FAIRFIELD WOMEN’S CLUB

BY-LAWS

Article I:  Name

  1. The name of the club shall be Fairfield Women’s Club.

Article II:  Objective

2.1 The purpose of this club is to promote new social interests, provide service to the community and pursue intellectual and civic improvement.

Article III:  Membership

3.1 Any woman who resides in Fairfield is eligible for membership.

3.2 No Fairfield resident shall be allowed to attend more than two (2) meetings as a guest within a one (1) year period without then joining the membership of the club and paying the designated dues.

3.3 A member is required to pay dues. She shall share duties, as needed, for various club activities.  She shall be eligible to serve as an officer or chairperson.  Any member planning to move from Fairfield shall notify the Second Vice President.

3.4 Non-resident members shall be sponsored by a Fairfield Women’s Club member in good standing.  The dues will be the same as for general members.  Non-resident members shall have the same rights as a Fairfield Women’s Club resident member except will not be able to hold office.  

Article IV:  Dues

4.1 The annual dues shall be payable at the June meeting.  Full dues are payable from June through May. 

4.2 Amount of dues shall be reviewed by the membership and voted upon at the April meeting.  A majority vote of paid members in attendance is necessary for a change.  

Article V:  Executive Committee

5.1 There shall be an Executive Committee composed of elected officers, who, upon installation, shall also be known as the Board of Directors of the Fairfield Women’s Club. The quorum shall be four (4).

5.2 A vacancy in any office, excluding that of President, shall be appointed for the unexpired term by the Executive Committee.  It shall have the authority to declare a vacancy in any office, or committee, excluding that of President, for failure to perform the respective duties.

5.3 The Executive Committee shall meet once a month prior to the general meeting.  Special meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the President.

5.4 The Executive Committee shall formulate plans and policies and shall take care of business occurring between general meetings and report any such business at the next general meeting.  The Executive Committee shall also make recommendations for the benefit of the club.

5.5 The Executive Committee shall submit a budget for approval at the August Board meeting.  The approved budget shall be distributed to members attending the September General meeting.

Article VI:  Committees

6.1 The President shall have general supervision over the following committees:  By-Laws, Caring and all Fundraising and Activity Committees.  The First Vice-President shall have general supervision over the Hospitality Committee.

6.2 New committee chairpersons will be solicited as volunteers at each June and July meeting.  The term will be August through July.  All committee chairpersons are volunteers and shall be approved by the President and the Executive Committee.  Committee chairpersons are not considered board members.

6.3 Committee chairpersons, needing to make expenditures that are five percent or more over the amount budgeted, must obtain prior approval of the Executive Committee.

6.4 Duties of the Committee Chairperson:

  1. By-laws:  Shall review and make recommendations concerning the By-laws of the club to be presented at the March meeting and voted upon at the April meeting. 
  1. Hospitality:  Shall secure hostesses for all meetings of the club and send reminders 14 days in advance.  The chairperson will also be responsible for arriving thirty (30) minutes early and staying as long as necessary for the set up and clean-up.
  • Each hostess unable to serve at her scheduled time shall notify the Chairperson.
  1. Caring:  Shall be responsible for sending cards and performing other acts of caring toward club members, when informed of a need for such action by other club members.  
  2. Fundraiser and Activity:  Chairperson will have leadership responsibility over the committee.  This includes recruiting members to assist in functional areas of each event.  Functional areas include selecting the date and time of activity; reserving the site for the activity; concessions; soliciting participants, sponsors, and donors; staffing on the day of the event and writing thank you notes to sponsors and donors.  

6.5 All incoming committee chairpersons shall convene a committee and formulate tentative plans for the forthcoming year.  All committee chairpersons must meet with the Executive Committee by August 1st, for the approval of tentative projects and plans before presentation to the membership at the August meeting.  All committee chairpersons shall review and consider the committee reports from the previous year.

6.6 Each chairperson may request to attend any Executive Committee meeting.  The President may also request any chairperson to attend an Executive Committee meeting.  In each instance the President will determine the time chairpersons need to arrive.

6.7 Temporary committees shall be appointed as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee and shall report to an Executive Committee member.

6.8 Chairpersons of all committees (Standing and Temporary) shall keep a notebook of committee information to hand over to the next chairperson.  Chairpersons of all committees (Standing and Temporary) shall submit to the President a written report at the June meeting following their tenure in office.  The report is to include details of work done, budget report, evaluations, and suggestions.  The report is to be passed on to the next chairperson.  All reports can be made available for review by the club membership.  

Article VII:  Elected Officers and their Duties

7.1 Elected officers shall be:  President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.  The term of office shall be for one year.

7.2 The President shall:

  1. Preside at all meetings of the Club and Executive Committee.
  2. Have general supervision of the club.  
  3. Prepare agendas for general and board meetings.  
  4. Arrange for the marquee announcements.
  5. Reserve the meeting place. 
  6. Appoint all standing committee chairpersons and any temporary committees, with the approval of the Executive Committee, as necessary.
  7. Be ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nomination/Election Committee.
  8. Receive all committee records and pass them on to the incoming president.
  9. Attend the Fairfield homeowner’s association (HOA) meetings and give reports as needed.  
  10. Serve in an advisory position for one year following tenure in office.  As advisor, she can request to attend any board meeting, or the President may invite her to attend any board meeting.  She is not a voting member of the Board.

7.3 The First Vice President shall:

  1. Serve as an assistant to the President and in her absence shall perform the duties of that office.
  2. Be responsible for monthly programs and special activities.  Upon approval by the Executive Committee shall have the option to chair or appoint a co-chairman for special programs and activities.
  3. Monthly programs include activities which are part of a regularly scheduled meeting and can include guest speakers, demonstrations, and group activities.
  4.   Special programs and activities will consist of special interest groups, field trips and other activities.
  5. Have monthly program schedule outlined for approval of the Executive Committee prior to the July Board Meeting.
  6. Reserve the club meeting place for special programs and activities.  
  7. Be responsible for room arrangement for the speaker or activity.
  8. Write articles for publications which shall include future monthly meetings and other club activities.  

7.4 The Second Vice President shall:

  1. Serve as Membership Chairperson by promoting membership.
  2. Be responsible for greeting guests, signing in members and guests, and recognizing new members at each meeting.
  3. Contact eligible guests who have attended two (2) meetings to join.
  4. Compile and maintain an accurate list of paid members.
  5. Record attendance at general meeting and notify Secretary of members and guests in attendance.
  6. Purchase door prizes for monthly meeting.

7.5 The Third Vice President shall:

  1. Send invitations/evites to club membership and guests for general meetings, special meetings, and club activities.
  2. Update and post events on the Fairfield Women’s Club website and ensure all information is true and correct. 
  3. Update events on the Fairfield Women’s Club Facebook page. 

  7.6 The Secretary shall:

  1. Keep the minutes of each meeting of the Executive Committee as well as the minutes of the general meeting. 
  2. Communicate the previous general meeting minutes to the membership or attach the minutes to the meeting agenda.  
  3. Keep on file in the book of minutes the current copy of the By-laws and keep for three years all correspondence papers of the club.  
  4. Keep an accurate list of officers and committee members.
  5. Co-sign any contracts, if required, with the President.
  6. Conduct all correspondence as directed by the President.  
  7. Monitor club email correspondence, answer emails as necessary and/or direct emails to the proper committee chairperson.  

 7.7 The Treasurer shall:

  1. Formulate, with the President, a tentative budget for review and approval by the committee at the July Executive Committee Meeting.
  2. Collect all dues, receive all club money, and make authorized disbursements as per the budget.
  3. Keep an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements.
  4. Render a written balanced report at each Executive Committee meeting and regular meeting.
  5. Have books in order by June meeting following term of office.  Books will be audited by a committee consisting of three (3) members appointed by the President.  The audit shall take place prior to the August meeting.  
  6. Compile and distribute an end-of-the-year report to be presented at the June meeting following term of office.  
  7. Add and remove board members from the bank account per Chase Bank regulations.

Article VIII:  Non-elected Officers and their Duties

8.1 The non-elected officer shall be the Parliamentarian.  The Parliamentarian shall serve in an advisory position.  Term of office shall be one (1) year.

8.2 The Parliamentarian shall be prepared to state and interpret the guidelines of the By-laws and Robert’s Rules when called upon by the President.

Article IX:  Meetings

9.1 Special meetings may be called by the President, and only such business for which the meeting was called shall be transacted at such meeting.  The entire membership must be contacted prior to said meeting.  

9.2 Majority of the paid membership present shall constitute a quorum.  If a member has moved from Fairfield after paying dues, she shall not be considered as a member in determining the quorum.

9.3 The March meeting shall be the Nomination meeting.  The April meeting shall be the Election meeting and include the review of dues and by-laws.  The May meeting shall include the installation of officers.

9.4 Regular meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held preceding each regular meeting of the Club, the hour and place to be designated by the President.

9.5 The fiscal year shall be from June 1 to May 31, inclusive.

Article X:  Nominations and Elections

10.1 All officers shall serve for a term of one (1) year or until their successors are elected and installed.  No member shall hold more than one (1) office at any one time; no officer shall be eligible for the same office for more than three (3) consecutive terms.

10.2 The President shall appoint one (1) general club member to serve as chairperson of the Nomination/Election Committee.  One (1) member shall be elected from the Executive Committee.   Three (3) members shall be elected from the body at the February meeting.  Anyone on the Nomination/Election Committee may be nominated for office, but after being nominated, the said member shall resign from the Committee.  The chairperson of the Nomination/Election Committee shall appoint a replacement.

10.3 It is the purpose of the Nomination/Election Committee to present a slate of qualified candidate(s) for each office at the March General Meeting.  The Committee is not required to nominate more than one (1) candidate for a given office but may do so.  Nominations from the floor are in order for each office at the March meeting, providing consent by the nominee is given.  No person may run for more than one office.  If nominated for more than one office, the nominee must decline all but one nomination.

10.4 The Nomination/Election Committee is responsible for reporting the results of the election after the ballots have been counted (see Section 10.5).

10.5 Election

  1. Election shall be by ballot at the April General Meeting.  Members unable to attend the April meeting may vote absentee (see Section 10.6).
  2. Members shall obtain their ballots when they sign in and their names will be checked off the list of eligible voters.
  3. The President may vote by ballot at the time other members vote.
  4. Voted ballots shall be counted by two or more members of the Nomination/Election Committee and two people whose names are drawn from a container with the names of all interested members present at the election meeting.
  5. In case of a tie, the Committee chairpersons shall announce those candidates who won their elections, new ballots are then distributed and a revote is taken for the office(s) in which a tie vote occurred.  Absentee ballots are to be counted along with the revoted ballots.
  6. Those eligible to vote shall be members as described in Article III.
  7. A vacancy in any office, except that of the President, shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.  In the event of the vacancy of the President, the First Vice President assumes the position.
  8. In the event of the resignation of any officer-elect, the position shall be filled by a special election with the previous officer for the position filling the vacancy in the interim.  

10.6 Absentee Voting

  1. Absentee ballots will be emailed upon request to members two weeks prior to an election.  

Article XI:  Checking Account

11.1 The checking account is maintained as part of the Fairfield Village Community Association (FVCA) account.  

11.2 Check Signing

  1. All checks shall have two authorized signatures.
  2. All Executive Board members have signature authority.    
  3. Signature authority is updated annually with the installation of each new Board.

Article XII:  Parliamentarian Authority

12.1 Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the authority on all questions of parliamentary procedure not covered in these By-laws.  

Article XIII:  Amendments

13.1 These By-laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members present at a regular meeting, providing amendment(s) has (have) been presented to the membership at a previous regular meeting.  

Article XIV:  Dissolution

14.1 In the event of dissolution, all assets shall become the property of an organized charity, either public or private, and no part of such assets shall inure to the benefit of any member of this organization.  The President shall call a special election of the remaining paid membership to choose the charity.  

Bylaws Amended by approval of General Membership  

April 18, 2023