CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

HELLENIC WOMEN’S CLUB OF NORTH SHORE

ARTICLE I NAME

The name of the club shall be Hellenic Women’s Club of North Shore, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the Club. For informal purposes only the club shall be know as “Hellenic Women’s Club.”

ARTICLE II SCOPE

The scope of the Club shall be civic, cultural, philanthropic, and social.

ARTICLE III MEMBERS

Section 1. Women of Hellenic origin or those espoused to someone of Hellenic origin and residing in the Town of North Hempstead shall be eligible to hold membership in the Club. All current and future members who joined or will join as resident members living in the Town of NorthHempstead and continue to pay their dues shall retain their status as resident members.

Section 2. A member, in good standing for at least one (1) year, may sponsor one (1) non-resident for membership per fiscal year. A fiscal year of this club is June 1st through May 21st. Non-resident membership shall not exceed 45 percent (45%) of the total membership.

Section 3. Application for membership shall be submitted with initiation fee and dues to the New Members Chairlady, who shall present said application to the Board for approval.

ARTICLE IV OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the Club shall be President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer. These officers shall be know as the Executive Board. Their tea of office shall be two (2) years.

Section 2. There shall be four (4) directors.

ARTICLE V DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and appoint all charladies of standing committees, special committees, and activity coordinators. The President shall make additional appointments as deemed necessary. She shall be ex-officiao member of all committees EXCEPT the Nominating and Auditing Committees.

Section 2. The First Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in her absence or at her request. She shall be a member of the yearly Budget Committee and shall also serve as Chairlady of one philanthropic event during her term in office.

Section 3. The Second Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of both the President and the First Vice President. She shall be a member of the the yearly Budget Committee and shall be responsible together with the Hospitality Chairlady, for refreshments served at General meetings.

Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall keep an accurate record of business conducted at Executive Board, Board and General meetings, keep a record of attendance and shall be custodian of the records of the Club.

Section 5. The Corresponding Secretary shall handle all correspondence of the Club with the exception of correspondence as should be handled by respective committees. She shall notify club members of monthly meetings.

Section 6. The Treasurer shall be custodian of all Club monies and keep an accurate account of receipts and expenditures. Proper documentation in the form of receipts must substantiate each check written. monthly statement, a copy of which is to be attached to the minutes, shall be submitted at each board and General meetings. She shall also prepare an annual financial statement prior to the September Board meeting. Checks over the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) must be authorized by the president. All checks must be signed by 2 officers of the Club, the President and either the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. In the absence of the President, the First Vice-President or second Vice-President may sign. At no time, may the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer sign the same check. The Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, First and Second Vice-Presidents and three (3) members appointed by the President shall prepare the yearly budget for Board approval by the November Board meeting.

Section 7. The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer in her duties.

Section 8. The Board of Directors shall consist of the four (4) immediate past Presidents and shall serve the Club in an advisory capacity. IN the event that a past President cannot serve, the President shall appoint someone with previous Board experience to fill that position.

Section 9. Any board member obliged to be absent from meetings for an extended period of time must notify the President who shall designate someone to perform her duties. Any Board member, including Board of Director, who misses three (3) consecutive meetings and fails to notify the President, may be deemed to have not fulfilled her duties and the President, at her discretion, may ask for her resignation and appoint a qualified member to fill her positions until her term expires.

Article VI MEETINGS

Section 1. General meetings shall be held the third week of every other month from September through May inclusive, unless otherwise directed by the Board.

Section 2. Board meetings shall be held once a month, on the first Tuesday of each month or at the discretion of the Board, from September through June, except the year in which elections are held. In an election year, meeting shall take place from September through May.

Section 3. The President, when necessary, may call special meetings.

Section 4. The quorum shall be one quarter (1/4) of the members of the Club; a quorum for Board meetings shall be a majority of the board.

ARTICLE VII FINANCES

Section 1. The fiscal year shall begin June 1st, and conclude May 31st, of the following year.

Section 2. A new member shall pay the initiation fee fo $25.00 plus the current annual dues of $40.00 for a total of $65.00. These fees may be changed by the board.

Section 3. The Membership Chairlady shall send bills for payment of dues to all members by August 1st. A second notice for outstanding dues shall be sent by November 1st. Nonpayment of dues by December 31st shall be considered a resignation from the Club.

Section 4. Membership may be restored to a former resident member upon reapplication and payment of a reinstatement fee of $20.00 plus the current dues of $40.00 for a total of $60.00. A non-resident member will not be considered for reinstatement unless the Club has less than 45% of non-residents and is again sponsored by a resident member. Upon approval of the Board, they will be reinstated. When reinstatement fee and dues are paid.

Section 5. Each expenditure in excess of $250.00 for any item, not provided for in the yearly budget, except deposits for various functions, shall require prior approval of the Board. However, the Executive Board may authorize expenditures for emergency situations during th months the Board does not convene (June-September).

Section 6. The net proceeds of a philanthropic fund raiser shall be donated to the designation charity within sixty (60) days of said event.

Section 7. An auditing committee of two (2) members shall be appointed by the President at the May meeting to audit the books. They may not be sitting Board members. The auditors shall submit a report to the incoming Treasurer prior to the September Board meeting.

ARTICLE VIII NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The nominating committee shall consist of the four (4) Board of Directors and three (3) additional members appointed by the President. Upon appointment, these names will be announced to the general membership by mail, prior to the convening of the Nomination Committee. It shall be the duty of this committee to elect a Chairlady and choose a slate. Names for consideration may be submitted by mail to the Committee prior to their convening. The slate shall be presented to the membership by mail at least two weeks prior to elections. At the May general meeting nominations will be accepted from the floor and elections held. All those nominated for Executive Board positions must be members in good standing and have prior board experience in the Club.

Section 2. All officers shall be elected at the may meeting to serve for a term of two (2) years. A majority vote shall elect.

Section 3. The President shall appoint a club member to fill a vacancy. In the event there shall be a vacancy in the office of President, the First Vice-President shall fill the remaining term.

Section 4. The installation of the Executive Board and Board of Directors shall take place by May 31st. their term shall begin June 1st.

ARTICLE IX COMMITTEES

Section 1. The standing committees shall consist of the following: Events Coordinator, Friendship, Historian, Hospitality, Membership, New Members, Parliamentarian, Program and Publicity. Ways and Means shall be part of the standing committee when needed. The President may form other committees that she deems necessary; conversely, a standing committee that is no longer active may be vacated or deleted.

Section 2. The President shall appoint the Chairladies fo the standing committees.

Section 3. All Chairladies may form a committee consisting of the members they need to assist them.

Section 4. Duties of Standing Committee Chairladies:

  • Events Coordinator: Shall apprise the members of upcoming luncheon and social events of various organizations, churches, etc. She should also inform these same organization of our events e.g. Philanthropic Luncheon, to avoid conflicts.
  • Friendship: Shall further good will and friendship within the Club with Correspondence, etc. appropriate to the occasion.
  • Historian: Shall take photographs at various meetings and special events. She shall maintain historical records and memorabilia.
  • Hospitality: Shall be responsible for providing refreshments at the General meetings.
  • Membership: Shall keep a current list of all members and collect dues.
  • New Members: Shall send applications to prospective members and present completed applications to the Board for approval. The Chairlady shall follow the By-Laws as stated under Article III, all sections.
  • Parliamentarian: Shall advise as to the correct and proper parliamentary procedures. She shall also for a committee to review the by-laws when so directed by the President and the Board, and present revisions and/or amendments of same to the Board and General membership for approval.
  • Philanthropic: shall consider all philanthropic requests and shall present them to the Board.
  • Program: Shall plan and present programs of interest at the General Meetings.
  • Publicity: Shall be responsible for all press and media work necessary to publicize Club activities and events.
  • Ways and Means: Shall provide activities for additional Club funds when necessary.

Section 5. Members interested in organizing a new activity may present same to Board for approval.

Section 6. At the end of a Chairlady’s term of office, she will be required to prepare and submit a written report of her committee’s work and/or activities to the outgoing President. After review, the President will file reports in a permanent file and submit to the new President. The incoming President shall review all files and distribute copies to her new Board.

ARTICLE X PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall be the Parliamentary Authority, except as herein modified.

ARTICLE XI AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS

These By-Laws may be amended at any regular business meeting of the club by a 2/3 vote of the members present and voting provided the amendment(s) has been approved by the Board and submitted to the membership by mail two weeks prior to the meeting.

STANDING RULES

  1. Order of business at regular meetings shall be; call to order, reading of minutes of previous meeting, Corresponding Secretary’s report, Treasurer’s report, Standing Committee reports, Activity Coordinators’ reports, Special Chairladies and/or Committee reports, Old Business, New Business, and adjournment.
  2. These rules may be suspended at any meeting of the Club by a majority vote of the membership present.

The above Constitution and By-Laws of the Hellenic Women’s Club of North Shore Included all revisions approved by the Board and by the General Membership.

Approved and adopted: September 17, 2014

Approved and adopted: September 20, 2017