Bylaws of the Will County Beekeepers Association
Prepared by: 2013 Executive Board
Ratified March 20, 2013
Revision: 1.00 - Original
Revision 1.01 - Remove ISBA, Allow director to manage membership, require insurance, Sep 2016
This document is the complete Bylaws and Charter of the Will County Beekeepers Association (WillBees) as approved by the Board and the General Membership on this 20th Day of March, 2013.
ARTICLE I - PURPOSE
SECTION 1 – PURPOSE
WillBees is a non-profit organization that raises awareness of the products and services of the honey bee hive, encourages cooperation among local beekeepers, contributes to the advancement of education about beekeeping and its related activities, and offers support to our members and neighboring communities.
Our mission is summarized by the tagline: Awareness, Cooperation, Education, Support. This may be occasionally abbreviated as ACES.
SECTION 2 - GOALS
ARTICLE II- RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES
SECTION 1 - HOLD HARMLESS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTIONS
SECTION 2- RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
Active members of WillBees shall have the right to vote on organization matters. Voting rights for other types of members are described in Article III.
SECTION 3- INSURANCE
WillBees shall carry liability insurance for all activities in which it participates as an organization. The Board shall review quotes provided by no fewer than three carriers on a bi-annual basis.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1. MEMBERSHIP POLICIES
A. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
B. ELIGIBILITY
All persons are eligible for membership. Membership in this organization shall be available without discrimination.
C. MEMBERSHIP YEAR
Membership in WillBees is in effect from January 1 through December 31 of a given calendar year.
D. DUES
Dues are outlined in Appendix I.
E. SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION FOR CAUSE
a. Any member may be suspended or expelled from membership upon a showing of willful disregard of these bylaws or other actions detrimental to WillBees in any way, as determined by a majority vote of the Board. Should the Board not come to a majority vote, the decision will go to the General Membership via an anonymous vote.
b. The charges against the member will be considered at a regular Board Meeting or a Special Meeting called for that specific purpose. The member will be notified of the charges and date, time and place of the meeting. The member may appear and respond to the charges and/or bring one (1) member to speak on their behalf.
c. The decision of the Board shall be final.
F. REINSTATEMENT
a. A suspended or expelled member, or one who has resigned with disciplinary action pending, may be returned to full membership upon written application and with a two-thirds approval vote of the Board. (see a. under Section E. above)
G. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP
Any person may, by a majority vote of the Board, become an Honorary Member of the Association. Once officially designated, such a member shall enjoy Honorary Membership with full privileges and without dues payment for the remainder of the calendar year plus one calendar year.
SECTION 2. MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The purpose of Board to provide responsible leadership, structure, conduct business and be responsible for the management of the affairs of the organization.
Board Members must have been members in good standing for the past three (3) months.
The Board shall consist of four (4) elected Officers and three Directors (elected by the Organization) as follows:
The Board may create committees and committee leads as needed.
a. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
b. TERM OF OFFICE:
c. VACANCIES
d. ROTATION OF DIRECTORS
One Director is elected each year to a three-year term.
e. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBERS
Any one or more of the Board may be removed with cause, at any time, by the vote of the General Membership; through a special meeting called for that purpose, or at a regular monthly meeting, provided that a majority of the General Membership present shall vote in favor of such removal.
f. DUTIES OF THE BOARD
The duties and responsibilities of the Board of Directors shall be as follows:
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
TREASURER
SECRETARY
DIRECTOR
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR (ROLE)
A. VOTING
All General Members of WillBees are eligible to vote as outlined in ARTICLE V of these Bylaws.
B. MEETINGS
WillBees shall have at least one (1) meeting or event every other month, between the months of February and November.
GENERAL MEETINGS
General meetings are outlined in Appendix II.
ANNUAL MEETING
The Annual Meeting shall be the membership meeting in November each year for the purpose of electing Officers to the Board, considering proposed bylaw amendments and conducting other regular meeting business.
SPECIAL MEETINGS
Special meetings, organization sponsored events, organization involved parties, field trips, and workshops may be organized and approved by the Board. Announcements will be made to all current members. There may be additional requirements or fees involved in these types of meetings. Examples include volunteering time or equipment, and paying various fees or costs.
ARTICLE IV ORDER OF BUSINESS
SECTION 1. PROCEDURES:
In order to conduct business as rapidly as possible, "Robert's Rules of Order" shall be the parliamentary authority for all matters of procedure not specifically covered within these bylaws.
SECTION 2. REGULAR MEETINGS
The order of business at regular meetings shall be as follows:
This order of business may be changed for any meeting at the direction of the President.
SECTION 3. AUDIT
At a minimum of every four (4) years WillBees finances shall be audited by an outside, independent auditor.
ARTICLE V - VOTING
SECTION 1 - ELIGIBILITY
All members with voting rights as described under Articles II & III shall be eligible to vote.
SECTION 2 - ITEMS PUT TO VOTE
A. The following items will be decided by a vote of the general membership at a regularly scheduled meeting:
B. Any issue, other than proposed bylaw amendments and the Election of Officers, may be considered by the membership at a Regular Meeting prior to the meeting at which the issue will be considered. The issue must be raised in the form of a motion and requires a second before being considered. Any issue considered and defeated by the majority of the members at the meeting may not be considered again and shall not be attached to another vote for six (6) calendar months.
SECTION 3 - QUORUM
A quorum shall be used to mediate and decide disputes, disagreements or any other conflicts between members as recorded on the member roster. Any number of regular members at a regularly scheduled meeting shall constitute a quorum. Four (4) members of the Board, either in person, via conference call, or electronically, shall constitute a quorum. A quorum is required to transact business of WillBees.
SECTION 4 - VOTING METHOD
OPTION A. Election of officers shall be by controlled ballot. All members in good standing shall be eligible to cast a ballot. Members unable to attend the November meeting may cast an “absentee” ballot. All absentee ballots must be in a sealed, unmarked envelope and received by the Secretary prior to the November meeting. A non-candidate member will tally all ballots and two impartial organization members will verify the results. Vote totals and the new organization officers shall be introduced prior to ending the November meeting. Votes on other issues may be conducted by any appropriate method that insures a fair determination of a majority decision of eligible voting members as determined by the officers.
OPTION B. Election of officers shall be by any means that allows the general membership to participate, including: Voting by closed paper ballot, voting by internet, voting by email, voting with For/Against for uncontested positions, etc.
ARTICLE VI - NON-PROFIT STATUS
SECTION 1 - NON-PROFIT STATUS
WillBees is declared to be a non profit organization. This does not give the organization tax-exempt status under the rules of the United States Department of Internal Revenue unless applied for and received at a later date.
ARTICLE VII - BYLAWS ACCEPTANCE
SECTION 1 - ACCEPTANCE
These bylaws are accepted at the time of adoption by a majority vote of current members, new members upon registration as well as any guest during sanctioned organization meetings and/or gatherings.
SECTION 2 - AMENDMENTS OR CHANGES.
ARTICLE VIII - DISSOLUTION
SECTION 1 - DISSOLUTION PROCESS
In the event of dissolution of this Association, after all liabilities and obligation have been paid, satisfied, and discharged, any remaining assets shall be contributed to the American Beekeeper’s Federation.
APPENDIX I- DUES
a. Annual dues for current year membership are $15 per person. To be eligible to utilize the Lending Library, a refundable deposit of $25 will be collected once from each member. This deposit will be returned upon the member’s written request to terminate membership if all items borrowed from the Lending Library have been returned in acceptable condition.
b. Members who wish to join after July 1 shall be required to pay half the dues for the current year ($7.50) plus full dues for the following year ($22.50 in total).
c. Any member who has not paid current year dues by March 30 of a calendar year shall be removed from the WillBees active membership list.
APPENDIX II- MEETING LOCATION
General meetings of WillBees shall be held at 7:00 pm at Will County Farm Bureau in Joliet, Illinois on or about the third Wednesday of each month, approximately eight times per year, unless changed by a majority of organization officers or by request of Will County Farm Bureau and upon written or electronic notice of the change to the members. Changes to meeting location will be determined by the board of which the board may agree upon a regular location
Meetings are generally 7:00pm-9pm
Will County Farm Bureau
100 Manhattan Rd
Joliet, IL 60433
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