GLASC Bylaws
(Updated
NAME
Gay and Lesbian Association of Santa Clarita (GLASC)
GLASC exits primarily as a social outlet for the benefit, entertainment, and friendship of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons (GLBT) living in and around the Santa Clarita area through activities and events mutually enjoyable to all members. GLASC also recognizes its obligation to promote a positive image and goodwill through community involvement and benevolent activity. However, GLASC neither has, nor promotes any political position or agenda.
Membership is open to all adults at least eighteen years of age who support the purpose of the organization. Membership is maintained by remaining current with annual dues as determined by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors also reserves the right to deny or withdraw membership from any person(s) pursuant to the guidelines contained within these bylaws.
GLASC is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of four officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and three Members-at-large. The Board of Directors shall fill any other positions it deems necessary for the operation of the organization (i.e.- Events Coordinator, Community Relations Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, etc.) by appointing a willing officer, member-at-large, or volunteer member(s) to the duties needed. Such appointment to be approved or withdrawn by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The individual members who make up the Board of Directors are GLASC’S goodwill ambassadors and official elected representatives of the organization. The Board of Directors is elected by the GLASC general membership to make decisions for and act in the best interest of the organization on behalf of the general membership. It is incumbent upon the Board of Directors to take into consideration items of concern or interest to the general membership and to take action accordingly. Individual Board Members are expected to support the decisions of the Board of Directors whether or not it is his or her own personal viewpoint. All GLASC Board of Directors positions are filled on a voluntary basis and receive no compensation for services rendered to GLASC.
PRESIDENT: The President is an official representative of the organization and interacts with the community and other organizations. The President presides over all meetings of the GLASC Board of Directors. The President does not vote in matters of the Board of Directors, except when it is necessary to break a tie vote. The President uses his or her own discretion in identifying and responding to items of concern to the organization. When appropriate and necessary, the President will speak on behalf of the GLASC organization either verbally or in written form but must at all times represent the organization’s standpoint whether or not it is his or her own personal viewpoint.
VICE-PRESIDENT: The Vice-President is an official representative of the organization and interacts with the community and other organizations. The Vice-President presides over any meetings of the GLASC Board of Directors when the President is absent. The Vice-President assists the President in administrative tasks associated with Board of Director meetings, including preparing agendas, facilitating meetings, and incidental correspondence. The Vice-President votes in all matters of the Board of Directors.
SECRETARY: The Secretary is an official representative of the organization. The Secretary takes minutes at all GLASC meetings and to transcribe and publish them for distribution to all GLASC Board Members in a timely manner. The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the membership list, notifying members of membership renewal, sending the monthly newsletter via e-mail, sending and coordinating events reminders, announcements, and setting up RSVP responders. All mass e-mailings to the membership must be approved by the President or Vice-President and are then sent solely by the Secretary. The Secretary votes in all matters of the Board of Directors.
TREASURER: The Treasurer is an official representative of the organization. The Treasurer is responsible for all matters involving the finances of GLASC including, but not limited to deposits, issuing of checks, account balancing and auditing. The Treasurer is also responsible for maintaining the organization’s banking accounts, collecting membership dues, and reimbursing Board Members, Committee Chairpersons, and Event Hosts for authorized expenditures. The Treasurer shall report all account transactions to the Board of Directors on a monthly basis and shall report to the annual general membership on a yearly basis. The Treasurer votes in all matters of the Board of Directors.
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE: Members-at-large are official representatives of the organization. If willing, Members-at-large may be asked to assume the responsibilities of other positions deemed necessary for the operation of the organization such as Events Coordinator, Community Relations Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, etc. Members-at-large vote in all matters of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors shall fill other positions it deems necessary for the operation of the organization by appointing a willing Officer, Member-At-Large, or volunteer member(s) to the duties needed. Such appointment shall be granted or withdrawn by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Following is a partial list of these positions:
EVENTS COORDINATOR: The Events Coordinator is responsible for bringing ideas and suggestions for member events to the Board of Directors for discussion and approval. Ideas and suggestions may also come from Board Members or the membership. Once the event is approved it is the responsibility of the Events Coordinator to work with the host to plan the event and present a budget to the Board of Directors. It is also the responsibility of the Events Coordinator to attend the events (or arrange for an alternate) to represent GLASC, and to arrange for help with the setup, cleanup, and door personnel. There may be some events where it is advisable to work with the Community Relations Coordinator or appoint a committee to help arrange the event.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COORDINATOR: The Community Relations Coordinator is the goodwill ambassador for the organization and as such will reach out to the community and other organizations as GLASC’s representative. The actions of the Community Relations Coordinator are only intended to foster GLASC’s role as a socially responsible organization. Consequently Militant or political posturing must be avoided at all times. The Community Relations Coordinator is responsible for bringing ideas and suggestions involving interaction with the community and other organizations to the Board of Directors for discussion and approval. Once the event is approved it is the responsibility of the Community Relations Coordinator to plan the event and present a budget to the Board of Directors. It is also the responsibility of the Community Relations Coordinator to attend the events (or arrange for an alternate) to represent GLASC, and to arrange for help with the setup, cleanup, and door personnel. There may be some events where it is advisable to work with the Events Coordinator or appoint a committee to help arrange the event.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR: The Newsletter Editor is responsible for the publication of GLASC’s monthly newsletter. The newsletter is intended to promote upcoming events and items of interest to the membership. The Newsletter Editor shall have the freedom to design the “look” and format of the newsletter with the approval of the Board of Directors. Articles may be written by the Editor or members may submit articles to the Editor. The Newsletter Editor and the Board of Directors reserve the right to omit anything deemed vulgar or inappropriate. The Newsletter Editor shall set a cut-off date, after which a draft copy will be submitted to the Board of Directors at least twenty-four hours before publication for perusal and comments. Once approved the newsletter shall be released to the Secretary for e-mail publication and sent to the printer for printing.
Elections take place at the Annual General Membership Meeting held on the third Saturday in September. All members in good standing (current in dues) and who have attended at least one Board of Directors meeting in the past year are eligible to run for office.
At the Board of Directors meeting prior to the Annual General Membership Meeting the Board of Directors shall appoint a person or persons, but not a board member, to be responsible for calling the Annual General Membership Meeting to order, conducting the election (creating, distributing, collecting, and counting ballot slips for all positions), and announcing the results. The new Board of Directors will take office at the close of the Annual Meeting. Any position not filled by the election may be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors at their discretion.
The term of office is one year. No Board member shall hold the same office for more than three consecutive terms.
Within fourteen days of the election, the outgoing board members will transfer all association property, including but not limited to: data bases, accounting records, membership lists and records, meeting minutes, phone lists, e-mail accounts, passwords, software (including licenses and original documentation), stationery, postage, supplies, and keys. It is preferable that board members who are not up for re-election bring any association property in their possession with them to the Annual Meeting for transfer at that time.
The Board of Directors will hold regularly scheduled meetings preferably monthly, but not less than bimonthly. Meetings may be cancelled or rescheduled by a simple majority consent of the Board of Directors. The President may call Special Meetings with a three-day notice provided to all members of the board.
All meetings are open to the GLASC membership and therefore, the intended date of each upcoming meeting will be published in the newsletter whenever possible with a proviso to notify the secretary of ones intention to attend so that the member can be notified in the event that the meeting needs to be canceled or rescheduled. The Board of Directors may enter an executive session to discuss sensitive issues but no vote may be taken in executive session.
A quorum of the Board of Directors must be present at any meeting (except the Annual General Membership Meeting) to conduct any business. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of Board Members (Officers and/or Members-at-large).
The President shall preside over Board Meetings, but shall have no vote except to break a tie. In the absence of the President the Vice President shall preside. If both the President and Vice President are absent the Board of Directors may appoint another member of the Board to preside.
REPLACEMENT OF BOARD MEMBERS
Any Board Member absent from any three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be notified by the Secretary via registered mail at least two weeks prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the time and place of said meeting and that their absence from said meeting will be considered to effectively constitute resignation. If the Board Member is indeed absent from the said meeting, the Board of Directors may then replace this person at the end of that meeting immediately preceding adjournment with no further discussion.
If a Board Member chooses to resign, their resignation will be accepted either verbally at a Board of Directors meeting, or in writing submitted to any officer for presentation at the next Board of Directors meeting. In either case, their resignation shall be effective as of that meeting and the Board of Directors may replace them as soon as their resignation has been accepted.
In the unfortunate circumstance that any Board Member feels that another Board Member is endangering or jeopardizing the well-being of the organization by their actions or inactions, or misusing or abusing their position as Board Member, the concerned Board Member may make a motion at any meeting, under New Business requesting the removal of said Board Member. If the accused Board Member is present, discussion of the matter and a vote may take place then. If the accused Board Member is not present the motion will be tabled until the next Board Meeting and the accused Board Member will be notified by certified mail at least two weeks prior to the next meeting that the motion was made and that the matter will be discussed at the next board meeting. If the accused Board Member is not present at the next board meeting the matter may be discussed and voted on in their absence. In any case, any vote for removal of a Board Member must carry unanimously by all the other Officers and Members-at-large present at the meeting except the President. The accused Board Member will of course, not vote.
REMOVAL OF MEMBERS
The Board of Directors reserves the right to expel any member(s) for actions that are adverse or harmful to the Gay and Lesbian Association of Santa Clarita or any of its members. In such a case, the member(s) will be notified via registered mail by the Secretary, explaining that a problem has been identified or a concern raised and that the Board requests their presence at the next regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the situation. If the member does not attend, or if the Board is not satisfied that the situation can be resolved, the Board may terminate membership with a simple majority vote.
Termination of membership means suspension of all rights and privileges as a GLASC member for the period of time determined by the Board of Directors. There is no refund of annual dues paid. A member terminated from GLASC may not attend any GLASC function in any capacity, including, but not limited to, being invited as a personal guest of a GLASC member.
BANK ACCOUNTS
The Board of Directors shall have the authority to open bank accounts in the name of GLASC and to regulate withdrawals for the accounts. All checks and withdrawals shall require two signatures. Only the officers shall have the authority to sign checks.
EXPENSES / REIMBURSEMENT
Expenses incurred by Board Members, Committee Chairpersons, and Event Hosts in line with authorized projects and events do not need pre-approval for total amounts not exceeding one hundred dollars. Proposed budgets in excess of one hundred dollars need to be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. All expenses must be submitted in an expense report that is submitted to the Treasurer for reimbursement. Receipts need to be included with their related expense report. In the unusual circumstance that a receipt is lost, the Treasurer may sign off on an expenditure of up to twenty-five dollars and reimburse the member. Expenditures over twenty-five dollars without receipts must be approved by the Board of Directors.
FISCAL YEAR
GLASC’s fiscal year begins on October first of each year and ends on September thirtieth of the following year.
DUES
Dues are renewed on the member’s anniversary date of membership. The amount is determined and may be adjusted at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors further reserves the right to waive dues for an individual or initiate a temporary promotional dues structure when deemed appropriate.
AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
Board of Director proposed amendments to the bylaws must pass by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors. Member proposed amendments to the bylaws must be presented in writing to the Board of Directors at least ten days prior to any regularly scheduled meeting and must also pass by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Members may also propose changes to the bylaws by presenting them to the Board in writing at least ten days prior to the Annual General Membership Meeting for presentation to the general membership. Here too, any changes must pass by a two-thirds vote of the general membership present at the Annual General Membership Meeting.
LIABILITY
No member of the GLASC Board of Directors shall be personally liable to the association or its members for monetary damages unless that Director was involved in an act or omission not in good faith or that involved intentional misconduct, a knowing violation of law, or a transaction from which the Director derived an improper personal benefit.
DISSOLUTION
In the event of dissolution, any remaining assets will be distributed to another organization that supports the purpose of GLASC. This organization will be chosen and recorded by each incoming Board of Directors at their first meeting after the annual election.