Bylaws – Alamo Heights Rotary

BYLAWS OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF ALAMO

HEIGHTS, TEXAS

Approved October 12, 2021

(Merging amendments 8 June 61-12 March 71-13 May 80-12 July 94-28 March 95-8

August 95-9 July 96- 26 November 02-14 September 04- 19 September 06- 1 February

2011 –11 March 2014 –21 February 2017- 10 March 2020 – 19 March 2021 -and 12

October 2021)

Article I Board of Directors

The governing body of this club shall be the Board of Directors (BOD), elected in

accordance with Article II of these Bylaws. (02-11-21)

Article II Election of Directors and Officers

Section 1 – Nomination/Election of the eight voting Directors.

1. At a time at least ninety days prior to the Annual Meeting in December, the President

shall name a chairman of the Election Committee, along with four other club members

to serve on the committee. After the committee members are named, the committee

shall prepare, from a list of eligible members a slate of twelve candidates for election as

voting Directors. Nominees may include otherwise eligible members of the Election

committee. A regular meeting date during the first two weeks of November will be

scheduled as the Director’s Election Date. At least three weeks prior to that date, the

names of the nominees shall be published in the official weekly publication of the Club.

The Election Committee shall conduct the election by mail-in email/USPS ballot as

described in Article II Section 7 these bylaws. (04-14-17-21)

2. Eligible nominees for the voting Directors and Officers must meet the requirements

defined in this Article II. The list of eligible members that the Election Committee and

Board-Elect may use will be prepared by the Executive Secretary and the accuracy of

each list will be reviewed and concurred in or corrected by the Rotarian Secretary. The

Executive Secretary will maintain a permanent file record of the approved eligibility list

for all Director and Officer elections.(21)

3. Vote count. Each of the eight nominees receiving the highest number of votes at the

voting Director’s election will be declared elected. Should the eighth lowest vote count

be a tie involving more than one nominee, the nominee selected will be the nominee

who has been the member of Alamo Heights Rotary Club (AHRC) longest. If still a tie,

the selection will be chosen by the flip of a coin where the President selects which

nominee will be chosen as head and tail on the coin. That same concept will apply if the

election of any individual officer position results in a tie for the highest number of votes.

(21)

Section 2 – Nomination/Election of Officers. The Board of Directors-Elect initially

consisting of the eight newly elected voting Directors, the current President, and the

current President-elect shall nominate one eligible Alamo Heights Rotarian to fill each of

the offices of President-Elect, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary on July 1 of the

following Rotary Year. (14-21)

1.Nominations for the offices of President-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary may be from

the newly elected Board of Directors or from the club membership. Nominations for the

office of Vice President shall be only from the newly elected voting Directors.. Nominees

for all offices shall meet the requirements specified in the following sections of this

Article (80-95-02-11-14-21)

2. Voting for the officers to be elected will occur on the date scheduled as the Annual

meeting normally during the first 3 weeks of December. The election will be conducted

by mail-in email/USPS ballot as described in Article II Section 7 these bylaws. (80-14-

20- 21)

3. Guidance on eligibility and vote count for voting Directors and Officers are contained

in Article II Section 1 parts 2 and 3, above. (21)

Section 3 – Qualifications (14)

1.Only those who have been members of the Alamo Heights Rotary Club for twelve

months prior to nomination shall be eligible for election as a voting Director on the

Board of Directors or as an appointed replacement for a vacant Board or Board-elect

position. (80-14)

2.Only those who have been members of the AHRC for twelve months prior to

nomination shall be eligible for election as the Secretary or Treasurer. (14)

3.Only those who have been members of the AHRC for twelve months prior to

nomination shall be eligible for appointment as the Sgt-at-Arms. (14)

4. Nominations for the office of President-Elect (PE) shall be restricted to members

meeting the following qualifications:

(a) The member shall have completed three full years membership in the Alamo Heights

Rotary Club at the time the member takes office as President. (80-14)

(b) The member must have served at least one year on the Board of Directors at

the time of nomination, or be a member of the Board of Directors at the time of

nomination. In addition to the timed served requirement, for purposes of meeting this

position qualification, members filling any of the following positions may meet this

qualification: all Board positions, including the AHRC Secretary, Treasurer, and

Sergeant-at-Arms, whether voting positions or not voting positions; all members who

have filled or are currently filling AHNLLC manager or Treasurer positions; and

members who have served as a President of a Rotary Club other than Alamo Heights,

or as a Rotary District Governor. (80-17-20-21)

Past-President, are normally eligible to be elected as the President-Elect, it has been

the policy of the Club to not nominate members who have previously been the President

of the AHRC as long as there are other qualified, capable, eligible members who have

not yet been President-Elect. (21)

5. All nominees for the office of President-Elect shall provide a signed statement to the

current Club President prior to the officer election ballot being mailed to the membership

stating their intention, if elected, to attend the District Training Assembly and PETS

during both their year as President-elect nominee (PEN) and as PE unless exceptions

are granted in accordance with the guidelines in Article 11 Section 5(c) of the AHRC

Constitution. (80–14-21)

6. Nominees for the office of Vice President shall have been duly and legally elected

members of the Board of Directors for the forthcoming Rotary year. (71)

Section 4 – Limitations (14)

1.No voting Director shall succeed himself in office after serving two consecutive terms

in office by election by the membership of the club, other than the newly elected

President-Elect.

2. Individuals filling the positions of Secretary or Treasurer may be reelected to those

positions for more than two consecutive years but are limited to two consecutive years

as a voting Director if separately elected as a voting Director.

3. No President shall succeed himself in office after serving one term upon due election

by the membership. (80)

4. An individual filling the position of Sgt-at-Arms may be appointed to that position for

more than two consecutive years but is limited to two consecutive years as a voting

Director if separately elected as a voting Director.

Section 5 – The incoming Sergeant-at-Arms shall be appointed by the Board of

Directors-Elect. The position is an Officer position and a non-voting position unless the

individual filling the position has also been elected or appointed to one of the eight

voting Director positions described in Article II, Section 1, above. (94-95-06-14)

Section 6– Terminology (14-17)

1-On July 1 of each year, the Board of Directors consists of:

(a) the eight voting Directors elected the previous year, one of which is also the Vice-

President;

(b) the officers elected the previous year (President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer);

(d) the immediate past-President; and

(e) the new president who was the President-elect before July 1

2- There are normally 11 voting positions on the Board of Directors: The President; the

immediate past-President; the President-Elect; and the eight elected voting Directors.

The Officer Positions of Secretary, Treasurer, and Sgt-at-Arms are voting positions only

if they are also one of the eight elected voting Directors. (20)

3- The voting or non-voting authority described for those “elected” as used above also

applies to anyone appointed to that position to fill a vacancy.

4– The general term “Director” may be used to describe each of the members of the

Board of Directors. Some of the Directors may also be “Officers”. Some of the Directors

may have “voting” privileges and some may not have “voting” privileges as described

above.

Section 7. The provisions of this section will be used for the election of voting directors

and officers.(21)

1. Voting for the eight voting Directors

a. The nomination ballot to be used for voting will be sent by email individually to

each active club member by the Executive Secretary (ES) or Rotarian Secretary (RS).

The format for the ballot will be arranged to allow the voting member to mark the

ballot on the email prior to returning it. Each email will contain a unique code

number for that ballot. The email will be sent 10-14 days prior to the date of the

election.

b. Members will be instructed to vote for the eight members that they wish to be on

the Board by placing an “X” in the appropriate space next to the

nominated person’s name and returning the completed email ballot to the Election

Committee Chair no later than noon on the scheduled election day. As an

alternative, members may mail by USPS a printed copy of the ballot to arrive at the

AHRC PO Box 6995 address no later than noon on our election day. The ES and

Election Committee Chair will arrange to have any USPS mailed ballots delivered to

the Committee Chair no later than the afternoon of election day. Ballots will not be

counted if:

(1) they are not received on time,

(2) more than 8 nominated persons are voted for,

(3) more than one marked ballot with the same unique code is received, or

(4) there is no unique code on the received ballot

c. The Election Committee Chair will arrange to count all the valid ballots and email

the results to the club president, RS and ES no later than 9 am on the day following

the election. These results reported by email will include the names of all twelve

nominated individuals and the number of votes each received; the total number of

ballots received; and the number of ballots not counted, if any. The ES or RS will

advise the Rotator Editor and the names of the eight selected Board members will

be placed in the Rotator for that week. An email copy of all ballots and or any hard

copy sent by USPS will be provided the ES for file and retention no later than a week

following the election.

2. Voting for the officers.

a. The nomination ballot to be used for voting will be sent by email individually to

each active club member by the ES or RS. The format for the ballot will identify each

of the four positions and individual nominated for each. Voting will be allowed as a

YES or NO for the full slate of four nominees. The email will be sent 7-10 days prior

to the date of the election in December.

b. Members will be instructed how to mark their ballot to vote for the slate

of officers and to return the completed email ballot to the Election Committee Chair

no later than noon on the scheduled election day. As an alternative, members may

mail by USPS a printed copy of the ballot to arrive at the AHRC PO Box 6995

address no later than noon on our election day. The ES and PE will arrange to have

any USPS mailed ballots delivered to the Election Committee Chair no later than the

afternoon of election day. Ballots will not be counted if:

(1) they are not received on time,

(2) more than one marked ballot with the same unique code is received, or

(3) there is no unique code on the received ballot

c. The Election Committee Chair will arrange to count all the valid ballots and email

the results including the number of YES or NO votes received for the slate of

officers; the total number of ballots received; and the number of ballots

not counted, if any, to the club president, RS and ES no later than 9 am on the

day following the election. If the YES votes outnumber the NO votes submitted,

the officer slate will be considered elected. If that does not happen, the President

will direct the Board-Elect to modify the slate of officers and within one week a

new ballot will be mailed to the members by the Chair of the Election Committee.

That process will continue until a slate of officers is elected.

d. Following a successful election of the officers, the ES or RS will advise the Rotator

Editor and the names of the selected officers will be placed in the Rotator for that

week. An email copy of all ballots and or any hard copy sent by USPS will be

provided the ES for file and retention no later than a week following the election.

3. In either the voting Director or officer election, if a member does not have

an email address, the mail-in ballot will be sent by first class USPS. (21)

Section 8. Vacancies and Emergencies (21)

1 – A vacancy in the position of any officer or director shall be filled by action of the

remaining members of the Board. (95-14)

2 – A vacancy in the position of any officer-elect or director-elect shall be filled by action

of the remaining members of the Board of Directors-Elect. (95)

3 – If the position vacated described in either Sections 1 or 2, above,

(a) is the immediate past president, the vacancy will not be filled with a replacement.

(b) is the President or President-elect and filling that vacancy creates another vacancy

in a voting position in that Board, the newly created vacancy will then be filled or

left vacant so that no individual is in a situation that will allow them two votes on

Board actions. (17)

4. Emergency Transition. If an emergency situation occurs where no members of the

current AHRC BOD are present to carry on business and to reconstitute the Board as

directed in Article II and a Board-elect has already been elected, the BE will assume the

responsibilities of the AHRC BOD, fill any vacancies required and continue on through

the remainder of the current Rotary Year as well as serving as the BOD beginning on

July 1 in the year they were elected to be the Board. If the BE had not yet been elected

or no members of the BE are able to assume the responsibility, the remaining members

of the Alamo Heights Night LLC will, if able, assume the responsibility of and will

reconstitute the AHRC BOD. If none of the above is possible, a volunteer group of at

least six current active members, preferably with prior experience as AHRC Board

members, will assemble and take action to reconstitute the AHRC BOD.

5. In the event of an emergency where either the internet email system or USPS system

in the Club’s locality is not functioning when either or both the voting Director and/or

Officer election is scheduled, the system working will be used to conduct the election. If

both systems are not functioning when the election is to be held, the Board will devise

and approve a one-time alternate system to be used for that specific election.

Article III Duties of Officers

Section 1 – President. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at meetings of the

club and Board and to perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of

President.

Section 2 – President-Elect. It shall be the duty of the President-Elect to serve as a

member of the Board of Directors of the club and to perform such other duties as may

be prescribed by the President or the Board.

Section 3 – Vice President. It shall be the duty of the Vice President to preside at

meetings of the club and Board in the absence of the President and to perform such

other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of Vice President.

Section 4 – Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to have custody of all funds,

accounting for same to the club annually and at any other time upon demand by the

Board and to perform such other duties as pertain to the office of Treasurer. Upon

retirement from office, the Treasurer shall turn over to the incoming Treasurer or to the

President all funds, books of accounts or any other club property. (02-11)

Section 5 – Sergeant-at-Arms. The duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be such as are

usually prescribed for such office and such other duties as may be prescribed by the

President or the Board.

Section 6 – Secretary. All of the normal day-to-day Secretary functions will be

performed by the club’s Executive Secretary (see Article IV, below). The Rotarian

Secretary will be familiar with the duties of the Executive Secretary and will be prepared

to assist or fill in for the Executive Secretary when needed. The Rotarian Secretary will

be responsible for maintaining up to date the Executive Secretary procedural guidelines

and list of duties and responsibilities. The Rotarian Secretary will also perform other

tasks as assigned by the President. (14 – 17 – 20)

Article IV Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary is a paid position filled by an individual hired by the Board of

Directors. The individual filling the position of Executive Secretary may be but need not

be a member of the Alamo Heights Rotary Club (AHRC). The Executive Secretary is

responsible for conducting the administrative and clerical operations of the AHRC.

Duties include coordinating meetings, banquets, socials, and special functions of the

AHRC, including any setup and equipment needed; sending out meeting notices or

invitations to appropriate leadership and membership; attending AHRC Board of

Directors meetings; preparing agendas and minutes; remitting dues from the

membership to the Treasurer; recording attendance; insuring new member proposals

are processed in a timely manner; attending conferences as authorized; directing and

performing other duties related to the operation of the AHRC. The Executive Secretary

maintains the archives of the AHRC in accordance with established guidelines for Club

Records Maintenance and keeps all records and reports up to date and available at any

time for the President and Board of Directors of AHRC. The Executive Secretary serves

as the clearinghouse for Rotary Club information; handles all phone calls relative to

Rotary, referring calls to appropriate Officers, Board Members, or Committee Chairs;

completes and/or submits all required Rotary International and District 5840

reports/information by the established deadlines; maintains all membership

rosters/records; provides continuity for the Club; and serves as a resource for new

members, officers and chair persons. The Executive Secretary will be present at, but

will have no vote at, board meetings. The Board of Directors will maintain an up to date

copy of a list of duties and responsibilities of the Executive Secretary. In the event the

Executive Secretary is unable to temporarily perform the appropriate duties, the

President, with Board approval, will appoint one or more club members (normally the

Rotarian Secretary) to accomplish the necessary duties. If the position is vacated, the

Board will be responsible for hiring a replacement. As part of his/her duties, the

Executive Secretary will also perform similar functions for the Alamo Heights Night LLC

Board of Managers. (02-14)

Article V Meetings

Section 1 – The Annual Meeting of this club shall be held during the month of

November or December in each year as determined by the Board of Directors, at which

time the election of officers to serve for the ensuing year shall take place. (02)

Section 2 – The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Tuesday at noon.

Due notice of any changes in or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all

members of the club. All members excepting an honorary member (or member

excused by the Board of Directors of this club, pursuant to Article 10,of the Alamo

Heights Rotary Club Constitution) in good standing in this club, on the day of its regular

meeting, must be counted as present or absent in accordance with the guidelines in

Article 10 of the Club Constitution, and attendance must be evidenced by the member’s

being present for at least sixty (60) percent of the time devoted to the regular meeting,

either at this club or at any other Rotary club. (02-11 -17-20)

Section 3 – One-fourth of the active membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual

and regular meetings of this club. (02)

Section 4 – Regular scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at least

once a month at a time and place at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Special

meetings may be called by the President or by any two Board members, due notice

having been given.

Section 5 – A majority of the voting Board members shall constitute a quorum of the

Board.

Section 6 – Board-elect members are encouraged to attend the current Board meetings

from January through June. The Board-elect will normally meet each month from

January through June following the regular monthly current Board meetings. (17)

Article VI Fees and Dues

Section 1 – The admission fee shall be $75.00 to be paid before the applicant can

qualify as a member. An admission fee is not required for prior Rotarians rejoining

Rotary as a member of the Alamo Heights Rotary club. (17-20)

Section 2 – The membership dues shall be $300.00 per annum ($25/month), payable

semiannually on the first day of July and of January, with the understanding that this

includes the cost of each member’s subscription to THE ROTARIAN magazine. (94-04-

14)

Section 3 – New members shall pay for the remaining months of the six-month period at

the rate of $25.00 per month for any month or part of a month they will be a member.

(94-04-14-17)

Section 4 – Dues may be reduced by the Board by up to 50% for up to one year for new

members age 35 and under. (14)

Article VII Method of Voting

The business of this club shall be transacted orally except the election of

voting directors and Officers, which shall be by ballot as described in Article II Section 7.

Voting, other than as described elsewhere in these Bylaws, will take place at a Board

or Club meeting only when there is a quorum present. No proxy votes are authorized.

All matters requiring a vote will be decided by a simple majority vote, unless

specified otherwise in these Bylaws. In the event of a tie vote, the item in question is

considered rejected. (02-14-20-21)

Article VIII Committees (06-11-14)

Section 1 – Five Avenues of Service. See Article 6, Constitution of the Rotary Club of

Alamo Heights. (14)

Section 2 – Club committees are charged with carrying out the annual and long-range

goals of the club based on the five Avenues of Service. The president-elect, president,

and immediate past president should work together to ensure communication to Club

members, continuity of leadership and succession planning. When feasible, committee

members should be appointed to the same committee for two or three years to ensure

consistency, knowledge of policies and procedures, leadership, and operational

efficiency. The length of time will be dependent upon the complexity of the specific

committee functions and availability of members to successfully accomplish committee

missions. The president-elect is responsible for establishing the Club committee

structure and appointing committee chairs and members to fill vacancies and

conducting planning meetings prior to the start of his/her year as President as well as

during his full term as President. To the extent possible, each committee and subcommittee

shall have a Chair and either a vice-chair or co-chair to assist in continuity of

leadership and succession. The following standing committees are established:

– Membership. This committee develops and implements a comprehensive plan for

recruiting and retention of members and conducts activities to support those efforts.

– Public Image. This committee develops and implements a plan to provide the public

with information about Rotary and to promote the club’s service projects and activities.

– Club Administration. This committee conducts activities associated with the effective

operation of the club.

– Service Projects. This committee develops and implements educational,

humanitarian, and vocational projects that address the needs of our community and

communities in other countries.

– Rotary Foundation. This committee develops and implements plans to support The

Rotary Foundation (TRF) through financial contributions and RI program participation.

This Committee and the Rotary Foundation sub-committee shall be chaired by a

member who is familiar with TRF and has contributed to TRF. (20)

Section 3 – Sub-committees may be appointed as needed to conduct club activities.

These committees will normally be placed under the supervision of one of the chairs of

the standing committees described in Section 2, above. Each of these committees will

include a vice-chair or co-chair as set forth in Article VIII, Section 2, above. The

president-elect will identify no later than April 1 before assuming office as president the

sub-committees to be in effect during his/her year and the standing committee that will

supervise each sub-committee’s activities. The president-elect may establish

committees that will report directly to the president or board. With the assistance of the

Club Administration Chair, the list of committees will be distributed to the membership to

afford them the opportunity to express their interests in serving on specific committees.

(17-20)

Section 4 – The president shall be an ex officio member of all committees and, as such,

shall have the privileges of membership thereon.

Section 5 – Each committee shall transact its business as delegated to it in these

bylaws and such additional business as may be referred to it by the president or the

board. If an action by a Committee is outside the scope of the committee’s obligations

set forth above, such committees shall not take action until a report has been made and

approved by the board. (20)

Section 6 – Each chair shall be responsible for regular meetings and/or activities of the

committee, shall supervise and coordinate the work of the committee, and shall report to

the board on all committee activities. The chairs of the five committees described in

Section 2, above are not voting members on the board of directors unless they have

been elected or appointed to the board as described in Article II.

Article IX Duties of Committees (06-14-17)

Section 1 – The duties of all committees shall be established and reviewed by the

president for his/her year. In declaring those duties, the President should insure that

appropriate information concerning the five Avenues of Service (Article 6, Club

Constitution) are included in each appropriate committees’ responsibilities (e.g., the

Service Projects committee will consider vocational service, community service, youth

service, and international service when developing plans for the year). The Presidentelect

will insure that any changes to the existing club committee structure, descriptions

maintained on the club website, and committee goals for the new year are made

available to committee chairs no later than April 1 before the new Rotary year and the

website content is updated during the first week of July.

Section 2 – Each committee shall have a specific mandate, clearly defined goals,

requested budget, and action plans established by the beginning of each year for

implementation during the course of the year. It shall be the primary responsibility of

the president-elect to provide the necessary leadership to prepare recommendations for

club committees, mandates, goals, and plans for presentation to the board in advance

of the commencement of his/her year in office. This will normally be accomplished

during joint board meetings of the current and incoming boards conducted prior to July 1

of each year. An approved budget for the new Rotary year must be approved by the

new Board no later than the end of July.

Article X Leave of Absence/Excusal/Attendance (02-11-14-17)

The provisions of this Article X modify the provisions of Articles 10 and 13 of the

AHRC Standard Club Constitution as authorized by Article 7 and 13 of that

Constitution. (20)

Section 1 -Upon application to the board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, a

leave of absence may be granted excusing a member from attending the meetings of

the club for a specified length of time not to exceed one year. The Board may approve

extensions for a leave of absence in up to yearly increments. A leave of absence for

more than one year may be granted for medical reasons. A leave of absence does

operate to prevent forfeiture of membership. It does not operate to give the club credit

for a member’s attendance and it does not relieve the individual of the responsibility to

pay dues or other financial obligations. However, if a member on excused absence

attends a regular meeting of this or some other club or makes up absences in any way

as outlined in the Alamo Heights Rotary Club Constitution or other policy or procedure

documents, the AHRC and the individual may be granted appropriate attendance credit.

Section 2 – Rotarians excused from attendance under the 85-year rule are not

considered as being on a leave of absence and their attendance will be counted as

described in Article 10 Section 6 of the Alamo Heights Rotary Club Constitution. At their

request, Alamo Heights Rotary Club active members may request excusal from

minimum attendance requirements from the Board if their age plus years of service as a

Rotarian total 85. Approval for excusal from attendance under the 85-year rule does not

exempt the member from being responsible from paying their dues. (02-11-14-17-20)

Section 3 – Pending approval by the Board at their next regularly scheduled Board

meeting, the President may approve an excuse to miss one or more meetings. (17)

Section 4 – Minimum Attendance. The minimum attendance requirements described in

section 4, Article 13, of the AHRC Constitution will apply as modified by Article X these

Bylaws.(20)

1-The AHRC Board may approve in up to 12 month increments that specific individuals,

recommended by a committee made up of the President, Rotarian Secretary,

Membership Committee Chair and Attendance Committee Chair (and others as

determined by the President), are pre-approved as meeting minimum attendance

without the need to request approval for make ups for individual activities performed

during that time period even if the actual total time would not meet the normal minimum

requirements. These Board approvals will be reviewed prior to the end of each

authorized period to determine if they are to be renewed. This process is not meant to

permit the elimination of minimum attendance for all club members, but to provide a

simple process to maintain active membership status for a limited number of individuals

who provide a valuable service to the club but have difficulty in accomplishing or

documenting normal routine attendance minimums. (17-20)

2- For individuals who ARE NOT attempting to maintain a Perfect Attendance record: In

any 12 month period any combination of: (1) A minimum of 24 meetings (or make ups)

OR (2) 24 hours of approved club project, event, or activity participation OR (3) a

combination of either will meet minimum attendance. For purposes of meeting minimum

attendance rules, these makeups or alternatives do not have to be accomplished within

a 2 week before or after a missed meeting time frame. The hour(s) of project, event, or

activity participation does NOT need to be within any time frame related to any missed

meeting. The AHRC will maintain a detailed description of authorized makeups and

alternative activities on its website.(20)

Section 5 – Members excused from attendance under any excused attendance rule

are still encouraged to attend as many regular meetings and club activities as they are

able to attend. (17)

Article XI Finances

Section 1 – The Treasurer shall deposit all funds of the club in some bank to be named

by the board.

Section 2 – All bills shall be paid only by checks signed by the treasurer or other

individual(s) authorized by the Board of Directors based on vouchers signed by

authorized club members (normally the committee chairpersons of the major standing

committees in Article VIII) for those areas of expenditure they have been given

responsibility and for budget items previously approved by the Board. The Executive

Secretary or President may sign vouchers for miscellaneous expenses not within the

area of responsibility of other club members. An informal review by qualified persons

shall be made once each year of all the club’s financial transactions and the results

reported to Club members by the 4th quarter of the calendar year. (02-06-14-17-20)

Section 3 – The fiscal year of this club shall extend from July 1st to June 30th, and for the

collection of members’ dues shall be divided into two semiannual periods extending

from July 1st to December 31st, and from January 1st to June 30th. The payment of per

capita dues and magazine subscriptions to Rotary International shall be made on July

1st January 1st of each year on the basis of the membership of the club on those dates.

(Note: Magazine subscriptions for members joining during a semiannual period are

payable upon invoice from the Secretariat)

Section 4 – At the beginning of each fiscal year, the board shall prepare and approve no

later than the end of July a budget of estimated income and estimated expenditures for

the year, which, having been agreed to by the board, shall stand as the limit of

expenditures for the respective purposes unless otherwise ordered by action of the

board. (17)

Article XII Method of Electing Members

Section 1. The name of a prospective member, proposed by an active member of the

club, shall be submitted to the board in writing, through the Executive Secretary. A

transferring or former member of another club may be proposed to active membership

by the former club. (14)

Section 2. The board shall ensure that the proposal meets the classification (does not

apply to Honorary members) and membership requirements of the club

constitution. Additionally, the election of honorary membership will be used solely as a

distinction for meritorious service in furtherance of Rotary ideals and will be conferred

only in exceptional circumstances. The Board will specify the term the honorary

membership is valid (date or event). Only individuals meeting the following criteria may

be considered for honorary membership in this club:

1. Outstanding individuals who for professional, business, or other circumstance

cannot accept active membership in this club.

2. Outstanding Alamo Heights Rotarians who for health/financial circumstance cannot

continue active membership.

Section 3. The board shall approve or disapprove the proposal and shall notify the

proposer, through the Executive Secretary, of its decision.

Section 4. If the decision of the board is favorable, the prospective member shall be

informed of the purposes of Rotary and of the privileges and responsibilities of

membership, following which the prospective member shall be requested to sign the

membership application form and to permit his or her name and proposed classification

(only for active members) to be published to the club.

Section 5. If no written objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the

board from any active member of the club within seven days following publication of

information about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission

fee (if active membership), as prescribed by these bylaws, shall be considered to be

elected to membership on the eighth day following publication. If any such objection has

been filed with the board, it shall vote on this matter at its next meeting. If approved

despite the objection, the proposed member, upon payment of the admission fee (if

active membership), shall be considered to be elected to membership. Additionally, if

the individual is a prior Rotarian, the documentation from his/her former club must be

received as described in Article 4 of the Bylaws of Rotary International prior to being

accepted as a member. (11-17-20)

Section 6. Following the election, the Membership Committee Chair shall arrange for

the induction of the new member, arrange for providing new members with important

information to assist in their integration in the club, and assign a member (preferably the

new member’s proposer) to assist in that integration. The Executive Secretary shall

report the new member to RI and District and provide appropriate literature and items

for presentation at the induction, (02-17)

Section 7. All interested parties shall be informed during each step of the new member

election process including the President, President-elect, Membership Committee Chair,

Proposer, Treasurer, appropriate membership sub-committee chairs, and others as

appropriate. (20)

Article XIII Resolutions (14)

No resolution or motion to commit this club on any matter shall be considered by the

club until it has been considered by the board. Such resolutions or motions, if offered at

a club meeting, shall be referred to the board without discussion.

Article XIV Amendments

These Bylaws may be amended by email/USPS ballots mailed to all members or at any

regular meeting, a quorum being present, by a two-thirds vote of all members present,

provided that notice of such proposed amendment shall have been mailed to each

member at least ten days before such meeting. No amendment or addition to these

bylaws can be made which is not in harmony with the club constitution and with the

Constitution and Bylaws of Rotary International.