CONSTITUTION OF THE
ROTARY CLUB OF TRIVANDRUM NORTH
Article 1 - Defenitions
As used in this constitution, unless the context otherwise clearly requires, the words in this article shall have the following meanings:
Article 2 - Name
The name of this organization shall be Rotary Club of Trivandrum North (Member of Rotary International)
Article 3 - Locality of the Club
The locality of this club is as follows:
Thiruvananthapuram City and adjacent areas
Article 4 - Object
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis or worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
First: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
Second: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society:
Third: The application of the ideal of serve in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
Fourth: The advancement of International understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
Article 5 - Five Avenues of Service
Rotary's Five Avenues of Services are the philosophical and practical framework for the work of this Rotary club.
Article 6 - Meetings
Section 1 - Regular Meetings
Section 2 - Annual Meeting.
An annual meeting for the election of officers shall be held not later than 31 December as provided in the bylaws.
Article 7 - Membership
Section 1 - General Qualifications. This club shall be composed of adult personal of good character and good business, professional and/or community reputation.
Section 2 - Kinds, This Club have two kinds of membership, namely, Active and Honorary.
Section 3 - Active Membership, A person possessing the qualification set forth in Article 5, Section 2 of the RI constitution may be elected to active membership in this club.
Section 4 - Transferring or Former Rotarians
Section 5 - Dual Membership. No person shall simultaneously hold active membership in this and another club. No person shall simultaneously be a member and an honorary member in this club. No person shall simultaneously hold active membership in this club and membership in a Rotaract club.
Section 6 - Honorary Membership
Section 7 - Holders of Public Office. Persons elected or appointed to public office for a specified time shall not be eligible to active membership in this club under the classification of such office. This restriction shall not apply to persons holding positions or offices in schools, colleges, or other institutions of learning or to persons who are elected or appointed to the judiciary. Members who are elected or appointed to public office for a specified period may continue as such members in their existing classifications during the period in which they hold such office.
Section 8 - Rotary International Employment. This club may retain in its membership any member employed by RI.
Article 8 - Classifications
Section 1 - General Provisions.
Section 2 - Limitations
This club shall not elect a person to active membership from a classification if the club aleady has five or more members from that classification, unless the club has more than 50 members, in which case, the club may elect a person to active membership in a classification so long as it will not result in the classification making up more than 10 percent of the club's active membership. Members who are retired shall not be included in the total number of members in a classification. The classification of a transferring or former member of a club, or a Rotary Foundation alumnus as defined by the board of directors of RI, shall not precule election to active membership even if the election results in club membership temporarily exceeding the above limitations. If a member changes classification, the club may continue the member's membership under the new classification notwithstanding these limitations.
Article 9 - Attendance
Section 1 - General Provisions, Each member should attend this club's regular meetings. A member shall be counted as attending a regular meeting if the member is present for at least 60 percent of the
meeting, or is present and is called away unexpectedly and subsequently produces evidence to the satisfaction of the Board that such action was reasonable, or makes up for an absence in any of the following ways:
Directly and actively engaged in a district-sponsored or RI-or Rotary Foundation-sponsored service project in a remote area where making up attendance is impossible; or
Section 2 - Extended Absence on Outposted Assignments. If a member will be working on an outposted assignment for an extended period of time, attendance at the meetings of a designated club at the site of the assignment will replace attendance at the regular meetings of the member's club, provided there is mutual agreement between the two clubs.
Section 3 - Excused Absences. A member's absence shall be excused if
Section 4 - RI Officers' Absences. A member ‘s absence shall be excused if the member is a current officer of RI.
Section 5 - Attendance Records. In the event that a member whose absences are excused under the provisions of subsection 3(b) or section 4 of this article attends a club meeting, the member and the member's attendance shall be included in the membership and attendance figures used to compute this club's attendance.
Article 10 - Directors and Officers
Section 1 - Governing Body. The governing body of this Club shall be the Board constituted as the Bylaws may provide.
Section 2 - Authority. The Board shall have general control over all officers and committees and, for good cause, may declare any office vacant.
Section 3 - Board Action Final. The decision of the Board in all club matters I final, subject only to an appeal the Club. However, as to a decision to terminate membership, a member, pursuant to Article 12, Section 6, may appeal to the Club, request mediation, or request arbitration. If appealed, a decision of the Board shall be reversed only by a two- thirds vote of the members present, at a regular meeting specified by the Board, provided a quorum is present and notice of the appeal has been given by the Secretary to each member at least five (5) days prior to the meeting. If an appeal is taken, the action taken by the Club shall be final.
Section 4 - Officers. The Club officers shall be a President, the Immediate Past President, a President-elect, and one or more Vice-Presidents, all of whom shall be members of the Board, and a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Sergeant-at-Arms, who may or may not be members of the Board as the bylaws shall provide.
Section 5 - Election of Officers.
Article 11 - Admission Fees and Dues
Every member shall pay an admission fee and annual dues as prescribed in the bylaws, except that any transferring, or former member of another club who is accepted into membership of this club pursuant to Article 7, Section 4(a) shall not be required to pay a second admission fee. A Rotaractor who ceased to be a member of Rotaract within the preceding two years, who is accepted into membership of this club, shall not be required to pay an admission fee.
Article 12 - Duration of Membership
Section 1 - Automatic Termination.
Section 3 - Termination - Non-payment of Dues
Section 4 - Termination - Non-attendance.
Section 5 - Termination - Other Causes.
Section 6 - Right to Appeal, Mediate or Arbitrate Termination.
Section 7 - Board Action Final. Board action shall be final if no appeal to this Club is taken and no arbitration is requested.
Section 8 - Resignation. The resignation of any member from this Club shall be in writing, addressed to the President or Secretary. The resignation shall be accepted by the Board if the member has no indebtedness to this club.
Section 9 - Forfeiture of Property Interest. Any person whose club membership has been terminated in any manner shall forfeit all interest in any funds or other property belonging to this Club if, under local laws, the member may have acquired any right to them upon joining the Club.
Section 10 - Temporary Suspension. Not with standing any provision of this constitution, if in the opinion of the Board
And from any office or position the member holds within the Club. For the purpose of thi clause, the member shall be excused from fulfilling attendance responsibilities; the Board may, by a vote of not less than two-thirds of the Board, temporarily suspend the member as aforesaid for such period and on such further conditions as the Board determines, albeit for a period no longer than is reasonably necessary in all the circumstances.
Article 13 Community, National, and International Affairs
Section 1 - Proper Subjects. The merits of any public question involving the general welfare of the community, the nation, and the world are of concern to the members of this Club and shall be proper subjects of fair and informed study and discussion at a club meeting for the enlightenment of its members in forming their individual opinions. However, this club shall not express an opinion on any pending controversial public measure.
Section 2 - No Endorsements. This Club shall not endorse or recommend any candidate for public office and shall not discuss at any club meeting the merits or demerits of any such candidate.
Section 3 - Non-Political.
Section 4 - Recognizing Rotary's Beginning. The week of the anniversary of Rotary's founding (23 February) shall be known as World Understanding and Peace Week. During this week, this Club will celebrate Rotary service, reflect upon past achievements, and focus on programs of peace, understanding, and goodwill in the community and throughout the world.
Article 14 - Rotary Magazines
Section 1 - Mandatory Subscription. Unless, in accordance with the bylaws of RI, this Club is excused by the Board of Directors of RI from complying with the provisions of this Article, each member shall, for the duration of membership, subscribe to the official magazine or to the magazine approved and prescribed for this Club by the Board of Directors of RI. Two Rotarians residing at the same address have the option to subscribe jointly to the official magazine. The subscription shall be paidin six (6) month periods for the duration of membership in this Club and to the end of any six (6) month period during which membership may terminate.
Section 2 - Subscription Collections. The subscription shall be collected by this Club from each member semiannually in advance and remitted to the Secretariat of RI or to the office of such regional publications as may be determined by the Board of Directors of RI.
Article 15 - Acceptance of Object and Compliance with Constitution and Bylaws
By payment of an admission fee and dues, a member accepts the principles of Rotary as expressed in its object and submits to and agrees to comply with and be bound by the constitution and bylaws of this club, and on these conditions along is entitled to the privileges of this club. Each member shall be subject to the tems of the constitution and by laws regardless of whether such member has received copies of them.
Article 16 - Arbitration and Mediation
Section 1 - Disputes. Should any dispute, other than as to a decision of the Board, arise between any current or former member(s) and this Club, any club officer or the Board, on any account whatsoever which cannot be settled under the procedure already provided for such purpose, the dispute shall, upon a request to the Secretary by any of the disputants, either be resolved by mediation or settled by arbitration.
Section 2 - Date for Mediation or Arbitration. In the event of mediation or arbitration, the board shall set a date for the mediation or arbitration, in consultation with disputants, to be held within twenty-one(21) days after receipt of the request for mediation or arbitration.
Section 3 - Mediation. The procedure for such mediation shall be that recofnized by an appropriate authority with national or state jurisdiction or be that recommended by a competent professional body whose recognized expertise covers alternative dispute resolution or be that recommended by wlay of documented guidelines determined by the board of RI or the trustees of The Rotary Foundation. Only a member of a Rotary club may be appointed as mediator(s). The club may request the district governor or the governor's representative to appoint a mediator who is amember of a Rotary club and who has appropriate mediation skills and experience.
Section 4 - Arbitration. In the event of a request for arbitration, each party shall appoint an arbitrator and the arbitrators shall appoint an umpire. Only a member of a Rotary club may be appointed as umpire or as arbitrator.
Section 5 - Decision of Arbitrators or Umpire. If arbitration is requested, the decision reached by the arbitrators or, if they disagree, by the umpire shall be final and binding on all parties and shall not be subject to appeal.
Article 17 - Bylaws
This club shall adopt Bylaws not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of RI, with the rules of procedure for an administrative territorial unit where established by RI, and with this Constitution, embodying additional provisions for the government of this club. Such Bylaws may be amended from time to time as therein provided.
Article 18 - Interpretation
Throughout this Constitution, the terminology “mail”, “mailing,” and “ballot by mail” will include utilization of electronic mail )e-mail) and internet technology to reduce costs and increase responsiveness.
Article 19 - Amendments
Section 1- Manner of Amending. Except as provided in Section 2 of this Article, this Constitution may be amended only by the Council on Legislation in the same manner as is established in the Bylaws of RI folr the amendment of its Bylaws.
Section 2 - Amending Article 2 and Article 3. Article 2 (Name) and Article 3 (Locality of the Club) of the Constitution shall be amended at any regular meeting of this club, a quorum being present, by the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of all voting members present and voting, provided that notice of such proposed amendment shall have been mailed to each member and to the Governor at least ten (10) days before such meeting, and provided further, that such amendment shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of RI for its approval and shall become effective only when so approved. The Governor may offer an opinion to the Board of Directors of RI regarding the proposed amendment.
BYE LAWS OF
THE ROTARY CLUB OF TRIVANDRUM NORTH
(Charter No, 15955 dt. 23-5-1972)
Article 1 Definitions
Board : The Board of Directors of the Club
Director : A member of the Club's Board of Directors
Member : A member other than honorary member of the Club
R.I. : Rotary International
Year : The twelve-month period that begins on 1st July.
Article 2 Board
The governing body of the Club shall be the Board consisting of 7 (seven members of the Club, namely, the President, Immediate Past President, President Elect (President Nominee if no successor has been elected), Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Sergeant-at-Arms. At the discretion of the Board can be added 5 (five) Directors elected in accordance with
Article 3, Section 1 of these Bylaws.
Article 3 Elections of Directors and Officers
Section 1 - At a regular meeting one month prior to the meeting for election of officers, the presiding officer shall ask for nominations by members of the club for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 5 (five) of Directors. The nominations may be presented by a nominating committee or by members from the floor, by either or by both as a club may determine. If it is determined to have a nominating committee, such committee shall be appointed as the Club may determine. The nominations duly made shall be placed on a ballot in alphabetical order under each office and shall be voted for at the annual meeting. The candidates for President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices. The 5 candidates for Directors receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected as directors. The candidate for President elected in such balloting shall be the President Nominee. The President Nominee shall take the title of President Elect on the first day of July next following the election and serve as an officer during that year. On 1 July immediately following that year, the President Elect shall assume office as President.
Section 2 - The Officers and Directors shall constitute the Board. Within one week after their election, the Board of Directors-elect shall meet and elect some member of the club to act a Sergeant- at-Arms.
Section 3 - A vacancy in the Board of Directors or any office shall be filled by action of the remaining members of the Board.
Section 4 - A vacancy in the position of any Officer-elect or Director-elect shall be filled by action of the remaining members of the Directors-elect.
Article 4 Duties of Officers
Section 1 - President. It shall be 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 - Immediate Past President. It shall be the duty of the Immediate Past President to serve as a Director and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the President or the Board.
Section 3 - President Elect. It shall be the duty of the President Elect to serve as a Director and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the President or the Board.
Section 4 - 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 ertain to the office of Vice President.
Section 5 - Secretary. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep the records of membership, record the attendance at meetings, send out notices of meetings of the Club, Board and Committees, record and preserve the minutes of such meetings, send reports as required to R. I. including the Semi Annual Reports of membership on 1 January and 1 July of each year which shall include per capita dues for all members and prorated dues for active members who have been elected to membership in the Club since the start of the July or January semiannual reporting period, report changes in membership, provide the monthly attendance report which shall be made to the District Governor within 15 days of the last meeting of the month, collect and remit RI official magazine subscription and perform other duties as usually pertain to the office of the Secretary.
Section 6 - Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to have custody of all funds, accounting for it 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.
Section 7 - Sergeant-at-Arms. The duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be such as usually prescribed for such office and such other duties as may be prescribed by the President or the Board.
Article 5 Meetings
Section 1 - Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of this club shall be held on the last regular meeting day in the month of December in each year, at which time the election of Officers and Directors to serve for the ensuing year shall take place.
Section 2 - The regular weekly meetings of this club shall be held on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Due notice of any changes in or cancelling 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 VIII section 2 (b) of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution) in good standing in this Club, on the day of the regular meeting must be counted as present or absent, 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, or as otherwise provided in the Standard Rotary Club Constitution, Article 9, Section 1 and 2.
Section 3 - One-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum at the annual and regular meetings of this Club.
Section 4 - Regular meetings of the Board shall be held on or before the 10th of each month. Special meetings of the Board shall be called by the President whenever deemed necessary or upon the request of two (2) Directors, due notice having been given.
Section 5 - A majority of the Directors shall constitute a quorum of the Board.
Article 6 Fees and Dues
Section 1 - The admission fee shall be INR 5000/- or as fixed by the General Body of the Club from time to time to be paid before the applicant can qualify as a member, except as provided for in the Standard Rotary Club Constitution, Article 11.
Section 2 - The membership dues per annum will be fixed by the General Body of the Club from time to time payable semiannually on the first day of July and of January, with the understanding that portion of each semiannual payment shall be applied to each member's subscription to the RI official magazine.
Article 7 Method of Voting
The business of this club shall be transacted by viva voce vote except the election of Officers and Directors, which shall be by ballot. (Viva Voce vote is defined when club voting is conducted by vocal assent)
Article 8 Avenues of Service
The Avenues of Service are the philosophical and practical frame work for the functioning of the Club. They are Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, International Service and New Generations Service. This club will be active in each of the Avenues of Service.
Article 9 Committees
Club Committees are charged with carrying out the annual and long range strategic goals of the Club based on the five Avenues of Service. The President Elect, President and Immediate Past President should work together to ensure continuity of leadership and succession planning. When feasible committee members should be appointed to the same committee for three years to ensure consistency.
The President Elect is responsible for appointing committee members to fill vacancies, appointing committee chairs from among the Directors elected in accordance with Section 1 of Article 3 of these Bylaws and conducting planning meetings prior to the start of the year in office. It is recommended that the chair must have previous experience as a member of the committee. Standing Committees should be appointed as follows:
Membership
This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment and retention of member.
Public Image
This committee should develop and implement plans to provide the public with information about Rotary and to promote the Club's service projects and activities.
Administration
This committee should conduct activities associated with the effective operation of the Club.
Service Projects
The committee should develop and implement educational, humanitarian and social projects that address the needs of its community and communities in other countries.
The Rotary Foundation
This committee should develop and implement plans to support the Rotary Foundation through both financial contribution and program participation.
Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.
Article 10 Duties of Committees
The duties of all committees shall be established and reviewed by the President for his or her year. In declaring the duties of each, the President shall refer appropriate RI materials and the Avenues of Service when developing plans for the year.
Each committee shall have a specific mandate, clearly defined goals 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 a recommendation for club committee's mandates, goals and plans for presentation to the Board in advance to the commencement of the year as noted above.
Article 11 Leave of Absence
Upon written application to the Board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, leave of absence may be granted excusing a member from attending the meetings of the club for no longer than 12 (twelve) months.
(Note: Such leave of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership; it does not operate to give the club credit for the member's attendance. Unless the member attends a regular meeting of some other club, the excused member must be recorded as absent except that absence authorized under the provisions of article VIII, section 2 (b) of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution is not computed in the attendance record of the club)
Article 12 Finances
Section 1 - Prior to the beginning of the fiscal year the Board shall prepare a budget of expenditure for the year which shall stand as the limit of expenditure for these purposes unless otherwise ordered by action of the Board. The budget shall be broken into two parts: one in respect of club operations and one in respect of charitable/service operations
Section 2 - The Treasurer shall deposit all club funds in a bank named by the Board. The club funds shall be divided into two separate parts: club operations and service projects.
Section 3 - All bills shall be paid only by the Treasurer or other authorized officer only when approved by two other Officers or Directors.
Section 4 - A thorough review of all financial transactions by a qualified person shall be made once each year.
Section 5 - Officers having charge or control of the club funds shall give a bond as required by the Board for the safe custody of the funds of the Club, cost of bond to be borne by the club.
Section 6 - 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 RI shall be made on July 1st and January 1st of each year on the basis of the membership of the club on those dates.
Article 13 Method of Electing Members
Section 1 - The name of the prospecting member proposed by an active member of the Club shall be submitted to the Board in writing through the Club Secretary. A transferring of former member of another club may be proposed to active membership by the former club. The proposal shall be kept confidential except as otherwise provided in this procedure.
Section 2 - The Board shall ensure that the proposal meets all the classification and membership requirement s of the standard Rotary Club Constitution.
Section 3 - The Board shall approve or disapprove the proposal within 30 days of its submission and shall notify the proposer through the Club Secretary, of its decision.
Section 4 - If the decision of the Board is favorable, the prospective ember 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 proposal form and to permit his or her name and proposed classification to be published to the Club.
Section 5 - If no written objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the board from any member (other than honorary) of the club within seven (7) days following publication of information about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), as prescribed in these By laws, shall be considered to be elected to membership.
If any objection has been filed with the Board, it shall vote on this matter at the next meeting,. If approved, despite the objection, the proposed member, upon payment of the admission fee (if not honorary membership), shall be considered to be elected to membership.
Section 6 - Following the election, the President shall arrange for the induction of the new member; the Club Secretary shall issue a membership card and shall report the new member information to RI; and the Rotary Information Committee shall provide appropriate literature for presentation at the induction ceremony. The President will assign a member to assist with the new member's assimilation to the Club as well as assign the new member to a club project or function.
Section 7 - In accordance with the Standard Rotary Club Constitution the Club may elect honorary members proposed by the Board.
Article 14 Resolutions
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 ata club meeting, shall be referred to the Board without discussion.
Article 15 Order of Business
Meeting called to order.
Introduction of visitors.
Correspondence, announcements and Rotary information
Committee reports, if any
Any unfinished business.
Any new business.
Address or other program features.
Adjournment.
Article 16 Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended 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 (10) 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 RI.