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Chapter Government

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee, or EXCOM, is the governing body of the Chapter and is made up of the following positions: President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Nominations Chairperson, Past President, BYU-I Student Unit President, Palouse Student Unit President, and Portneuf Student Unit President. The first seven officers are elected by the Chapter members at the annual meeting while the student unit presidents are elected by the members of the individual student units. The EXCOM is responsible for implementing the mission of the Chapter, overseeing the work of the Chapter, expending Chapter funds, and speaking on behalf of the Chapter. The EXCOM holds three face-to-face meetings during the year and also meets monthly via conference call.

Please visit the Current Chapter Officers page for a list of those currently serving on the Executive Committee.

Committee Chairpersons

The Chapter currently has nine committees and each committee is by one or more chairpersons. These individuals oversee the work of their respective committee and coordinate the work of the committee with the EXCOM.

Please visit the Current Chapter Officers page for a list of those currently serving as committee chairpersons.

Bylaws and Officer's Manual

ICAFS Members:

As of March 7, 2023, the ICAFS EXCOM is proposing several changes to the ICAFS Bylaws. The attached Word document contains the proposed changes, which are fully visible if viewed in Word's "track changes" feature. Approval of changes to the bylaws requires five steps:

  • 1. Drafting of the changes by EXCOM.
  • 2. Input from the AFS Constitutional Consultant.
  • 3. Approval by a two-thirds majority of EXCOM.
  • 4. 30-day period for review by the ICAFS Membership.
  • 5. Approval by a two-thirds majority vote of the ICAFS Membership via a voting period of at least 14 days.
  • 6. Approval by the AFS Management Committee.

This notice (email and posting on the ICAFS website) constitutes the beginning of the 30-day period specified in step 4. Following the 30-day review period, there will be a voting period of at least 14 days, which we intend to coincide with the ICAFS officer election associated with this year's annual meeting. Voting instructions will be distributed after the 30-day review period, in early- to mid-April.

The three substantive changes being proposed are:

  • Make the Past President a full voting member of EXCOM. Currently the Past President is an Ex Officio (non-voting) member.
  • Define Chapter membership concisely and consistent with the definition of active membership in the (parent society) American Fisheries Society. In particular, ICAFS membership requires active membership in AFS and selection of Idaho Chapter affiliation at the time of AFS membership renewal. Attendance at ICAFS meetings or participation in a student subunit in and of themselves do not constitute Chapter membership.
  • Refine voting procedures. Allow officer elections to be held during the annual meeting rather than at the annual meeting. This allows active chapter members to vote in officer elections over a period of days coinciding with the annual meeting, even if they cannot attend the annual meeting in person. We were forced to conduct elections this way in 2021 and 2022 because of the virtual and hybrid formats we used in those years. Formalizing that practice will increase participation in Chapter governance. Second, upon recommendation of the AFS Constitutional Consultant, we propose to define a voting quorum to be 20% of the active chapter membership at the time the election is held. AFS now provides Chapters with a monthly report of active members, so the number of members constituting the quorum will be known at the time of the election from the most recent monthly report. Conducting voting electronically over a period of days will allow precise determination of how many votes were cast and whether that number reached the 20% threshold for a quorum.

Please take time to review the proposed changes prior to the voting period. Contact ICAFS President Rob Van Kirk at rob@henrysfork.org with any questions.
Click here for a word document that has the "track changes" showing the edits.

The duties of the chapters officers are described in the Bylaws and Officer's Manual of the Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (PDF). The current version of this document was approved by the Idaho Chapter Executive Committee, Idaho Chapter Membership, and National Governing Board in 2008.

Past Officers

Since the Chapter was formed in 1963, there have been numerous individuals that have served as chapter officers. Each of these individuals have brought a unique set of knowledge, talents, and abilities to their position and all have made important contributions to the Chapter. The Chapter is deeply grateful for their service.

A list of past Executive Committee members is found in the document Past Officers of the Executive Committee of the Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (PDF).