Constitution of the South Hills Model Railroad Club SHMRRC
Established May 22nd, 2007

 

Article I. Purpose

 

Section 1.
The purpose of this Club shall be to further the educational and recreational interests of its members and, in general, to further the interests of model railroading.
 

 

Article II. Membership

Section 1.
There shall be two classes of Membership in the Club:

A. Active Membership is open to any member of the public (over the age of 16) interested in model railroading. Upon payment of dues, active members will be awarded voting rights, the ability to be appointed a committee chair, the ability to be elected to an office, and the right to run trains on a club layout.

B. Honorary Membership may be conferred upon any person by a 75% majority vote of the Active Membership of the Club. Honorary members shall not be required to pay any dues, nor may they vote, hold office, or have key access to the layout.

 

Section 2.
Active Memberships shall be in effect for a term of one year, retroactive to the beginning of the month at the time dues are paid. Honorary Memberships are in effect until revoked by a 75% majority vote of the Active Membership of the Club.

 

Section 3.
Memberships are non-transferable, but may be converted from one class to another if a member in one class qualifies for a different class from the one into which he/she was originally accepted.

 

Section 4.
A. Any and all new members will be given full disclosure during recruitment, including but not limited to the disclosure of:

                        1)  A copy or access to the club constitution and by-laws.

                        2)  Lists of other club rules in effect (ex. open house operating procedures)

                        3)  A list of the benefits and responsibilities of being a member.

                        4)  A schedule of the tentative upcoming events

B. All members, including but not limited to new members and recruits, reserve the right to refrain from participating in any activities without consequence, based upon personal/religious beliefs, personal values, or moral reserve as defined by the member.

C. Any and all interaction/activity between members and/or new members will be limited to the guidelines stated by local, state, and federal laws.

 

Section 5.
A. The Club reserves the right to revoke, restrict, or suspend the membership of any person if the actions of that person warrant it, and there is documentation of prior offenses.  In order to revoke a membership, a vote must be taken, and 75% of the active membership of the Club must vote to revoke the membership of that person. The procedure for suspension and/or restriction shall be the same as that for revocation of membership. Payment of dues is done in all faith and will not be refunded.

B. This organization may restrict membership but will not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, physical handicap, or creed.

 

 

Article III. Officers

 

Section 1.
A. Only Active members in good standing (dues paid in full) shall be eligible to serve as appointed or elected officers.

 

Section 2.
The officers and their duties shall be:

A. President - The President shall preside over all business and other meetings of the Club, shall act as a liaison in the external affairs of the Club, shall provide general direction for all Club projects and activities, and shall appoint the chairpersons of the Club's committees, subject to the approval of the Active Membership of the Club. The President will also be granted key access to the layout.

B. Vice President - The Vice President shall assist the President in preparing for the Business Meetings, and shall preside at Business Meetings in the absence of the President. The Vice President shall also take minutes in the absence of the Secretary. The Vice President will be given key access to the layout.

C. Secretary - The Secretary shall be responsible for all official correspondence, and shall be responsible for taking the minutes at all business and special meetings of the club.  The Secretary will keep a binder with the business/meeting minutes tabbed by date so that they will be available for future reference. This minute book is to be passed to each successive secretary. The Secretary will be given key access to the layout.

D. Treasurer - The Treasurer shall be responsible for all matters involving the financial transactions of the Club. The Treasurer will maintain a record of monthly revenue and expense, as well as a treasurer’s report linked to each month’s bank statements. Financial records are to be kept so that a year end audit report can be prepared.  The Treasurer must present a full disclosure of club finances at least once every quarter.  The Treasurer will be granted key access to the layout.

 

Section 3.
The officers shall be elected annually at the {January} business meeting.  The new officers will shadow current officers at the next regularly scheduled business meeting. Newly elected officers will take charge at the second meeting after their election.

 

Section 4.
In the event that an office must be vacated, for any reason, the vacancy shall be filled according to the following procedure:

  1. Nominations are taken at the meeting following the vacancy. Elections will also occur at this meeting.
  2. If a majority is not obtained by any of the candidates, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes is eliminated, and the active members shall vote again.
  3. When nominations are being taken to fill unexpired terms, any member of the organization may nominate another member of the organization by simply raising her/her hand and indicating such when recognized.

 

 

Article IV. Meetings

 

Section 1.
A. Regular Meetings consist of sessions held for working and/or running the layout.

B. Business Meetings consist of sessions used to discuss and vote on topics related to the club.

C. Special Meetings can be called by the President to discuss and vote upon a specific topic. Special Meetings must be announced at least seven days in advance by the President.

 

Section 2.
A. Business meetings shall be held once per month. Other special meetings may be called at the discretion of the President.

B. Business Meetings shall be announced through e-mail, the webpage, and by the officers at the previous regular meeting.

 

 

Article V. Voting

 

Section 1.
All active members in this club shall be eligible to cast one (1) vote, the President or officer presiding in his absence shall vote only in case of a tie.

 

Section 2.
During the meeting, if a topic is changed for which proxy votes were meant, that topic is automatically tabled at the time of the call for a vote, until the next business meeting, giving the proxy voters a chance to consider the question.

 

Section 3.
All everyday matters, not major actions, to be voted upon will be decided by a majority vote of the members present at the meeting in which the voting is to be done, unless otherwise specified.

 

Section 4.
A member may proxy their votes.  This permission shall be put in writing, and can only be used to vote on old business or known new business, following the provisions in section two.  When recording the results of the vote, a note should be made that proxy votes were counted, and how many were counted.

 

Section 5.
Election of officers shall be by secret ballot. All other matters shall be decided on by voice vote or show of hands.

 

Section 6.
A two person auditing committee composed of Club members who are neither officers nor candidates, and approved by a vote of the Active Members present, shall be appointed by the President to tabulate the vote during elections. During all other votes, the President shall count the votes and the Secretary shall record these in the Minutes.
 

Article VI. Finances  

 

Section 1.
All finances for the club must be handled through a depository as voted on by the Active Membership of the club.

 

Section 2.
The payment of dues is not necessary for membership in the Club but is required for voting and other privileges, as outlined in Article II, Section 1. Dues will be collected at a rate set by the members of the Club as provided for in the By-Laws.
 

 

Article VII. Elections

 

Section 1.
Nominations and elections shall take place at the January business meeting.

 

Section 2.
This meeting shall be publicized in the meetings preceding it.

 

Section 3.
No one involved in conducting the elections may be an official candidate.

 

Section 4.
Election codes:

  1. Any member may nominate an active member for any office by raising his/her hand at the appropriate time and being recognized by the presiding official. Next, the active members shall cast secret, written ballots for the candidate of their choice. Each active member shall have one vote per office.
  2. If a majority vote cannot be obtained, the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be dropped from consideration, and the active members shall vote again.
  3. In the event of a tie, the ballot will be recast.

 

Section 5.
All officers serve for a term of one year, beginning at the February business meeting and ending at the January meeting of the next year.

 

 

Article VIII. Amendments to the Constitution

 

Section 1.
Any active member may propose an amendment to the Constitution at any regular Business meeting. The passing must be by a simple majority vote at two consecutive Regular Business meetings.

 

Section 2.
This Constitution is to be reviewed by the Club every five years, at which time it may be re-approved for five more years, amended, or replaced by a new Constitution, approved by a simple majority vote at two consecutive Regular Business meetings.

 

Section 3.
If any portion of this Constitution or By-Laws is found to be invalid, only the portion or portions found to be invalid shall be struck from this Document, the remainder of the Constitution and By-Laws shall remain unaffected.

 

Section 4.
From time to time, the Club may deem it necessary to override portions of this Constitution. This may be done by a three-fourths affirmative vote at a regularly scheduled business meeting. This is on a case by case basis, and must be repeated for multiple items.

 

 

Article IX. Parliamentary Authority

 

Section 1.
Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, by Sarah Corbin Roberts shall be used in all cases not covered by this constitution.

 

 

Article X. Accessibility of this Constitution

 

Section 1
Copies of this Constitution will be made available to anyone upon request.

 

 

Drafted 15 November 2007.
Final approval by Membership given on 19 December 2007.
 

 

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Previously issued documents void.