Approved February 16, 2016
ARTICLE I: NAME The name of the organization shall be “THE BEACH GARDENERS” dedicated to the beautification of the Town of Melbourne Beach.
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE THE BEACH GARDENERS shall be a non-profit organization to disseminate information about plants, landscaping and maintenance of plantings in the Town and encourage the beautification of home sites, streets, parks and beachfronts.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP AND DUES Membership is open to all men and women interested in the purpose of the organization. Yearly dues for The Beach Gardeners for a family membership shall be set from time to time at a general meeting.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS A. The President shall call an Executive Committee meeting in June for the purpose of reviewing annual reports and planning for the coming year. B. A regular meeting shall be held each month from October through May.C. The May meeting shall be the Annual Dinner meeting for the Installation of Officers. D. Special meetings may be called by the President or three members of the Executive Board. E. All meetings are open to the general membership.
ARTICLE V: ELECTED OFFICERS The Elected Officers shall be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer. All officers shall give annual reports to the President at least two weeks prior to the Annual Dinner meeting in May. Said reports are to be distributed to the incoming officers to help them with their plans for future club activities.
ARTICLE VI:
DUTIES OF OFFICERS PRESIDENT: The President shall preside at all meetings and shall be exofficio at all standing and special committee meetings except the Nominating Committee. The President shall supervise work and activities of the organization, shall appoint a Parliamentarian, shall see that a three-member Nominating Committee is appointed at the February meeting as stated herein, and shall appoint an Auditor no later than the April meeting.
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT: In the absence of the President, the First Vice President shall assume all the duties evolving from the Office of the President and, in addition, shall set up programs for each of the regular garden club meetings AND for the meeting of the South Brevard Garden Club Association when The Beach Gardeners are hosting. However, the Installation Program in May at the Annual Dinner Meeting shall be at the pleasure of the President being installed.
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT: The Second Vice President shall prepare the Yearbook and monthly updates for the Yearbook, and at each meeting shall give an inspirational message and lead in the Salute to our Flag. Computer knowledge is required.
RECORDING SECRETARY: The Recording Secretary shall have custody of all papers of the organization and shall take minutes of each regular, Executive Board, Executive Committee and/or special meeting. Said minutes shall include: Reports made and action taken thereon, motions carried or lost, all pertinent information needed for future meetings. Copies shall be submitted to the President and Treasurer, and be made available to the general membership no later than the following meeting.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY: The Corresponding Secretary shall attend to all correspondence of the organization and shall read all pertinent letters sent and received notices, etc. at each meeting.
TREASURER: The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds, keep an accurate accounting of all receipts and disbursements, and report monthly to the membership in detail, giving written copies to the President and Recording Secretary. The Treasurer shall also pay all bills by check with a signature by the President or the Treasurer. Monies are to be disbursed only by authorization of the membership as noted in the minutes. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of dues. The Treasurer shall keep an active list of paid-up members and turn over the books to the Auditor as required. Computer knowledge in Excel is required.
ARTICLE VII: EXECUTIVE
The Executive Board shall consist of all the Elected Officers (see Article V). The Executive Committee shall be composed of all Elected Officers, Parliamentarian, all Committee Chairpersons and the immediate Past President. Recommendations of the Executive Committee and/or the Executive Board shall be presented at the next regular meeting for approval or rejection.
ARTICLE VIII: VACANCIES All vacancies, except that of the President, which is filled automatically by the First Vice President, shall be filled by the recommendation and majority vote of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE IX: ELECTION The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of officers at the March meeting. The Election will be held at the April meeting at which time nominations may be made from the floor. If the election is held by ballot, a majority of more than half of the votes rules, otherwise, officers may be elected by general consent of the members present.
ARTICLE X: QUORUMS A quorum of five (5) is required for the Executive Committee, and three (3) for the Executive Board meetings. Executive meetings will not be held if a quorum is not met. No quorum is required to hold a general meeting, but the Executive Committee may cancel meetings if necessary. Amendment quorum is specified in Article XI.
ARTICLE XI AMENDMENTS These by-laws may be amended at a regular meeting of The Beach Gardeners of Melbourne Beach. Notice of proposed amendment(s) must be given at the meeting preceding the vote. Every effort should be made to inform those not in attendance of the proposed change. All members with email will be sent a copy of the proposed changes. A quorum of one-third (1/3) of the membership must be present to vote on the change(s). A majority of 75% of voting memberships is required for passage (i.e. each membership has 1 vote). If the quorum is unobtainable, the vote may betaken by phone or email, with at least 60% of the membership voting, and passage requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority.
ARTICLE XII: ORDER OF BUSINESS
Call to Order – Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Inspirational Message
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Treasurer’s Report
Corresponding Secretary’s Report
Other Officer’s Report
Standing Committee Reports
Special Committee Reports
Unfinished Business
Postponed Business
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment
STANDING COMMITTEES AND DUTIES All committee chairpersons shall give annual reports to the President at least two weeks prior to the Annual Dinner meeting in May.
PARLIAMENTARIAN: The Parliamentarian shall serve as advisor to the President on Parliamentary Procedure. Robert’s Rules of Order, newly revised, shall be the authority.
AUDITOR: The Auditor shall be responsible for reviewing the treasury bookkeeping for the year and shall verify that there are no errors or help correct any errors that are found. The auditor’s annual report shall be presented to the President prior to the October meeting.
BEYOND THE GARDEN GATE (BGG): The Beyond the Garden Gate Committee shall be responsible for planning, organizing and supervising club outings for the year. The planning time is from May, following the installation of officers, through August. A BGG list of events with dates shall then be given to the Second Vice President by September 1st to be used in preparing the Yearbook.
BEAUTIFICATION: The Beautification Committee shall be responsible for organizing club functions of beautifying the Town of Melbourne Beach, for calling to the attention of the Town Commissioners any maintenance needed by the Town, and for carrying out any beautification project decided upon by the organization.
HISTORICAL: The Historical Committee shall be responsible for clipping publicity articles and other notices from newspapers, etc. and pasting same in a chronological order and an artistic manner in the scrapbook. The scrapbook shall be kept up to date and displayed at each meeting. It shall be turned over each year to the new Historian in good order.