ALLEGANY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Constitution

 

ARTICLE I

Name

The name of this society shall be:

ALLEGANY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

ARTICLE II

Purposes

The purposes for which such corporation is to be formed are:

a.    To establish and maintain a museum open to the public relating to the history of the State of New York and in particular, the County of Allegany, its towns, villages and hamlets.

 

b.    To encourage, promote and disseminate a greater knowledge among the public of the history of the State of New York and particularly the County of Allegany.

 

c.     To collect, own, hold, maintain, preserve, and make available to the public a collection of appropriate historical artifacts and objects.

 

d.    To arrange, create, maintain and promote appropriate historical exhibits and displays.

 

e.    To establish and maintain an historical research collection and archives. 

 

f.      To bring together those people interested in history, promote and support historical research and scholarship, sponsor and organize historical and cultural activities, programs and events for the public, and issue publications in any format.

 

g.    To encourage the suitable marking of places of historic interest.

 

h.    To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, or otherwise the title to or the custody and control of historic sites and structures, and preserve and maintain such sites and structures. 

 

i.       To cooperate with local museums and historical societies and local government historians in projects and activities of mutual interest. 

 

j.        To cooperate with state officials and historical organizations to collect and preserve materials of statewide significance.

 

ARTICLE III

Membership

Membership shall be of five classes:

1. Individual active members - Any person interested in the purposes of the society shall be eligible.  

2. Family members - Any family groups interested in the purposes of the society shall be eligible.

3. Institutional members - Any organization, board, school, or library interested in the objectives of the society shall be eligible.  

4. Contributing and sustaining members - A person, group or firm offering special support to the objectives of the society shall be eligible.  

5. Honorary members - Honorary membership may be conferred upon any person whose activities have contributed to the objectives of the society. Honorary members shall be elected by a three-fourths vote of members present at an annual meeting, upon nomination by the board of trustees.  

ARTICLE IV

Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the society shall be held the 3^rd (third) Tuesday of January every year.

Individual active members, Sustaining/Contributing members, and Life members shall be entitled to one vote at the Annual Meeting. 

ARTICLE V

Officers and Board of Trustees

Section 1. The officers of the society shall be a President, a Vice-President, and a Secretary, who shall be elected for a term of one year; and a treasurer, and trustees, who shall be elected for a term of three years.   Initially, 3 trustees will be elected for 1 year, 3 trustees will be elected for 2 years, and 2 trustees will be elected for 3 years.

Section 2. The officers (4) and trustees (8) shall constitute the board of trustees. Their number shall be not less than five nor more than twelve.   

ARTICLE VI

Election of Officers and Board of Trustees

Section 1.  The Initial Officers and Board of Trustees will be nominated and elected at the Organizational Meeting of the Society.  These Initial Officers and Trustees will serve until the first annual meeting and election of new officers and trustees for terms specified.

Section 2. All officers and trustees shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by secret paper ballot at the annual meeting.

Section 3. Not less than two months prior to the annual meeting, the secretary of the society shall send to each member of the board of trustees a ballot form upon which such member may nominate one person for each office open to election. Nominations shall be returned not less than one month before the annual meeting. A committee on nominations, appointed by the president, shall select the candidates from a list of all nominees.

Section 4. Nominations may also be made by any voting member of the society at any time prior to balloting at the annual meeting. Any nomination made after the deliberation of the committee on nominations shall be added to the slate of candidates upon affirmative vote of a majority of members present at the annual meeting.  Any candidate for election must be an individual active member.   

Section 5. A person who has been elected to the board of trustees for two consecutive terms, or elected as president or vice-president for three consecutive terms, shall not be nominated to the same office unless one year elapses between the end of his or her last term and the beginning of the term for which he or she is nominated.

Section 6. Officers and trustees shall be installed at the close of the annual meeting at which they are elected and shall serve until their successors have been duly elected and installed. In the event of resignation or incapacity of any officer except the president, or resignation or incapacity of any trustee, the vacancy may be filled by a vote of the board of trustees for the unexpired term of office.   Resignation or incapacity of the President will result in replacement by the Vice President for the remainder of the year.  The Board of Trustees would then vote a replacement of the Vice President for the remainder of unexpired term.

ARTICLE VII

Distribution of Assets Upon Dissolution

In the event of dissolution of the society, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future Federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the Federal government, or to a State or local government for a public purpose.

ARTICLE VIII

Amendment

This constitution may be amended at any regular or special meeting by a majority vote of those voting, provided notice was given at the previous meeting; or it may be amended at a special meeting called for that purpose, with previous notice and a majority vote. All proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing.   

 

 

BYLAWS of ALLEGANY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ARTICLE I

Membership and Dues

Section 1. Any person interested in the purposes of the organization who applies for membership in an appropriate classification of membership and who tenders the necessary dues shall thereby become a member.   Membership year runs from January 1 to December 31.

Section 2. Annual dues for individual active voting members shall be $20; Spouse of individual active member or Student $15,

Section 3. Life Member (Voting) will be attained with one-time payment of $1000

Section 4. Annual dues for contributing and sustaining members (Voting) shall be $50+. 

Section 5. Annual dues for family group members shall be $35. (Non-Voting)

Section 6. Annual dues for institutional members shall be $25.  (Non-Voting)

Section 7. Annual dues for honorary members will not be required.  (Non Voting)

Section 8. Annual dues shall be payable in advance, and members in arrears more than six months after payment is due shall be dropped from membership.

ARTICLE II

Schedule and Quorum for Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings of the society shall be held on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month.

Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the President.

Section 3. The board of trustees shall meet every other month. Special meetings of the board of trustees may be called by the President.

Section 4. One-fifth of the active members of the society shall constitute a quorum at a regular meeting and a majority of trustees in office will constitute a quorum at a board of trustees meeting.   

ARTICLE III

Duties of the Officers and Trustees    

Section 1. The President shall have executive supervision over the activities of the society within the scope provided by these bylaws and shall preside at all meetings. The President shall report annually on the activities of the society and shall appoint the members of committees and delegates not otherwise provided for.

Section 2. The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, incapacity, resignation, or removal of the president.

Section 3. The secretary shall keep the minutes of meetings of the society and of the board of trustees, maintain a list of members, and render an annual report.

Section 4. The treasurer shall be responsible for the safekeeping of society funds, for maintaining adequate financial records, and for depositing all monies with a reliable banking company in the name of the Society. Monies shall be paid out by numbered checks signed by the treasurer and the president. The treasurer will collect dues, and shall render an annual report based on the calendar year.   The Vice President may be alternate signor of checks should one of previous signors become unavailable.   

Section 5. The Board of Trustees shall have the power to conduct all affairs of the society. It shall select candidates for office, pursuant to the constitution. The board of trustees shall decide questions of policy that for any reason cannot be acted upon at a meeting of the society and perform such other functions as designated in the bylaws or otherwise assigned to it.

The President will serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.   The board of trustees, through the president, shall render an annual report at each annual meeting.   

ARTICLE IV

Committees

Section 1. The society shall have the following standing committees:

(a) Library Committee:  Responsible for collecting, cataloging, caring for, arranging, and repairing books, manuscripts, newspapers, and other historical source material.

(b) Museum Committee:  Responsible for collecting, cataloging, cleaning, repairing, and storing historic objects; for arranging museum exhibits, and the correct historic interpretation of these exhibits; for the care and upkeep of museum quarters.

(c) Media/Publications Committee:  Responsible for finding ways and means for publishing joint or individual research studies; newsletter to members, a quarterly bulletin, or books; for publicity; for staging radio and television programs and oversee Internet & Website Operations.

(d) Historic Sites Committee. Responsible for establishing the historic validity for sites proposed for marking; for marking historic sites; for arranging tours of the sites.

(e) Program Committee. Responsible for arranging suitable programs; for setting time, place, and date of meetings.

(f) Membership Committee. Responsible for membership drives and processing new candidates for membership.

(g) Collections Committee.  The Committee shall recommend items for accession to and deaccession from the collections of the Corporation, according to the established Collection Management Policy.

(h) Nominations Committee. Responsible for making nominations for officers and members of the Board of Trustees.

Section 2. The President shall appoint Members and Chairpersons of the standing committees.

Section 3. Other committees, standing or special, may be appointed by the President as directed by the society or Board of Trustees, except that the nominating committee shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees.

ARTICLE V

Parliamentary Authority

Section 1. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order  shall govern the proceedings of the Society except in such cases as are governed by the Constitution or the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VI

Amendment to the Bylaws

Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended at any regular or special meeting by a majority vote of those voting, provided notice was given at the previous meeting. Or they may be amended at a special meeting called for that purpose, with previous notice and a majority vote. All proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing.