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  • VESS Bylaws

Article I – Name

The name of this organization shall be the “Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society” (hereinafter the “Society”). Formerly Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, Established in 1976

Article II – Mission and Objectives

The Mission of the Society shall be to improve the quality and safety of vascular & endovascular surgical procedures and general vascular care through education, scholarship, advocacy and leadership.

The Objectives of the Society shall be:

  1. To provide a diverse and inclusive forum for the early career vascular surgeon.
  2. To promote basic, translational, clinical health services research pertaining to vascular and endovascular surgery.
  3. To educate vascular surgeons on effective procedures, therapies and approaches to care.

The Society shall carry on activities:

  • As a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501 (C) (3), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law), or;
  • As a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170; Furthermore, no part of the net income of the Society or its property or assets shall at any time inure to the benefit of any individual member, or of any private individual, or be used to promote the candidacy of any person seeking political office.

Article III – Membership

There shall be six types of membership:

  1. Active
  2. Inactive
  3. Honorary
  4. Candidate
  5. Associate
  6. Medical Student
  1. Active Membership of this Society shall be limited to physicians of good professional standing who have completed an ACGME-approved vascular surgical residency or fellowship, or equivalent foreign advanced training, who have a sustained major interest and active practice in vascular and endovascular surgery and who are certified or eligible for certification by the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery or its equivalent.  Active Members shall be required to pay annual dues.  Active members have voting privileges, can serve on committees, sponsor new member applications as well as submit and sponsor papers for presentation at the annual meeting. Active Members who have been in practice for greater than 15 years may complete their term of elected office but are ineligible for any new position.  This same group of Active Members may sponsor but may not present papers at Society meetings nor may they apply for or receive any grant funding.
  2. Inactive Membership shall be granted to Members upon receipt of written request.  Inactive members will no longer receive a subscription to the Journal.  Inactive members are not required to pay annual dues, nor are they allowed to sponsor new member applications or papers submitted to the annual meeting. Inactive members may reactivate their membership by requesting in writing and paying all back dues or three times the current year’s dues.
  3. Honorary Membership shall be granted to individuals at the discretion of the Executive Council.  Honorary Members pay no dues and are not eligible for election as Society officers.
  4. Candidate Membership shall be granted to participants who are in good professional standing in an ACGME accredited general surgery, or vascular training programs recognized by the Society. Candidate Members must provide the name of their program and program director on their application.  Candidate Members may serve on Committees but shall have no voting rights.  Candidate Members may present papers at the annual meeting if sponsored by an Active Member.  Candidate Members may be promoted to Active Membership upon completion of their vascular surgery training and upon receipt by the society office, of a copy of their vascular surgery training certificate or a letter of endorsement from an Active VESS member Sponsor. At that time, the newly promoted Active Member will be bound by the requirements of active membership in the society.
  5. Associate Membership shall be limited to non-vascular trained physicians and surgeons with either an MD or DO degree, scientists active in vascular research, physician extenders in vascular specialties (RN’s, PA’s, NP’s) and/or vascular technologists. These members shall pay half dues, have no voting rights, and may not be elected as officers of the society.  They may, however, submit abstracts and papers to meetings for presentation.
  6. Medical Student Membership shall be open to those enrolled in an accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school.

Article IV – Election of Members

The process of election of active members to the Society shall be as follows:

  1. Membership enrollment in the Society shall be completed via electronic application through the website.
  2. Completed applications shall be submitted 3 months prior to any scheduled business meeting, at which time the candidate shall be considered for election. A recommendation from an active society member is required to complete the application.
  3. The names of the applicants recommended for membership by the Executive Committee shall be submitted to the members at the business meeting.
  4. Election to membership shall be by secret ballot, by a three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote of the membership present.
  5. An applicant who fails to be elected at one meeting may be reconsidered at the next two business meetings of the Society.

Article V – Dues and Fees

  1. Dues and fees shall be levied by the Executive Committee and approved by the membership at the annual meeting.
  2. Any member whose dues remain unpaid for a period of three years shall be dropped from membership, provided that notification of such lapse is given at least three months prior to its effective date. The member may be reinstated on approval of the Executive Committee following payment of the dues in arrears.

Article VI – Resignations, Expulsions

  1. Resignations of members otherwise in good standing shall be accepted by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
  2. Charges of unprofessional or unethical conduct against any member of the Society, if proffered in writing and submitted to the Executive Committee, must be acted upon within one year. The Executive Committee’s concurrence or disallowance of the charges shall be presented to the membership at the annual meeting. A three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote of the members present shall be required for expulsion.

Article VII – Officers: Elections and Duties

  1. The officers of this Society shall consist of a president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer, and recorder; all to be elected as provided in these bylaws.
  2. The president shall preside at Executive Committee meetings and the Annual Meeting. Successors to vacated offices of the Society shall be appointed by the president until the position is filled at the next annual meeting.
  3. The president and president-elect of the Society shall be elected for terms of one year each. The secretary, treasurer &recorder, shall be elected for three-year terms; and councilors at large shall be elected for 2-year terms.
  4. The president-elect, in the absence or incapacity of the president, shall perform the duties of the president’s office.
  5. In the absence of both the president and president-elect, the chair shall be assumed by a president pro tempore, elected by such members of the Executive Committee as are present.
  6. The secretary shall keep minutes at the meetings of the Society and the Executive Committee, update the Executive Committee on membership database and new applicant files and conduct correspondence of the Society. The Secretary will issue an annual written report at the Annual Meeting.
  7. The Treasurer shall receive all monies and funds belonging to the Society, pay all bills, render bills for dues and assessments, and report to the membership at the annual meeting. The treasurer will prepare an annual report for audit.
  8. The Recorder shall receive all papers presented before the Society. The recorder shall be responsible for assuring prompt editorial review of manuscripts in concert with other Society members.
  9. The Councilors-at-large shall be elected for two-year terms, with election of two councilors occurring annually so as to provide overlapping terms.

Article VIII – Executive Committee

  1. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the president, president- elect, secretary, treasurer, recorder, councilors-at-large, and the two most recent past presidents.
  2. Committee Chairs shall be non-voting members of the EC and are invited to attend the Executive Committee Meetings and Conference Calls at the direction of the President.
  3. The Executive Committee shall be the governing body of the Society and shall have full power to manage and act on all affairs of the Society.
  4. Executive Committee meetings shall be held at the call of the president of the Society.
  5. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
  6. All members of the executive committee will be required to complete a conflict of interest declaration prior to their appointment. This declaration must be approved by a majority of the remaining executive committee members.  If the executive committee requests, the member must divest themselves of a designated conflict of interest prior to assumption of the appointment.  A conflict of interest is defined as any direct financial reimbursement to an individual or their spouse.  It does not include non-specified research contributions to an institution.

Article IX – Committees and Representatives

Standing committees of the Society shall consist of a nominating committee, a spring program committee, a winter program committee, a grants & scholarship committee, a fundraising committee, a bylaws committee, a membership development committee, a diversity, equity & inclusion committee, a vascular resident education committee, a student education committee and a communications committee.

The Nominating Committee shall consist of the current president in office, the president-elect and the three most recent past presidents. Its functions shall be to make up a slate of officers for the Society, and to nominate representatives to affiliated societies to be presented to the Executive Committee at the annual meeting. The proposed slate shall then be presented for vote during the Annual Member Business Meeting.

Representatives shall be appointed by the nominating committee in concert with the Executive Committee to serve on the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors, American College of Surgeons Advisory Council for Surgical Specialties, Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Executive Committee. Each representative shall serve a three-year term unless otherwise noted by the Executive Committee. From time to time, as other organizations may seek representation from the Society, additional representatives shall be appointed in a similar manner outlined above.

The Spring Program Committee shall work in concert with the SVS Program Committee to select papers and make up the program for upcoming meetings.  The Spring Program Chair shall be named by the Executive Committee and serve a term of two years. The Committee will consist of 6 additional society members serving a term of two years each, with three members alternating years in such a manner as to allow for overlap.

The Winter Program Committee shall solicit papers and other presentations from members and other individuals and make up the programs for upcoming meetings.  The Winter Program Chair shall be named by the Executive Committee and serve a term of one year.  The Executive Committee will also name a Vice Chair for the Winter Program Committee for continuity.  The Vice Chair will advance to the Chair.   Winter Program Committee members will be asked to serve as ad hoc reviews for manuscripts presented at the Winter Meeting and submitted to Annals of Vascular Surgery for publication.

The Grants & Scholarships Committee shall review all applications submitted for any of the Society’s educational grants.  Applications will be scored and ranked, and winners will be chosen and submitted to the Executive Committee and announced at the Annual Winter Meeting.

The function of the Fundraising Committee shall be to research and implement comprehensive fundraising campaigns to support the Society.

The function of the Bylaws Committee is to review the By-Laws from time to time as directed by the Council and when appropriate, make recommendations regarding amendments. The committee will also be charged with developing policies and procedures for the Society.

The function of the Membership Development Committee is to review all applications and present their nominations for membership to the Executive Committee for review and ratification at the Annual Business Meeting. The Committee shall also assist the Secretary with membership development and expansion campaigns.

The function of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee is to identify and promote ways to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in vascular surgery, and encourage women and minorities to actively participate in the society and its committees.

The Communications Committee shall consist of two sub-committees:

  1. Website sub-committee that is responsible for all web-based and electronic communication, maintenance of the Society website and social media accounts.
  2. Newsletter sub-committee is responsible for population of content for the membership newsletters.

The function of the Vascular Trainee Education Committee is to organize to plan and execute programming for Fellows, Residents & Early Career Surgeons at the VESS Annual Meeting and other initiatives focused on the education and recruitment of Vascular Surgery Trainees.

The function of the Student Education Committee is to organize and execute the Student Mentor Program during the VESS Annual Meeting and other initiatives focused on the education and recruitment of medical students.

Article X – Meetings

  1. The Society shall hold an annual meeting, customarily in winter, and held at a time and place selected by the Executive Committee.
  2. The business meeting of the Society shall be conducted during the annual meeting.
  3. All active members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting one year out of every three years. There is no attendance requirement for any other member category.
  4. Special meetings may be called at any time by the president, or a simple majority of the Executive Committee.

Article XI – Quorum

The members present at any official meeting of the society shall constitute a quorum necessary to change the constitution and bylaws of the Society, to make assessments, to authorize appropriations or expenditures of money other than those required in the routine business of the Society, to elect officers and members, and to expel members.

Article XII – Alterations, Repeal

Bylaws may be altered or repealed at the annual meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the members present.

Article XIII – Procedure

Proceedings of the Society shall be conducted under Robert’s Rules of Order.

Amended – August, 2012

Amended – February, 2013

Amended – January, 2014

Amended – February, 2016

Amended – February 2018

Amended – February 2019

Amended – June 2020

Amended – January 2021

Amended – January 2022

Amended – February 2023