Palestinian Cleft Society Bylaws

Members of the Palestinian Cleft Society may include anyone with an interest in the care of children with clefts from Palestine. Society members from outside Palestine, will be limited to the core groups of health care practitioners who work directly with children that have clefts and will include Dentistry (Pediatric and Adult), Orthodontics, Speech Therapy, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Developmental Psychology, and Social Work.

Members will be expected to contribute to the Palestinian Cleft Society by participating in the Annual Conference, working with the chair people of the core committees during the Interim Meeting, and participating in cleft work in Palestine.

Officers

The positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be held for a year, and will be decided by the membership of Palestinian Cleft Society.

Nominations and voting will be held at the Annual Meeting of the Palestinian Cleft Society.

Responsibilities of Officers

The President will oversee the interim May meeting with the Core Committees of the Palestinian Cleft Society.

The Vice President will coordinate the Annual Meeting of the Palestinian Cleft Society.

The Secretary will be responsible for updating the website of the Palestinian Cleft Society with the proceedings of the Annual Meeting, and the Interim Meeting.

The Treasurer will coordinate the funds of the society, and disburse payments from the society.

Core Committees

The chair people of the Core Committees will be selected by the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer and the term of their leadership will be one year.

There will be six core committees for the Palestinian Cleft Society. These will include Dentistry, Orthodontics, Speech Pathology, Surgery, Pediatrics and Research. The Speech Pathology Core Committee will always have a representative from Audiology, and Feeding Specialists. The Surgery Core Committee will have a representative from ENT, Plastic Surgery, and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. The Pediatric Core Committee will include Nutritionists and Geneticists. The Core Committee chair people will meet at the Interim Meeting. Each chair person will recruit members of his/her core committees.

Annual Meeting

There will be an Annual Meeting of the Palestinian Cleft Society in the Fall of every year. The topic for this conference will be suggested at the previous annual meeting, and a final decision made at the Interim Meeting. The site for the Annual Conference will be finalized at the Interim Meeting of the Palestinian Cleft Society.

There is no current charge for membership in the Palestinian Cleft Society; in the future, a nominal charge may be instituted at the discretion of the leadership of the Society.

All major decisions of the Palestinian Cleft Society will be initiated at the Interim Meeting of the Palestinian Cleft Society, and then presented to the members at the Annual Meeting.

The Palestinian Cleft Society will be a non-profit organization and will be able to accept donations.

If the bylaws of the Palestinian Cleft Society are to be changed, the leadership needs to initiate the change, and greater than 60% of the membership present at the Annual Meeting must agree to the change.