IEEE ATLANTA SECTION OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES _Updated 7/2024

In all instances, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Constitution and Bylaws, IEEE Policies, and Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Operations Manual shall prevail when there is a conflict between these documents and Section Bylaws.

ARTICLE I – Name and Territory

Section 1

This organization shall be known as the IEEE Atlanta Section.

Section 2

The territory of the Atlanta Section shall include the entire northern Georgia area surrounding the Metropolitan-Atlanta region, which includes those locations contained in the following 3-digit zip codes: 300, 301, 302, 303, 305, 306, 307, and 311, excluding Wilkes and Taliaferro counties, which are contained in the Central Savannah River Section.

ARTICLE II – Membership

Section 1

Section members are those individuals, of Associate or higher grade membership, residing within the boundaries of the Section, or who live or work in a neighboring Section and have requested Contiguous Section Membership (refer to MGA guidelines on this) status from the Member and Geographic Activities Department.

Section 2

Section members with the grade Associate or higher may vote in Section elections. Student members are not eligible to vote in Section elections. IEEE Society Affiliates are not members of the Section, but they will be notified of Section events and are welcome to participate.

Section 3

Section members having a grade of Graduate Student Member or higher may hold elected office, or chair a Section Committee. Students and Associate members may not hold office nor chair a committee.

ARTICLE III – Management

Section 1

The management of the Atlanta Section shall be performed by a Section Executive Committee (ExCom), comprised of the following designated section members:

1. Elected Executive Officers of the Section (as defined in ARTICLE IV)
2. Elected Subunit Chairs or an appointed representative (as defined in ARTICLE V)

Section 2

A quorum shall be necessary for the Section ExCom to conduct the business of the Section. A majority of the voting members of the Section ExCom shall constitute a quorum. ExCom meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order (latest version) as the standard parliamentary authority.

Section 3

Meetings of the Section ExCom ordinarily shall be held bimonthly and shall be called by the Section Chair or by a request of any three members of the Section ExCom.

Section 4

The fiscal year of the Section shall be 1 January – 31 December. The ExCom constituted for each fiscal year shall hold a meeting on or before January 31 of that year to approve an operating budget for the year, compliant with the policies stated in ARTICLE VIII. The previous-year ExCom may approve a transitional budget, extending to January 31 of the following year, to provide for continual operation of the Section’s business.

Section 5

The Section Chair and/or Section Officers shall form Program Committees, as described in ARTICLE VI, to coordinate the routine operation of the Section’s initiatives. The Section Chair and/or Section Officers shall retain full oversight of all committee activities.

ARTICLE IV – Executive Officers

Section 1

The Executive Officers of the Section, as defined in the MGA Operations Manual, shall be:

1. Chair
2. Vice Chair
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer

The duties of the Section Executive Officers are defined in the MGA Operations Manual. If available to serve, the immediate Past Chair of the Section shall be considered a voting member of the ExCom.      .

Section 2

The Executive Officers of the Section shall be elected by the Section membership, as prescribed in ARTICLE VII. The term  of office of the elected officers shall be 1 calendar year (January 1st through December 31st).

Section 3

Outgoing officers shall continue to serve until their successors are declared and assume office. The consecutive period of service in any one office shall normally not exceed four years but if circumstances require a longer term, it could be a maximum of 6 years with R3 Director approval for the additional 2 years. An officer shall not serve in any one position within a single organizational unit for a total of more than six years. Exceptions to this rule require approval by the Region Director who will annually report such exceptions to the MGA Board.    

Section 4

Any vacancy occurring during the year shall be filled by a majority vote of the ExCom.

ARTICLE V – Subunits

Section 1

The Section shall encourage the formation of subunits, including Society Chapters and IEEE-sponsored Affinity Groups. The Section shall support the efforts of subunits to serve the members.

Section 2

Management of the subunits will be directed by the Section ExCom, and governed as detailed in these bylaws. The Section Executive Officers will supervise all operations of the subunits, including financial activity and officer election (or, where appropriate, officer selection).

Section 3

Subunits shall be encouraged to exercise separate control of their operations, provided such control is compliant with rules and procedures of the IEEE, MGA, and the Atlanta Section ExCom. Subunits shall be permitted to directly manage their financial operations via separate financial accounts whenever applicable, provided all such management is compliant with the financial activity requirements of the IEEE.

Section 4

Subunits shall be encouraged to elect a chair, and other officers as appropriate, according to the procedure prescribed in ARTICLE VII. Each subunit chair or an assigned representative, duly elected according to the procedure detailed in ARTICLE VII, shall serve as a full voting member of the Section ExCom, as described in ARTICLE III.

ARTICLE VI – Program Committees

Section 1

The Section ExCom shall form Program Committees to coordinate the routine operation of the Section’s program activities. Each Committee shall have a Chair, appointed by the Section Chair. Each Committee Chair shall appoint his/her Committee members, with the approval of the Section ExCom.

Section 2

Once appointed, Program Committees shall normally continue to operate, without change in mission or composition, unless/until the Section ExCom dissolves the committee or approves successor appointments. The terms of Committee Chair and/or Committee Member, although not term-limited, may be adjusted by the Section ExCom due to varying requirements. Committee Chair and member terms shall not normally expire, but the Section ExCom may create, re-charter, or eliminate a Program Committee, or change the committee composition and Chair, at any time deemed appropriate by the ExCom.

Section 3

At a minimum, each annual ExCom is expected to maintain the following ‘Standing Committees’ to manage programs related to particular initiatives defined in the MGA Operations Manual:

1.      Awards and Recognition
2.      Conferences
3.      K-12 Activities and STEM
4.      Membership Development
5.      Professional Activities (PACE)
6.      Student Activities
7.      Election Committee

Each Program Committee formed by the Section ExCom, when pursuing a program initiative consistent with one or more MGA Standing Committees shall use the operating principles of the relevant committee(s) as the basis for Section’s Committee’s operations.

ARTICLE VII – Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1

An Election Committee consists of 3 or more members, which may also include the current officers of the Section, not intending to stand as candidates for office. The Election Committee shall be appointed by the Section Chair with the approval of the Section Executive Officers, wherein the committee chair shall be selected by the Section Chair. If available to serve, the Election Committee shall include the immediate Past Chair of the Section, but may  not serve as Chair of the Election Committee.   The Election Committee shall be responsible for selecting one or more qualified candidates (with active membership by June 1st) for each of the elected offices listed in ARTICLE IV.

Section 2

The Election Committee shall be announced to the Section membership and a call for nominations shall be held open for a minimum of 30 days. Any member eligible to vote in Section elections may nominate an individual for office. The Election committee shall certify that each individual nominated for office is eligible and willing to serve in the office listed.

Section 3

The Election Committee will select from all nominations at least two but not more than three candidates for each position elected at-large, and submit the slate of candidates to the Section Executive Officers for ratification. Once the initial slate is approved by the Executive officers, a petition period will be open for 15 days to submit any additional petitions. In the case where the slate that is submitted for ratification consists of a single candidate, the Election committee may recommend to the Section Chair and the Region Director an approval of proceeding with the election process with a single candidate slate.

Section 4

The timetable for this procedure is as follows:

Appointment of Election Committee: no later than 1 June

Announcement of Election Committee/Call for nominations: no later than 15 July

Close nominations: no later than 31 August    

Initiate Petition call:  no later than 17 September

Close Petition call: no later than 1 October

Finalize slate of candidates by ExCom members:  no later than 15 October

Begin voting: no later than 1 November    

End voting: no later than 1 December

Ballot shall be cast via vTools before:  1 December

Section 5

A plurality of the votes cast shall be necessary for election.

ARTICLE VIII – Finances

Section 1

Without prior authorization of the IEEE Executive Committee, Section funds can be used only for normal operations of the Section. Particular activities that fall outside of normal operations include donations, establishment of scholarship funds, and investment of funds outside of the IEEE Investment Program. Additional information is available from IEEE Financial Services Staff.

Section 2

A Section budget must be approved by a majority vote of the Section ExCom prior to January 31 of the fiscal year. The budget may be amended during the year by majority vote of the Section ExCom as necessary.

Section 3

All expenditures of Section funds shall be for designated areas approved for expenditure by the Section budget. The Chair, Vice Chair, or Treasurer may approve individual expenditures consistent with the Section budget.

Section 4

The Section Chair, Vice Chair, or Treasurer shall be authorized to draw funds from Section accounts as approved by the Section ExCom.

Section 5

If permitted by government and banking regulations, all unit bank accounts will provide for the signature authority of the IEEE Staff Director of Financial Services.

ARTICLE IX – Amendments

Section 1

Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may originate in the Section ExCom or by a petition signed by 25 or more voting members. Amendments may be approved by a two-thirds vote of the full Section ExCom only after every Section ExCom member has had a minimum 30-days to review and consider the amendment.

Section 2

Amendments to or revocation of these Bylaws shall be in accordance with the IEEE Bylaws,  MGA Bylaws and MGA Operations Manual. Such amendments must be reviewed by IEEE Staff, and approved by the Region 3 Director and MGA.

IEEE Atlanta Section Centennial History – Key Events

January 19, 1904 – The Atlanta Section of the AIEE holds its first meeting. The section consists of 19 members, 5 of which are students.

June 23, 1914 – The Georgia Tech AIEE student chapter holds its first official meeting.

1923 – Charles Adist, a widely recognized hydroelectric expert and official of the Georgia Railway and Power Company, is named an AIEE Fellow. (He is believed to be the first AIEE Fellow named from the Southeast U.S.)

1924 – The Atlanta Association of Radio Engineers, predecessor to the IRE, is organized.

July 16, 1927 – The Atlanta Section of the IRE is established and holds its first meeting. The section is the first in the Southeast U.S.

1946 – The Georgia Tech student chapter of the IRE is established.

January 1, 1963 – The AIEE and the IRE merge to become the IEEE. At the time, there are 918 registered members in the Atlanta Section.

May 2012 – The Graduates of the Last Decade affinity group is established.

North Georgia Electrical/Electronics Technology – Key Events

1906 A 66 kV transmission line connecting Gainesville to Atlanta is completed. It is only the 2nd such line to be completed in the U.S.

1913 The connection of the Georgia system to the Southern Power Company distribution lines in South Carolina attracts national attention and sets an important precedent for the large scale exchange of electrical energy between independent systems and across state lines.

1942 Just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government announces plans to build a major new bomber plant – Air Force Plant #6 – in Marietta, GA. The plant is operated first by the Bell Aircraft Co. and later by Lockheed.

June 30, 1968 The largest aircraft in the world, the Lockheed C-5A, manufactured in Georgia, makes its first flight. Its complex avionics suite includes 38 antennas.

1969 The Western Electric Corporation announces plans to build “the world’s largest cable-producing plant” in Norcross, GA. The plant is completed and opens in 1972.

November 14, 1975 The first successful laboratory demonstration of a telephone system using fiber optics is conducted at Bell Laboratories, Atlanta.

December 6, 1976 The nation’s first “superstation,” Ted Turner’s WTBS in Atlanta, begins relaying its TV programs via satellite to North America.

1977 Dennis Hayes and Dale Heatherington begin shipping modems out of Hayes’ home near Ogelthorpe University. Their new firm quickly becomes one of the most popular and successful producers of modems.

September 15, 1980 The first permanent commercial telephone system (totaling 6.5 miles in length) to use fiber optic cable is installed by Southern Bell in the metro Atlanta area.

1994 Charles Brewer founds Mindspring Enterprises, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), in Atlanta. He starts his business with only 8 modems and 32 non-paying customers.

Sources – IEEE Headquarters – IEEE Region 3 Centennial Compendium, compiled by Robert Duggan (1984)

AIEE Atlanta Section Officers

IEEE Atlanta Section Officers