Date: July 2002

The VBPS was founded on May 30^th 2002 in Dallas, Texas, USA, according to the mission and structure as indicated in the Constitution.

Officers of the VBPS

The Board of the Association consists of the following Officers:

Officers will normally serve for three years and are eligible for re-election.

Duties of the Officers

The PRESIDENT shall represent the Association in professional scientific meetings and shall initiate co-operation with other organisations devoted to veterinary sciences in general and disciplines of cardiology, nephrology, neurology and ophthalmology in particular. The President presides at meetings of the Association and performs all duties legitimately appertaining to his/her office.

The VICE-PRESIDENT assists and advises the President in the performance of his/her duties. He/she shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence or inability to serve and takes responsibility for the election procedure of Board members. Normally the office of Senior-Vice-President will be occupied by the immediate past President of the Association.

The SECRETARY deals with all correspondence of the Association including setting up a webpage, keeps and publishes lists of members and honorary members and keeps the Minutes of the Association in books which should be the property of the Association and accessible at all reasonable times and places and performs the usual duties of a secretary.

The TREASURER shall advise the President and the Board on all financial matters, shall arrange for safekeeping of all funds and donations, keep records of all expenses and submit a written audited financial statement to all VBPS Board members annually. He/she shall keep full accurate books of account, containing a record of all monies received and expended, which books shall be the property of the Society and open to inspection by the authorized officials at all reasonable times and places.

BOARD MEMBERS will assist the officers of the society in the general running of the society, particularly in the organisation of scientific meetings, updating of the Society’s Web site and the communication of scientific guidelines to the society’s membership.

Election and Vacancies

The Vice-President shall co-ordinate the election procedure at a General Meeting of the Association. All Officers posts will be subject to election by all subscribing members of the Association. Elections will normally be held at the time of VBPS Scientific Meetings. Nominations must be made at least 1 month prior to the General Meeting, notice of which will be given by the Secretary.

ommittees of VBPS

1. Scientific meeting organising committee

One member of the Board will be nominated to act as local organiser of the annual scientific meeting and a second board member nominated to assist in organisation. These members will present a draft plan for the meeting to all Board members for approval.

2. Fiscal Committee

The Fiscal Committee shall consist of three members of the Board. The President will serve as Chairperson, and the Treasurer will be a member. A third member shall be appointed by the Board. These three members will be authorised to sign cheques on behalf of the Association. For sums greater than 500 Euro, two signatures will be required.

This Committee will prepare the annual budget of the Association, prepare the Treasurer’s book for audit by the Board and advise the Board on financial affairs of the Association.

(1) The Association is named the “Veterinary Blood Pressure Society”, herein after referred to as the Society. It is an association of individuals working in the field of Veterinary Blood Pressure and related fields.

(2) The mission of the Society is promotion of the acquisition and transfer of knowledge amongst the veterinary community world wide concerning the importance of high blood pressure, particularly in companion animals.

(3) The aims of the Society are to promote education and research in the fields mentioned in paragraph 2 by: (a) holding an international scientific meeting on annual basis to allow the exchange of knowledge on recognition, consequences, pathophysiology and management of high blood pressure, particularly in companion animals; (b) coordinating communication between members of the society electronically through an e-mail list serve and/or Website allowing rapid transfer of information; (c) disseminating recently developed guidelines on measurement of blood pressure, and on the diagnosis and management of high blood pressure, to maintain these under review and suggest modifications as and when new information is published; (d) encouraging and facilitating collaboration between members allowing multicentre prospective studies to occur which further our understanding all aspects of high blood pressure in veterinary medicine and (e) fostering the interest and enthusiasm of young members of the veterinary profession in the field by providing funding for them to attend meetings of the society and to undertake pilot clinical research projects that are compatible with the mission of the Society.

(4) Membership is open to any individual, provided that this individual (a) has completed or will complete a university education, is a certified technician or obtained an equivalent qualification, (b) is actively working in or has retired from the field or a discipline relevant to Blood Pressure (c) is prepared to abide by the constitution and by laws of the Society.

(5) The Board of the Association consists of President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and two Board members.

(6) The general management and business of the Society shall be carried out by the members of the Board mentioned under 5.

(7) The method of election of Board members and their duties shall be stated in the bye-laws.

(8) Conduct of the business of the Board will be given in a separate bye-law.

(9) Individuals can become ordinary members by submitting an application, containing all information necessary to enable the Board to judge the candidates’ training, experience and interest. On acceptance by the Board the membership commences.

(10) Proposals for amendment to this Constitution shall be signed by at least three ordinary members and shall be submitted to the members through the Secretary. Any proposed amendment shall be submitted by mail to the members at least 30 days before a regular or special meeting of the membership at which the amendment is to be submitted to a vote. Alternatively, a vote of at least 66% of the members voting by mail shall be required for the adoption of an amendment.

(11) The language of the Society is English.