Proposed Constitutional Changes March 2005

Background of the ENSBC Constitution

ENSBC was founded in 1919. The Constitution was amended on October 26, 1976 to reflect the organization's new status as a 501 C3 tax-exempt organization.

The extensive April 26, 2005 revision reflects changes in technology and volunteerism, and the need to recognize de facto revised positions in club leadership and revised membership categories.

EVANSTON - NORTH SHORE BIRD CLUB

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I. NAME

Section 1. This organization shall be known as the EVANSTON-NORTH SHORE BIRD CLUB.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

Section 1. (a) The purpose of this club shall be to stimulate interest in the study and observation of wild birds, including relation to their habitat; to increase public sentiment in favor of the conservation of natural resources; and to foster meetings of those with a common interest in these subjects.

(b) This organization shall be operated solely for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, and for the prevention of cruelty to animals. (Amended October 26, 1976).

(c) No part of the net earnings of this organization shall inure to the benefit of any member. This organization shall not engage in propaganda or attempt to encourage legislation, or intervene in a political campaign in any substantial manner, and not unless necessary to further the purposes of the organization above described. (Amended October 26,

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Anyone interested in the purposes of this club is eligible to join.

Section 2. Membership shall consist of the following classes, all with equal rights and privileges:

Individual
Individual Supporting
Family
Family Supporting (added)
Senior (65 and over)
Life/Individual
Life/Family
(Amended April 26, 2005)

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Section 1. The Board of directors shall consist of the duly elected officers and the chairmen of permanent committees, as follows:

President
Vice President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Membership Chair
Field Trip Chair
Assistant Field Trip Chair
Assistant Field Trip Chair
Program Chair
Conservation Chair
Publicity Chair
Newsletter Editor
Ways and Means Chair
Archivist
(Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 2. The immediate past President may also serve on the Board of Directors. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 3. The officers and directors shall be elected by majority vote of the members of the club present at the April meeting of each year.

Section 4. The term of office for each elected officer and director shall be one year.

Section 5. Vacancies among the officers or permanent committee chairs shall be filled by the Board of Directors. (Amended April 26, 2005)

ARTICLE V. DISSOLUTION

Section 1, In the event of the dissolution of this organization, the net assets of the organization shall be donated to a tax exempt organization having similar purposes to this organization. (Amended October 26, 1976)

ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Amendments to the Constitution of this club may be proposed by any member of the club.

Section 2. To be adopted, a proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of the Board of Directors, read by the Secretary to the members present at two successive regular meetings of the club, and then accepted by vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the club present at such second meeting.

BYLAWS

The following proposed amendments to the BYLAWS were approved by a majority of the Board of Directors on March 15, 2005 and must be accepted by majority vote of the members of the club present at a regularly called meeting (April 23, 2005). They do not need to be read aloud.

ARTICLE 1. DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

Section 1. The President shall call and preside at all meetings of the club and of the Board of Directors, shall appoint special committees, and shall be a member of each committee of the club, except the Nominating Committee.

Section 2. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President, in the latter's absence, and shall perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may request.
The Vice President shall work with the Program, Trip and Membership Chairs to produce a Directory containing programs, field trips, membership data and the current dues schedule to be mailed in late July/early August; and work with the Newsletter Editor to proofread and mail the newsletter. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 3. The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all monies of the club, shall pay all club bills, memberships and other commitments, shall keep an accurate record of checks and balances, and shall give a financial report at each Board meeting. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 5. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct such club correspondence as may be required. The Corresponding Secretary shall send reminders to Board members of Board meetings and shall acknowledge all contributions to the Club. The Secretary shall arrange with other Board members for the pick-up and distribution of mail from the Post Office Box in a timely manner. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 6. The Membership Chair shall promote membership in the club, shall keep a current database of all members, shall receive club dues for the Treasurer, shall advise the newsletter editor of names and addresses of new members; shall provide mailing labels as needed. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 7. The Field Trip chair shall select dates and localities of field trips, and appoint capable leaders. The Field Trip chair shall request that all field trip leaders sent trip reports to the newsletter editor and the Archivist. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 8. The Assistant Field Trip Chair shall assist the Field Trip Chair. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 9. The Program Chair shall arrange programs to be presented at the evening meetings. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 10. The Conservation Chair shall be in charge of promoting conservation and shall keep club members informed on legislation and other activities affecting our interests. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 11. The Newsletter Editor shall produce Bird Calls on an announced schedule. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 12. The Publicity Chair shall endeavor to obtain all possible publicity for the various club activities.

Section 13. The Ways and Means Chair shall keep the club library of educational materials and make them available to members; shall, in cooperation with the Board, develop fund-raising items; shall assist at events at which the Club has a display booth, and shall be responsible for maintaining the club website. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 14. The Archivist shall keep an organized file of minutes of Board meetings, Bird Calls, Directories, and other records of interest and shall share information with the Newsletter Editor as appropriate or requested. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 15. Officers and Committee Chairs shall make regular reports at Board of Directors meetings. (Amended April 26, 2005)

ARTICLE II. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members, elected by majority vote of the Board of Directors in January or February of each year. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 2. At the March general meeting the Nominating Committee shall present a slate of candidates for the various club officers, including chairs of permanent committees. The slate shall be published in the April Bird Calls and announced at the March program meeting.

Section 3. The election of officers and directors of the club shall be held at the annual meeting in April.

ARTICLE III. MEETINGS

Section 1. The President shall call meetings of the club, as directed by the Board of Directors, during the period from September to May, inclusive, of each club year, and shall arrange meeting locations. (Amended April 26, 2005)

Section 2. The President may call a meeting of the Board of Directors about one to two weeks prior to each general meeting.

Section 3. The Vice President shall be in charge of refreshments for general meetings. (Amended April 26, 2005)

ARTICLE IV. DUES

Section 1. Dues for all classes of membership shall be determined from time to time by the Directors, and shall be listed in the annual Membership Directory.

ARTICLE V. CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

Section 1. All meetings of the club, and all meetings of the Board of Directors, shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Amendments to the Bylaws of the club may be proposed by any member.

Section 2. To be adopted, a proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of the Board of Directors and accepted by majority vote of the members of the club present at a regularly called meeting.

EVANSTON - NORTH SHORE BIRD CLUB

Constitutional Changes of May 17, 2005 Underlined

These changes were proposed and approved by the Board on March 15, 2005, introduced to a general meeting of the club on April 26, 2005, and approved at a general meeting of the club on May 17, 2005.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Section 2. Membership shall consist of the following classes, all with equal rights and privileges:

Junior (deleted)
Active (deleted)
Supporting (deleted)
Life (deleted)
Patron (deleted)
Honorary (deleted)
Added:
Individual
Individual Supporting
Family
Family Supporting
Senior (65 and over)
Life/Individual
Life/Family

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Section 1. The Board of directors shall consist of the duly elected officers and the chairmen of permanent committees, as follows:

President
Vice President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Membership Chair(man-deleted)
Field Trip Chair(man-deleted)
Program Chair(man-deleted)
Conservation Chair(man-deleted)
Special Services Chairman (deleted)
Publicity Chair(man-deleted)
Newsletter Editor (added)
Ways and Means Chair (added)
Archivist (added)
Assistant Field Trip Chair (added)

Section 2. The immediate past President shall (deleted) may (added) also serve on the Board of Directors.

Section 5. No elected director shall continue in the same office for more than four years in succession, although he may be re-elected after a lapse of one year or more.(Section deleted)

Section 6. Vacancies among the officers or permanent committee chairs shall be filled by the Board of Directors. (Becomes Section 5.)

BYLAWS

ARTICLE 1. DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

Section 2. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President, in the latter's absence, and shall perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may request.

The Vice President shall work with the Program, Trip and Membership Chairs to produce a Directory containing Programs, Field Trips, Membership data and the current dues schedule to be mailed in late July/early August; and work with the Newsletter Editor to proofread and mail the newsletter. (added)

Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the club and (deleted) of the Board of Directors (added). She shall also keep a file of all reports of the various officers and committee chairmen (deleted and responsibility given to the Archivist).

Section 5. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct such club correspondence as may be required; shall handle all mailings to the general membership, and shall assist the Membership Chairman (deleted and responsibilities divided among other positions).

The Corresponding Secretary shall send reminders to Board members of Board meetings and shall acknowledgment contributions to the Club. The Secretary shall arrange with other Board members for the pick-up and distribution of mail from the Post Office Box in a timely manner. (added)

Section 6. The Membership Chair shall promote membership in the club, shall keep a current database of all members (added), shall receive club dues for the Treasurer, shall advise the Corresponding Secretary (deleted) Newsletter Editor (added) of names and addresses of new members; shall provide mailing labels as needed. (added) and shall edit and publish a Club Directory, containing a Calendar of Events, list of members, and current dues schedule. (deleted and responsibilities moved to Vice President.)

Section 7. The Field Trip chair(man-deleted) shall select dates and localities of field trips, and appoint capable leaders. He shall also read reports of all field trips at the general meetings and keep a file of such reports for the club archives. (deleted.)
The Field Trip chair shall request that all field trip leaders sent trip reports to the Newsletter Editor and the Archivist (added).

Section 8. The Assistant Field Trip chair shall assist the Field Trip Chair. (Section added.)

Section 8. The Program Chair(man-deleted) shall arrange programs to be presented at the evening meetings. (Becomes Section 9).

Section 9. The Conservation Chair(man-deleted) shall be in charge of promoting conservation and shall keep club members informed on legislation and other activities affecting our interests. (Becomes Section 10)

Section 10. The Special Services Chairman shall handle educational activities of the club, edit the Bird Calls and direct related mailings to the general membership. Deleted.)

The Newsletter Editor shall produce Bird Calls on an announced schedule. (added.) (Becomes Section 11.)

Section 11. The Publicity Chair shall endeavor to obtain all possible publicity for the various club activities. (Becomes Section 12).

Section 12. Officers and Committee Chairs shall make annual reports at the April general meeting. (deleted), regular reports at Board of Directors meetings. (added) (Becomes Section 15)

Section 13. The Ways and Means Chair shall keep the club library of educational materials and make them available to members; shall, in cooperation with the Board, develop fund-raising items; shall assist at events at which the club has a display booth; and shall be responsible for maintaining the club website. (Section added.)

Section 14. The Archivist shall keep an organized file of minutes of Board Meetings, Bird Calls, Directories, and other records of interest and shall share information with the Newsletter editor as appropriate or requested. (Section added.)

ARTICLE II. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members, elected by majority vote of the Board of Directors in January or February (added) of each year.

Section 2. At the March general meeting the Nominating Committee shall present a slate of candidates for the various club officers, including chairmen (deleted) chairs (added) of permanent committees. The slate shall be published in the April Bird Calls and announced at the March program meeting. Added)

Section 3. The elections of officers and directors of the club shall be held at the annual meeting in April, followed by their installation at the end of said April meeting. (deleted.)

ARTICLE III. MEETINGS

Section 1. The President shall call meetings of the club, as directed by the Board of Directors, during the period from October to April (deleted) September to May (added), inclusive, of each club year, and shall arrange meeting locations. (added.)

Section 3. The Vice-President shall be in charge of refreshments for general meetings. (Section added.)