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Livermore-Amador Genealogical SocietyCONSTITUTION AND BYLAWSRevision adopted December 14, 2004 |
Article I. - Name
A. The name of this organization shall be "Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society" - hereinafter referred to as "Society".
Article II. - Objectives and Policies
A. To conduct our Society as a non-profit tax exempt organization in accordance with the Federal Internal Revenue Code 501 (C) (3) - (literary and educational) and the State of California Revenue and Taxation Code 237020. No part of this document shall be interpreted by any member to be grounds for violation of the above tax codes.
B. The Society is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
C. To inspire members to continue searching for their ancestors.
D. To provide information on sources of genealogical data.
E. To provide workshops for training in principles and techniques of genealogy.
F. To stimulate the publication of genealogies, family histories and related works.
G. To encourage the deposition of the above in local and national repositories.
H. To advance genealogical research by modern technology and scientific means.
I. To provide opportunities for exchange of information with interested persons in advanced genealogy throughout the Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon and surrounding areas.
J. To cooperate and participate with other organizations who have similar genealogical interests.
K. To strengthen family ties.
L. To undertake genealogy-related public service projects.
Article III. - Membership
A. Membership shall be open to any person or family group sincerely interested in genealogy.
B. A member is expected to:
1.
Attend meetings regularly.
2. Accept assignments, committee appointments and offices.
3. Pay dues promptly.
4. Maintain the good and
welfare of the Society.
C. All new members shall be given a copy of the Bylaws, a membership card, and a package of informational material about the Society.
Article IV. - Officers and Elections
A. The elected officers shall be President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Business Manager.
B. The elected officers shall constitute the Executive Board.
C. Method of electing officers: Nominations shall be made by a Nominating Committee, appointed by the Executive Board, one month prior to the Election Meeting each year. The Committee shall consist of three members with the first person appointed to act as Chairperson. The Committee shall present its slate of nominations one month prior to the Election Meeting. Further nominations may be made from the floor at the Election Meeting providing the nominee is present or has previously given written consent.
D. Election of officers shall be at the Election Meeting. New officers shall attend the last Executive Board meeting of the fiscal year. This meeting shall include a reading of the bylaws. New officers shall be installed at the first meeting of the new fiscal year following election.
E. All elections shall be by ballot unless there is only one candidate for office, in which case the election may be held by voice. A simple majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for election.
F. All officers shall serve for one year. All except the Business Manager may be re-elected only once (i.e., may have no consecutive third term) in that capacity.
G. Any vacancy in office shall be filled by a special election held at a regular meeting as soon as possible following announcement of vacancy. The person elected shall hold office during the remainder of the term of the person replaced.
Article V. - Duties of Officers
A. The President shall:
1. Preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Executive Board.
2. Appoint Chairpersons and all standing or special committees, except Membership and
Program committees.
3. Serve as an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee and the
Auditing Committee.
4. Exercise a general supervision over affairs of the Society.
5. One month before the Audit Meeting appoint a three-member committee to audit the
Business Manager's books.
6. If the Recording Secretary is absent from a meeting, appoint a temporary substitute to
ensure that no meeting takes place without the recording of minutes.
B. The First Vice-President shall:
1. Preside at meetings in the absence of the President.
2. Serve as Program Chairperson.
C. The Second Vice-President shall:
1. Preside at meetings in the absence of the President and First Vice-President.
2. Serve as Membership Chairperson.
C. The Second Vice-President shall:
1. Preside at meetings in the absence of the President and First Vice-President.
2. Serve as Membership Chairperson.
D. The Recording Secretary shall:
1. Keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Society and Executive Board.
2. Perform such other duties as the President shall specify.
E. The Corresponding Secretary shall:
1. Attend to the Society's correspondence as necessary.
2. Send out notices of meetings as the President may request.
F. The Business Manager shall:
1. Receive and disburse funds with the approval of the Executive Board subject to
audit.
2. Keep an accurate record of all monies.
3. Give an itemized report in writing to the Society and Executive Board quarterly or as
requested.
4. At the meeting preceding the Audit Meeting each year deliver the books to the Auditing
Committee for audit prior to the Audit Meeting.
5. All financial transactions with the exception of petty cash shall be by bank check or
other legal instrument.
6. All disbursements above petty cash shall require the signatures of any two of the
following officers: The Business Manager, the President, the First Vice-President, and the
Second Vice-President.
7. A bank account for the Society shall be maintained by the Business Manager.
G. The Executive Board shall:
1. Meet at the call of the President or upon written request of one-third of the
members of the Society.
2. Have authority to act for the best interests of the Society.
3. Issue such rules as it deems necessary for conducting Society business between meetings
subject to Society ratification at the next regular meeting.
Article VI. - Meetings and Quorums
A. 1. The Society shall observe a
12-month fiscal year.
2. The Election Meeting shall be the last regular meeting of the fiscal year.
3. The Audit Meeting shall be the first month after the end of the fiscal year.
B. Regular meetings shall be held in
accordance with a calendar adopted by the Executive Board . Special
meetings may be called by the President or by a two-thirds vote of the members at any
regular meeting at which a quorum is present.
C. A count of 20% of the membership shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business at the regular meeting of the Society. A quorum of the Executive Board shall be three persons.
Article VII. - Chairpersons, Committees and Duties
A. The standing committees of the Society shall be Program, chaired by the First Vice-President, and Membership, chaired by the Second Vice President. Other standing committees include: Editor, Publicity, Historian, and Publications, and such other committees as are deemed necessary.
B. Special committees include the Nominating Committee, the Auditing Committee, and such other committees as are deemed necessary.
C. The Membership Chairperson shall receive all applications for membership and be responsible for encouraging qualified persons to join the Society. He or she shall greet new members, introduce them to the membership and welcome them into the Society.
D. The Program Chairperson shall be responsible for meeting arrangements, program assignments, speakers, workshops, etc.
E. The Editor shall be responsible for issuing the Official Publication of the Society. The duties include setting editorial policies, collecting and writing material to be published, composing the master copy, and printing and distributing the publication. The Editor shall appoint, and serve as Chairperson of, the Editorial Committee, which will assist in publishing the Official Publication.
F. The Publicity Chairperson shall prepare public notices to disseminate to newspapers, radio, television, etc. He or she shall keep a file of genealogical clippings, printed notices of value pertinent to the Society, etc. to be passed along to the incoming Publicity Chairperson to assist in continuity of necessary publicity. After its usefulness for publicity expires this information will be given to the Society's Historian as a permanent record.
G. The Historian shall be responsible for accumulating the permanent records of events and history of the Society. Such records will include pictures and publicity.
H. The Publications Chairperson shall have custody of the Society's publications, shall fill orders for them, and shall keep the Executive Board informed of the status of the inventory.
I. The Nominating Committee shall announce the slate of proposed officers one month before the Election Meeting.
J. The Auditing Committee shall audit the books of the Business Manager, sign them if in proper order and report to the Society at the Audit Meeting as to the state of the books.
Article VIII. - Compensation
A. No part of the net earnings of the Society shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to the members. officers, or other private persons, except that the Society shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II hereof.
B. No substantial part of the activities of the Society shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Society shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the Society shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Article IX. - Discrimination
A. This Society shall not discriminate against any person or groups of persons on account of race, religious creed, sex, age or national origin.
Article X. - Violation of Bylaws or Incompetency
A. Any member found in violation of these Bylaws may be removed from membership by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership. The vote shall be conducted by mail, with one month allowed for return of ballots. Authorization to conduct the vote shall be by a two-thirds vote of the members attending a general meeting at which a quorum is present.
B. Any officer found to be incompetent or in violation of his/her duties may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership. The vote shall be conducted by mail, with one month allowed for return of ballots. Authorization to conduct the vote shall be by a two-thirds vote of the members attending a general meeting at which a quorum is present.
Article XI. - Property Assets
A. Upon the dissolution of the Society, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
B. The Society's books, CDs, and other assets shall be distributed to the Pleasanton Public Library (owned and operated by the city of Pleasanton, CA), and/or the Livermore Public Library (owned and operated by the city of Livermore, CA), and/or the Dublin Public Library (owned and operated by the county of Alameda, CA), or to the California State Library, for a public purpose. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by the Superior Court of the County of Alameda, California, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes
Article XII. - Amendments
A. The Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Society at which a quorum is present by a two-thirds vote of the members present, providing the amendment has been submitted in writing and read at two regular meetings of the Society.
Article XIII. - Parliamentary Procedures
A. "Robert's Rules of Order (revised)" shall govern parliamentary procedures in all meetings and assemblies of this Society.
Article XIV. - Adoption
A. This document was originally adopted at the organizing meeting of the Amador Genealogical Association held at the Livermore Library, Livermore, California, June 27, 1977. Revised documents were adopted at regular meetings of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society on the following dates:
March 13, 1990
December
8, 1998
July
13, 2004
This revised document was adopted at the regular meeting of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society on December 14, 2004
[End of Bylaws]
As amended at the regular meeting, December 14, 2004
Article I. - Expenditures
A. Upon approval of the Executive Board, the Society shall assume costs for expenses in connection with official acts of officers and committees of the Society.
B. The Business Manager shall purchase educational books or materials as are needed at the direction of the Executive Board.
C. Bills for necessary expenses shall be presented to the Business Manager in writing for approval by the Executive Board.
D. The Corresponding Secretary, Publications, Publicity and Membership Chairpersons shall be allowed a revolving petty cash fund of $10.00 each for supplies and postage as needed.
E. All Chairpersons with revolving petty cash funds shall present a statement of expenditures to the Business Manager at each monthly meeting.
Article II. - Dues
A. Dues shall be:
1. Individual
$18.00 per year
2. Family
$25.00 per year
3. Benefactor
$40.00 per year
4. Patron
$100.00 per year
Benefactors and Patrons shall be recognized for their generosity in four successive issues of the Official Publication.
B. Yearly dues will be payable on the first day of the fiscal year and shall cover the fiscal year. Members joining in October, November and December will have full membership, which will be extended to include the next fiscal year.
C. Those in arrears in dues for two months shall be considered past members.
D. The Business Manager shall notify the Membership Chairperson when dues are received for renewed or new memberships.
Article III. - Budget
A. An annual budget shall be drawn up during the first two months of the fiscal year by the Executive Board. The budget shall be submitted to the membership at the third meeting of the fiscal year.
Article
IV. - Official Publication
A. 1. "The Livermore Roots Tracer" is hereby declared to be the Official Publication of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society.
Article V. - Sub-Groups
A. The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society supports the following sub-groups:
Computer Users Groups
Study Group
B. The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society supports a Webmaster whose function is to maintain the Society's web site appropriately. He/she may, at his/her discretion, call upon other computer knowledgeable people to provide assistance as needed.
C. The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society supports an e-mail postmaster whose function is to maintain the Society's various e-mail distribution lists, in cooperation with the Second Vice-President for Membership, and to operate and maintain the mail server hardware and software.
D. The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society supports a member to create and distribute an electronic bulletin on a monthly basis. He/she may call upon others to provide assistance as needed. Said bulletin should contain information provided by members and committee chairs relevant to upcoming Society activities.
Article VI. - Calendar
A. The fiscal year shall coincide with the calendar year. In accordance with preceding provisions of the bylaws, the following calendar is in effect:
January
Installation of officers
Audit Committee appointed
Business Manager's books delivered to Audit Committee
February
Audit
presented to membership
March
Budget presented to membership
October
Nominating Committee appointed.
November
Slate announced
by Nominating Committee
December
Election meeting
End of Standing Rules
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25 Apr 2007, 12:07:18