Ratified
at the Annual General Body Meeting
Sunday,
January 25, 2009
Meeting
Room A, Leon County Public Library, Tallahassee, FL 32301
The current by-laws and amendments
(effective from January 26, 2009) of the India Association of Tallahassee are
presented below. Amendments to the by-laws are shown in green and underlined.
By-Laws
of the India Association of Tallahassee (IATLH)
ARTICLE
I - ASSOCIATION
Section
1.1 - Name
The name of this organization is India Association of Tallahassee, Inc., hereinafter called the "Association".
Section
1.2 - References
All references herein to the Association
shall mean the India Association of Tallahassee and all references to the Board
shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Association and all references to the
Committee shall mean the Executive Committee of the Association. All references
to Community shall mean community of Indian origin residing in the United
States of America (USA). All references to he or
him shall be interpreted to be gender neutral and can be read as he or she or
him or her [ratified on Jan 25, 2009].
Section
1.3 - Membership and Voting Rights
Membership is open to anyone over the age
of 18 years and interested in the furtherance of the Association and residing
in the USA. All members shall hold and enjoy equal rights and privileges.
ARTICLE
II - OBJECTIVES
The primary objectives of the Association
are:
- To establish
communication among the members of the community.
- To promote understanding
and corporate welfare among the members of the community.
- To provide possible help
and assistance for the needy and deserving in the community.
- To develop and encourage
social/cultural activities among the members of the community.
- The India
Association of Tallahassee Inc is organized exclusively for charitable,
religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such
purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as
exempt organizations under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue
Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. No part of
the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be
distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private
persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to
pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and
distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in purpose clause
hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall
be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence
legislation, and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene
in (including the publishing distribution of statements) any political
campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any
other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any
other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization
exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or
(b) by an organization, contributions to which are tax deductible under
section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section
of any future federal tax code [ratified on Jan 25, 2009].
ARTICLE
III - RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS
The Association is a non-profit organization
and will not discriminate anyone based on religion, caste, gender, or
creed and will encourage the members to develop cordial and friendly
relationship with other similar organizations. The members will bear no
ill-will or malice towards any other groups.
ARTICLE
IV - BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The policies of the Association shall be
formulated by a Board of Trustees and shall be responsible for the general
membership of the Association.
Section
4.1 - Number and Terms
The Board shall constitute five members.
Three are duly elected by the general membership of the Association; the fourth
one is the President of the Association as ex-officio member with voting rights
and the fifth one is the immediate past President with voting rights. The
President of the Association shall also serve as Secretary to the Board.
The duly elected trustees shall hold office
for three consecutive years. Each year one trustee shall retire and election
shall be held to fill the vacancy. All trustees are eligible for reelection.
Each trustee is expected to attend at least
one meeting of the Board. Two meetings of the Board shall be held in each
calendar year at such time and place as the Board shall determine to transact
the Association business. Special meetings of the Board may be called at any
time by the majority of the Board by giving notice to each member of the Board
at least ten (10) days before date of meeting. At all meetings of the Board,
majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business. The members present at any meeting of the Board shall be entitled to
vote on any matter requiring the vote of the Board. Voting may also be
conducted by mail ballot.
The Board shall meet with the Executive
Committee at the beginning, middle and end of the year to get informed of the
Association activities.
Any trustee may resign at any time by giving
written notice to the President of the Executive Committee. Such resignation
shall take effect on the date of such notice or any time specified therein.
The Board, by majority of votes, may
declare vacant the office of a trustee for the following reasons:
- If a newly elected
trustee does not accept such office in writing within 10 days after notice
of election.
- If a trustee fails to
attend at least one meeting of the Board in one year.
- Any other appropriate
cause as determined by the Board.
A vacancy on the Board of
Trustees may be filled by the Secretary of the Board through the appointment of
a current member of the Association for a two-year term [ratified
on Jan 25, 2009].
ARTICLE
V - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The day-to-day activities of the
Association shall be conducted by an Executive Committee consisting of the
following:
- President
- Vice-President
- Secretary
- Joint Secretary
- Treasurer
ARTICLE
VI - ELECTION AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Section
6.1 - Election
The following section has been deleted and new section 6.1 incorporated and ratified
during the Annual General Body Meetings held on January 29, 1999 and January
28, 2000.
Amendment 1 (ratified at the AGBM January
29, 1999):
The general
membership of the Association shall elect the President, the Vice-President,
the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary and the Treasurer for a two-year term in
December preceding the year for which elections are due. Their term of office
shall begin January 1 following the election. (The two-year term shall become
effective with the election due in December 1999).
Amendment 2 (ratified at the AGBM January
28, 2000):
Prior to the general body
meeting in December, the Secretary shall inform the general membership, in
writing, of the impending election and call for nominations for the various
offices. A member cannot nominate himself / herself or his/her spouse, but can
nominate any other member of the Association. While sending the nomination
form, the nominating member should obtain the concurrence of the nominee in
writing. Elections shall be held if there is more than one nomination
for any office. The Secretary shall mail the required ballots to all members
of the general body for voting. Actual voting shall be done at the general
body meeting after listening to a brief presentation by the candidates. The
ballots shall be marked and handed over to the Secretary who shall count the
votes in presence of the members and announce the results immediately.
Section
6.2 - Duties
a. President - The President shall preside
over all the meetings of the Executive Committee and shall be ex-officio member
of the Board of Trustees, with voting rights. The President shall have general
supervision over the activities and operation of the Association. The President
shall sign, execute and acknowledge, in the name of the Association, all
transactions authorized by the Executive Committee. He shall have the authority
to constitute and appoint members, thereto, to transact specific
functions/activities.
b. Vice-President - The Vice-President
shall assist the President in carrying out the duties of the President and
shall act in his stead, when necessary.
c. Secretary - The Secretary shall have the
responsibility to maintain the Association records, arrange meetings, programs
and activities, conduct elections for the members of the Board and the
Executive Committee and be in general communication with the Association
members. He shall also keep minutes of the Executive Committee meetings. He may
delegate some of his duties to the Joint Secretary.
d. Joint
Secretary – The Joint Secretary
shall assist the Secretary in the performance of his duties and shall act in
his stead when necessary. He shall also function as a public relations officer
and shall be responsible for publicizing the Association activities.
e. Treasurer - The treasurer shall have the
responsibility of maintaining the funds of the Association. The Treasurer or
the President (or his designee) shall have the authority to sign all financial
transactions not exceeding $500. Any
transaction exceeding $500 shall be
signed jointly by the Treasurer and the President or his designee. The
Treasurer shall submit quarterly financial reports to the Executive Committee.
Section
6.3 - Vacancies
If the President fails to complete a term,
the succession in office shall be the Vice- President. If a Vice-President,
Secretary, Joint Secretary or Treasurer
fail to complete a term, the President shall appoint someone from the general
membership of the Association to complete their term subject to the approval of
the Board of Trustees.
ARTICLE
VII - ADMINISTRATION
The members of the Board and the Executive
Committee shall hold their offices in an honorary capacity and are not entitled
to any emoluments.
The President shall convene the general
body meeting once a year at such place and time as determined by the Committee.
The Secretary shall communicate this to all members of the Association, in
writing, at least two weeks in advance. The President shall convene the
Executive Committee meeting as necessary to transact the Association business.
The decisions of the Executive Committee shall be by majority of the members
who are present and voting.
The membership fee shall be decided by the
Board and the members shall be informed of the same by the Secretary. The fee
is due to be paid by January 1. However, if it is not paid by February 28, the
membership shall expire and it can be renewed for the rest of the year only
after paying the required fees.
A membership roster shall be prepared
annually and a copy shall be given to every member of the Association.
Amendment 3 (ratified at the AGBM January
28, 2000):
The Bylaws of the
Association may be altered, amended, or replaced, in any particular, and the
new Bylaws may be adopted, in each case, by affirmative vote of majority of
members of the Association who are present and voting at a general body meeting
or at a special meeting.
ARTICLE
VIII - DISSOLUTION
In case the Association has to be
dissolved, any asset of the Association, after satisfying all the indebtedness,
shall be donated to one or more of a charitable non-profit
organization(s)/institution(s). Such dissolution of the Association shall be
based upon the decision of majority of the general membership.
Upon dissolution of the
association, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within
the meaning of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the
corresponding section of any future Federal Tax Code, or shall be distributed
to the Federal, State, or Local government for a public purpose. Any such
assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a court of competent
jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the organization is
then located, exclusively for such purposes [ratified on Jan 25, 2009].
