By-Laws of the Rotary Club of Rapid City Rushmore
Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
Amended March 2006  

Article 1 – Election of Directors and Officers

Section 1 --  At a regular meeting one month prior to the meeting for election of officers, the presiding officer or chair of the nominating committee shall ask for nominations by members of the club for president-elect, secretary and/or treasurer, and two members of the board of directors for terms commencing on the first day of July in the next Rotary year.  The nominations may be presented by a nominating committee or by members from the floor.  The nominations made shall be placed on a ballot in alphabetical order under each office and shall be voted for at the annual meeting.  The candidates for president-elect, secretary, and/or treasurer receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices.  The two candidates for director receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected as directors.  The president-elect elected in such balloting, shall serve as a member of the board as president-elect for the year commencing on the first day of July next following his/her election and as president on the first day of July immediately following his/her year of service on the board as president-elect.  

Article 2 – Board of Directors     

Section 1 – The governing body of this club shall be the board of directors consisting of nine members of the club, the president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer, and the immediate past president and four directors elected or appointed in accordance to these by-laws.

Section 2 – Directors are elected for two-year terms with two directors elected each year.  Directors are limited to two consecutive terms. 

Section 3 – The secretary and treasurer are elected to two-year terms on an alternating-year basis.

Section 4 – A vacancy on the board of directors or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining members of the board.  Part-term appointments of less than one year do not count to the two consecutive term limits.

Article 3 – Duties of Officers Article      

Section 1 – President.  It shall be the duty of the president to preside at meetings of the club and board and to perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of president.

Section 2 – President-Elect.  It shall be the duty of the president-elect to serve as a member of the board of directors of the club and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board.

Section 3 – Secretary.  It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep the records of membership; record the attendance at meetings; send out notices of meetings of the club, board and committees; record and preserve the minutes of such meetings; report as required to Rotary International, including the semiannual reports of membership, on January 1 and July 1 of each year, and prorated reports to the General Secretary on October 1 and April 1 of each active member who has been elected to membership in the club since the start of the July or January semiannual reporting period, and report of changes in membership; provide the monthly attendance report, which shall be made to the district governor within 15 days of the last meeting of the month; collect and remit Rotary International magazine subscriptions; and perform such other duties as usually pertain to the office of secretary.

Section 4 – Treasurer.  It shall be the duty of the treasurer to have custody of all funds, accounting for same to the club annually and at any other time upon demand by the board, and to perform such other duties as pertain to the office of treasurer.  Upon retirement from office, the treasurer shall turn over to the incoming treasurer or to the president all funds, books of accounts or any other club property. 

Section 5 – Sergeant-at-arms.  The duties of the sergeant-at-arms shall be such as are usually prescribed for such office and such other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board.  This office is filled by appointment of the president each year.

Article 4 – Meetings 

Section 1 –  An annual meeting of this club shall be held on a Tuesday in December designated by the Board each year, at which time the election of directors to serve for the ensuing year shall take place.

Section 2 – The regular weekly meeting of this club shall be held on Tuesday at 7:00 am.  Due notice of any changes in or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club.  All members excepting an honorary member (or member excused by the board of directors of this club) in good standing in this club, on the day of the regular meeting, must be counted as present or absent. Attendance must be evidenced by the member’s being present at least 60% of the time devoted to the regular meeting, either at this club or at any other Rotary club.

Section 3 – One-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual and regular meetings of this club.

Section 4 – Regular meetings of the board shall be held on the same day of each month as designated by the majority of the board.  Special meetings of the board shall be called by the president, whenever deemed necessary, or upon the request of two members of the board, due notice having been given.

Section 5 – A majority of the board members shall constitute a quorum of the board.

Article 5 – Fees and Dues 

Section 1 – A new member fee, of an amount designated by the Board, shall be paid before the applicant can qualify as a member.

Section 2 – The membership dues and district assessment shall be $110 per annum, payable semiannually on the first day of July and January, with the understanding that a portion of each semiannual payment shall be applied to each member’s subscription to the Rotarian magazine.  Dues thereafter (the By-laws amended March 2006) shall be set by the board followed by a notice to all members of the club.

Article 6 – Method of VotingArticle 6 – Method of Voting     

The business of this club shall be transacted by viva voce vote except the election of officers and directors, which shall be by ballot if multiple candidates are proposed for a single position.  The Board may determine that a specific resolution be considered by ballot rather than be viva voce vote.

Article 7 – Four Avenues of Service

The four Avenues of Service are the philosophical and practical framework for the work of this Rotary club.  They are Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service.  This club will be active in each of the four Avenues of Service.

Article 8 – Committees

Club committees are charged with carrying out the annual and long-range goals of the club based on the four Avenues of Service.  The president-elect, president and immediate pat president should work together to ensure continuity of leadership and succession planning.  When feasible, committee members should be appointed to the same committee for three years to ensure consistency.  The president-elect is responsible for appoint committee members to fill vacancies, appointing committee chairs and conducting planning meetings prior to the start of the year in office.  It is recommended that the chair have previous experience as a member of the committee.  Standing committees should be appointed as follows:

Membership–This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of members. Part of the retention function will include a review of the membership prior to each SAR (Semi-Annual Report) to ensure that all members are in good standing and to contact those who are not regarding their membership status.

Club Public Relations–This committee should develop and implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to promote the club’s service projects and activities.

Club Administration–These committees should conduct activities associated with the effective operation of the club.  (Note: Included in this area are the Board and the Social/Fellowship Committee.)

Service Projects–These committees should develop and implement educational, humanitarian and vocational projects that address the needs of its community and communities in other countries.  (Note: Included in this area are the Football Book Committee, the BHCH Golf Committee, the BHCH Gala Committee, the SBI Sponsor-for-a-Day Committee, the Youth and Scholarship Committee, and the International Projects Committee.)

The Rotary Foundation–This committee should develop and implement plans to support The Rotary Foundation through both financial contributions and program participation.

Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.

(a) The president shall be ex officio a members of all committees and, as such, shall have all the privileges of membership theron.

(b) Each committee shall transact its business as is delegated to it in these by-laws and such additional business as may be referred to it by the president or the Board.  Except where special authority is given by the Board, such committees shall not take action until a report has been made and approved by the Board.

(c) Each chair shall be responsible for regular meetings and activities of the committee, shall supervise and coordinate the work of the committee and shall report to the Board either in person or through the Board liaison on all committee activities.

Article 9 – Duties of Committees

The duties of all committees shall be established and reviewed by the president for his or her year of service.  In declaring the duties of each, the president shall make reference to appropriate RI materials.  The service projects committees will consider vocational service, community service and international service when developing plans for the year.

Each committee shall have a specific mandate, clearly defined goals, and action plans established by the beginning of each year for implementation during the course of the year.  It shall be the primary responsibility of the president-elect prior to assuming the presidency to provide the necessary leadership to prepare a recommendation for club committees, mandates, goals and plans for presentation to the Board in advance of the commencement of the year as noted above.

Article 10– Leave of Absence 

Upon written application to the board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, leave of absence may be granted excusing a member from attending the meetings of the club for a specified length of time.   (Note: Such leave of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership, it does not operate to give the club credit for the member’s attendance.  Unless the member attends a regular meeting of some other club, the excused member must be recorded as absent except that absence authorized under the provision of Article 8, sections 3 and 4 of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution is not computed in the attendance record of the club.)

Article 11 – Finances 

Section 1 – The treasurer shall deposit all funds of the club in a financial institution to be named by the board.

Section 2 – A list of bills which may be paid without signature is subject to review each year. All other bills shall be paid only by checks signed by the treasurer upon vouchers signed by any Board member or appropriate committee chair.   A review of the Club’s financial transactions shall be made once each year by a person appointed by the Board of Directors.

Section 3 – The Board shall implement adequate internal controls to protect the financial assets of the club.

Section 4 – The fiscal year of this club shall extend from July 1 to June 30, and for the collection of members’ dues shall be divided into two (2) semiannual periods extending from July 1 to December 31 and from January 1 to June 30.  The payment of per capita dues and magazine subscriptions to Rotary International shall be made on July 1 and January 1of each year on the basis of the membership of the club on those dates.

Section 5 – At the beginning of each fiscal year the board shall prepare or cause to be prepared a budget of estimated income and estimated expenditures for the year, which, having been agreed to by the board, shall stand as the limit of expenditures for the respective purposes unless otherwise ordered by action of the board.

Article 12– Method of Electing Members 

Section 1 – The name of a prospective member; proposed by an active member of the club, shall be submitted to the board in writing through the club secretary or another Membership committee liaison.  A transferring or former member of another club may be proposed to active membership by the former club.  The proposal for the time being shall be kept confidential except as otherwise provided in this procedure.
Section 2 -- The board shall ensure that the proposal meets all the classification and membership requirements of the club constitution.

Section 3 -- The board shall approve or disapprove the proposal within 30 days of its submission, and shall notify the proposer of its decision.

Section 4 – If no objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the board from any member (other than honorary) of the club within seven (7) days following publication of information about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), as prescribed in these bylaws, shall be considered to be elected to membership.

If any such objection has been filed with the Board, it shall vote on this matter at its next meeting.  If approved despite the objection, the proposed member, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), shall be considered to be elected to membership.

Section 5 -- Following the election, the president shall arrange for the induction of the new member, the club secretary shall issue a membership card and shall report the new member to Rotary International and the membership committee provide appropriate literature for presentation at the induction and assign a member to assist in the assimilation of the new member.

Section 6 – The club may elect, in accordance with the standard Rotary club constitution, honorary members.  These persons’ names are to be submitted to the Board by any active member and will be forwarded for election upon Board action.  

The Rights and Privileges of these honorary members are detailed below:
Honorary members are exempt from the payment of admission fees and dues.
Honorary members shall have no vote and shall not be eligible to hold any office in this club.
Honorary members shall not hold any classification but shall be entitled to attend all meetings and enjoy all privileges of this club.
No honorary member of this club is entitled to any rights and privileges in any other club.
Persons may hold honorary membership in more than one club.
An honorary membership is valid until June 30 of each year.
An honorary membership is valid for no longer than a one-year period.  However, an individual can be re-nominated as an honorary member any number of times.

Article 13 – Resolutions    

No resolution or motion to commit this club on any matter shall be considered by the club until it has been considered by the board.  Such resolutions or motions, if offered at a club meeting shall be referred to the board without discussion.

Article 14 – Amendments  

These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting, a quorum being present, by a two-thirds vote of all members present, provided that notice of such proposed amendment shall have been mailed to each member at least ten days before such meeting.  No amendment or addition to these by-laws can be made which is not in harmony with the Club Constitution and By-laws of Rotary International.
			
(Note: Notes are included for clarification and do not require amendment except by Board action.)

Approved by the Board 3/16/2006