AMENDED May 1992, December 2006, November 2010, August 2022
SECTION 1. MEMBERSHIP
Full membership is open to all persons holding an amateur radio license. Associate membership is open to all other interested persons. Full membership includes all club privileges as well as rights to hold a club office and to vote for club officers. Associate membership includes all club privileges except the right to hold office and vote for club officers.
Applications for membership can be submitted in person at regular meetings to the Secretary, or by postal mail or email. Full Family members will have the same rights and privileges as Full members. Dues will be levied for family members in accordance with Section 3 of the BY-LAWS.
Associate members who earn an Amateur Radio License may up-grade to Full or Full family member status by written notice to the club Secretary or Membership Committee.
SECTION 2. MEETINGS
There shall be at least one meeting of the membership per month. The Board of Directors shall establish the day and the week of the month for such meeting. For any change of the regular meeting time or date, there shall be required notice at the previous meeting and all reasonable efforts to notify the membership in writing.
Special meetings may be called by the President or Board of Directors upon written request of five per cent (5%) of the full club members. Notice of any special meeting(s) shall be made to the membership such that the notice is expected to arrive not less than 24-hours before the meeting time.
The annual meeting shall be the regular meeting held in May. The Board of Directors shall meet at least once per month on an established day.
SECTION 3. DUES
Annual dues shall be levied in accordance with the provisions of Article V of the CONSTITUTION for the purpose of providing funds for the club’s obligations New members shall pay the balance of the current year’s dues on the effective date of membership.
Dues shall be paid, in advance, in total, in January of each year. The Secretary and/or Treasurer shall issue renewal notices to the membership no later than December 1 of each year. Notice may be provided in the club Newsletter. A member shall be delinquent in dues if those dues are not received by the Secretary or Treasurer on or before January 31 of each year. Delinquent members shall be deleted from the membership list and shall lose all privileges and status as a member of the club.
For the purposes of setting the amount payable by the new members who join at any other time than the first quarter of the calendar year, dues will be divisible and payable on a quarterly basis. For example, an individual joining in the second calendar quarter of the year would be responsible for the payment only of the second, third and fourth quarter dues, To renew membership on January 1 of each year, the member will hereafter pay the total amount.
Dues are payable to the Secretary or Treasurer upon presentation of application for membership.
The amount of annual dues shall be set by vote of the membership upon recommendation by the Board of Directors. Family membership dues shall consist of payment of full dues for the first Full member and an amount provided by membership vote upon recommendation by the Board of Directors for each additional qualifying family member in accordance with Section 1 of the BY-LAWS.
SECTION 4. LIFE MEMBERSHIP
Life membership is available to any Full or Full Family member after ten (10) years of paid membership Members may pay the full annual dues then-assessed by the club, multiplied by the number of years to reach age 70 for immediate Life Membership. Members age seventy (70) and over, who have satisfied the ten-year membership requirement shall be granted life membership status without further consideration. Members age seventy (70) and over may satisfy the ten-year membership requirement by payment of full annual dues then assessed by the club for the number of years under the full ten year requirement. Payment for life membership may be made in a single lump sum or may be paid in four equal installments within a year of tendering the first payment.
Life membership shall not be transferable and dues, or any portion collected therein shall not be refundable to that member. However, should a member fail to pay the required installments as specified above, that portion received shall be credited to that member as future annual dues.
All life members prior to December 31, 1987 shall be grandfathered and shall continue to enjoy the benefits of the status conferred upon them. Members who are age 65 or older in 2007 may continue to achieve Life Member status following the older two-year rule. Members who are age 60-64 in the 2007 may make payment of $20.00 times the number of years until they reach age 70 to achieve Life Member status.
SECTION 5. EXPULSION
Expulsion for just cause of any member can only result from a recommendation from the Board of Directors and a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Full Members and Full Family members present at a regular meeting.
SECTION 6. QUALIFICATION OF ALL OFFICERS
All Officers whether permanent or temporary shall be:
- A Full Member or Full Family member in good standing having been a member for not less than (2) years at the time of election.
- Currently licensed as an Amateur Radio Operator
SECTION 7. RESIGNATION OR REMOVAL OF OFFICERS
Resignations submitted by an officer shall be in writing. An Officer may be removed for dereliction of duty as recommended by the Board of Directors and voted upon by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at a regular meeting.
SECTION 8. VACANCIES
Vacancies are automatically declared if any officer is absent for three (3) consecutive monthly Board of Directors meetings, regular or special, without giving sufficient reason thereof to the Board of Directors. It shall be the duty of any of the officers to bring such absences to the attention of the membership and declare the office in question vacant. If an office is declared vacant, the remaining term shall be satisfied by the terms of the CONSTITUTION, Article II, Section C.
SECTION 9. BOOKS AND RECORDS
- MINUTES shall be an accurate account of the proceedings of all regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors.
- BOOKS OF FINANCE stating all credits and debits of the organization and detailed reports of all money transactions shall be accurately recorded.
- MEMBERSHIP LIST by call sign, name, mailing, e-mail address and telephone number shall be maintained by the Secretary with the assistance of an appointed Membership Committee. This list shall be used only for purposes of the club. Each member shall notify the Secretary of any and all changes in membership information.
- OTHER RECORDS pertaining to other club activities shall be the responsibility of the Secretary, with the assistance of other club members as needed.
- EXPENDITURES in excess of $200.00 that are not a part of the annual budget shall require a Board of Directors prior approval.
- A CUSTODIAN OF PROPERTY shall be appointed by the Board of Directors. The Custodian shall be responsible for all club-owned property and shall maintain an inventory of property.
- DISBURSEMENT OF CAPITAL, upon dissolution of the club shall be subject to Board of Directors approval. Disbursement shall be made in the interest of future amateur radio to an appropriate charitable organization recognized by the IRS.
SECTION 10. NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
- On or before the regular February monthly meeting of each year, the Board shall appoint an Elections Committee, including a chairperson and at least two (2) other full members who are not current officers. The members of the committee must have been club members for a period of at least two (2) consecutive years. The Elections Committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each officer position. Additional nominations shall be entertained from the floor at the April monthly meeting.
- Nomination as an officer of the organization is open to any Full member or Full Family member. Any such member may contest any nomination for cause. Candidates will be listed on a written ballot in alphabetical order by last name as part of a special notice provided to members before May 1 of that election year.Names of other candidates for any position not presented by the Election Committee can be received by the Election Committee prior to the distribution of the ballots.The Elections Committee shall conduct the entire election process and shall be responsible for composition, distribution and collection of all ballots.The Elections Committee shall accumulate and tally all ballots and shall announce the results of voting at the May Annual Meeting. The Elections Committee may assign the above clerical responsibilities except for accumulation and tallying of ballots to the Secretary with that person’s consent.
- The election shall be held by secret ballot cast by mail, electronically secure voting, or by delivery in person to a member of the Elections Committee before the ballot counting process has been commenced.For all officer positions where a single individual can be elected, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared the successful candidate.For Trustee positions where there are two or more positions to be filled, the tally of votes cast for each candidate shall be listed in numerical order, highest votes first, and the positions shall be filled from that list, highest votes first. Cumulative voting for multiple positions shall not be allowed.In the event of a tie vote for any position, a run-off election between the candidates having the tie vote for that position shall be held at the meeting in which the vote results are announced. In the case of a tie vote for the election of a single individual, the candidate receiving the highest vote shall be declared elected. In the case of a tie vote for the election of multiple Trustees, the runoff election shall be only for the purpose of determining the order on the list for the participating candidates.Ballots shall be retained by the Elections Committee for no less than thirty (30) days after the election, or until the next monthly meeting, whichever comes first.
- Voting privileges are on a one-vote, one member basis for Full members or Full Family members. The Secretary shall validate membership standings prior to distribution of ballots. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. The ballot issued by the Elections Committee shall be the official document used for conducting the elections. No other form, facsimile, copy or reproduction shall be accepted nor counted for the election of officers or any ballot measures to be put to a vote of the membership.
- The judge of elections shall be by a panel charged with the review of any issue(s) related to any election should such issue(s) arise. The panel shall be made up of the President, Vice president and one Trustee of the club designated by the Board of Directors. The decision by this panel shall be final and no appeal shall be heard.
SECTION 11. RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENTS
The proposed amendment(s) to the Constitution or Bylaws shall be published in the club Newsletter, through postal mail or by separate e-mail and members shall vote for acceptance (yes) or rejections (no) of the amendment(s), by means of a written ballot, or electronically secure voting.
Voting instructions are to be included in the Newsletter with the announcement(s) of proposed amendment(s). The Author(s) shall publish a written statement of not more than 200 words including the purpose and intent of the proposed amendment(s). A majority of two-thirds (2/3) of the vote received by the next regular club meeting is required for ratification of the proposed amendment. The Author(s) may withdraw the proposed amendment at any time prior to its publication, and no vote shall be taken.
Copies of the documents being amended, or it’s predecessor documents may be made available from the Secretary on request.