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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 support and provide non-competitive assistance to local historical societies throughout Allegany County.

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 NYS, Allegany County 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 cooperate with local museums, historical societies and local government historians in projects and activities of mutual interest.

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

ARTICLE III

Membership

Membership shall be of six classes:

1. Individual active.

2. Family members.

3. Institutional/Commercial members. 

4. Contributing and sustaining members.

5. Life members.

6. 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 3rd (third) Tuesday of January every year.

Individual active members, Contributing and Sustaining 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, Executive Director (optional) 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 (3) years.

Section 2. The officers (4) and additional trustees (minimum 8 – maximum 15) shall constitute the Board of Trustees. Their number shall be not less than eight nor more than fifteen.

Section 3.  A minimum of four trustee positions will be reserved for local historians and/or representatives from local historical societies. 

ARTICLE VI

Election of Officers and Board of Trustees

Section 1. All Officers and Trustees shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by secret paper ballot at the annual meeting.

Section 2. Not less than forty-five days 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 3. 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, dues current & in good standing.  

Section 4. 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. Exceptions to this section requires a quorum vote of the Board of Trustees or a  two-thirds majority vote of the Trustees present at that meeting, whichever number is greater. 

Section 5. 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.  **If any trustee shall fail to attend fewer than 50% of the scheduled meetings in a year, s/he shall be deemed to have resigned, subject to review by the Board, and the vacancy shall be filled.  (**Adopted at April 21, 2015 Meeting)

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.  

Adopted 01-20-2015; rev. 4-21-15


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 starts the month member joined Allegany County Historical Society.  (**Amended, 2012)

Section 2. Annual dues for individual active members (voting) shall be $20.

**Section 3. Annual dues for family group members (Voting, Maximum 2 votes) shall be $35. **Amended; 4/21/15

Section 4. Annual dues for Institutional or Commercial members (Non-Voting) shall be $25. 

Section 5. Annual dues for contributing and sustaining members (Voting) shall be $50 or more. 

Section 6. Life Member (Voting) will be attained with a one-time payment of $1000.

Section 7. Annual dues for honorary members (Non-Voting) will be waived. 

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 3rd Tuesday of each month. Exceptions may be made by a vote of a quorum (5) of the Board of Trustees.

Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the President or in the event of the absence of the President, the Vice-President or, at any time, by two members of the Board of Trustees.

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. Quorum shall be established at 5 for all meetings. This shall include Trustee meetings, Member meetings and Annual Meeting. (Approved as Amendment, 11/2011)

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 Executive Director shall oversee the day-to-day operations of the society as directed by the President in concert with the Board of Trustees.

Section 4. 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 5. 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 a minimum of two of three authorized signatories of the society. The treasurer will collect dues, and shall render an annual report based on the calendar year.  

Section 6. 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. To the extent possible 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) Artifacts and Historical Objects Committee:  Responsible for collecting, cataloging, cleaning, repairing, and storing historic objects; for arranging historical exhibits, and the correct historic interpretation of these exhibits; for the care and upkeep of collection facilities.

(c) Media/Social 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 and 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.  A minimum of four trustee nominations will be reserved for local historians and/or representatives from local historical societies.

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 (latest edition) 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.  

Adopted 01-20-2015; rev. 4/21/15