Bylaws
of the
Rotary Club of
Chatham Sunrise
Revised
February 4, 2008
Approved by membership April 29, 2008
Article I Definitions
1. Board: The
Board of Directors of this club.
2. Director: A member of this club's Board of Directors.
3. Member: A member, other than an honorary member, of this club.
4. RI: Rotary International.
5. Year: The twelve-month period that begins on 1 July.
Article 2 Board
The governing body of this club shall be the
board consisting of eight (8) members of this club, namely, three (3) directors
elected in accordance with article 3, section 1, of these bylaws, and the
president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer, and the immediate past
president.
Article 3 Election of Directors and Officers
Section 1
At a regular meeting one month prior to the meeting for election of officers,
the presiding officer shall ask for nominations by members of the club for
president, president elect, secretary, treasurer, three (3) directors. 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, president-elect, secretary, and treasurer receiving a majority of the
votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices. The three (3)
candidates for director receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared
elected as directors. The candidate for president-elect in such balloting shall
serve as a director for the year commencing on the first day of July next
following the election, and shall assume office as president on the first day of
July immediately following that year.
Section 2 The officers and directors,
so elected, together with the immediate past president shall constitute the
board. Within one week after their election, the directors-elect shall meet and
elect some member of the club to act as sergeant-at-arms.
Section 3 A vacancy in the board or any
office shall be filled by action of the remaining directors.
Section 4 A vacancy in the position of
any officer-elect or director-elect shall be filled by action of the remaining
directors-elect.
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 pertains to the office of president.
Section 2
President-elect/Vice-President. It shall be the duty of the
president-elect/vice-president to serve as a director, to perform such other
duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board, and to preside at
meetings of the club and the board in the absence of the president.
Section 4 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 January 1st and July 1st of each
year, and prorated reports on October 1st and April 1st of
each active member who has 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 5 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.
Section 6 Sergeant-at-Arms. The
duties of the sergeant-at-arms shall be such as are usually prescribed for such
office and other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board.
Article 5 Meetings
Section 1
Annual Meeting.
An annual meeting of this club shall be held on the first Tuesday of December in
each year, at which time the election of officers and directors to serve for the
ensuing year shall take place.
Section 2 The regular weekly
meetings of this club shall be held on Tuesdays at 7:30 am.
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 article 8, sections 3 and 4 of 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 members being
present for at least sixty (50) 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 8, 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 Fourth 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
directors shall constitute a quorum of the board.
Article 6 Fees and Dues
Section 1 The admission fee shall
be $50.00 to be paid before the applicant can qualify as a member.
Section 2 The membership dues
shall be $270.00 per annum, payable quarterly, with the understanding that a
portion of each semiannual payment shall be applied to each members
subscription to the RI official magazine.
Section 3 The fee for meals shall
be payable quarterly.
Article 7 Method of Voting
The business of this club shall be transacted by
viva voce* vote
except the election of officers and directors, which shall be by ballot. The
board may determine that a specific resolution be considered by ballot rather
than by viva voce vote.
(Note: Viva voce vote is defined as when club voting is conducted by vocal
assent.)
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 clubs service projects and activities.
·
Club Administration: This committee should conduct activities
associated with the effective operation of the club.
·
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 contributions and program participation.
Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed
as needed.
(b) 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.
(c) 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 make reference to
appropriate RI materials. The service project committee will consider vocational
service, community service and international service avenues 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 a specified length of time.
Article 12 Finances
Section 1 Prior to the beginning of
each fiscal year, the board shall prepare a budget of estimated income and
expenditures for the year, which shall stand as the limit of expenditures for
these purposes, unless otherwise ordered 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 a bank, named by the board. The club funds shall be divided
into two separate parts: club operations and service projects.
Section 3 All bills shall be paid by
the treasurer or other authorized officer only when approved by two other
officers or directors.
Section 4 A thorough review of all
financial transactions by a qualified person shall be made once each year.
Section 5 Officers having charge or
control of club funds shall give bond as required by the board for the safe
custody of the funds of the club, cost of bond to be borne by the club.
Section 6 The fiscal year of this club
shall extend from July 1st to June 30th, and for the
collection of members' dues shall be divided into four quarterly periods
extending from July 1st to September 30th, and from
October 1st to December 31st, and from January 1st
to March 31st, and from April 1st to June 30th.
The payment of per capita dues and RI official magazine subscriptions shall be
made on July 1st and January 1st of each year on the basis
of the membership of the club on those dates.
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, upon payment of the
admission fee (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, upon payment of the admission fee
(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, membership card, 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 club may elect, in
accordance with the standard Rotary club constitution, honorary members proposed
by the board.
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
Meeting called to order.
Introduction of visitors.
Correspondence, announcements and Rotary
information.
Committee reports if any.
Any unfinished business.
Any new business.
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.
04-30-2008
