The Calusa Herpetological Society
Of Southwest Florida
Of Southwest Florida
| |
The Calusa Herpetological Society
Of Southwest Florida |
|
Bylaws of the Calusa Herpetological Society
Ratified on January 22, 2004
The name of this organization shall be The Calusa Herpetological Society, a Florida educational club. The club shall hereinafter be referred to as “the Herp Society.”
The Herp Society shall exist in perpetuity unless dissolved according to law.
The purposes of the herp society are education, conservation and the enjoyment of reptiles and amphibians.
Section A: Eligibility Membership in the Herp Society is open to any person or organization that supports the purposes of the Herp Society, without regard to residence, gender, race, or physical condition.
Section B: Duration of Dues The duration of membership shall be for a period of one calendar year. Members are subject to annual dues determined by the Board of Directors (“Board”); dues may be changed at the Board meeting following the official annual meeting of the general membership. A membership shall become inactive automatically unless the membership is continued by further dues contribution.
Section C: Definition of Member in Good standing a member in good standing shall be current in membership dues.
Section D: Voting Privileges All members in good standing have full voting privileges at any regular general membership meeting.
Section E: Expulsion In the event a member demonstrates active opposition to the purposes of the Herp Society, the board may vote to expel that individual by statement of due cause and refund of a pro rata share of the current year’s dues.
Section A: Officers and duties There are 4 members who serve on the board of directors, these are President, Vice-President, Secretary and the treasurer. The Board of Directors are charged with the management of the society and promoting the purposes of the Herp Society. All financial decisions shall be made and carried out by the Board of Directors.
President The President shall have executive direction of the activities of the Herp Society, preside at general membership, executive board and annual meetings, be an ex-officio member of all comities except the nominating committee, and shall report on the past year’s activities at the annual meeting.
Vice-President The vice-President shall assist the president in the activities of the Herp Society, conduct activities as assigned by the president, and shall assume the duties of the president in the latter’s absence, incapacity, or resignation. The Vice-President shall be in charge of finding monthly speakers and/or programs. The Vice-President shall also write a brief summary of the speaker and/or programs for publication in the newsletter and on the website.
Secretary The secretary shall keep the minutes of the Herp Society and the board and shall be responsible for maintaining these minutes in a form available to members in good standing. The secretary shall also conduct the correspondence of the Herp Society as directed by the President or the board and shall be responsible for maintaining records of such correspondence and reporting to the membership and the board about the same.
Treasurer The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the Herp Society’s funds, shall maintain its financial records, and shall present a proposed budget at the annual meeting. The treasurer shall deliver a report on the Herp Society’s funds at each general membership, board meeting, and annual meeting. The treasurer shall prepare all checks. In the event of the treasurers absents, the President, and then Vice-President shall be authorized to disburse the funds of the Herp Society. The fiscal year shall run from January 1 to December 31 of the next calendar year.
Section A: Election and Term of Office Unless there are nominations from the floor at the annual meeting, a motion may be made for the secretary to cast a unanimous ballot for the officers and other nominees to the Board on behalf of the membership in attendance. At the discretion of the President, written ballots may be required in the event nominations are made from the floor. Board Members shall take office at the close of the annual meeting at which they are elected and shall serve until a new Board is elected at the next annual meeting after they are elected.
Section B: Method of filling vacancies In the event of event of the resignation or incapacity of a Board member to serve, the vacancy shall be filled within two months by a ballot vote of the remaining members of the Board for the unexpired term of office. The names of one or more of the Herp Societies members shall be presented by the President for the Board’s consideration. The President may appoint a "member-at-large" (see Article 5, Section A.2) to serve as a Board Member until the Board votes to fill the vacancy.
Section C: Impeachment In the event a Board member fails to perform as specified above or is absent from two or more consecutive meetings without the presidents advanced consent, that person may be relieved of Herp Society responsibilities and office by two thirds vote of the remaining Board members at any Board meeting. A statement of the reason for impeachment shall be presented to the impeached Board Member and shall be announced at the next regular board meeting.
ARTICLE 7: Committees
Section A: Appointment One or more operating committees will carry out the activities of the Herp Society. The President shall appoint the chairperson of each committee. Committees shall have two or more members.
Section B: Standing committees The following standing committees shall be filled at the next monthly meeting after the election of officers.
· Publications secretary
· Membership secretary
· Hospitality
· Field trip chairperson
· Raffle Chairperson
· Publicity
· Webmaster
Section C: Other committees Other committees may be appointed by the president as deemed necessary.
Section D: Nominating committee The Nominating committee shall be composed of at least three persons from the general membership shall be appointed by the president not less than six weeks in advance of the Herp Societies annual meeting. The committee shall submit a slate of nominees for members of the Board at the annual meeting. The nominating committee shall dissolve after it submits a written report subsequent to the annual meeting.
Section A: General Membership Meetings Regular meetings of the Herp Society shall be held Monthly on the first Thursday of each month, except in the case of National holidays. In this case, either the meeting will be canceled for that month or it will be rescheduled.
Section B: Board Meetings, Notice, and Quorum Board meetings of the Herp Society shall be held the fourth Thursday of the month. A combination of 3 Board members will constitute a quorum and conduct the official business of the Herp Society. Notice must be given to all officers and Board members 7 days prior to a change in meeting day or time in order to conduct Official Business.
In the event of dissolution, the residual assets of the Herp Society will be turned over to one or more organizations which themselves are exempt as organizations by the Internal Revenue Service as Not-For-Profit under the appropriate Internal Revenue Service code, or to the Federal, State, or Local Government for exclusive public purpose in environmental causes.
Bylaws of the Herp Society may be amended at the Board Meeting. The Board shall provide notice of intent to amend the bylaws at least one regular meeting in advance of the meeting at which the amended bylaws are to be considered. The Board may appoint a committee to draft the apposed Amendment(s) for consideration by members in good standing. Amendment of the bylaws shall be by a simple majority vote of the members in good standing in attendance at the meeting in which the amendment(s) is (are) considered.
ARTICLE 12: Fiscal Year
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