BARNSTABLE NEWCOMERS CLUB BYLAWS

ARTICLE I - NAME AND LOCATION

            The official name of the club shall be "Barnstable Newcomers Club".  It shall be located in the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts.

ARTICLE II -PURPOSE

            The main purpose of the club is to afford a means by which primarily residents of the Town of Barnstable might meet and socialize with other residents, and to promote fellowship and sociability among all of its members.

ARTICLE III - OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND DIRECTORS,

            The officers of the club shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership.  All officers of the club must be elected by a majority vote of the paid-up members present at the April meeting.  The aforementioned officers, in addition to the immediate Past President, shall make up the Executive Committee, presided over by the President.  They shall meet from time to time at the call of the President, or in response to any petition signed by 10 members of the club.  The Board of Directors shall consist of all elected officers, the immediate Past President, and the Coordinators of all Activities and Events.

 ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS' DUTIES

      President: To call and arrange all meetings of the general club membership and to preside at each meeting.  To appoint all Activity and event Coordinators, and to be an ex-officio member of all committees.  The President shall be the presiding officer of the Executive Committee, and shall be the chief executive officer of the Club.

      Vice President:  To engage speakers for each regular meeting as requested by the President and the Board of Directors.  The Vice President is authorized to give a gift to any guest speaker at his/her discretion, with the budget for the speaker program being established each year by the Executive Committee.    He/she is to assist the President in the organization of all regular meetings, and to preside at any meetings in the absence of the President.

      Secretary:  To keep the minutes of each regular, Board of Directors and Executive Committee meeting.  To assist the President in preparing and mailing informational notices to all members (current and prospective) prior to each social season.  To send out any additional notices deemed necessary by the Board of Directors. 

      Treasurer:  To accept and record all monies received by the Club from membership dues, Club activities and events, bank interest, and any other sources.  To pay all bills due and payable by the Club.  To deposit said funds in a bank to be agreed upon by the Board of Directors, and to maintain a checking account in the name of the Club with check-signing privileges limited to the Treasurer and one other designated officer, normally the current President of the Club. To prepare and present a monthly financial report for each regular Club meeting.  To prepare a final financial report for the June Board of Directors meeting, submitted for audit normally done by the outgoing and incoming Presidents of the Club. To provide when requested a list of all current paid-up Club members with names, addresses and telephone numbers.  To rent and maintain a U.S. Post Office box.  

  Membership:

 To greet and introduce new members to the club.  To maintain name tags in proper order, and to make them available at each regular meeting and at any special events.  First-year members will have a distinctive color for their name tags, enabling older members to easily recognize them and make   them feel welcome to the Club.  From time to time, he/she may be called upon to perform additional duties related to membership

ARTICLE V - TERM OF OFFICE

            All terms of office will normally be for a period of one year beginning at the meeting of the Board of Directors in June.  Upon pending retirement of the President, the Vice President will automatically be nominated for the office of President.  The nomination of the new Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership whenever possible should be made from the list of new members of the current as well as the previous year.  This will give new members an opportunity to become involved in the operation of the Club.  An outgoing President may not succeed himself/herself unless they receive a 2/3rds majority vote of the paid-up membership present at the time of the election.  All other officers may succeed themselves for a maximum of two one-year terms.

ARTICLE VI - NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS

            The Nominating Committee for new officers shall consist of all members of the Board of Directors.  It shall be their responsibility to present a slate of officer candidates for the next year at the Club's regular March meeting.  The President may appoint an ad hoc sub-committee to assist in recruiting candidates for Club officer and Activity/Event Coordinator positions.  In addition, the President should open nominations for officers to the general membership in attendance at the March meeting.  Election of new officers will be held at the regular April meeting of the Club.  Those elected will assume office at the final Board meeting in June.

ARTICLE VII - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

            Any person residing in the Town of Barnstable is eligible to become a member.  Any change in the dues shall be determined by a 2/3rds vote of the Board of Directors and a majority vote of all paid-up members at the next monthly meeting, provided a written notice is sent to all members informing them of the upcoming vote.  For members joining after March 31 no payment of dues is compulsory until the fall.    They may participate in any Club activities and events in the meantime.

            Any Regular Club member in good standing may sponsor a person living outside the Town of Barnstable to participate in any Club activities.  That person would become an Associate Club member, being able to participate in Club meetings, activities and events, but would not have voting privileges nor be able to hold Club office.  A fee payment shall be made equal to the Regular Club member dues.  Since the Club is primarily for Town of Barnstable residents, the Club will not actively solicit Associate members nor will make Club memberships make Club membership lists available to non-members. Distance from the Town may also be a factor, since many Activity events are held on a rotating basis in member's homes.

            Dues shall be paid annually, due at the first meeting in September and payable by the second meeting (in October).  Members may remain in the Club as long as they have paid their dues, and as long as the Club's social activities continue to serve their purposes.  Those Regular members in good standing who move from the Town of Barnstable, but wish to remain members of the Club, may do so for as long as they wish providing they continue to pay their annual dues.  

ARTICLE VIII - MEETING DATES AND TIMES

            Regular monthly membership meetings are scheduled for the third Wednesday of September, October, November, February, March and April.  There will normally be no regular membership meetings in December, January, May, June, July and August.  However, there may be special club activities held during some of those months on dates to be announced. 

          The first meeting of the Club's social year shall be held on the third Wednesday in September, at the place selected by the Board of Directors.  All members (current and prospective) should receive written newsletter information before the September and February meetings detailing the dates, times, places and programs of the Club's planned meetings and activities for the Fall and Winter/Spring Social Seasons.  Meetings will normally start promptly at 7:30 pm and conclude at 9:30 pm.  Dates and times for meetings may be changed for sufficient reason by the President with the approval of a majority of the executive officers providing written or E-mail notice of such change is sent to all members.

ARTICLE IX - ACTIVITIES

            Activity/Event Coordinators shall be appointed annually by the President immediately upon assuming office Paid-up Regular and Associate members may participate in regular ongoing Activities and Events, except for members joining after March 31.   In the case of individual functions such as dinner dances, or any functions to which a fee is charged members, non-member guests must be charged an amount calculated to offset the cost to the Club of their attendance,  This amount is to be determined by the Board of Directors for each event, based on recommendations of the Event Coordinator. 

ARTICLE X - FISCAL YEAR/SOCIAL YEAR

            The fiscal year shall commence on July 1^st and terminate on June 30^th.  The social year shall commence with the first regular meeting in September and conclude with the last meeting in the spring.  Certain Activities, however, may stay active over the summer.

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS

            Amendments may be proposed by any paid-up member.  Any and all BYLAWS of the Barnstable Newcomer's Club may be amended by a majority vote of the Board of Directors and followed by a majority vote of all paid-up members present at a regular meeting.

(Approved by Board, August 2009; apostrophe eliminated on 9/16/2009)