NCIGS

 

North Central Iowa Genealogical Society By-laws

(Revised 2016)

Mission Statement

Founded in 1972 as a non-profit volunteer educational organization, the mission of the North Central Iowa Genealogical Society is to create and foster an interest in genealogy and to aid others in researching their family history.

 

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this Society shall, be the NORTH CENTRAL IOWA GENEALOGICAL Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/bylaws.gifSOCIETY.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this Society shall be:

1.   To create and foster an interest in genealogy.

2.   To preserve genealogical and historical data.

3.   To aid individual members in compiling family genealogies.

4.   To establish and maintain a genealogical library.

5.   To furnish the Iowa Genealogical Society information for publication.

6.   To cooperate with any group or individual interested in furthering genealogical research.

7.   To establish and maintain a society website, including an obituary database for the nine county area.

8.   To establish and maintain a research data base in the library (e.g., research requests).

 

The Society shall operate as a non-profit organization as required for tax exemption under the laws which apply.

 

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section
1. Membership in this Society shall be open to all persons interested in genealogical, biographical, or historical research.

 

Section 2. Membership shall be issued upon application and payment of the annual dues.

                                                                            Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/membership.gif

 

Section 3. The dues shall be set by the Executive Board and recommended to the membership for approval. Dues shall become payable in advance September 1 and shall be paid on or before December 31 of the current year. Members not renewing prior to January 15th shall be dropped from membership. New members who join and pay dues after September 1st shall be credited for the remaining months of the current year and the entire following year.

Section 4. Paid membership includes copies of the newsletter The Genie Bug issued during time of membership. Another membership benefit is the publication of one free query per year in The Genie Bug.


ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

Section
1. The officers of this Society shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, Research Chair, Publicity Chair, Membership Chair, and Website Chair.

Section 2. Membership of at least one full year is required for eligibility to office.

Section 3. Officers shall be elected to serve one year or until their successors shall be elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the December meeting after they are elected. (See Article VI Section 7 for Treasurer.)

Section 4. No member shall be eligible to hold more than one office at a time.


Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/Elections%20-%20Flag%20and%20Balloons.gifARTICLE V - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS.

Section
1. At the regular meeting in the month of September the President shall announce a nominating committee of three members.

Section 2. At the October meeting, the nominating committee will present a written slate of candidates for each office. 

Section
3. Additional nominations from the floor as well as write-in candidates shall be permitted.

Section 4. Members of the society attending the October meeting will vote for the slate of candidates.

Section 5. Ballots will be counted and election results announce at the October meeting.

Section 6. Installation of Officers will occur during the November meeting.



ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/gavel.gifSection 1. The nine elected officers shall serve as the Executive Board and as the Budget Committee. (See Article VII Sections 1 and 4.) .

Section 2. The President shall be the presiding officer at meetings of the Society and serve as chairman of the Executive Board.
S/he, after consultation with each chair person, shall appoint committees/sub-committees.  The President shall be an ex officio member of committees (except the Nominating Committee).  S/he will serve as Liaison Officer, maintaining an on-going relationship with the Director of the Mason City Public Library.

 

Section 3. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President whenever necessary. The Vice President shall serve as chairperson of the program committee and shall be responsible for making reservations for meeting places and for program arrangements, including poster and press release information, for all regular meetings and special workshops of the Society.  Appropriate publicity forms for each meeting shall be forwarded to the President, Publicity/Website/Membership Chairs and the Librarian.

  Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/pen.gifSection 4. The Secretary shall keep and read the minutes and shall provide a copy of the same to the Executive Board. S/he shall keep a record book in which all bylaws, special rules of order, standing rules, any amendments, committee assignments and copies of committee reports are entered and shall have the record book available at each meeting. The Secretary shall be responsible for the courtesy correspondence and such other outgoing correspondence as the President may direct. The Secretary’s records will be transferred to the new Secretary, within 45 days of term completion, with appropriate copies added to the NCIGS Archives contained within the NCIGS Library Data Base.

 

  Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/scales.gifSection 5. The Treasurer shall serve as chairman of the Budget Committee. (See Section 1 above and Article VII Section 4.)

 1. The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the Society and shall deposit the same to the checking and savings accounts of the Society.

2. When payments for research are received, the Treasurer shall, in a timely manner, notify the Research Chair. When member dues are received, the Treasurer shall, in a timely manner, notify the Membership and Website Chairs and the Editor of THE GENIE BUG

3.  The Treasurer shall pay all bills falling within the approved operating budget.

 

4. Reimbursement of authorized bills shall be submitted with a completed NCIGS Expense form prior to payment.

5. Unbudgeted major expenditures shall be recommended by the Executive Board and approved by the membership.

6. The Treasurer shall keep up-to-date records of the financial condition of the Society, shall report to the society at regular meetings and shall make the records available upon request.

7. The Treasurer shall be issued a key to the society’s P.O. Box and is authorized to pick up and distribute the mail.

8. The Treasurer shall file a yearly report with the IRS.  

9. The Treasurer shall close the financial records as of December 31 and prepare the annual report.

10. The President, in coordination with the Treasurer, shall appoint an Audit Committee to audit the books and report the results of the audit to the membership at each February meeting. 

11. Upon completion of a satisfactory audit, the Treasurer’s records shall be transferred to the new Treasurer with appropriate copies added to the NCIGS Archives contained within the NCIGS Library Data Base.

 

Section 6. The Research Chair shall serve as chairperson for the Research Committee and shall, with the assistance of committee members, undertake to answer requests for research help. The Research Chair shall maintain a record of Research Requests and the subsequent results.  The Research Chair shall bill, collect and transfer research payments to the Treasurer.  The Research Request records shall be transferred to the in-coming Research Chair within 45 days of term completion, with appropriate copies added to the NCIGS Archives contained within the NCIGS Library Data Base.

 

Section 7. The Publicity Chair shall send announcements of meetings, programs, workshops, and newsworthy events to the media in time for publication or broadcast before each such event. S/he shall promote the Society and its projects. S/he will provide the President with a current copy of press release contacts at the beginning of each year.  The Publicity Chair’s records shall be transferred to the in-coming Publicity Chair within 45 days of term completion with appropriate copies added to the NCIGS Archives contained within the NCIGS Library Data Base.



Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/031505_Divinity_Library_57.jpgSection 8. The Librarian shall serve as Chairman of the Library Committee. The genealogical library shall be a major focus of the Society.  The library collection shall be housed at the Mason City Public Library and shall be available for use in the library by members and library patrons alike. The stamp of the society shall be upon society property.  Whenever possible, all of the society's library collection shall be available for use in the genealogy area.  If items in the collection are stored off-site, retrieval of the requested items will be as timely as possible.  The President, in coordination with the Librarian, shall appoint a Surname sub-committee which shall be responsible for encouraging society members to submit of 4-generational ancestral chart, organize said charts and promote their use.  In the event of the dissolution of the Society, its library property and all other assets shall become the property of the Mason City Public library.  The Librarian and/or Library Committee/Volunteers shall:

 
1. Select, deselect, prepare, process, preserve, record and arrange library materials to facilitate the development and use of the genealogical collection. 

  2. Provide one-on-one and group training on how to do genealogical research.

 
3. Assist researchers in the use of the genealogical collection as well as electronic resources and devices.

 4. Create, organize and maintain the card catalog, data bases and pathfinder aids.

5.The Librarian shall supervise the activities and contributions of volunteers. 

6. The Librarian shall maintain a volunteer work schedule for the library. The Librarian shall be issued a key to the society P.O. Box and is authorized to pick up and distribute mail.  

7. The Librarian shall write a quarterly column for THE GENIE BUG reporting on new acquisitions and progress in library projects. 

8. The Librarian shall submit to the Executive Board a written monthly progress report.

 

 

Section 9. Membership Chair shall serve as chairperson of the membership committee. The major emphasis of the Membership Committee shall be to increase membership and participation in the Society. To that end, the Membership Chair shall submit to the Executive Board a monthly progress report detailing the efforts made by the Membership Committee to promote membership growth.  Approximately one week prior to the monthly meeting, the Membership Chair shall send an electronic reminder of meetings to local members of the society.  The President, in coordination with the Membership Chair shall appoint a sub-committee, known as the Hospitality Committee.  This committee shall be responsible for arranging for program refreshments. The Hospitality Committee shall greet individuals who attend society meetings and maintain an attendance record for both members and guests.  The attendance record will include the month of the meeting and the name and address of the attendees.  Also, at the time of registration, the members and guests will be offered name tags and access to membership forms, copies of  THE GENIE BUG and other promotional materials.  

Section 10. Website Chair
shall serve as chairperson of the society's website project. The Website Chair is responsible for maintaining and updating the NCIGS website.  Only changes to programming and  officers/committee members shall be made to the website without prior approval of the Website Committee.  The Website Chair shall be responsible for maintaining an updated list of usernames and passwords and other pertinent information necessary to the operation of the website.  As this information changes, the Website Chair shall transmit a copy of the updated lists to the Treasurer, to be kept by that officer as a back-up copy.  The Website Chair shall be responsible for communicating with new members on how to access the Members Only portion of the website. The President, in coordination with the Website Chair, shall appoint a sub-committee, known as the Obituary Project Committee.  This sub-committee shall be responsible for the on-line obituary project, including maintenance, updating, and training of volunteers as well as briefing the Executive Board regarding progress and concerns.



ARTICLE VII - EXECUTIVE BOARD & OTHER APPOINTMENTS

Section
1. The Executive Board shall be the nine elected officers enumerated in Article IV. The President shall chair the Executive Board, shall schedule regular meetings, may call special meetings, and must call a meeting upon written request of three board members.

     1. The Executive Board shall recommend an operating budget for the year, prepared by the Budget Committee under the chairmanship of the Treasurer, which shall then be submitted to the membership for approval.

     
2. The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of the
Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/Committees.jpgSociety between business meetings and may make recommendations to the Society.

        3. The Executive Board shall be subject to orders of the Society and none of its actions shall conflict with action taken by the Society. Four shall be a quorum for  regular and called meetings of the Executive Board.  The quorum, including the President, shall be six when expenditures of over $1,000 are to be discussed.

 

         4. The Executive Board shall have authority to fill vacancies which occur during unexpired terms of office.

Section 2. The President shall appoint an Editor for THE GENIE BUG newsletter. The Editor is a non-voting member of the Executive Board and is expected to attend Executive Board and monthly society meetings on a regular basis. The newsletter will be issued in February, May, August, and November. Copies of the newsletter will be distributed by mail or electronically, with the annual membership list included in the May issue.

 

Section 3. The President shall appoint a Publications Committee (or committees) as needed to collect, compile, and publish genealogical materials, either locally or in cooperation with the Iowa Genealogical Society.


Section 4
. The President, in coordination with the Treasurer, shall appoint an Audit Committee to audit the books and report the results of the audit to the membership each February meeting.

Section 5. Nominating Committee (See Article V.)


Section 6.
Other Committees may be appointed as deemed advisable for the growth and success of the Society.



ARTICLE VIII - MEETINGS


Meetings of the Society shall be held on the second Saturday of each month (January through November) except as the Executive Board may make exception for a national holiday or to permit attendance at the State Conference or other genealogical event.
There will be no meeting in December.


Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/star.gifARTICLE X - PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Society may adopt.


 

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENT OF BY LAWS

 

These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Society by a two-thirds vote of those in attendance provided that the amendment has been submitted to the membership and a written copy posted in the genealogical library for perusal by members.

 

Standing Rules

 

 

   1.  The first year of this Society will be from the time of organization until November 1973. All members joining the Society during the first year shall be considered charter members.

Description: http://ncigs.org/new/membersonly/images/bylaw.gif   2.  Regular meetings of the Society shall be held at a location designated by the Executive Board.    A temporary change in place may be designated by the President if necessary.   A permanent location change shall be approved by a vote of the members.

 

 3.  The regular meeting shall begin at 1:30 p.m.
 

   4.  All members of the Society shall keep filed with the Surname Index Chairman a copy of their ancestor charts.
 

   5. Chairmen of committees shall be informed of meetings of the Executive Board and may attend but  shall have no vote, with the exception of the positions named above in Article IV