GENEALOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
CONSTITUTION
2007

 

Article I

Name

 

The name of this organization shall be the GENEALOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, a non-profit, federal tax-exempt organization incorporated by the State of Illinois under the General Not-For-Profit Corporation Act, June 23, 1976.

 

Article II

Purposes

 

The purposes of this organization shall be

• to encourage the  study of family history and genealogy,
• to seek, preserve, and make available data pertaining to individuals, families and groups who lived in Southern Illinois, and to events which took place there.
• to inform people of the value of, and need for, preserving family and local history for posterity
• to publish materials of historical and genealogical nature.

 

Article III

Membership

 

Section 1. Membership shall be open to anyone interested in genealogy. Section 2. Membership may be regular, life, gift or honorary.

Section 3. Membership dues shall be established by the Executive Board of the Society with a majority vote of the membership in any regularly scheduled meeting of the Society.

 

Article IV

 Officers

 

Section 1. The elected officers shall be President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer,  Member-at-large, and six Directors..

 

Section 2. The officers shall be elected at the December meeting to serve for a term of one year except the directors. Two directors shall be elected each year and each shall serve for three years.

 

Section 3. The President, with approval of the elected officers, shall appoint the following Officers: Quarterly Editor, Newsletter Editor, Historian, Librarian, Membership Chair, Genealogist, Publications Chair, Parliamentarian, and such other officers as may from time to time be deemed necessary.

 

Section 4. All officers shall be members of the Society in good standing. They shall place the interest of the Society above their personal interest in the organization, perform the duties outlined in this Constitution, attend Executive Board meetings, and deliver to their successor all official materials.

 

 

 

Article V
The Executive Board

 

Section 1. The Executive Board shall consist of the elected officers of the Society, the appointed officers of the Board, and the  immediate Past President.

 

Section 2. Duties of the Executive Board shall be to transact the affairs of the society, approve the budget, distribute monies, propose policy changes and new projects, keep the membership informed, advise and assist all committee chair and carry out the purposes of the organization.

 

Section 3.  An elected or appointed officer who accepts the duties of another office shall be entitled to only a single vote on the Executive Board.

 

Section 4. Meetings shall be regularly scheduled. A special meeting may be called by the President or by a majority of the members of the Executive Board. Meetings may be canceled by the president or the president’s duly designated representative for a specific cause.

 

Section 5. The Executive Board shall call an Annual Meeting of the membership.

 

Article V

Duties of the  Officers

 

Section 1. The PRESIDENT shall preside at all Executive Board meetings and general membership meetings and serve as ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee.

 

Section 2. The FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT shall assist the President in organizational duties and shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that officer to serve. The First Vice-President shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee. With this Committee's help the First Vice-President shall be responsible for programs  and for planning, organizing and directing the Annual Meeting and the Fall Conference.

 

Section 3. THE SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT shall preside in the absence of the President and the First Vice-President and accept their responsibilities when necessary as directed by the Executive Board. The Second Vice-President shall serve on the Program Committee and be responsible for the programs for general meetings and the Spring Workshop.

 

Section 4. The RECORDING SECRETARY shall record, retain and preserve the minutes of all official meetings and documents pertaining to the business of the Society. The Recording Secretary shall maintain the Policy Manual. The Policy Manual shall include suggestions and directions the board feels will facilitate the operation of the Society and the Constitution. Policies may be changed by the Executive Board.

 

Section 5. The CORRESPONDING SECRETARY shall attend to the correspondence of the Society. The Corresponding Secretary shall also serve as Public Relations Chair, and send news releases about GSSI activities to the media and to other historical and genealogy societies in the region.

 

Section 6. The TREASURER shall receive and record monies, maintain funds of the Society, keep records of receipts and expenditures, give financial reports, and submit records (checkbook, bank statements, ledgers, etc) for yearly audit to the audit committee. The Treasurer shall be bonded. The Treasurer shall serve as chair of the Finance and Budget Committee and as a member of the Publication Committee. The Treasurer shall maintain an up to date Inventory of all the holdings of the Society.

 

Section 7. The MEMBER-AT-LARGE shall be a liaison between the Executive Board and Society Members and shall make a brief report at the regular meetings of the progress of the work of the Society. The Member-at-Large shall assist in projects and work of the Society

 

Section 8. The DIRECTORS shall serve, guide, and assist the officers and membership.

 

Section 9. The IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT shall aide and guide the president.

 

Section 10. The QUARTERLY EDITOR shall be responsible for editing, preparing, and distributing the Quarterly based on policies established by the Executive Board. All original material is to be preserved in the Society's Archives. The Editor shall serve as chair of the Quarterly Editorial Committee.

 

Section 11. The NEWSLETTER EDITOR shall be responsible for editing, printing, and preparing the Newsletter for mailing. A Newsletter committee may be appointed with the Newsletter Editor as chair.

 

Section 12. The HISTORIAN shall compile and keep a record of the activities, honor and achievements of the Society and its members. The Historian shall collect and preserve area historical and genealogical materials.

 

Section 13. The LIBRARIAN shall collect, acquire, maintain and keep records of genealogical material for the library and serve as chair of the Library Committee.

 

Section 14. The MEMBERSHIP CHAIR shall receive membership dues, maintain an up-to-date membership list, and prepare mailing labels for Newsletters, Quarterlies and [other mailings] as necessary.

 

Section 15. The GENEALOGIST shall do limited research to answer specific inquiries. For more intensive research, a fee may be charged when expense, time and travel are involved. The Genealogist shall serve as chair of the Genealogy Committee.

Section 16. The PUBLICATION CHAIR shall report the recommendations of the Publication Committee to the Executive Board for approval. The Publication Chair shall file a copy of the signed Agreement with the author/compiler and with the printer with the minutes of the Recording Secretary.

 

Section 17. The PARLIAMENTARIAN, a non-voting member of the Executive Board, shall advise and counsel the Society and use Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised for the purpose of resolving disputed procedures.  

 

Article VII

 Committees

 

Section 1. The COMMITTEE CHAIR shall be appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Board. Committee members shall be recommended by Committee Chairs and shall be approved by the Executive Board. Committee Chairs shall make recommendations to the Board for approval.

 

Section 2. STANDING COMMITTEES

 

A.       The FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE shall determine financial need and present the annual budget for Executive Board approval. The Treasurer shall serve as chair.

B.       The PROGRAM COMMITTEE shall aid the First Vice-President who shall be chair of this committee.

C.       The MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE shall assist the Membership Chair, and promote membership and encourage renewals.

 

D. The LIBRARY COMMITTEE shall assist the Librarian.

E. The GENEALOGY COMMITTEE shall assist the Genealogist.

F. The PUBLICATION COMMITTEE shall review manuscripts and materials submitted for publication. The Committee shall decide whether or not to publish, maintain guidelines for publications, prepare agreements with authors/compilers, and enter into the printing and the advertising arrangements.

Section 3. The AUDIT COMMITTEE shall prepare an annual audit and report to the Executive Board.

Section 4. The NOMINATING COMMITTEE shall be elected before the September GSSI Board Meeting

 

Section 5. Other committees may be established as needed.  Committee members may attend Executive Board meetings.

 

Article VIII

Quorum

Section 1. A quorum at any general meeting of the membership shall consist of at least 25 members and 6 elected officers.

 

Section 2. A quorum at the Executive Board meeting will be a simple majority of the Executive Board members.

 

Section 3. All decisions shall be a simple majority vote unless otherwise specified.

 

Article IX

Election

 

Section 1. Nominations for officers shall be made by the Nominating Committee. The committee may solicit recommendation for nominees from the general membership. The committee must have the consent of any nominee before recommendation.

Section 2. Nominations may be made from the floor by any member of the Society with the consent of the nominee.

 

Section 3. All candidates for office shall be members of the Society in good standing.

 

Section 4. Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of votes cast. Any officer may serve additional terms upon re-election.

 

Section 5. Nominees shall be presented at the November meeting. Election of officers shall be in December.

 

Section 6. In the event of resignation or incapacity of any officer except the President, the vacancy may be filled for the duration of the term by the Executive Board.

The President's Office shall be filled by the First Vice-President. The Second Vice President shall become First Vice-President. The Second Vice-President may be appointed by the Executive Board.

 

Article X

Dissolution

 

Section 1. In the event of dissolution of the Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois, the Executive Board shall pay or make provisions for the payment of all liabilities of the Society. As the Executive Board

may determine, all remaining assets shall inure to John A. Logan College Carterville, Illinois for the maintenance of the Society’s Genealogy Collection and/or scholarships for the study of Southern Illinois history and genealogy.

 

Section 2. During the existence or dissolution of the Society no part of the net earnings of the corporate Society shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its officers, members, or private persons,

 

 

ARTICLE XI

Amendments

 

Section 1. All proposed amendments to the Constitution must be submitted in writing to the Executive Board.

 

Section 2. The Executive Board must approve a proposed amendment by vote.

 

Section 3. The Executive Board must recommend a constitutional change in writing to the membership one month in advance of the date the Amendment is to be voted upon by the members of the Society.

 

Section 4. The Constitution may be amended at any special meeting or any regularly scheduled meeting by a two-thirds vote of the membership present and voting, provided a reading was given at a previous meeting and a quorum is present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amendments Proposed: July 2007

Approved by the Board: October 3, 2007

Publicised to Members: Newsletter, vol 35, #11

Approved by Membership: General Meeting, November 11, 2007