CONTENTS
Preamble
Article 1: Purpose of the Organization
Article 2: Representatives
Article 3: Officers
Article 4: Meetings
Article 5: Miscellaneous Provisions

PREAMBLE

The intent of the PC Thailand VAC is for volunteers to work collegially and positively with each other and the Peace Corps Thailand staff. The committee is intended as a forum for discussions regarding the good of the community of volunteers as a whole. The PC Thailand VAC is intended to serve as a roundtable discussion, a think tank of sorts, for ideas, issues, problems and successes to be considered, refined and shared with PC Thailand Staff. The founders strongly encourage all subsequent groups and individual VAC representatives to always strive for an egalitarian, open, transparent supportive means of conducting VAC business, disavowing any potential or actual amassing or exertion of personal or group political power or influence.
ARTICLE I
PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION

1.01 The Volunteer Advisory Council (the "VAC" or "the Committee") acts as advocate and intermediary for the Peace Corps Volunteers ("PCVs") in conjunction with the Peace Corps Country Director and staff on issues affecting living and working conditions of the PCVs in country. As such, the “Members” (or the “Representatives”) shall be in frequent communication with the PCVs and the Country Director, both individually and as members of the VAC.

1.02 VAC Representatives shall discharge their duties faithfully by attending regularly scheduled meetings of the VAC and advocating to the best of their ability the PCVs' values, issues and concerns. VAC reps shall endeavor to suspend personal opinions for the sake of representing their respective group as a whole, while attending and participating in meetings.

1.03 The Peace Corps Thailand staff, in the person of the Country Director or, when applicable, another senior staff member appointed by the Country Director, shall be a non-voting member of the council with the same duties of attendance at meetings as the regularly elected representatives. It shall be the duty of the Country Director to respond to the Committee’s concerns in the manner required by these by-laws. PC staff recognizes that the views expressed by VAC reps are representative of their group as a whole and not their own personal views.

1.04 All PCVs, on their own initiative or through their elected representatives, and all Peace Corps staff members shall have the right to petition the Committee to consider an issue. Any PCVs or staff who so desire may request that their names be kept confidential. All PCVS are encouraged to consider and discuss with their VAC representative whether a particular individual issue is in fact an individual issue or whether it affects all volunteers. If the latter is the case, PCVs are encouraged to channel their issue through VAC representatives instead of consulting PC staff directly.


ARTICLE II
REPRESENTATIVES

2.01 Each project group duly sworn into service in Peace Corps Thailand shall provide the VAC with representation based upon their group’s total number of volunteers at the time of swearing in. Representation will be proportional based around 1 representative per 20 volunteers. For example, group sizes from 1-20 volunteers will elect 1 representative; groups with 21-40 volunteers shall elect 2 reps and so forth.

2.02 Election of Incoming Representatives. Incoming representatives from groups newly sworn in to PC Thailand shall be nominated and elected to the VAC from the pool of eligible Volunteers. Current VAC members shall aide in this process by explaining the VAC purpose to new groups during PST. . Incoming groups shall be notified of the need to elect their representatives no less than two weeks before the election. Prior to the election each interested nominee will be allowed five minutes to speak to their other trainees and explain why they are interested in serving on the VAC. All efforts should be made to avoid conflicts of interest.

2.03 Election of MID TERM Representatives. Midterm representatives to the VAC shall be nominated and elected from the pool of eligible Volunteers per group. Groups shall be notified of the need to elect their representatives no less than two weeks before the election. Prior to the election each interested nominee will be allowed five minutes to speak to their other trainees and explain why they are interested in serving on the VAC. All efforts should be made to avoid conflicts of interest. First year representatives will coordinate elections for their respective groups. Elections for second year representatives will occur at Mid-Service Conference. One outgoing representative from each project will attend the first meeting after Midterm elections to help with facilitating transferal of responsibilities.

2.04 EXTENDING VOLUNTEERS. A single voting position is available for the extending community, which they may fill as they deem appropriate.

2.05 Term of Service. Representatives will serve for a term of one year, or until the next scheduled election of their group. Representatives may be elected for a second term if they desire to run for a second term.

2.06 Resignation. Any representative may resign at any time by written notice delivered or sent to the Members of the VAC. Such resignations shall take effect at the time specified and, unless specifically requested, acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. If a Representative ceases to be a PCV prior to the end of the term, such Representative shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.

2.07 Removal. Any representative may be removed from the VAC at any time, with or without cause by a two-thirds vote of that Representative's group.

2.08 Vacancies. When any vacancy exists or occurs among the representatives prior to the conclusion of a term, whether voluntary or involuntary, it is at the discretion of that representative’s group to decide if they want to fill the vacancy and then subsequently hold an election to fill the vacancy. However if the affected group chooses to elect a replacement, that election must be accomplished within 30 days.
ARTICLE III
OFFICERS

3.01 Election of Officers. The officers of the Committee shall consist of a Facilitator and a Secretary.

a) The facilitator will rotate every meeting, starting with the most senior group and proceeding through each group ordered by seniority. The Facilitator for each meeting will be determined at the end of the previous meeting and will be chosen from the next group in the rotation. If there is more than one eligible representative in the next group who expresses interest in facilitating, then the Facilitator will be determined via majority vote by the remaining Representatives. If there is no eligible Representative from the next group to facilitate the next meeting, or in the event of abdication, it is up to the discretion of the Committee to determine who will serve as Facilitator during the next rotation. A group must attend at least one VAC meeting before a representative from their group can serve as Facilitator


b) The Secretary for each meeting will be determined at the end of the previous meeting. A Representative need only express interest in serving as Secretary to be chosen. If there is more than one Representative who expresses interest, then the Secretary will be determined via majority vote by the remaining Representatives.

3.02 Duties of the Facilitator. The Facilitator shall preside over the meeting he/she has been chosen to facilitate, ensuring that the VAC bylaws are upheld and that meetings proceed in reasonable, professional, effective, egalitarian, fair and timely manner.

SCHEDULING of issues and the formal meeting agenda are the responsibility of the Facilitator. The agenda outline and outstanding issues from the previous meeting must be provided to the volunteer community through electronic means. The facilitator must post the proposed meeting agenda two weeks prior to the meeting and elicit and respond to feedback from the VAC membership and country director. The facilitator shall be responsible for posting notices and reminders of the meeting's date.

The Facilitator may participate in all debates and have the same duties and responsibilities as any other Representative, including the right to vote. In case of a tie vote, the Committee will seek to resolve the matter through further discussion.

3.03 Duties of the Secretary. The Secretary shall keep and record in proper books provided for the purpose, the minutes of the Committee meeting for which he/she served as Secretary. Immediately after each meeting, the Secretary, with assistance from the other Representatives, shall transcribe the minutes and deliver them to VAC members and the country director. Within ten days all VAC members and the Country Director shall provide the secretary with feedback and approval of the minutes. Upon approval of the minutes, the secretary will ensure the minutes are mailed/delivered/sent to the PCVs, Country Director and Staff.

The meeting minutes will be sent to PCVs via hardcopy with the weekly mailings, via email, and posted on the VAC website.


3.04 Duties of the Country Director. The Country Director shall make every effort to attend all Committee meetings and be prepared to address the concerns of the PCVs as presented by the Representatives or duly authorized PCVs during the course of the meetings. In addition, the Country Director shall respond to concerns in writing, to ensure clarity and accuracy. It is requested that the Country Director respond within 10 days. The Country Director shall ensure that paper, computer and copying facilities are available to the Committee, and shall be responsible for providing postage or ensuring that the Committee mailings go out to all PCVs and that Committee notices are prominently displayed in the Peace Corps office. On those occasions when it is absolutely impossible for the Country Director to attend a scheduled meeting or a special meeting of the Committee, the Country Director shall appoint a senior member of the staff to attend such meetings as the Country Director's representative.


ARTICLE IV
MEETINGS

4.01 Place of Meetings. All Committee meetings shall take place in Bangkok at the Peace Corps office unless other mutually agreeable meeting areas are chosen by the Committee.

4.02 Time and schedule of Meetings. Regular Committee meetings shall be held quarterly (every three months) around months of July, October, January, and April on a Friday. All attempts will be made to schedule meetings in accordance with all members’ schedules, in an attempt to maintain continuity on transition groups. All meetings are open to volunteers and Peace Corps staff. The meeting facilitator shall coordinate and manage participation by attending PCVs and staff to ensure effective use of VAC meeting time. PCVs wishing to participate in the meetings shall coordinate with their VAC representative. VAC representatives reserve the right for a private meeting amongst VAC members exclusively.


4.03 Open Forum. There will be an Open Forum at the end of each meeting for Representatives, PCVs and/or Staff members to discuss items that were not covered in the agenda. An individual wanting to present at the Open Forum must notify the Facilitator prior to the start of the meeting. It is at the Facilitator’s discretion as to how long the individual presents his/her issue. It is at the Committee’s discretion whether or not to address the issue at that meeting or during future meetings.

4.04 Special Meetings. Any Representative, on two (2) weeks notice to each Representative and the Country Director, may call special Committee meetings personally, via email, or by phone. It is at the discretion of the other Representatives and the Country Director whether or not to hold the meeting.

4.05 Quorum. One half of the total number of elected Representatives plus one (1/2+1) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The act of a majority of the Representatives present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Committee, unless a greater number is required for a specific purpose elsewhere in these bylaws. If a quorum is not present at any given meeting of the committee, all voting business must be suspended until a quorum shall be present.

4.06 Voting. Each Representative is entitled to one vote, except for the Country Director or senior staff representative who has no vote. Voting results will be determined as previously defined in 4.05.

4.07 Minutes. After every meeting, the Secretary shall prepare the minutes and a list of issues, questions, and concerns from the meeting to be presented to the Country Director for a written response and/or clarification. The Country Director shall provide a written response within 10 days. The Secretary then shall prepare a report including the minutes of the meeting and the response provided by the Country Director. The reports shall be mailed directly to all PCVs via hardcopy and email, posted on the VAC website and posted in the PC office.
ARTICLE V
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

5.01 Compensation. Representatives shall serve in the VAC at their own expense, and no compensation shall be awarded for the extra work involved as a
Representative. Representatives will be entitled to reimbursement for necessary printing and mailing expenses, the actual cost of lodging (receipts), the current authorized rate of per diem and actual cost of travel to and from VAC meetings.

5.02 Evaluation. These by-laws will be re-evaluated every April by the Committee and amended, altered, repealed or added to, if necessary.

5.03 Amendments. These by-laws may be amended, altered, repealed or added to at any Committee meeting by two-thirds (2/3) of the Committee Representatives provided that the proposed amendment has been included in the notice of the meeting.

5.04 Severability. If any provision of these by-laws shall be amended or repealed, the remainder of these by-laws shall not be affected thereby and shall remain valid.






revised September 12, 2008