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Federation of Genealogical Societies  National Genealogical Society

Constitution and Bylaws


Article I – Purpose and Objective 
  • Section 1: The main purpose and objective of the Society shall be educational and charitable; to assist and instruct interested persons in genealogical research techniques and/or procedures; to make historical genealogical material available to the general public through location and compilation of original materials. Such materials shall be made available to the general public by placing and/or donating such materials to other  501(c)(3) cultural, historical, or educational organizations. 
Article II – Membership and Dues 
  • Section 1: Any persons interested in the study and research of genealogy may join this organization upon paying the annual dues and completing the required genealogical reference material. 
  • Section 2: Annual dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors, are due on April 1st, and are payable to the Treasurer. 
  • Section 3: Members enrolled prior to September 1975 shall be classified as Founding  Members. Members enrolled prior to March 1, 1976, shall be classified as Charter  Members. 
Article III – Board of Directors 
  • Section 1: The Board of Directors shall meet monthly, except during December, and shall handle all administration and financial business. Members of the Board of Directors shall include the elected officers: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary,  Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and no more than six (6) no less than four (4)  Members-at-Large. The Membership Chairperson, appointed by the Board of Directors,  shall also be a member of the Board of Directors. Monthly Business Meetings shall be open to the general membership of the “Society”, but only the Board Members may vote.  
Article IV – Officers and Duties 
  • Section 1: The President shall serve a term of two (2) years. The President shall preside over the Annual Meeting, the Quarterly Meetings/ Programs, and the Monthly Business  Meetings of the “Society”, and shall perform such other duties as: Vote at Monthly  Business Meetings in case of a tie, appoint various committee chairpersons, and handle mail other than membership information. If the President decides to run for a second term, they will have to be re-elected. 
  • Section 2: If the President is not re-elected or chooses not to run, he/she shall be on the  Board of Directors for one (1) year in the position of Immediate Past President. The Immediate Bay Area Genealogical Society Constitution and By-Laws Past President shall attend Annual, Quarterly, and Monthly Board Meetings and is a voting  member of the “Board.” He/She shall serve on the Budget Committee.  
  • Section 3: The Vice-President shall serve a term of two (2) years. If the President is unable to fulfill their term of office, the Vice President will assume the position of President. The Vice President shall preside at meetings when the President is unable to attend and shall perform such other duties as: Vote at all Monthly Business Meetings, arranges the Annual Meeting and the Programs, chairs the nominating committee, which consists of two (2) other members, and compiles a slate of nominees for election at the Annual Meeting. 
  • Section 4: The Recording Secretary shall serve a term of two (2) years. The Recording  Secretary shall attend and take minutes at all meetings, keep a file of all minutes, and vote at Monthly Business Meetings. 
  • Section 5: The Corresponding Secretary shall serve a term of two (2) years. The  Corresponding Secretary shall handle correspondence for the organization as directed by the President and/or Board of Directors, record and present minutes in absence of the  Recording Secretary, and vote at all Business Meetings. 
  • Section 6: The Treasurer shall serve a term of two (2) years. The Treasurer shall handle all financial transactions, present, provide, and file financial statements of all Annual, Quarterly,  and Monthly Business Meetings, vote at all meetings, present Treasurer book for audit, and chair the  Budget Committee, which consists of two (2) second-term Members-at-Large and the  Immediate Past President. The Treasurer will also maintain a legal documents file and place legal forms in the safety deposit box at the bank. 
  • Section 7: The Members-at-Large shall serve a term of two (2) years. The Members-at Large shall attend and vote at Annual, Quarterly, and Monthly Business Meetings. One (1) first term Member-at-Large shall maintain the “Society” History Book and bring it to the Annual  Meeting for members to view. Two (2) second-term Members-at-Large will serve on the Budget  Committee. Three (3) to six (6) Members-at-Large will be elected at the yearly Annual Meeting,  or as required. 
Article V – Elections 
  • Section 1: Elections shall be held at the Annual Meeting in April. The positions of President and Vice-President shall be for a two (2) year term. In even numbered years following officers shall be elected: President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and necessary Members-at-Large.  In odd numbered years, the following officers shall be elected: Vice-President, Corresponding  Secretary, and necessary Members-at-Large. This system will become effective with the March  2018 fiscal year. 
  • Section 2: A Nominating Committee of three (3) persons including the Vice-President and two (2) members in good standing shall present a slate of nominee(s) for each position.  Nominations may also be taken from the floor. This election shall be conducted by the  Vice-President as Chairperson of the Nominating Committee. All members in good standing shall have voting rights. 
  • Section 3: If any office becomes vacant before the expiration of that term, it shall be filled by an election by the Board of Directors, and the person elected shall complete the unexpired term. 
Article VI – Finances 
  • Section 1: All financial transactions of the organization shall be approved by the Board of  Directors. 
  • Section 2: Any contributions shall be added to the general fund of the organization to be used for the purchases and/or expenses as approved by the Board of Directors or as per the directions of the contributor. Restricted contributions shall be accounted for separately. 
  • Section 3: The Board of Directors shall appoint an Audit Committee at the January Board of Directors meeting to review the financial accounts of the “Society” and shall report the results to the Board at the February Board meeting. 
  • Section 4: A Budget Committee consisting of the Immediate Past President, two (2) Members at-Large in the second year of their term, with the Treasurer as Chairperson, shall meet in  January to prepare a budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget shall be presented to the  Board of Directors at the February Board meeting. 
Article VII – Meetings 
  • Section 1: The Board of Directors shall meet monthly except for December. 
  • Section 2: The “Society” shall have four (4) Quarterly Educational Meetings annually. The  Annual Meeting shall be one of these educational meetings. 
  • Section 3: Each Officer, Member-at-Large, or Chairperson shall have one vote at the  Monthly Business Meetings. 
Article VIII – Committees 
  • Section 1: Other committees may be created as required to promote the purposes of the organization. 
  • Section 2: The Chairperson(s) of each committee and additional ad hoc members shall be appointed by the President or the Board of Directors. Each Standing Committee will have one (1) vote at the Monthly Business Meetings, which the Chairperson(s) is encouraged to attend. Chairperson(s) shall report to the Board of Directors at each  Monthly Business Meeting. 
  • Section 3: The Membership Committee shall be a Standing Committee. The  Membership Committee Chairperson shall handle all membership materials for the “Society,”  keep an up-to-date directory of the “Society” members which shall be distributed to all Board members at Quarterly Meetings, attend and vote at Monthly Meetings, and provide mailing labels for the Bulk Mailing Committee, keep a list of the Complimentary and Exchange Newsletters,  and deposit them in the Local History Department of the Brown County Library. The Chairperson shall contact exchange groups if newsletters are not received or we wish to stop the exchange.  Membership cards shall be mailed to the members as requested with a SASE provided by the member(s) requesting the card. 
  • Section 4: The GEMS of Genealogy (GEMS) Newsletter Committee shall be a Standing  Committee. The GEMS Chairperson shall be responsible for producing the “Society”  Newsletter, GEMS of Genealogy, in a timely fashion. He/she will do the layout of the newsletter and give said copy of the complete newsletter to the person in charge of having the newsletter printed. The Treasurer will send a check to the Editor(s) at the time of completion of the newsletter. The Bulk Mailing committee will be responsible for separating and organizing the newsletters for mailing labels for mailing subject to US Postal regulations. The Membership  Chairperson will provide the mailing labels to the Bulk Mailing committee person and they will be paid for the expense of mailing first class newsletters for overseas delivery and for late joining members to receive back-issues for membership dues. The Newsletter Editor(s) term will be for one (1) year and he/she will be appointed by the President or Board of Directors at the first monthly meeting following the Annual Meeting. 
  • Section 5: The Sales Chairperson shall be appointed for a one (1) year term by the President or the Board of Directors. He/she will manage all materials for display and sales at the workshops and other events during the year and will give money for sales change to use at the sales events. The Sales Chairperson will give all money provided by the Treasurer so as to be certain of the amount of money received from the Treasurer. 
  • Section 6: The Library Chairperson shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year by the President or Board of Directors. He/She will be responsible for the selection and presentation of genealogical materials for the Board of Directors' approval to purchase in accordance with the  “Society’s By-Laws,” and will maintain a file of proposed and purchased materials. 
  • Section 7: The Cemetery List Chairperson(s) will be appointed for one (1) year at the first  Monthly Board Meeting following the Annual Meeting. He/She will designate which cemeteries are to be read or reread, order supplies, and handle materials for computer input and corrections. He/She will be responsible to see that new updates are placed in the Local History  Genealogy Department of the Brown County Library. 
  • Section 8: The Query Chairperson(s) will be appointed for one (1) year at the first Monthly  Board Meeting following the Annual Meeting. He/She, along with assistants, will screen all queries sent to the “Society,” do research on simple queries, and pass queries and/or research requests to GEMS Committee for publication in the “Society” newsletter. 
  • Section 9: The Projects Chairperson will be appointed for one (1) year at the first Monthly  Board Meeting following the Annual Meeting. He/She will be asked to attempt to develop new fundraising ideas or follow suggestions of the Board of Directors. 
Article IX – Dissolution 
  • Section 1: If dissolution of the “Society” occurs, it shall be as per Article II of the Articles of Incorporation. 
Article X – Amendments 
  • Section 1: By-Laws may be amended at the Annual Meeting of the “Society” or at a  “Special Meeting” called for this purpose, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those voting members present. Proposed Amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors and shall be published in the “Society” newsletter, and or submitted to the membership not less than five  (5) days prior to the formal Annual Meeting, or the newsletter preceding a “Special Meeting” for this purpose.
Bay Area Genealogical Society Constitution and By-Laws 
Revision – March 1, 2017 Corrections made – January 2018