1.   MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:

Membership of the Society shall consist of Full Members, Associate Members, Friends of the ACO, Honorary Members, and Life Time Membership

Section 2:

Any Camera Operator engaged in the production of Feature Films, Television Drama and / or Commercials, who has held the position of Camera Operator for at least 3 years, can show a wide range of skills, can demonstrate significant accomplishments in their field, can produce verifiable credits, and that such occupation has been the main source of income.

A Full Member must nominate candidates for Full Membership.

Full Members shall be elected to Membership by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Full Members will have a voting status, and can serve as a Board Member.

Full Members will have access to all ACO events, seminars, workshops and demonstrations, the use of the private area in the ACO Website and the use of the ACO letters after their name.

Section 3:

Associate Membership is intended for those individuals who, although working as a Camera Operator, do not qualify for Full Membership because such work is not their main source of income and cannot show a wide range of skills, cannot demonstrate significant accomplishments in their field, and cannot produce verifiable credits, they have not been operating for at least three years, as per Section (2) of the Rules.

A Full Member must nominate candidates for Associate Membership.

Associate Members shall be elected to membership by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Associate Members will have a non-voting status, and can’t serve as a Board Member.

Associate Members may apply for their status to be changed to Full Membership when they fulfil the requirements of Section (2), and this change in status must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Associate Members will have access to all ACO events, seminars, workshops, and demonstrations, the use of the Private area in the ACO Website, but the use of the ACO letters after their name is not permitted.

Section 4:

Any individual that does not qualify for either Full or Associate Membership, but that shares the aims of the ACO.

A Full Member must nominate candidates for Friends of the ACO Membership.

Friends of the ACO shall be elected to membership by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Friends of the ACO will have a non-voting status, and can’t serve as a Board Member.

Friends of the ACO may apply for their status to be changed to Associate Membership when they fulfil the requirements of Section (3), and this change in status must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Friends of the ACO Members will not have access to General Meetings unless specially invited, but to all other ACO events, Seminars, Workshops, and demonstrations, the use of the Private area in the ACO Website is not permitted, neither is the use of the ACO letters after their name.

Section 5:

Honorary Membership may be awarded to those persons who have notably contributed to and “fostered the advancement of the aims of the Association of Camera Operators (ACO).” Honorary Members shall be elected to membership by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, and shall have a non-voting status.

Section 6:

Life Time Membership may be awarded only to a Retired Member in good standing by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors, and shall have a non-voting status.

Section 7:

Any Full Member is privileged to invite qualified candidates for membership of the ACO. The Sponsoring Member must have first hand knowledge of that candidate's experience and qualifications and, if called upon to do so, be prepared to present unqualified support of the candidate. Upon request, the candidate shall be sent or given an application to apply for membership. The candidate shall then complete the application form in all respects, name, current address and phone number, qualifications, credits with dates, and time worked as a Camera Operator, and certify his/her willingness to meet the necessary requirements for membership. The completed application shall be signed by the Sponsoring Member prior to submission to the Board of Directors. Upon receipt of the completed application signed by the candidate, with an acknowledgment that he/she accepts and agrees to abide by the Rules of the ACO, the application shall be placed before the Board of Directors for acceptance or rejection.
A majority vote of the Board of Directors shall be necessary to admit an applicant to membership of the ACO. When accepted into membership, the approved application shall be signed by the Secretary with the date of acceptance noted thereon.

Section 8:

When an applicant for membership is accepted by the ACO, the Secretary shall provide the newly accepted member, as soon as possible, with a membership card and information on the online, current copies of the ACO ‘Articles of Agreement’ and the ‘Rules of the ACO’ plus passwords to the member’s forum.

Section 9:

It shall be the responsibility and duty of each member to read the online and abide by the ‘Articles of Agreement’ and the ‘Rules of the ACO’, to maintain the highest of craft standards, to assume the obligation of maintaining his or her membership in good standing, to attend at least a yearly General Membership meeting, to exercise your vote, to serve as a member a committee when necessary or at least once a year.

Should the status of a member change such that they no longer fulfil the requirements of Section (2), it is the Members responsibility to inform the Board, and the Board of Directors shall then consider any appropriate change in membership status, to be decided by majority vote.

2.   MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1:

Voting by the Board of Directors only take place either at duly convened or constituted meetings of the Board in session, or by email between the Board members. In the case of email voting, a clear proposition should be posted, and all Board members must register their vote for a proposition to be carried by a majority of the Board. In the event of an emergency, and a vote is required, the President may poll the entire Board by phone, fax or mail.

Five (5) members of the Board of Governors shall constitute a quorum at all duly convened meetings of the Board.

Section 2:

All Full Members have the right to apply or be proposed to be a Member of the Board of Directors

This elections will be schedule once (1) a year

Section 3:

The President of the Association of Camera Operators (ACO) will hold office for a maximum period of two (2) years, reviewed by the General Membership at the annual general meeting.

Section 4:

The Vice-President of the Association of Camera Operators (ACO) will hold office for a maximum period of two (2) years review by the General Membership at the annual general meeting.

Section 5:

The Secretary of the Association of Camera Operators (ACO) will hold office for a maximum period of two (2) years review by the General Membership at the annual general meeting.

Section 6:

The Treasurer of the Association of Camera Operators (ACO) will hold office for a maximum period of two (2) years review by the General Membership at the annual general meeting.

3.   COMMITTEES

Section 1:

The ACO shall have committees appointed for special pur¬poses, as may be required, and their appointment overseen by appointed committee chairmen. These committees shall be composed of members in good standing.

Section 2:

Each committee shall have the power to fix its own time and place of meetings, and to adopt rules of order and course of proceedings consistent with the Articles of Agreement and the Rules of the ACO. Each committee Chairman shall make written reports to the Board of Directors as to progress, recommendations, or conclusions of his or her committee.

Section 3:

For voting, a majority of the appointed Committee Members shall constitute a quorum.

Section 4:

Committee Chairmen and/or Committee Members are not authorized to commit or obligate the ACO in any way without specific authorization from the Board of Directors.

4.   GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

Section 1:

The ACO shall hold annual General Membership meetings and at such other time or times as may be designated by the Board of Directors.

There shall be an annual meeting of the General Membership, at which time the Board of Directors shall present a review of the progress of the ACO for the past year and the Treasurer shall give a complete financial report. The date, time, and place shall be determined by the Board of Directors and notification thereof made to the General Membership.

Section 2:

Notice of every membership meeting shall be given either by e-mail or by announcement on the member’s forum not less than seven (7) days before the date of the meeting. The notice shall state the place, date, time of, and agenda for, the meeting.

Section 3:

Twenty percent of the Members shall constitute a quorum at any duly convened and constituted General Membership meeting.

5.   VOTING OF MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:

If a meeting is schedule with an agenda there will be an opportunity for the members to discuss this agenda in the days leading up to the meeting on the forum and any resolution posted before the meeting by the members is open to change at the meeting.
In that case those modified resolutions will be posted on the forum website with a deadline for voting of a further 3 days following such a posting.
Under exceptional circumstances (not enough votes etc) this might be extended by the Board of Directors.
Resolutions or Statements of Policy or intent can be posted by the Board and the deadline under these circumstances will be 5 days
A majority vote should be sought in any membership decision

Section 2:

An ACO Member, unable to attend a General Membership meeting, may give explicit written and signed authorization to another ACO Member in good standing, who will be in attendance at that meeting, to vote in his or her behalf on all, or specific, matters which may come before the assembled membership at that specific meeting.
In addition to his or her own vote, an ACO Member in good standing in attendance may represent the vote of just one other ACO Member.
Such signed proxies must be presented to the Secretary for validation prior to voting at any ACO meeting. Valid proxies shall not exceed fifty (50%) per cent of the voting membership in attendance at that meeting. Should valid proxies exceed that number, the first proxies presented and validated which fall within that percentage shall be allowed to vote and be counted.
The above procedure shall apply equally to members of the Board of Directors for all Board meetings."