MOCAAPI
MONMOUTH & OCEAN COUNTY CHAPTER
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS OF INDIAN ORIGIN

PREAMBLE

The “MOCAAPI” (Monmouth and Ocean County chapter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin) was formed to address a need for cohesive action on the part of physicians of Indian heritage, working or residing in the Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey State in the United States of America. The MOCAAPI was also formed to maintain the identity of this group of people, to provide a forum for scientific, educational, cultural, charitable and social interaction among the MOCAAPI members.
The term 'Indian' is used throughout these By-laws in an ethnic sense and is meant exclusively to pertain to the Indian subcontinent of Asia. The word 'heritage' similarly, connotes ancestry.

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this organization shall be MOCAAPI.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES

The objectives of MOCAAPI are, in addition to and not in substitution of those stated in the MOCAAPI's Articles of Incorporation, the following:

  1. Educational: to organize lectures, scientific meetings, symposiums and other educational meetings pertaining to the practice of all aspects and branches of Medicine or the business aspects of medical practice.
  1. Cultural: to promote unity, social interaction and networking amongst members and to promote Indian culture and heritage.
  1. Community Service: to organize, encourage and promote the involvement of the members towards serving the communities they live and work in.
  1. Charitable: to organize, support and contribute to charitable causes. To make contributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended, or the corresponding provision of any succeeding section or future United States Internal Revenue Code Section.
  1. To provide mutual understanding and cooperation between the MOCAAPI and other medical or cultural organizations in the United States
  1. To provide support, guidance and other services to members as needed.

Section 3.1 - Eligibility and Qualifications:

To be eligible for membership the applicant:

  1. Should be actively licensed to practice Medicine within the state of NJ. This requirement would not apply to physicians who have retired in good standing from active practice.
  2. Should be working or residing in Monmouth or Ocean counties of NJ.
  3. Should subscribe to the objectives of MOCAAPI, abides by the By-laws, rules and regulations, pays the prescribed fees and dues, and submits an application in the prescribed form.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

Section 3.2 - Categories of Membership:

Members shall be divided into the following categories:

A. GENERAL MEMBERS: General members shall be:

  1. Annual members: who have paid the dues assessed to them, by the General Body, in a timely fashion when due. Currently the dues are $ 100 for each calendar year.
  2. Life members: admitted after a single payment of the Life membership dues assessed to them, by the General Body. Currently the life membership dues are $ 500. When both spouses are physicians and eligible for membership, the second spouse would pay only $ 300.
  3. Emeritus Members: Physicians over the age of 65 years will not be charged any membership
    dues and will be considered life members.

B. OTHER MEMBERS: The General Body may from time to time create other special categories of membership.

Section 3.3 - Resignation:  Any member may resign by writing a letter of resignation.

Section 3.4 - Reinstatement: Any member may be reinstated if approved by the Governing body after paying appropriate dues.

Section 3.5 - Revocation: Membership may be denied or revoked for any member for deliberate violation of the MOCAAPI's Articles of Incorporation or By-laws.

Section 3.6 – Membership Dues: The membership dues for all categories of memberships would be decided by the executive committee after approval from the General body. The dues can be changed at any time after approval for a change is authorized by the General body.

Section 3.7 – Eligibility for Officers: In order to hold any officer’s post, the member must have attended 50% of all meetings in the immediately preceding two years and must have demonstrated interest and willingness to work for MOCAAPI.

Section 3.8 – Impeachment: If any member to an elected or appointed office or position misuses their office or is guilty of misconduct or violates the objectives of MOCAAPI’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws for personal gain or misappropriate the funds of MOCAAPI or violate the law resulting in civil liability or a criminal offence and conviction, he or she shall be liable for impeachment or forfeiture of his or her position, immediately. Further, the Governing Body is authorized to remove such a person temporarily from the position held in MOCAAPI, pending the final outcome of the judicial proceeding.       An impeachment procedure may be initiated by a petition signed by at least one third of the members of the Governing Body or two thirds of the Executive Committee. After such initiation, the Governing Body shall appoint a Hearing Committee, consisting of members of the Grievance Committee, Board of Trustees and other members at large to investigate the allegation and recommend necessary action to the Governing Body. Impeachment can be effected only upon the affirmative vote of at least three fourths of the Governing Body.

ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS

Section 4.1 - Membership Meetings:   The annual membership meeting of the organization shall be held during Nov/Dec of each year.  A notice shall be emailed to every member in good standing at his/her address on record with the MOCAAPI Meeting coordinator. The majority present at any membership meeting shall constitute a quorum to conduct the business of the organization.

Section 4.2 – Absentee Vote: Active members who are not able to attend a meeting may send in their vote by certified mail to the officer presiding over the meeting or the conducting the election as the case may be. The letter will be opened only at the time of counting the votes. It will be the responsibility of the absentee member to indicate clearly on the envelope that it contains his or her vote. Alternately if a secure way of voting via e mail is provided, maintaining the secret nature of the ballot, this may also be used instead.

Section 4.3 - Voting:  Only active members in good standing shall be voting members.

Section 4.4 - Parliamentary Authority:  The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the conduct of the business meetings of the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws or special rules of order of the Organization.

Section 4.5 – Election of Officers: The election of the office bearers would be held at the annual membership meeting every two years.

ARTICLE V - ORGANIZATION OF THE CORPORATE BODY

Section 5.1 - Components of the Corporate Body:
The MOCAAPI shall be made up of all the active members (also known as the General Body), the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees.

Section 5.2 - General Body:
Subject to the MOCAAPI's Articles of Incorporation and these By-laws, the General Body retains the ultimate authority of the MOCAAPI.

  1. The General Body shall consist of voting members as set forth in paragraph D of this section.
  2. All voting members shall be notified of all General Body meetings by email at least 4 weeks before each General Body meeting. It would be the responsibility of the member to keep his email address current with MOCAAPI’s meeting coordinator. The details of the meeting would also be posted on the MOCAAPI website https://mocaapi.org
  3. General Body meeting shall be open to all the voting members.
  4. Voting members of the General Body shall be determined as follows:
  1. Life Members: on record as of April 1st of the current year.
  2. Annual dues paying members in good standing as of April 1st of the year preceding and continuing as such in the subsequent year as of April 1st.
  1. At the annual General Body Meeting, those members present and eligible to vote may conduct the business of the General Body. If a member eligible to vote makes a quorum call, the Presiding Officer shall decide if a quorum is present. Fifty percent (50%) of the voting members will constitute a quorum for the General Body meeting. Absentee ballots as defined in Article IV Section 4.2 will also be accounted for in deciding quorum. Once a quorum is established, the business of the meeting shall continue and all actions at the meeting shall be binding, even if a quorum is not present at later times in the meeting. If, upon a quorum call, a quorum is not present as defined above, then the Presiding Officer may entertain motions to recess, adjourn, or adjourn to reconvene at a later date (i.e. fix the time to which to adjourn). In addition, the Presiding Officer may arrange for a mail-in ballot to decide specific and urgent issues scheduled for consideration at that meeting. A simple majority of the returned ballots shall decide the issues, so long as not otherwise required by the Articles of Incorporation or the laws governing such matters.

Section 5.3 - Executive Committee:
The Executive Committee shall provide leadership and execute policies as approved by the General Body.

  1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, Chair of the Board of Trustees and seven members at large selected from general body. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to act for and on behalf of the MOCAAPI in accordance with the policies set by the General Body.
  2. Contracts, deeds, documents and instruments shall be executed by the President and attested by the Secretary or the Treasurer.
  3. Checks, notes, drafts and demands for money shall be signed by the officer or officers designated from time to time by the Executive Committee. In the event no designation is made by the Executive Committee, checks, notes, drafts and demands for money may be signed by any two officers.
  4. Only active members of the MOCAAPI shall be eligible for nomination and election to these offices.
  5. The Executive Committee shall meet not less than four (4) times per year in regular session. One such meeting shall occur during the Annual General Body meeting and such meeting constitutes the Annual Meeting of the Executive Committee.
  6. Special Meetings: The President may, as he or she deems necessary or the Secretary, shall at the written request of members of the Executive Committee, issue a call for a Special Meeting of the Executive Committee.
  7. Notice of every meeting of the Executive Committee, excepting only the Annual Meeting for which no notice shall be required, shall be emailed to the last address on the MOCAAPI's books for each member of the Executive Committee, not less than seven (7) nor more than 30 days prior to the meeting. All such notices shall be signed by the Secretary and shall specify the place, date and time for the meeting.
  8. A quorum for any meeting of the Executive Committee shall consist of at least a simple majority of the Executive Committee members eligible to vote at such a meeting.

Section 5.4 - Board of Trustees:
The Board of Trustees shall advise the MOCAAPI regarding its fiscal welfare and operation of the MOCAAPI. At the request of the Executive Committee, the Board of Trustees may serve as a mediator to resolve disputes among the various office holders and members and as a mediator its decision shall be final and binding.

  1. The Board of Trustees shall be made up of five persons as follows:
  2. Two Trustees shall be the two immediate past presidents of the MOCAAPI.
  3. Three Trustees shall be elected from among the active members.
  4. The Three Trustee positions elected from the active members shall be filled every two years to replace the three Trustees who completed their terms and retired. The Immediate Past President does not need to be nominated for this purpose and only needs to send a letter to the nominating committee 3 weeks before the close of nominations indicating his/her intent to serve as a Trustee for the 2-year term. He/she shall serve only one two-year term on the board. If the Immediate Past President does not indicate intent to assume a Trustee position that Trustee position or any other Past President Trustee position which becomes vacant, will be filled by an election among the other Past Presidents. If no Past president is available, it becomes open to active members. The Past Presidents are eligible to contest only for the Past President's slot of the Board of Trustees.
  5. A Trustee's term shall be for 2 years.
  6. The Chair of the Board of Trustees will be elected by and from among the Board of Trustees.
  7. The Board of Trustees will meet no less than once a year.

ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

No elected officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. A term of office will be for two year.
Section 6.1 – President:
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the MOCAAPI and shall perform all duties incident to the office of the President and the Governing Body may assign such other duties as it may deem proper, necessary or useful. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the MOCAAPI, the Executive Committee and of the Governing Body. He or she shall make such appointments as are required or authorized by the Articles of Incorporation, these By-laws and by the Governing Body. He or she may execute, with the Secretary or any other proper officer of the MOCAAPI as authorized by the Governing Body, any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts or other instruments which the Governing Body has authorized to be executed; except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly reserved unto the Governing Body. He or she shall designate all official delegates and representatives to other organizations; and shall appoint members to such special and ad hoc committees as may be necessary to further the MOCAAPI's objectives. The President may discontinue any such committee when its purpose has been served or its purpose is no longer desirable or attainable, in consultation with the Executive Committee. The President and members of the Executive Committee will be jointly responsible to the General Body.

In the event of any disagreements in the execution of the policies of the MOCAAPI, the President shall make the final decision, which shall be binding on all parties concerned. The President, however, shall be required to validate his or her decision either before or as soon as possible after the event by majority vote of the Executive Committee. If the President fails to accomplish such validation, the majority decision of the Executive Committee shall prevail. Prior approval by the Executive Committee is mandatory for any decision involving financial transactions on behalf of the MOCAAPI with may result in significant financial consequences for the MOCAAPI.

Section 6.2 - Past President:
The past president shall become the Chair of the Nomination Committee

Section 6.3 - Vice President:
The Vice President shall assist the President, Treasurer and Secretary as needed at the direction of the President. The Vice President shall serve as the Chair of the Membership Committee.

Section 6.4 – Secretary:
The Secretary shall:

  1. Keep an account of all the minutes of all meetings.
  2. Maintain an updated list of all members of the MOCAAPI.
  3. Issue an agenda of all regular and special meetings after consultation with the Executive Committee.
  4. Keep a copy of all official correspondence from and to the MOCAAPI, including newsletters and program brochures for the activities from the MOCAAPI and reports submitted by the Committee's Chairpersons.
  5. Keep an attendance record of all meetings of the MOCAAPI.
  6. Be custodian of the Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and amendments thereto
  7. Notify committee members of their appointment and their assigned duties
  8. See that all books, reports, statements, certificates and other documents and records required by law to be kept and filed are properly kept and filed.
  9. Perform such duties and exercise such other powers as may be assigned by the Executive Committee in the same capacity.
  10. Be a member of the Executive Committee as its secretary.
  11. Be responsible for transferring all the records of the MOCAAPI, within 30 days after the Annual Meeting, to the incoming Secretary.

Section 6.5 – Treasurer:
Unless otherwise directed by the Executive Committee, the Treasurer will be the sole fiscal officer and the only authorized person empowered to have custody of the financial accounts of the MOCAAPI, subject to audit powers of the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee and any outside auditors the MOCAAPI may select.

The Treasurer shall:

  1. Be responsible for issuing notice and collection of all dues and deposit into same in such banks or trust companies as the Executive Committee may designate. He or she will be in charge of all the accounts of the MOCAAPI.
  2. Have custody of all accounts, receipts and disbursements which shall be open at all reasonable times to inspection by the Executive Committee.
  3. Submit a financial report to the Executive Committee at its annual meeting and at regularly held Executive meetings. If the Executive Committee requires he or she shall give a bond with such surety and in such amount as the Executive Committee may designate.
  4. Perform such other duties and exercise such other powers and duties incident to the office of the Treasurer and as may be assigned by the President or the Executive Committee or otherwise as may be required by law.
  5. Transfer to the next Treasurer within 30 days of the assumption of office by the latter, all accounts of the MOCAAPI.
  6. File all income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for the year in which the office was held.

ARTICLE VII - GENERAL BODY MEETINGS AND AGENDA

A. Robert's Rules of Order shall be used to govern all meetings of the MOCAAPI in all cases where they are applicable, except where they are inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation, or these By-laws.

  1. The Executive Committee will set the agenda of the General Body meeting and any special meetings.
  2. Any member who wishes to bring new business matters before the General Body meeting shall submit this business in writing to the Secretary, at least 30 days prior to the meeting of the General Body, for consideration by the Executive Committee as to whether to include such new business on the agenda.
  3. Items not placed on the agenda by the Executive Committee for consideration at the General Body meeting may only be placed on the agenda during the General Body meeting upon the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the active members present.
  4. Time shall be provided at each meeting for members to introduce a question, which when approved by a majority, would be placed on the agenda for future discussion during subsequent meetings.

ARTICLE VIII – NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The nominating Committee shall consist of two active members appointed by the Board of Trustees.  The committee shall offer one or more nominees for each office only in case there is no member contesting that office. For positions that are already being contested by one or more active members, the nominating committee will only announce the names without endorsing any candidate.

ARTICLE IX - FINANCES

Section 9.1 - Fiscal Year:  The official fiscal year shall be from January 1st through December 31st

Section 9.2 - Membership dues:  Annual dues are payable on or before April 1st of each calendar year for the member to be considered a voting member for that fiscal year.

Section 9.3 - Speaker Support:  A corporation may support a non-promotional speaker for an individual meeting.

ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

The bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed by members at the time they are entitled to vote in the election of officers.

Section 10.1 – Amendments:

These By-laws may be amended, repealed or altered in whole or in part by a majority vote of any duly organized meeting of the General Body.

  1. The proposed amendment may be initiated in writing in any General Body meeting with the concurrence of not less than five (5) voting members whose concurrence is evidenced by their signatures.
  2. The proposed amendment, duly initiated, shall be referred to the Bylaws Committee and the Executive Committee for consideration and recommendation to the Board of Trustees as provided in these By-laws.
  3. These recommendations along with the recommendations of the Executive Committee shall be submitted to the General Body meeting for consideration and approval. The recommendations shall be emailed to the members of the General Body 30 days before the meeting of the General Body at which they are to be considered. On approval by the General Body by a simple majority, the amendments shall be incorporated into these By-laws with immediate effect.
  4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary provided in these By-laws, in the event of a conflict between any provision of the MOCAAPI's Articles of Incorporation and these By-laws, the provision contained in the Articles of Incorporation shall be given precedence and priority over the conflicting provision in these By-laws.
  5. These By-laws have been duly adopted in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation and the applicable laws.

These bylaws (or the amendment) were approved and adopted by the Executive Committee, the General Body and the Board of trustees on Sixteenth day of February, 2007.