ASHI Bylaw Certification Committee Vote Under Way

ASHI’s voting members (ASHI Certified Inspectors and Retired Members in good standing) are being asked to approve the following revisions to the ASHI Bylaws, which are required by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) to complete the process of ASHI becoming a certifying body:

MOTION:  The ASHI Board of Directors and the Bylaws Committee recommend and approve that the following Bylaw additions be submitted to the members for a vote to complete the final requirement of the NCCA accreditation process. 

Article 6.3 –  Executive Director

6.3 The Board may, on behalf of the Society, retain an Executive Director, who shall be an ex officio non-voting member of the Board, the Council, and the Certification Committee. (member of the Board and Council with no vote.)

Article 7 – Officers

7.4.1 The President shall be Chairperson of the Board and an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee, Certification Committee and the Complaints Committee. He shall vote only on the Board, and only to break a tie.

Article 8 – Committees

8.2 Standing Committees.  All standing committees shall have a minimum of three members, including a chairperson appointed by the President and approved by the Board, unless otherwise noted herein. The President may terminate membership on any standing committee except the Nominating Committee, Certification Committee and the Complaints Committee. Each standing committee shall perform the duties described by these Bylaws and such other duties as may be directed by the Board. The standing committees shall be appointed at or immediately after each Annual Meeting to serve until the next Annual Meeting or until their respective successors are appointed. The standing committees follow.

8.2.7 The Certification Committee shall independently govern the ASHI Certification Program and have authority over all essential program decisions.

a. The Committee shall adopt operating policy subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors.
b. The Committee’s budget shall be a part of ASHI’s overall operating budget.
c. The Committee shall consist of seven (7) voting members serving a staggered two year term with a term limit of two (2) terms. No member of the Board of Directors (except for ex officio non-voting members) or members of the Education Committee may serve on the Committee.

1. Each year, two ASHI Certified members will be nominated by the Officers Nomination Committee and elected by secret ballot of the membership in the manner stated in 7.2.2.

Petition candidates are eligible in the manner stated in 7.2.4.

2. Each year, one ASHI Certified member will be appointed by the President Elect and approved by the Board. 

3. One public member shall be appointed for a two- (2) year term by the six (6) ASHI Certification Committee members.

Members are encouraged to vote yes as an affirmation of the rigorous, but fair and equitable, process they went through to become full members — a process that sets them apart from other home inspectors and the reason many joined ASHI.

ASHI’s Annual Elections

Officers: Officer nominations closed Aug. 15 and the matrices submitted by ASHI Certified Inspectors seeking an officer’s position for 2010 were turned over to the Officers Nominating Committee.

The committee is charged with identifying and naming candidates who meet ASHI’s leadership requirements for the offices of president-elect, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Those who submitted matrices meeting the submission requirements, but were not slated by the committee, may have their names placed on the ballot by petition.

Petitions: After the Nominating Committee names its candidates, a petition of 10 percent of ASHI Certified Inspectors in good standing can cause the name of a qualified ASHI Certified Inspector to be added to the ballot for a specific office.

Petitions must be presented on a special form available only from ASHI Headquarters and require the name (printed) and the signature of each petitioner, as well as the office in which the petitioner would serve, if elected.
The form must be received by mail or fax at headquarters at least 10 days prior to the distribution of the ballots. Staff will verify the validity of the petition prior to placing the name of a candidate for office on the ballot.

Ballots will be mailed to ASHI Certified Inspectors by Oct. 31, 2009, and the election will close Dec. 5, 2009.

Campaigning: Campaigning positively by or about any candidate is permissible as long as no ASHI assets are used. Staff, Nominating Committee and Election Committee members shall not participate in campaigning. Nominees or petition candidates for an officer or board of director position may purchase mailing labels or lists of qualified voting members’ contact information from headquarters at cost. Negative campaigning (against candidates or nominees) is not permitted. The Election Committee should preview campaign statements or materials in advance if there is any uncertainty about the appropriateness of their contents.

Directors: The Director Nominating Committee is charged with creating a slate of five new, non-officer board members and one alternate from the matrices received from ASHI Certified Inspectors in good standing who served a minimum of one year on the Council of Representatives for a term beginning no later than
Oct. 1, 2008.

Nominations closed Aug. 15, 2009. Ballots will be mailed to council representatives on Oct. 31, 2009.

If you have questions, please contact Jeff Arnold at
jeffa@ashi.org or 847-954-3182.

Ballots: Ballots will be counted the first week in December and election results will be published in the January 2010 issue of the ASHI Reporter. Comments and questions about the nomination process are welcome. Please contact ASHI Headquarters.

Deadline for Award Nomination Nears

Nominations for the Philip C. Monahon and John Cox Awards close Oct. 1, 2009.

Monahon Award Criteria: The recipient must be an ASHI Certified Inspector who is dedicated to the goals and ideals of ASHI as stated in ASHI’s Code of Ethics and, as a member, has rendered outstanding contributions to ASHI for a minimum of five (5) years. Contributions consist of time, talent or expertise that has been beneficial to the society, its members and the general public that ASHI ultimately serves.

Cox Award Criteria: The recipient must be an ASHI Certified Inspector who has rendered outstanding service to an ASHI chapter, either over a period of years or under circumstances that are special and may not occur again. Each chapter may submit the name and biography of one individual for the John E. Cox Award.

Forms: Nomination forms for both awards are on www.HomeInspector.org. Log in as a member and go to the Members section, Documents and Forms. If you’d like a nomination form faxed to you, call 847-759-1620 or e-mail hq@ashi.org.

The ASHI Chapter Enterprise Award
For this competition, ASHI chapters are categorized according to size. The chapter in each of two categories with the highest percentage of registered members to attend InspectionWorld is awarded a Chapter Enterprise Award, which includes $750.

There are a few additional guidelines, but the purpose of the award is simple – to encourage chapter members to participate in InspectionWorld together. Find the story behind the award and complete guidelines on www.HomeInspector.org/Members Only/Chapters/Other Chapter Forms and Tools. Questions? Contact Russell Daniels at russelld@ashi. org.