Rotary Club of Topeka

BYLAWS

Adopted 5/24/07

 

 

Article I   GOVERNANCE

 

Section 1.  Board of Directors (Board)

            The governing body of this club shall be the Board of Directors, consisting of 6 officers and 9 directors, elected in accordance with Article II, Section 3 of these By-Laws and the immediate past president.  The president of the Topeka Rotary Foundation serves ex officio as a voting member.

 

Section 2.  Board Meetings.

Regular meetings of the board shall be held monthly at a time and place established by the President in consultation with the board. Special meetings of the board shall be called by the president, whenever deemed necessary, or upon the request of two (2) directors, due notice having been given.

 

Section 3. Quorum.

A majority of the officers and directors shall constitute a quorum of the Board.

 

 

Article II   ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

 

Section 1.  Annual Meeting.

            The annual meeting of this club shall be on the second regular meeting day in November.   

 

Section 2.  Nominating Committee

(a) The nominating committee shall consist of the immediate past-president, who shall serve as chairman, the current president and president elect and two (2) past presidents of the club, who shall be elected by the club members at the annual meeting, to serve for a term of one year commencing the next July 1.  The election ballots shall contain the names of the last five (5) past-presidents (not including the immediate past president) who are presently members of the club, and shall be submitted to the club members at the same time as the election of other office.  The two (2) receiving the highest vote shall be declared elected.

            (b)  In case the immediate past-president is unable to serve for any reason, the most recent past-president available to serve shall be chairman of the nominating committee.

            (c)  The nominating committee shall propose a list of one nominee each for the offices of President, President Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Sergeant-At-Arms, and three or more nominees to replace the three members of the Board of Directors whose terms are expiring.  The nominating committee shall report its nominations for Officers and Directors at the last regular meeting in October. 

 

Section 3.  Method of Election

(a)  At the next regular meeting following the report of the nominating committee, the presiding officer shall ask for additional nominations from the floor.  All nominations duly made by the committee or from the floor shall be placed on a ballot in alphabetical order under each office, and shall be voted on by the club members at the annual meeting. 

(b)  The one candidate for each officer position receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected, and shall serve for a term of one year commencing the next July 1. 

(c)  The three candidates for Board of Directors receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected, and shall serve for a term of three years commencing the next July 1.

            (d)  The nominating committee and the person making a nomination from the floor shall have the consent of the person or persons nominated that they will be willing to serve if elected.

 

Section 4.  Term of Office. 

Each director shall serve a three-year term.  The officers shall serve one-year terms; except the President Elect shall succeed the President and the Vice President shall succeed the President Elect.

 

Section 5.  Vacancy

Any vacancy in the Board of Directors or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining members of the board, not later than the second regular board meeting following knowledge of such vacancy.

 

 

Article III.   DUTIES OF OFFICERS

 

Section 1.  President. 

It shall be the duty of the President to preside at meetings of the club and board of directors and to perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to this office.

 

Section 2.  President-Elect. 

It shall be the duty of the President-Elect to preside at meetings of the club and board of directors in the absence of the President and shall, under the direction of the President, assist in all of the President’s administrative duties.  The President-Elect shall also serve, ex officio, as a voting member of the Board of Trustees of the Topeka Rotary Foundation.

 

Section 3.  Vice-President. 

The Vice-President shall assist the President and President-Elect and perform in the absence of both.  The Vice-President’s principal duty will be Chairman of the Program Committee for the year.

 

Section 4.  Secretary. 

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep the records of the membership, record the attendance of meetings, send out notices of the club, board and committees, record and preserve the minutes of such meetings, make required reports to Rotary International, including the semi-annual reports of membership which shall be made to the General Secretary of Rotary International, the monthly report of attendance at the club meetings which shall be made to the District Governor immediately following the last meeting of the month, collect and remit to Rotary International subscriptions to the ROTARIAN, and perform such other duties as usually pertain to this office.

 

Section 5.  Treasurer. 

            It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to have custody of all funds, accounting for same to the club at its annual meeting and at any other time upon demand by the Board of Directors, and to perform such other duties as pertain to this office.  Upon retirement from office, the Treasurer shall turn over to the Treasurer’s successor or to the president, all funds, books of accounts or any other club property in the Treasurer’s possession.

 

Section 6.  Sergeant-At-Arms. 

The duties of the Sergeant-At-Arms shall be such as are usually prescribed for this office and such other duties as may be prescribed by the President or Board of Directors.

 

 

 

Article IV  MEMBERSHIP, MEETINGS, QUORUM 

 

Section 1.    Regular meetings; notification of cancellation

The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Thursdays at noon.

Due notice of any changes in or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club.

 

Section 2.  Attendance.

All members excepting an honorary member (or member excused pursuant to article 8, sections 3 and 4 of the standard Rotary club constitution) in good standing in this club, on the day of the regular meeting, must be counted as present or absent, and attendance for at least sixty (60) percent of the time at meetings, either at this club or at any other Rotary club, or Rotary activities is encouraged.

 

Section 3.  Quorum

 One-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual and regular meetings of this club.

 

 

 

Article V.  MEMBERSHIP, FEES AND DUES

 

Section 1.  Dues.

The admission fee shall be paid before the applicant can qualify as a member.  The amount of the fee and the portion of the fee that goes to the Rotary Foundation shall be as determined by the Board. 

The annual membership dues shall be an amount determined by the Board.  The board shall establish policies for the payment of dues and review them annually.

                       

Section 2.   Method of Electing New Members.

 The board shall ensure that policies and procedures for accepting new members meet all the classification and membership requirements of the standard Rotary club constitution.

 

Section 3.  Honorary Members.

The club may elect, in accordance with the standard Rotary club constitution, honorary members proposed by the board.  

 

Section 4.  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. 

 

 

Article VI   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. This club will be active in each of the four Avenues of Service.

 

Section 1.  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.  The president-elect is responsible for appointing committee members to fill vacancies, appointing committee chairs and conducting planning meetings prior to the start of the year in office. 

            Standing committees should be appointed each year to ensure that the areas of membership, club public relations, administration, service, and Rotary Foundation are addressed each year.

              Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.

Section 2   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. 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.

 

Article VII   FINANCE

 

Section 1.   Annual Budget

            Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, 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.  The budget shall clearly delineate the charitable and service activities of the club.

 

Section 2.  Income and Disbursements

            The treasurer shall deposit all club funds in a bank, named by the board.  All bills shall be paid by the treasurer or other authorized officer.  Two check signatures shall be required.

 

Section 3.  Annual Review.

A thorough review of all financial transactions by a qualified person shall be made once each year.

 

Section 4.  Bond

Officers having charge or control of club funds shall give bond as required by the board for the safe custody of the funds of the club, cost of bond to be borne by the club.

 

Section 6.  Fiscal Year 

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 VIII.  AMENDMENTS

 

Section 1.         The By-Laws of this club may be amended by a majority vote of those members present at any regular meeting of the club; provided, however, that any proposed amendment shall have first been approved by the Board of Directors of the club and shall have been presented to the membership by reading the same at a regular meeting of the club at least one week prior to the adoption thereof.

 

 

Approved by Topeka Rotary Club – 5/24/07

 

 

 

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Al Williams, Jr., President