PCGS Bylaws

Bylaws of the Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc.

Headquartered in Bolivar, Missouri, United States of America. Address: PO Box 632, Bolivar, MO 65613

MISSION STATEMENT
Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc. promotes genealogical research by providing educational and research opportunities, offering community services in related fields, and collecting, preserving, and publishing genealogical and historical records.

ARTICLE I ----- NAME

The name of this society shall be Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc. The duration of the society is perpetual. The society shall have its registered office in Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri.

ARTICLE II ----- ORGANIZATION

The Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as the Society), shall be operated as a not for profit organization under the laws of the State of Missouri and shall function as a not for profit organization in all respects so as to be and remain exempt from the Federal Income Tax according to Section 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future U. S. Internal Revenue Law).

The Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc., is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the purpose clause hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code or by (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Under the dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes 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. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

ARTICLE III ----- PURPOSE

The purposes of this Society shall be:

1) To encourage the interest in and study of genealogy and the practice of genealogical research, particularly, but not limited to, the ancestry of its members and individuals who now live in, or formerly lived in Polk County, Missouri.

2) To encourage and educate members in the art and practice of genealogical research, compilation and careful documentation and otherwise promote scholarly writing; to maintain and elevate genealogical standards.

3) To encourage the interest in and the expansion of the resources, equipment, and physical facilities which will be the private property of the Society. The gifts and bequests of books, materials, manuscripts, photographs, and financial contributions to the Society, would thereby enable the Society to remain in a constant state of growth and progress.

ARTICLE IV ----- MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

*Membership in the Society is open to any individual without regard to race, creed, age or sex who is sincerely interested in the purposes and objectives of the Society. Any individual may become a member by payment of the required annual dues.

Any individual who misuses Society resources shall be denied membership in the Society following procedures found in the Standing Rules.

A member who is current with the required dues is considered a member in good standing and is eligible to vote on matters of business after attendance of one meeting.

No votes may be made by proxy.

The membership year shall correspond to the Fiscal Year of the Society, which runs from January 1^st to December 31^st. The amount of the annual dues shall be determined by majority vote at a regular November meeting (election meeting) and the amount shall then be entered into the Standing Rules. Members in arrears on March 31^st of the year in which dues are payable will be removed from the membership at that time.*

*As amended, September 2004.

ARTICLE V ----- MEETINGS

*The Society shall have regular meetings, one annual meeting, Board of Director meetings, and special meetings. All meetings are considered open. Procedures for the meetings can be found in the Standing Rules.*

*As amended, September 2004.

ARTICLE VI ----- ELECTIONS, OFFICERS AND DUTIES

*The elected officers, also known as the Board of Directors, of the Society for the purposes of meeting Federal and State requirements shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Director at Large. They shall be elected by a simple majority of the members in good standing who are present at the regular November meeting of the fiscal year. **Write-in votes will not be counted toward the final tally.** Nominations for officers shall be presented at the regular October meeting of the Society.

**Members eligible to serve as an elected official are members in good standing who have met the voting eligibility requirements and have been a member of the Society for at least one year prior to serving in office.**

In the event of a midterm vacancy of an elected office, the vacancy shall be announced at a regular business meeting. Nominations and elections shall be held at the next regular meeting. In the event of a vacancy occurring after the September meeting and prior to the October meeting, then the president shall appoint an interim officer to fill the vacancy until the November elections at which time the newly elected officer will fill the office immediately.

Terms of office shall be for one year. An officer who is not representing the best interests of the Society can be recalled following the procedures listed in the Standing Rules.

Only those members who are current in their dues and have attended four (4) business meetings (or two (2) business meetings and provided eight (8) hours of scheduled Library service between January 1 and October 31) are eligible to vote. *
*As amended, September 2004.
**As amended, December 2006.

ARTICLE VII ----- FINANCE

*The assets of the Society shall be used solely for the designated purposes of the Society. The treasurer shall be responsible for items of the treasurer’s job description and for all tasks defined in the standing rules. Donations will also follow these rules.*

*As amended, September 2004.

ARTICLE VIII ----- AMENDMENTS

These Articles may be amended at any regular meeting of the Society by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present. The Amendment cannot be voted upon unless it has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting and notification is made to the members at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting at which the Amendment is to be voted upon. Notification can be in the form of notices in local newspapers, by website publication or by letter.

ARTICLE IX ----- DISSOLUTION

If and when this Society may be dissolved, all funds and other property remaining to the Society, after satisfaction of its just debts, shall be turned over to the Polk County Library at Bolivar, Missouri. Prior to dissolution of the Society, all restricted donations to the Society, shall be returned to or released for disbursement by the donor (their heirs, assigns or trusted accounts). This disbursement of funds shall have the limitation that such funds and/or property shall be used only for the purchase of genealogical books or research materials for the use of library patrons free of charge.

STANDING RULES

Adopted September 2004, amended January 2009, November 2015 and September 2020

MEETINGS

All meetings will be held at the Polk County Genealogical Society Library.
Regular meetings will be held on the first Thursday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM.
Board of Directors meetings will be held every month and the date will be decided upon by the board at each meeting.
All other meetings shall be at the discretion of the President or committee chair.
Notification of meetings will be by newspaper notices, radio, and/or e-mail.
Meeting dates will be posted on the website.
Special meetings may be called by the general membership or the Board of Directors.
Special meetings shall be announced at a minimum of seven (7) days in advance and notices shall be the same as regular meetings.
Society officers shall be elected at the November meeting and installed at the annual meeting (January).

MEMBERSHIP DUES

Membership dues for the society shall be $20.00 a year for an individual and $25.00 for a family.
Membership dues can also be paid on a three-year basis, making it $60 for three years for an individual and $75 for three years for a family.
There is an additional new member fee of $5.00.
The Society’s newsletter is included in each individual and each family membership.
New members joining anytime between January 1 and October 15, the member pays full price plus new member fee and then will renew in January of the next year.
If a new member joins between October 16 and December 31, the member pays full price dues plus new member fee for the following year and gets two months’ free membership in the current year.

MEMBER RECALL

Any member who is not representing the Society’s best interests is subject to recall. This may include misuse of Society funds and/or materials, misrepresentation of the Society, or negligent in the duty of their office.

A request for recall must be made in writing at a regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting. The person/persons requesting the recall must appear before the Board of Directors with documented proof showing the necessity for such a recall. The member in question has the right to defend her/his position at the Board Meeting but does not have a vote on this procedure.

The Board of Directors will decide

to take the question to the general membership at the next regular monthly meeting, requiring a two-thirds vote of those in attendance to either allow, or deny, the recall of said member, or
put the member on probation, allowing him/her 30 days to correct any problems, or
deny the request for recall.

A report of the Board of Directors findings must be presented at the next regular meeting.

OFFICER RECALL

An officer who is not representing the Society’s best interests is subject to recall. This may include misuse of Society funds and/or materials, misrepresentation of the Society, or negligent in the duty of their office.

A request for recall must be made in writing at a regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting. The person/persons requesting the recall must appear before the Board of Directors with documented proof showing the necessity for such a recall. The officer in question has the right to defend her/his position at the Board Meeting but does not have a vote on this procedure.

The Board of Directors will decide

to take the question to the general membership at the next regular monthly meeting, requiring a two-thirds vote of those in attendance to either allow, or deny, the recall of said officer, or
put the officer on probation, allowing him/her 30 days to correct any problems, or
deny the request for recall.

A report of the Board of Directors findings must be presented at the next regular meeting.

ELECTIONS

The President will appoint a nominating committee in August to develop a slate of officers for the coming year. This slate will be presented to the members at the regular October meeting. At that time nominations may be taken from the floor.

Election of officers will be held by secret ballot at the regular November meeting. Election will be by majority vote. Winners will be announced after the votes have been tallied by a committee appointed by the president.

Only those members who are current in their dues and have attended four (4) business meetings (or two (2) business meetings and provided eight (8) hours of scheduled Library service between January 1 and October 31) are eligible to vote.

The executive board (otherwise known as the officers) has the authority, in times of unusual circumstances or acts of God, to waive the voting requirements that are stated in the standing rules and transition voting into an online or electronic forum.

Members who cannot access the online voting system will be allowed to vote in person at the facility during regular open hours or by mail. In-person or mailed ballots will be accepted only during the same time period that the online voting system is active. Ballots will only be mailed to those for whom an email address is not on file.

Online voting may also be used for group decisions that are normally voted on during business meetings at the discretion of the board.

After the election ballots will be attached to the minutes of the November meeting which will also include a tally of the votes cast.

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

All officers are expected to adhere to the bylaws, standing rules, purposes and objectives of the Society.

PRESIDENT

The President shall be responsible for:

supervising the interests and welfare of the operations of the Society
presiding over the meetings of the Society
establishing committees and appointing chairs for these committees
authorizing expenditures above the Treasurer’s dollar limitation and be an alternate signature for Society funds

VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice President shall be responsible for:

presiding over the meetings of the Society in the absence of the President
signing as an alternate signatory for Society funds

SECRETARY

The Secretary shall be responsible for:

keeping and maintaining accurate records of all Society meetings
presenting the minutes of the previous meeting at all regular meetings
filing minutes of all meetings with the Society library committee for future reference
all Society correspondence

TREASURER

The Treasurer shall be responsible for all funds (building, operating, general revenue, etc.) and the following:

safekeeping of Society funds in an approved bank account
administering the Society’s petty cash fund
keeping complete and accurate financial records, which includes monthly reconciling of bank statements and government reporting
presenting financial status information at each regular meeting
opening the financial books to the membership by appointment and prior to the annual elections
maintaining membership lists, collecting membership dues, and providing membership packets and cards
preparing a budget for the next fiscal year, if requested to do so by the elected president
the treasurer is authorized to pay all regular bills
the treasurer is authorized to reimburse any member for out-of-pocket expenses (with receipt) up to $50.00 limit.
the treasurer is authorized to pay bills of $100.00 with the President’s approval

DIRECTOR AT LARGE

The Director at Large shall be responsible for:

presiding over meetings in the absence of the president and vice president
serving as parliamentarian for the group
overseeing an annual inventory of the Society’s collection

FINANCIAL

The president may make purchases up to $400.00 without approval of the Board of Directors.
Purchases of more than $400.00 must be approved by the Board of Directors.
The Society’s current officers are the legal representatives to manage the Society’s funds. This means only they, no other members, are allowed to cash in CDs owned by the Society when they come due at the end of each year.
Hiring of outside labor must have the approval of the board of directors.
Donors of resources may specify the use to which their donations will be put, if they wish. All restricted cash contributions shall be used according to the donor’s wishes (e. g. a gift for books relating to Orphan Trains shall be used only on books related to Orphan Trains.)
All unrestricted or undesignated cash gifts will be spent in accordance with the budget priorities of the Society.
The Society has the right to accept or reject any donation.

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