ESTERO BAY NEWCOMERS CLUB BYLAWS

(Revised January 2008)

 

ARTICLE I – NAME & PURPOSE

 

The name of this organization shall be Estero Bay Newcomers Club (hereafter referred to as EBNC), a non-profit organization, the purpose of which shall be to promote fellowship among newcomers to the community and to acquaint members with the social, economic and service opportunities available in Estero Bay and surrounding areas.

 

ARTICLE II – MEMBERSHIP

 

SECTION 1.  Membership in the club shall be open to, although not limited to, any resident living in the Estero Bay area as a permanent resident for a period not exceeding five years.  Membership shall be limited to five calendar years.  The five years need not be consecutive.  To be in good standing, a member’s dues must be paid to date.  After five years of membership in good standing, a member is considered a graduate.

 

SECTION 2.  Anyone whose membership has lapsed, for whatever reason, may be reinstated based on original year of membership.  Time absent does not count toward the five (5) years of eligibility.  Whenever dues are paid, the member is reinstated in good standing

for that entire calendar year.

 

SECTION 3.  The EBNC Board of Directors shall host one or more annual informal gatherings to honor new members.  (See Article V, Section 3)

 

ARTICLE III – ACTIVITY GROUPS

 

SECTION 1.  In order to belong to an activity group, a member must

be in good standing, or a five-year graduate.

 

SECTION 2.  Five or more members, and/or graduates, in good standing with a mutual interest, may form an activity group, after obtaining approval from the EBNC Board of Directors.  They shall

select a contact person, and notify the Activities Chair of the

group’s format and meeting time.

 

SECTION 3.  Any Activity Group not having a contact person shall

not be recognized as an EBNC activity group, and shall not be

included on the EBNC sign-up boards.

 

SECTION 4.  EBNC shall serve solely as a networking facility for

the activity groups, and shall not be considered a sponsor in any

other way.

 

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

 

SECTION 1.  The elected officers, who comprise the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, shall be the President, 1st

Vice President, 2nd Vice President, 3rd Vice President, Secretary

and Treasurer.

 

SECTION 2.  The President may appoint the following committee chairs:  Activities, Chair-at-Large, Community Events, Database, Hospitality, Newsletter, Publicity, Sunshine and Website Mgr, as well as any other chair or co-chair the President may deem necessary.  All chairs shall be voting members of the Board of Directors.

 

At the end of the Treasurer’s term of office, the President, with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint an auditor to

audit the books and submit a written report to the Board of Directors

at the following Board meeting.

 

ARTICLE V – DUTIES OF ELECTED OFFICERS

 

SECTION 1.  PRESIDENT: The President shall preside at all EBNC meetings and exercise general supervision over EBNC affairs, as

well as call special meetings with the approval of the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint all standing committee

chairs and an auditor (see Article IV, Section 2).

 

SECTION 2.  1ST VICE PRESIDENT:  The 1st Vice President shall serve as assistant to the President, preside at meetings in the

 

absence of the President, serve as Program Chair, and serve on the committee for the gathering to honor new members (see Article V, Section 3).

 

SECTION 3.  2ND VICE PRESIDENT: The 2nd Vice President shall serve as assistant to the President and preside at meetings in the absence of the President and 1st Vice President. The 2nd V.P. shall serve as Membership Chair, introducing new members at the general meetings.   When necessary, the 2nd V.P. shall certify to the presiding officer the presence of a quorum. The 2nd V.P. shall chair a committee to plan and coordinate one or more annual informal gatherings to honor new members.  Location, timing and format shall be subject to final approval by a 2/3 majority of the entire Board of Directors.

 

SECTION 4.  3RD VICE PRESIDENT:  The 3rd Vice President shall arrange for monthly meeting places and luncheons, obtaining any special equipment required for the planned program by coordinating with the 1st V.P., and shall serve on the committee for the gathering to honor new members (see Article V, Section 3).

 

SECTION 5.  SECRETARY:  The Secretary shall record the minutes  of the EBNC meetings, report the minutes and take care of correspondence as requested by the Executive Committee.

 

 

SECTION 6.  TREASURER:  The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds of the EBNC and deposit them in a bank approved by the Executive Committee.  Checks shall be signed by any two (2) of the following officers:  President, Secretary, Treasurer.  The Board of Directors shall approve all monies spent and upon request the Treasurer shall submit a report of all funds.  In January, the Treasurer shall serve as chair of the Budget Committee (see Article VII, Section 2).

 

ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS

 

SECTION 1.  Regular meetings of the EBNC shall be held on the third (3rd) Wednesday of each month unless otherwise scheduled by the Executive Committee.  With due notice to members, special meetings may be scheduled.

 

SECTION 2.  Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held on the first (1st) Wednesday of each month unless, with due notice to the Board of Directors, the President schedules a special meeting.

 

SECTION 3.  Committee Chairs shall attend meetings of the Board

of Directors.

 

 

ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEES

 

SECTION 1.  ACTIVITIES:  The Activities’ Chair shall circulate

activity group lists at general meetings and obtain the names of

each activity group chair by May and November for the bi-annual rosters.  The Activities’ Chair shall verify the eligibility of participants

in activity groups.

 

SECTION 2.  BUDGET:  The Budget Committee, consisting of

the Treasurer as Chair, the Parliamentarian and the immediate Past Treasurer shall submit a proposed budget to the Board of Directors

in February for final approval.

 

SECTION 3.  CHAIR-AT-LARGE:  The Chair-at-Large shall assist

or substitute for any member of the Board of Directors, as needed.  The Chair-at-Large is responsible for the retiring President’s gift

(June and December).

 

SECTION 4.  COMMUNITY EVENTS:  The Community Events

Chair shall collect (from the general membership or other sources) information concerning special community events and volunteer opportunities. Information considered to be of value to newcomers

can be communicated via the newsletter, at general meetings, or placed on the photo board at the meetings.

 

SECTION 6.   HOSPITALITY:  The Hospitality Chair shall be responsible for nametags at each monthly meeting, shall introduce guests, and shall oversee the Greeters. Greeters are appointed by the Hospitality Chair and are under this committee chair’s guidance.  The Greeters shall greet/guide members and guests at the General meetings.

 

SECTION 7.  NEWSLETTER:  The Newsletter Chair shall publish a monthly newsletter to be mailed to all members. This chair shall also maintain copies of all previous newsletters.

 

SECTION 8.  PARLIAMENTARIAN:   The immediate Past President shall be the Parliamentarian, and advises the President concerning the correct procedure that may affect the rights of any member. While the Parliamentarian may be consulted on any procedure, the President has the duty to make the final ruling. The Parliamentarian shall chair the Nominating Committee (see Article VIII, Section 1), and serve on the Budget Committee. The Parliamentarian shall maintain the Club’s Bylaws and Standing Rules, shall chair any Revisions’ Committee, and shall distribute Bylaws and Standing Rules as requested. The Parliamentarian’s position is filled by the immediate Past President. It is, therefore, not an appointive office.

 

SECTION 9.  PUBLICITY:  The Publicity Chair shall establish contacts for the EBNC with the public information media and place timely announcements of EBNC functions with the media.

 

SECTION 10. SUNSHINE The Sunshine Chair shall send appropriate cards to ill members, or others needing special remembrance.

 

SECTION 11. DATABASE  The Database Manager will maintain a computer database of all member information, create and print a yearly membership roster, print roster updates, provide the mailing labels and monthly birthday list for the newsletter, and provide email addresses to the Website Manager.

 

SECTION 12. WEBSITE : The Website Manager will maintain the club’s website, post current newsletters, luncheon locations activities and other information deemed suitable. The Website Manager will monitor esteronew@yahoo.com email and maintain a list of member email addresses for general notifications.

 

ARTICLE VIII – NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

 

SECTION 1.  The Parliamentarian shall form a nominating

committee in April and October, to produce a slate of officers for

the following term. The committee shall have three (3) members, consisting of the Parliamentarian as chair, and two (2) members elected by the majority of the general membership present at the

April and October meetings.

 

SECTION 2.  The Nominating Committee shall submit the names

of candidates for all Executive Committee offices at the general meetings in May and November. Nominations may also be made

from the floor, with the prior consent of the nominee.  Elections

shall be decided by a majority of the voting members present.

 

SECTION 3.  Officers shall be elected in May and November for a

term of six (6) months to commence in July and January. An officer may be re-elected to the same office, but may serve no more than

two (2) consecutive terms.

 

SECTION 4.  Vacancies shall be filled by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors. Appointment to fill a vacancy

does not constitute election to a term of office

 

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ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENTS

 

SECTION 1.  At any general meeting, a quorum being present,

these bylaws may be amended by majority vote, provided notice

of the proposed amendment has been submitted at a previous meeting.

 

SECTION 2.  QUORUM:  A quorum shall consist of forty percent

(40%) of the general membership, represented either by attendance

or by absentee ballot.

 

SECTION 3.  ABSENTEE VOTING:  A ballot, handwritten, signed

and dated, received by the 2nd Vice President (Membership Chair)

prior to the voting, constitutes a valid ballot in voting for amend-    ments to these bylaws. It shall be the responsibility of the absent member to initiate the handwritten ballot

 

EBNC STANDING RULES

(Revised August 2005)

 

 

1. Annual dues will be $20.00 commencing January 1, 2005.  Full    annual dues will be required for new members joining EBNC between January 1st and June 30th of each calendar year.  The dues for a new member joining any time from July 1 through December 31 will be half the annual amount.

 

2. Graduation will be celebrated each December.  A member whose 5 year membership elapses during that calendar year will be honored as a Graduate at the December luncheon.

 

3. EBNC graduates are eligible for Alumni Membership. The annual  dues for Alumni Membership will be half the amount of regular membership dues, payable on January 1. Privileges of Alumni Membership are: 1) receiving the monthly newsletter,   2) receiving the yearly Roster and 3) being listed in the Roster in the Alumni section. A graduate need not subscribe to an Alumni Membership in order to remain in or join EBNC Activity Groups.

 

4. No literature or tickets of any kind may be distributed or sold at a club meeting unless first approved by the Board of Directors.

 

5. Members shall not solicit other members to promote private, public, political, charitable or personal enterprises, nor gain financially from membership in the EBNC.

 

6. Should budgeted honorarium funds be available, an appropriate honorarium may be awarded to the luncheon guest speaker.  Should the speaker be an EBNC member, no honorarium will be awarded (see Standing Rule #5).

 

7. A new membership roster will be distributed to members in February. The monthly newsletter will contain the names of new members. Following the mid-year election, the new Board of Directors list will be distributed in July.

 

8. Luncheon attendees are required to pre-pay.  A reservation made is a reservation paid, unless cancelled by noon of the Thursday preceding the luncheon. Notifying the 3rd VP of Arrangements or the Treasurer makes cancellations.  No shows will be billed for their reservation.

 

9. In the event an Activity Group reaches its maximum size, a new sheet will be placed in the Activity Books for new members to sign up. A current member of the existing group will be named as mentor to this new group until such time as a contact person can be identified.