Constitution and By-Laws

 

A) CONSTITUTION

 

ARTICLE I.    Name:

The name of this not-for-profit organization shall be the Norwich

Women's Club (NWC).

ARTICLE II.   Purpose:

The purpose shall be to provide educational opportunities and to promote civic and cultural projects for the Town of Norwich and its residents, as

approved by the executive board and the membership.

ARTICLE III.  Membership:

Section 1 - Membership shall be open to all residents of Norwich and other interested persons.

Section 2 - Each member of the NWC is expected to participate in the

activities of the NWC to the best of the individual’s ability.

Section 3 - A member wishing to resign from the NWC shall send a written notice to the secretary.

Section 4 - Honorary membership: (1) may be created at the discretion of the executive board, based on significant participation in NWC activities over many years, and (2) shall be given life membership with full

privileges and exemption from further dues.

ARTICLE IV.  Officers, Executive Board and Standing

    Committees:

Section 1 - The officers of the NWC shall be a president, vice-president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, historian and auditor. These, with the exception of the auditor, shall constitute the executive board, together with the immediate past president and the chairpersons of the standing committees.

Section 2 - The standing committees of the NWC shall be finance, program, membership, hospitality, publicity, nominating, scholarship, Floribunda, Nearly New Sales, Newsletter, NWC Directory, town gardens, town directory,  and other projects as designated. 

Section 3 - The term of any officer of the NWC or committee chair  may exceed three consecutive years in the same position at the discretion of the nominating committee.

ARTICLE V.    Meetings:

Section 1 - The NWC’s  annual business meeting shall be held each year in June.

Section 2  -  Special meetings may be called by the president at any time and/or shall be called upon the request of five members.

Section  3  - The date of any NWC  meeting  may  be set at the discretion of the board.

ARTICLE VI.  Amendments:

This Constitution and the appended By-laws may be amended at the annual business meeting or at a special meeting of the NWC by two-thirds vote of all members present, providing that notice of intention to amend has been given 15 days or more prior to the meeting.

 

B) BY-LAWS

 

ARTICLE I.    Duties of Officers:

Section 1 - The President shall preside at all meetings of the NWC and of the board and shall perform such other duties as pertain to the office.  The President shall be a member, ex-officio, of all standing committees.

Section 2 - The Vice-President shall assist the president and assume the duties of the president in the absence of the president. The vice-president shall be responsible for maintenance and updating of the Norwich Women’s Club informational database and shall make information from the database available to the appropriate officers and committee chairs.

Section 3  - The Recording Secretary shall maintain an accurate record of the annual business meeting, executive board meetings and special meetings, as necessary, and shall forward copies of such records to executive board members in a timely fashion.

Section 4  - The Corresponding Secretary shall write appropriate notes and letters on behalf of the NWC.

Section 5 - The Treasurer shall collect all money, pay all bills as directed by the board, manage all of the NWC bank accounts and investment accounts, and shall keep accurate records of the above to be presented in a full report at board meetings and at the annual business meeting.  The treasurer shall provide monthly bank account documentation to the assistant treasurer for reconciliation on a timely basis.  The treasurer shall make all records available to the auditor for  the annual review. The treasurer shall prepare an annual operating budget for presentation to the board at the May board meeting.  The treasurer shall prepare or designate an appropriate individual to prepare the annual Form 990 for the NWC.

Section 6  - The Assistant Treasurer  shall reconcile all monthly NWC bank statements as provided by the NWC Treasurer.

Section 7 - The Historian shall maintain a written and photographic record of activities and events of the NWC and keep these records in the NWC filing cabinet at the Norwich Library.

Section 8 - The Auditor shall examine the treasurer's accounts after the end of the fiscal year and shall make a report to the Board at the September Board meeting and to the membership, in summary form, in a subsequent newsletter.

Section 9 - A member of the executive board may assume the duties of a

position, if an officer is temporarily absent.

 

ARTICLE II. Duties of the Committees:

Section 1 - The Board shall meet regularly to determine policy of the NWC, conduct all businesses of the Club requiring attention between NWC meetings and coordinate activities of the standing committees.

Section 2 - The Finance Committee shall consist of at least five members, one of whom shall be the Treasurer.  The Committee shall elicit proposals and prepare a budget to allocate funds for Community Projects. The Committee shall present the budget to the Board at the May Board meeting.

Section 3 - The Program Committee  shall plan the programs and

provide a suitable place for each NWC program.

Section 4 - The Hospitality Committee shall  provide refreshments and

 welcome new  members and guests at each NWC meeting.  It shall  also     provide a suitable place for the Fall membership meeting, the holiday party, and the Annual Business Meeting in June.

Section 5 - The Membership Committee shall collect the dues from members and shall record them. It shall turn dues over to the treasurer  for deposit.  The committee shall also tell new residents about the activities of the NWC and shall extend a cordial invitation to them to become members.  The committee shall be responsible for NWC promotional materials and make these available at club events and activities.

Section 6 - The Newsletter Committee shall solicit news of club activities from members, officers, and committee chairs and shall act as liason with the newsletter designer to ensure regular publication of the NWC newsletter.  The Newsletter Committee shall be responsible for the mailing of the newsletter to members.

Section 7 - The NWC Directory Committee  shall prepare, edit, publish and distribute the NWC Directory to all members.  The Committee shall use current information from the NWC database to update the Directory each year.

Section 8 - The Publicity Committee shall present the objectives and

activities of the NWC to the public through newspapers and other media.

Section 9 - The Nominating Committee shall consist of three or five members.  The immediate past president will serve as chairperson. The committee shall present the slate for election to the membership, in writing, prior to the annual business meeting.

Section 10 - The Scholarship Committee shall consist of at least four members, one serving as chairperson. The committee should be a revolving one with its chairperson elected by the committee each year.  One new  member shall be added to the committee each year.   Duties of the scholarship committee shall begin annually in January.  The scholarship committee is responsible for determining all financial aid grants to be distributed on behalf of the NWC.  The financial aid grants shall be voted on by the entire scholarship committee.

Section 11 - The Community Projects Committees, such as  Floribunda,  Nearly New Sales, town gardens and voter information shall report their activities to the board.

Section 12 - Non-standing committees, for special purposes, may  be

appointed by the president on recommendation of the board.  Chairpersons  of non-standing committees shall attend board meetings when asked by the president.

 

ARTICLE III.  Fiscal Year and Dues:

The fiscal year of the NWC shall be from June 1 through May 31. The annual dues shall be determined by the board and shall be set at an appropriate level to provide for the annual operating expenses of the club.  Dues shall be payable in September.   Any  member whose dues remain unpaid at the end of the NWC year shall be dropped from the membership and shall not be included in the subsequent NWC Directory.

 

ARTICLE IV. Quorum:

Ten members of the NWC, one of whom is an officer of the Club, shall constitute a quorum and may transact business at any meetings of the NWC.

 

Revised April 12, 1993

Revised May 13, 1999

Revised May 11, 2000

Revised May 10, 2001

Revised Oct. 24, 2005

Constitution & Bylaws

The Norwich Women’s Club

Community work since 1907