OLD RES YACHT CLUB BYLAWS Revised April, 2019

ARTICLE I-NAME AND PURPOSE

The name of this club is the Old Res Yacht Club (“ORYC”), and it is a social club.

ARTICLE II – MEMBERSHIP

Although the club is based in Lexington, Massachusetts, membership is open to non-residents.

There are two categories of membership:  members who pay dues and inactive members who were once members but no longer pay dues.

Members will pay dues of $15 per person per year.  Dues shall be paid in the month that the Annual Meeting (as defined herein) is held.

ARTCLE III – OFFICERS

The club shall have four officers, President(s), Vice President(s), Secretary(ies), and Treasurer(s).

The President(s), Vice President(s), Treasurer(s), and Secretary(ies) will be elected at the Annual Meeting for a period of two years.  The elections will alternate so that only two positions are vacated each year. 

The President(s) will preside over Steering Committee meetings, the Annual Meeting and any special meetings (all as defined herein).  The President(s) will interpret these Bylaws.  The President(s) will send out general email announcements to the membership as well as periodic letters on the website.

The Vice President(s) will take over the duties of the President(s) in the President’s absence. The Vice President(s) will contact new members and explain club offerings and rules.  The Vice President(s) will be responsible for sending out sympathy cards, or in some cases, flowers.  The Vice President(s) will add to the Member News section of the website.

The Treasurer(s) will maintain a roll of the members (active and inactive) in an electronic format including payment of dues and any other pertinent information, keep accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements, present a financial report of the club’s income, disbursements and account balance at the Annual Meeting, collect annual dues, maintain the club’s checking account, send donations in the name of a member who has passed, deposit checks for dues and Socials (as defined herein) into such checking account and disburse funds for the expenses incurred for the Socials and any other approved club expenses.  The Treasurer(s) will be available to consult with the planning committees for the Socials regarding budget questions. After the Annual Meeting, the Treasurer(s) will send a reminder to those members who are delinquent in paying the dues.

The Secretary(ies) will take minutes at the Annual Meeting, any special meetings  and Steering Committee meetings, maintain and update a roll of the members (active and inactive) in an electronic format with current contact information (name, mailing address, telephone number, email address) and send out the updated electronic roll of members current contact information to the membership at least twice per year. If there is no Webmaster, the Secretary(ies) will be responsible for keeping the website updated and will print out screenshots from the website in order to preserve paper records for the year.

The Vice President(s), Treasurer(s), and Secretary(ies) will each chair one of the three Socials.

ARTICLE IV-STEERING COMMITTEE

The Steering Committee will consist of the President(s), the Vice President(s) the Secretary(ies), the Treasurer(s) and the Webmaster.  

The Webmaster shall establish and maintain an internet web site on behalf of, and in the name of the club. Any expenses incurred by the Webmaster in establishing and maintaining such web site shall be a club expense and shall be reimbursed to the Webmaster by the Treasurer.

The Steering Committee will nominate members for the two outgoing officer positions.  These nominations will be presented and voted upon at the Annual Meeting.

The Steering Committee will be responsible for developing a written document which shall be titled “Old Res Yacht Club Operational Practices and Guidelines” which shall set forth in reasonable detail how the club, the officers, the Webmaster and its members operate in practical terms based upon the Bylaws. The Steering Committee will review and update such document as necessary.

When a Steering Committee member is unable to complete his/her/their term of office, a replacement will be appointed by the Committee.

A Steering Committee meeting may be called by any member of the Steering Committee. Steering Committee meetings may be attended in person or telephonically.

No member may be on the Steering Committee for more than two consecutive years.

The Webmaster is a nonvoting and nontenured member of the Steering Committee.

ARTICLE V- NEW MEMBERS

Prospective new members must be sponsored by a current member of the club and can attend one Social as a guest before paying dues.  It is the responsibility of that sponsoring member to inform the Treasurer(s) and Secretary(ies) so that they may be ready to add the new member to the membership list when the dues are received.   The Vice President(s) will introduce the new member(s) via a short biography on the website.

ARTICLE VI-SOCIALS

There will be a minimum of three Socials per year.

It is the responsibility of each member to work on one Social planning committee each year.  Members sign up to be on one of the socials at the Annual Meeting.  If they are not present at the Annual Meeting, they have an opportunity to contact the President(s) and request a certain assignment; otherwise, the President(s) will make that assignment.  Also, the President(s) will balance the number of members on each social planning committee.

Socials are expected to be self-funded.  (see Operational Practices and Guidelines).  In certain cases, the Treasurer(s) may be consulted on availability of additional funds.  The Social chairperson may request advances from the Treasurer(s).

In conjunction with one of the three Socials, there will be an Annual Meeting, the timing of which will be decided by the Steering Committee.

ARTICLE VIII-MEETINGS

The Annual Meeting will be held for the purpose of electing incoming officers, voting on Bylaw amendments, having the Treasurer(s) present the financial report,  paying dues, signing up to work on one of the three Socials, and any other business that comes before the membership.

Elective activities, in which some members may be involved, may post sign up sheets for the coming year.

Annual dues shall be paid in the month that the Annual Meeting is held.

A quorum for the Annual Meeting shall consist of those present.

A special general meeting of the club can be called by the President(s), with the consent of the Steering Committee. A special meeting can be called to have either the membership attend in person or it can be called to have the membership attend and respond electronically.

ARTICLE IX-PROCEDURE FOR BYLAW AMENDMENTS AND VOTING

Bylaw amendments can be suggested by any member.  They will be written, discussed, and voted upon by a majority of the Steering Committee and then presented by the President(s) in writing to the membership either before the Annual Meeting or before a special meeting.  A majority of those present at the Annual Meeting plus electronic votes is required in order to adopt an amendment to the Bylaws and to elect the officers.