CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
OF THE
SPIRIT OF THE DESERT GOURD PATCH
ORGANIZED OCTOBER 2007, REVISED DECEMBER 2012
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1 – Name
The patch shall be known as Spirit of the Desert and shall be a non-profit organization.
ARTICLE 2 – Purpose
Spirit of the Desert shall be directed to the education and instruction of those persons who are interested in growing, culture, use, history, crafting and fine art of gourds.
ARTICLE 3 – Membership
Individual membership shall be open to all persons who participate in the activities of the patch, and pay an annual membership fee to Spirit of the Desert.
ARTICLE 4 – Officers
The officers shall be President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Editor and Events Coordinator. The officers shall be nominated at the November meeting and elected by a show of hand or ballot at the December meeting.
Article V – Meetings
The business meeting of Spirit of the Desert will be held monthly at a location most convenient to the membership. Executive Board members will be expected to attend. All other members and interested parties are invited and encouraged to attend.
The Executive Board shall meet as often as deemed necessary during the year to conduct the business of the patch.
ARTICLE VI – Amendments
The Constitution and or By-laws may be amended at the business meetings by a two-thirds majority vote of all members present, provided the announcement of the amendment is published in the patch bulletin thirty (30) days prior to the meeting of the patch. The text of the amendment shall be made available to all Executive Board members prior to the 30 day announcement. Emails of the amendment shall be sent to the members.
BYLAWS
ARTICLE 1 – Objectives
The objectives of Spirit of the Desert are to educate, promote and encourage the culture, agriculture, crafting and fine art of gourd and to provide information and education service to it’s members and the general public.
ARTICLE 11 - Membership
Elected officers of this patch shall be members o the American Gourd Society.
ARTICLE III – Patch
Relations between Patches and the AZGS shall be governed by standard rules for Patches as determined by the Executive Board. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the AZGS Constitution and any patch constitution, the AZGS constitution shall prevail.
ARTICLE IV – Officer’s Duties
Section 1.
It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and the general membership. The President shall be the official representative of the Patch at all meetings or functions that involve or pertain to the members of the AZGS. The President will also set up committees as deemed necessary.
Section 2.
The Vice President shall assist the President and assume all duties of the Presidency in the absence of the President and shall continue to do so until the President’s return or until the next election. The Vice President will be responsible for yearly elections, set the schedule for the election and over see the election of officers.
The Vice President will also be responsible for researching and scheduling the continuing education program for regularly scheduled patch meetings, workshops, demonstrations and classes offered to the patch members.
Section 3.
The Treasurer will be responsible for collecting member’s dues and for maintaining the Patch bank account. This account shall have the joint signatures of the Treasurer and President. The Treasurer shall provide budget updated to the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall maintain and up-to-date membership rolls and provide the membership information as required to the Arizona Gourd Society. All changes in membership information shall be forwarded to each member as they occur.
The Treasurer will collect Arizona Gourd Society annual dues at the same time Spirit of the Desert dues are collected, and pay the dues for each SDG members directly to the AZGS.
Section 4.
The Secretary is the recording officer of the patch and the custodian of it’s records. The Secretary shall keep a complete record of all official activities of the patch and conduct all necessary correspondence including taking minutes of each monthly meeting.
Section 5.
The Editor shall be responsible for creating and publishing a bulletin on a monthly basis. All dues paying members shall receive a bulletin. It is the Editor’s discretion for sending complimentary newsletters (e.g. to potential members, vendors and other state chapters). The editor shall also submit articles to local publications that encourage new members to join the patch and inform interested readers about what we do and when we meet. If the patch has members who do not have computers, a printed bullet will be provided at the monthly meeting.
Section 6.
The Events Coordinator shall be responsible for overseeing all committees and business pertaining to shows, competition and social outings.
Section 7.
A Mentor Coordinated will be appointed by the presiding President for a term to coincide with that of the presiding President. The Mentor Coordinator will oversee the patch mentor program, paring current members who are willing to be mentors with new members who desire short term assistance to begin working with gourd art.
Section 8.
It shall be the duty of all officers and committee chairs or their successors, to promptly surrender all records, papers an other pertinent information along with any properties belonging to the patch to their elected or appointed successors within 30 days of change.
Article V – officer’s Terms
All officers shall be elected for a two (2) year term at the end of which they will be eligible for re-election if they are willing to serve. The election for officers of President, Secretary and Editor will be held in odd number years. The election for officers Vice President, Treasurer and Events Coordinator shall be held in even number years.
Section 2.
In the event a vacancy should occur in any of the offices, except President, the executive board shall appoint a patch member to serve the remainder of the term.
Section 3.
The officers shall be nominated at the November meeting. The vote for officer’s position shall be held at the December meeting. New officers shall start their term beginning January 1st.
ARTICLE VI – Executive Board
Section 1.
The Executive board shall consist of all elected officers, the outgoing President and appointed committee chairs and shall have the authority to conduct the business of the patch.
Section 2.
The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the President as often as deemed necessary to conduct the business of the Patch.
ARTICLE VII – Publications
Section 1.
A bulletin shall be published monthly for the benefit and education of the membership. This publication shall be named Patch Flash.
Section 2.
The patch will communicate by media such as email, published articles in the local newspaper, telephone, etc.
ARTICLE VIII – Amendments.
The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present at any scheduled meeting, provided the entire membership has been notified of the proposed amendment at least 30 days prior to the meeting.
STANDING RULES
- Standing Rules may be adopted from time to time to meet the needs of the patch.
- Standing Rules may be suspended at any one meeting by a majority vote, provided it pertains to the business of the meeting.
- A Standing Rule will continue in force until rescinded.
- An agenda shall be provided to the patch members for monthly business meeting.
- All membership meeting and Executive board meeting shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.
Adopted Mary 2008, revised October 2008, revised December 2012