CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
BNL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CLUB
I. ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I - NAME
Section 1. The name of this Club is "BNL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CLUB".
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
Section 1. The Club is established primarily to build closer community ties between Brookhaven National Laboratory and its neighbors; promote, support and encourage activities for social interaction between BNL employees and the surrounding community through ethnic food parties, dance socials, karaoke sessions, and other social and cultural activities.
Section 2. Pursuant to the goals and objectives as defined in Section 1 and in order to generate funds to support various activities, the Club will also sponsor dance lessons, and workshops with paid outside dance instructors covering a broad range of competitive, and/or social dances. Some of these dances are as follow: American Tango, Argentine Tango, Bolero, Cha-Cha, Cumbia, Foxtrot, Hustle, Lambada, Mambo, Merengue, Night Club Two-Step, Paso Doble, Peabody, Polka, Quickstep, Reggae, Rumba, Salsa, Samba, Soca, Son, Viennese Waltz, Waltz, various Syllabus-Oriented Standard and International dances, and the many variants of Swing such as East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Triple Swing, Jive, Jitterbug, Lindy, Lindy Hop, Shim-Sham, Hollywood, Carolina Shag, Collegiate Shag, Balboa, Charleston, Boogie-Woogie, etc. In addition, the Club may also sponsor Country Western Dancing once in a while. These paid dance lessons and workshops may be conducted weekly, or at any frequency that is deemed convenient and beneficial to the Club; the Club will exert maximum effort to avoid any scheduling conflicts with other Bera Clubs.
Section 3: The activities defined in Section 2 will not only provide an alternative for those who can not attend similar activities sponsored by other BERA Clubs due to one reason or another, but will also enhance the choices of the Lab Community and the surrounding neighborhood in pursuing a more expansive and wholesome recreational outlet. It is recognized, however, that the activities of the Club will naturally overlap with many other BERA clubs, but the Club will emphasize cooperative rather than competitive endeavors in a congenial environment.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. "Members" of the "BNL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CLUB" are qualified BERA members who signed up to become members of the Club.
Section 2. "Associate Members" are members of the surrounding community and who are not, otherwise, qualified to become full members of BERA.
ARTICLE IV - MANAGEMENT
Section 1. The affairs of the Club shall be conducted by the elected officers of the Club. Approval of the Human Resources Division Manager or his/her designee shall be required for the use of properties or facilities of the Laboratory.
ARTICLE V - MEETINGS
Section 1. There are no scheduled meetings. Meetings of the membership may be called by the President or Vice-President on an as needed basis, but there shall be at least one meeting annually. A simple majority vote of those in attendance at meetings will resolve all issues.
ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS
Section 1. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years and shall not serve the same office for more than two consecutive terms.
Section 2. A Nominating Committee appointed by the President or his designee, consisting of four members shall present a slate of candidates for new elections.
ARTICLE VII - VACANCIES
Section 1. In the event that the office of the President is vacant, the Vice President shall automatically take over his duties for the unexpired term.
Section 2. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer, the President is authorized to appoint a volunteer from the membership to complete the unexpired term.
ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Amendments to the Constitution will require a 2/3 majority vote of the membership following due notice.
ARTICLE IX - DISSOLUTION
Upon dissolution of the organization all of the assets remaining, after payment of all costs and expenses of such dissolution, shall be distributed to BERA in recognition of their support and assistance.
II. BYLAWS
Section 1. The duties of the President shall be:
(1) to preside at all meetings of the Club
(2) to serve as an official representative of the Club
(3) to appoint committees
(4) to issue all and any reports that are needed
(5) to see that the Constitution and Bylaws of the Club are enforced
(6) to prepare a budget and approve all expenditures
(7) to act as the authorized representative of the Club in all negotiations with other clubs and organizations. Or, if he/she wishes to, delegate this responsibility to the Vice-President, or to any other member of the Club
(8) to call meetings
Section 2. The Duties of the Vice President shall be:
(1) to assume the duties of the President in his/her absence
(2) To conduct and sign-off an annual financial audit of the club finances
(3) to be an automatic member of all committees and provide liasion between committees and the officers of the Club.
(4) to assist, and to perform all other duties assigned to him by the President
Section 3. Duties of the Secretary
(1) to assume the responsibility for the correspondence of the Club and maintenance of the necessary files
(2) To conduct and sign-off an annual financial audit of the club finances
(3) to issue calls for meetings at the direction of the President
(4) to record minutes of meetings as requested by the President
Section 4. The Duties of the Treasurer shall be:
(1) to keep a detailed record of the finances of the Club
(2) to provide the Officers of the Club with an annual financial statement that will be the basis for the financial audit to be conducted by the Vice-President and the Secretary
(3) to open a checking account with a bank and coordinate signature authorization with the President
(4) to prepare an annual budget proposal