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Bylaws of the Rotary Club of Groton, New York - Rotary District 7170
Article I - Definitions
1. Board: The Board of Directors of Groton Rotary Club.
2. Director: A member of Groton Rotary Club’s Board of Directors.
3. Member: A member, other than an honorary member, of the Groton Rotary Club.
4. Club: The Groton Rotary Club
5. RI: Rotary International
6. District: District 7170
7. Year: The twelve-month period that begins on 1 July and ends 30 June.
Article 2 - Board
The governing body of the Groton Rotary Club shall be the board consisting of the President, President-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, the Immediate Past President and two regular members of the club. The President-Elect Nominee is not a member of the Board.
Article 3 - Election of Directors and Officers
Section 1 – At the first regular meeting in the month of November, the presiding officer shall ask for nominations by members of the club for President, President-Elect, President-Elect Nominee, Secretary/Treasurer, and two directors. The nominations may be presented by a nominating committee or by members from the floor. If it is determined to have a nominating committee, such committee shall be three volunteers or in the case of no volunteers, three members appointed by the current board. The nominations duly made shall be placed on a written ballot in alphabetical order by the secretary or other officer under each office and shall be voted for at the annual meeting. The annual meeting will be held on the first regular meeting in December. The candidates for President-Elect, President-Elect Nominee, Secretary-Treasurer receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices. The two candidates for director receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected as directors. The candidate for President-Elect in such balloting shall be the president and serve as a director for the year commencing on the first day of July next following the election.
Section 2 – The officers and directors, so elected, together with the immediate past president shall constitute the board.
Section 3 – A vacancy in the board or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining directors.
Section 4 – 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 pertains to the office of president.
Section 2 – President-Elect. It shall be the duty of the president-elect to serve as a director and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board.
Section 3 - President-Elect-Nominee. ---
Section 4 – 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; 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; record and preserve the minutes regular and board meetings or his or her designee; and perform other duties as usually pertain to the office of secretary.
Section 5 – Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to have custody of all funds, accounting for them 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. The annual meeting of this club shall be held on the first regular meeting in December in each year, at which time the election of officers and directors to serve for the ensuing year shall take place. “As per RI requirements, an annual meeting for the election of officers shall be held not later than 31 December...”)
Section 2 – Meeting Place.
The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Thursdays at 6:15 PM at a place to be determined by the board. Presently the place is the Elm Tree Inn, McLean, NY. Due notice of any changes in the place or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club via e-mail or phone message.
Section 3 - Attendance
Rotarians must attend or make up at least 50% of the regular weekly Club meetings in each half of the Rotary year.
A Rotarian may not miss or fail to make up four consecutive meetings.
You must be present for at least 60% of a weekly meeting for it to count towards the attendance requirement.
If you are absent from a weekly meeting, it is incumbent upon you to "make up" that meeting.
Absences can be made up in the following ways:
(1) Attend a regular meeting of another club anywhere in the world
(2) Attend a regular meeting of an Interact club
(3) Attend a regular meeting of a Rotary Fellowship
(4) Attend a District Conference, an RI convention, or other approved District or RI meeting
(5) Attend and participate in a Club service project or a Club-sponsored community event or meeting authorized by the Club's board (service projects, community events, and meetings that qualify as make-ups are listed in the members area of this website)
(6) attend a board meeting or, if authorized by the board, a meeting of a service committee to which the member is assigned.
(7) Participate through an E-Club website in an interactive activity requiring an average of 30 minutes of participation.
In order to receive attendance credit for the make up, please note that the make up must take place within fourteen (14) days before or after the regular time for the missed meeting. When a member is outside the USA for more than fourteen (14) days, the time restriction is not imposed so that the member may attend meetings in another country at any time during the travel period, and each such attendance shall count as a valid make-up for any regular meeting missed during the member's time abroad.
A make up is an opportunity to meet a new group of Rotarians, observe how other Clubs operate, share information about our Club, and make international contacts.
Section 4 – Meeting Quorum
One-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual and regular meetings of
the club.
Section 5 – Board Meetings
Regular meetings of the board should be held by the first Thursday of each month. Special
meetings of the board shall be called by the president, whenever deemed necessary, or upon the
request of two (2) directors, with due notice having been given.
Section 6 – Board Meeting Quorum
A majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum of the board.
Article 6 - Fees and Dues
Section 1 – The Board has established that the annual membership dues of this club are set at One-hundred dollars ($100.00). The board may establish an amount of additional fees with proper notice to the membership. It is understood that membership dues include a per capita share of payments to the District, RI and subscription to the Rotarian magazine. Annual membership dues payments may be paid semiannually on the first day of July and of January.
Section 2 – New member’s dues will be prorated should the new member be inducted in the second half of the Rotary year in which case the dues will be 50% of the membership dues. The initiation fee for new members shall be $10.00 payable to the treasure prior to induction.
Section 3 – Meal charges will be set by Board.
Article 7 - Method of Voting
The business of this club shall be transacted by viva voce* vote with the exception of the election of officers and directors, which shall be by ballot. The board may determine that a specific resolution be considered by ballot rather than by viva voce vote.
*(Note: Viva voce vote is defined as when club voting is conducted by vocal assent.
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. The Groton Rotary Club will 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 his/her 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:
• Membership
This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of members.
• Club Public Relations
This committee should develop and implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to promote the club’s service projects and activities.
• Club Administration
This committee should conduct activities associated with the effective operation of the club.
• Community Service Projects
This committee should develop and implement educational, humanitarian and vocational projects that address the needs of its community and communities in other countries.
• The Rotary Foundation
This committee should develop and implement plans to support The Rotary Foundation through both financial contributions and program participation.
Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.
(a) The president shall be ex officio a member of all committees and, as such, shall have all the privileges of membership thereon.
(b) 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.
(c) 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 board on all committee activities.
(Note: The above committee structure is in harmony with both the District Leadership Plan and the Club Leadership Plan. Clubs have the discretion to create any committees that are required to effectively meet its service and fellowship needs. A sample listing of such optional committees is found in The Club Committee Manual. A club may develop a different committee structure as needed.)
Article 10 - Duties of Committees
The 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. The service project committee will consider vocational service, community service and international service avenues when developing plans for the year.
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
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.
(Note: Such leave of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership; it does not operate to give the club credit for the member’s 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.)
Article 12 - Finances
Section 1 – Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year (July), 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. At the direction of the board the club funds may be divided into two separate parts: club operations and service projects.
Section 3 – All bills shall be paid by the treasurer. Payment of bills in excess of $500 requires the approval of the president.
Section 4 – Officers having charge or control of club funds shall give bond if 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, and for the collection of members' dues shall be divided into two (2) semiannual periods extending from 1 July to 31 December, and from 1 January to 30 June. 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.
Article 13 - Method of Proposing Members
Section 1 – The name of a prospective member, proposed by an active member of the club, shall be submitted to the board in writing using the Membership Proposal Form, through the club secretary. A transferring or former member of another club may be proposed to active membership by the former club. The proposal shall be kept confidential except as otherwise provided in this procedure.
Section 2 – The board shall ensure that the proposed individual meets all the classification and membership requirements of the standard Rotary club constitution.
Section 3 – The board shall approve or disapprove the proposal within 30 days of its submission, and shall notify the proposer, through the club secretary, of its decision.
Section 4 – If the decision of the board is favorable, the prospective member shall be informed of the purposes of Rotary and of the privileges and responsibilities of membership, following which the prospective member shall be requested to sign the membership proposal form and to permit his or her name and proposed classification to be published to the club membership for two consecutive weeks either verbally or via email to each member.
Section 5 – If no written objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the board from any member (other than honorary) of the club within seven (7) days following the second publication of information about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), as prescribed in these bylaws, shall be considered to be elected to membership.
If any such objection has been filed with the board, the board shall vote by secret ballot on this matter at its next meeting. If approved despite the objection, the proposed member, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), shall be considered to be elected to membership.
Section 6 – Following the election, the president shall arrange for the new member's induction, membership card, and new member Rotary literature. In addition, the secretary will report the new member information to RI and the president will 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 function.
Section 7 – The club may elect, in accordance with the standard Rotary club constitution, honorary members proposed by the board.
Article 13a - Membership Revocation
Section 1 – Membership in the Groton Rotary Club may be revoked for non payment of dues within the fiscal year they are due. Notice will be given to such member that dues are in arrears.
Section 2 - Any member being guilty of conduct in or out of the Club premises, detrimental to the character or interests of the Club and/or Rotary International, or actions or behavior unbecoming of a gentleperson, may be suspended from all the privileges of the Club by a vote of two-thirds of the Directors, present at a meeting duly called for that purpose. There shall, at the request of the member suspended, an appeal from such decision at a meeting of the members of the Club to be held within fifteen days of such suspension, of which meeting notice shall be given in accordance.
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 meetings
Section 1 – Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the club will be held on Thursdays commencing at 6:15 PM.
Pledge of Allegiance led by the program presenter for the evening.
Prayer of Thanks led by the program presenter for the evening.
Educational Minute led by the program presenter for the evening.
Introduction of visiting Rotarians and their club by the President.
Introduction of non Rotarian visitors and other guest by their host.
Meal served
Fines by Fine Master
If any, reports on correspondence, announcements, Rotary information and committee reports. Any unfinished business.
Any new business.
7:00 PM – Introduction of speaker and/or program by program presenter for the evening.
Following the program a gift presentation to speaker.
50/50 drawing
Meeting adjourned
Section 2 – Club Assembly
Following the order of the Regular Meeting above the Club Assembly will commence at 7:00 PM with:
Meeting called to order by the club president or designated officer.
Introductions if any.
Correspondence, announcements and Rotary information
Committee reports if any.
Any unfinished business
Any new business
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 to each member at least ten (10) days before such meeting. No amendment or addition to these bylaws can be made which is not in harmony with the standard Rotary club constitution and with the constitution and bylaws of RI.
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