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Society Bylaws
ARTICLE I GENERAL Section 1. The name of this organization is The Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia, hereafter referred to as "The Society". The geographic area of primary interest covered by the Society shall be Gloucester, Mathews and surrounding Counties. Section 2. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws. ARTICLE II MEETINGS, MEMBERSHIP AND DUES Section 1. Regular meetings shall be held at such time and place as approved by the Executive Board. The principal purpose of regular meetings is to present programs of genealogical interest to the membership. The Annual Meetings shall be concerned primarily with election of officers and annual reports of officers and committee chairmen. Special meetings may be called by the President upon written request of ten (10) members of the Society or by a majority of the Executive Board. A quorum shall consist of the members present but not less than one-third (1/3) the resident members. An affirmative vote by the majority of those present and voting shall be required to pass any motion. Section 2. a. Membership in the Society is open to any person who has expressed an interested in genealogy. All membership applications shall be accompanied by a payment of appropriate dues. b. Dues for individual membership and joint membership (husband and wife) are the same. Dues for new members who join after June 30 are one half the annual dues. c. Sustaining members shall be any individual or [joint members,] who supports the Society by payment of annual dues in the amount of twice that paid by the regular membership. d. Life Members shall be those individuals who choose to support the Society by a one-time payment of dues in the amount determined by the Executive Board. e. Honorary and Honorary Life Members shall be approved by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board for recognition of achievements or for outstanding service to the Society. Honorary Membership shall be for a stipulated period of time and not to exceed two years. Honorary Life Membership shall be for the life of the recipient. Both classes of membership shall be exempt from payment of annual dues. Section 3. The amount of dues shall be fixed by the Executive Board, approved by the membership and reviewed periodically. ARTICLE III EXECUTIVE BOARD Section 1. The Executive Board shall function as the operating arm of the Society. It shall administer and manage the business and affairs of the Society. It shall be responsible for establishing policies and promoting programs. It shall be empowered to define offices and positions in accordance with changing needs and to take necessary implementing action. Section 2. The Executive Board shall consist of the following members: a. The elected officers chairpersons] of the Society. b. One (1) member, appointed by the President, who will serve a two (2) year term. c. Immediate Past President of the Society. Section 3. The President of the Society shall preside as Chairperson of the Executive Board. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall preside. Section 4. Four (4) members of the Board shall constitute a Quorum. Section 5. The Executive Board shall meet at least five (5) times a year in the months of January, February, April, August, and October. ARTICLE IV ELECTED OFFICERS Section 1. The elected officers of the Society will be as follows: President, vice President, Recording Secretary, Historian and Treasurer. Section 2. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society and the Executive Board, shall appoint all standing and ad hoc committees including the Annual Audit Committee. The President is an ex officio member of all committees with the exception of the Nominating Committee. The President shall schedule "called" meetings as required. a. Shall insure that all expenditures, purchases, projects and plans are considered and approved by the Executive Board. b. If the President is absent or unable to serve, the Vice President shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President. In the absence of the vice President, the Secretary, then the Treasurer, in this order, shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President. c. If elective offices become vacant between regular elections, the President shall appoint officers to fill these vacancies until the next election. Section 3. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President when the President is unable to do so. Shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President. Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall record and maintain the minutes of all meetings of the Society to include the Executive Board, regular meetings, Annual Meeting and special "called" meetings. In the absence of the President and vice President, the Recording Secretary shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President. Section 5. The Historian shall prepare and maintain a narrative account of the organization and development of the Society; shall maintain a scrapbook and collect and preserve memorabilia pertaining to the history of the Society, and shall maintain completed files of projects of the Special Projects. Section 6. The Treasurer shall take charge of the monies of the Society to include receiving, depositing and disbursing of all funds; shall maintain accurate financial records and present a financial report at the Executive Board meetings and at the Annual Meeting. The Treasurer shall serve without bond. The fiscal year of the Society shall be January 1 through December 31. An annual audit shall be made by a qualified auditor or by a committee appointed by the President. ARTICLE V STANDING COMMITTEES Section 1. Journal: Shall oversee the publication the Society's journal, The Family Tree Searcher. The chairperson of this committee shall be the Editor of this Journal. The journal shall contain genealogical source material pertaining to the following areas: Gloucester, Mathews and surrounding counties and other sections of the United States and foreign countries that are of interest to the members of the Society, as well as, any other materials of interest to the membership. a. The journal shall be issued at least four (4) two times a year with publication in, June, and December. b. The Editor of the journal is responsible for preparing and issuing the journal to the members of the Society. c. The Editor of the journal shall select and appoint the editorial and administrative assistants, select articles for publication and establish editorial policy for the journal. Section 2. Membership: Shall receive all applications and dues and maintain a current file of active members including name, address and phone number; assure that all members receive reminders for dues payment; and inform the Executive Board of changes to the membership. Section 3. Program: Shall plan all programs for general meetings. Plans shall be submitted in a timely manner to the Executive Board for approval. The Chairperson is responsible for the coordination involved with correspondence, introduction of speakers, transportation, printing, publicity, and payment of honoraria or fees. Section 4. Publications: Shall be responsible for the publication and the sale of publications for the Society to include manuscripts, records, or other material of genealogical interest; shall secure the approval of the Executive Board on material to be republished; shall publish and supervise the sale of publications of the Society, and shall maintain a record of sales and transmit to the Treasurer all proceeds. Section 5. Publicity: Shall notify members and the General Public of all meetings and programs presented by the Society; shall publicize the activities for the Society by use of newspapers, radio, television, genealogical publications and other means, and maintain "bios" and "photos" of key officers and speakers of the Society. Section 6. Special Projects: Shall be responsible for the development of short and long term projects of the Society; obtain approval of the Executive Board before initiating a project for the Society, and shall develop and prepare material for publication; and shall receive approval of the Executive Board to complete the first printing. Completed publications shall be submitted to the Publications Committee for sale; shall advise the Publications Committee at the proper time to enable development of advance publicity for sales; shall complete other special projects as required; shall maintain files of projects; and upon completion of projects provide the files to the Historian. Section 7. Trips: Shall coordinate all research trips for the Society and shall determine, with the advice of the Executive Board, the frequency and destination of all trips. The Chairperson of this committee shall be designated Trip Coordinator, and] may select additional members as needed to assist with the trips, will issue each participant on a trip a name tag which contains the name of the Society, name of contact person, Health insurance company, (including Medicare and Medicaid numbers), medication allergies, blood type and any other essential information as needed. Section 8. Computer Interest Group: Shall provide a forum for coordinating computer programs, education and projects of genealogical Interest to the members of the Society. Section 9. Library/Virginia Room: Shall provide contributions toward the study of local history and genealogy for the Virginia Room of the Gloucester Library. It shall give oversight to the related special projects that have been initiated in 1996-1998. a. Shall continue the Docent Program, which gives assists to researches of local history in the Virginia Room using volunteers from the Society. b. Shall continue to develop a "vertical file" of information about local surnames from accumulated personal inquires and subsequent responses. This information is to be maintained for public viewing. b. Shall continue to develop a connection of electronic files from computer generated genealogical records to the "vertical file" system of the Virginia Room. Electronic files will be converted to paper printouts and included in the existing "vertical files." Also, computer software will be maintained on the Library public computers for local genealogist to produce electronic family records. ARTICLE VI APPOINTED OFFICERS Section 1. Parliamentarian. Shall advise the presiding officers on questions of parliamentary procedure in conducting the business of the Society, and periodically reviews the Society [Constitution and] Bylaws and keeps them current. Section 2. Corresponding Secretary. Attends to all correspondence of the Society to include receiving and replying to Society correspondence with the exception of queries, maintains a file of all incoming and outgoing correspondence; provides copies of current Bylaws to members of the Executive Board upon request; is also responsible for securing a meeting place for the Board, and sending out notices to the Board members. ARTICLE VII ELECTIONS Section 1. Elections shall be held at the Annual Meeting of the Society. The following officers of the Society shall be elected for term of two (2) years and will be eligible for reelection as provided by the Constitution. The elected officers will begin their term of office the following January First. Section 2. The President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Historian and Treasurer shall be elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting in November. Section 3. A President or Vice President elected at a special election to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of that term of office and shall be eligible for reelection. Section 4. There shall be a nominating committee consisting of five (5) members: Three (3) members from the Executive Board and two (2) from the general membership. The committee will be an ad hoc committee for the purpose of developing a slate of officers for presentation at an Annual Meeting. The Nominating Committee will be appointed by the Executive Board. Section 5. Proxy votes are not permitted. Section 6. Regular notices to the membership regarding general meetings shall include notices of elections to be held. Section 7. The Nominating Committee shall present one nominee for each of the officers to be elected at the November meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the general meeting, provided the nominee has given his or her consent. The nominee receiving the affirmative vote of the majority of the membership present and voting at the election shall be declared elected. Ties will be decided by immediate re-vote. ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENTS Section 1. The Executive Board shall be responsible for the Bylaws. Amendments may be proposed by members of the Society and shall be submitted in writing to a member of the Executive Board. Section 2. Proposed amendments shall be discussed and approved by the Executive Board. After approval, changes to the Bylaws shall be presented to the membership at the next general meeting for a vote. Section 3. Any change to the Bylaws shall be effective when approved by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership attending and voting at a general meeting. Section 4. Proxy votes are not permitted. ARTICLE IX DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY Upon dissolution of the Society, all property and assets will be used to pay all liabilities and obligations. Any residual assets will be disposed of to the libraries in the local area as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization under Section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provisions of any future United States Internal Revenue Law). No part of the assets of the Society shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, officers, or other private persons. ARTICLE X GIFTS AND BEQUESTS The Executive Board of the GLOUCESTER GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA is empowered to accept all gifts and bequests of books, manuscripts, genealogical notes, deeds, maps, money, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, real estate, research files, and other items that are intended for the use of the Society. Revised copy was approved by the GGSV Board on January 12, 1999.
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