Constitution

The Sandusky River Valley Beekeepers Association,

CONSTITUTION

 ARTICLE I

 Name

The organization shall be known at the Sandusky River Valley Beekeepers Association, here in after called the SRVBA.

ARTICLE II

 Incorporation

  1. The SRVBA shall be incorporated non-profit organization in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio.
  2. The SRVBA is not organized and shall not be operated for pecuniary gain or profit. No part of the property or funds of the SRVBA shall inure to the benefit of any officer, director, or member, except that the SRVBA shall be authorized and empowered to pay any reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distribution in further of the purpose set forth in Article III hereof.
  3. The SRVBA shall have a corporate seal in accordance with State of Ohio Law.

ARTICLE III

    The Purpose of the SRVBA

  1. To promote and support the practice of Beekeeping in the State of Ohio through education and research.
  2. To educate the public about the value of honey bees and the impact of the honey bees on the world through classes, public meetings, and educational appearances.
  3. To promote the use of products of Ohio Beekeepers, including honey, bees, queens, bees wax, and other hive products and pollination services.
  4. To engage in any activity which will promote the common interest and general welfare of Ohio Beekeepers and the beekeeping industry.
  5. To perform any act or function authorized by law and not inconsistent with the above stated purpose.
  6. SRVBA shall not carry on activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from federal income tax  under Section  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and will more fully support. Our application for tax excerpt status under section 501(c) (3).

ARTICLE IV

 Membership

  1. Qualification of Membership:   Any person interested in apiculture may become a member of the SRVBA by subscribing to the purpose and goals of SRVBA and paying dues as established by the membership voting at a regular meeting.
  2. Classifications of Membership: All classification of membership listed below shall be entitled to all privileges of the SRVBA including the right to hold office and to vote at the SRVBA meetings and shall constitute the members of the corporation.

1.  Family Membership, Family Membership shall entitle all persons in the family living in the same household to the rights and privileges of the membership of the SRVBA.

ARTICLE V

 Dues

  1.  Determination of Dues.  A schedule of dues for each membership shall be set by the membership voting at a regular meeting. Established dues shall remain in effect until changed by the membership voting at a regular meeting. The current schedule of dues established by vote of the membership shall be included as a part of the Bylaws of the SRVBA.
  2. Individuals shall pay annual dues which will include family members. The effective term of the dues shall run for one year beginning on January 1 and extending through December 31 of the calendar year in which the dues were paid. The membership of any member whose dues are delinquent more than 60 days will lapse. Lapsed members will not be entitled to the rights and privileges of membership until their dues are paid.

ARTICLE VI

 Officers

  1. Executive Officers: The Executive Officers of the SRVBA shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three (3) Directors, and these will constitute the Executive Committee.
  2. The Executive Officers shall be elected by the membership voting at the December meeting of each calendar year.  The President, Vice President and Treasurer will be limited to serving three consecutive years.

ARTICLE VII

 Powers and Duties of the Officers

  1. President:  As the principal Executive Officer, the President shall administer the affairs of the SRVBA. The President shall fix the time and place of meetings, preside at all the meetings, appoint all standing committees, act as a delegate to organizations of which SRVBA may be a member or appoint a representative, and perform such other duties as may be required by the Constitution and Bylaws. The president shall appoint the Editor of the Newsletter.
  2. Vice President: The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President during the absence of the president.
  3. Secretary: The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all proceedings of the SRVBA.  The Secretary shall give all notice as required by law or provided for by the Constitution or the Bylaws.  The Secretary shall keep a proper membership record including names addresses and status of all members the dates of their admission and date and circumstances of their termination and shall issue and sign on membership cards and she’ll keep and distribute minutes of the meeting, collect and remit to the treasurer all dues, fees, and charges and perform such related duties as may be required by the Constitution bylaws.
  4. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive and safely keep all monies belonging to SRVBA, based on the calendar tax year and shall distribute such monies under the direction of and to the satisfaction of the executive officers.  The Treasurer shall keep an accurate account and record of finances of the SRVBA.  The Treasurer’s book shall be open for examination by February 28 of each calendar tax year.  The Treasure shall have custody of all leases, contracts insurance policies and similar documents. The Treasurer shall render a full account of the financial status of the SRVBA at monthly meetings. The Treasurer shall be bonded in accordance with Ohio laws and shall have the SRVBA books audited annually. The treasure shall post the financial statement annually in the SRVBA newsletter and/or on the SRVBA website.
  5. Directors (3):  The Directors shall act in good faith to promote the success of the SRVBA.  The Directors shall observe that all rules presented in the Bylaws are followed.  They shall attend Executive Board meetings and assist in the planning of the Annual Budget and Association events.  The Directors will choose a Committee Chairperson for any committee assigned by the President and also assist the Chairperson in recruiting members for the Committee.

ARTICLE VIII

 Nomination and Election

  1. Nominations:  Nominations will be on or before the first day of October of each year the President shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of 1 to 3 members. The committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each of the officers to be elected and shall file the names with the Secretary by November 1. The Secretary shall promptly notify the members of the nomination in writing and or publication in the newsletter or on the website.
  2. At the November meeting nominations from the floor shall be made only with the permission of the nominees.
  3. Elections will be held at the December meeting of each year.  The active members present shall elect by the secret ballot the officers to be elected.  A majority shall be required for election.
  4. Terms of office: The officers elected at the December meeting shall take office on January 1 of the calendar year immediately following the election and shall serve terms as follows:

1)  That Executive Officers shall serve a one year term, these terms expiring on December 31.

2)   Vacancies:  A vacancy in any office except that of the President and Vice President shall be filled by the majority vote of the membership.  If the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice President shall become President.  If the office of Vice President becomes vacant then the Secretary shall become the Vice President.  No individual may hold more than one position on the Board of Executives.

                                                                 ARTICLE IX                                                                   

Meetings

  1. Regular Meeting: The general membership shall meet on the first Monday of each month from February until December of that calendar year.
  2. Executive board: Will meet on a decided date in the month of January and then again in July to plan activities, speakers, club picnic, beginning beekeeping classes, and Christmas party, etc. for the upcoming year. Required to attend this meeting is the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Newsletter Editor and Directors.  The meeting place will be designated by the President prior to the meetings.
  3. Other meetings may be called as deemed necessary by the President to conduct business of the SRVBA. These meetings can be held on a given date or before or after a monthly membership meeting.
  4. Special meetings:  Special meetings of the membership may be called by the President or written petition of 10 members in good standing of the SRVBA. The time and place of the special meeting shall be determined by the president.
  5. Quorums:  A quorum of general membership shall consist of three executive officers and 10 members of the organization.
  6. Order of business: The order of business for all meetings shall be based on Robert’s Rules of Order, unless stipulated otherwise by the Bylaws or suspended by the majority vote of the quorum present.

ARTICLE X

 Committees

  1. The President shall appoint committees as deemed necessary with the concurrence of the executive officers these committees will include but not be limited to:

      1)  Budget Committee

2)   Auditing Committee

3)  Meeting Program committee

4)  Membership Committee

5)  Nominating Committee

ARTICLE XI

 Amendments

Proposed amendments to this constitution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary and must be signed by the proposer. The proposed amendments shall be sent to each active member together with a meeting notice of the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered. The proposed amendments will be voted upon at a meeting. At the meeting, a 2/3 vote of the members present shall be required for the adoption of such amendment and shall be in the exact form as was submitted by the member.Any adopted amendment will be announced to the general membership in the next published newsletter following the adoption vote.

ARTICLE XII

 Official Publication

  1. Official SRVBA Publication: The SRVBA will have an official newsletter.
  2. Editor: The SRVBA Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for the composition, publication and circulation of the newsletter. The Editor will restrict content to SRVBA related matters and such advertising as may be permitted by the executive board actions.
  3. Circulation: The SRVBA newsletter will be published on the schedule determined by the Executive Board in consultation with the Editor.
  4. The SRVBA will maintain an official website.
  5. A webmaster may be hired by and serve at the discretion of the Executive Officers of the SRVBA.
  6. The webmaster will restrict the website content to SRVBA related material and such other material that the Executive Board may deem appropriate.

ARTICLE XIII

 Dissolution

  1. The dissolution of the Sandusky River Valley beekeepers Association will only occur when moved, seconded and carried by 2/3 majority vote of the general membership.
  2. Should the SRVBA be dissolved then all the corporation assets, less any liens and outstanding debts, will be donated to a given charity provided that at the time of the dissolution of the SRVBA the charity is an exempt organization under a 501(c)(3) of the United States internal revenue code.