1. The President shall inform the membership in writing (email) when a vacancy occurs and remind them of the opportuniy to submit an application. The President shall provide a membership application form when requested by an Active Member.
2. The President shall give the completed application to the Membership Committee. This committee will immediately inform the President of its decision to either lace the name on a waiting list or return the application to the President so that she might inform the proposer that her candidate has not been accepted at this time.
3. When a vacancy occurs, names of candidates will be considered in order of date of receipt by the President. The Executive Board will vote on the proposed candidate. A majority vote is necessary for approval. Applications for membership, which have been approved by the Membership Committee and Executive Board, will be given or mailed by the Membership Committee to the Active Members. Members must email or write to the Corresponding Secretary within 3 weeks if they disapprove of a candidate. Three letters of objection will disqualify her for membership. These letters shall be considered strictly confidential and shall be destroyed.
   • Upon acceptance, the candidate will be notified immediately by the Corresponding Secretary inviting her to become a member of the Garden Club of the Sandhills. The candidate is required to attend an orientation meeting and is considered a member after payment of initiation fee and dues.
4. In the event no vacancy occurs in a given administration, the waiting list will become obsolete. The incoming President will receive the waiting list of candidates from the outgoing President who will invite sponsors of each candidate to resubmit their applications if they still wish to sponsor the candidate.
   • No previous waiting list will be automatically passed on to the new Membership Committee. This would be an opportune time for sponsors to withdraw a name, if they so desire and perhaps sponsor another person at this time, or if they will wish to sponsor the same person, they must resubmit their sponsoring application with a current date.

C. There shall be three classes of members: Active, Affiliate and Associate.

1. An Active Member is one who has been accepted by the membership and has paid dues. An Active Member is expected to attend all meetings and to participate in all activities of the club. If unable to attend a meeting, she will notify the Corresponding Secretary by email or phone. Active Members must have full time residency in Moore County.
2. An Affiliate Member is one who has been accepted by the membership and has paid dues. An Affiliate is expected to attend a minimum of four (4) meetings and to participate in the club’s annual fundraiser and at least one other limited club responsibility. If unable to attend a meeting she will notify the Corresponding Secretary by email or phone. Affiliate Members may have only part-time residency (less than 6 months each year) inn Moore County, or they may have full time residency in Moore County but are employed full time or have full time primary responsibilities. An Affiliate Member may not hold an Executive Board position.
3. An Associate Member is an Active/Affiliate Member who has been a member for at least 5 years and who no longer wishes to engage in the duties and responsibilities of club membership and/or attend meetings regularly. Associate Members have no vote. Though they do not need to attend meetings, they are always welcome.

D. Requests for changes in status must be in writing and addressed to the Corresponding Secretary.

1. In the event of a circumstance that which would prevent her from full participation in the activities of the Club, an Active Member may request to become an Affiliate Member after at least one (1) year of Active Membership and only if a vacancy in that class exists.
2. An Affiliate Member may request to become an Active Member after at least one year of affiliate membership, provided she is able to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities of active membership and only if a vacancy in that class exists.
3. In the event of any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent her from participating in the activities of the Club, an Active/Affiliate Member, who has not been a member for at least five (5) years, may be placed on the Associate list with the approval of the Executive Board. Should this Associate Member wish, she may later be reinstated to active/affiliate membership when a vacancy occurs.
4. If there is a waiting list, or if an Associate and an Affiliate both want to become active, the Associate should take precedence over the Affiliate and either should take precedence over any proposed new member.

Article IV. OFFICERS

A. The Executive Board shall be comprised of the President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Ways and Means Chairman and Co-Chairman (if there is one). The Assistant Treasurer and the Ways and Means Chairs are appointed by the President.

B. The Executive Board shall transact the business of the club and shall fill all job vacancies. It shall recommend a budget, vote on proposed additional expenditures, any new projects, articles to be sold, all actions to be approved by the club membership. The Past President shall serve as an Ex-Officio member of the Executive Board for one year in an advisory capacity.

If necessary, regular meetings of the Executive Board shall be held immediately prior to the monthly meetings. Special meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the President, or a majority of the Executive Board, when it is considered necessary. Notice may be given by phone or email.

C. The President shall preside at all meetings, conducting meetings legally and efficiently, according to parliamentary procedure, using Roberts Rules of Order NewlyRevised as authority. She shall be a member Ex-Officio of all committees except the Nominating Committee. The President shall appoint the Chairman of all Committees, except the Nominating Committee (see Article V). She shall present a report of the year’s work, including that of the Executive Board at the May Annual Meeting, and perform all duties pertaining to her office.

D. The First Vice-President shall assist the President when called upon and shall preside at meetings when the President is unable to attend.

E. The Second Vice-President has the same general duties as the First Vice-President and in the absence of both the President and the First Vice-President, shall preside at meetings.

F. The First and Second Vice-Presidents shall co-chair the program committee for planning monthly programs.

G. The Recording Secretary shall keep Minutes of all meetings and report at each monthly meeting. She shall keep two Minute books; one for Executive Board Meetings which shall be read only in Executive Board Meetings, and one for Club Meetings. She shall also keep an accurate record of membership attendance at regular meetings and inform the President when an Active Member has missed three (3) unexcused meetings. The Recording Secretary will also submit a copy of Minutes to the President for her records.

H. The Corresponding Secretary shall send out notices of meetings and attend to all Club correspondence.

I. The Treasurer shall keep financial records, send out notices of dues to members, pay all bills, give monthly reports, make an annual report in May and prepare the books for an annual internal audit and prepare and file all required tax returns with governmental agencies. Checks written for disbursement shall be signed by the Treasurer or the Assistant Treasurer, whoever is available. In their absence, checks will be signed by the President. The Treasurer, with the Assistant treasurer, shall prepare an annual budget showing income and distribution of income for the fiscal year, which shall be submitted to the Executive Board and the membership for adoption.

J. The Assistant Treasurer has the same general duties as the Treasurer and may also be the Budget Officer.

Article V. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

A three-member Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Board. Names of prospective officers will be submitted at the meeting preceding the election. Members will vote at the February or March meeting. The privilege of a write-in vote or nominations from the floor is extended to the membership but the consent of the nominee must have been secured in advance. Officers elected by a majority vote should be installed in May at the Annual Meeting and assume office following the meeting. They shall serve a one-year term.

Article VI. DUES

A. The Executive Board determines the amount of the dues of each class of membership and the initiation fee for new members to be presented to the members for approval.

B. Dues shall be payable in advance of April 1st.

C. A member who does not pay her dues shall forfeit membership. It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to notify the member of her delinquency in paying her dues.

D. Membership includes dues paid to the Garden Club of North Carolina, Inc., by April 1st.

E. Dues and privileges include attendance at District and State Meetings, material and programs available on any subject pertaining to gardening from State Headquarters in Raleigh.

F. Changes in Membership Category; Members who change their membership from Active or Affiliate to Associate any time during the year in which they have paid their annual dues as an Active/Affiliate Member will have no change in dues structure until the following March 31st.

Article VII. AMENDMENTS

The Bylaws may be amended as follows:

A. Any proposed amendment must first be submitted in writing to the Executive Board for a two/thirds (2/3) vote.

B. Amendments approved by the Executive Board must be presented in writing to the Club Membership at least two weeks prior to the regular meeting at which such amendment is to be presented for discussion. Members shall vote at the next regular meeting following such discussion. A 2/3 vote of members present will be required for approval.

Article VIII. COMMITTEES

A. There shall be standing committees as listed below. In addition, the President and/or the Executive Board may appoint or discontinue such other committees as necessary to achieve the objectives of the Club.

1. Hospitality: This committee, whose Chairman shall be the First/Second Vice President, shall provide the appropriate number of hostesses for each meeting and shall arrange venue sites.
2. Membership: This committee shall review the applications of prospective candidates for membership and recommend acceptance or disapproval. It shall help new members by conducting an orientation session to review the activities of the Club and the responsibilities of members to the Club.
3. Nominating: This committee of three members, who are selected by the Executive Board, shall present a slate of officers to the membership for approval at the February or March meeting.
4. Programs: This committee, whose Chairman shall be the First/Second Vice President, shall plan and make all arrangement for the programs presented at each Club meeting.
5. Ways and Means: This committee shall recommend, plan and implement the annual fundraiser that supports Club projects.

B. A non-exclusive list of committees may include: Archives/Historian, Audit, Benevolence, Bylaws, Civic Beautification, Environment/Horticulture, Liaison with Associates, Name Tags, New Projects, Publicity, Sandhills Garden Council Representation, Scholarship/Endowment, Website, Weymouth Christmas House, Yearbook.

Article IX. PURPOSE

The purpose of the organization is exclusively religious, charitable, scientific, literary, and/or educational within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law.

Article X. ACTIVITIES

Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, this organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal Income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law.

Article XI. DISSOLUTION PROCEDURES

In the event of dissolution, the residual assets of the organization will be turned over to one or more organizations which themselves are exempt as organizations described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or to the federal, state, or local government for exclusive public purpose.