The
Women’s Guild of The Church in Aurora
By-Laws
(draft)
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be The
Women’s Guild of The Church in Aurora.
ARTICLE II
MISSION
The object and purpose
The mission of this organization is
to unite the women of the church and the
greater community in spiritual growth and in effective
work for the benefit and welfare of the church The Church
in Aurora.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
All women of The
Church in Aurora’s congregation and/or
the greater community interested in
Christian fellowship shall be eligible for membership
welcome to participate.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1. The
elected officers shall be president, vice-president, recording
secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer.
Section 2.
The
officers of Guild shall be nominated at the October meeting,
elected at the November meeting and formally installed at the
December meeting.
A slate of candidates who have agreed to serve shall be prepared by
the nominating committee and presented to the executive board and
then to the general membership at the March meeting. Election of
officers shall occur at the April general membership meeting with
additional nominations accepted from the floor at that time. Newly
elected officers shall be installed at the May general membership
meeting.
The regular term of all officers shall
commence at the adjournment of the annual general membership meeting
of the year in which they are elected.
Section 3. All
officers shall be elected for a term of one year or until
their successors are elected, and no officer
shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than two
consecutive terms, except the treasurer.
Section 4. The
executive board shall consist of the elected officers and a
representative the
chairperson of each Circle
or a consistent designee.
Section 5.
In the case of vacancy in the office of president, the vice
president shall assume the duties and privileges of the office of
president until the expiration of the term. A vacancy in any other
executive board position prior to the expiration of the term shall
be filled by appointment by the executive board.
Article VI ARTICLE V
DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
Section 1. President.
The president shall preside at all meetings of the Guild executive board
and of the general membership.
She
The president shall be responsible
for the general conduct of the organization’s business toward
achievement of its mission; observance of
its by-laws;
guiding the executive board in establishing policies, overseeing the
fiscal aspects and conduct of committee work, and executing its
decisions; and represent the organization both within the church and
before other organizations. She
The president shall attend all
meetings of the church board or appoint a delegate to attend in
her
the president’s absence. She
The president shall prepare a
written account of the activities of the
organization for the
church board meetings and for The Church in Aurora’s Annual
Report. The president shall be an ex officio member of all
committees and shall appoint the chairpersons
of all
committees. The president shall
have authority to approve expenditures up to $200.00 without prior executive board approval of fund
disbursements.
Section 2.
Vice-President. The vice-president, in
the absence of the president, shall perform all those functions and
duties of the president. The vice-president shall lead special
projects
as defined by the president on behalf of the
executive board.
Section 3.
Recording Secretary. The recording secretary shall record
and maintain minutes of all
executive board and general
membership meetings
and present the minutes at the respective
meetings. The recording secretary shall collect and maintain any
minutes created by circles, standing committees, and ad hoc
committees.
Section 4.
Corresponding Secretary. The
corresponding secretary shall conduct all
correspondence of
the organization executive board and general membership and present the
correspondence at the respective meetings. This shall include, but
is not limited to, expressions of gratitude, condolence, and
celebration. In addition, the corresponding secretary shall solicit
requests from each church committee and staff member for the
Nutcracker Sweets Wish List in January and present
an organized list of the requests
to the executive
board prior to the March meeting of that body. In March, the
president shall present the Wish List to the executive board for
their recommendations and then to the general membership for approval.
Section 5.
Treasurer. The treasurer shall
generate an annual budget and present it to the executive board for
approval each November. The treasurer shall keep accurate
accounts
records of income, expense, and
disbursements of all funds turned over
by the
executive board, general membership and the circles
consistent with standard accounting procedures. She
The treasurer
shall prepare a monetary
fiscal statement to be included in the
church’s Annual Report. The fiscal year of the
Guild organization
shall be
consistent with the financial
year of The Church in Aurora (currently, January 1st to
December 31st).
The books Fiscal records shall be
reviewed annually by
a duly certified accountant and the treasurer will present the
results of the review to the executive board and to the general
membership at the first meeting of each body following receipt of
the results. The treasurer of The Church in Aurora shall also file all appropriate forms
required by law.
Section 6.
Circle Representative. Each circle shall elect a
representative select a
chairperson, or consistent designee, to represent the circle at
executive board meetings for a term of one year. The
circle chairperson or designee shall attend all
executive
board meetings and general membership meetings and report on the
activities of the circle.
Section 7.
The officers, within one month after retiring from office,
shall deliver to their successors all monies, accounts, record
books, papers or property belonging to the organization.
Section 8.
Executive Board.
The executive board shall be the general policy-forming
body
of the organization organization of the Guild.
They The executive board shall approve
all projects undertaken by the Guild and Circles
organization, approve all
major expenditures for projects and instruct the president to
draw upon the treasurer for such expenditures,
They shall
fill all vacancies among the officers during the
calendar year a term of office
with such appointees, said officers
to hold office until the next annual election and, in general,
conduct the business, objects and purposed of the Guild.
shall be responsible for
transacting all business of the organization, which includes:
(a) maintaining the mission of the
organization
(b) assuring representation of the
interests and ideas of the membership
(c)
overseeing standing committees and ad hoc
work groups convened for specific
purposes
(d) implementing resolutions to the
by-laws of the organization
(e) serving as ambassadors for the
organization
Two-thirds
A
simple majority of the members
of the executive board shall constitute a quorum and a majority of
those present and voting at any executive board meeting shall
be necessary to constitute a valid action of the executive board.
All executive board members shall exercise
prudence in discussions of executive board business.
ARTICLE VI
COMMITTEES
ARTICLE
VII (Old)
Section 1.
The president shall be an ex officio member of each committee.
Section 2.
Standing Committees.
Standing committees shall be Program, Nutcracker Sweets, and Rummage
Sale, Guild Booth and Church Beautiful. The executive board shall
appoint approve the chairperson
of each standing committee on an annual basis.
They shall also appoint the Assistant Chairman of Nutcracker Sweets
after past and present chairmen present a candidate.
Section 3.
Ad Hoc Committees.
Ad hoc
committees shall be appointed by the president, announced to
the
executive board and to the general
membership and
dissolved once
the report or action is completed.
Typically, ad hoc committees shall include, but not be limited to,
by-laws, nominating, and budget.
ARTICLE VIII
ARTICLE VII
DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
Section 1.
Program. The program committee
shall plan and arrange for be responsible for
proposing, organizing, and executing
all programs, devotions, lunches, setting up the meeting
place, babysitting, meeting site set-up and
clean-up, publicity and transportation, when needed, for
regular Guild general
membership meetings..
Section 2.
Nutcracker Sweets. The Nutcracker
Sweets committee shall be responsible for proposing, organizing
and executing all areas
facets of the annual arts and crafts show and
keep the Guild for keeping the
executive board and general membership
updated as to their progress throughout the year. Each year, 25%
of the profit from the show shall be allocated to a local charity,
as determined by the general membership of the organization.
The balance of the profit shall be allocated to seed the subsequent
Nutcracker Sweets event and to fill church needs.
Section 3.
Rummage Sale. The Rummage Sale
chairperson shall set the dates for the April and September
sales and make all of the arrangements for said
the sales.
Profits from the rummage sales shall be designated as general
operating funds for the organization.
Section 4 Guild Booth
The Guild Booth chairman shall be responsible for the Guild Booth
during Nutcracker, and for the sale of items throughout the year.
She shall find and purchase all suitable items for the booth with
the approval of the Executive Board.
Section 5 Church
Beautiful. The Church Beautiful chairman shall advise the
board on needed improvements in the church and supervise the follow
through of these improvements.
ARTICLE IX
ARTICLE VIII
FUND ALLOCATION
Circles,
standing committees, and any other
special interest groups are required to deposit with the
Guild treasurer the results of their fund-raising efforts and/or
dues, excepting cash amounts as needed for current expenses, in any
given financial year. At that time they may recommend a use
for those funds which the Guild, in good faith, will try to honor.
however, if any emergency situation should arise, relevant to the
church, the general assembly of the Guild would be consulted as to
the re-allocation of some of those funds.
provide an accounting of
all financial operations to the Guild treasurer and to deposit with
the Guild treasurer annually any monies not required for their
general business.
ARTICLE IX
(Old Article V)
MEETINGS
The regular meetings of the
Guild organization shall
be held at 11:30 AM on the second Wednesday of the months
September through May, unless otherwise ordered by the executive
board. Additional general membership
meetings may be called by the president or by the executive board. The executive board shall meet prior to each general membership
meeting or at the discretion of the president.
ARTICLE X
QUORUM
The members present for any general
membership meeting shall constitute a quorum for purposes of
conducting business. A simple majority of those present and
voting shall be required to constitute a valid action.
ARTICLE X
ARTICLE XI
CIRCLES
Section 1.
Officers. There shall be elected
each year within each circle, officers necessary to conduct
the business of that circle.,
Section 2.
Dues. Membership dues shall be
fixed by a majority vote of the members of each circle.
Section 3.
Creation and Modification of Circles.
Circles may be created upon application of any six women of the
congregation to the executive board and their approval
thereof with the subsequent
approval of the executive board. Circles may be merged or
divided by first obtaining the approval of the Executive
Board of the Guild
upon application to the executive board and the
subsequent approval of the executive board.
Section 4.
Action. Favorable action by the
circles may be obtained by a majority vote of those
attending present
and voting at any regular circle meeting.
ARTICLE XI
ARTICLE XII
PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of
Order shall govern the Guild in all cases to which they are
applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these
by-laws.
Robert’s Rules of Order, revised, shall be
the parliamentary authority governing the organization.
ARTICLE XII
ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENTS
These by-laws may be amended by two thirds
(2/3) majority of the votes cast at any regular Guild
general membership
meeting, provided notice of the proposed amendment(s) has been given
at the previous regular general membership meeting.
Revised 12/09
