CONSTITUTION of the INDIANAPOLIS RADIO CLUB

 

A non-profit organization founded in 1914 for the mutual benefit of Radio Amateurs commonly referred to as HAMS.

 

Objective and/or Preamble:

 

a. To promote interest and understanding in all phases of  "wireless" and /or electronic communication which is pertinent to and within the scope of the amateur license as issued by the Federal Communication Commission.

 

b. To coordinate technical information, programs and matters of general interest to the membership.

 

c. To assist interested citizens of good moral character and purpose to obtain from the F.C.C. the coveted Amateur Radio License, which requires some knowledge of radio theory, code and laws, or to upgrade said license.

 

d. To enjoy fellowship, to exchange ideas, and to prepare for cooperative communication via radio which if offered to the public in times of emergency without pecuniary interest.

 

e. To respect the practices as outlined by our headquarters or central organization, the American Radio Relay League, and abide by the laws as set forth by the Federal Communication Commission.

 

f. To be committed to the principle that all persons should by good-natured all the time, serious of purpose most of the time, given to fun part of the time and devoid of bitterness at any time.  Furthermore, it is believed a free exchange of communication and greetings with fellow HAMS around the world is a contributing factor to world peace. 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 1 ----- Membership

 

A.  All persons, 14 years of age or older, of good moral character and interested in the hobby of Amateur Radio as regulated by the F.C.C. shall be eligible for membership.

 

B. Membership shall be by application endorsed by two Resident licensed members.  Said application must by accompanied with dues for the first six months.

 

C. There shall be four classes of membership as follows:     

 

1.RESIDENT - for those residing within Marion County, Indiana, or those residing outside of the County who desire to be full-voting members.

 

2. NON-RESIDENT - for those residing outside of Marion County who desire to take advantage of lower dues and are willing to forego voting privileges.

 

3. LIFE - members may enjoy full resident privileges without paying annual dues after they have paid the LIFE fee as set by the Board of Directors.

 

            4. HONORARY - members may be of three classes:

 

 

 

                        a. Any director of the American Radio Relay League residing in Indians shall

automatically be an ex-officio Honorary member for duration of his office in the League.

           

b. RESIDENT members of long standing who have contributed an extraordinary amount of time and/or talent to the benefit of this Club.  Likely candidates for this coveted award and title would be members of over twenty years standing and having served at least ten of those years in the capacity of Treasurer, Secretary, Bulletin editor, Refreshment committee person and/or one who has given at least ten outstanding programs over the years to the Club.

 

c. Any member who has served the Club for several years and then becomes physically handicapped may be a candidate for Honorary membership.

 

             Honorary members are no longer required to pay annual dues but do have full voting privileges.  Except for the A.R.R.L. Director's award, the HONORARY Award shall be limited to two of the most deserving candidates in any one year and shall be made by unanimous decision of the Board of Directors followed by a two-thirds favorable vote of qualified voters attending the next general business meeting.  Any member may be expelled by a vote of five Directors and a two-thirds vote of the qualified voters presented at a following regular business meeting; however, the member shall be given an opportunity to state his side of the case to the Club before it is voted.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE 2 ---- Dues, Voting & Elections

 

The Board of Directors, at a fall meeting each year, shall fix the dues for the following calendar year.  Dues shall be paid in advance on an annual of semi-annual basis.  Only LIFE, HONORARY and RESIDENT Members in good standing shall be permitted to vote or to hold office.  To be in good standing, a member's dues must be paid through the current half-year and he must be free of any other debts to the Club.  Any member who becomes in arrears to the amount exceeding a half-year's dues or other past due debt to the Club shall automatically forfeit his membership.  A member wishing to resign from the Club in good standing may do so only on the condition that his dues and/or other debts are not in arrears.  Election of all classes of membership shall be by a favorable vote of five of the seven Directors, followed by a two-thirds favorable vote of eligible voters attending the following general meeting.

 

Election of Officers and Directors shall be held on the first regular meeting in December of each year to serve for the following calendar year.  On or before the first meeting of the Directors in November each year, they shall appoint a nominating committee of three licensed members in good standing.  Before the 20th of November this committee shall report their nominations to the Club Bulletin "Ama-Chewer" Editor who shall immediately send to all Club members a written notice of such nominations together with a complete list of all members who are eligible to hold office.  Furthermore, any group of five members in good standing {except  non-resident} wishing to make nominations shall report their nominations to the Secretary at least ten days before the announced election meeting date.  Only persons who have been a member of this Club for one year or more are eligible to hold office of directorship, a majority of which must be licensed amateurs.  No person shall hold the office of President for more than two consecutive years.

 

            1. President/Director                                5. Chief Operator/Director

            2. Vice-President/Director                    6. Director

            3. Secretary/Director                                7. Director {Preferably the retiring President}

            4. Treasurer/Director

 

ARTICLE 3 ---Officers and Directors

 

The Interest of the Indianapolis Radio Club shall be administered by the Board of Directors who shall have full responsibility of the affairs and resources of the Club including arranging the place and time of all meetings.  Decisions by the Board of Directors may be over-ruled only by two-thirds vote of eligible Club members.  Five of the seven members of the Board of Directors are required to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  The Officers shall perform such duties as usually pertain to their respective offices and/or described later herein.  Directors shall hold office until their successors have been elected.

 

Directors' meetings shall be held once each month in advance of the GENERAL meetings, which traditionally are scheduled for the 2nd Friday evening of each month except during the summer vacation months.  Any Board member who is unable to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors shall notify the President or the Vice-President and appoint PROXY who shall be a member in good standing.  Proxies however will not vote if five of the Directors are in attendance, and at no time shall there be more than two proxies at any one Board meeting.  For failure of a Director to comply with this attendance rule at more than three meetings, said Director shall forfeit his membership on the Board and a new Director shall be appointed by the remaining Directors to fill the vacancy.

 

 

The PRESIDENT shall preside at all meetings of the Club, decide all questions of order and other customary duties pertaining to this office.     

 

The VICE -PRESIDENT shall assume all the duties of the President in the absence of the latter.  In addition the Vice-President shall be Chairman of the Program Committee and appoint such assistants for program planning as he sees fit

 

The SECRETARY shall keep minutes and records of the proceedings of all meetings, handle the correspondence and such other duties as usually pertain to this office.  At the expiration of this office, all papers and records shall be turned over to the successor.

 

The TREASURER shall collect membership dues, receive all other monies paid to the Club, keep a businesslike accounting of all monies and upon authorization of the Directors pay for operating equipment and Club functional expenses, including light refreshments after general meetings.  Such disbursements, however, which amount to more than One Hundred Dollars {$100.00} for any one bill or project must be approved by two-thirds of the eligible voters in attendance at a regular Club meeting.  Furthermore, total annual accumulated disbursements {January 1 through December 31} cannot exceed 90% of the total membership dues for the same period, not counting LIFE membership payments. The retiring Treasurer shall report to the Club at the first meeting of the new year on the income, expenses, and total finances of the Club, and then turn over all monies, records and other Club possessions to his successor.

 

 

GIFTS: Amateurs give freely of their time and talents to the public during emergencies especially where public communication facilities have failed, however, this Club does not make financial contributions to individuals of organizations except modest payment may be made as a contribution for use of a Club room or meeting hall for this organization.  If it seems desirable to make other contributions, it shall be by members as individuals.

 

The CHIEF OPERATOR shall have charge of all Club operating schedules and operators, all of the Club's equipment and be responsible for keeping the equipment owned by the Club in first -class operating condition.  In addition, he shall make an inventory of all Club property {except money} showing location and purpose; such as, office equipment, teaching aids, power generators, transmitting and receiving equipment.  {some pieces, such as test equipment, are kept for general use while other are kept for emergency use.}  This list shall be distributed to all voting members.  Disposition of any Club property shall only be made by approval of the Directors and two-thirds vote of qualifies members attending a general meeting.  At the time of termination, a corrected inventory list shall be given to the Secretary and the succeeding Chief Operator.

 

ARTICLE 4 ---- Amendments

 

This Constitution may be AMENDED only by five favorable votes of the seven Directors and the subsequent favorable vote of two-thirds of the qualified members attending a business meeting specified for this purpose.  A notice of the proposed amendments with the voting time and place be mailed to each qualified voter at least one week before the specified meeting.

 

 

Original: date 1914; last amendment Sept. 1980

Date of typing November 2003

 

 

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