BY-LAWS OF STARLIGHTERS
Revised: June
21, 2012
Bob Meehan, Parliamentarian
ARTICLE I
The name of this organization shall be STARLIGHTERS.
ARTICLE II
OBJECT
The objective of the Club shall be
social in nature and have as its primary objective the enjoyment and
advancement of ballroom dancing.
ARTICLE III
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1 The officers
of this Club shall be: President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President,
Secretary and Treasurer. The
President as deemed appropriate might appoint chairpersons for other
responsibilities.
Section 2 The Executive
Board will consist of the five officers, plus the immediate past president as
Parliamentarian. The Board of
Directors shall consist of the Executive Board in addition to the Membership,
Hospitality, and Friendship Chairpersons elected at the same time and for the
same term as the officers of the Club to perform specific duties as outlined in
Article V of these by-laws.
Section 3 The Executive
Board will supervise and control the activities and financial matters of the
organization.
Section 4 Any vacancy occurring in the Executive Board shall be
filled by appointment by the President, with the Executive Board acting as
advisors. In the event
that the Presidency should be vacated, then the First Vice-President will
automatically become President and will appoint a new First Vice-President,
with the approval of four of the remaining members of the Executive Board.
Section 5 The officers and the Board of Directors shall hold office for a period
of one year, said term to run from February 1 to January 31 with the exception
as outlined in Article X, Section 4 of these By-Laws.
Section 6 Parliamentary Procedures –
RobertsÕ Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings unless contravened by the
by-laws of the Starlighters Dance Club.
ARTICLE IV
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section
1 The President shall be Chairperson of the Executive
Board and shall preside at the Executive Board meetings. The President shall
refrain from voting on any issue unless the vote is needed to break a tie or to
constitute a quorum. A quorum of the Executive Board is necessary to conduct
the business of the Club. A quorum is defined to be the majority of the
Executive Board. A majority is
further defined to comprise one-half of the Executive Board plus one additional
member.
The
President shall appoint the chairperson and members to any special committees
and shall call all special meetings of the Executive Board deemed necessary to
properly carry out the affairs of the Club. In the absence of an available Parliamentarian,
the President may appoint any past president to the position.
Section 2 The First
Vice-President shall preside in the absence of the President and assist the
President in carrying out the duties of the Presidency. The First Vice
President shall also make arrangements for the dance locations and dinner
menus, present arrangement suggestions in advance to the Executive Board for
Board approval, contract with selected facilities and issue copies of said
contracts to the Treasurer and President.
Section 3 The Second
Vice-President shall contract with bands for each dinner-dance and issue copies
of such contracts to the President and Treasurer.
Section 4 The Secretary
shall keep a record of proceedings of the regular meetings and all Board
meetings and issue all notices.
Board meeting minutes are normally to be issued within two weeks of the
meeting. The secretary shall also
receive the PresidentÕs newsletter from the President, the current roster from
the Membership Chairman, and the venue arrangements from the First
Vice-President and prepare and mail the invitation to the bi-monthly dances.
Upon request, special invites to guests are mailed by the
Secretary.
Section 5 The Treasurer
shall have charge of all funds of the Club, pay all bills, and make a report to
the Executive Board at each meeting of the Board of all monies received and
disbursed and displaying the balance on-hand. The Treasurer will provide the number of
couples attending each dance, the number of each dinner selection, and any
special dinner needs to the arrangements person (First VP) and a list of
attendees with their dinner selections to the Hospitality Chairperson.
Section 6 The Executive
Board shall arrange for six dinner dances, one in each of the odd months from
January through November following their year in office. Dance facilities are normally contracted
for at least one year in advance of the date of the event.
ARTICLE V
DUTIES OF REMAINING BOARD MEMBERS
Section 1 The Membership
Chairperson shall receive all applications for membership and present these to
the Executive Board for approval, send letters of acceptance into the Club to
new members if the Board approves their application, update the membership list
and keep the waiting list in order as applications are received if the
membership quota is full.
Section 2 The Hospitality
Chairperson shall arrange seating for guest couples at the same table as
sponsor couples, provide attendees with entrˇe selection tags when an entrˇe
choice is available, provide nametags for member and guest attendees,
distribute and collect survey forms at each dance, and summarize survey results
for presentation to the board at its next meeting.
Section 3 The Past President shall attend all Executive Board
meetings and serve as Parliamentarian.
ARTICLE VI
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 The membership of the Club shall be limited to one
hundred (100) active member couples and shall be limited to couples consisting
of a male and female who are married or are in a committed long-term
relationship.
Section 2 Widows
and widowers are eligible to continue in their current membership and may
attend if they are accompanied by a dance partner-guest.
Section 3 Divorced
members are not eligible for membership. Refer to Section 1 of this Article.
Section 4 Out
of state former members may attend as many dinner-dances per year as they so
choose provided they pay the dance cost and a pro-rated share of the membership
dues for each dance attended.
Section 5 Membership in
the Club is not transferable.
Section 6 The names of
persons proposed for membership, including those of former members proposed for
renewal of their membership, shall be submitted in writing to the Executive
Board by a member couple in good standing as sponsor. The Executive Board shall not consider
proposed members who are not former members until the proposed members have
attended a minimum of two Club dances as guests. However, until such time as the
membership of the Club reaches the level of one hundred (100) couples, the
provision for having attended a minimum of two Club meetings may be waived by a
unanimous vote of the Executive Board.
Section 7 Once a couple
has been accepted for membership and paid the required dues and fees, they may thereafter
sponsor one or more guest couples at future dances.
Section 8 When a vacancy
exists, the names of proposed members appearing shall be referred to the
Membership Chairperson. The
Membership Chairperson will forward applications to the President, who will
cause the same to be voted upon by open ballot at the next regular meeting of
the Executive Board. If approved by unanimous vote of the Board members present (with a
minimum of five (5) being required to be present before a vote may be taken on
a proposed membership), the said members shall be notified in writing by the
Membership Chairperson of their acceptance. If no more than one dissenting vote is
cast for a prospective member couple, the reasons for the negative vote must be
voiced to the Executive Board, after which another vote may be taken at the
discretion of the President.
Section 9 In the event
the membership quota of the Club is full at the time the name of proposed
members are presented, then said names will be filed with the Membership
Chairperson to be placed on a waiting list to be considered by the Executive
Board in the order they are received, to be referred
to the Board only at a time when a vacancy exists.
Section 10 After due
notification of approved membership, the initiation fee and proportionate dues
must be in the hands of the Treasurer by the next Club meeting. If these requirements are not met, the
new members will be dropped from membership.
Section 11 A member couple may request that their
membership be placed on sabbatical for the current membership year due to
illness or other personal reasons.
At the end of each year, the couple will be sent a membership renewal
and may renew their membership or request a sabbatical continuance. A couple
may remain on sabbatical for no more than two consecutive years, unless
specific approval is given to the couple to extend the sabbatical by a vote of
the majority of the board. After
two years and without such approval, the couple will be dropped from
membership. While the couple is on
sabbatical, they will continue to receive dance invitations and may attend
dances as desired by paying the cost of the dance in addition to a pro-rata
share of the dues for each dance attended.
ARTICLE VII
DUES
Section 1 The initiation
fee shall be $20.00. The yearly
dues shall be $80.00, prorated from the date of application for membership to
the next January 31st.
Said dues shall be payable on or before the March dance each year. Dues must be current to attend
dances. Failure to comply with this
rule will cause member to be dropped from the rolls. A sabbatical leave may be granted to any
memberÕs request at the discretion of the Board.
Section 2 The Board will
set the price of each dinner/dance based on relevant costs for each venue. Members are required to have said amount
in the hands of the Treasurer at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the
next regular dance. Members are
expected to pay for reservations made, but not kept.
ARTICLE VIII
TIME AND PLACE OF DANCES AND MEETINGS
Section 1 For purpose of
clarification, the regular Club meeting dates will be the dinner dance dates.
Section 2 Regular dinner
dances for the Club shall take place on the third Saturday of the odd
month. The first dance of the New
Year will be held in the month of March.
The Arrangements Chairperson will determine the place of said
dances. The mode of dress and theme
of each dance will be determined by the Executive Board, and will consist of
two formal, two semi-formal, and two dressy casual or themed dances each
year. The mode of dress and place
of each dance will be announced at each preceding dance. In addition, written invitations will be
sent to each member couple twenty (20) days in advance of said dance.
Section 3 A regular
meeting of the Executive Board shall be held within the first ten (10) days of
the month following the regular dinner dance of the Club. Board meetings shall be open to the
general membership.
ARTICLE IX
GUESTS
Section 1 No guest shall
be invited more than twice by any member, it being the duty of that member to
ascertain whether said guest has attended previous dances as a guest of any
other member. Sections 2 through 4 specify exceptions to this by-law.
Section 2 Guests who live
out of state, country, and /or live just too far to want to be considered for
membership may be invited by a member and may attend as often as they wish by
paying the dance fee plus a prorated share of the membership fee, when
accompanied by a member.
Section 3 Guests who are
in-state residents and who are out of the country regularly for two or more
months, and do not want to be considered for membership, may be invited by a
member and may attend as often as they are in town by paying the dance fee plus
a prorated
share of the membership fee, when accompanied by a member.
Section 4 Guests who are
in-state residents who are unable to attend two or more dances because of a
regularly conflicting work schedule, may be invited by a member and may attend
as often as they wish/ or are able, by paying the dance fee plus a prorated
share of the membership fee, when accompanied by a member.
ARTICLE X
ELECTIONS
Section 1 The current
President will poll the general membership and the existing Board to identify
individuals who have a desire to participate in governing the club for the
upcoming dance year. A slate of
candidates, one for each Board office, shall then be assembled by the current
President each year prior to the November formal dance from this list of
individuals, subject to the provisions noted below. If there are two individuals who are
candidates for the same position, the current Board shall vote to select one or
other of the individuals to appear on the slate of candidates for the position.
Section 2 The
slate of candidates shall be presented to the general membership at the
November formal and shall be elected by a majority vote of those in attendance
at that dance. The newly elected
Board shall be installed at the January dinner dance.
Section 3 There
are no specific requirements for any Board position except that the candidate
for President is required to have served at least one year on the Board in any
capacity and at any time in the past.
In addition, the current President will, by default, become the
Parliamentarian. If the current
President cannot or will not serve as a Parliamentarian, he can fill the
position by appointment from the ranks of past Presidents.
Section 4 No officer
shall upon expiration of his term be eligible to the same office for a period
of more than one (1) additional year, except by unanimous approval of the
Board.
Section 5 No member
shall serve on the Executive Board for more than three (3) years consecutively
with the exception of Immediate Past President, except by unanimous approval of
the Board.
Section 6 No husband and
wife shall be elected to any two positions simultaneously, so that no couple
shall have double representation on the Executive Board at any one time, except
by unanimous approval of the Board.
Even then, one of the couple shall recuse him or herself
from any vote so that the couple, despite having two positions, retains only
one vote.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1 These By-Laws
may be repealed, or amended by new By-Laws adopted at any regular meeting of
the Executive Board by a unanimous vote of the Board members present, provided
that at least five (5) members of the Board are present.