By-laws: Lebanon Historical Society

Article I. Name of the Society.

Section 1. The name of the society shall be the Lebanon Historical Society.

Article II. Purpose of the Society.

Section 1. The object of the organization shall be acquiring and communicating knowledge of local history and preserving such books, papers, and articles as may illustrate the history of the City of Lebanon.

Section 2. It shall be a non-profit organization.

Article III. Membership and Dues.

Section 1.  Any person interested in the history of Lebanon who applies for membership in any classification of membership and who tenders the necessary dues shall hereby become a member and shall be eligible to vote.

Section 2.  All dues for all categories of members will be reviewed annually by the Board of the Lebanon Historical Society.

Section 3.  Life memberships are available for $150.00.

Section 4.  Honorary member.  Any name proposed for honorary membership shall be presented through the Board of Directors, such membership to be given only for outstanding contribution to preservation of the history of Lebanon.

Section 5.  Annual dues shall be payable at the annual meeting in November, and members in arrears shall have two notices sent to them and after six months shall be dropped from membership.

Article IV. Donations.

Section 1. By vote of a majority of members present and voting, donations from funds of the society may be made for purposes pertaining to the history of Lebanon.

Article V. Officers of the Society.

Section 1. The officers shall be a president, a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer, and a curator elected annually and seven (7) directors, two of whom shall be elected each year for a term of three years. The retiring president shall be the seventh member of the board.

Section 2.  Any vacancy on the board of directors shall be filled by appointment by the president for the remainder of the term.

Section 3. The officers of the Society shall be ex-officio members of the board.

Section 4. The board of directors shall elect its chair from the seven directors.

Article VI. Meetings.

Section 1.  Regular meetings of the Society shall be held on the third Monday of the month except December.

Section 2.  Special meetings may be called by the president.

Section 3. The board of directors shall meet as called by the chair of the board.

Section 4. Nine (9) active members of the society shall constitute a quorum at meetings of the Society.

Section 5. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held in the month of November. Annual reports of the officers shall be given at this meeting and the election of officers for the ensuing year held.

Article VII. Duties of Officers and Directors.

Section 1. The president shall have executive supervision over the activities of the Society within the scope provided by these by-laws. He shall preside at meetings of the Society. He shall report annually on the activities of the Society. He shall appoint the members of committees and delegates not otherwise provided for.

Section 2. The vice-president shall assume the duties of the president in the event of the absence, incapacity, or resignation of the president.

Section 3. The secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the society and of the board of directors, render an annual report, receive and answer all correspondence, write such communications as are directed by the society, and be in charge of publicity.

Section 4. The treasurer shall be responsible for the safekeeping of society funds, for the payment of all bills, for maintaining adequate financial records, and shall deposit monies received with a reliable banking company in the name of The Lebanon Historical Society. The treasurer shall receive dues, render an annual report based on the calendar year, and shall maintain a list of members.

Section 5. The curator's primary role is to manage and supervise work on the collection, specifically and most importantly by making decisions about acquisition and de-acquisition of material in the collection and their conservation.  The curator should also manage permissions and licenses to publish copies or photos of objects and manuscripts in the collection, manage loans to and from other organizations, and supervise installation of exhibitions containing any Society materials, as called for.  The curator should manage work with the collections and should handle, supervise, or deputize assistants and members of the Society whenever necessary to deal with correspondence, acquisitions, documentation, and repairs, conservation, or reconstruction tasks.  When extremely valuable or rare items in the collection are involved, the curator will raise acquisition and management issues directly with the Board or the general membership of the Society as determined most appropriate by the President.

Section 6. The board of directors shall have the power to initiate and conduct affairs of the society and shall have general supervision over it. The board of directors shall decide questions of policy that, for any reason, cannot be acted upon at a meeting of the society, and perform such other functions as designated in the by-laws or otherwise assigned to it. At any meeting of the board of directors, five (5) members shall constitute a quorum. If called for, the board of directors, through the chairman, shall render an annual report at each annual meeting.

Article VIII. Committees.

Section 1. The society may have the following standing committees:

(1) Membership Committee -- responsible for recruitment of new members.

(2) Program Committee -- responsible for arranging suitable programs.

(3) Nominating Committee -- responsible for making nominations for officers and members of the board of directors; a minimum of three members is required for this committee.

(4) Publications Committee -- responsible for all sales and promotion of books and other Society publications.

(5) Museum Committee

(6) Cemetery Committee

(7) Tech Committee

(8) Resource Maintenance Committee

Section 2. The president shall appoint members of the standing committees.

Section 3. Other committees, standing or special, may be appointed by the president as directed by the society or board of directors.

Article IX. Parliamentary Authority.

Section 1. 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.

Article X. Amendment to By-Laws.

Section 1. These by-laws may be amended at any regular or adjourned meeting by a two-thirds vote of those voting, provided notice was given at the previous regular meeting, and forewarned agenda notice.

Revised and updated October 2009; approved February 2010.