Bilaws | roadknights

ByLaws.pdf

CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS

ROAD KNIGHTS AUT CLUB, INC.

ARTICLE I. NAME AND EMBLRM

A. Road Knights Auto Club, Inc. of Peekskill, New York

B. Emblems and Logos shown above

C. The phrase “collector car: when used, will mean all manner of vehicles of

interest to the membership and “club” shall refer to Road Knights.

D. The term “Board of Officers: shall refer to all elected members of the

Road Knights Auto Club and the term “Board of Directors” shall refer

to the four elected Board Members and the Past President position of Board Member (total of five officers)

ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES

A. To promote interest in various forms of street-rodding, classic and

vintage automobiles and activities pertaining to such automobiles.

B. To create good friendship and sportsmanship between members.

C. To uphold the principles of good government procedures.

D. To conduct club functions and activities in a manner befitting members of

The automobile sport and to encourage a better understanding of such activities as street-rodding as a constructive sport among members of the public, the press and the Law Enforcement Community.

E. To promote safe driving, proper automotive maintenance and care and

to support high standards of overall vehicle operation.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

A. Any person, sixteen years of age or older, interested in automotive

activities (vehicle ownership not required) is eligible for membership.

B. New applicants undergo a Ten (10) meeting “trial” period (see article IV).

During which time they become familiar with the Club Objectives and it’s

members. The applicants’ membership in the Road Knights can be put to a

vote (see III.a) at the end of the 10th regular business meeting of the

Individuals “trial” period. No less than 2/3 of the club membership

present at any regular Business Meeting (see article VIII) must vote in the affirmative in order for the applicant to be accepted.

C. The club reserves the right to deny membership and / or membership

applications to anyone deemed to be of unsuitable character. The obligation on the part of the club shall be under the authority of the Board of Directors and they shall conduct and review necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the membership.

D. The policy of the Club is not to discriminate against applicants or

members on the basis of race, color or national or ethnic origin, or

gender.

E. Members are required to attend a minimum of Ten (10) meetings per

calendar year. Five (5) of those meetings must be made before July 1.

Attendance at the Official Annual Car Show is mandatory. Each member

will provide sponsors for this show in accordance with club rules.

(Minimum sponsorship amount shall equal $50.00) Failure to observe the

aforementioned rules may result in forfeiture of membership in the Road

Knights Auto Club. In such a case, any reinstatement shall be as a new

member in accordance with Article III, Section B. Of the Constitution and By-Laws.

F. Members who have valid reasons for absenteeism regarding meetings

and other club functions may apply for ASSOCIATE MEMBER, status. In

order to qualify for associate member status, the applicant must be an

Active Member in good standing for a period of no less than one year.

Associate Members shall not have voting rights within the club and are

not entitles to any club benefits that are provide at the club’s expense.

Associate Members attending any club functions such as an annual

dinner would be required to pay any applicable “guest” fees. All associate

members will be held to the mandatory attendance rule regarding the

Official Annual Car Show. (Reference: Article III. Sec. E.).

G. The title “Honorary Member” may be bestowed upon any person

deemed worthy by the club. The persons’ name must be submitted to the

Board of Directors for review and consideration and then may be brought

before the membership to be voted upon at any regular meeting.

“Honorary Member” is anyone duly voted upon by the club who shall be

listed on our rolls under the title “Honorary Member”. This person shall

have no voting powers nor will he or she be required to attend any

meetings, etc. as required under regular membership. This title is

supporting our goals and/or demonstrating their overall interest and

involvement with the concepts of Safety and Preservation of the classic

Automobile.

H. Members who may wish to join any other Automobile related club, shall advise the President in

writing who shall then insure that this information is given over the Board

of Directors for review. It is the general policy of the club not to allow

multiple club memberships within our geographical area. A decision will

be made by the Board and their results announced to the general

membership.

If, at any time, a complaint is brought before the club regarding any allegations of conflict of interest due to a members’ involvement in another auto club, the Board of Directors will review and investigate all such allegations and report their findings to the entire Board of Officers. If deemed appropriate, the member will be asked to resign from one of the clubs. If the conflict cannot be resolved, the road Knights reserve the right to revoke the membership of the club member in questions.

Failure to observe the comply with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Road Knights Auto Club will result in forfeiture of membership in the club. This obligation on the part of the club shall fall under the authority of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE IV. Application Fee/Dues

A. An Application Fee will accompany any application for membership at the

time such application is submitted to the club.

B. Attendance at three (3) meetings is required by the applicant prior to the

submission of the completed application.

C. The three (3) meetings referred to in section B are part of the ten (10)

meeting requirement.

D. 1. Members offspring may participate in club activities but do not have

voting or decision making rights. They are not required to participate in

mandatory activities.

2. Members offspring who seek active membership must abide by the

same rules as any applicant and must meet the ten (10) meeting

requirement.

E. Dues are waives for any active member who enters the military service

until he returns to active club membership.

F. The club calendar year will be January 1, through December 31st. Dues

must be relieved no later than February 28th. (February 29th in any leap

year). Notifications will be made by the treasurer to all members who

have not paid dues by February 1st of the calendar year. A record of such

notification shall be made at the first regular meeting following this date

and any member not paid on or by February 28th shall be removed from

the club roster. Anyone so removed can only seek to rejoin the club as a

new member and must do so in accordance with Article III, Section B.

This section will not apply to any member in distress who comes to the

club to seek approval to waive meeting attendance and/or dues before

he is in arrears.

G. Any person becoming a member on or after July 1st of any calendar year

shall in addition to submitting any required application fees, pay dies in

the amount of fifty (50) percent of the total annual fee for the balance of

the year.

H. Special circumstance: In the event that a member finds that his or her

schedule causes a problem with attendance regarding the minimum

number of meetings required annually, a verbal request to be excused

from those requirements may be submitted to the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

A. The elected officers of the club shall include the officers of President,

Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and four of the five members of the

Board of Directors.

In the event that an elected position becomes vacant, the Board of Directors will call for a special election to be held within fourteen (14) days of the date of the vacancy or the closest therein to a regularly scheduled meeting.

DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT:

The President shall be the executive officer of the club and is responsible for the general management of the club.

Preside over regular meetings.
Be Kept informed of all committee activities.
Up hold the constitution of the organization.
Co-sign checks when necessary.
The President will assign a member to maintain a history of the club membership and activities and member status. This member will be the designated “Club Historian”.

DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT:

Assume the duties of the President in his absence.

DUTIES OF THE TREASURER:

It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive from the Secretary all

monies received and to insure that a deposit and itemized record of the

source of all monies received is maintained. Deposits shall be made in a

timely manner.

It shall be the responsibility of the treasurer to insure that a proper

record keeping is maintained by any committee handling monies for the

club. He shall maintain a record of all physical assets and club inventory

and have a list available for the review by either the President or Board of

Directors. Written requests for repayment of any expenses must be

submitted to the Treasurer. These requests must be made on official club

forms properly completed and accompanied by any required receipts,

etc.

The treasurer shall give financial report at each official meeting and will

submit an annual financial report for each fiscal year. Quarterly financial

reports shall be submitted to the President who will then insure that a

true and accurate copy is forwarded to the Board of Directors for review.

The fiscal year runs from January to December. It is the responsibility of

the Treasurer to file a tax return to the IRS, except if the club net falls

below $50,000.00 in accordance with IRS publication 557 dated May ’97.

The Treasurer may use the services of a club authorized accountant to

fulfil this requirement.

Preside over meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President
Collect and maintain records of all dues and club monies.
Notify members in arrears in accordance with Articles IV. Sec F.
Pay all bills from the Club account.
Co-sign checks when necessary.

DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY:

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to maintain a full and accurate

account of each members record sheet, a supply of membership

applications for distributions to prospective members and to insure that

proper review if any application is performed by the Board of Directors.

He shall maintain an up to date membership roster, an accurate record of

minutes of all official meetings, maintain an accurate attendance record.

Be responsible for club correspondence and shall, at the direction of the

President or Chairperson of the Board of Directors, provide a list of any

and all members who have not complied with the rules and regulations of

the club concerning attendance, etc. He may also co-sign checks at the

request of the President.

DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

The board shall consist of five (5) members.
Four members are elected for two (2) year terms.
As the term of two (2) board members end, two (2) more are elected which keeps the number of elected members at four. (Election each year for two board members).

The fifth member of the board shall be the Past President and he shall automatically assume that position at the start of the calendar year following his term of office president.

At the first regular board meeting, the board will elect a chairman. It will be the responsibility of the Board of Directors to maintain general supervision of the financial matters of the club and upon the direction of the President, will specifically investigate all claims and bills incurred by the club and the subsequent payment of same. Through the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, the Board may, at any time, require either the President, Treasurer or both, to report and account for any disbursement of funds by the club and to produce all financial records for inspection. This inspection and accounting also applies to any and all physical assets of the club including any inventory and/or equipment. The Board of Directors shall be in charge of and be responsible for all property of the club. They shall:

Oversee all property of the club.
Insure that a complete and itemized inventory is maintained.
Ascertain that all monies received have been allocated properly.
The Board will convene at the request of the President or Board Chairman.
The Board of Directors comprise the panel of members who will be charged with upholding the Constitution and By-Laws.
The Board will investigate any and all allegations of conflict of interest or inappropriate behavior and bring these recommendations to the general membership for a final decision. This section will not conflict Article III, Section G. regarding duties and obligations of the Board relative to multiple club membership.

ARTICLE VI. ELECTIONS.

A. All nominees for any office must be active members in good standing.

B. All elected and / or appointed officers and board members must remain

active members in good standing for the duration of their terms of office.

Associate members are not eligible for elected or appointed officer

positions.

C. All Officers and Directors are elected at the first Wednesday meeting in

October prior to the start of the calendar year. Voting will be done by

secret ballot. (Reference: Art. VIII, Sec. A.)

D. Nominations are to be made from the floor at the third Thursday meeting

in September prior to the start of the calendar year (Art. VIII –A).

E. Election of Officers and Board Members shall be decided by a majority

vote so long as a quorum is present allow the transaction of business.

F. Voting members will be members in good standing according to Article III

paragraph E.

G. The term of office for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary

and Treasurer shall be two years. Terms of Office for the Board of

Directors shall be two years with staggered terms of expiration as

outlined in Article V – A, Duties of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES

A. The following shall be designates as “Standing Committees”

Good & Welfare Committee
By-Law Committee
Club Social Committee
Membership Committee (Comprised of the Board of Directors)
Technical Committee (reference: Article VIII. Sec. B. ).
Car Show Committee
Charities Committee

B. The president shall serve as the Co-Chairperson of all standing

committees.

C. Committees can be requested from the floor at any time such committee

establishment may be deemed necessary.

D. The president shall determine which committees will submit written

reports of their activities and actions including expense records, etc. Any

roster of membership distributed by the club shall include, when ever

possible, a list of the Chairpersons for each committee and a contact

number.

ARTICLE VIII. MEETINGS

A. Regular membership meetings will be held on Wednesday evenings at

7:30 p.m. during Daylight Savings Time. At other times, the meetings will

be held on the First and Third Wednesday of the month. Additional or

special membership meetings may be called at the discretion of the

President.

B. The first meeting of the calendar year will be deemed the First Annual

combined meeting of the members and Board of Directors. The purpose

of the meetings is to revalidate the existence of the Road Knights Auto

Club, Inc. As a corporation in the State of NY by signing the official first

meeting of the members and Directors Form, as witnessed by a quorum

of the membership.

C. The Board of Directors shall meet when necessary.

D. The order of business shall be as follows:

Call to Order.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call and introduction of visitors.
Reading of the minutes.
Motion to accept or amend the minutes.
Committees reports.
Unfinished Business.
New Business.
Technical inquiries.
Good & Welfare.
Treasurers report.
Announcements.
Adjournment.

E. A quorum of 1/3 of the membership in good standing must be present at

a meeting in order to conduct business. Two of those members in

attendance must be club officers.

F. During the meeting only one (1) member will have the floor at a time.

The chair must recognize you as a member before he speaks. Order will

be maintained. Anyone violating the right of the floor of deemed to be

discourteous may be asked to leave the meeting room. Any member who

disrupts a meeting will be directed to leave.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS.

A. The club constitution and by-laws can be amended at any regular

meeting of the membership as long as two-thirds of the membership

present is in agreement and provided that the Board of Directors has

previously met and approved the merits of the amendment(s).

B. Unless otherwise specified, approved and accepted amendments shall

take effect immediately.

C. Dues and initiation fees in effect at the time of this publication are as

follows: Annual dues are $25.00 and must be received as per Article IV-F.

Initiation fee in effect is $25.00 and must be received as per Article IV-A.

D. Any proposal regarding the changing of dues and or initiation fees will go

before the Board and then be brought before the membership for

voting.

E. The President, once notified of an recommendations to change the

Constitution or By-Laws by the Board of Directors, will direct the

secretary to insure that a copy of said proposal is mailed to each member

of the club including the date of the meeting at which time a vote will be

taken regarding these proposals.

This is an official copy of the Constitution and By-Laws as read, discussed

and agreed upon on January 21, 1998

Amended date March 16th, 2017

The Road Knights Auto Club

Peekskill, N.Y.

Since 1955