LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago By-laws
ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the LGB Model Railroad Club of Chicago (hereinafter referred to as the "Club").
Section 2. The purposes of the Club are: 1. to promote large scale model trains (particularly those manufactured by Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk and commonly referred to as LGB trains). 2. to provide education and information to its members and to the general public regarding large scale model trains.
ARTICLE II - Membership and Dues
Section 1. Regular membership is available to any person upon payment of dues of $30.00 per year with the newsletter delivered via email only or upon payment of dues of $35.00 per year for the newsletter printed and delivered via U.S. Mail. Hereinafter the term "regular member" means a member whose dues are currently paid. Family Memberships are available to those receiving computer generated newsletters at $45 per year, and those receiving hard copies via the U.S. Mail to be $50 per year. A Family Membership is offered to a member and his/her spouse/significant other living in the same household, and any children under the age of 21 years living in the same household or presently attending college.
Section 2. The president with the approval of the Executive Committee may designate any person an honorary member. Honorary members shall not be entitled to vote or hold office. Section 3. Regular and honorary members shall receive a monthly newsletter.
ARTICLE III - Meetings
Section 1. An annual meeting shall be held in July, August or September of each year, generally in connection with the annual picnic. At this meeting the officers shall report on their activities for the prior twelve months and their plans for the next twelve months. In addition, such old and new business as is necessary or desirable to further the purposes of the Club shall be transacted, provided that at least 10% of the regular members of the Club are present in person or by proxy. Roberts' Rules of Order shall govern the annual meeting of the Club except insofar as they are inconsistent with these bylaws.
Section 2. Other meetings shall be held, generally monthly, to further the purposes of the Club. These meetings may consist of clinics, layout visits, shows, parties, picnics, etc.
ARTICLE IV - Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Club shall be: President, Vice President- Program, Vice President-Communications, Vice President-Membership, and Secretary-Treasurer Secretary, Treasurer and Web Master. The officers shall constitute the Executive Committee established by Section 1 of Article V.
Section 2. The term of office for each officer shall be for two years beginning on July 1st in odd numbered years and continuing until June 30th in the next odd numbered year or until such time as a successor shall have been elected.
Section 3. The President shall have general supervision over all the affairs of the Club, shall preside at all meetings of the Club and of the Executive Committee, shall appoint all committees except the Executive Committee, shall fulfill all the functions of the office prescribed elsewhere in these bylaws and with the approval of the Executive Committee shall take action on all matters not covered in these bylaws which will advance the purposes of the Club.
Section 4. The officers of the Club shall, in precedence of their office, assume the duties of the president in his or her absence or inability to serve.
Section 5. The Vice President-Program shall plan and with the approval of the Executive Committee shall schedule the meetings of the Club. Generally, meetings shall be scheduled monthly. Further, as of any month, meetings shall be scheduled for the next 6-9 months and planned for an additional 3-6 months.
Section 6. The Vice President-Communications shall prepare and distribute the newsletter. He or she shall encourage members to submit articles for publication in the newsletter.
Section 7. The Vice President-Membership shall promote membership in the Club and participation in its activities. In this regard, he or she shall maintain close liaison with local large-scale retailers to encourage retailer support of the Club, including the display of Club membership applications and the donation of door prizes for the annual holiday party and the annual picnic. He or she shall also maintain, along with the Treasurer, the membership data base for new member data updates and forward new member dues to the Treasurer. Annually, in January, February or March of each year, he or she shall publish a list of members showing each member's name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. However, no information will be published without the consent of the member concerned.
Section 8. The Secretary shall prepare a summary of the annual meeting of the Club for publication in the newsletter as well as minutes for all board meetings. He or she is responsible for the Club voting as described in Article VII.
Section 9. Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds of the Club and shall submit a statement of cash receipts and disbursements to the Executive Committee monthly and to the members annually after the close of the fiscal year. He or she shall maintain the Club's mailing list and shall provide mailing labels to the other officers from time to time as may be necessary for the other officers to fulfill their responsibilities.
Section 10. The website manager is responsible for the development of the website’s general layout, the website’s content look and feel, messaging, site features, information architecture, and functionality. To ensure website functionality and perform periodic updates. Monitor assess and report on website performance. To ensure domain registration and hosting are current. Develop and/or update content on a regular bases and handle online plans, agenda and schedules. Provide proper monitoring of the website and develop new website features.
ARTICLE V - Committees
Section 1. The officers of the Club as defined in Section 1 of Article IV shall constitute the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for management of the Club between annual meetings. It shall meet, as necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities under these bylaws. At least four members of the Committee must be present in person or by proxy to transact business. Between biennial elections, the Executive Committee shall have the power to determine when a vacancy exists in any office and to appoint a regular member to fill said vacancy.
Section 2. In January of each odd numbered year, the President, with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of not less than three regular members of the Club. The Nominating Committee shall select one or more candidates for each office of the Club and shall report its selections to the President in March of each odd numbered year. The report shall include a brief biographical sketch for each candidate and shall be published in the April newsletter.
Section 3. The President with the approval of the Executive Committee shall establish any additional committees, as may be necessary or desirable, to advance the purposes of the Club. ARTICLE VI - Publications Section 1. The Club shall publish a monthly newsletter. The name of the newsletter shall be the LGB Chicago Express. Section 2. In general, the newsletter shall describe the next monthly activity, report on the most recent monthly activity and list future monthly activities that have been scheduled or planned. The newsletter may include such other material as necessary or appropriate to advance the purposes of the Club.
ARTICLE VII - Voting
Section 1. Only regular members shall be entitled to vote.
Section 2. The biennial election of officers and any amendment of these bylaws shall be submitted to the regular members for a direct mail vote.
Section 3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare, distribute, receive, tabulate and report the results of any direct mail ballot. The Secretary-Treasurer with the approval of the Executive Committee shall establish procedures for conducting any direct mail vote. These procedures shall allow a minimum of two weeks between the date a ballot is mailed and the cut-off date for return of the ballot.
Section 4. In the election of officers the right to write in names not otherwise on the ballot shall be preserved.
Section 5. On all matters to be voted upon, whether in person or by mail, a simple majority of the votes cast shall decide the question or the winner in the case of the election of officers. In the event of a tie, a majority of the incumbent Executive Committee shall have the right to cast the deciding vote.
ARTICLE VIII - Amendment
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a simple majority of regular members who return ballots in a direct mail vote.
Section 2. Any regular member may propose the amendment of these bylaws. Any proposed amendment shall be reviewed by the Executive Committee and then submitted to the regular membership together with the Executive Committee's recommendation. If the Executive Committee does not recommend an amendment, the member proposing the amendment shall be afforded an opportunity to withdraw his or her proposal. Any proposed amendment that is to be voted on shall be published in the newsletter a minimum of one month in advance of voting on the amendment. ********** As amended through July 1, 2015.