Bylaws
of the Rotary Club of
(Approved by Club Assembly
Article 13, Section 2 amended
_____________________________________
These Bylaws were established by
the
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 nine members of this club, namely four directors approved by the club in accordance with article 3, section 1 of these bylaws, and the president, president-elect, immediate past president, the secretary, and the treasurer.
Article 3. Election of Directors and Officers
Section 1 No later than 1 December the
president elect (in consultation with the president and immediate past
president) shall prepare a slate of officers for the next Rotary year (July 1-
June 30). He or she should solicit from the entire membership nominations for
the open positions on the Board. He or she shall present the slate to the Board
for its approval and to the entire membership for its approval at a regular
meeting prior to 31 December.
Section 2 A vacancy in the board or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining directors.
Section 3 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 pertain to the office of president.
Section 2 President-elect. It shall be the duty of the president-elect to perform such duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board.
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, and prorated reports on 1 October and 1 April 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 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 in December, at which
time the election of officers and directors to serve for the ensuing year shall take place. An installation banquet or luncheon shall also be held prior to 30 June of each year for the official installation of these officers.
Section 2
The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Wednesday at
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 each month on a date convenient for members of the board. 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 membership dues and any additional fees shall be determined by the Board at the beginning of each Rotary year and shall be payable in quarterly installments, with the understanding that a portion of each quarterly payment shall be applied to each members subscription to the RI official magazine.
Section 2 Any impromptu fundraising efforts at a club meeting shall be ruled out of order.
Article 7. Method of Voting
The business of this club shall be transacted by voice vote. The board and/or a majority vote of members present may determine that a specific resolution be considered by written ballot.
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 shall 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:
The Director of Vocational Service will be responsible for the following committees:
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.
Programs
This committee is responsible for arranging an interesting schedule of weekly programs.
Membership
This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of members.
The Director of International Service shall be responsible for the following committees:
Rotary Foundation
This committee should develop and implement plans to support the Rotary Foundation through both financial contributions and program participation.
RI Scholarships
This committee shall each year solicit applications and select a candidate to participate in the competition for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship offered by the District.
International Projects
This committee should develop and implement educational, humanitarian, and vocational projects that address the needs of communities in other countries.
Exchanges
This committee serves as a liaison with exchange programs within the District, either group exchanges or individual exchanges.
The Director of Club Service is responsible for the following committees:
Attendance
This committee shall encourage and monitor the attendance of Club members and report problems with attendance to the board.
Publications, PR and Web
This committee should develop and implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to promote the clubs service projects and activities. It should also
facilitate internal communications between members of the club through a bulletin and a web page.
Banquet, Social and Meals
This committee is responsible for developing occasional social activities for members and their spouses/partners and in planning the annual installation banquet. It also should monitor the quality of the weekly menu.
History
This committee should keep the historical records of the club and deposit the appropriate records in the Smith Library of Regional History.
Audit
Annually reviews financial records of the club and reports status to the membership. An official CPA audit is not required.
The Director of Community Service is responsible for the following committees:
Community Affairs
This committee should develop and implement educational, humanitarian, and vocational projects that address the needs of the local community.
Local Scholarships
This committee should solicit
applications and choose each year the recipients of the college scholarships
offered by the club to graduating seniors at
Dictionary Project
This committee is responsible
for coordinating presentation and raising funds to continue the project of
presenting a dictionary to each third grade student in the
Hefner Fund
This organization is responsible for distributing (per IRS regulations) the charitable funds raised by various club activities and the quarterly contributions of members. Refer to Hefner Fund governing documents for more details.
Golf Outing
This committee is responsible for planning the annual Golf Outing and for raising sponsorships. It is the responsibility of the committee to recruit members to help with the event itself.
Raffles
This committee should plan an occasional raffle at a weekly meeting, with prior approval by the Board, to raise additional money for the Hefner Fund.
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award)
This one-person committee coordinates selection and attendance of local youth at the Rotary District RYLA event.
Four-Way Test Speech Contest
This one-person committee
coordinates promotion, selection and participation in the Rotary District
Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.
(a) 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.
(b) 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 appropriate director all committee activities. The director shall report to the board on the activities of the committees under his or her supervision.
Article 10. Duties of Committees
Additional specific 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.
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
Section 1 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.
__________________
(RI Note: Such leave
of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership; it does not
operate to give the club credit for the members 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 2 Upon notification/request to the Board, a member who has an illness or
injury
affecting their long-term attendance (defined as missing three or more meetings), shall be excused from meal payments and club attendance. (Ratified September 2006)
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.
Section 2 The treasurer shall deposit all club funds in a bank named by the Board. The treasurer shall also maintain an accounting and balance for four separate funds (which may be commingled in one bank account): Dictionary Fund, General Fund, Golf Fund, and the Hefner Fund. At the discretion of the Board the treasurer may also be authorized to purchase certificates of deposit. An additional endowment fund is on deposit with the Oxford Community Foundation.
Section 3 The Audit Committee shall review the financial transactions on a yearly basis.
Section 4 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 5 The fiscal year of this club shall extend from 1 July to 30 June; the collection of dues shall be done on a quarterly basis with the understanding that 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.
Section 6 Club funds to be used for charitable causes shall, when practical, flow through the Hefner Fund.
Article 13. Method of Electing Members
Section 1 Due
to the nature of the
1) Maintain a diverse membership base by
limiting
2) Seek to avoid active membership by more than a small group of members from any one academic discipline or university area.
Section 2 Any current member in good standing (i.e. having met the attendance requirements and being current on all dues and fees) may nominate to the Board a person whom he/she deems would be an asset to the club and would be interested in joining. Said nominations are to be made in writing to the club secretary. Nomination forms are available from the secretary. The club secretary will seek input from the general membership on the nominee.
The club secretary shall then bring the nomination before the Board of Directors for consideration and approval. If a simple majority of the Board of Directors approves, the nomination shall proceed forward for consideration by the full membership. The proposer is notified of the decision by the club secretary.
The proposer, accompanied by at least one member of the membership committee or Board, shall fully inform the proposed member of the privileges and responsibilities of membership in the Rotary Club of Oxford, Ohio and shall secure the oral or written permission of the proposed member to publish his or her name to the membership of the club.
The secretary shall then provide the full membership with ballots by which to vote on the nomination. The ballots shall contain the name of the nominee, the name of the Rotarian sponsoring the nominee, and a brief statement describing the background of the nominee.
These ballots shall be placed on the tables at the next Wednesday meeting and also at the following Wednesday meeting. After the second Wednesday meeting, they will be mailed (or emailed) to those members not in attendance at both of the weekly meetings. In addition, the club president, or his/her alternate, shall make an announcement at the weekly meeting concerning the membership nomination and ballot.
The completed ballots shall be returned by the members to the club secretary no later than 14 calendar days after the Wednesday meeting at which they were first distributed. Honorary members are not entitled to vote.
Once the 14 days have elapsed, the secretary shall count the votes received and report the results to the Board of Directors.
If the nominee receives negative votes equal to or more than eight percent (8%) of the current club membership (rounded to the nearest whole number) the nomination shall fail and the person nominated shall not be invited to join the club.
If the nominee receives negative votes totaling less than eight percent of the current club membership (rounded to the nearest whole number) then the nomination shall be approved and the person nominated shall be invited to join the club.
Section 3 Following the election, the president shall arrange for the new member's induction, membership card, and new member Rotary literature. In addition, the secretary shall report the new member information to RI and the president shall 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 committee.
Section 4 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 (by traditional and/or electronic means) to each member at least ten (10) days before such meeting. No amendment or addition to these bylaws may be made which is not in harmony with the standard Rotary club constitution and with the constitution and bylaws of RI.
S:Rotary/Oxford
Rotary Club Bylaws 3/6/2007