Sterling historical society's bylaws

Sterling Historical Society

Revised Constitution and By-laws

Adoption date: May 28, 2024

We owe it to our membership to explain what we do with the funds they give.

Article I​

The name of this organization shall be the Sterling Historical Society, hereinafter referred to as the “Society.”

Article II​

The location of the Sterling Historical Society shall be the Little Red School House and Sterling Heritage Park, 1294 Route 104A, Sterling, New York 13156.

Article III 

​The mission of the Society is to celebrate and preserve the history of the Town of Sterling through education, public awareness, and preservation of its historical records.

The purposes of this organization are as follows:

• A. To promote and encourage original historical research;

• B. To disseminate and encourage a greater knowledge of the history of the State of New York and particularly the Town of Sterling and the surrounding area;

• C.  To gather, preserve, display, and make available for study artifacts, relics, books,                   manuscripts, papers, photographs and other records and materials relating to the history of the Town of Sterling and the surrounding area;

• D. To encourage the suitable marking of places of historic interest; and

• E. To acquire by purchase, gift, devise or otherwise the title to or the custody and control of historic sites and structures, and to preserve and maintain such sites and structures.

Article IV​

Membership in the Society shall be of three classes: individual, family and life. Memberships shall be in the names of individuals or families, not businesses.

• A. Any person or organization interested in the history of the Town of Sterling who applies for membership and pays the necessary dues shall become a member of the Society. 

• B. Annual dues for individuals shall be $10; dues for families shall be $20; dues for life membership shall be $100.  Changes in dues shall be voted on by the regular membership, and the by-laws shall be amended to reflect the changes.

• C. Annual dues shall be credited for the current year.  Members in arrears more than five years shall be dropped from membership.

Article V ​

Officers and Trustees:  

• A. The officers of the Society shall be President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  The officers shall be elected for three-year terms at the annual general membership meeting. The officers shall be members of the Society in good standing.

• B. The Board of Trustees of the Society shall consist of the three officers and four non-officer members of the Society in good standing.  Non-officer trustees shall be elected at the annual general membership meeting for three-year terms.  

• C. Election of officers and trustees shall be held after hearing from the nominating committee and receiving nominations from the regular membership.  

Article VI​

Governance 

• A. The Sterling Historical Society is a 501C3 organization and as such it is subject to the rules of the Absolute Charter granted in 1991 by the State of New York, which amended the Provisional Charters granted in 1979, 1982 and 1985. 

• B. All officers and trustees shall comply with the Sterling Historical Society Absolute Charter, Constitution, and By-laws and applicable Federal and New York State Laws.

• C. The President shall:

1. preside at all regular membership meetings;
2. report annually to the membership on the activities of the Society and decisions of the Board of Trustees at the annual general membership meeting;
3. be an ex officio member of all committees but shall not be required to attend all meetings. 

• D. The Secretary shall: 

1. take the minutes of all meetings of the Society including the Board of Trustees meetings and general membership meetings;
2. ​​be the official correspondent of the Society as per the direction of the Board of Trustees.

• E. The Treasurer shall:

1. receive and disperse all funds of the Society as directed by the Board of Trustees or by a majority vote of the members present at the annual general membership meeting;
2. keep an accurate accounting of all Society funds;
3. provide periodic financial reports to the Board of Trustees and general membership meetings, and an annual financial report at the annual general membership meeting;
4. provide all materials necessary for an annual internal audit. 

• F. The Board of Trustees shall: 

1. have the power to conduct all affairs of the Society;
2. define and decide policies of the Society;
3. elect its own chairperson at the first Board of Trustees meeting of the year;
4. appoint members of committees;
5. elect an interim Officer or Trustee until the next general membership meeting in the event of incapacity, resignation, extended absence, or removal of anOfficer or Trustee;
6. discuss the overview of the plans for the coming year.

• G. Board of Trustees and voting responsibilities: 

1. At any meeting of the Board of Trustees, a majority of members of the Board will constitute a quorum for a valid meeting and/or for voting purposes.
2. At any meeting of the Board of Trustees, a majority vote is required to pass any item.

• H. The Chairperson of the Board of the Trustees shall:

1. Prepare an agenda and conduct Board of Trustees meetings.
2. The chairperson shall ask for committee reports prior to each Board meeting.

Article VII 

​Meetings

• A.   Parliamentary Authority:  The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of the Society, except in such cases as are governed by the Constitution or By-laws.

• B.  Annual meeting:  The annual general membership meeting shall be held during the final scheduled regular membership meeting of the year, in October.  At this meeting officers shall briefly report on Sterling Historical Society activities for the year.  The President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairperson of the Board shall give annual reports at this meeting.

• C. Regular membership meetings:  Regular membership meetings of the Society shall be held monthly, April through October.  For voting purposes, a simple majority of those present at any regular membership meeting shall suffice.

• D. Board of Trustees meetings:  The Board of Trustees shall meet a minimum of four times per year.  Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the President. In some instances, email voting shall be allowed to address a specific issue.  If the issue needs further discussion, a meeting may be called. The written record of voting shall become part of the next meeting’s minutes.

Article VIII 

Committees:

Each committee shall be comprised of at least two people, except the finance and nomination committees, which shall include three individuals.  Each committee shall report their activities periodically to the Board of Trustees and annually at the annual regular membership meeting.

• A. The Society shall have the following standing committees:

1. Finance committee—made up of three members who are responsible for setting up and maintaining policies to establish and maintain internal controls and financial accountability, which shall be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees.
2. Nomination committee—responsible for nominating potential officers and members of the Board of Trustees.  This committee must have three members, of which no more than one shall be a member of the Board.
3. Membership committee—responsible for:  overseeing the collection of dues, collecting dues and sending that money to the Treasurer, maintaining a current membership list,  sending appropriate membership cards and acknowledgements to dues payers and donors, and the membership chairperson shall oversee an accurate and current mailing list.
4. Calendar committee--responsible for creating a yearly historically themed calendar for the purposes of education, fund raising and outreach.
5. Newsletter committee—responsible for creating and mailing the annual newsletter which communicates upcoming monthly programs, activities, hours of operation, annual dues and donation forms to members and potential members.
6. Maintenance Committee—responsible for maintenance and new construction at Sterling Heritage Park.
7. Accessions committee—responsible for collecting, cataloging, and storing historic objects.  It shall also be responsible for creating, implementing, and updating a collections management policy. Potential deaccessions shall be approved by the Board.  Two sets of accession records shall be stored in two separate buildings in case of fire.

• B. The Society shall have the following ad hoc committees as needed:

1. By-laws and Constitutional review committee—shall meet at least every five years to review and determine if the documents need amending or revising.  If revisions are needed the committee shall propose such revisions to the board of trustees for review, recommendations, and approval before presentation to the regular membership for approval. 
2. Design and Display Committee--responsible for design, arrangement and care of displays and exhibits, and care and upkeep of the exhibit buildings.
3. Program/speaker committee--responsible for arranging suitable programs and for setting times, places, and dates of meetings.  This committee will be responsible for arranging for speakers and programs for the general membership.
4. Publications committee—responsible for determining which manuscripts will be appropriate for publishing or republishing and to present their findings to the Board of Trustees for approval.
5. Special Events Committee—responsible for planning and executing special events such as Independence Day parade and car show.
6. Historical Preservation committee—responsible for archival assessment and preservation protocol of all historical source material and collections.
7. Retail committee—responsible for sales at craft and book fairs, and sale of books, ornaments, calendars, and other items to promote recognition of the Sterling Historical Society as well as to encourage a greater knowledge of area history. 

• C. Other committees, standing or ad hoc, may be appointed as needed by the Board of Trustees.

Article IX:  

Amendments

The By-laws or Constitution may be amended at any regular membership meeting by a majority vote of the regular membership present after approval by the Board of Trustees.  All proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing.

Article X: 

Turner Fund

The Russell and Jean Turner Endowment fund, from the sale of a rare First Edition Book of Mormon is the restricted portion of a fund, in which the original endowment of $50,000 is preserved as closely as possible to that amount.  Only the accrued dividends and capital gains from that fund may be used as decided by the Board of Trustees.

Article XI:  

Dissolution

Should the Sterling Historical Society ever dissolve, the Board of Trustees shall decide on the disposition of assets including financial, collections and buildings subject to the restrictions of the Absolute Charter.