It is that time of the year for AACE’s annual election.  I would like to encourage all our members to take a little time to review the candidates’ bios and objectives and vote.  Also on the ballot is the proposed new Bylaws for the Association. The Board of Directors has approved these Bylaws to be presented to the members for a vote. 

The update to the Association’s governance documents is a critical step in an initiative to update the Association’s structure, governance, and operations.  The mission is to keep AACE thriving into the future by strengthening our core essence, while reshaping the organization to better connect with members and potential members. At the same time, we want to update the governance to be more effective and flexible in meeting future member needs in all parts of the globe and increase transparency in how we operate.

There are a number of drivers for updating our governance documents.  Our current documents do not meet all the current statutory requirements and proposed new regulations may impact this further.  We also have conflicts between governing documents that need to be resolved.  How our members volunteer and how we engage with members has changed, particularly in the last year, and is likely to continue changing in the future, but our governance documents are fairly rigid in structure and have to be updated to allow us to adapt. Our growth internationally has highlighted that our current model of member engagement does not work properly in other regions of the world.  We need the flexibility to use different solutions as needed.  And as AACE publishes recommended practices for our members, we are following recommended practices for associations as published by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Community Associations Institute (CAI), as well as lessons learned from other associations.

Some members may ask: what does this mean for me? The overarching goal is to improve member engagement and increase the value everyone receives.  We will have more flexibility in developing options to engage with members, such as “virtual sections.”  There will be increased clarity and transparency in how AACE operates and serves its members, reducing confusion. We anticipate improved lines of communication between members and headquarters staff and other parts of the Association.  We will be providing greater support to sections and others directly from headquarters, including marketing, events support, and collaboration.  Furthermore, we have worked to preserve what is currently successful about the Association.  The primary mission, objectives, and purpose of AACE have been maintained.  The central pillars – the Technical, Education, and Certification Associate Boards – remain intact and integral to AACE’s governance.

The most noticeable change we are proposing is to reduce our governance documents from four to three.  We currently have the Articles of Incorporation, Constitution, Bylaws, and the Organization Manual.  It is being proposed to amend this to the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Organization Manual. Darwin Patnode, the modern author of Robert’s Rules of Order, stated “Some organizations insist on having two chief documents, the constitution and the bylaws; but such practice is obsolete, inconvenient, and potentially dangerous. There should only be one chief document, normally called bylaws.”  The key principals and elements in the Constitution have been retained, either in the Articles of Incorporation or the Bylaws.  A number of operating rules in the current Bylaws will be moved to the Organization Manual.  To help improve transparency, the Organization Manual will be added to our governing documents posted on our website, visible to all members. 

The drafting of the proposed Bylaws was developed with the input of a large number of our volunteers, including the Board of Directors, the Technical Associate Board, the Certification Associate Board, the Education Associate Board, the Membership Associate Board, the Marketing Associate Board, and the Past Presidents.  The draft also incorporates feedback from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee that participated in reviewing the drafts.

I encourage all our members to review the proposed Bylaws and the narrative provided, which helps explain the revisions.  We conducted two townhall sessions prior to the start of the election to clarify the drivers for change and what the amendments are.  We recorded one of these sessions and have it available on our website if you are interested in listening to the presentation and discussion. 

I am excited about these updates and what it will mean for the Association and all our members.  The opportunities this will provide the Association in the future will help increase the value you receive from being involved with AACE.

Thank you.

Chris Caddell

President, AACE International