Contact Us

Please let us know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.  The best way to reach us is email.

MSUG Mission

The charter of MSUG is “To Increase Successful Use of Simulation as a Decision Support Tool”. It shall be accomplished by:

  1. Providing MSUG members with a forum, across the company and industry boundaries, for the mutual exchange of technical, administrative, and management information pertaining the use of simulation technology;
  2. Broadening the knowledge of its members on simulation and its applications;
  3. Communicating with simulation software suppliers regarding their product, maintenance, and other technical requirements from end users so as to provide them ideas for improving their products;
  4. Cost issues both on selling the software and on performing services will be excluded from the group discussions.

By-Laws: updated 5/13/2013

Name:

The name of this organization shall be the Michigan Simulation User Group, hereafter called MSUG. The principal office of the organization shall be that of the current president of the Steering Committee.

Charter:

The charter of MSUG is “To Increase Successful Use of Simulation as a Decision Support Tool.” It shall be accomplished by:

  1. Providing MSUG members with a forum, across the company and industry boundaries, for the mutual exchange of technical, administrative, and management information pertaining to the use of simulation technology;
  2. Broadening the knowledge of its members on simulation and its applications;
  3. Communicating with simulation software suppliers regarding their product, maintenance, and other technical requirements from end users so as to provide them ideas for improving their products;
  4. Cost issues both on selling the software and on performing services will be excluded from the group discussions.

Membership:

Membership in MSUG is open and requires no dues. Membership is available to all individuals who are active or interested in simulation technology. No Company membership will be accepted; this is to avoid conflict of interest or violating antitrust law.

Meeting:

At least ONE general membership meeting (referred to as the annual meeting) will be held each year. The Steering Committee will set the time, location and agenda for the meeting. This meeting will be open to all existing members as well as any potential new members.

Funding:

MSUG shall be self-funded. Funds will be obtained from minimal meeting and conference fees. All spending is subject to pre-approval by the Steering Committee for carrying out MSUG’s chartered mission.

Voting:

Each member of MSUG in attendance at the annual meeting shall constitute one vote. No block vote representing company special interest will be accepted. Absentee ballots are allowed.

Steering Committee:

The Steering Committee shall be composed of eleven members.  Roles and responsibilities other than those documented here are to be maintained by the secretary.

    1. President:
      1. Lead activities and insure roles and responsibilities are being carried out
      2. Publish Agenda for Steering Committee Meetings.
      3. Chair Steering Committee Meetings.
      4. Host General Membership Meeting.
      5. Host Annual Conference.
      6. Write a “From The President” letter for each Newsletter.
      7. President should be a second or third year member.
      8. Meet IRS requirements (e.g., file form 990N by May 15)
      9. Maintain and update By-Laws.
      10. Manage lessons learned from meeting minutes.
    1. Secretary:
      1. Attend and minute every Steering Committee meeting.
      2. Attend and report on General Membership Meeting(s).
      3. Attend and report on Annual Conference.
      4. Develop and distribute evaluation form at Annual Conference.
      5. Summarize evaluation forms for review by Steering Committee.
      6. Act as group historian and manage documents (role and responsibilities,, minutes, presentations, forms, etc.) published on Google Docs.
      7. Ensure MSUG 501 (c)  6 application is available as required by the IRS.
    1. Treasurer:
      1. Manage MSUG books and accounts
      2. Pay MSUG expenses.
      3. Report group financial status at SC meetings when required.
      4. Coordinate venues for General Membership and Annual Conference meetings.
      5. Negotiate fees & agree on contracts for General Membership Meeting.
      6. Coordinate fees and contracts for Annual Conference.
      7. Schedule annual audit.
      8. Comply with financial requirements, including IRS 501 (c) 6.

            (e.g., categorize income & expenses by event)

Membership on the Steering Committee shall be served on a three-year rotational basis by MSUG members. Each year, one-third of the committee members will be replaced by newly elected members. Committee members re-elected may serve one consecutive term – a total of six-year maximum. When a chaired member resigns during his/her tenure, a member at-large shall be elected by the committee to replace the resigned position. Replacement of the seat shall be conducted at the annual meeting. If there are insufficient steering committee candidates, current steering committee members terms can be extended pending acceptance by the steering committee. Steering Committee roles and responsibilities are valid for one year from conference to conference.

Governing:

The Steering Committee shall be the basic policy-making body of MSUG. It shall:

  1. establish the goals and vision for MSUG;
  2. establish membership requirements;
  3. provide direction and operational guidelines for MSUG;
  4. oversee treasury, publication, and all other MSUG operations;
  5. plan, announce, and conduct all MSUG meetings;
  6. determine the times, locations, and themes of all meetings;
  7. nominate candidates for Steering Committee membership;
  8. make recommendations to MSUG;
  9. execute all necessary functions on behalf of MSUG.

Dissolution:

Upon dissolution, the assets of MSUG shall be distributed to charities selected by the Steering Committee.

Amendment of Bylaws:

These Bylaws can be amended, altered, repealed, or replaced by new Bylaws with the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the committee members at any Steering Committee meeting, provided that the proposed Bylaws (and/or modifications) have been distributed in writing to all committee members no later than six weeks prior to the start of the committee meeting.

Loading