procedures

In addition to bylaws, NETC can have a set of standard operating procedures (SOP). These SOP’s are publicly available documents that talk about the day to day operations of NETC. The SOP’s can be changed with a meeting of the Board.

When a SOP is created or modified, the Secretary will notify the current NETC members of the change.

These could include how we decide who holds a conference if two institutions express interest, how we support the upcoming conference, how much money we try to maintain in reserve, and if we decide to do some sort of scholarship program and how it works.

5.06 Amending of Bylaws

The Board shall review the bylaws annually and may propose changes. When finished, the Board will clearly communicate the proposed changes to all NETC members, allow for comments, then hold an election to vote on the changes. Any NETC member can vote in this election.


Last Updated: March 17, 2022
Ratified: June 19, 2018