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• To form an ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Local Section you will need:
  • Determine the region you'd like to define as the Local Section
  • A minimum of 25 ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Individual Members who have joined the Association who reside in the geographical region of the Section to sign a petition
  • All Sections must have written bylaws. Section bylaws must not conflict with ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥bylaws. See example of bylaws here.
• When the Section is formed, the Section members will need to elect officers. We encourage you to find pro-tem officers who can assist you with the petition for the new Section.
  • Chair
  • Vice Chair
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
• Email the Membership Director to express interest in starting a Section for next steps to guide you through the process of:
  • Section bylaws
  • Signature petition
  • Pro-tem officers
• Once you've compiled the required information, the Membership Committee and Board of Directors will vote at the next committee meeting to recognize and approve the new Section.
• Please see the Section Handbook for more information
• If you have any other questions, please contact Individual Membership Specialist Shanya Scotton or Membership Director Maria Thiry

What are the requirements for an active Section?

An active Section is a defined geographical area with over 25 ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥members and elected leadership committee as established by the Board of Directors. To maintain active status, the Section must have have at least one-activity annually and maintain at least 25 members. If this isn't met, the Section becomes inactive.

Section Leader Requirements 

Section Leaders are required to maintain, promote, and support the Section membership by creating opportunities for the members to network & connect. Section Leaders must perform the duties of the officer role they were elected to.

Here's an overview of Section Leader Duties.

Activities are an opportunity to focus on networking and connecting with your local members. These can range from a casual get-together to a ticketed event and everything in between. Any opportunity to connect with your fellow members is highly encouraged!

• Virtual meet and greet with members
• Weekday Social at local restaurant
• Meetup at local conference
• ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Student Chapter visit
• Connect with ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Corporate Member in your area to sponsor/co-host event
• Ticketed event with speaker presentation and dinner reception

Need ideas? Connect with other Section leaders! Contact staff for support.

We recommend posting to your ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Communities Section Page for instant communications to every member in your section. All members will receive a notification when something is posted.

Some Sections like to email their members directly to let members know about the latest Section activities. Email Shanya Scotton if you'd like the latest membership email list of your Section.

Section leaders are provided with a list of new members quarterly to personally reach out to for a warm welcome to the Section!

Section Reimbursement

Sections are reimbursed annually based on meeting the active section requirements. ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥staff will prompt Section treasurer in January to start this process.

• To ensure you are able to receive reimbursement, make sure you meet the following requirements:
  • At least 25 active members in your Section—more members in your Section mean more funds in your reimbursement!
  • Elected Treasurer and active Section bank account
  • 1 qualifying Section activity in the previous year

Section Funding Request Guidelines

ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥encourages Local Sections to hold events for local members throughout the year. ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥may give financial help to Sections that meet minimum requirements and request funds based on funding availability. These funds may be used for programs and activities for the Section within the requested year. Ideally, these are supplemental funds to Sections’ existing budget but will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Review the full guidelines here: Section Funding Request Guidelines

• Sections must complete the Section Request for Financial Assistance Form and submit to the Membership Director who will route to the appropriate approvers.
• Once the Final Notice of Requested Funds is submitted and approved, the Section Financial Assistance Contract will be routed to the Section Chair and Treasurer to sign then returned to AATCC. The Contract will include agreed metrics for a successful meeting; also, will include whether the funds provided will be a loan or gift, what timeline is expected for the payback of the load and/or how much of the funds will be considered a gift, based on how successful the meeting was.

• Sections are encouraged to email AATCC with pictures of activities and other news pertaining to their Section - we love to share these on social media!
• Sections must send their meeting minutes to ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥membership staff.
• Section executive committee leaders are required to report on their activities at each Spring and Fall Committee meeting.

Notify AATCC immediately if there's a change to Section leaders.

Refer to this Section Transition Document for guidance on leadership transitions. Section leaders are responsible for the transition of duties.

Check your Section's bylaws for your specific duties pertaining to your Section.

ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥Bylaws Article X: 

Sections
Section 1: Definition and Membership of Sections—Sections of the Association shall be local groups of Association members, self-governing insofar as is consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association. The territorial limits of each Section shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Association and may be changed at its discretion. Upon joining the Association, members may indicate the active Section with which they wish to be affiliated and participate in Association activities.

Section 2: Mode of Formation—Twenty-five or more Individual Association members residing in any geographical area may notify the Board of Directors of their desire to form a Section. If, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, the formation of such a Section is desirable, the Board of Directors shall designate the geographic limitations of the Section and appoint a Secretary pro tempore, who shall call a meeting of all members in that Section. This meeting shall decide whether such a local shall be formed.

Section 3: Organization of Sections—Each Section shall have a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These officers, along with up to four other members (whose duties shall be determined by each individual Section), shall constitute the Sectional Committee. All these Officers shall be elected every three years, with no individual holding the same specific office (except, at the Section's discretion, the Treasurer) for more than one consecutive three-year term.
DISCOUNT ON DUES—A 50% discount of ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥dues is available to Sectional Officers. Two discounts are available per section, one for the Section Chair and the other to a Section Officer designated by the Chair. ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥will not offer refunds on memberships already in effect—instead, at renewal time, a current membership can be extended for another year at the 50% rate. The Section Officers must contact the Membership staff annually to designate the individuals eligible for the 50% discount.

Section 4: Duties of Sectional Officers—The Chair, or in his or her absence the Vice-Chair, shall preside at all meetings. The Chair may appoint committees other than the Sectional Committee to have charge of special affairs.

FINANCES OF SECTIONS—Active sections are to be reimbursed for expenses annually by the Treasurer of the Association in the month of August. Active sections having at least 25 or more Individual Members shall be reimbursed annually at the rate of 7.5 percent of the membership dues. For a Section to be considered "active," there shall be at least one meeting per year which could be a webinar/conferencecall meeting, or a meeting where the section officers or other section members are invited to meetings or functions for the purpose of developing sectional programs, interviewing students for possible scholarships, visiting student chapters, or other sectional activities. The minimum annual
reimbursement for expenses to any Section shall be $225.
For the expenses of a newly organized and accepted Section up to its initial May first, the Board of Directors may at its discretion appropriate funding; but this shall not prevent any subsequent reimbursements as provided in the preceding paragraph.

REPORTS OF SECTIONS—The Chair or Secretary of each Section shall submit to the Membership Chair a report of each Section meeting, either verbally or in writing at the Membership Committee meeting during the Spring and Fall administrative committee meetings. Each Section must submit a written Annual Report describing the year's activities of the Section, along with the annual Treasury Report/Summary of Receipts and Disbursements, to the Membership Chair at the Membership Committee Meeting during the Fall administrative committee meetings. If these reports are not submitted, the Sectional reimbursement may be withheld.