Fair Oaks Historical Society Bylaws
BYLAWS: FAIR OAKS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Revision April, 2007
ARTICLE I: NAME
1.1 The name of this organization shall be FAIR OAKS HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, INC.
ARTICLE II: OBJECT
2.1 To preserve the heritage of the area known as Fair Oaks,
California 95628; that of its first inhabitants, the San Juan
Rancho, the early settlers of the Sunset Colony and of
succeeding generations.
2.2 To preserve the historical record, and other materials arising
from use by the people of the Fair Oaks area in the course of
its history.
2.3 To conduct research on the founders of Fair Oaks, and the
agricultural, civic, religious and cultural activities
throughout its history in an effort to provide an accurate and
authentic interpretation thereof, and to keep authoritative
and permanent recordings of the facts in a repository.
2.4 To provide representation in regard to Fair Oaks history and
culture by means of oral, written, pictorial and other methods
prescribed by the Executive Board.
2.5 To establish, operate and maintain a Fair Oaks History
Center for the general public, when possible.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership in this society shall be open to any interested
person regardless of race, sex, creed, or national origin; or
to any organization or business having rendered support and
assistance in the study and dissemination of the history of
Fair Oaks. Not less than sixty percent (60%) of the active
members shall be residents of the Fair Oaks Postal District.
3.2 There shall be two classes of membership: active and honorary
3.2-1 Active Memberships
(a) A person applying for active individual
membership shall be accepted upon completion
of application form and payment of annual
dues, and shall have all privileges including
voting rights.
(b) An individual and spouse or two adults
applying for an active family membership shall
be accepted upon completion of application
form and payment of annual dues. Each shall
have all privileges including voting rights.
(c) An organization or business applying for an
active supporting membership may be accepted
upon completion of application form and
payment of annual dues, and approved by the
executive board and a majority vote of members
present at a general meeting. The group shall
have all privileges, with only one vote, which
may be cast by the president or owner or their
representative.
(d) Active Life Memberships
1. A person applying for individual life
membership may be accepted upon
completion of application, individual
life payment and approved by the
Executive Board and a majority vote of
members present at a general meeting; and
shall have all privileges including one
voting right;
2. An individual and spouse or two adults
applying for family life membership may
be accepted upon completion of
application, family life payment and
approved by the executive board and a
majority vote of members present at a
general meeting. Each shall have all
privileges including voting rights.
3.2-2 Honorary membership
(a) An honorary membership may be conferred upon a
person who has rendered outstanding service to
the Society, whether or not a member.
(b) This membership shall be approved by the
Executive Board and a majority vote of members
present at a general meeting.
(c) This designation does not require the payment
of dues nor confer the right to vote nor hold
office but all other privileges shall prevail.
(d) An honorary member may also be an active
individual member.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS AND DUES
4.1 The fiscal year shall be from January 1 through December 31.
4.2 The last general membership meeting of the year shall be the
Annual Meeting.
4.3 Twenty Five (25) members shall constitute a quorum at the
general meeting.
4.4 There shall be four (4) general membership meetings each
year. These meetings are to be held on the fourth Tuesday of
January, April, July and October. Additional Meetings may be
scheduled by the Executive Board.
4.5 Annual dues for Active Members shall be, effective January,
2007:
1. Individual membership: $ 15.00
2. Family membership: $ 20.00
3. Supporting membership: $ 40.00
4. Individual Life Membership: $ 150.00
5. Family Life Membership: $ 225.00
4.6 Dues are payable on January 1 and shall become delinquent May
1 of each year. Membership shall be terminated after June 1
after written notification of non-payment of dues.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
5.1 The elected officers of this society shall be a president, a
vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The most
recent available immediate past president, an active member
in good standing, shall hold office under that title. A
parliamentarian shall be appointed by the president and
selected from among the voting members.
5.2 The term of office of all officers shall be for one (1) year
commencing January 1 of each year.
5.3 Duties of the Officers are as follows:
5.3-1 The president shall
(a) Supervise the activities of this society
within the scope provided by these bylaws and
by the directives of the general membership.
(b) Preside at all meetings of the general
membership and of the executive board.
(c) Appoint the parliamentarian, the auditor,
and the chairs or co-chairs of standing
committees, with the exception of the
nominating and program committees. Appointees
shall be introduced at the first executive
board and general membership meetings of the
year or the first such meeting after
appointment.
(d) Establish temporary committees and appoint a
chair. Temporary committees shall serve
during the fiscal year and may be
reestablished by the president after January
of each year.
(e) Sign contracts ordered by the executive
board.
(f) Represent this society at all invitational
events and accept courtesies for the
organization or appoint a representative.
(g) Report as outgoing president on the
activities of the society for the preceding
year at the first general meeting of the new
year.
(h) Select an official greeter who shall greet
current members, guests, and visitors at each
general meeting.
(i) Secure insurance and hold the policy.
5.3-2 The vice president shall
(a) Act as an aide to the president and in the
absence of the president, shall perform the
duties of the president.
(b) Serve as chair of the program committee.
(c) Fill the unexpired term, in case of a vacancy
in the office of the president.
5.3-3 The secretary shall
(a) Keep an accurate record of the proceedings of
all meetings of the society and of the
executive board. The proceedings of the
general membership or the executive board
meetings are to be made available on request.
(b) Conduct the correspondence of the society by
direction of the president, issue all notices
required by the executive board and have
available at each general membership and
executive board meeting a current list of
members whose dues have been paid.
5.3-4 The treasurer shall
(a) Receive all moneys of the society, keeping an
accurate account thereof in a permanently
bound book or in a computer.
(b) Deposit all moneys in the name of the
society in a bank approved by the executive
board.
(c) Pay all bills that have been approved by the
executive board or the general menbership and
make a financial report at each meeting.
(d) Be responsible for seeing that all financial
transactions shall have the required
signatures of the treasurer and either the
president or secretary.
(e) Submit the treasurer's books to be audited
annually.
(f) Submit a written report to the society at the
first general meeting of the year and provide
a report to be included in the notices of
each of the general membership meetings.
(g) Submit to the executive board, prior to the
first general meeting of the year, a proposed
budget for the forthcoming year.
ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE BOARD
6.1 The membership and voting rights are
6.1-1 Members of the executive board shall be the
president, vice president, secretary, treasurer,
immediate past president, and the chairs of the
standing committees.
6.1.2 They shall have one vote each. Each committee
shall have one vote.
6.2 Duties include
6.2-1 Meeting at least once, no fewer than twenty four
(24) days prior to a general meeting.
6.2-2 General supervision of the affairs of the society
between its general meetings and perform such
other duties as are specified in these bylaws.
6.2-3 Selecting an active member to fill, for the
unexpired term, all vacancies in elective offices
except that of president.
6.3 Meetings
6.3-1 Be held at the call of the president
6.3-2 Seven (7) members, two (2) of whom shall be elected
officials, shall constitute a quorum.
6.3-3 Special meetings may be held at the call of any
three (3) board members provided notification is
made one week in advance of such meeting, limiting
action to a specific purpose.
6.3-4 In between the required general membership and
executive board meetings the president may poll
the executive board members by phone to secure
approval of actions or expenditures.
(a) Approval of actions or expenditures requires
approval of seven (7) members, two (2) of which
shall be elected officers, of the executive board
members.
(b) Any action or expenditure so approved shall
be submitted, for the record, to the
executive board at the next meeting.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES
7.1 There shall be the following standing committees.
7.1-1 Dinner - decorating, setup, social hour, serving,
and cleanup.
7.1-2 Historical - society history, vignettes,
newsletter articles, and annual report.
7.1-3 Liaison Representative - attend functions of other
historical societies and report to this society.
7.1-4 Membership - roster maintenance, including names,
phone numbers, addresses and emails, guest and new
member sign-in sheet, and submitting of membership
list to the secretary, treasurer and newsletter
committee chair.
7.1-5 Newsletter - editor, printing, mailing;
7.1-6 Program - the vice president as program chair is
responsible for the general membership meeting
program and speakers.
7.1-7 Publicity - news releases and public relations.
7.1-8 Way and Means - sale of publications, raffles, and
any other fund raising activities.
7.1-9 History Center Operations- schedule docents and
assemble displays,
7.1-10 History Center Preservation - care, inventory,
storage, acceptance and gifting of articles. The
disposal, sale and purchase of articles shall be
done within the limits set by the executive board
or with approval of the executive board.
7.1-11 Technology - webmaster, automation, computer care,
data entry , and digitizing items. One member of
this committee shall serve on the History Center
Preservation committee.
7.2 The chairs of standing committees shall review, maintain or
create a list of duties for submittal to the President at
the start of each year.
ARTICLE VIII: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
8.1 The election of officers shall be held at the annual
meeting.
8.2 Nominations:
8.2-1 A nominating committee consists of three (3)
active members, one of whom must be a member of
the executive board and shall be selected at the
July general membership meeting.
8.2-2 The nominating committee shall present a slate of
consenting candidates' names to the secretary who
shall include this report with October meeting
notice;
8.2-3 The chair of the nominating committee will present
the slate of candidates to the membership at the
annual membership meeting, at which time the
president will call for nominations from the
floor prior to the election.
8.2-4 To be a nominee for the office of president or
vice president, a candidate shall have served as a
voting member of the executive board for at least
one year or shall have been an active member of
the society for at least three (3) years.
8.2-5 The installation shall take place at the first
general membership meeting in January, although
the newly elected officers shall commence their
official duties on January 1.
ARTICLE IX: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
9.1 Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall be the
authority governing all society procedure when not in
conflict with these bylaws.
9.2 The parliamentarian should be present at all general and
executive board meetings and act in an advisory capacity to
the president, executive board and the society.
ARTICLE X: AUDITOR
10.1 The auditor shall
10.1-1 Serve only for the period necessary to conduct the
audit.
10.1-2 Audit the treasurer's books annually prior to the
end of the fiscal year.
10.1-3 Submit a report of the audit to the president and
the treasurer prior to the first executive board
meeting of the year and to the Society at the
first general membership meeting.
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
11.1 These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of
the Active members present at a general membership meeting,
provided that written notice of the proposed amendment(s)
and existing bylaws were mailed to the voting members no
less than twenty (20) days in advance of the general
meeting.
ARTICLE XII: DISSOLUTION
12.1 Upon the dissolution of the Fair Oaks Historical Society
Inc., all assets, including the sale of assets, remaining
after the payment, or provision of payment, of all debts and
liabilities, shall be transferred to the existing Fair Oaks
Recreation and Park District
12.2 If the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District is not In
existence, or does not accept all the assets, the remaining
assets are to be transferred in the following order to:
- the Fair Oaks Cemetery District;
- a qualified non-profit organization which is interested
in the cultural and historical preservation of records
and artifacts relating to Fair Oaks
- the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce;
- current or past Fair Oaks Historical Society members;
- any Fair Oaks business or resident..
ACTIVITY REVIEW COMMITTEES
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Adopted March 28, 1977 June Melvin
Incorporated March 3, 1979 Edward Eubanks
Amended (no date listed) Donald Kenmouth
Revised April 30, 1989 Iva Langness
Amended January 25, 1989 June Melvin, Parliamentarian
Amended July 27, 1993 Harry Voth
Amended April 23, 1966
Amended January, 1999
Amended October, 2006 Joe Dobrowolski
Amended April, 2007 Joe Dobrowolski