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Bylaws & Operating Procedures

By-Laws of Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
A Non-Profit Organization

Adopted October 2018 | Click Here to Download as PDF

The name of the organization shall be TENNESSEE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, INC. (hereinafter referred to as “TNOTA”).

It shall be affiliated with the American Occupational Therapy Association (hereinafter referred to as “AOTA”) in compliance with the rules and regulations set forth on the by-laws of AOTA.

Advocate for Occupational Therapy professionals and students that are members of TNOTA.

Section 1. Membership Classifications

The membership of the TNOTA shall be divided into six (6) classes:

Occupational Therapist: Any individual initially certified by the NBCOT (National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy) to practice as an licensed occupational therapist, or regulated by a state, district, commonwealth or territory of the United States to practice as an occupational therapist and who has not had that certification, licensure or regulation revoked due to disciplinary action shall be eligible to be an Occupational Therapist Member.

Occupational Therapy Assistant: Any individual initially certified to practice as a licensed occupational therapy assistant, regulated by a state, district, commonwealth or territory of the United States to practice as an occupational therapy assistant and who has not had that certification, licensure or regulation revoked due to disciplinary action shall be eligible to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant Member.

Occupational Therapy Student: Any individual enrolled in an occupational therapy or occupational therapy assistant program accredited by ACOTE (Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education) or with developing status from ACOTE which is located in the United States, or in the possessions, commonwealth, or territories of the United States shall be eligible to be a student member.

Honorary Life Member: An occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant who receives a life membership to TNOTA because of distinguished service in the field of occupational therapy, determined by the awards committee and approved by the Executive Board.

Retired Occupational Therapist/Occupational Therapy Assistant: An occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant who has retired their license and is no longer practicing occupational therapy in Tennessee.

Associate: An individual interested in occupational therapy who does not satisfy the requirements of Subsections A, B, or C of this Section. This membership type is a non- voting member.

Section 1. General Powers

The governing body of TNOTA shall be called the Executive Board and shall oversee the business and fiscal affairs of the Corporation in accordance with statutory and Bylaws provisions.

Section 1. Officers

A. President
B. Vice President
C. Secretary
D. Treasurer
E. President – Elect

The elected officers constitute the Executive Board of TNOTA.

The TNOTA may be divided into districts. This interest must be expressed by petition to the Executive Board with the signatures of a minimum of five (5) members of the TNOTA from within the proposed district boundaries. Executive Board approval is required to establish a district.

Officers: The officers of the district may consist of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and/or Treasurer.

Term of Office: The District Chair shall hold office a minimum of 2 years with the option to extend the term if approved by the Executive Board.

Meetings: Meetings shall be held at regularly scheduled intervals as scheduled by the Chairperson of the district. Districts will plan a minimum of 3 meetings annually with dates provided at the January Board Meeting. At least one of the district officers shall be present at each meeting.

Dues: All moneys collected at district meetings will be kept by the district with the exception of membership dues. The moneys collected will be used solely to fund future district meetings. Approval of the Executive Board is required for any other disbursement of funds. Membership dues will be submitted to the Membership Chair. Annual funding for all districts will be approved at Annual Executive Board Meeting.

Vacancy: Districts will decide whether vacancies should be filled by an appointment by the President and/or District Chair

Standard Operating Procedures: Standard operating procedures may be reviewed by the Executive Board

Dissolution of a District: The Executive Board of TNOTA at any meeting shall have, by a majority vote, the authority to dissolve a district so long as quorum is present in accordance with Article IV, Section 4 herein.

Election. An election among Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Assistant members within an election area may be conducted by a state association or AOTA. An election area is defined by state boundaries and there shall be only one election within the boundaries of each state, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Term of Office: Term of office shall be stated in the AOTA By-Laws

Duties: Duties shall be as stated in the AOTA By-Laws and in the TNOTA Standard Operating Procedures.

Vacancies, Resignation Removal and Appeal: These shall be as stated in the AOTA By-Laws

The President, with approval of the Executive Board, shall have the power to create, combine or delete standing and special committees.

The President shall appoint the chairperson of all committees and determine reporting relationships.

A slate of nominations for officers to be elected shall be prepared by the Nominations Committee. The slate of officers will be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Elections will be completed by electronic ballot and officers will take office on January following the annual business meeting. The election of a candidate shall be by majority vote of those ballots which are cast and valid.

In the event of a tie vote, there shall be a ballot vote by the members present at the annual business meeting so long as a quorum is present in accordance with Article III, Section 8 herein

The electronic ballots shall be destroyed 30 days after the vote has been certified by the Nominations Committee.

The fiscal year shall be determined and approved by the Executive Board.

The annual membership fees for each member category will be established and approved by the Executive Board.

Standards and Ethics. The TNOTA shall abide by the standards of the AOTA Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics.

Discipline. Membership in the TNOTA may be suspended at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Board at any meeting, so long as a quorum is present in accordance with Article IV, Section 4 herein, for conduct unbecoming a member of TNOTA. Subject member shall be entitled to appeal the decision of the Executive Board in the same manner as set forth in Article III, Section 4, paragraph B.

An amendment or revision of these By-Laws may be made at any business meeting or called meeting of the TNOTA or by ballot, provided notice of the proposed amendment(s) has been received by the membership, not less than 14 days prior to the vote.

Amendment shall be made by a simple majority vote of those ballots that are cast and valid, so long as a quorum is present in accordance with Article III, Section 8 herein.

These By-laws are to be interpreted pursuant to the provisions of 48-51-101 et seq. of the Tennessee Non-Profit Corporation Act effective January 1, 1988. In the event that there is any inconsistency between these By-laws as stated and the Tennessee Non-Profit Corporation Act, the provisions of the Tennessee Non-Profit Corporation Act shall prevail. The Charter of the Corporation hereby specifically incorporates each pertinent section of the Tennessee Non-Profit Corporation Act.

TNOTA shall use its funds only to accomplish the objectives and purposes specified in these By-laws and no part of said funds shall inure, or be distributed, to the members of TNOTA. On dissolution of TNOTA, any funds remaining shall be distributed to one or more regularly organized and qualified charitable, educational, scientific, or philanthropic organizations to be elected by the Executive Board.

Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association
Standard Operating Procedures

Adopted October 2018 | Click Here to Download as PDF

A. Attendance
  1. All Executive Board officers and District Chairs are expected to attend all of the Executive Board meetings. Committee Chairs are encouraged to attend.
  2. If Executive Board voting members are unable to attend a meeting, they are required to notify the President and management, and submit a written report.
  3. In order to conduct business effectively, all Executive Board members need to be present on a regular basis. Any Board member who misses two consecutive meetings without providing representation may be replaced.
  4. All Executive Board meetings are open to all interested OT practitioners.
  5. All Executive Board members may utilize a proxy as approved by the President.
President (voting member)

A. Selection and Qualifications:

  1. Must be an OT/OTA and a member in good standing of TNOTA with at least one year experience as a member of the TNOTA Executive Board.
  2. Elected by the membership in odd years for two years as President.

B. Functions and Responsibilities:

  1. Chief elected officer and representative of TNOTA.
  2. Member of the Affiliated State Association of Presidents (ASAP).
  3. Liaison between TNOTA, AOTA, academia, and other external organizations.

C. Specific Responsibilities:

  1. Direct and coordinate TNOTA Strategic Plan and Mission Statement and set annual goals and objectives.
  2. Appoint Standing and Special Committee chairs and Liaisons to AOTA. Inform AOTA of all new officers and appointees.
  3. Coordinate the orientation of new Executive Board members to Board functions.
  4. Coordinate the review and revision of theTNOTA Executive Board Handbook.
  5. Establish dates for Executive Board meetings.
  6. Preside at all Executive Board and state membership meetings.
  7. Prepare Executive Board meeting agendas and forward them to management two weeks prior to meeting for distribution.
  8. Ensure that Executive Board activities are summarized for the TNOTA Newsletter and website.
  9. Prepare and present Annual Report of TNOTA affairs at annual business meeting.
  10. Direct Treasurer and management to prepare proposed annual budget for approval by the Executive Board.
  11. Attend AOTA and the Affiliation of State Association Presidents (ASAP) meetings as approved by the Executive Board.
  12. Maintain a complete set of TNOTA minutes.
  13. Send materials of historical interest to the TNOTA association office.
  14. Submit the approved nominees for state regulatory boards.
  15. Attend or appoint a representative to attend state regulatory board meetings.
  16. Coordinate and direct communications to the lobbyist and state legislature through the Legislative Chair.

D. Line of Responsibility:

  1. Accountable to the TNOTA membership and TNOTA Executive Board.
District Chair (voting member)

A. Selection and Qualifications:

  1. Be a TNOTA member.

  2. Be nominated and elected by district members.

  3. Take office as stated in the bylaws.

B. Specific Responsibilities:

  1. Review the TNOTA bylaws, SOPs, and District Chair notebook.

  2. Meet with your district officers to:

  3. Plan all district meetings for the coming year.

  4. Determine objectives for the districts.

  5. Review and update SOPs of district Board members.

  6. Schedule and chair district meetings.

  7. Inform district members of actions and announcements of the Executive Board.

  8. Attend or appoint a proxy to the Executive Board meeting as a voting member.

  9. Provide a written/verbal report to the Executive Board meeting.

  10. With majority vote based on members present at the meeting, submit a written motion form for any requested action for the Executive Board to consider.

  11. Keep a district chair notebook, updating it as the Executive Board directs.

  12. Prepare a year-end report for the Executive Board including events, speakers and topics, and membership.

  13. Assure district news is submitted to the TNOTA Newsletter Editor.

  14. Work with the Annual Conference Chair (Vice-President) to plan, promote, and present the state Conference.

  15. Appoint district committee chairs to correspond to all state level committees, as appropriate.

  16. Prepare an annual budget for Executive Board approval and submit all requests for funding to the TNOTA Treasurer. Districts are entitled to 10% of membership dues generated from within that district for each fiscal year, updated (by Management) quarterly. District funds shall not “roll-over” from year to year. A working budget shall be established based on membership in each district on November first of the previous year.

  17. Assure communication continues between the district and the TNOTA leadership and management via phone, newsletter, fax, internet, et al.

C. Line of Responsibility:

  1. Reports to TNOTA President.
Student Representative (consensus voting member)

A. Selection and Qualifications:

  1. Be a TNOTA member and currently enrolled in a Tennessee OT/OTA program.

  2. OT/OTA student members shall select a student member representative to attend Executive Board meetings.

B. Specific Responsibilities:

  1. Serve as liaison between the Executive Board and the students of their OT and OTA educational programs.

  2. Attending student representatives will work with each other to arrive at a single consensus vote for all Executive Board actions.

  3. Inform students as to the activities of TNOTA.

  4. Attend Executive Board meetings, or send a representative if unable to attend.

  5. Obtain input from their student body/student representative.

  6. Assist the Scholarship Chair in promoting the TNOTA student scholarship program.

  7. Promote and encourage students to join TNOTA.

  8. Submit a report for Executive Board meetings.

C. Line of Responsibility:

  1. Report to the TNOTA President.
Awards Chair (non-voting member)

A. Selection and Qualifications:

  1. Must be a member of TNOTA.
  2. Appointed by the President.
  3. Preside over the annual awards ceremony.

B. Specific Responsibilities:

  1. Announce a call for TNOTA and AOTA nominations for awards. The TNOTA newsletter, website and/or any other method of communication may be used.
  2. Set deadlines for receipt of award nominations.
  3. Review nomination forms for accuracy and completeness. Be sure the candidates meet the requirements established for the awards. Inform person or persons who submit nominations, if there are any concerns with the nomination forms. Nominations are confidential.
  4. Select TNOTA award recipients each year and arrange for presentation of awards at the TNOTA Annual Conference.
  5. Submit to the Executive Board for approval:
    1. designs for award certificates as needed
    2. ideas for new awards as needed
    3. guidelines for selecting recipients as needed
  6. Encourage TNOTA members to submit nominations for AOTA awards.

C. Line of Responsibility:

  1. Reports to TNOTA president.

May include the following:

  1. Membership Chair
  2. Awards Chair
  3. Communications Chair
  4. Continuing Education Chair
  5. Special Interest Chairs
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