BY-LAWS

 

OF

 

GREATER HOUSTON COIN CLUB, INCORPORATED

(as amended October 19, 2006)

 

Article I.          TITLE, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:

                                                                       

                        Section 1.      Title:

                                                                                               

                        This organization shall be known as the GREATER HOUSTON COIN CLUB, INC. (GHCC).

 

Section 2.      Purpose:

 

                        The GHCC is organized exclusively for educational purposes, and in the furtherance of such purposes, to promote the study of numismatics along educational and scientific means.  It shall be a non-profit organization with all proceeds being used to promote the education and the study of numismatics.

 

Section 3.      Objectives:

 

                        Its objectives shall be: to advance numismatic knowledge through educational, historical and scientific means; to assist in bringing together persons interested in numismatics; to promote greater popular interest in numismatics; to aid its members through the study, acquisition and exhibition of numismatic material; and to assist or encourage other worthy numismatic causes.

 

Article II.         MEMBERSHIP

                       

                        Section 1.      Membership:

                                               

Membership shall consist of Regular, Junior, Associate, Life and Honorary Life members.

                       

A.           Regular members shall be those persons 18 years of age and over.

B.           Junior members shall be those persons who are 11 through 17 years of age inclusive.

C.           Associate members shall be those persons younger than 11 years of age.

D.           Life members shall be those regular members who elect to make a lump sum payment of 20 years of membership fees (dues) and whose election is approved by the Executive Council.

E.           Honorary Life members shall be those members nominated by the Executive Council, who deserve such recognition for actions or services in forwarding the purpose and objectives of the GHCC and/or the study of numismatics.  Nominations for Honorary Membership shall be presented to the membership for approval.  An affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the voting members shall prevail.

 

Section 2.      Application and Admission:

 

A.           Application for Regular, Junior and Associate membership, accompanied by the prescribed dues (as listed in the Standing Rules), may be submitted at an announced meeting of the membership, or by mail on forms prescribed and provided by the Executive Council.

B.           Applications will be received and reviewed by the Executive Council, and the names of the applicants will be published in the next issue of the GHCC newsletter, currently titled, the “Double Shift.”  Upon acceptance by the Executive Council, application for membership shall be presented for membership approval at the next regularly schedule membership meeting.  An affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the voting members present shall prevail.

C.           Applicants who are not accepted for GHCC membership shall have their submitted dues refunded.

D.           Regular, Junior and Associate members will be carried on the membership roster on a calendar year basis.  Honorary Life and Life membership shall be perpetual unless rescinded.

E.           Names of individuals proposed for honorary membership status shall be submitted to the club for approval.  Action shall be taken at the next regular membership meeting.  An affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the voting members present shall prevail.

F.            Regular, Life and those Honorary Life members who were regular members when made Honorary members shall have the right to vote and hold office.  All members shall be entitled to all privileges of the GHCC.

 

Article III.        OFFICERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS

 

                        Section 1.      Officers:

                                               

Officers of the GHCC shall be: a President; a Vice-President; a Secretary; and a Treasurer.  Officers shall be elected for a one-year term.

 

                        Section 2.      Governing Body:

                                               

The governing body of the GHCC shall be called the Executive Council.

 

Section 3.           Executive Council:

 

A.        The Executive Council shall consist of the immediate past-President, the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and four elected Directors.  All members of the Executive Council shall serve one-year terms.  When deciding issues that require a vote, each member of the Executive Council shall have one vote.  The President will only cast his/her vote to break a tie.

                                                          

B.        If the immediate past-President is unable or unwilling to serve or has been elected to another position on the Executive Council, a replacement will be nominated and elected following the procedure described in Article IV.  Election of Officers and Directors and will serve the remainder of the Expired term.

 

Section 4.      Eligibility and Qualification:

 

A.           Any Regular, Life or Honorary Life member, who was a regular member when made an honorary member, shall be eligible to hold elected office.

B.           Officers and Directors of the GHCC shall not hold elected office in any other Houston-area numismatic organization and shall commit to provide their full attention to fulfilling the requirements of their GHCC elected office.           

 

Article IV.       ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

                       

                        Section 1.      Election:

 

A.           A nominating committee of three members shall be appointed by the Executive Council at the January regular meeting.  Its duty shall be to select and present a slate of qualified nominees for elective offices to the membership at the February regular membership meeting.  Nominees shall have given their consent and agreement to perform their respective duties if elected.  A brief biography of each nominee shall be published in the March GHCC newsletter, using information provided by the nominees on forms provided by the Executive Council.

B.           Officers and Directors shall be elected at the regular March membership meeting.  After the nominating committee’s recommendations for a particular office is announced, the floor shall be open for further nominations.  Any member in good standing may nominate any other member in good standing, provided that the nominee is qualified to hold that office and has given consent and agreement to perform the duties of the office if elected.  The individual receiving a majority of the votes of members present shall be the elected office.

C.           In event the regular March membership meeting is cancelled, voting shall be by mail prior to the April regular membership meeting.

D.           Officers and Directors shall be installed at an installation banquet to be held on or about the first Friday in April, and shall assume their duties at that time.

E.           In event of a vacancy of an elected office for any reason, the Executive Council shall appoint an officer pro-tem at its earliest convenience.  This pro-tem officer or Director shall carry out the duties of the vacated position until appointment can be ratified at the next regular membership meeting with a 2/3rds vote of those members present prevailing.

 

F.            If, for any reason, an elected member of the Executive Council shall miss three (3) or more consecutive meetings of the Executive Council, that office may be considered vacant and the Executive Council may take steps to fill the vacancy as outlined in (E) above.

 

 

Article V.        DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS:

 

A.           All Officers and Directors shall conduct themselves and their GHCC associated duties in the best interest of the GHCC, its purposes and objectives, avoiding completely any conflict of interest and abiding by the laws of the United States of America and the State of Texas.

B.           The President: shall preside at all meetings of the GHCC; shall appoint and dismiss temporary committees, except the nominating committee; may appoint a Sergeant-At-Arms to maintain order whenever he/she deems it necessary; shall be considered an ex-officio member of all committees, except the nominating committee; shall countersign all checks with the Treasurer; and shall generally supervise matters of interest to the GHCC.  The President shall also preside over the Executive Council, which shall meet regularly at the pleasure of the President.

C.           The Vice-President: shall assist the President upon his/her request; shall act in the absence of the President; shall serve as the Program Chairman for all regular membership meetings; and shall supervise all educational programs, activities and GHCC sponsored educational programs and projects.

D.           The Secretary: shall record the minutes of all meetings; shall retain and preserve GHCC records and documents as required; shall provide the presiding officer with an agenda for the business portion of the regular monthly membership meetings; shall handle general correspondence; shall be responsible for GHCC publicity releases to numismatic and local publications; shall see that all members are notified of meetings through publication of the GHCC newsletter, currently titled the ”Double Shift.”  The Secretary will also read the minutes of the previous membership meeting during the regular monthly membership meetings, if those minutes have not been printed in the newsletter.

 

E.           The Treasurer: shall receive and record all money of the GHCC collected from any source.  He/she shall not pay out any money, except for such necessities as the publication and mailing of the GHCC newsletter, expenses associated with the regular membership meetings and minor administrative expenses, without approval of the Executive Council or by membership vote.  Prior to distributing any funds, the Treasurer shall have in his/her possession a voucher or receipt stating the nature of the expense, the amount disbursed and signed by two (2) members of the Executive Council, who are not signatories on the check.  He/she shall make a Treasurer’s report monthly, and shall present an annual statement of all receipts and expenses at the regular March membership           meeting.  He/she shall present a budget for the Executive Council’s consideration within two (2) months from the time he/she takes office.  He/she is responsible for preparation of all necessary financial reports and statements and shall, if required or requested, have GHCC’s financial records audited on an annual basis by an independent accounting firm.

 

 

F.            The Directors shall act in an advisory role to the elected Officers.

 

 

G.           The Executive Council will make recommendations on matters of interest to the GHCC and will bring them before the membership during regularly scheduled monthly membership meetings.

 

 

H.           All Officers and Executive Council members, at the expiration of their tenure, shall deliver to their successors all books, papers, monies, or other property of the club in their possession.

 

Article VI.       CLUB YEAR

                                               

A.           The GHCC year for membership and fiscal matters shall be the calendar year, unless otherwise provided for by these by-laws.

B.           The GHCC year for holding office and qualification for GHCC awards shall be from April to March.

 

Article VII.      MEETINGS

 

                        Section 1.      Meetings:

                                                                       

a.            Membership Meetings shall be held on the third Thursday of each month.  If there is a conflict with a holiday or other event, the meeting may be cancelled or reschedule to another Thursday, by action of the Executive Council.

 

b.            Executive Council Meetings shall be called at the pleasure of the President.  The time and place of the meetings shall be at the President’s discretion.

 

c.            All meetings shall be conducted by parliamentary procedure as provided in Robert’s Rules of Order, current edition.

 

Section 2.      Quorum:

 

                                                A quorum shall consist of those voting members present at an announced or regular meeting of the membership or Executive Council.

 

                        Section 3.      Order of Business:

 

                                                The order of business at the regular monthly membership meetings shall be:      

A.           Call to order and recognition and welcome of guests

 

B.           Education Program

 

C.           Business meeting

 

 

D.           Adjournment

 

Article VIII.     GENERAL

 

                        Section 1.      Affiliations:

 

                                                The GHCC shall maintain national affiliation through membership in the American Numismatic Association, and state affiliation through membership in the Texas Numismatic Association.  Club representative to these two organizations shall be appointed by the Executive Council.

 

Section 2.      Standing Rules:

 

                                                Standing Rules shall define and describe administrative procedures and programs and projects of the GHCC.

 

Section 3.      Numismatic Projects:

 

                                                GHCC shall sponsor worthwhile numismatic projects that shall be determined by the Executive Council from suggestions submitted by the membership or by any other source.  Such projects shall be listed and defined in the Standing Rules.

 

 

Article IX        AMENDMENTS

                       

                        Section 1.      Amendment Procedure:

                                               

These By-Laws may be amended by an affirmative 2/3rds vote of the voting members present, provided the proposed amendment(s) have been presented at the previous membership meeting, and have been printed in the GHCC newsletter prior to the meeting at which action will be taken.

 

                        Section 2.      Suspension of Standing Rules:

                                                Standing rules may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote.  They may be amended or rescinded by a majority vote, provided that members have been notified of such intent one-month in advance.

 

 

The original 1971 “CONSTITUTION” & “BY-LAWS” of rewritten 1980, amended 1987, 1992, and 1998.  The CONSTITUTION was replaced by current BY-LAWS & amended 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.  Original BY-LAWS replaced by STANDING RULES and amended in 2004.