Categories, Qualifications and Rights of Membership.

1. Membership categories are as follows:
   
   (1) Active, (2) Associate, (3) Retired, (4) Honorary, (5) Life, and (6) Inactive
   
   The qualifications for each category of membership are as follows:
   
   (a) Active Members are individuals who are television broadcast engineers that occupy, or have formerly held, positions of leadership in television broadcast stations, production and/or post production facilities, and manufacturers of television broadcast products.
   A candidate for Active Membership must be sponsored by two Active members, approved by the Membership Committee (comprised of the Board), have attended at least five (5) of the preceding ten (10) meetings as a guest, and have been approved by the vote of a majority of the Active members.

   Active members are entitled to all rights and privileges, which include the right to seek any office in the Society, or membership on the STE Board of Directors, to vote on all matters that require a vote by Active members, and the right to use the initials "S.T.E." after his or her name.
   
   (b) Life Membership status is intended to recognize outstanding contributions to the Society. A Life Member must have served as an Active member for at least ten (10) consecutive years, and retains all privileges of Active membership, though not counted in the Active Membership rolls.
   Life Members are not liable for special assessments nor are required to meet any attendance requirements.
   
   (c) Associate Membership status are individuals that are associated with the Television broadcast industry who do not meet the strict criteria for Active Membership, as defined by the Bylaws of the Society.

   This class of membership includes individuals presently employed by companies associated with the Television industry. This would include equipment sales personnel, systems integrators, broadcast and system consultants, maintenance technicians, transmitter engineers, and general broadcast, production, and post-production personnel, etc.

   Associate Members are entitled to all the rights and privileges as is given for Active Membership, with the exception of entitlement to vote on STE matters, including elections, and to hold any office in the Society.
   
   (d) An Honorary Member is an individual from outside the Society, who has performed exemplary service contributing to the advancement of engineering in Television and allied fields. An Honorary member does not have the right to vote on matters requiring a vote of the members or hold office in the Society. Only one Honorary Member can be elected in any calendar year.
   
   (e) Retired Member class consists of former Active members who have left normal employment in the industry and could not attend sufficient regular meetings to maintain Active membership status.
   A Retired member continues to receive meeting notices and Society correspondence, but is not liable for special assessments.
   Retired Members do not have the right to vote on matters requiring a vote of the members and are not counted on the active membership rolls.
   
   (f) Inactive Member class consists of individuals who have not met the requirement of attendance, which is the same as for Active Members. Members in this class are not permitted to vote on matters requiring a vote of the members, hold any office in the Society, nor participate in Society discussions and debates.
   Additionally, Inactive members are not entitled to the rights and privileges of Active members, but remain subject to all obligations implied by such membership.
   Inactive members accrue no seniority, and are not counted on the active membership rolls.

   An Inactive member may petition for re-activation at any time following attendance at least five (5) of the previous ten (10) regular meetings of the Society.
   

Admission: Other Membership Issues.

1. A candidate for Membership as an Active Member must initially be sponsored by two Active Members, approved by the Membership Committee (comprised of the Board of Directors), have attended at least five (5) of the preceding ten (10) meetings as a guest, and have been elected by the vote of a majority of the Active members.

   Once sponsored, a candidate for Active Membership shall provide twelve (12) copies of his or her current professional resume to the Membership Committee.

   In membership elections, voting by Active Members may be conducted by ballot at a general meeting when the election has been pre-scheduled for such, or by mail or facsimile, when decided as an alternate method by the Board of Directors. In the latter case, (voting by mail or facsimile), an Active member's failure to respond to the ballot shall be deemed a "yes" vote.