NASFA By-Laws

The following are the By-Laws for the North Alabama Science Fiction Association (NASFA). These by-laws were last amended at the 17 December 2005 NASFA meeting.

Article I. Membership

Section 1: Eligibility

Any science fiction or fantasy fan is eligible for membership. Honorary membership may be extended to any person by a vote of the membership. The terms "member" and "membership" shall herein not include honorary members.

Section 2: Dues

A - Subscribing Memberships

Each subscribing member must pay yearly dues of $15.00. Any subscribing member whose dues are not renewed prior to the March meeting of each year shall be dropped from the membership.

B - Family Memberships

Each additional family member, over the age of 12 years, of a Subscribing Member may pay yearly dues of $6.00 for a family membership. Said family membership shall entitle the family member to all the rights, privileges, and restrictions of a regular subscribing member, with the exception that a family membership shall not entitle the family member to receive a subscription to the club newsletter.

Section 3: Voting

All attending members are eligible to vote on any matter for which a vote is required. Any such matter may be acted on at any meeting where a quorum is present (see Article V), and shall be approved if it receives a simple majority vote of members present at the meeting except as specified otherwise in the By-Laws. Changes to the Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws, however, must be voted on at a regularly scheduled meeting at which a quorum is present, and such changes shall require a vote of at least two-thirds of members present.

Article II: Directors

Section 1: Number and Election

There shall be three directors. They shall be elected by a vote of the membership and shall serve without salary. Such votes shall take place at the next regularly scheduled meeting which is at least four weeks following any of the below-mentioned actions.

A - A directorship is vacated by the death or resignation of a director.

B - The removal of a director, pursuant to Section 3 of this article.

Section 2: Duties

A - The directors shall meet at least two times a year. At these meetings they shall consider long term goals and policies of NASFA. Following such meetings they shall make recommendations concerning these goals and policies to the membership and/or officers of NASFA, as they deem appropriate. These recommendations shall not be binding either on the officers or NASFA as a whole.

B - The directors shall meet at least two times a year. At these meetings they shall consider long term goals and policies of NASFA. Following such meetings they shall make recommendations concerning these goals and policies to the membership and/or officers of NASFA, as they deem appropriate. These recommendations shall not be binding either on the officers or NASFA as a whole.

C - The directors shall have the power to appoint official representatives of NASFA to attend conventions and other such functions for the purpose of promoting the various activities of NASFA. Such representatives shall serve without salary or reimbursement or expenses.

Section 3: Removal of Directors

A director may be removed either by:

A - a vote at any meeting where at least 50% of the membership is present. Removal will be accomplished by a vote for removal of at least 75% of members attending.

B - or by the following process. A vote to consider removal may be taken at any meeting at which a quorum is present and will be approved by a simple majority. The vote for removal shall take place at a meeting no sooner than four weeks following the vote to consider. Removal will be accomplished by a vote for removal of at least two-thirds of members present, providing there is a quorum in attendance.

Article III: Officers

Section 1. Eligibility and Election

A - The regular officers of NASFA shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Program Director, and Publicity Director. Any member shall be eligible to be an officer, but may hold only one of the above offices at a time. Officers shall be elected by a vote of the membership at the last regularly scheduled meeting of each calendar year and shall serve without salary for a term of one year. They shall assume their duties on January 1 following the election. Exceptions may be made and special elections held at the vote of the membership.

B - In addition to the above-named regular officers, a Convention Chairman shall be elected for each convention or other similar function that NASFA shall sponsor. The Convention Chairman shall be elected by a vote of the membership as the need arises and shall serve without salary. The Convention Chairman shall assume his/her duties as soon as elected and shall leave office when all convention related business is resolved. More than one person may be elected to share this office if the membership so votes.

Section 2. Duties

A - The President shall

  1. preside at meetings.
  2. initiate the call for a special meeting.
  3. perform the duties of other officers in their absence from a meeting, or designate another officer or consenting non-officer member to do so.
  4. if needed, appoint a consenting non-officer member as Parliamentarian. The duration of the appointment shall be at the discretion of the President provided only that it shall not extend past the President's term of office.
  5. generally oversee all activities of NASFA.

B - The Vice-President shall

  1. perform the duties of the President as set forth above in the case of the President's absence or incapacity.
  2. oversee all publications of NASFA excluding: any convention related publications (which are under the offices of Convention Chairman), and such publications as may be designated special publications by a vote of the membership. For each publication in his/her charge, the Vice-President may either act as editor, or appoint any willing member to be editor while acting as executive editor. These publications shall include at least a monthly newsletter which shall contain at least the minutes of the previous meeting and a list of upcoming meetings for the next two months.

C - The Secretary shall

  1. perform the duties of the President as set forth above in the case of the combined absence of the President and Vice-President from a meeting.
  2. maintain an up-to-date roster of members, their addresses, and telephone numbers.
  3. attend to all correspondence as directed by the President.
  4. keep accurate minutes of all meetings and report same to the editor of the newsletter for inclusion in the monthly newsletter, and at other times as directed by the President.
  5. maintain an up-to-date copy of the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws.

D - The Treasurer shall

  1. perform the duties of the President as set forth above in the case of the combined absence of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary from a meeting.
  2. keep an accurate account of all monies collected by NASFA and distributions of same as authorized by a vote of the membership, or by the Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws of NASFA; be responsible for all such collections and distributions; and be responsible for filing financial reports with the state revenue department, the IRS, and other agencies as necessary. The treasurer shall also serve as treasurer or co-treasurer of any convention or other such function sponsored by NASFA.

E - The Program Director shall

  1. perform the duties of the President as set forth above in the case of the combined absence of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer from a meeting.
  2. be responsible for arranging programs as appropriate for regularly scheduled meetings. The Program Director may spend any reasonable amount (up to a maximum set by a vote of the membership each year) to produce these programs.

F - The Publicity Director shall

  1. perform the duties of the President as set forth above in the case of the combined absence of all other regular officers of NASFA from a meeting.
  2. be responsible for publicizing the club and its meetings and other such activities. Such publicity shall include, but not be limited to, notification of regional periodicals.
  3. be responsible for publicizing conventions and other such events sponsored by NASFA. Such publicity shall include, but not be limited to, notification of periodicals that publish convention listings and the posting of public notices.

G - The Convention Chairman shall

  1. serve as Convention Chairman for the convention for which she/he was elected. This will involve overseeing all activities of the convention.
  2. appoint any willing persons to such duties and offices as becomes necessary to the planning and execution of the convention. All such appointments shall expire at the end of the convention in a similar manner to the term of the Convention Chairman.

Section 3. Removal of Officers

An officer may be removed either by:

A - a vote at any meeting where at least 50% of the membership is present. Removal will be accomplished by a vote for removal of at least 75% of members attending.

B - or by the following process. A vote to consider removal may be taken at any meeting at which a quorum is present and will be approved by a simple majority. The vote for removal shall take place at a meeting no sooner than four weeks following the vote to consider. Removal will be accomplished by a vote for removal of at least two-thirds of members present, providing there is a quorum in attendance.

Article IV. Committees

Section 1 - Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the regular officers of NASFA. The duties of this committee shall be to oversee generally the operation of the club and its projects, and to perform other duties as assigned by the membership of the club. The club President shall be chairman of this committee. The Executive Committee shall meet not less than once between regularly scheduled club meetings.

Section 2 - The President as Ex-Officio Member

The President of the club shall be an ex-officio member of all committees of the club, with the exception of the Executive Committee. The President of the club shall be a voting member of the Executive Committee.

Article V. Meetings

Section 1 - Regularly Scheduled Meetings

NASFA shall meet regularly once a month on the third Saturday of each month. The date and/or time of the meeting may be changed by a vote of the membership at any previous regularly scheduled meeting. If the meeting time is changed, an attempt shall be made to contact the members not present.

Section 2 - Special Meetings

The presiding officer may propose, at any regularly scheduled meeting, that a special meeting be held. The proposal will be approved by a vote of the membership.

Section 3 - Quorum

A quorum shall consist of at least one-third of all dues-paid members

Section 4 - Rules of Order for Meetings

In all areas not covered in the By-Laws, Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall serve as a general guide for conduct of all meetings.