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THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE ROCKAWAYS

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

For adoption

Founded in May 1973, Incorporated October 2, 1974 under the title: The
Historical Society of the Rockaways.

OBJECTIVES:
To distribute historical information to educational and public
institutions, to promote community service projects beneficial to
all citizens. To preserve historical sites, documents, and for
that purpose to conduct historical research to promote interest
and civic pride in local history, to seek and obtain financial
assistance from various sources to aid in the implementation of
these objectives.

ARTICLE 1 MEMBERSHIP:

A. The classes of membership in the Society shall be Charter, Active,

Senior Citizen, Junior, Life, Patron, Honorary, Ex-Officio,
Corresponding, Affiliate, and Sustaining.
1. Charter members are those persons who were instrumental in the
organization of the Society. Charter members may consist of:
a. Inactive Charter Members - shall not be subject to the
payment of dues.
b. Charter members may also fall under any other class of
membership and shall pay dues consistent with their
classification.
2. Active members of the Society shall pay annual dues as
determined by the Executive Board of the Society and approved
by the Society members at a regular meeting.
3. Senior Citizen Members shall have all the rights and privileges
of Active members and dues shall be 50% of Active members dues.
4. Junior members, shall be those persons under 18 years of age
who pay dues of one dollar annually.
5. Life members shall be those who make a single payment
equivalent to ten years dues.
6. Patrons of the Society shall be those persons who donate to the
Society to further it's aims the sum of one hundred dollars or
more.
7. Honorary members shall be those persons who have made an
outstanding contribution towards the objectives of the Society,
and are adjudged worthy of this honor by a three-fourths
affirmative vote of those members present at any regular
meeting of the Society.
8. Ex-Officio members shall be officials, such as the
Superintendents of State Parks incorporating areas of historic
interest, who are interested in and can assist the objectives

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of the Society. They shall pay no dues.

9. Corresponding members shall be those who are non-residents of
the area, and who furnish to the Society historical data or
valuable information. They shall pay no dues.
10. Any non-profit organization may become an Affiliate member upon
payment of annual dues as determined by the Executive Board and
approved by the Society members at a regular meeting.
11. Sustaining members shall be those firms or corporations who
donate or pay into the treasury of the Society a sum mutually
agreed upon by the Executive Board of the Society annually.
B. Husband and wife may become Life, or Active members by paying 1
1/2 times the dues of a single membership of that class.
C. All applications for membership shall be addressed to the
Membership Secretary/Treasurer accompanied by the appropriate
dues. All applications shall be submitted for election at a
regular meeting of the Society.
D. The only classes of members who shall have the right to vote and
hold office in the Society shall be Life members, Active members,
and Senior Citizen members in good standing. (Junior not voting)
E. DUES:
1. The amount shall be determined at each annual June meeting of
the Society.
2. Dues are payable at the first meeting of each year (September).
A new member who joins after mid-year, shall pay only 1/2 of
the regular yearly dues.
3. Any member failing to pay his annual dues for a period of three
(3) months will be notified that he is in arrears and have
thirty (30) days in which to pay the back dues. Failure to pay
said dues within the stipulated period will result in the
action outlined in Article IX A.

ARTICLE II OFFICERS:

A. The Officers of the Society shall be: President, Vice-President,

Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Membership
Secretary/Treasurer, and Curator.
B. There shall be, in addition to the above Officers four (4)
Trustees.

ARTICLE III ELECTION AND TERMS OF OFFICERS:

A. Elections:
1. The Officers and Trustees provided for in Article II shall be
elected at the Annual Meeting of the Society and shall assume
office at the adjournment of the meeting.
2. The method of balloting shall be those members present and
entitled to vote.
3. Alternatively eligible voters may cast a letter ballot.
4. Election of any Officer shall be by a simple majority of the
votes cast.

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5. No member shall be elected to any office including Trustees who

is not a member in good standing.
B. Terms of Officers:
1. All Officers shall be elected for the term of one (1) year and
shall be eligible for re-election, except that the President
and Vice-President shall be limited to two (2) consecutive
terms in their respective offices. They shall however again be
eligible to these offices after the lapse of one (1) year.
2. The Trustees shall be elected for the term of two (2) years.
Two being elected each year. The President, during his term of
office, shall be an Ex-Officio Trustee.
3. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the complement of
Officers or Trustees as a result of death, resignation, or
other cause, the Executive Committee shall elect a qualified
member to take over the duties for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE IV DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES:

A. PRESIDENT:
1. The President shall preside at all meetings and shall have the
authority to appoint, from members of the Society, committees
for the purpose of having charge of and carrying out any
matters that may be considered for the betterment or advantage
of the Society.
2. The President shall appoint in April of each year a nominating
committee of three members to prepare a list of nominations of
qualified and willing members for the various offices of the
Society, for submission to the membership at the Annual Meeting
which will beheld in June.
3. The President shall also appoint, in April of each year an
Audit committee of three (3) Trustees to audit the books and
report at the Annual Meeting.
B. VICE-PRESIDENT:
1. Shall assist the President and in the absence of the President
it shall be the duty of the Vice-President to perform the
duties of the President.
C. CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:
1. Have charge of the correspondence of the Society, and shall
report on communications at each regular meeting.
2. Shall send out notices of meetings to members.
D. RECORDING SECRETARY:
1. Shall keep an accurate record of the meetings and transactions
of the Society and shall keep all such records in an approved
place.
E. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY/TREASURER:
1. Upon receipt of applications for membership, the Membership
Secretary/Treasurer shall make reasonable enquiry as to the
suitability of the applicant for membership and make a
recommendation as to election.
2. Will, upon acceptance of the applicant as a member, mail a

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letter of welcome, a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws, an

up-to-date list of officers, as well as their membership card.
3. Shall maintain a current list of members and furnish a copy to
the Corresponding Secretary.
4. Shall send out notices of dues and receive all dues.
5. Shall promote increased membership.
6. Shall take charge of the funds of the Society and deposit them
in the Society's account in one of the banking institutions in
the area approved by the Executive Committee.
7. All sums in excess of normal operating expenses shall be
deposited in a Savings Account in the name of the Society,
subject always to such other investments as shall be approved
by the Society.
8. All disbursements by the Society shall be substantiated by an
invoice or voucher and shall be authorized by the Officers at a
regular meeting, or in an emergency, by a special meeting of at
least two (2) members of the Executive Committee.
9. All checks for payment by the Society shall be signed by the
Treasurer and either the President or Vice-President.
10. Shall keep an accurate record of receipts and disbursements,
and report at each regular meeting of the Society. On
completion of his or her term of office shall deliver all
records to the successor, after the completion of the Annual
Audit.
11. Special accounts may be set up from time to time as designated
by the President and approved by the membership at a regular
meeting and these accounts shall be reported to the Membership
Secretary/Treasurer monthly.
F. CURATOR:
1. Shall receive all donations, gifts and loans to the Society
other than money.
2. Shall keep an accurate record of all property of the Society
(including objects on loan to the Society), and shall keep such
property only where designated by the Executive Committee.
3. Shall not loan any document or object to non-members unless so
directed by at least two (2) members of the Executive
Committee.
4. No books, documents or objects shall be loaned to members or
others without a written receipt.
5. Shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the property of
the Society and all objects loaned to it are suitably protected
and preserved.
6. Unless approved by the President, or at least two (2) members
of the Executive Committee, no property shall be loaned on any
basis unless accompanied by a member of the Society.
G. TRUSTEES:
1. The Trustees shall be responsible for ensuring that the
business of the Society is carried out in accordance with the
Constitution and By-Laws, and the objectives set out in the
Certificate of Incorporation of the Society. The Trustees are

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responsible to the State for the actions of the Society.

2. Three (3) of the Trustees shall constitute the Auditing
Committee as described in Article IV Section A, Item 3.

ARTICLE V COMMITTEES:

A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers and the
Trustees of the Society as set out in Article II and any past
President who is member in good standing and is not one of the
elected Officers and Trustees. The President shall act as
Chairman of the Executive Committee, which will be responsible
for the proper conduct of the business of the Society and
deciding the policy to be followed in the Society's activities.
2. In each instance in which members of the Executive committee
have approved the loan of Society property or a financial
transaction, said approval shall be confirmed in writing within
a thirty (30) day period.
3. There shall be at least one meeting of the Executive Committee
each year.
4. A quorum shall consist of 55% of the Executive Committee.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEES:
1. The following administrative standing committees shall be
appointed at the discretion of the president:
a. Publicity
b. Programs
c. Field Trips
2. Chairman of the above committees shall present a written report
at the Annual Meeting.
C. SPECIAL COMMITTEES:
1. The President may also appoint special committees as required
as indicated by the following examples:
a. Archeology
b. Folklore
c. Ironworks & Mines
d. Other Industries
e. Churches
f. Transportation
g. Cemeteries
h. Post Offices
i. Local History
j. Native Americans
k. Genealogy
All such committees shall submit a written report upon the
completion of their project at the next monthly meeting.

ARTICLE VI CORRESPONDENCE:

A. CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Shall mail notices of all regular and special meetings.

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2. Shall handle all correspondence as instructed by the President

or by vote of the Society members at a regular meeting.
B. PRESIDENT:
1. Shall sign any letter deemed necessary to fulfill the duties of
the office and as directed by the vote of the Society members
or by the Executive Board.
C. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY/TREASURER:
1. Shall send out notices of dues.
2. Shall send out letters and cards to new members as directed by
Article IV.
D. OTHER CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Copies of all correspondence in the Society's name other than
routine business must be sent to the President for his
information. The President in turn shall transmit such
correspondence to the Corresponding Secretary for the Society's
permanent files.
2. Any letter which establishes policies or commits the Society to
any action or theory, written by other than the President or
Corresponding Secretary must be co-signed by the President.

ARTICLE VII MEETINGS:

A. The regular meetings of the Society shall be held on the 1st

Monday of each month at a time and place decided upon at the
previous meeting. All members shall be notified in advance by the
Secretary or designate.
B. The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be the regular June
Meeting.
C. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President upon
prior notification to all members.
D. The Executive Committee shall meet as stated in Article V, Section
A, Item 3.

ARTICLE VIII DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY IN CASE OF DISBANDMENT:

A. In case the Society shall heretofore disband or for any reasons go

out of existence the assets of the corporation shall be disbursed
to such organizations which enjoy tax exempt status under Section
501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and only to such
organizations.

ARTICLE IX EXPULSION AND REINSTATEMENT OF MEMBERS:

A. Any member failing to pay dues upon request after three (3) months
on non-payment will be expelled from the Society, but may be
reinstated upon payment of dues in arrears at the time of
suspension.
B. Any member of this Society may be expelled from the Society for
gross misconduct, after an opportunity has been given the one
accused by notice from the Secretary to appear and remove the

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cause of complaint or render a satisfactory excuse or explanation.

This may be at a special Executive Meeting or at a general meeting
at the discretion of the President.
C. No member of the Society shall directly or indirectly use their
membership as a means of obtaining any antique, manuscript, book
or other article for their personal collection or for commercial
use. (When a member obtains or receives an article for their own
use this should be made clear to the person from whom it is
received.) Any member receiving an article for the Society will,
in all cases, give a written receipt in the name of the Society. A
violation of the above provision shall be reported immediately to
the Executive Committee, together with all the facts and evidence
of such violation. The Executive Committee shall make a thorough
investigation of the charges and, if the circumstances warrant it,
recommend expulsion of the member concerned.
D. Expulsion and reinstatement of members shall be by two-thirds
(2/3) vote of those present and voting at any regular meeting or
Executive Meeting as the case may be.

ARTICLE X ALTERATIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS:

A. Alterations and amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws may be

made at any regular meeting by two-thirds (2/3) majority of those
present and voting, provided notices of such proposed alterations
and amendments have been sent in writing by the Secretary to all
members at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XI ORDER OF BUSINESS AT ANNUAL MEETING:

A. The order of business at the Annual Meeting shall be:

1. Call to order by President
2. Roll Call
3. Secretary's Report
4. Membership Secretary/Treasurer's Report
5. Annual Reports of Standing Committees
6. Special Reports
7. President's Message
8. Election of Officers
9. Adjournment
B. All above reports are to be written, read at the meeting and then
presented to the Secretary for the Society's permanent files.

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