Greater Oneonta
Historical Society
P.O. Box 814
Oneonta, NY 13820

Consitution & By-laws

(Click here for the Constitution.)

By-Laws of The Greater Oneonta Historical Society

Adopted by Trustees and Officers on March 20, 2000
Article III, Section 6 revised by vote of the membership on October 11, 2006

Article I: Management

Section 1. Management of the Society shall be vested in a Board of Trustees which shall be the executive body of the Society.

Section 2. The Board of Trustees shall be empowered to consider, plan, and execute any appropriate actions which are consistent with the purposes and goals of the Society provided such actions are not in violation of any relevant provisions of the Constitution and By-laws of the Society. The Board of Trustees shall further be empowered to take any appropriate action if, in the judgment of the trustees, such action can not or should not be delayed until the next meeting of the Society.

Section 3. The personnel of the Board of Trustees shall be:

a. The elected officers of the Society, and
b. Twelve elected trustees

Article II: Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Society shall be:

a. President
b. Vice President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Historian

Section 2. Duties of Officers:

a. The president shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Trustees and shall perform such other duties as usually pertain to this office.
b. The Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume all duties of the President as stated in the immediately preceding paragraph.
c. The Secretary shall record, in an appropriate book designated for the purpose, a full and accurate account of all transactions of the Society business conducted at any meeting of the Society or of the Board of Trustees. The minutes of the preceding meeting of the Society, or the Board of Trustees which have not previously been presented to the membership, shall be presented at meetings of the Society.
d. The Treasurer shall record and maintain, in a suitable manner, a full and accurate account of all monies received and disbursed by the Society and shall report the current financial status of the Society at all meetings of the Society and the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer shall also submit all relevant records annually for audit by a committee appointed for the purpose by the President prior to the annual meeting of the Society. The audit committee shall present the results of the examination to the membership at the annual meeting of the society.
e. The Historian shall oversee the acquisition, protection, preservation, cataloging, etc. of all appropriate documents, papers, and objects relevant to the purpose and goals of the Society. The Historian shall recommend to the Board of Trustees acceptance or rejection of materials offered to the Society and no such articles shall be accepted without the approval of the Board of Trustees. The Historian shall make other recommendations as may be deemed appropriate to the orderly and systematic preservation and handling of any documents, papers, and objects in the possession of the Society. The Historian shall also make any relevant recommendations concerning acquisition policies of the Society. The Historian may select additional members to assist in the effective accomplishment of his or her responsibilities.

Article III: Elections

Section 1. Election of officers and Trustees shall be conducted at the annual meeting of the Society.

Section 2. The officers of the Society shall be elected annually by a majority vote of a quorum of members in good standing for terms of one year.

Section 3. One third of the Trustees shall be elected annually by a majority vote of a quorum of members in good standing for terms of three years. The first year this rotational system is put in place one-third of the Trustees shall be elected for one year, one-third for two years, and one-third for three years.

Section 4. A vacancy in any elected office, except that of President, caused by resignation, death, inability to serve, or other reason, may be filled by appointment by the President until the next election. In case of such a vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice President shall automatically become President and at the next annual meeting or special meeting of the Society, the members in good standing shall elect a new Vice President by majority vote of a quorum.

Section 5. Only members in good standing may be elected to office.

Section 6. No member shall be elected as an officer in a given office for more than four consecutive terms of one year each, with the exception of treasurer who may serve up to six consecutive terms (revised 11 October 2006).

Section 7. No member shall be elected a Trustee for more than two consecutive terms of three years each.

Article IV: Meetings

Section 1. The Society shall hold its annual meeting on a date in October to be fixed by the Board of Trustees not less than ninety days prior to the meeting.

Section 2. Meetings of the Society, with the exception of the annual meeting or any special meetings, shall be scheduled for the year by the Board of Trustees at their first meeting of the new year.

Section 3. Special meetings of the Society or of the Board of Trustees may be called at any time by the President. Notice of the purpose for such special meetings of the Society shall be given to the membership not less than ten days prior to the date of the meeting.

Section 4. A special meeting of the Society must be called by the President upon written request of not less than ten members in good standing of the Society.

Section 5. A special meeting of the Society must be called by the President upon written request of not less than five members of the Board of Trustees.

Section 6. The Board of Trustees shall meet at least four times a year as called by the President and at such other times as may be deemed appropriate. Notice of all meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be given not less than ten days prior to the dates of the meetings.

Section 7. Only members in good standing of the Society shall be permitted to vote on any items of business conducted at any meetings of the Society.

Section 8. Twenty or more members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Society. If there are fewer than forty members in good standing, 50% plus one of the members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Society.

Section 9. Fifty percent plus one of the members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Article V: Committees

Section 1. The President shall appoint annually the chairmen and up to two of the members of all Standing Committees and of such other committees as may be deemed appropriate. No more than two additional committee members may be selected by and at the discretion of a committee chairman. No member shall serve con-currently on more than one standing committee. Only an elected officer or Trustee shall be appointed chairman of a standing committee.

Section 2. The following shall be the Standing Committees of the Society:

a. Nominating Committee
b. Finance Committee
c. Program Committee
d. Membership Committee
e. Hospitality Committee
f. Communications and Public Relations Committee

Section 3. No member may be appointed chairman of a given Standing Committee for more than two consecutive years.

Article VI: Dues

Section 1. Each member of the Society shall be assessed annual dues as set by the membership committee and approved by the Board of Trustees.

Article VII: Amendments

Section 1. These By-laws may be amended at any annual or special meeting of the Society by a two-thirds vote of a quorum.

Section 2. Any member in good standing of the Society may propose amendment(s) of these By-laws by providing such proposals in writing to the Board of Trustees.

Section 3. Any proposed amendment(s) to these By-laws must be submitted to the Board of Trustees not less than thirty days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered.

Section 4. Notice of any proposed amendment to the By-laws must be given to the Society membership not less than ten days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered.