Bylaws of the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, Inc.

ARTICLE ONE : PURPOSE

The purposes for which the Community is established shall be as detailed in its Articles of Incorporation.

ARTICLE TWO: MEMBERSHIP

Standards for membership in the Community shall be determined by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

ARTICLE THREE: OFFICERS/BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Section 1 - Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees shall conduct the business of the Community between the Annual Meetings or other business meetings. The Board of Trustees shall consist of up to ten members. The Board of Trustees shall elect the officers of HCCO from its members.

Section 2 - Officers

HCCO shall have following officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

All officers serve at the pleasure of the Board and may be removed by a 2/3 vote of the full Board or by majority vote of the membership present at a special meeting called for that purpose. An officer may hold more than one but not more than two additional offices at the same time.

Section 3 - Officer Duties

The following are the basic duties of the officers of HCCO:

PRESIDENT:

Chairs all business and general meetings of the Humanist Community and coordinates the work of other officers and committees. Appoints all committee chairs with approval of the Board of Trustees and is Ex-officio member of all committees. Prepares agenda for all business meetings of the Humanist Community. Liaison with other Humanist and like-minded organizations. Exercises executive authority of the Humanist Community, subject to ratification by the Board or by the membership. Official delegate to AHA Chapter Assembly (may appoint alternate or acting delegates). Official spokesperson for the HCCO Board and HCCO. Receives official notices (such as resignations, etc.) from other officers. Makes regular reports to the Board about HCCO operations, other officers’ work, and the work of the committees. Is "listowner" of all official electronic communications such as e-mail lists as needed by any service provider. Is the administrator of the HCCO website for purposes of domain registration and technical aspects of the operation of the website and is the official contact for any hosting or other website service vendor.

Performs other duties as required under custom or law, or as detailed in the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws or resolutions of the Humanist Community Board of Trustees.

VICE PRESIDENT:

Assumes President’s duties as requested by the President or during the disability of the President. The Vice President shall assist the President as requested.

SECRETARY:

Produces written minutes of all business meetings, providing same to the President in a timely manner to allow for distribution to Board members prior to the next meeting. Maintains official records of all business matters (other than those maintained by the Treasurer). Consults with the President on their work.

TREASURER:

Maintains records of all financial transactions. Produces written reports, providing same to the President in a timely manner to allow for distribution to Board members prior to the following meeting. Writes checks as authorized, obtains authorized signatures and distributes checks to the payee. Cannot be an authorized signature for checks. Consults with the President on their work.

Section 4 - Program Managers

These include necessary person(s) needed to help run the basic operations of HCCO but are appointed by the Board with consultation with the President.

Newsletter Editor - plans, writes, and creates the HCCO Newsletter. Provides a draft to the President for review before printing. May also plan and create all in house printed material as directed by the Board or President.

Webmaster - Responsible for the upkeep and update of the HCCO website as directed by the Board or President. Consults with the President on any issues involving the website.

Dial-A-Humanist Manager - Responsible for coordinating the work of the volunteer Telehumanists including supervising the content so it conforms to current HCCO policy. Collects and reports any statistics of calls received and brief summaries of all messages received. Listens to all messages left and if message is directed to an officer then they are to let the officer know about the message. Consults with the President about any issue involving DAH.

Section 5 - End of Terms

Upon relinquishing a leadership position, the outgoing officeholder shall turn over all records to the Board which will then turn them over to his or her successor. Additionally, the outgoing officeholder shall provide the incoming officeholder or Board with any and all information necessary to enable the newly elected officer to carry out the functions of that position.

ARTICLE FOUR: ELECTIONS

The Board of Trustees shall be elected at the Annual Meeting. The term of office for the Board of Trustees shall begin on the following January 1. Newly elected members are encouraged to begin attending Board of Trustees meetings immediately upon election. Vacancies shall be filled by the Board of Trustees, subject to ratification by the membership at a meeting announced for that purpose in the newsletter.

ARTICLE FIVE: MEETINGS

The Annual Meeting for the election of the Board of Trustees shall be held as determined by the Board of Trustees. Other meetings shall be held at the call of the Board of Trustees, the President, or upon petition of at least one-fourth of the voting membership.

The Board of Trustees shall meet at the call of the President, a majority of members of the Board of Trustees, or upon petition of at least one-fourth of the voting membership.

All voting members shall be given notice of any business meeting. This notice shall include the date, time, location, and proposed agenda.

Providing that notice of two weeks has been given for any meeting, a quorum will consist of those voting members in attendance. This shall not apply to meetings of the Board of Trustees, which shall be empowered to adopt its own rules of procedure covering issues of notice, quorum, etc.

ARTICLE SIX: AMENDMENTS

Proposed amendments to these bylaws may be presented by any member. The proposed amendment shall be presented in writing to the HCCO board not less than 60 days before the monthly meeting at which it is to be considered. A reading of all proposed amendments shall be submitted to the membership not less than 30 days prior to the meeting. Publication in the official newsletter of HCCO will constitute notice to the membership. Notification may also be done via electronic mail or by phone. A two-thirds vote of the eligible voting membership present at the meeting shall be required for adoption of an amendment. All amendments made under this article shall take effect upon the adjournment of the meeting in which the final vote is taken.

ARTICLE SEVEN: PROCEDURES

All questions of procedure not covered above shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order (current edition). The Board of Trustees shall be empowered to adopt its own rules of procedure for its meetings.

The membership may elect to waive rules of procedure or adopt special rules by a vote of at least three-fourths of those in attendance.

ARTICLE EIGHT: STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

The Community shall enact a Statement of Principles which shall be incorporated herein by reference as if written out in full.

ARTICLE NINE: LIMITATIONS

This set of bylaws shall give way in the event that it is in conflict with the Articles of Incorporation of the Community or the non-profit laws of the United States or the State of Ohio, including, but not limited to, the Internal Revenue Code (1954) or succeeding documents. The voiding of any section of these bylaws due to such a conflict shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining sections of the bylaws.

ARTICLE TEN: COUNSELOR/ADVOCATES

The Community may appoint qualified persons as Humanist Counselor/Advocates to represent the Community. The Board of Trustees shall establish the procedures for such appointments.

ARTICLE ELEVEN: COMMITTEES

The Community shall have such committees as deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees or the membership. These shall be established by resolution of the Board of Trustees or of the membership at the Annual Meeting or other business meeting called for that purpose.

Committee chairs shall be appointed by the President with approval of the Board. Chairs and members of committees shall at least be members in good standing of HCCO but not necessarily be members of the Board. The number of members on a committee shall be determined by the Board.

Committee chairs shall consult the President about their activities, and shall give the President regular written reports on their activities.

ARTICLE TWELVE: PROTECTION OF PROPERTY

A. All property, physical or intellectual, purchased or created in an official capacity, for use by HCCO, its officers, and the Board is the exclusive property of HCCO and such property must be returned on demand or at the end of an officer’s term. Property included in this policy includes all equipment, printed material, any donated items, computer files including all databases or other information or document archives in any format, software purchased by or for HCCO, video or audio tapes, master copies used for printing, membership materials, lists (computer or written), advertising materials, or any work product created in the carrying out of official HCCO business.

B. Items not included in this policy is any property listed above that is specifically loaned for use by HCCO and such property was created or purchased without HCCO funds or equipment.

C. Destruction or disposal of property noted in Section A of this amendment can only be done with the expressed approval of the Board of HCCO.

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Revised 02/08/2003 by vote of the membership

Check out who is on the current HCCO Board