Standardization News

2019 is a year for electing committee officers: chairman, vice chairman/chairmen, membership secretary, and recording secretary. 

Subcommittee officers are not part of this election process as they are appointed separately in accordance with an individual committee’s bylaws.

Your main committee’s nominating committee should be in place already, a process that takes place in even-numbered years. 

The nominating committee typically includes three or four members, and those members need to represent the various voting interests on the committee to ensure balance. The chair of the nominating committee is appointed by the main committee chairman (or that committee’s executive subcommittee). You can find this outlined in your committee’s bylaws under the “Committee Documents” link on your MyCommittees page.

Once established, the nominating committee puts together the slate of officers, which will be presented to the executive subcommittee and then at the main committee meeting.

Nominations for main committee officers can be:

• Submitted to the nominating committee chair at any time once the nominating committee has been formed;
• Announced from the floor at the main committee meeting; or
• Written in on a ballot.

Should you want to be a main committee officer and are unsure who to contact, contact your staff manager, who can help with this. Note that all officers serve for two years and are eligible to serve three consecutive terms. 

The officer ballot needs to be issued and remain open for 30 days before the end of the odd-numbered year, and terms begin in January of the even numbered years.

Regs Corner

Main Committee Officers

ASTM International’s membership is organized into about 150 main committees with subcommittees that cover specific topics. The main committee officers fill designated leadership roles with responsibilities summarized here and further outlined in the committee’s bylaws.

Officer roles are described in the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees. No two officers of the committee should represent the same voting interest.

The chairman presides at all meetings of the committee and may be an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

The vice chairman helps the chairman in those duties, presides at meetings in the absence of the chairman, and performs other duties as assigned by the chairman.

The recording secretary attends all committee meetings, keeps the minutes, handles committee correspondence, and performs other duties delegated by the chairman.

The membership secretary maintains the member roster and provides membership reports to the executive subcommittee.

Want to Be A Main Committee Officer?

Boost your readiness and credentials:

• Volunteer to be a technical contact for a standard underway and work toward its development and approval;
• Share your technical expertise on a subject; 
• Be an active ambassador for ASTM International in your industry; and
• Volunteer to be a subcommittee officer.