Normal Rotary Club Bylaws

 approved April 19, 2006; amended August 4, 2008

Article 1 Definitions

1. Board: The Board of Directors of this club.
2. Director: A member of this club’s Board of Directors.
3. Member: A member, other than an honorary member, of this club.
4. RI: Rotary International.
5. Year: The twelve-month period that begins on 1 July.

Article 2 Board

The governing body of this club shall be the board consisting of eleven members of this club, namely, four directors and the Sergeant-at-Arms elected in accordance with article 3, section 1, of these bylaws, and the president, president-elect, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and the immediate past president.

Article 3 Election 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-elect, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, sergeant-at-arms, and two directors. (Directors are elected for two-year terms and thus in any year only two director positions should be open for election. In the event of the resignation of a director after one year, another member shall be nominated to fill the remaining year in that directorship. A member may be elected to successive two-year terms as a director.)

The nominating committee will be chaired by the immediate past president. 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-elect, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and sergeant-at-arms receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices. The two candidates for director receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared elected as directors. The candidate for vice-president elected in such balloting shall serve as on the board of directors for the year commencing on the first day of July next following the election, and normally will be nominated to be president-elect the next year.

Section 2 – The officers and directors, so elected, together with the immediate past president shall constitute the board.

Section 3 – A vacancy in the board or any office shall be filled by action of the current board.

Section 4 – A vacancy in the position of any officer-elect or director-elect shall be filled by action of the current board.

Article 4 Duties of Officers

Section 1 – President. It shall be the duty of the president to preside at meetings of the club and the board and to perform other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of president.

Section 2 – President-elect. It shall be the duty of the president-elect to preside at meetings of the club and the board in the absence of the president and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the president or the board. The President-elect has the responsibility of appointing members to committees for the coming year.

Section 3 – Vice-President. It shall be the duty of the vice-president to serve as a director and be back-up to the president and president-elect. The vice-president shall chair the Membership Committee.

Section 4 – Secretary. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep membership records; record attendance at meetings; send out notices of club, board and committee meetings; record and preserve the minutes of such meetings; report as required to RI, including the semiannual reports of membership on 1 January and 1 July of each year, and prorated reports on 1 October and 1 April of each active member who has 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 subscriptions; and perform other duties as usually pertain to the office of secretary.

Section 5 – 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 other duties as pertains 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. As appropriate, the Club may appoint an Assistant-Treasurer.

Article 5 Meetings

Section 1 – Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of this club shall be held on the 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 Wednesdays at noon at the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University. Due notice of any changes in or canceling of the regular meeting shall be given to all members of the club, and will be published in the Spoke, the weekly newsletter of the Club. All members excepting an honorary member (or member excused pursuant to article 8, sections 3 and 4 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 8, sections 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 the first Monday 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 $25 to be paid before the applicant can qualify as a member.

Section 2 – The membership dues are incorporated into the quarterly fee, which also includes the cost of meals. The membership dues are applied to each member’s subscription to the RI official magazine, Rotary International dues, and District 6490 dues.

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. If the nominees for elected office are not contested, the election may be transacted by viva voce* vote. The board may determine that a specific resolution be considered by ballot rather than by viva voce vote. ___________________ (Note: Viva voce vote is defined as when club voting is conducted by vocal assent.

Article 8 Four Avenues of Service

The four Avenues of Service are the philosophical and practical framework for the work of this and all Rotary clubs. They are Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service. This club will be active in each of the four Avenues of Service. (In the past each of the four directors chaired a major committee based on an avenue of service. Now these four avenues will be subsumed in a new committee structure.)

Article 9 Committees

Club committees are charged with carrying out the annual and long-range goals of the club based on the four 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 and conducting planning meetings prior to the start of the year in office. It is recommended that the chair of any committee have previous experience as a member of the committee. Five Standing Committees should be appointed as follows, each being chaired by one of the elected directors with the Vice-President chairing the Membership Committee.

• Membership This committee should develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the recruitment, training, support and retention of members.
• Club Public Relations 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. In addition to outreach, the committee has responsibility for the Spoke and web presence, student guests, and all fund raisers which put our name in the community.
• Club Administration This committee conducts activities associated with the effective operation of the club, from all aspects of the weekly programs to joint meetings with other clubs to off-site meetings.
• Service Projects This committee develops and implements educational, humanitarian and vocational projects that address the needs of our communities.
• International Service and the Rotary Foundation ( and Normal Rotary Foundation ) This committee develops and implements plans to support The Rotary Foundation through both financial contributions and program participation, as well as participation in international service projects.

Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.

(a) The president shall be ex officio a member of all committees and, as such, shall have all the privileges of membership thereon. (b) Each committee shall transact its business as is delegated to it in these bylaws and such additional business as may be referred to it by the president or the board. Except where special authority is given by the board, such committees shall not take action until a report has been made and approved by the board. (c) Each chair shall be responsible for regular meetings and activities of the committee, shall supervise and coordinate the work of the committee and shall report to the board on all committee activities. _________________ (Note: The above committee structure is in harmony with both the District Leadership Plan and the Club Leadership Plan. Clubs have the discretion to create any committees that are required to effectively meet its service and fellowship needs. A sample listing of such optional committees is found in The Club Committee Manual. A club may develop a different committee structure 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 make reference to appropriate RI materials.

Each committee shall have a specific mandate, clearly defined goals, budget proposals, 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 committees, mandates, goals and plans for presentation to the board in advance of 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 a specified length of time. __________________ (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 8, sections 3 and 4 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 each fiscal year, the board shall prepare a budget of estimated income and expenditures for the year, which shall stand as the limit of expenditures for these purposes, unless otherwise ordered by action of the board. The budget shall be broken into separate parts so that club operations can be distinguished from charitable/service operations.

Section 2 – The treasurer shall deposit all club funds in a bank, named by the board.

Section 3 – All bills shall be paid 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 club funds shall give 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 1 July to 30 June, and members’ dues shall be part of the quarterly payment assessed on each member. The payment of per capita dues and RI official magazine subscriptions shall be made on 1 July and 1 January 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 a prospective member, proposed by an active member of the club, shall be submitted to the board in writing, through the club secretary. A transferring or 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 requirements 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 member 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 bylaws, shall be considered to be elected to membership.

If any such objection has been filed with the board, it shall vote on this matter at its 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 new member’s induction, membership card, and new member Rotary literature. In addition, the president or secretary will report the new member information to RI and 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 – The Club will offer Honorary Membership to important leaders in the community, including the Mayor of Normal and the Presidents of Heartland Community College and Illinois State University. Such membership will apply only as long as the person holds that position. Other persons can be nominated for Honorary Membership by any member of the Club. A majority vote of the Board will be required for approval of an Honorary Membership. And, an Honorary Membership can be rescinded, with cause, by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Article 14 Resolutions

The club shall not consider any resolution or motion to commit the club on any matter until the board has considered it. Such resolutions or motions, if offered at a 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 standard Rotary club constitution and with the constitution and bylaws of RI.