AFTE BOD Policy Letters

POLICY 1     Suggested Guidelines for Annual Banquet
POLICY 2     Travel Reimbursement   (see also Policy #5)

POLICY 3     Time Requirement for Elevation of Member Status   (Archived 12-3-05)

POLICY 4     Interpretation of Points for Distinguished Membership

POLICY 5     Travel and Lodging Reimbursement   (see also Policy #2)

POLICY 6     Annual Seminar Host Committee Oversight

POLICY 7     Journal Shipping Expense

POLICY 8     Committee Report Submission

POLICY 9     General Membership Notification

POLICY 10    Annual Training Meeting Fees

POLICY 11    Publication of Applicant Names

POLICY 12    Regional Meetings

POLICY 13    Membership Effective Date

POLICY 14    Release of Member Information

POLICY 15    Member Application Records

POLICY 16    Committee Responsibilities and Records

POLICY 17    Distribution of Policy Letters

POLICY 18    Software Possession

POLICY 19    Minutes

POLICY 20    Subscriber Status

POLICY 21    E-Vote Policy

POLICY 22    Maintenance of Digital Copies of AFTE Journals

POLICY 23    Publication of Announcements

POLICY 24     Distribution of Membership Directory (Roster)

Downloads   Policy Letter Documents

POLICY # 1
Suggested Guidelines for Annual Banquet

Outgoing President, Prior to dinner will:

See if any ministers or priests or other clergy are in attendance to give the invocation. Any member who passed away during the year should be remembered.

After Dinner the President Will:

Opening Remarks, Welcoming Everyone

Introduction of Dias

Introduction of Guest Speaker‑If Present

Recognition of Any Special or Prominent Guests

Presentation of Awards as Follows:

Member of the Year

Key Person of the Year/ Molnar Award

Distinguished Member(s)

Emeritus Member(s)

Outgoing Officer(s)

Host Committee Recognition

Introduction of Incoming President

Incoming President Shall:

Present plaque to outgoing President, presentation of any other awards, closing remarks if any.

Note: The President and the Secretary coordinate to see that the correct plaques are ordered. The Secretary is responsible for the Distinguished Member awards. Award plaques are to be ordered ahead of time. If any recipient is not present, other arrangements for the award should be made.

Door prizes are to be limited in number and value. The Program Chair along with the Host Committee shall be responsible for running this. To be done after the incoming President’s acceptance speech and close of the meeting.

POLICY # 2
Travel Reimbursement

(see also Policy #5)

Any member who has their way paid to the annual meeting or executive meeting by AFTE will purchase their ticket far enough in advance as to ensure a reduced travel rate. If one fails to do this, they will be responsible for the difference in airfare, at the discretion of the remainder of the Board. If money is needed ahead of time in order to purchase tickets contact the Treasurer to forward the necessary money.

POLICY # 3
Time Requirement for Elevation of Member Status

(Archived 12-3-05 – conflicts with Bylaws III.2.b.1.a)

As agreed by the majority of the present executive body the meaning of "3 years" when used in reference to becoming a regular member of AFTE shall mean from the day the person starts his/her training. Since training varies from one area to another in length of time we have to be consistent in our thinking. This only applies if the person applying has met all other requirements on the application.

POLICY # 4
Interpretation of Points for Distinguished Membership

When an individual attends a meeting, presents a paper and has the paper published in the Journal, they will receive one (1) point for attendance and two (2) points for presenting the paper. No additional points will be awarded for publishing the same article (if suitable for publication) in the Journal.
If a paper is published in the Journal and at a later date it is presented at a meeting, the individual will receive two (2) points only for the publication of the paper and no points for its presentation. That individual will, of course, also be entitled to one (1) point for attending the meeting.
Two (2) points will be awarded only for the publishing of a research‑type paper or lengthy writings of interesting or unusual cases or new techniques. The short "newsy" items regarding new products, changes etc. do not require the same expenditure of thought, time, and effort and will not receive credit points.

POLICY # 5
Travel and Lodging Reimbursement

(see also policy 2)

The following named officers within AFTE will have their airfare and room paid for only while in attendance at any executive meeting:

President, 1^st Vice‑President, 2^nd Vice President, Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, and the three- (3) executive committee members who shall consist of the Immediate Past President and the two (2) elected members.

Room reimbursement is for the named officer only. If an officer must leave the meeting before the scheduled termination date, anyone else that is not an officer occupying that room must assume financial responsibility.

In the event that any of the above named officers, who in their official capacity and acting in behalf of the Association have incurred any debts, they shall be reimbursed.

Any of the above named officers who may have their way paid by their departments in full will not be reimbursed. If they are partially paid by their department then AFTE will pay the balance. (e.g. your air fare is paid by your department, AFTE will pay only for your room and vice versa)

Nominating Committee: if a meeting is necessary, then AFTE will pay for the airfare and one- (1) nights lodging upon Board approval.

POLICY # 6
Annual Seminar Host Committee Oversight

It shall be incumbent upon the Second Vice President to contact the Chair of the host sponsoring the Annual Training Seminar at which they shall preside as President; then work with the Host Committee Chair through their tenure on the Board of Directors. The effort will be to support the goals of the committee and to bring the Annual Training Seminar to a successful end and at a reasonable cost to the membership. This same Board member will follow up until a final report is submitted that contains the elements as outlined in the Host Committee Planning Manual.

POLICY # 7
Journal Shipping Expense

All member dues other than United States and Canada currency shall reflect an additional amount to cover the cost of shipping the Journal out of the United States. This will become effective with the 1991 dues.

Effective 2003, AFTE Member Journals mailed within the United States will be shipped at media rate. AFTE Members with ship to address outside of the United States will receive their journals mailed at letter-post rate, often referred to as Airmail Rate, included at no additional cost to their membership dues.

Subscribers with “ship to addresses” outside of North America will be billed at a higher rate to defray or cover the additional cost of the letter post or airmail rate.

POLICY # 8
Committee Report Submission

All Committees with the exception of those otherwise assigned to the President will report to the 1^st Vice‑President and 2^nd Vice‑President respectively at least one month prior to the Annual Seminar and the mid‑year Board of Directors meeting. These reports will be in a format as directed by the AFTE Secretary. All committee reports must be received by the Board of Directors prior to publication.

POLICY # 9
General Membership Notification

Membership notification will be done by separate mailings regarding issues that have time dead lines. Timeliness issues shall include, but are not limited to, dues matters and bylaws changes. Beginning in 2004, the AFTE Newsletter may be used for such notification.

POLICY # 10
Annual Training Meeting Fees

All attendees will pay a registration fee. The exhibitor’s fee and registration may be equitably combined to allow one (1) person to take advantage of the meals and other functions.

POLICY # 11
Publication of Applicant Names

The names of all applicants and upgrades to Regular Membership will be made available to the General membership to invite timely comments from the membership that may be used in consideration by the Board of Admissions.

POLICY # 12
Regional Meetings

At the present time, AFTE members throughout the world meet regularly in regional groups to share information. AFTE recognizes the need for members to meet together regionally and encourages such meetings; however the sponsorship or control of these meetings are not by AFTE. Use of the AFTE logo for these regional meetings creates legal entanglements that could affect insurance and liability for AFTE.

If incorporation and tax exempt status is necessary, it can be accomplished by the regional group. An officer of AFTE would, if requested, fill one of the positions of the regional group’s board of directors, but only in a non-voting position.

POLICY # 13
Membership Effective Date

The effective date of Membership status shall be the date when the application processing has been completed, as determined by the Membership Secretary, and forwarded to the Chair of the Board of Admissions, the Secretary and the President.

POLICY # 14
Release of Member Information

Any correspondence requesting personnel information shall be directed to the Association Secretary. Information released shall include only the name, status, and/or standing.

POLICY # 15
Member Application Records

An audit trail of correspondence is historically essential to AFTE. It is significant to have such records when inquiries are made about individuals who are members and even for those whose applications have been rejected. Therefore, each applicant for AFTE shall have an individual file created by the Association Secretary from the original applications sent by the Membership Secretary.

It shall be the responsibility of the First Vice President as the Chairman of the Board of Admissions to send each AFTE applicant a letter identifying him/her as the point of contact while that individual's application is being processed. All categories of membership actions (upgrades to Regular, Provisional and Technical Advisors) will be treated the same. As a minimum, the letter should contain an explanation of the application process and how long the applicant might expect before official notification is received. The First Vice President shall provide the Association Secretary and the Membership Secretary with a copy of this letter and all correspondence in order to complete that individual's file. If the applicant is rejected, a copy of the President's letter notifying the individual that they have been rejected will also be forwarded to the applicant's file.

POLICY # 16
Committee Responsibilities and Records

When new committees are established, the President creating the committee shall articulate his desires with respect to the goals of that committee. It shall be the responsibility of the person accepting chair duties to prepare a written statement delineating the committee's responsibilities and direction as they understand them. The statement shall be forwarded to the President within thirty days for his/her review. Assuming no modifications are necessary, the President shall forward this document to the Association Secretary. The Secretary shall create a folder for each committee. Any official communications related to the committee's activities shall include a copy to the Association Secretary for inclusion in the committee file.

A copy of this policy letter will be given to each committee chair.

POLICY # 17
Distribution of Policy Letters

It shall be the responsibility of the Second Vice President to ensure that new incoming member(s) of the Board of Directors are provided with a copy of all policy letters before the next meeting of the Board.

POLICY # 18
Software Possession

AFTE shall purchase computer software for use by the Association officers, the Editor and the Webmaster for the conduct of Association business. All software bought by AFTE will remain the property of AFTE and shall be registered in AFTE's name. For the purposes of licensing, the mailing address of the association Treasurer shall generally be used. Any outgoing Association officer or chair shall pass their copies of Association software to their successors.

POLICY # 19
Minutes

It remains the responsibility of the Association Secretary to prepare the minutes of the Board of Directors meeting and the Annual Association business meeting. The minutes are critical historical recordings of the Association's business. To ensure the record is complete, the minutes will contain as a minimum, all motions, a brief synopsis of discussions relevant to the motion and the results of votes on those issues.

As an aid to the Secretary, one member-at-large will be designated by the Secretary to assist in whatever capacity he/she deems appropriate to ensure the activities of each meeting is thoroughly captured. The Secretary shall prepare a draft report of these meetings and provide them to the Board of Directors not more than forty-five days after the adjournment of such meetings.

Each member of the Board of Directors, will review the draft reports and notify the Secretary within fifteen working days of any omissions, errors or the need for clarification. Each Board member will be provided with a copy of any adjusted report. If no corrections are received by the Secretary, the report can be considered "official". The Secretary will notify the members of the Board when the minutes are to be considered "official". The minutes of the Annual Association business meeting should be published in the first AFTE Newsletter following the annual conference and becoming official.

POLICY # 20
Subscriber Status

A subscriber is not a category of membership. To alleviate any confusion, it shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer and Secretary to coordinate maintaining the subscription roster. The subscription application form shall notify subscribers that a subscription to the AFTE Journal does not carry with it any membership status.

POLICY # 21
E-Vote Policy

At the discretion of the President, all correspondence regarding issues being addressed by the Board will be documented via e-mail or the Board of Directors’ private “Board Room” forum on the AFTE web site. The Secretary will maintain a file of all motions and related e-discussions made and e-votes taken.

The voting procedure will be the following:

The President will call for a motion from a member of the BOD.
The motion will be seconded by another member of the BOD.
The President will call for any discussion by a termination date. The termination date must allow for at least a two-week period of time for discussion, or replies from each member of the BOD, at the discretion of the President.
Should any member of the Board feel at any time that discussion is inadequate through electronic media, he/she may request that the discussion and/or vote on the issue be held until the next BOD meeting.
When the termination date is reached, the President may call for any further discussion, proceed to call for a vote, or table the discussion until the next BOD meeting.

At each Board meeting, any e-votes made in the time period since the last Board meeting will be ratified and the results of that ratification will be recorded in the minutes.

Approved December 7, 2002

POLICY # 22
Maintenance of Digital Copies of AFTE Journals

The AFTE Journal Editor will maintain and also provide digital copies of each Journal to the Historian and the webmaster.

Approved May 25, 2003

POLICY # 23
Publication of Announcements

Publishing announcements beyond the scope of AFTE business will consist only of a basic announcement on the website and/or in the Newsletter for a relevant school or training. The announcement will include only basic information in text format only, with a point of contact, in fifty words or less. This may include name, phone number, fax or URL and will be restricted to AFTE related subjects. No graphics will be allowed. If there is a tuition charge for such training a nominal fee may be assessed at the Board’s discretion. Training announcements will not be published in the AFTE Journal.

Approved May 25, 2003

POLICY # 24
Distribution of Membership Directory (Roster)

It is the obligation of the Association to operate in such a manner as to protect the privacy of its members through the control of a member’s personal information (Policy # 14) and the membership directory (roster). In support of this obligation, the Association roster, as property of the Association, may be distributed or provided only within the following circumstances:

The membership roster has been made available through the Association’s web site, accessible through the member’s area (password protected). The names included on this roster are provided for member’s professional application and should not be distributed by an individual without permission.

A one-time usage of the roster may be provided to members who are engaged in survey research projects that would directly benefit the scientific advancement of the forensic field of firearm and toolmark identification. The approval will only be provided after a positive recommendation from the Research and Development Committee and a majority vote of the Board of Directors. In such instances, the researcher(s) agrees to maintain the confidentiality regarding the member’s information and share the research findings with the Association.

The roster may be released to other professional associations on a reciprocal exchange basis. In such instances, both associations will agree in writing not to resell the other’s listings nor use it for any purpose other than those explicitly agreed upon in the reciprocal exchange.

The membership list may be provided to applicable “for profit” forensic interests. The use of the list will be restricted to those whom the Board of Directors determines by a majority vote are a benefit to the membership. In such cases, the list would be provided at a minimum cost of fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) to be deposited into the Scholarship Account. All “for profit” users will be required to sign a “one-time use/non-sharing” agreement maintained by the Secretary.

The member roster will not be released for any purpose, other than those listed above, without direct approval from the Board of Directors, and will only contain the member’s Journal mailing address.

AFTE members may request their names be removed from the mailing list provided to individuals or groups outside of the Association by providing a written request addressed to the Secretary.

Approved June 5, 2009

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