CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE BUTTON SOCIETY
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I: Name
Section 1. The object of this organization shall be to encourages and promote interest in collecting buttons for educational and historical purposes, for personal enjoyment and to preserve for future generations all that is beautiful and historical in buttons.
ARTICLE III: Government
Section 1. The management and direction of the Society shall be delegated exclusively to its Board of Directors.
Section 2. The Board of Directors shall consist of seven (7) elected members: President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two elected Directors. In addition, each recognized district button club within the state shall have one ex-officio Director to represent it on the Board of Directors.
Section 3. All members of the Board of Directors are eligible to vote on Society business.
ARTICLE IV: Membership
Section 1. Membership in this organization shall be open to all individuals who are interested in the hobby of button collecting.
ARTICLE V: Amendments
Section 1. This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended at a regular meeting if not less than twenty-five (25) per cent of the current members are present, providing notice of the proposed amendment has been given.
Section 2. Notice of a proposed amendment shall be sufficient if:
(a) it shall have been read at the regular meeting preceding the meeting when it shall be put to a vote.
(b) if the proposed amendment shall have been published in the New Jersey State Button Bulletin at least thirty (30) days preceding the regular meeting when its hall be put to a vote.
(c) or, if copies of the proposed amendment shall have been mailed to each member at least thirty (30) days prior to the regular meeting when it shall be put to a vote.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I: Officers
Section 1. All officers of the New Jersey State Button Society shall be elected annually at the spring meeting as hereinafter defined.
Section 2. The President, First Vice President, and Second Vice President shall not hold the same office for more than two consecutive years.
ARTICLE II: Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society, appoint all committees and shall be Chairman of the Board of Directors and a member of all committees.
Section 2. In case of absence, death, resignation or inability of the President to act, a Vice President may act until the vacancy be filled, or the disability removed.
Section 3. The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Society, keep correct minutes of the Society, keep correct minutes of their proceedings and correspondence, keep an accurate classified list of the membership of the society, with addresses, keep on file a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws and perform such other duties usually appertaining to the office of the Secretary.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall receive all monies, dues, dealers’ table fees, etc., pay all bills so ordered by the President after approval by the Board of Directors, or have been approved by warrants signed by the President, keep an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements and present such interim reports as may be required and shall prepare a full financial report for the year, showing all receipts and disbursements, said report to be presented at the annual meeting. The Treasurer shall submit the required documents to the Auditing Committee at the Annual meeting. The Treasurer shall notify the Secretary and Editor of any changes in membership. At the expiration of his term, the outgoing Treasurer shall turn over to his successor all funds and records on hand, receiving receipt in full.
Section 5. The Board of Directors shall include two elected members at large, for a term of two years. The ex-officio representative director of district clubs to be appointed by the president of each of these clubs.
In order to establish a rotation for the two elected members at large at the first election after the adoption of this provision, one of the directors shall be elected for a term of one year, the other director for two years.
The Board of Directors shall have charge of the general work and business of the Society. The Board shall have the power to fill all vacancies in office during the year. Further, it shall be empowered to fill any vacancy caused by the failure of any Officer, Director, or Chairman of Committee to discharge the prescribed duties.
ARTICLE III: Appointments
Section 1. The President shall make the following appointments:
(a) Auditing Committee,
(b) Editor of Bulletin,
(c) Historian,
(d) Sunshine Chairman.
(e) Chairman of Dealers.
Section 2. Auditing Committee: This committee shall consist of two members who shall audit the accounts, checking all items, bank balance, receipts and disbursements according to recognized accounting procedures and report the result of their audit to the Society at the annual meeting.
Section 3. Editor: the Editor shall be responsible for publication of the New Jersey State Button
Society Bulletin two (2) times each year. The bulletin shall contain the names of the officers, officers of the District Clubs, reports, State and District Club news items and educational articles. An alphabetical list of members shall be published once a year.
Section 4. Historian: the Historian shall collect and preserve all data pertaining to the New Jersey State Button Society.
Section 5. Sunshine Chairman: the duty of the Sunshine Chairman is to keep in touch with Shut-ins who were members in good standing of the New Jersey State Button Society prior to their incapacitation and to send condolence and get-well cards to such members. Each shut-in is to receive the New Jersey State Button Society Bulletin free of charge.
Section 6. Chairman of dealers: the duties of the Chairman of Dealers are to made advance contact and accept reservations from dealers prior to the meetings and to be in general charge of facilities supplied for dealers at the meetings.
Dealers are as defined under Article VII of the By-Laws.
ARTICLE IV: Membership
Section 1. The qualifications for membership are defined in Article IV of the Constitution.
Section 2. Honorary members may be accepted by vote of the general membership upon
recommendation of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE V: Dues
Section 1. The annual dues of all members shall be payable at the spring meeting. Notice of non-payment of dues shall be sent by the Treasurer after the holding of the spring meeting.
Those who fail to pay annual dues within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of non-payment of dues, will forfeit all rights to membership.
ARTICLE VI: Meetings
Section 1. There shall be two (2) regular meetings of this Society each year, one to be held in the spring and one in the fall. The spring meeting shall be designated as the Annual Meeting of the Society at which time the election of officers will be voted upon. Notice of the meeting is to be published in the Bulletin.
Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the Board of Directors. The notice for a special meeting shall state its object and no other business shall be transacted other than that for which the meeting is called.
ARTICLE VII: Dealers
Section 1. Dealers shall be accepted in the order of application for tables up to the capacity of the meeting hall.
Section 2. All dealers must be members of this Society in good standing.
ARTICLE VIII: Quorum
Section 1. A quorum shall consist of not less than twenty-five (25) percent of the current
membership.
ARTICLE IX: Life Memberships
Section 1. Recognition to the retiring President of the New Jersey State Button Society who has served for two years as President shall be given a Life Membership in the Society, which shall include receipt of the State Bulletin. (Repealed 2003 Fall minutes, NJSBS bulletin.).
REVISIONS to BY-LAWS
Spring 2004: Article V, Dues. Dues increased to $10.00, as noted in 2003 Fall NJSBS Bulletin
minutes.
Spring 2007: Article I, Officers. Article I is revised, following publication of these revisions in the 2007 Spring NJSBS Bulletin, as noted in the 2007 Fall NJSBS Bulletin minutes.
ARTICLE I: Officers
Section 1. Elective Officers. The elective officers of the Society shall be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, whose terms of office shall be for two years. With the exception of the Secretary and Treasurer, no elective officer may serve two consecutive terms in the same office. A vacancy in any office arising from any cause may be filled for the unexpired term by the President. At the conclusion of the two-year term of the outgoing President, officers shall customarily move up in rank: the First Vice President shall be nominated as President, the Second Vice President shall be nominated as First Vice President and a new Second Vice President shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee or from the floor. The persons holding the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may succeed themselves for an unlimited number of years, if so desired, but they shall stand for re-election every two years along with the President, First Vice President and Second Vice President, being nominated by the Nominating Committee or from the floor. All officers of the Society shall be nominated during the fall meeting and elected at the following spring meeting, designated as the Annual Meeting of the Society.
Meetings are herein defined under Article VI of the By-Laws.
Fall 2007: Dealer’ table rental cost. The Dealer’s table rental cost is increased from $10 per table to $20.00 per table, as noted in 2008 Spring NJSBS Bulletin minutes.
Spring 2011: Door fee of $2.00. To help defray the costs of the rental hall for our NJSBS shows, it was voted upon by the general membership to institute a $2.00 Door Fee for everyone coming to our shows: walk-ins and members alike, but excluding juniors, as reported in the Fall 2011 NJSBS Bulletin minutes.
New Jersey State Button Society 