INNOVATION July-August 2014

as soc ia t ion notes

Council Seeks Member Ratification of Amendment to Bylaw 3 – Election to Council In January 2014, Council approved in principle amendments to Bylaw 3 – Election to Council, and directed that a consultation process be undertaken with the membership and key stakeholders. To this end, an article on the proposed amendments was published in the March/April edition of Innovation and the matter was raised with the Nominating Committee, branches and the association’s past presidents. Bylaw 3 directs how the Council nomination and election process is to be managed. This bylaw outlines the structure of the Nominating Committee and the procedures it must follow in nominating a slate of candidates for election to Council; how members may be nominated by the membership-at-large; and how the voting process and reporting of results must be done. This bylaw has not been revised for many years and as such it requires modernization to better reflect the current profile of our membership, best practice for regulatory bodies and the needs of the association. Following consideration of the input received through the consultation process, Council will seek member ratification of amendments to Bylaw 3 that: • Increase the number of members on the Nominating Committee from 12 to 14. The additional committee members will be appointed by Council; • Require at least one P.Geo. and one P.Eng. to be appointed to the Nominating Committee; • Require that nominees and their nominators be in good standing regardless of how they are nominated; • Remove the prescriptive requirements for nominating members in specific disciplines and instead articulate the need for diversity; • Update the ballot counting process to recognize that there is no longer a ballot counting committee, as the voting process is now electronic; • Broaden who may announce the result of the election at the AGM. Currently the bylaw dictates that the chair of the meeting must perform this function. In order for the bylaw to pass, two-thirds of members voting must be in favour of the amendment. Line by line detail on the amendment will be published this fall with the Council Election and Bylaw Vote information.

Submitting Motions for the 2014 Annual General Meeting Each year, as per the Engineers and Geoscientists Act , APEGBC holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its members. Reports are provided by the President and the CEO on the activities of the past year, and the financial report is presented. At the meeting, members are provided with the opportunity to ask questions and make motions for consideration by Council. Motions may be proposed by registered professional members (P.Eng., P.Geo.) or by limited licensees (Eng.L., Geo.L.). Members and licensees are encouraged to submit proposed motions for APEGBC’s 2014 AGM to the association by Tuesday, October 21, 2014. Advanced submission of motions enables any procedural issues with the proposed motion to be addressed with the mover prior to presentation at the AGM (the mover and seconder for the motion must be present at the AGM to introduce the motion). Member motions may also be presented from the floor of the AGM without advance submission though all motions must be received prior to the cut-off time approved by the assembly (usually 10 am on the day of the meeting). Information on the correct format for motions and how to submit them for review can be found online at apeg.bc.ca/ac2014/agm. The AGM will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver located at 655 Burrard Street.

Gordon Springate Sr., P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), 1931 – 2014

APEGBC regretfully acknowledges the passing of Dr. Gordon Leonard Vincent Springate Sr., P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), on May 9, 2014, of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Springate became a member of APEGBC in 1964 and actively served on various APEGBC committees including the Professional Practice, Discipline, Strategic Planning and the Nominating Committee. He also served as a member of Council for several terms, including as APEGBC President. Dr. Springate completed his undergraduate degree in Electrical

Engineering and Engineering Physics at McGill University, his masters of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University and his doctorate at Nova Southeastern University. He then relocated from Toronto to Vancouver in 1957, to Prince George in 1980 and finally to Kelowna in 1987 to be Dean of the Division of Applied Studies at Okanagan University College. Aside from his busy career, Dr. Springate gave much of his time to his various volunteer efforts, including his position as Dean’s Warden at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Scouts Canada, the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, Red Cross and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, to name a few. In 2008, Dr. Springate was made a Fellow of Engineers Canada in recognition of his service to the profession and an Honorary Fellow of Geoscientists Canada in 2013. APEGBC extends its condolences to Dr. Springate’s family, friends and colleagues.

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