BY-LAWS OF THE
NEW ENGLAND WALKERS CLUB
Article 1.
Name. The name of the organization shall be New England Walkers Club.
Article 2.
Purpose. The primary purpose of the Club is to to foster interest, participation, and sustained competitive excellence in the sport of race walking in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Article 3.
Non-Profit Statement.The Club is a non-profit organization. Dues and any other monies received by the Club will be disbursed solely for carrying out the stated purpose of the Club. In the event of a dissolution of this Club, the funds in the Treasury, after all creditors have been paid, shall go to the USA Track & Field New England Marja Bakker Youth Fund.
Article 4.
Membership. Membership is open to all persons. The structure of membership categories and corresponding dues shall be decided at the Annual Meeting.
Article 5.
Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting of this club shall be held in October of each year at such time and place as may be fixed by the Executive Board. Written notice shall be sent to all members electronically, or by US Postal Mail within 45 days before the Annual Meeting.
- Order: The current Roberts Rules of Order are the general rule of order, except when they are in conflict with the provisions of these By-Laws, in which case these By-Laws shall prevail.
- Quorum: The presence of Ten (10) members shall constitute a quorum.
- Voting: Each person whose membership is in good standing shall have one vote.
- Minutes: The Recording Secretary shall submit a copy of the minutes thereof to the President within fifteen (15) days following the Annual Meeting, and shall have them available for distribution or publication.
Article 6.
Officers of the Club. The officers of the Club shall be: a President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer, a Recording Secretary, an At-Large officer and any other officers elected at the Annual Meeting. All officers must be current members of the Club. The term of all officers is one year. There is no limit to the number of consecutive terms that any officer may serve. If an officer becomes incapacitated or resigns for any reason, the Executive Board may appoint a successor to complete the term. Any unfilled office shall not restrict normal club activities.
Article 7.
Duties of Officers. The duties of the officers of the Club shall be those promulgated from time to time by the Executive Board and, in addition are as follows:
- President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club.
- Vice-President. The Vice-President shall perform such duties as shall be assigned to him/her by the President.
- Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive and account for all funds of the Club.
- Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary shall make proper arrangements for keeping the records of the Club.
- At-Large. The At-Large officer shall be perform such duties as assigned to him/her by the President.
Article 8.
Executive Board. The Executive Board of the Club shall be composed of the Officers of the Club and the immediate past President of the Club. All such members shall have one vote at the meetings of the Executive Board, and no individual shall have more than one vote. All past Presidents of the Club shall be EX OFFICIO members of the Executive Board, without voting rights. Any Club member may attend a meeting of the Executive Board in a non-voting capacity. The Executive Board shall have the power to act for the Club.
- Meetings. Meetings of the Executive Board shall take place in January, March, June and September at the time and location determined by the Executive Board. If, in any month, a meeting is not held, the President shall set a time and location for the next meeting. Additional Executive Board meetings may be called by the President as deemed necessary. Notices shall be sent to each voting member electronically or by US Postal Mail. At least three (3) members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
Article 9.
Amendments. These bylaws may be amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting at the Annual Meeting (provided that notice of such proposed change(s) shall be contained in written notice of the Annual Meeting and that notice shall contain the texts of both the old and the proposed provisions.)
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The New England Walker club by-laws may also be viewed here.
We will want everyone to vote yes or no on the by laws in a couple of weeks. Check them out!
Modification to statement of Purpose which states. The primary purpose of the Club is to to foster interest, participation, and sustained competitive excellence in the sport of race walking in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Proposal to Board to add:
NEW also encourages and supports walking clinics and competitive walking as part of service to promote the benefits of walking for health, exercise and sports activity.
2] Clarification: NEW is either a non-profit or is not. If the intention to be not for profit, this can be made clear but in its present form is misleading. Non-profit has very specific incorporation and rules.
I suggest that we do not compound into more ‘sloppy deescriptions, but be very clear about the present account setup (which I understand to be a private bank account under one person’s name, with additional signatories..
spart of a , where there is a 3 out of 5 majority,
With all due respect to Josef, I think the current Statement of Purpose defines the club quite well. It is my believe that the club has been, is, and should be a racewalking club. As I’ve said before, diluting the focus would spread us too thin, and would not benefit the club or its members. That is not to say that the club should not support other organizations or individuals who are involved with other types of walking. But providing such support is not part of the primary reason for being of the club, and thus doesn’t belong in the Statement of Purpose.
While NEW may not strictly conform to all the rules and regulations regarding non-profits, I think it is very clearly stated in the bylaws that the club functions as a non-profit. Are you asking that the bylaws be changed, or that the club follow the letter of the law regarding non-profits?
I do not see any provision in the proposed by-laws for removal of a member. I think that if it ever becomes advisable or necessary to remove someone from membership, we should be able to do so by unanimous vote of the board or two thirds of the voting members in good standing.
The Statement of Purpose is the one that we voted on at the last annual meeting. Hence I think it is a good starting point for our by-laws.
From a purely practical standpoint, we can’t process suggested changes to the proposed by-laws at this time. This would create confusion as (a) some people have already voted and (b) we would have to have a vote for each paragraph with a recommended change before we could re-submit the by-laws to a vote.
Instead, I recommend that we either (a) pass the by-laws and then work on amendments for the next annual meeting or (b) reject the by-laws in which case we will open up everything to additional discussion and another vote.
But for now, how about a simple yes or no on what we have so far?