Bylaws

March 30, 2021

FMARC By-Laws

ARTICLE I (1) – ELECTIONS
Section 1-
At the general meeting in September, the President shall appoint a nominating committee of an odd number not to exceed five (5) members, to nominate the Officers for the ensuing year. No present Officer shall be included on this committee.
Section 2-
The nominating committee will:
• Submit at least one name for each office.
• Present the slate of Officers at the October meeting.
• Present the slate of Officers at the November meeting. Open the floor for nominations.
• Conduct the election, using a secret ballot when there is more than one candidate for any
office.
• Be dismissed at the conclusion of the election.
Section 3-
A simple majority vote of full members present at the November meeting shall determine the election of officers and directors from the slate of nominations.
Section 4-
Newly elected Officers shall take office at the conclusion of the annual December meeting.
Section 5-
Officers may be censured or removed from office after a review by the Board of Directors and by a three-fourths (¾) vote of full members present at a general meeting.
Section 6-
The President and Vice President shall not serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.
ARTICLE II (2) – MEETINGS
Section 1-
FMARC general or “Regular” meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of each month. The President may call a special meeting when necessary after notification of the membership.
Section 2-
The annual membership meeting of the FMARC shall be held in the month of December of each year at a location, date, and time designated by the Board of Directors. The December meeting will be a social gathering for the purpose of installing new officers and will include brief annual reports from the officers and directors, and presentation of the Ham of the Year award.
Section 3-
Notice of all general, special, and board meetings may be made by oral or written notice to the membership. Such notice may be communicated in person, by telephone, telegraph, e-mail, radio, teletype, mail, or any form of electronic communication or transmission. Posting notice of such meetings in the FMARC Newsletter (“The Modulator”) that is distributed to the membership by email shall satisfy the notification requirements of this section.
Section 4-
The general monthly membership meetings of the FMARC shall be primarily technical or informative and cover FMARC business requiring membership attention and/or approval, with the exception of the December meeting as defined in Section 2 of this article.
Section 5-
A quorum as defined in Article VI, Section 4 of the Constitution, shall be required to hold and conduct a general membership meeting. A quorum, once established, shall not be broken by withdrawal of members from the meeting.
Section 6-
The President shall have the authority to cancel or postpone a regularly scheduled meeting in case of emergency, holiday, or unavailability of meeting place.
Section 7-
Special meetings of the FMARC may be called by the Board of Directors to discuss and transact specific and/or imperative business where a decision from the membership is required.
Section 8-
FMARC Board of Directors meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of each month, or called by the President as necessary, with notice communicated to the membership consistent with the methods defined in Section 3 of this article. All Board meetings are open to all full members, however, only the Board of Directors will have voting privileges.
Section 9-
A quorum at Board meetings shall consist of a simple majority of the Board of Directors. Unless otherwise specifically provided in the By-Laws, the action of the Board of Directors shall be determined by a simple majority vote of the Board members present; a quorum existing.
Section 10-
Weekly on-the-air nets may be held on any club repeater, at the discretion of the FMARC officers.  The President shall appoint a net-control coordinator. The net control coordinator shall appoint
and train net-control operators and provide a required standard format for the net.
ARTICLE III (3) – DUES
Section 1-
Annual dues will be established by the Board of Directors, subject to approval by a simple majority vote of the full membership who are present at the September General Meeting.
Section 2-
Dues shall be due and payable on January 1st of each year. Non-payment of dues by January 1st shall cause members to lose voting privileges and will be suspended from the roster until dues are
paid. If any dues are not received by March 1st in any year, the member shall be removed from the membership roster.
Section 3-
Any new member joining the club shall pay full annual dues except those who join after July 1st at which time, 50% of the dues shall apply. However, persons joining after November 1st shall pay full dues which will apply until December 31st of the following year. “New member” is defined as someone who was not previously a member of FMARC.
Section 4-
The fiscal year for FMARC is the calendar year.
Section 5-
Past, non-current members may be reinstated to active membership by paying the current full year’s dues and upon approval by the Board of Directors. No member who has been disciplined by the Board shall be entitled to reinstatement in this manner. Disciplined members may re-apply for membership and membership will be granted at the discretion of the board.
Section 6-
Any newly-licensed ham who joins the FMARC will receive a complimentary membership for the balance of that calendar year. “Newly licensed” shall be defined as an amateur operator who has
successfully tested in an FCC license exam session conducted by a VE team sponsored by the club, nd who did not hold a valid amateur radio license at the time of such testing.
Section 7-
Dues for any persons under 17 years of age will pay half (1/2) annual dues.
ARTICLE IV (4) – EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1-
The affairs of the association shall be administered by a Board of Directors consisting of seven (7) full members or licensed family members as defined by the Constitution, all of whom shall be
elected by the membership except as hereinafter provided. The Board shall consist of:
• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Immediate Past President
• Two (2) Directors
Section 2-
All members of the Board of Directors must hold a valid Amateur Radio license, be 18 years of age or older, be full or family members in good standing, and have been members for at least one year preceding election or appointment to the Board. There shall be no maximum age limit established.
Section 3-
Members of the Board of Directors shall have a term of office from the annual meeting at which they were installed until the following annual meeting. The two directors elected at large shall serve a term of two years each and shall be so elected that their terms of office do not coincide (i.e., one of the first two elected after adoption of the Bylaws will be elected for a term of one year and the other for a term of two years.) No decrease in the number of directors shall shorten the
term of any incumbent director.
Section 4-
If the full complement of four officers and two directors is not voted into office at the November meeting, and there exists a vacancy or vacancies on the Board of Directors during the normal term of office, the Board may fill the vacancy or vacancies by a simple majority vote of the members of the Board of Directors present at a general or special Board meeting.
Section 5-
An officer or director may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the Board of Directors or to the President. A resignation is effective when notice is delivered unless the notice specifies a
later date. The Board may fill the pending vacancy before the effective date of the resignation if the Board of Directors provides that the successor does not take office until the effective date.
Section 6-
Each member of the Board of Directors shall be entitled to one vote at Board meetings.
Section 7-
If deemed necessary by the President or any other two officers acting in the absence of the President, a Board meeting may be conducted by radio on any amateur radio frequency or other mode of electronic communication or via the U.S. mail.
Section 8-
The Board of Directors shall be responsible for:
• Maintaining ARRL affiliation
• Designating an appropriately licensed member as Club Licensee
• Planning and providing policy recommendations to the membership for approval and/or implementation
• Protecting the assets of FMARC
• Maintaining inventories of all FMARC equipment
• Assuring liability and equipment insurance coverage (if applicable)
• Assuring the installation and operation of FMARC equipment complies with the rules and regulations of the FCC
• Making available to all qualified members short-term use of FMARC test equipment
• Examining and accepting equipment donated to FMARC
• Planning and maintenance of the repeaters
ARTICLE V (5) – DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Section 1-
It shall be the duty of the President to call and preside at the Board meetings, to preside at general and special meetings of the FMARC, and provide the FMARC guidance and leadership including,but not limited to, the establishment of committees for special interests as deemed advisable. These activities may include, but shall not be limited to:
• FMARC Newsletter (The Modulator)
• Emergency Preparedness (ALERT – All Lee Emergency Response Team)
• Technical Programs
• Education
• Public Relations
• Interference
• Field Day
• Repeater Committee
• Ad Hoc Committees
Section 2-
The duty of the Vice President shall include, but not be limited to presiding over meetings in the absence of the President and to assist the President in the performance of his duties.
Section 3-
The duty of the Secretary shall include, but not be limited to, keeping all FMARC records, initiating notices of all FMARC meetings, recording the minutes of all meetings, to reporting to the membership of the FMARC all decisions and actions of the Board of Directors as recorded in the minutes of such meetings, to handling all correspondence pertaining to FMARC matters, and to retaining copies of correspondence. Upon retirement from office, the Secretary shall transfer to the successor, or the President, all minutes, FMARC records, supplies, and other FMARC property in his/her possession.
Section 4-
The duty of the Treasurer shall include, but not be limited to, maintaining accounts of record and report monthly to the Board of Directors any income, expenditures, and bank balances. Upon
retirement from office, the Treasurer shall transfer to the successor or the President all account books, financial records, and other FMARC property in his/her possession.
Section 5-
The duty of the Directors, in conjunction with the officers, shall include, but not be limited to determining FMARC policies and to pass upon all issues concerning the welfare of the FMARC, to implement motions passed by the general membership, and serving as committee chairpersons when requested to do so by the President.
Section 6-
It shall be the duty of the immediate Past President to provide continuity and guidance to the Board of Directors as a member of such board, and to preside at general monthly membership meetings
of the FMARC in the absence of both the President and Vice President.
ARTICLE VI (6) – FINANCES
Section 1-
The Treasurer shall deposit all funds of the FMARC in a manner to be approved by the Board of Directors.
Section 2-
The President, Treasurer, one (1) other board member, and if necessary one (1) designee from the general membership selected by the Board shall be authorized to sign checks in payment of debts of the FMARC. Each check shall require two (2) signatures.
Section 3-
No Officer shall expend more than $100.00 of Club funds without the approval of a simple majority vote of the board.
Section 4-
Any expenditure greater than $100.00 and less than $250.00 must have the approval of any three members of the Board of Directors.
Section 5-
Any expenditure that is $250.00 and less than $500.00 must have a simple majority approval of the Board of Directors.
Section 6-
Any expenditure that is $500.00 or greater must first have a simple majority approval of the Board of Directors and subsequently a simple majority approval of full members present at a duly held general meeting of the FMARC.
ARTICLE VII (7) – ORDER OF BUSINESS
Section 1-
The presiding officer of any FMARC meeting shall set the Order of Business at their discretion.
Section 2- Unless specifically provided for elsewhere in these bylaws, “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall govern all parliamentary procedures for all FMARC meetings.
ARTICLE VIII (8) – DISCIPLINE
The FMARC reserves the right to discipline any member who engages in misconduct that involves illegal activity or behavior that is detrimental to the activities of the club. Disciplinary action may involve termination of membership, censure, probation, or other actions deemed necessary by the Board.  Discipline of an FMARC member will proceed in the in the following manner:
• The Board of Directors shall review the proposed discipline of a member.
• The Secretary shall notify the affected Member(s) by traceable means at least fourteen (14) days in advance of the next Board meeting, at which time a vote of the board will be taken.
Article IX (9) – Conflict of Interest Policy
The Board of Directors shall publish and maintain a Conflict of Interest policy consistent with the Constitution, By-Laws, and other applicable governance.
Article X (10) – Dissolution
The FMARC may be dissolved only upon adoption of a plan of dissolution and distribution of assets by the Board that is consistent with the Certificate of Incorporation and with State law.

Approved 03/30/2021