Club Constitution

ARTICLE I

Name, Slogan and Motto

Section 1. NAME. The name of this organization shall be the Lions Club of New Braunfels Evening, Chartered by, and under the jurisdiction of Lions Clubs International.

Section 2. SLOGAN. Its slogan shall be: Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety.

Section 3. MOTTO. Its motto shall be: We Serve.

 

ARTICLE II

Purposes

The purpose of this club shall be:

(a) To create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world.

(b) To promote the principles of good government and good citizenship.

(c) To take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community.

(d) To unite the members in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.

(e) To provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members.

(f) To encourage service-minded people to serve their community without personal financial reward, and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, professions, public works and private endeavors.

 

ARTICLE III

Membership

Section 1.  ELIGIBILITY FOR CLUB MEMBERSHIP. Subject to the provisions of Article I of the by-laws, any person of legal majority and of good moral character and good reputation in his/her community, may be granted membership in this Lions club. Wherever the male gender or pronoun presently appears in this constitution and by-laws, it shall be interpreted to mean both male and female persons.

Section 2.  MEMBERSHIP BY INVITATION. Membership in this Lions club shall be acquired by invitation only. Nominations shall be made on forms provided by the international office, which shall be signed by a member in good standing who shall act as sponsor, and be submitted to the membership chairman or the club secretary, who, after investigation by the membership committee, shall submit the same to the board of directors. If approved by a majority of said board, the prospect may then be invited to become a member of this club. A properly filled out membership form duly signed, as well as, the entrance fee and dues must be in the hands of the secretary before the member is reported to and officially recognized by the association as a Lion member.

 

ARTICLE IV

Forfeiture of Membership

Any member may be expelled from the club for cause by a two-thirds vote of the entire board of directors.

 

ARTICLE V

Club Branch Program

Section 1.  BRANCH FORMATION. Clubs may form branches to permit the expansion of Lionism into locations where and when circumstances do not support the formation of a charter club. The branch shall meet as a committee of the parent club and shall conduct service activities in its community.

Section 2.  MEMBERSHIP IN PARENT CLUB. The members in the branch shall be granted membership in the parent club and the branch by membership invitation issued by the board of directors of the parent club. Membership shall be in one of the categories listed in Article I of the By-Laws.

Section 3.  FUNDRAISING. Activity or public welfare monies raised by the branch by asking for public support shall be held in a fund established to record such purpose. They shall be distributed in the branch community unless otherwise specified. The board of directors of the parent club may authorize the branch coordinator to countersign checks and vouchers authorized for payment by the parent club’s board of directors.

Section 4.  DISSOLUTION. The branch may be disbanded by a two-thirds vote of the entire board of directors of the parent club.

 

ARTICLE VI

Officers

Section 1.  OFFICERS. The officers of this club shall be a president, immediate past president, the vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, Lion tamer, tail twister, membership director and all other elected directors.

Section 2.  REMOVAL. Any officer of this club may be removed from office for good cause by two-thirds vote of the entire club membership.

 

ARTICLE VII

Board of Directors

Section 1.  MEMBERS. The members of the board of directors shall be the president, immediate past president, the vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, Lion tamer, tail twister, membership director, branch coordinator, if so designated, and all other elected directors.

Section 2.  QUORUM. At the first board of directors meeting each new year (usually the July board meeting) those board members present shall determine the minimum number of board of directors members that must be present at each meeting of the board of directors that year to constitute a quorum. The number constituting the quorum, or more, must be present to conduct the business of the club. Except as otherwise specifically provided, the act of a majority of the directors present at any meeting of the board shall be the act and decision of the entire board of directors.

Section 3.  DUTIES AND POWERS. In addition to those duties and powers, expressed and implied, set forth elsewhere in this constitution and by-laws, the board of directors shall have the following duties and powers:

(a) It shall constitute the executive board of this club and be responsible for the execution, through the club officers, of the policies approved by the club. All new business and policy of this club shall be considered and shaped, first, by the board of directors for presentation to and approval by the club members at a regular or special club meeting.

(b) It shall authorize all expenditures and shall not create any indebtedness beyond the current income of this club, nor authorize disbursal of club funds for purposes inconsistent with the business and policy authorized by the club membership.

(c) It shall have power to modify, override or rescind the action of any officer of this club.

(d) It shall have the books, accounts and operations of this club audited annually or, in its discretion, more frequently and may require an accounting or have an audit made of the handling of any club funds by any officer, committee or member of this club. Any member of this club in good standing may inspect any such audit or accounting upon request at a reasonable time and place.

(e) It shall appoint, on recommendation of the finance committee, a bank or banks for the deposit of the funds of this club.

(f) It shall appoint the surety for the bonding of any officer of this club.

(g) It shall not authorize, nor, permit, the expenditure, for the administrative purpose, the net income of projects or activities of this club by which funds are raised from the public.

(h) It shall submit all matters of new business and policy to the respective standing or special club committee for study and recommendation to the board.

(i) It shall name and appoint, subject to the approval of the club membership, the delegates and alternates of this club to district and international conventions.

(j) It shall maintain at least two (2) separate funds governed by generally accepted accounting practices. The first fund to record administrative monies such as dues, tail twisting fines and other internally raised club funds. A second fund shall be established to record activity or public welfare monies raised by asking support from the public. Disbursement from such funds shall be in strict compliance with Section (g) of this article.

 

ARTICLE VIII

Delegates to International and District Conventions

Section 1.  DELEGATE ENTITLEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION. Inasmuch as Lions Clubs International is governed by Lions clubs in convention assembled, and in order that this club may have its voice in association matters, this club shall have power to pay the necessary expenses of its delegates to such annual convention of the association. This club shall be entitled in any convention of this association, to one (1) delegate and one (1) alternate for every twenty-five (25), or major fraction thereof, of its members as shown by the records of the international office on the first day of the month last preceding that month during which the convention is held, however, that this club shall be entitled to at least one (1) delegate and one (1) alternate. The major fraction referred to in this section shall be thirteen (13) or more members. The selection of each such delegate and alternate shall be evidenced by a certificate signed by the president or secretary or any other duly authorized officer of this club, or, in the event no such club officer is in attendance at the convention, by the district governor-elect of the district of which this club is a member.

Section 2.   DELEGATE ENTITLEMENT DISTRICT / MULTIPLE DISTRICT CONVENTION. Inasmuch as all district matters are presented and adopted at the district conventions, this club shall be entitled to send its full quota of delegates to all such conventions and have power to pay the necessary expenses of such delegates attending such conventions. This club shall be entitled in each annual convention of its district (single, sub- or multiple) to one (1) delegate and one (1) alternate for each ten     (10) members who have been enrolled for at least one year and a day in this club, or major fraction thereof, of this club as shown by the records of the international office on the first day of the month last preceding that month during which the convention is held, provided, however, that this club shall be entitled to at least one (1) delegate and one (1) alternate. Each certified delegate present in person shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote of his / her choice for each office to be filled by, and one (1) vote of his / her choice on each question submitted to, the respective convention. The major fraction referred to in this section shall be five (5) or more members.

 

ARTICLE IX

Dispute Resolution

All disputes arising between any member or members, or a former member or members, and the club, or any officer on the board of the club, relative to membership, or the interpretation, breach of, or application of the club’s constitution and by-laws, or the expulsion of any member from the club, or any other matter whatsoever which cannot be satisfactorily resolved through other means, shall be settled by dispute resolution.

Any party to the dispute may file a written request with the district governor asking that dispute resolution take place. Within fifteen (15) days of receipt, the district governor shall appoint a conciliator to hear the dispute. The conciliator shall be a past district governor who is currently a member in good standing of a club in good standing, other than a club which is a party to the dispute, in the district in which the dispute arises. The selected conciliator shall be acceptable to the parties. Upon being selected, the conciliator shall arrange a meeting of the parties for the purpose of conciliating the dispute. The meeting shall be scheduled within thirty (30) days of the appointment of the conciliator. If such conciliation efforts are unsuccessful, The conciliator shall have the authority to issue his or her decision relative to the dispute, which decision shall be final and binding on all parties.

 

ARTICLE X

Amendments

Section 1.  AMENDING PROCEDURE. This constitution may be amended at any regular or special meeting of this club, at which a quorum is present, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present in person and voting, provided that the board has previously considered the merits of the amendment.

Section 2.  NOTICE. No amendment shall be put to vote, unless written notice, stating the proposed amendment shall have been mailed, e-mail or delivered personally to each member of this club at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the meeting at which the vote on the proposed amendment is to be taken.