South Wake Amateur Radio Club Constitution & By-Laws
PREAMBLE:
The
South Wake Amateur Radio Club (hereafter referred to as "South Wake
ARC") is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State
of North Carolina and will maintain affiliation with the Amateur Radio
Relay League Incorporated (ARRL). It shall be our primary purpose to
further the Amateur Radio Service through programs, activities, and
education, in order to promote the radio knowledge, fraternalism and
individual operating efficiency of our members. Further, it shall be our
purpose to support the welfare of our community through public service
including radio communications for emergency situations and public
events, and through providing information, training, and assistance to
individuals or organizations with an interest in the Amateur Radio
Service.
ARTICLE ONE – Membership:
1:
Any person with an interest in amateur radio shall be eligible for
membership without regard to race, creed, religion, sex or national
origin subject to the following conditions:
2:
Membership is subject to submission of a completed application and
payment of the dues established by the membership. Membership
applications with appropriate dues will be submitted to the Membership
Director.
3: Full Membership is only
available to persons holding an Amateur Radio License issued by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). To maintain ARRL affiliation, a
minimum of 51% of South Wake ARC Full Members must also be members of
ARRL.
4: Associate Membership is open to
unlicensed persons with an interest in the Amateur Radio Service.
Associate Members are not eligible to vote on South Wake ARC business or
to hold office in South Wake ARC.
5:
Family Membership is available to immediate family members of any South
Wake ARC member living in the same household, with payment of the Family
Membership fee as established by the membership. When the primary
member is a Full Member then the Family Member will be assigned Full or
Associate membership as determined above. When the primary member is an
Associate Member the Family Member will also be an Associate Member.
6: Honorary
Membership may be bestowed for extraordinary service to Amateur Radio,
upon recommendation by the Board of Directors and a majority vote of
members present at a Membership Meeting. Honorary members pay no dues
and have all the privileges of Full Membership. Nominations for Honorary
Membership should be sent with supporting documentation to the Board of
Directors for investigation.
ARTICLE TWO – Officers:
1: The officers of South Wake ARC shall consist of:
- President
- Vice-President
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Membership Director
2: Only Full Members having attained the age of 18 years or more shall be eligible to hold an elected office.
3: All offices will be elected for a term of 1 year.
4:
The offices of President and Vice President will be limited to a
maximum of 5 consecutive terms in the same office. There will be no
other limit as to the number of times a member may be re-elected to the
same office.
ARTICLE THREE – Duties of officers:
1:
The President shall be the chief executive officer of South Wake ARC,
preside at all meetings according to the rules adopted, call meetings of
the Board of Directors, represent South Wake ARC on public occasions,
enforce the by-laws, and perform all customary duties pertaining to the
office. The president shall appoint committees, as he deems necessary.
2:
The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the
president's absence. In addition, he/she shall be responsible for
coordination of programs for regular club meetings and other club
activities.
3: The Secretary shall keep a
permanent record of the proceedings at all meetings of South Wake ARC
and all sessions of the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall keep a
roll of the members present, conduct and report on all South Wake ARC
correspondence, and transmit a monthly report to the ARRL Section
Communications Manager. The Secretary will maintain on hand, a list of
all current Standing Rules adopted at South Wake ARC meetings. In the
event of the absence of the President and Vice President it shall be
his/her duty to open and preside over the meeting and shall appoint a
member to record the minutes of the meetings.
4:
The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of South Wake ARC. The
Treasurer shall make written monthly and annual reports of South Wake
ARC financial activities and shall maintain an inventory listing of all
equipment owned by South Wake ARC. He/she shall be bonded at the expense
of the organization when total assets of South Wake ARC are in excess
of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). In the event of the absence of the
President, Vice President and Secretary it shall be his/her duty to
open and preside over the meeting and shall appoint a member to record
the minutes of the meetings.
The Treasurer shall be immune from suit
by South Wake ARC or individual members thereof, for loss of South Wake
ARC funds in the Treasurer's custody where such loss is not the
proximate result of the Treasurer's willful and wrongful act, or the
Treasurer's culpable negligence.
5: The
Membership Director will accept and verify completeness of all
membership applications and collect the appropriate dues per the dues
schedule as determined by the membership. The Membership Director will
also receive and record all annual dues. All dues will be accurately
recorded and turned over to the Treasurer.
The Membership Director
shall maintain an accurate roster of the current membership to be
available at all meetings to determine issues of membership including
voting rights and the right to hold office. The roster will be made
available to all members.
ARTICLE FOUR - Board of Directors:
1: The
Board of Directors will consist of the elected officers in Article Two
(1) and at least 2 elected Directors At Large not holding any other
elected office in the club.
2: The Board
of Directors shall construct an annual Club Budget and present it to
the Club membership for approval at the first business meeting after
taking office for the new term. If the proposed budget is not approved
by the Club membership, the Board of Directors shall present a revised
proposed budget at the following business meeting for Club membership
approval.
3: The duties of the Board of
Directors shall be to propose all expenditures of the Club except normal
operating expenses that the Treasurer is authorized to pay.
4: Any
action taken by the Board of Directors shall be subject to the approval
of the voting members present at a regular or special called Membership
Meeting.
ARTICLE FIVE – Elections:
1:
The elected positions shall consist of President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Director, and at least 2 Board Members
At Large.
2: A Nominating committee
shall be appointed at the April meeting and will report the slate of
nominees for the above elected positions at the May and June membership
meetings. Nominations from the floor will also be accepted at each
meeting provided the nominee agrees to the nomination.
3:
Election will be conducted prior to the close of the June meeting by
secret ballot in the sequence listed in section 1 above with each
election being preceded by the opportunity for additional nominations
from the floor.
4: The term of office shall be 1 year commencing with installation at the beginning of the July meeting.
5:
Election requires a 51% majority of the voting members present. In the
event that no candidate receives a 51% majority of votes the candidate
receiving the lowest vote will be dropped from the slate and another
vote will be conducted.
6: Should an
elected office other than President be vacated for any reason the office
will be filled by nomination at the next regular meeting and election
at the following meeting. If the office of President becomes vacant the
Vice-President shall ascend to the office of President automatically
without need for nomination, vote or approval by the membership.
7:
Any officer or board member may be removed for cause by a 2/3 majority
vote of the Full Members present at a regular or special Membership
Meeting whenever, in the judgment of the members, the best interests of
South Wake ARC will be served thereby. Any officer or board member so
removed has the right to appeal and reverse such removal by a 2/3
majority vote of Full Members present at the next regular meeting at
which a quorum exists.
ARTICLE SIX – Meetings:
1: Membership meetings shall be held on a regular monthly basis at a time and place determined by the membership.
2: Special
Membership meetings may be called by the President upon the written
request of any five-club members. The request will include nature of
business to be considered at the special meeting. The Secretary will
send notification of the special meeting to all members currently on the
roster. The notice will specifically state that this will be a Special
Meeting and will include the date, time location, and the agenda of
business to be considered. Such notices shall be sent so that they
arrive not less than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting time. Only
such business as designated on the agenda shall be considered to be in
order at the meeting.
3: Board of
Directors meetings shall be held on a regular monthly basis at a time
and place determined by the board of directors and announced to the
membership. Members may attend as a guest at any board meeting but
should make prior arrangements if they have business to present to the
board.
4: The quorum required for
conducting business any regular or special meeting shall be at least 30%
of the Full Members of the club.
5: The
quorum required for conducting business at a Board of Directors meeting
shall be at least 51% of the members of the Board of Directors.
6:
Roberts Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings, except where in
conflict with the provisions of these by-laws. Nothing in this section
shall foreclose the use of informal procedure during the meetings,
however upon request of any Full Member in good standing, the provisions
of the prescribed parliamentary procedure may be invoked.
ARTICLE SEVEN – Removal of Members:
Any
member may be removed for just cause upon an affirmative vote for
removal by 2/3 of the FULL members voting at a regular meeting. The
Secretary shall notify all FULL members of the club of the action to be
considered at least 48 hours prior to the meeting at which the vote is
to be taken.
ARTICLE EIGHT – Amendments:
1:
Proposals for amendments shall be submitted in writing at two
consecutive regular meetings with the proposal to be discussed and voted
on at the second meeting.
2: At least 2 weeks prior to the second meeting, all members must be notified of the intent to amend the constitution and By-Laws.
3:
If any changes are made to the proposal to amend it must be
re-submitted as a new proposal and notification must again be sent to
all members.
4: If the requirements
above have been met, this Constitution & By-Laws may be amended by a
two-thirds vote of the membership present at the second meeting.
ARTICLE NINE – Dissolution:
In
the event of dissolution the residual assets of the South Wake Amateur
Radio Club will be turned over to the Amateur Radio Relay League Inc.
(ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111), or other organization(s)
having been granted IRS section 501 (c) (3) status.
This
Constitution was adopted by the South Wake Amateur Radio Club at the
formation and organizational meeting held on the 4th day of August in
the year 2008