Bylaws of the Rotary Club of
Skaneateles, NY (4859)
December 13, 2007
1. Board: The Board
of Directors of this club.
2. Director: A member of this clubŐs Board of Directors.
3. Member: An active member of this club.
4. RI: Rotary International.
5. Year: The twelve-month period that begins on 1 July.
6. Standing Committee: A permanent
club committee.
Section 1 - The governing body of this club
shall be the board of directors consisting of a maximum of fifteen (15)
members, namely eight (8) directors; and the offices of the president,
president-elect (or president nominee, if no successor has been elected),
vice-president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer
elected as aforesaid, and the immediate past president.
Section 2 - Any individual may hold two or
more offices coincidentally.
However the election or appointment to an office of a director having a
remaining year of his/her directorship shall create a directorship vacancy at
the time the office becomes effective, and the directorship vacancy shall be
filled in accordance with Article 3, Section 3.
Section 3 - No more than two Officers or
Directors may serve on this clubŐs Board of Directors as well as on the
Skaneateles Rotary Foundation (SRF) Board of Trustees during the same Rotary
year. No member of the SRF Board
of Trustees shall serve as an officer of this club during the same Rotary year.
Section 1 - At a regular meeting four weeks
prior to the meeting for election of officers, the presiding officer shall ask
for a report of the nominations committee for president, vice president,
recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer and four (4) two (2)-
year term members of the Board of Directors. The nominating committee of at least three (3) club members
shall have been appointed by the president and announced to the membership at
least two (2) weeks prior to the committeeŐs report. The nominations duly made shall be placed on a ballot in
alphabetical order under each office and Directorship and shall be voted on at
the annual meeting. The candidate receiving a majority of the votes shall be
declared elected to their respective offices and directorships. The president
elected in such balloting shall be the president-nominee and shall serve as a
member of the board as president-elect 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 the year of service on the board as
president-elect. Terms of all
other offices and directors shall commence July 1 and terminate June 30.
Section 2 - The officers and directors so
elected, together with the immediate past president, shall constitute the board
of directors on July 1 of the upcoming Rotary year. That board shall select a board member to act as
sergeant-at-arms.
Section 3 - A vacancy in the board of directors
or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining members of the board.
Section 4 - A vacancy in the position of any
officer-elect or director-elect shall be filled by action of the remaining
members of the board of directors-elect.
Section 1 - President. It shall be the duty of the
president to preside at meetings of the club and the board and to perform such
other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of president.
Section 2 - President-elect. It shall be the duty of the
president-elect to serve as a member of the board of directors of the club and
to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the
board.
Section 3 - Vice president. It shall be the duty of the vice
president to preside at meetings of the club and the board in the absence of
the president and to perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to the
office of vice president.
Section 4 - Recording Secretary. It shall be the duty of the
recording secretary to keep the records of membership, to report changes in
membership which shall be made to the General Secretary of Rotary
International, to record the attendance at meetings of the club, to provide a
monthly report of attendance at the club meetings which shall be made to the
district governor immediately following the last meeting of the month and
perform such other duties as usually pertain to this office.
Section 5 - Corresponding Secretary. It shall be the duty of the corresponding secretary to send
out notices of the board and committee meetings, record and preserve the
attendance at and minutes of such meetings, make the required reports to Rotary
International, including the semiannual reports of membership, which shall be
made to the General Secretary of Rotary International on January 1st
and July 1st of each year, and including prorated reports to the
general secretary of 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, collect and remit to Rotary
International subscriptions to The Rotarian, and perform such other duties as
usually pertain to this office.
Section 6 - 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 such 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 in his or her possession.
Section 7 - 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.
Section 1 - Annual Meeting: An annual meeting of this club shall
be held on any regular meeting date from November 15th to December
31st of each year, at which time the election of officers and
directors to serve for the ensuing year(s) shall take place.
Section 2 - The regular weekly meetings of this
club shall be held on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Due notice of any changes in or
canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club.
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 monthly, on a schedule established by the president. 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.
Section 1 - The admission fee, determined by the
Board of Directors, must be paid before the applicant is admitted to membership.
Section 2 - The annual membership dues shall be
determined by the board, payable semiannually on the first day of July and of
January, with the understanding that a portion of each semiannual payment shall
be applied to each memberŐs subscription to the RI official magazine. The board
shall notify the membership a one month prior to any change in membership dues.
(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 and
appointing committee chairs, who will serve during his or her term of office,
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 committee chairs are to be appointed by the president or
president-elect to serve during the same year as served by the president.
Standing committees shall be appointed as follows:
Membership - This committee should develop and
implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of members,
consistent with the ClubŐs Long Range Plan.
Club Public Relations - This committee should develop and
implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to
promote the clubŐs service and Fundraising 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, consistent with the
ClubŐs Long Range Plan.
Fundraising Projects - This committee should develop and
implement fundraising projects, which serve the needs identified by the Service
Projects CommitteeŐs plans and the ClubŐs Long Range Plan.
Leadership Committee - This committee should develop and
lead implementation of a Long Range Plan addressing the ClubŐs service and
fundraising projects, membership and leadership development needs.
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.
(a) The president shall be ex officio a member of all
committees and, as such, shall have all the privileges of membership thereon.
(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.
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
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 his or her year of office.
Article
11 - Leave of Absence
Upon written
application to the board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, a leave of
absence may be granted excusing a member from attending the meetings of the
club for a specified length of time.
(Note:
Such leave of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership; it
does not operate to give the club credit for the memberŐs attendance. Unless
the member attends a regular meeting of some other club, the excused member
must be recorded as absent except that absence authorized under the provisions
of article 8, sections 3 and 4 of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution is not
computed in the attendance record of the club.)
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, having been agreed to by the board, 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 check,
which have been signed by the treasurer or in his/her absence by another
officer authorized by the board. The treasurer may, at his or her discretion,
require the approval for such payments by another club member(s) having
knowledge of the transaction.
Section 4 - A thorough review of all financial
transactions by a certified public accountant or other qualified person shall
be made once each year within three months of the close of each yearŐs
financial accounts.
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 1 July to 30 June, and for the collection of membersŐ dues shall be
divided into two (2) semiannual periods extending from 1 July to 31 December,
and from 1 January to 30 June. The payment of per capita dues and RI official
magazine subscriptions shall be made on 1 July and 1 January of each year on
the basis of the membership of the club on those dates.
(Note: Magazine subscriptions for members joining during a
semiannual period are payable upon invoice from the Secretariat.)
Section 1 – Active Members
1) The name of a
prospective member, proposed by an active member of the club or by the
membership committee, shall be submitted to the board in writing, through the
club corresponding 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.
2) The board shall
ensure that the proposal meets all the classification and membership requirements
of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution.
3) The board shall
approve or disapprove the proposal within 30 days of its submission and shall
notify the proposer, through the club corresponding secretary, of its decision.
4) If the decision
of the board is favorable, the proposer, together with one or more members of
the membership committee, shall inform the prospective member of the purposes
of Rotary and of the privileges and responsibilities of membership in the club,
following which the prospective member shall be requested to sign the
membership proposal form to give permission for his or her name and proposed
classification to be published to the club.
5) If no written
objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the board from any
member of the club within seven (7) days following publication of information
about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission fee,
as prescribed in article 6, section 1 of 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, shall be considered to be elected to membership.
6) Following the memberŐs
election, the president shall arrange for the proper induction of the member
into the club. The recording secretary will report the new member information
to RI and the district and issue the new member Rotary literature and
membership card. The president will (a) assign a member to assist with the new
memberŐs assimilation to the club (b) assign the new member to a club project
or function and (c) formally introduce the new member at the next regular
meeting of the club.
Section 2 – Honorary
Members
The name of a
proposed candidate for honorary membership shall be submitted to the board of
directors in writing and the election shall be in the same form and manner as
prescribed for the election of an active member provided, however that such
proposal may be considered at any regular or special meeting of the board and
that the board may at its discretion waive any of the step as set forth in
Section 1 through 6 of this Article and proceed to ballot on the proposed
member. If approved by the members
of the board in attendance at the regular or special meeting, the proposed
honorary member
shall be considered duly elected. Such election must be in accordance with
Article 6 Section 6 of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution.
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.
á Meeting called to order.
á Introduction of visitors.
á
Correspondence,
announcements, and Rotary information.
á
Committee
reports if any.
á
Any
unfinished business.
á Any new business.
á Address or other program features.
á Adjournment.
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.