FAMILY BEEKEEPERS OF ILLINOIS
BYLAWS
Revised September 1, 2022
ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Family Beekeepers of Illinois (“Club”) Membership
a. Membership shall run from September 14th to September 13th each year.
b. Membership is open to any person interested in beekeeping, who will support the Constitution and policies of the Club, subject only to compliance with the provisions of these Bylaws.
c. Annual Membership dues are payable on the date of the first regular meeting in September of the year prior to desired membership; if unpaid by this date, the member will not be in good standing until dues are paid.
d. Membership termination does not absolve a former member from any indebtedness to the Club.
e. Only members of the organization in good standing shall be eligible to participate in its business meetings, vote, or serve in any of its elective or appointed positions.
e. There shall be only one classification of membership hereinafter known as a general membership.
f. It is the responsibility of each member to keep his or her contact information current with the Club’s Membership Director.
Section 2. Suspension and Expulsion for Cause
a. Any member who willingly or intentionally impedes the business or mission of the Club shall have his/her membership suspended for a minimum of three months.
b. Any member who is suspended more than once shall have his/her membership revoked indefinitely.
c. The suspension or expulsion of a member shall require a unanimous vote of the Board of Governors. The decision of the Board shall be final.
ARTICLE II: BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Section 1. Membership
a. The Board of Governors may have no more than seven members.
b. All Members may serve for an indefinite period.
c. In the event of a vacancy on the Board of Governors, the Board may nominate a new member that must be approved by a simple majority vote of members present at the meeting at which said nomination is announced.
d. The requirements for membership on the Board of Governors shall be the same as those for club officers.
e. Governors may be removed from the Board by a unanimous vote of the other members present at any regular meeting.
Section 2. Duties
a. The Board shall be responsible for the administration of the Club.
b. The Board shall transact all necessary business of the Club.
c. The Club President shall be the Board of Governors Chairman.
d. A Board meeting may be called by any member of the Board.
e. If any referendum is placed before the Board, members shall each have one vote.
f. A simple majority of the total number of Board members shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE III: OFFICERS
Section 1. Membership
a. All elected officers shall be members in good standing in the Family Beekeepers of Illinois.
b. All elected officers must be at least 18 years old.
Section 2. Duties of All Elected Officers
a. All outgoing officers shall surrender to their successors by the end of the September meeting all monies, papers, property, equipment, and information belonging to the Club.
a. All officers shall conduct the duties of his/her office in accordance with these Bylaws.
b. The Vice President and Secretary shall serve as alternative signatories on the Club checking account as necessary. The necessity shall be at the discretion of the President.
c. All officers shall collaborate with and advise other officers on methods for improving Club management.
Section 3. Duties of the President
a. The President shall preside at all Club meetings and serve as ex officio member of the Board of Governors and every committee but can vote only to break ties within any meeting.
b. The President may appoint committees as necessary in his/her judgment, or as authorized by the Board of Governors.
c. The President, or a person he/she selects, shall represent the Club on special occasions when dignitaries or guests visit a Club event.
d. The President shall call regular and special meetings and notify the general membership of the meetings, including time and place.
e. The President shall be responsible for insuring that all bills and loans are paid and current.
f. The President shall be responsible for insuring that all legal documents are filed in a timely matter.
g. The President shall act as the principal point-of-contact between the Club and other beekeeping organizations, businesses, and Organizations or appoint a member to do so.
h. The President shall appoint a Secretary Designate to record minutes if the Secretary is needed to fulfill other duties during any meeting or is otherwise unavailable.
i. The President shall oversee the inventory of all club-owned physical assets and their use by club members.
j. The President shall be responsible for the promotion of the organization with all outside entities
k. The President may delegate any of his duties to another officer is such an arrangement benefits the club.
Section 4. Duties of the Vice President
a. The Vice President shall act with full power of the President in his/her absence or inability to act.
b. The Vice President shall relay all transpired business to the President directly after he/she has acted in the capacity of the President.
c. The Vice President shall – under the direction of the President – be responsible for the education of the organization; arranging for educational programs such as peer and guest speakers, workshops, Question & Answer sessions, etc.
d. The Vice President shall work under the direction of the President to advance and promote the good image and beneficial works of the Club.
e. The Vice President shall work with the President to recommend, determine, and implement policy decisions made by the Board of Governors.
Section 5. Duties of the Secretary
a. The Secretary shall keep an accurate and permanent record of all meetings of the Club in both print and electronic forms.
b. The Secretary shall execute the general correspondence of the Club under the direction of the President and shall assist with the organization’s mail.
c. The Secretary shall issue advance notices to the Board of Governors of all forthcoming Board meetings.
d. The Secretary shall collaborate with the President and Treasurer to ensure that all legal and financial documents are filed in a timely manner.
e. The Secretary shall maintain a written record of all contacts with which the Club interacts.
f. The Secretary shall maintain a swarm capture document and ensure that the emergency switchboards of Christian, Sangamon, Macon, Shelby, and Montgomery counties each have the most recent version. g. The Secretary shall timely file and preserve all documents of the Club.
h. The Secretary shall prepare and timely file the Annual Report with the Illinois Secretary of State.
Section 6. Duties of the Treasurer
a. The Treasurer shall be the recipient of all annual dues collected by the Membership Director and monies from other sources and shall be the custodian of the Club funds.
b. The Treasurer shall furnish a statement of Club accounts at each monthly meeting, and at any Board of Governors or special meeting when called upon to do so.
c. The Treasurer shall file all legal financial statements and records in a timely manner.
d. The Treasurer shall deposit all Club funds into a bank chosen by the Board of Governors.
e. The Treasurer shall pay bills as directed by the President.
f. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate account of all financial records and maintain an itemized record, in a permanent file, of all receipts and expenditures and give a financial report at every meeting of the Club, including an itemized report of receipts and expenditures and balances since the previous regular meeting and provide a written report of the same at all regular monthly meetings or at such other times as required.
g. The Treasurer shall forward all dues collected for the Illinois State Beekeepers association (ISBA) as well as all corresponding member contact information.
h. Research, prepare and follow through with grant proposals or other opportunities for supplemental funding.
ARTICLE IV: DIRECTORS
Section 1. Directors and dues
a. All Directors shall serve at the will of the club President.
b. All Directors will be exempt from FBI membership dues during their tenure.
c. All Directors will have their ISBA membership dues paid by the FBI from the General Revenue Fund during their tenure.
Section 1. Duties of the Membership Director
a. The Membership Director shall receive all membership applications and associated dues and forward said dues directly to the Treasurer.
b. The Membership Director shall keep an accurate membership roster of all members and their contact information in an electronic format that shall be available to all Board Members at all times.
Section 3: Duties of the Community Education Director
a. The Community Education Director shall promote, plan, organize, and administer a broad program of community education.
b. Develop, maintain, review, and analyze program evaluation documents.
c. Recruit and coordinate community education volunteers.
d. Create materials for local advertisements and effectively market all community education programs via a variety of medias.
e. Actively create and manage web-based educational opportunity announcements.
Section 3: Duties of the Technical Director
a. Provide Audiovisual support during regular club meetings and annual new beekeeper classes.
b. Create and manage web-based medias.
ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS
Section 1. Election of Officers
a. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected annually by the voting members of the Family Beekeepers of Illinois present at the August meeting.
b. All elected officers shall assume office at the end of the September meeting.
Section 2. Nominations
a. The Nominating Committee will be the Board of Governors. Any Board member may designate one member in good standing to represent himself/herself on the committee.
b. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least one member for each Club office to be filled.
c. The Nominating Committee shall present its slate of nominees at the July meeting.
d. Any member to be nominated for an office in the Club must have been a member in good standing for at least 90 days before his/her name may be placed in nomination.
e. Any member whose name is placed in nomination must have previously agreed to accept responsibility of the office.
f. Any member in good standing may be nominated from the floor.
g. A nominator must have secured consent from the nominee before placing his/her name in nomination from the floor.
Section 3. Election Regulations
a. If only one nomination is made, the candidate may be elected by acclamation.
b. A member must be present at the time of voting if his/her name is placed in nomination from the floor.
c. Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of voting members.
Section 4. Vacancies in Office
a. Should a vacancy occur in the office of President, the Vice President shall assume the office of the President.
b. If the Vice President is unable to perform the duties as President, the senior member of the Board of Governors shall perform those duties.
c. Vacancies in all other offices shall be filled through appointment by the President and approved by a simple majority of the Board of Governors.
Section 5. Compensation
a. Each member of the Board of Governors shall serve on a volunteer basis and shall not receive compensation in any manner, notwithstanding any reimbursement for personal outlays that may be required from time to time for Club business. All reimbursements over $25.00 shall be reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors prior to disbursement.
ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
Section 1. Procedure
a. To conduct business as rapidly as possible, The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure shall be the parliamentary authority for all matters of procedure not specifically covered within these bylaws.
Section 2. Order of Business of Regular Meetings
a. President’s Call to Order
b. Pledge of Allegiance
c. Invocation
d. Welcome New Members / Guests
e. Guest Speakers
f. Educational Presentation Topic and Discussion
g. Intermission
h. Treasurer’s Report
i. Secretary’s Report
j. Membership Director’s Report
k. Committee Reports
l. Old Business
m. New Business
n. Adjournment of General Meeting
o. The President or presiding officer shall have executive privilege to alter the agenda, as he/she deems necessary.
Section 3. Order of Business of Special Meetings
a. President’s Call to Order
b. Invocation
c. Old Business
d. New Business
e. Adjournment of Special Meeting
f. The President or presiding officer shall have executive privilege to alter the agenda, as he/she deems necessary.
Section 4. Quorum
a. A quorum for any meeting of the general membership to conduct business shall be three-fourths of all members in good standing.
ARTICLE VII: ANNUAL DUES
Section 1. Club Dues
a. The amount of the annual dues and late payment fees shall be decided upon by the Board of Governors.
b. The Executive Board may increase or decrease the amount of the annual dues when it deems this necessary for the betterment of the Club.
c. The members shall be notified through email at the address listed for each member in the Club Roster or by announcement at a regular meeting (or both) of any change in dues.
d. Dues and late fees are non-refundable.
Section 2. ISBA Dues
a. The FBI will collect and forward dues to the Illinois State Beekeeper’s Association for any member wishing to be an ISBA member as well.
b. Dues collected for the ISBA are non-refundable
ARTICLE VIII: CLUB OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES
Section 1. Club Activities
a. The Board of Governors shall be consulted and advised in advance regarding all proposed projects to be carried out under the name of the Family Beekeepers of Illinois, and an endorsement from the Board shall be secured from it before proceeding with the proposed project.
b. Any member representing the club must agree to exemplify club values in an ethical and moral manner as described in the club vision on our website.
c. If the previous two conditions are not met, there should be no expectation that the club will purchase or provide any new or existing presentation materials.
d. members performing presentations outside of these bylaws will not be covered under the club’s liability insurance policy.
ARTICLE IX: AMENDING THE CLUB BYLAWS
Section 1. Proposed Changes and Required Action for Adoption
a. A 30-day notice of proposal to amend the Bylaws shall be sent to each active member, stating the exact present wording, and identifying it by Article Number and Section Letter, and state in exact wording any changes that are proposed.
b. The Bylaws may be amended at the August meeting by a two thirds majority of voting members, provided a quorum of members is present.
c. If proposed changes to the Bylaws cannot be ratified at the August meeting, they may be altered and reintroduced for a vote on a monthly basis until ratification can be obtained. No new changes may be presented during this period.
ARTICLE X: INCORPORATION OF THE CLUB
Section 1. Incorporation of the Club and Corporate Powers
a. This Club was incorporated with the State of Illinois on September 14th. 2017 and is currently identified under Corporate File No. 71468275 of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986.
b. The Club shall have the Powers specified under the statutes of the General Not For Profit Corporation act of 1986.
ARTICLE XI: CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
Section 1. Business Affairs
a. The business affairs of the Club shall be conducted only by members of the Board of Governors or an elected officer.
Section 2. Conflict of Interest
a. Any member of the Board of Governors or elected officer knowingly having a business-related conflict of interest with his/her Club Office shall have the interest discussed and resolved in front of the general membership of the Club.
Section 3. Inspection Rights
a. Upon request, the records of the Club shall be made available for examination to any member.
b. Upon making arrangements with the Secretary, the records shall be made available for examination and copying.
c. Copying of records will be at the expense of the individual wishing to make copies.
d. Personally identifiable information (PII), or sensitive personal information (SPI), will be redacted from all records prior to the release of any reports to any member of the general membership.
ARTICLE XII: FINANCES
Section 1. Banking
a. All dues and monies of the Club in excess of immediate operating expenses shall be placed into a checking account in a bank located in Taylorville, Illinois.
b. The President and the Treasurer will be signatories on the Club checking account.
c. All checks written for over $250.00 shall require two signatures unless the check is written for an expenditure voted on by the general membership.
d. If a second signature is required on a check, the two officers signing shall not be related family members.
e. Club finance records must be surrendered to any member upon request for audit or review.
Section 1. Expenditures
a. No club member shall incur any indebtedness on behalf of the Club, except as authorized by the President.
b. All monies shall be used in accordance with the mission of the Club as determined by the Board of Governors.
ARTICLE XIII: INSURANCE
Section 1. Purchase and Maintenance
a. The Club shall purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any agent of the Club including officers and general members of the Club against liability other than for violating provision of law.
b. The Board of Governors shall review quotes provided by no fewer than three insurance carriers on a biennial basis.
ARTICLE XIV: VOTING
Section 1. Limitations
a. Only members in good standing, 18 years and older, may vote in an election.
b. No proxy vote shall be counted as valid.
Section 2. Items Requiring a Vote
a. Election of officers
b. Changes in bylaws
Section 3. Other Issues
a. Any issue, other than those in Section 2 of this Article, may be considered by the general membership at a regular meeting. The issue must be raised in the form of a motion and requires a second before being considered. Any issue considered and defeated by a simple majority of the members at the meeting may not be considered again and shall not be attached to another vote for six calendar months.
ARTICLE XV: CLUB PROPERTY
Section 1. Ownership
a. All real property, equipment, reference materials, websites, social media pages, intellectual property, and any other property purchased by the Club, purchased or operated by a member acting on behalf of the Club or donated to the Club shall remain the property of the Club in perpetuity.
b. An annual inventory of all Club assets shall be performed in January of each year by the Board of Governors.
c. Any member who fails to cooperate with the Executive Board during the annual inventory shall have his/her membership in the Club revoked.
ARTICLE XVI: POLITICAL ACTIVITIES / SOLICITATION POLICY
Section 1. Political Endorsements
a. The Family Beekeepers of Illinois shall not endorse, support, or contribute to any political issues, candidates or a political party (local, state or federal). The property, name, literature, website, and equipment of the Club shall not be loaned, rented, leased or donated to any group for any activity in support of a specific candidate or political party or political issue. Signs, petitions, presentations, or distribution of political materials at any Club event is prohibited. These restrictions are not to prohibit or impede free speech of individual members or guests. Nor do they apply to political signs on vehicles, clothing, or personal property.
Section 2: Solicitations
a. Solicitations or petitioning at Club meetings or events, regardless of cause being represented, shall not be permitted.
ARTICLE XVII: DISSOLUTION
Section 1. Dispersion of Organization
a. Should Dissolution of the Organization take place, after all liabilities and obligations have been paid, any remaining assets shall be contributed to a Central Illinois Beekeeper Club, as decided by the Board of Governors.
Respectfully submitted, Family Beekeepers of Illinois Board of Governors. Nathan McGrath, President – Wayne Beck, Vice President – Patty Altman, Secretary – Bill Wilson, Treasurer, Dean Beck, Board Member Scott Carter, Board Member