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Article I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Sierra Singles Section
of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club (here in after
called the Section). |
Article II. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Section shall be to promote the enjoyment
and preservation of our scenic and environmental resources by
single adults. All activities and functions of the Section must
be consistent with the purposes of the Sierra Club. |
Article III. MEMBERSHIP
The membership of this Section shall consist of those members
of the Sierra Club who are current subscribers to the Section
newsletter, hereinafter referred to as Section members. Membership
is not dependent upon a subscriber’s age, marital status, or
place of residence.. |
Article IV. ORGANIZATION
The Section is an integral part of the Sierra Club and the Loma
Prieta Chapter (hereinafter called the Chapter). It is governed
by their Bylaws as supplemented by these Bylaws, as amended.
The Executive Committee of the Section (hereinafter called the
EXCOM) shall be responsible to the Chapter Executive Committee
for the effective operation of the Section and shall interpret
these Bylaws as required. All questions as to the meaning of
these Bylaws and matters not addressed by these Bylaws are to
be referred to the EXCOM, then the Chapter. The Section shall
be administered by the EXCOM elected by the members of the Section
or appointed in accordance with these Bylaws. Other committees,
activity coordinators and leaders may be appointed by the Excom. |
EXCOM
Part A. Executive Committee The EXCOM shall be composed
of at least five and up to eleven elected officers. The minimum
five officers are the Chair, Vice-Chair, Membership Coordinator,
Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. The additional officers are
Secretary, Conservation Coordinator, Activity Coordinator and
up to three at-large members. The specific number for a particular
term shall be defined by the EXCOM prior to the election for
that term. All officers shall be single members of the Section.
No officers shall serve more than three full consecutive annual
terms in a specific office or more than five consecutive annual
terms on the EXCOM. Decisions of the EXCOM shall be by majority
vote unless otherwise specified in the Bylaws and are binding
on all Section members.
The powers of the EXCOM shall include: Coordinate, conduct and
publish in a periodic newsletter activities to further the purposes
of the Section. The Chair or Vice Chair, with the concurrence
of at least two other EXCOM members, may reject or materially
amend for publication any proposed event or item that does not
meet the policies of the Section. All rejections shall be discussed
at the following EXCOM meeting, to which the posting leader
shall be specifically invited. The EXCOM may overrule the decision
on future rejections of like kind activities. Set, enforce,
and maintain a record of policies to ensure that actions of
the Section are consistent with the objectives and standards
of the Section, the Chapter, and the Sierra Club. These policies
are included in these Bylaws by reference. Control and disburse
funds of the Section in a businesslike manner. All funds shall
be committed by the EXCOM to purposes consistent with the objectives
of the Section. The EXCOM shall appoint annually an audit committee
to review Section financial reports and procedures. The EXCOM
shall ensure a proper review process regarding complaints of
inappropriate activity. It may, by a majority vote, prohibit
any member of the Sierra Club or non-member permanently or temporarily
from participating in some or all events or receiving its newsletter.
Causes for such action include, but are not limited to, persons
whose actions are disruptive to the operations or activities
of the Section, endanger their or others safety, are contrary
to the goals of the Sierra Club or Section, are offensive to
others, or are contrary to common sense or the norms of society.
Upon receiving a written complaint, the EXCOM, or delegated
persons, may interview the parties, diligently review the matter,
attempt problem resolution and make recommendations to the EXCOM.
The EXCOM shall assure that the subject person is informed of
the complaint and has an opportunity to be fully heard. The
EXCOM may refer the matter to the Chapter as appropriate. Set,
enforce and maintain qualification procedures for event leaders.
Such other actions as are necessary for the efficient operation
of the Section. |
The general responsibilities
of the following officers are:
Chair: Shall call and preside at meetings of the EXCOM; attend
meetings of the Chapter Activities Committee or other meetings
of the Chapter Executive Committee as required; and such other
duties as may be necessary.
Vice Chair: Shall act as Chair in the absence of the
Chair; be responsible for recruiting and training leaders for
the Section's activities; review the qualifications of leaders
of scheduled activities and ensure that a qualified leader attends
any activity led by a new or inexperienced leader; and control
event-oriented physical assets (equipment) of the Section.
Membership Coordinator: Shall process requests for Section
membership or newsletter subscriptions, maintain lists of members
and subscribers and pass received funds along to the Section
treasurer.
Treasurer: Shall maintain finances in accordance with
Article VI of these Bylaws.
Newsletter Editor: Shall monitor announcements of activities
submitted by leaders, verifying that appropriate EXCOM policies
are followed; and oversee editing and publishing of the Section
newsletter. The EXCOM shall maintain a description of the duties
of all its positions, including the five above. It may allocate,
change, add or delete duties among the officers as needed to
fulfill its duties. An officer may be removed from office for
failure to comply with the policies of the Section or for failure
to perform the duties of that office or disrupting operation
of the Section. Removal shall require a two-thirds vote of the
EXCOM other than that officer. Absence by an EXCOM officer at
more than two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, without
prior approval by the EXCOM, or the marriage of an officer,
shall constitute a resignation from that office. The voting
rights of an officer may be suspended and/or a recall election
for that position initiated by petition of 5% of the membership.
An officer may resign in writing to the EXCOM at any time. A
vacancy in the office of the Chair shall be filled by the Vice
Chair. Other vacancies in existing EXCOM positions may be filled
with members approved by the EXCOM to serve the remainder of
the term. |
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Part B. Committees
Any officer may organize and dissolve committees to aid in
performing the functions of office with approval of the EXCOM.
Committee members must be Section members. Committees pass
on their decisions to the sponsoring officer as recommendations.
Part C. Activity Coordinators
The Vice Chair, with EXCOM approval, can appoint and remove
any qualified leader as an Activity Coordinator for a specific
type of event. An Activity Coordinator, under the direction
of the Vice Chair, will maintain the quality of the events
under the Coordinator's responsibility, including the qualification
or monitoring of qualification of new leaders, settling minor
problems that members may have with leaders and promoting
leader’s skills. The Activity Coordinator reviews activity
financial reports of leaders if finances are questioned in
writing by a participant to ensure conformance to Section
policies.
Part D. Activity Leaders
Each scheduled activity of the Section shall have a formally
designated leader, who must be a Section member and single,
and must meet the leadership requirements established by the
EXCOM. Leaders shall represent the interests of the Section,
the Chapter and the Sierra Club on their activities. Leaders
choose and plan the events for which they are qualified. Any
written complaint made by a member of a leader must be diligently
reviewed by the EXCOM or its delegates. The EXCOM may suspend
or terminate a member’s leadership status during and/or after
a diligent review.Activities announced in the Section newsletter
shall be considered official Sierra Club activities, except
those specifically identified otherwise. A leader may bar
a person from an event who may endanger their or others' safety,
may be disruptive, may be unqualified for the event, or for
any other reason.
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Article V. ELECTIONS
Elections shall be held such that ballots are collected in the
fourth quarter of each calendar year. The Chair shall appoint
an Elections Committee of at least three members at least 3
months prior to the deadline for collecting ballots. No candidate
for election or current EXCOM member shall serve on the Election
Committee. The Election Committee shall control all aspects
of the election process. It shall prepare detailed election
procedures and recommend policies and changes for EXCOM approval.
The Election Committee shall place a notice in the Section newsletter
at least 2 months prior to the deadline for collecting ballots,
announcing the election and nomination rules, soliciting names
of qualified candidates and outlining the process for nomination
by petition. The Election Committee shall nominate willing candidates
for each elected position and oversee preparation of the election
material, which shall be mailed with the Section newsletter
between 2 weeks and 6 weeks prior to the deadline for collecting
ballots and shall include all candidates and instructions for
voting. It may disqualify candidates for violation of election
rules.
Candidates must be single. No nominee may be a candidate for
more than one office in a single election. Any unopposed candidates
for a particular office shall take that office when elected
officers are seated. There shall be no election for that office.
Members not selected by the Election Committee may be nominated
by petition of at least 5% of the Section members. Petitions
for nomination must be delivered to the Election Committee at
least 1 week prior to the publication of ballots. Voting shall
be by secret ballot. Members may vote for as many candidates
as there are positions to be filled. Members may not vote more
than once for a particular candidate. Write-in votes shall not
be counted. Ballots shall be returned unopened to the Elections
Committee within one week of the voting deadline. A candidate
who receives a plurality of at least 40% of the votes cast for
an office shall be declared elected. Ties among the leading
candidates receiving at least 40% of the votes cast may be decided
by mutual agreement of those candidates, or else by lot.
If no candidate receives a plurality, the Election Committee
shall conduct a run-off election between the two top candidates.
This shall be as soon as possible, via the Section newsletter.
Elected officers shall be seated at the EXCOM meeting following
the counting of ballots. The incumbents shall remain in office
until the respective successors have been elected and installed.
Special elections may be held at the request of the EXCOM or
upon petition of 5% of the membership. Special elections shall
be announced at least two calendar months prior to the deadline
for counting ballots. |
Article VI. FINANCES
The EXCOM is responsible to collect, expend and protect funds
of the Section in a businesslike manner consistent with the
goals of the Section, Chapter and the Sierra Club. Revenue sources,
including newsletter subscriptions and ads, fund-raising and
other events and Chapter and/or Sierra Club fund-sharing, shall
be sufficient to independently fund all normal Section operating
expenses, equipment purchases, donations, cash reserves and
other expenditures as approved by the EXCOM. The EXCOM shall
approve and maintain financial policies to be followed by the
Treasurer, EXCOM, committees and leaders.
The Treasurer shall keep proper books of accounts and report
the financial condition of the Section quarterly, annually and
at other times as required by the EXCOM and/or Chapter. The
membership shall receive a summary financial report at least
annually in the newsletter. The Treasurer shall ensure proper
controls and reporting are in place for cash management and
expenditure, equipment, bank statements, reserve requirements,
budgeting, fund-raising, and financial aspects of activities.
The Treasurer shall cooperate with the audit committee and supply
it with the bank statements and financial statements for the
audit period. Subscription fees may be waived for EXCOM officers
and other members as approved by the EXCOM to reward effort
to benefit the Section. The EXCOM may review or audit the financial
aspects of events. |
Article VII. MEETINGS
The EXCOM shall meet not less than once a quarter to review
the operation of the Section. Additional meetings may be scheduled
by the Chair or majority of the EXCOM. Meetings shall be announced
in the newsletter, except meetings called in an emergency or
in consideration of sensitive issues. An emergency meeting is
one for which not all EXCOM members could be reasonably notified
or expected to attend. Actions taken at emergency meetings must
be by unanimous vote of a quorum. Meetings shall be open, except
those in consideration of sensitive issues. Actions taken at
all unannounced meetings must be reported at the succeeding
EXCOM meeting.
A quorum of the EXCOM shall consist of a majority of its members
and shall be required for the transaction of business. A written
proxy from an EXCOM member on a specific issue shall be counted
in the vote and quorum. |
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Article VIII. AMENDMENTS
Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed in writing to the
EXCOM by Section members. If approved by the EXCOM, the proposed
amendments must be ratified by the Chapter Executive Committee.
After acceptance by the Chapter, the proposed amendments shall
be submitted for approval by a majority of the Section members
voting.
Approval by the Section EXCOM is not required when the proposed
amendment is supported by written petition bearing the signatures
of 5% of the Section's members. In this case, the EXCOM shall
submit the amendments directly to the Chapter Executive Committee
and, if approved, to the Section's Members for final approval.
Approval by membership vote is not required for amendments
needed to remain consistent with changes in Club and/or Chapter
Bylaws or to correct inconsequential errors or omissions.
Such amendments require a two-thirds vote of the EXCOM and
ratification by the Chapter.
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