UW ACE Chapter
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be UW ACE Chapter. We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
grow and develop Canada’s future business leaders through various opportunities such as conferences, competitions, and networking events. This will allow students to connect with industry professionals across different fields of business and apply prior knowledge to real-life situations they will face in the workforce. UW ACE Chapter programs are focused on helping members improve communication and leadership skills while increasing their knowledge in the areas of marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and management through case studies, tests, and role plays.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
various live events related to the learning and development of attendees. Events will consist of social activities aimed at developing new relationships within the University of Waterloo community, workshop events focusing on the development of delegate skills to better prepare for case competitions and beyond, and case competitions providing a platform for delegates to put their newly developed skills to the test in a fast-paced, competitive environment. All activities aim to best prepare delegates for the ACE Canada National Case Competition, hosted annually in January.
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
The membership fee is $25.00 cash per term payable to the Treasurer no later than one month after the first day of class. If joining after the first month, membership is due at the beginning of their first club function. Membership fees will be used for
the one-time annual payment of dues to the ACE Canada organization, gaining general members access of campus events and supporting ACE Chapter in admin support and sponsorship acquisition.
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is one academic term, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
The President is a signing authority.
The Vice-President ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
The Vice-President is a signing authority.
The Treasurer ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
The Treasurer is a signing authority.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Academia Director ensures that:
- Develop and deliver educational content for workshops and training sessions.
- Work with the President to develop case studies for competitions.
- Take primary responsibility for teaching members case competition fundamentals and advanced techniques, including case competition basics, and ACE Canada style role-play
- Ensures that the next Academia Director is trained.
The Logistics Director ensures that:
- Manage all event logistics, including venue bookings, scheduling, and operational coordination.
- Point of contact during events, ensuring day-of efficiency.
- Work closely with team members to ensure availability and smooth execution of meetings and events.
- Ensures that the next Logistics Director is trained.
The Marketing Director ensures that:
- Design and execute marketing campaigns through social media, posters, and other promotional materials.
- Lead the production of key media assets, including interviews and a highlight video for national competitions
- Ensures that the next Marketing Director is trained.
The Outreach Director ensures that:
- Establish and nurture relationships with external partners, including other clubs, faculty, sponsors, past judges, and guest speakers
- Lead sponsorship outreach efforts, including pitching the club and revising sponsorship packages.
- Secure funding from external sponsors and internal university bodies such as WUSA and AFSA.
- Maintain relations with past sponsors and connect with ACE Canada.
- Ensures that the next Outreach Director is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
- or through UW ACE Chapter internal Slack channels.
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
- or through UW ACE Chapter internal Slack channels.
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
External Affiliations
The club is affiliated with Name change from DECA to UW ACE Chapter.
Internal Memorandum
From: Board of Directors
To: Chapter Presidents
Subject: Updates for the upcoming year
Date: Saturday, July 16, 2022
First and foremost, we would like to begin this address by welcoming our Presidents from Vancouver to Halifax for this brand-new year, packed with previously unimaginable opportunities. While you have been enjoying the first half of your summer breaks, the Board of Directors has been diligently planning for our upcoming year, and we are ready to announce some exciting initial details.
Before we share this important news, we want to highlight the culture we have grown together as DECA Canada over the last 17 years. Being one of the largest student case competitions in the Country, we have created a reputation as an organization that develops tomorrow’s business leaders. Our delegates are problem solvers who identify as creative, ambitious, and competitive by nature. Those who have attended our events in the past can describe this thrilling energy as palpable.
We have always seen ourselves as one big team, a case competition family that spans Canada. As we take pride in this culture, we must note how it has engrained in us a sense of belonging. We associate with this conglomeration of thousands of delegates’ unique skills, thoughts, and knowledge which we called ‘DECA Canada’.
With that being said, we have made the following decision under the premise that we, our Delegates, Presidents, and Board Members alike, are not defined by a single name. What we have as an organization is deeper, stronger, and much larger than a single name - ‘DECA’.
In the interest of leveraging our creative capacity to maximise our opportunities and delegate experience in the long term, starting August 1, 2022, we will be rebranding to ‘ACE – The Canadian Case Competition’. This includes the formal withdrawal at the national level from DECA Inc. We ask that chapters formally rebrand by August 20, 2022.
ACE → Achieve, Connect, Empower / Accomplir, Connecter, Encourager
What this means for you:
• Do not proceed with publishing your chapter’s public rebranding at this time. As this would compromise our ability to launch an effective, and synchronous rebranding.
• Despite how excited we are to share the news; we ask that you keep this confidential from the public until further notice.
• Consult the Official Ace Branding Guide for branding strategy.
o Please utilize the Slack to discuss any additional questions.
View the letter from the affiliate
The club itself is internally responsible for ensuring adherence to any applicable By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. However, all policies, procedures, By-Laws, etc. of both UW and WUSA supersede any By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. The Clubs Manager, not the external organization, is the final authority on all club business. Other than the authority to end the affiliation, the external organization has no authority over the club whatsoever. Furthermore, the Clubs Manager is not responsible for ensuring the club abides by any additional stipulations between the club and the external organization. The club may choose by general vote to sever the affiliation, with notice given to the Clubs Manager.
The club is affiliated with ACE Canada.
The University of Waterloo ACE Chapter serves as an extension of the ACE Canada organization and aims to achieve the purpose of the parent organization. The University of Waterloo ACE Chapter remains in constant communication with ACE Canada regarding administrative guidance, ACE Nationals Competition information and delegate development resources. The club has the capacity to connect and share perspectives to the board of directors and maintains autonomy regarding club operation, external partnerships, and involvement with ACE Canada organization.
View the letter from the affiliate
The club itself is internally responsible for ensuring adherence to any applicable By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. However, all policies, procedures, By-Laws, etc. of both UW and WUSA supersede any By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. The Clubs Manager, not the external organization, is the final authority on all club business. Other than the authority to end the affiliation, the external organization has no authority over the club whatsoever. Furthermore, the Clubs Manager is not responsible for ensuring the club abides by any additional stipulations between the club and the external organization. The club may choose by general vote to sever the affiliation, with notice given to the Clubs Manager.