Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia
Bylaws
ARTICLE I: NAME
Section I: This organization shall be known as the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia.
Section II: If the Guild name is to be used at any public function, the use shall be requested and approved by the Guild Board of Directors (BOD) as a Guild sanctioned event.
Section III: If the name of the Guild is used without permission of the Guild, the participant(s) assumes all liabilities and the Guild shall be absolved of all responsibility.
ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES
Section I: The objectives of this nonprofit organization shall be:
• To provide a forum for the exchange of information, ideas, and views of mutual interest to beekeepers;
• To provide education on the practical aspects of beekeeping and elevate the standards of beekeeping;
• To foster cooperation between members of the Guild;
• To promote education, understanding and cooperation between the Guild and the community with regard to beekeeping;
• To promote the interests of the Guild membership which relate to bees and beekeeping;
• To promote sustainable beekeeping utilizing chemical free methods;
• To promote the mentoring program and provide assistance as needed;
• To promote the use of honey, honey products, and other hive products.
Section II: The organization is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Section I: Anyone interested in honey bees and/or beekeeping may join the Guild upon payment of the regular annual dues.
Section II: Each paid individual or family membership shall be allowed one vote. If family members pay Guild dues individually, each paid family member shall be allowed one (1) vote.
Section III: A family membership is defined as family members residing at the same postal address.
Section IV: Each Guild member agrees to be bound by the Bylaws of the Guild.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS AND APPOINTEES
Section I: The elected officers of the Guild shall consist of a President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer. Except as allowed under Article VI section IV, any candidate must have attended seventy-five (75) percent of the Guild meetings and have participated in a minimum of ten (10) hours of Guild sanctioned public outreach events; or fifty (50) percent of Guild Membership meetings, and have participated in a minimum of twenty (20) hours of Guild sanctioned public outreach events within the prior twelve months as of the completion of the April meeting. Additionally, any candidate for the office of President must have (1) served at least one year in a prior elected officer position, or two years as a board member and (2) attended 75% of board meetings in the preceding twelve months as of the completion of the April meeting. Officers agree to relinquish all guild property and records to the Guild upon leaving office. Additionally, the elected officers and appointees listed in Article V shall make up the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Guild.
Section II: The appointed positions of the Guild shall consist of the Public Relations Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster, Events Coordinator, Property Manager(s), Nuc Coordinator, Mentor Coordinator, Registrar and Scholarship Chairperson. The Appointees are a member of the Board of Directors. The appointees shall be appointed by the president annually at the beginning of each fiscal year. Additionally, the President shall make appointments, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, to fill vacancies or ensure satisfactory completion of tasks.
Section III: Officer elections shall be conducted when a quorum of members is present at the at the regularly scheduled Guild membership meeting in June of each year. Elections shall be the first order of business prior to conducting any other business or educational program.
Section IV: Uncontested officer positions shall be via voice vote; if there is more than one nominee for an officer position, the officers shall be elected via paper ballot by a majority vote. In the case of a tie vote, the Guild shall cast continuous ballots until a winner has been identified by a majority vote. To support the paper ballot system of voting for Guild officers, the BOD shall appoint, at a minimum, three tellers. The tellers shall count the ballots and report the election results to the Guild Recording Secretary, who in turn will announce the election results.
Section V: Newly elected officers shall take office at the July membership meeting and serve in that capacity for the next twelve (12) months.
Section VI: The President and Vice President may serve no more than two successive terms; however, they may be elected again after an interval of at least one year. The Recording Secretary and Treasurer may be re-elected without limitation, subject to their willingness to serve, and doing so to the satisfaction of the Guild. All appointees may be reappointed without limitation subject to their willingness to serve and doing so to the satisfaction of the BOD and Guild membership.
Section VII: The Vice President shall perform all duties of the President in his/her absence or during the remainder of the term if there is a vacancy in the position.
Section VIII: In case of a vacancy in the position of Vice President, Recording Secretary or Treasurer, there shall a special election held for the vacant office and the elected Guild member will serve the remainder of the term.
Section IX: Only dues paying members may serve as an elected officer, an appointee, or as a member of standing or special committees of the Guild.
ARTICLE V: DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND APPOINTEES
Section I: The President has the prime responsibility for the Guild and the direction of its activities. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Guild using regular parliamentary procedure and Robert's Rules of Order. Except as directed in Article VI, the President shall appoint the members of standing and special committees, subject to approval of the Board of Directors, and shall perform such other duties as the Guild may direct. The President shall make appointments, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, to fill vacancies or ensure satisfactory completion of tasks. The President shall be authorized to make deposits and disburse all monies, should the Treasurer be unable to perform these duties. The immediate past President is expected to continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors after his/her term expires.
Section II: The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence or upon the President's request. The Vice President shall be responsible for the Guild educational programs and will serve as the Chair of the Education committee.
Section III: The Recording Secretary shall record the minutes and proceedings of the Guild at each meeting and event and file and preserve all its documents. Additionally, the Recording Secretary shall provide paper ballots for officer elections in the case of a contested office and maintain cast ballots after the completion of the election for a period of two years.
Section IV: The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all monies of the Guild and shall keep a complete and accurate record showing the receipts and disbursements. Both the President and Vice President must approve disbursements, other than routine in nature. Expenditures in excess of $100.00 must be approved by the general membership. The Treasurer shall keep a record of current membership and attend to those duties that naturally pertain to the office. If a guild member chooses to become a member of the Virginia State Beekeepers Association, the Treasurer shall send that member's name and contact information along with appropriate state membership fee to the Treasurer of the Virginia State Beekeepers Association.
Section V: The Registrar shall collaborate with the treasurer in order to properly update and maintain a record of current membership, public hours served and guild meeting attendance.
Section VI: The Public Relations Coordinator shall service public correspondence; maintain media contact; manage the speaker's bureau; and assist in the development and maintenance of Guild publications.
Section VII: The Newsletter Editor shall collect information, by collaborating with the Board of Directors, for inclusion in the Guild newsletter and prepare the Guild's monthly newsletter.
Section VIII: The Webmaster shall develop and maintain the Guild website, maintain electronic documents, send electronic communications to the Guild membership and collaborate with the Board of Directors to determine the content of the Guild website.
Section IX: The Mentor Coordinator shall develop and maintain the Guild mentor guide, maintain a list of mentors, pair mentors with new Guild members and collect feedback from mentors as well as new Guild members.
Section X: The Property Manager(s) shall house all Guild property unless explicitly authorized by the general membership. The Property Manager(s) shall maintain an inventory and location of Guild equipment including guild publications and shall report the status of the Guild equipment at the May membership meeting. Additionally, the Property Manager(s)shall ensure that all Guild equipment is in good working condition and shall, from time to time, report if the Guild property is serviceable. Furthermore, the Property
Manager(s) shall determine if said property is repairable or determined to be unserviceable. If the Guild is to be disbanded, the Property Manager(s) shall make all Guild property available to the president and treasurer for auction to Guild members. Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government for a public purpose.
Section XI: The Nuc Coordinator shall implement the Guild’s Nuc program in accordance with established Nuc Guidelines.
Section XII: The Scholarship Chairperson shall ensure that the scholarship guidelines, associated requirements and application form are current and in agreement with Board of Directors guidance.
Section XIII: The Events Coordinator shall be the liaison to collect information, by collaborating with the Board of Directors, and public contact for the Event, to promote the event.
ARTICLE VI: COMMITTEES
Section I: The Board of Directors shall consist of all elected officers, and appointees listed in Article V, and the immediate past president. The Board of Directors shall act on behalf of the membership with respect to administrative decisions and shall make recommendations to the general Guild membership. The President shall act as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Chairman will not be a voting member of the Board, however, in the event of a tie vote the chairman will have the authority to vote.
Section II: The Education Committee shall be a standing committee consisting of a minimum of three Guild members, including the Vice President who shall be the Chairperson. The committee shall be responsible for establishing educational programs including those offered at monthly membership meetings and workshops, subject to Board approval.
Section III: The Scholarship Committee shall be a standing committee of a minimum of three Guild members, including the Chairperson. The committee shall be responsible for awarding the annual scholarship. The committee shall develop and manage its processes subject to Board of Directors approval.
Section IV: A Nominating Committee consisting of a minimum of three members, one of which shall be a recent member (with two years or less membership in the Guild), shall be appointed by the Board of Directors. The committee shall be presented to the membership at the regular meeting held in April. The committee shall nominate and present a written slate of one candidate per elected office to the members at the May
meeting of that year. Other names may be nominated from the floor at that time. The nominating committee is automatically discharged when its slate of officers is formally presented to the Guild. Furthermore, nomination committee members shall not serve consecutive terms. In the event that no qualified individual who is willing to serve is identified by the Nominating Committee for a given position, the BOD shall at its discretion identify substantially qualified individuals to complete the slate.
Section V: The President at the regular meeting held in June shall appoint an Audit Committee. Its function shall be to collect the books from the Treasurer and the minutes maintained by the Recording Secretary and report its findings to the Guild at the first regular meeting in the next fiscal year. The Audit Committee shall also audit Guild Property and report its findings to the Guild membership. The reports from the Audit committee shall be presented in writing to the President and orally to the members at the first regular meeting in the next fiscal year.
ARTICLE VII: DUES
Section I: The annual Guild dues amount, which shall be recommended by the Board of Directors of the Guild, shall not include Virginia State Beekeepers Association dues. A change in dues amount shall be submitted to Guild members for approval at the April Guild membership meeting. Changes shall become effective on the first of July next.
Section II: The annual dues may be paid in advance to the Treasurer of the Guild but shall be due on July 1 of the year covered. All memberships expire on June 30 of each year. Any member of the Guild who becomes delinquent in payment of dues shall be dropped from the Guild roll of membership after the September meeting and shall cease to be a member of the Guild. A person who has been dropped from the roll or membership for non-payment of dues may be restored to active membership by paying the current year's dues.
Section III: Membership in the Virginia State Beekeepers Association, if desired, shall require an additional payment to cover the cost of VSBA membership.
ARTICLE VIII: MEETINGS
Section I: There shall be membership meetings of the Guild to be held monthly on the second Monday of the month. The Board of Directors may change a meeting place, date or time, during the month, if circumstances require it. If the meeting time and/or place are changed, the Webmaster shall notify Guild members. As much notice as possible will be given to Guild members, typically fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled meeting.
Notification shall be via electronic communications or mail. Meetings may be combined with special events such as workshops, dinners, picnics, etc.
Section II: In addition to the regular meetings, special programs may be presented any time during the year.
Section III: Membership in the Guild is not required for attendance at meetings; however, only dues paying members, as identified in Article III, may vote on any business conducted at the meeting.
Section IV: Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be open to the general membership. Additionally, if a member would like to address the Board of Directors at the Board meeting, they must make a request to be added to the Board Meeting agenda, and that request must be submitted to the President. Board meetings shall be announced at regular meetings, in the newsletter, and/or ten (10) days prior to the board meeting via electronic communications or mail.
Section V: Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
ARTICLE IX: QUORUM
Section I: Twenty five percent (25%) of the dues paying members of the Guild shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business of the Guild.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS
Section I: When a quorum of dues paying members is present, the bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regularly scheduled meeting. To ensure all Guild members are aware of potential bylaw changes, each member will be provided an electronic or written notice of the proposed amendment not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled meeting as evidence by the electronic communications date or post mark date.
ARTICLE XI: AFFILIATIONS
Section I: The Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia may associate itself with any organization if the following conditions are met:
• Conditions of affiliation are reasonable and do not place an undue burden upon the fiscal structure of the Guild and its members;
• The objectives of the proposed Guild for affiliation are in harmony with those of this Guild as listed in Article II of these bylaws;
• Written notice of the proposed affiliation has been sent to the members of this Guild prior to the scheduled meeting at which a vote will be taken;
• A quorum of members is present at the scheduled meeting and two-thirds of the dues paying members attending vote for the proposed affiliation.
Section II: The Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia may disassociate itself from affiliation with any organization by a two-thirds vote at any scheduled Guild membership meeting if a quorum is present and if notice of the proposal has been sent to members of the Guild prior to the meeting.