HENDERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I:  NAME
A.    The name of this organization is "HENDERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION". (HCHC).

ARTICLE II:  PURPOSE
A.    The purpose of HCHC shall be to preserve, protect, and promote the history of Henderson County, Texas.

B.    To conduct programs as may be suggested by the Texas Historical Commission.

ARTICLE III:  POLICY
A.     To work under the direction of the Texas Historical Commission.

B.     It shall be the policy of the HCHC that Texas Historical Markers will be paid for by the applicant.

C.     Robert's Rules of Order shall govern HCHC in all matters not covered by these by-laws, and is not inconsistent with the Texas Historical Commission.

D.     Without express written permission of the executive committee of HCHC, it shall be prohibited for any person or organization to publish, or through any act or omission, permit to be published, in any medium, including all print and electronic media, any materials, documents and/or family files, obtained through association or interaction with the HCHC or any member thereof.*

ARTICLE IV:  MEMBERSHIP
A.     Membership in HCHC shall be regular, associate and honorary. Any resident of Henderson County shall be eligible for membership.

B.     Regular or sworn members, who have attended at least 1/3 of the regular meetings for the year shall be considered regular members and will be eligible to vote in the officer election at the appointed time.

C.     Any regular member who has missed at LEAST three consecutive regular meetings without notifying the HCHC Chairman, Vice-Chairman, or Secretary shall be designated an associate member for the remainder of the year.

D.    Associate members are those that are interested in HCHC programs, but unable to attend regularly monthly meetings. Any resident of Henderson County who becomes active in the HCHC before being sworn into office by the County Judge shall be an associate member.

E.     Honorary members shall be those who have made outstanding contributions toward preserving the history of Henderson County.

F.     Resignation from the membership of HCHC may be accepted after the letter of resignation has been presented to the Chairman of HCHC, then read into the minutes of the next meeting.

G.     At the end of each two year term all regular members who wish to be re-appointed shall contact the HCHC chairman. A list of all who are interested in becoming regular members will in turn be sent to the County Judge and the County Commissioners' Court for appointment to HCHC.   

ARTICLE V:  QUORUM
A.    A quorum shall constitute a majority of the executive committee of HCHC.

ARTICLE VI:  OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES
A.     Officers in HCHC shall be Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Finance and Budget, and Parliamentarian.

B.     Officers shall be elected by a majority vote at the November meeting of even number years. The term of office shall be for two years, beginning January First of uneven numbered years.

C.     Chairman
        1.     Preside at all meetings.
        2.     To appoint chairman of all committees.
        3.     To report annually to the Henderson County Commissioners' Court on the past activity of HCHC and to give a progress report of the coming years' activities.
        4.     To complete and submit to the Texas Historical Commission the year-end report as required by legislative action.
        5.     To represent HCHC at all times, or to designate a representative.

B.    Vice-Chairman
        1.     To perform the duties of the chairman in his/her absence.
        2.     To perform the duties of program chairman.

C.    Secretary
        1.     To record and transcribe all minutes of HCHC meetings.
        2.     To handle all correspondence of HCHC that is assigned by the chairman of HCHC.
        3.     To perform the duties of publicity chairman.
        4.     To record attendance of all meetings of HCHC.

D.    Finance and Budget
        1.     To be the custodian of all funds of HCHC that is to be presented to the county treasurer for deposit into the HCHC account.
        2.     To disburse funds as directed by the commission.
        3.     To make a monthly report of receipts and disbursements.

E.    Treasurer
        1.     To be the custodian of all funds that are presented to be deposited in the HCHC account.
        2.     To disburse funds at the direction of the finance and budget officer.
        3.     To make a monthly report of receipts and disbursements.

F.    Parliamentarian
        1.     To guard the integrity of the HCHC meetings by insuring the meetings are conducted in accordance to the standards set forth by the Texas Historical Commission and the Roberts Rules of Order.

ARTICLE VII:  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A.     The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Finance and Budget and Parliamentarian.

B.     A quorum of the executive committee shall be established when a majority or at least three members are present.

ARTICLE VIII:  STANDING COMMITTEES
A.     All standing committee chairman shall be appointed by the chairman yearly and in accordance with he recommendations of the Texas Historical Commission.

B.     The standing committees shall be the (1) Endangered Properties Committee; (2) History Appreciation Committee; (3) Research and Marker Committee.

C.     The duties of each committee shall follow the guidelines found in the Handbook for County Historical Commissions and each committee shall be furnished with the necessary guidelines.

D.     The members of the standing committees shall report directly to the Vice-Chairman of HCHC.

E.     The chairman of each committee may recruit committee members from the memberships, including associate members or honorary members. Members may serve on more than one committee.

ARTICLE IX:  NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION
A.     The nominating committee shall consist of three members of the regular voting membership.
        1.    The HCHC Chairman shall appoint one member to serve on the nominating committee. One member of the nominating committee shall be elected from the members who are present and eligible to vote at the October meeting. One member of the nominating committee shall be appointed by the executive committee.

B.     The nominating committee shall submit one nominee for the office of Chairman, one nominee for the office of Vice-Chairman, one nominee for the office of Secretary, one nominee for the office [of] Parliamentarian, and one nominee for the office of Finance and Budget.

C.     Nominations may be made from the floor, with prior consent of the nominee, following the report of the nomination committee.

D.     The election of officers shall be held at the November meeting of even numbered years.

E.     Voting shall be by written ballot, unless there is only one candidate for the office, in that case, voting may be by a show of hands.

F.     Vacancies in any elected office shall be filled by the chairman of HCHC for the unexpired term of office at the next meeting following a vacancy.

ARTICLE X:  MEETINGS
A.     Meetings of the HCHC shall be set by the Chairman of HCHC. Chairman of HCHC may present a choice of a meeting time to the regular members before a meeting time is set.

ARTICLE XII:  AMENDMENTS
A.     These By-Laws may be amended at any regular meeting of a two-third vote provided there is a quorum of regular voting members present.
            1.    A committee shall be selected by the regular members to address any revisions in the by-laws.
            2.    The by-laws committee shall present the suggested revisions in the by-laws for vote at a regular scheduled meeting. When the necessary revisions are passed, the Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall present the revised by-laws to the County Judge and Commissioners' Court for their approval.

These by-laws were adopted by the Henderson County Historical Commission on the 4th day of August, 2004.
These by-laws were read into the Henderson County Historical Commission minutes and approved on the 1st day of September, 2004.

* It shall be an exception to the aforementioned provision, that members of the Henderson County Historical Commission, shall retain control of and responsibility for any materials, prepared by the member without the assistance of any other member of the Henderson County Historical Commission, and accordingly shall have the authority to publish or permit the publication of any materials prepared exclusively by the member.