Northwest Oklahoma Woodturners Association

 

ByLaws

 

ARTICLE I

ORGANIZATION, LOCATION, AND PURPOSE

 

Northwest Oklahoma Woodturners Association (Hereinafter referred to as N.O.W.A.)  is organized as a forum for individuals interested in woodturning and was formed on June 16, 2014.  The membership is drawn from, but not limited to; North Central/ North West Oklahoma and Southern Kansas.

The Chapter organizer is:    Dewayne Colwell
                                             President
                                             #7 Wilderness Rd, Enid OK 73703
                                             (405) 464-9798
                                             colwell@peoplepc.com

The primary purposes of N.O.W.A. are consistent with the fundamental purposes of AAW, “to provide Information, Education, and Organization to those interested in turning wood.”

ARTICLE II

OFFICE

 

The principle office of this organization will be located with the official address of the current President of the Board of Directors. All correspondence should be addressed through the Secretary at the address shown in the Roster or the Newsletter.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP AND FEES

 

General Members – Members in good standing of both N.O.W.A. and AAW. Only General Members may hold office.  General Members may also vote.

Associate Members – Members in good standing with N.O.W.A. but not members of AAW.  Associate Members may also vote.

Family Members - All members residing at the same address of a General or Associate Member that is in good standing of N.O.W.A..   However, only the dues paying members may vote.

Student Members - Students under the age of 18 or adults enrolled in any continuing education.  Student Members under 18 must be accompanied to meetings and activities by a parent/guardian or give written consent via a N.O.W.A. consent form and the form must be on file. The student membership fee will be determined by the Board of Directors at a level to recover the costs associated with mailings and activity promotions. Student Members will be non-voting members.

Membership Fees - The fees for membership in N.O.W.A. will be periodically reviewed and determined by the Board of Directors. The fee structure will be set to encourage membership in the AAW and will be reported to the membership by the Board of Directors by one of the following no later than 3 months prior to July each year; mail, newsletter, email, or website.  Fees will be payable at the beginning of the fiscal year.  Fees for new members are payable upon joining and are pro-rated.

Fees for membership in AAW are separate from those for N.O.W.A. and are to be paid directly to AAW by the member.

ARTICLE IV

MEETINGS

 

N.O.W.A. will meet every 3rd Monday of the month or as determined by the membership. The meeting locations are to be determined by the Board of Directors. Notice of meeting date, location, and content will be announced in a newsletter, email, or website. 

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS

 

Officers and Terms – Elected officers shall be the President Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.  Non-elected offers are the President and Immediate Past President.  These officers will comprise the Board of Directors and serve a term of one year. 

The President Elect, upon completion of their one year term moves into the President position for one year.  When the President completes their one year term they will move into the Past President position.

Officers of N.O.W.A. are required to be General Members as described in Article III.

Elections – Elections will be held in May of each year and newly elected officers will take office at the July meeting.

Officers will be elected by a majority vote of those General Members casting ballots at the scheduled meeting.  Members must be present to vote.

Non-elected positions - The President is empowered to create any temporary position deemed necessary. The President, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, may appoint members to temporary positions for a term to be determined by the President to serve solely at the pleasure of the President. The President is empowered to remove, replace, and/or terminate temporary positions without notice to or discussion by the membership or the Board of Directors.

Removal - The membership may remove any elected Officer when it is deemed that the best interests of N.O.W.A. would be served by such removal. Removal will be accomplished by a majority affirmative vote of General and Associate Members attending a meeting. The vote shall be announced at a regularly scheduled meeting and through a mailing from the Board of Directors. Voting will be made either by secret ballot at a regularly scheduled meeting or through mailed ballots.

Vacancies - The President with the approval of the Board of Directors may appoint a qualified General Member to a vacant office or may call for an election. An election will be decided by a majority vote of General Members casting ballots at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Duties – General duties of the officers are listed below.  Detailed duties can be located in the Process and Procedures Manual to allow flexibility in updating their duties without the need to amend these ByLaws whenever a change in duties is required.

President - The President shall be the principle executive officer. The duties of President include but are not limited to the following:

1.          Supervision and control of the business and affairs of N.O.W.A.

2.          Call or cause to be scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors and general membership meetings.

3.          Preside at all meetings except committee meetings presided over by the respective chairpersons.

4.          Appoint committees with the approval of the Board of Directors.

5.          Is ex-officio a member of all committees but may appoint another Director as a stand-in.

President Elect - In the absence of the President or in the event of the President’s death, inability to serve, or refusal to act, the President Elect shall perform the duties of the President. When so acting, the President Elect shall have all the responsibilities, duties, and powers of the President and shall be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. The President Elect shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

The President Elect shall have responsibility for the tools, machines, and real property owned by N.O.W.A., including but not limited to receipt, disposition, storage, maintenance, and those other matters necessary to keep the property in proper condition. The President Elect shall also keep the Treasurer informed as to what has been disposed of and currently owned and its condition for valuation purposes.

Secretary - The Secretary shall keep minutes of Board meetings and of those portions of regular meetings, during which official business is conducted and shall distribute same to all Board members. The Secretary shall see that notices are duly given to members as required by the bylaws and shall maintain the official records, including but not limited to a current copy of the bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, and tax exemption determination letter.

The Secretary shall maintain the official membership roster and phone list that includes but is not limited to all members in good standing of all membership categories. In general, the Secretary will perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Treasurer - The Treasurer shall collect all membership fees and other monies. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining current and accurate records of all monies and assets, including tools, machines, real property, and investments.  The Treasurer will maintain a current list of members in good standing in all membership categories and shall inform the Secretary and Newsletter Editor of new or dropped members for the purpose of updating the membership roster and the mailing list.  In general, the Treasurer will perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

The Treasurer shall file an annual information return to the Internal Revenue Service whenever the gross receipts of N.O.W.A. equal or exceed $25,000 using Form 990 or 990 EZ and shall retain a copy of this Form and its supporting ledgers available for public inspection for three years after the latter of the due date of the return or the date the return is filed. At the conclusion of said 3-year period, said supporting ledgers shall be destroyed but copies of the filings shall be retained for internal use and/or inspection by the IRS for seven years. Supporting ledgers shall include all entries necessary to compile the information required by Form 990 or 990 EZ, a copy of which shall be distributed to the Secretary.

Past President - The Past President shall serve in an advisory capacity to the President and other officers. The Past President may perform such other duties as may be requested by the President.

 

ARTICLE V

NOMINATIONS OF OFFICERS

 

Before holding elections, the President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, General Members to a Nominating Committee that shall select a slate of candidates for each vacancy to be filled (except Past President) and present the slate of candidates to the members. The Nominating Committee will ensure, to the extent possible, the qualifications of each candidate and the willingness of the candidate to serve if elected. Members in good standing may propose members for consideration by the Nominating Committee.
 

ARTICLE VI

FINANCE

 

Fiscal Year – The fiscal year for N.O.W.A. is July 1st through June 30th.

Liability – All demonstrators at a N.O.W.A. sanctioned event must be insured.  N.O.W.A. members will be covered by insurance purchased by N.O.W.A..  Demonstrators that are not members of N.O.W.A. must provide proof of liability insurance. 

Indebtedness – All functions of N.O.W.A. are on a cash basis.  N.O.W.A. may not incur any debt through the actions of its officers or membership.  AAW’s national office MUST be notified in writing prior to a Local Chapter incurring any indebtedness for AAW. 

Books and Records - The books and records of N.O.W.A. shall be made available for public inspection with the consent of the majority of the Board of Directors.

American Association of Woodturners Disclaimer - The corporation, the American Association of Woodturners, Inc., specifically disassociates itself from any debts, obligations, or encumbrances of the Local Chapter. The Corporate Board of Directors of AAW is not responsible for the debts nor shares in the profits of the Local Chapters. The Corporate Organization does not shoulder any legal liability for accidents that occur during events of any kind sponsored or not sponsored by a Local Chapter. N.O.W.A. specifically disassociates itself from any debts, obligations, or encumbrances of the American Association of Woodturners. The Board of Directors N.O.W.A. is not responsible for the debts nor shares in the profits of the American Association of Woodturners.  N.O.W.A. does not shoulder any legal liability for accidents that occur during events of any kind sponsored or not sponsored by the national organization.

ARTICLE VII

INDEMNIFICATION

 

N.O.W.A. Board of Directors may indemnify any officer or member who is a party or is threatened to be a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, other than an action by or in the right of N.O.W.A. by reason of the fact that the individual is or was an, officer, employee, member, or agent of N.O.W.A. or is or was serving at the request of N.O.W.A. against expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the individual in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding if the individual acted in good faith and in a manner the individual reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of N.O.W.A. and with respect to any criminal proceedings, if the individual had no reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful. 

ARTICLE VIII

QUORUM AND ORDER OF BUSINESS

 

A Quorum shall consist of those General Members present at a scheduled general meeting or a majority of the Directors present at a scheduled Board Meeting. 

Meetings shall be conducted following the usual rules of parliamentary procedure, the use of which is to facilitate proceedings. The principles are the majority rules, the minority has the right to be heard, and courtesy shall be extended to all. In the event of a dispute, Roberts Rules of Order, Modern Edition, shall be consulted.

ARTICLE IX

AMENDMENTS

 

These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed, and new Bylaws may be adopted by a vote of the simple majority of the qualified voting members of N.O.W.A. casting ballots at a regularly scheduled meeting of the members. Proposed changes to these Bylaws shall be announced via an advanced notification by mail, email, or newsletter to the membership at least one month in advance of the meeting at which the vote will be taken. Copies of all modifications to these Bylaws must be filed with the Administrative Office of AAW.

 

These Bylaws have been drawn up, agreed upon, and adopted by Northwest Oklahoma Woodturners Association in Enid, Ok on July 21, 2014.