Bylaws
Article I Definitions
1. Board: The Directors and Executive Committee of this club
2. Director: A member of this club’s Board of Directors
3. Executive Committee: The president, president elect, treasurer, secretary, immediate past president
4. Member: A member, other than an honorary member, of this club
5. RI: Rotary International
6. Year: The twelve-month period that begins on 1 July
Article 2 Board
The governing body of this club shall be the board of 9 directors and the executive committee. The president, the president elect, the treasurer, secretary, and immediate past president are considered the Executive Committee. Directors are appointed for 3 year terms. Each year, the position of 3 directors expires and new directors are appointed by the president. In case of vacancies, the president will appoint additional directors for the remaining term of the leaving director.
Article 3 Election of Officers for the Executive Committee
Section 1 – The president-elect will become automatically the new president. At a regular meeting, one month prior to the meeting for election of officers, the president shall ask for nominations by members of the club for president-elect, secretary, treasurer. In the instance where the current president-elect cannot fulfill his/her term as president, the new president will also be elected.
The nominations may be presented by a nominating committee or by members from the floor. The nominations duly made shall be placed on a ballot in alphabetical order under each office and shall be voted for at the annual meeting. The candidates for president-elect, secretary, and treasurer receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices.
Section 2 – A vacancy in the executive committee shall be filled by action of the remaining directors.
Article 4 Duties of Officers
Section 1 – President. It shall be the duty of the president to preside at meetings of the club and the board and to perform other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of president.
Section 2 –President-Elect. It shall be the duty of the president-elect to preside at meetings of the club and the board in the absence of the president and to perform other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of vice-president.
Section 3 – Secretary. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep membership records; record attendance at meetings; send out notices of club, board, and committee meetings; record and preserve the minutes of such meetings; report as required to RI, including the semiannual reports of membership on 1 January and 1 July of each year, which shall include per capita dues for all members and prorated dues for active members who have been elected to membership in the club since the start of the July or January semiannual reporting period; report changes in membership; provide the monthly attendance report, which shall be made to the district governor within 15 days of the last meeting of the month; collect and remit RI official magazine subscriptions; and perform other duties as usually pertain to the office of secretary.
Section 4 – Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to have custody of all funds, accounting for it to the club annually and at any other time upon demand by the board, and to perform other duties as pertains to the office of treasurer. Upon retirement from office, the treasurer shall turn over to the incoming treasurer or to the president all funds, books of accounts, or any other club property.
Article 5 Meetings
Section 1 – Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of this club shall be held on the first Thursday after Thanksgiving, at which time the election of officers to serve for the ensuing year shall take place.
Section 2 – The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Thursdays at 12:15pm.
Due notice of any changes in or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club. All members excepting an honorary member (or member excused pursuant to the standard Rotary club constitution) in good standing in this club, on the day of the regular meeting, must be counted as present or absent, and attendance must be evidenced by the member’s being present for at least sixty (60) percent of the time devoted to the regular meeting, either at this club or at any other Rotary club, or as otherwise provided in the standard Rotary club constitution, article 9, sections 1 and 2.
Section 3 – One-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual and regular meetings of this club.
Section 4 – Regular meetings of the board shall be held on the third Wednesday of each month. Special meetings of the board shall be called by the president, whenever deemed necessary, or upon the request of two (2) directors, due notice having been given.
Section 5 – A majority of the board members shall constitute a quorum of the board.
Article 6 Fees and Dues
The membership dues shall be $180 per annum, payable quarterly within 30 days of billing. A portion of each payment shall be applied to each member’s subscription to the RI official magazine.
Other financial obligations:
The club will hold several fundraisers each year to fund the charitable giving program. While participation for members is usually voluntary, the board may decide to make 1 or 2 fundraisers each year mandatory. Members who do not participate in those fundraisers will be billed for the amount determined by the board.Past Due Notices:
A notice will be sent to members who are past 30 days due. After 60 days, a second notice is sent and the president will contact the member. If payment is not received after 90 days, and no special arrangements have been made, the member is excluded from the club.
Article 7 Method of Voting
The business of this club shall be transacted by voice(Article 5 section 3) vote except the election of offficers which shall be by ballot. The board may determine that a specific resolution be considered by ballot rather than by voice vote.
Article 8 Four Avenues of Service
The four Avenues of Service are the philosophical and practical framework for the work of this Rotary club. They are Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service. This club will be active in each of the four Avenues of Service.
Article 9 Committees
Club committees are charged with carrying out the annual and long-range goals of the club based on the four Avenues of Service. The president-elect, president, and immediate past president should work together to ensure continuity of leadership and succession planning. When feasible, committee members should be appointed to the same committee for three years to ensure consistency. The president-elect is responsible for appointing committee members to fill vacancies, appointing committee chairs, and conducting planning meetings prior to the start of the year in office. It is recommended that the chair have previous experience as a member of the committee. Standing committees should be appointed as follows:
- Membership
This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of members.
- Club Public Relations
This committee should develop and implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to promote the club’s service projects and activities.
- Service Projects
This committee should develop and implement educational, humanitarian, and vocational projects that address the needs of its community and communities in other countries.
- The Rotary Foundation
This committee should develop and implement plans to support The Rotary Foundation through both financial
- Fundraising
This committee should develop and implement plans to raise funds for our charitable giving program.
- Charitable Giving Committee
This committee will develop the charitable giving program and provide recommendations to the board.
- Finance Committee
This committee will develop the administrative budget for board approval at the June board meeting.
Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.
The president shall be ex officio a member of all committees and, as such, shall have all the privileges of membership thereon.
Each committee shall transact its business as is delegated to it in these bylaws and such additional business as may be referred to it by the president or the board. Except where special authority is given by the board, such committees shall not take action until a report has been made and approved by the board.
Each chair shall be responsible for regular meetings and activities of the committee, shall supervise and coordinate the work of the committee, and shall report to the board on all committee activities.
Article 10 Duties of Committees
The duties of all committees shall be established and reviewed by the president for his or her year. In declaring the duties of each, the president shall reference to appropriate RI materials. The service projects committee will consider the Avenues of Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service when developing plans for the year.
Each committee shall have a specific mandate, clearly defined goals, and action plans established by the beginning of each year for implementation during the course of the year. It shall be the primary responsibility of the president-elect to provide the necessary leadership to prepare a recommendation for club committees, mandates, goals, and plans for presentation to the board in advance of the commencement of the year as noted above.
Article 11 Leave of Absence
Upon written application to the board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, leave of absence may be granted excusing a member from attending the meetings of the club for 6 months. The request for an excused absence must be submitted to the board in writing.
Article 12 Finances
Section 1 – Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the board shall approve a budget of estimated income and expenditures for the year, which shall stand as the limit of expenditures for these purposes, unless otherwise amended by action of the board. The budget shall be broken into two separate parts: one in respect of club operations and one in respect of charitable/service operations.
Section 2 – The treasurer shall deposit all club funds in accounts approved by the board.
Section 3 – All bills shall be paid by the treasurer or other authorized officer. Payments over $1500 require 2 signatures of authorized officers.
Section 4 – A thorough overview of all financial transactions by a qualified person shall be made once each year.
Section 5 – The fiscal year of this club is from 1 July to 30 June, and for the collection of members’ dues shall be divided into four (4) quarterly periods extending from July 1 to September 30, October 1 to December 31, January 1, to March 31, and April 1 to June 30.
Article 13 Method of Electing Members
Section 1 – The name of a prospective member, proposed by an active member of the club, shall be submitted to the board in writing, through the club secretary. A transferring or former member of another club may be proposed to active membership by the former club. The proposal shall be kept confidential except as otherwise provided in this procedure.
Section 2 – The board shall ensure that the proposal meets all the classification and membership requirements of the standard Rotary club constitution.
Section 3 – The board shall approve or disapprove the proposal within 30 days of its submission and shall notify the proposer, through the club secretary, of its decision.
Section 4 – If the decision of the board is favorable, the prospective member shall be informed of the purposes of Rotary and of the privileges and responsibilities of membership, following which the prospective member shall be requested to sign the membership proposal form and to permit his or her name and proposed classification to be published to the club.
Section 5 – If no written objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the board from any member (other than honorary) of the club within seven (7) days following publication of information about the prospective member, that person, (if not honorary membership), as prescribed in these bylaws, shall be considered to be elected to membership.
If any such objection has been filed with the board, it shall vote on this matter at its next meeting. If approved despite the objection, the proposed member, (if not honorary membership), shall be considered to be elected to membership.
Section 6 – Following the election, the president shall arrange for the new member’s induction and new member Rotary literature. In addition, the president or secretary will report the new member information to RI and the president will assign a member to assist with the new member’s assimilation to the club as well as assign the new member to a club project or function.
Section 7 – The board may elect, in accordance with the standard Rotary club constitution, honorary members.
Article 14 Resolutions
The club shall not consider any resolution or motion to commit the club on any matter until the board has considered it. Such resolutions or motions, if offered at a club meeting, shall be referred to the board without discussion
Article 15 Order of Business at regular meetings
Meeting called to order.
Introduction of visitors.
Correspondence, Announcements, and Rotary information.
Address or other program features.
Adjournment.
Article 16 Amendments
These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting, a quorum being present, by a two-thirds vote of all members present, provided that notice of such proposed amendment shall have been mailed to each member at least ten (10) days before such meeting. No amendment or addition to these bylaws can be made which is not in harmony with the standard Rotary club constitution and with the constitution and bylaws of RI.