BYLAWS

ARTICLE I

This corporation shall be called GENEVA BUSINESS WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION, INC.

ARTICLE II

Sec. 1 Regular meetings shall be held monthly from January to December of each year. These meetings shall be held on the second Tuesday of each month at the time and place designated by the Program Committee.

Sec. 2 The annual meeting of the club shall be held on the second Tuesday of January of each year. Officers and Standing Committees will make their yearly reports and election of officers will be held.

ARTICLE III

Sec. 1 The officers shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer. Their duties shall be as follows:

PRESIDENT: The President shall preside over all meetings and perform the following duties: Call the meeting to order, announce the business to be acted and voted upon, keep order during the meeting, and chair the meeting in a democratic and impartial manner. The President shall solicit all committees. The President shall appoint other committees when necessary to carry out the work of the club.

VICE-PRESIDENT: The Vice President shall act in the absence of the President, performing all duties of the President. The Vice President shall serve on any committee as assigned by the President.

SECRETARY: The secretary shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings of all meetings. The secretary shall keep records neatly typed and available to all members, submit the minutes at each meeting, and note when and where the next meeting will be. The secretary shall serve on any committee assigned by the President.

TREASURER: The treasurer shall receive and disburse all funds in the club account. The treasurer shall keep all members informed as to the status of the club account by submitting a monthly report for individual review and make books available upon request for yearly audit and at cessation of an office. The treasurer shall serve on any committee as assigned by the president.

Sec. 2 Election of officers shall be by ballot at the annual meeting, and each officer shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified to serve.

ARTICLE IV

Sec. 1 The Standing Committees shall be as follows:

BUDGET COMMITTEE:

Works with executive committee to put in place a yearly budget.
Processes all donation requests according to committee guidelines.

CHAPLAIN COMMITTEE:

Leads the group in prayer at each monthly meeting.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE:

Organizes and facilitates activities with the purpose of raising the funds necessary for GBW to achieve its goals and objectives.
Sells 50/50 tickets at monthly meeting.
Turns funds raised over to Treasurer at the end of each meeting.

MEMBERSHIP/HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE:

Responsible for soliciting new members.
Sends “Thank You” notes to guests.
Recognizes outgoing members.
Endeavors to send correspondence in the case of surgeries, death, and birth.
Welcomes members and guests while handing out name tags.
Brings gift for speaker to meeting.
Present guests with welcome packet.

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:

Responsible for calling all members to solicit nominations of officers for the following year.
Ensuring the nominees accept their nominations.
Will run the election at the annual January meeting including casting of ballots, counting of votes, and announcing the new officers.

PROGRAM/RESERVATION/EMAIL COMMITTEE:

Responsible for taking reservations of members and guests attending monthly meetings and reporting the figures back to the Program Chairperson.
Reports visitors to Hospitality Chairperson.
Sends monthly notices to GBW members detailing the time and place of the next meeting, the menu, the guest speaker and RSVP deadline.
Reserves meeting places and makes menu selections for monthly luncheon meetings.
Schedules guest speakers consistent with GBW goals and objectives.

PUBLICITY/SOCIAL MEDIA/WEBSITE COMMITTEE:

Responsible for creating an awareness of GBW functions, meetings, fund-raisers, etc., in the community.
Responsible for keeping and maintaining records, photographs, etc. of GBW happenings.
Posts meeting and events to our Facebook page.
Updates the GBW website as to members, their information, as well as website content as needed.

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:

Distributes applications to area schools and libraries.
Gathers completed applications.
Makes selection of scholarship recipient in accordance with GBW guidelines.

Sec. 2 The President shall also appoint, when their help is needed, such other committees as are necessary to carry on the work of the club. These committees shall report to the club from time to time as is necessary, and when a final report shall have been made, the committee is automatically discharged.

Sec. 3 A year-end report will be given at the January meeting by all the chairs.

ARTICLE V

Order of Business is by Robert’s Rules of Order and must contain the Secretary’s Report, Treasurer’s Report, Old and New Business and reports as deemed by the President.

ARTICLE VI

Dues are to be paid by the time of the club’s annual meeting. Dues must be paid in order for members to participate in the election of officers. New members who join in months following the annual meeting will have their dues prorated. A guest is welcome to attend up to two meetings before being required to join the membership.

Emeritus Status

Definition: Emeritus status in the Geneva Business Women (hereafter GBW) indicates a former GBW member that is nominated and elected by the general membership of the GBW. These women will be selected from members who served GBW with distinction and excellence. Emeritus candidates will be selected based on established criteria and membership is by invitation only. Invited candidates may accept or decline Emeritus status.
Emeritus status is the way that GBW will honor our past and those women who started and/or maintained the organization through their dedication and service.
An Emeritus member will be entitled to receive invitations to attend monthly GBW meetings and luncheons. Cost of luncheon to be borne by the Emeritus member without requirement for membership and the yearly membership fee. Emeritus members are permitted to participate in the meeting but are not counted in voting or allowed to hold a board position.
Eligibility: In order to be considered for Emeritus status, the woman must be a former GBW member who has stepped down/retired from the group and who:

-Served the GBW with distinction.

-Held an important leadership role, e.g. officer or committee chair(s) and/or engaged in major volunteer or advocacy activities during her membership

-The nominee may or may not continue to be involved in active service through committee work, etc.

Election: Annually in September, the GBW Board will call for nominations from the full GBW membership by completing the Nomination for Emeritus Status form and turning in to a board member. The GBW Board will review nominations for eligibility and recommend nominees to the full membership in November. A simple majority vote of the membership is sufficient to approve Emeritus status. The GBW board president will notify the inductee and secure her agreement to receive the honor.
Honor: Once the inductee has accepted the honor, she will be invited to attend any meeting of her choice to receive the honor. The GBW membership will bear the cost of her luncheon meal for this meeting (afterwards, any meetings attended will be the responsibility of the inductee). The GBW board members will decide on a certificate and/or token gift for the inductee on a case by case basis.

ARTICLE VII

Amendments: The By-Laws may be amended at any meeting of the club by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, providing notice of the amendments proposed has been given in writing at least four weeks previous.

ARTICLE VIII

All acts of the Geneva Business Women’s Association from and after November 1, 1990, shall be ratified and are hereby incorporated into this not-for-profit corporation as if said corporation was in existence.

ARTICLE IX

Upon application of any member, the corporation may consider dissolution of its existence by majority vote of the members who were present at the three (3) preceding meetings prior to the application being made. Any funds available at the time of dissolution in the treasury account will be donated for purposes of establishing a scholarship to Geneva High School to be given to a young woman to assist in her tuition, who is seeking a higher education in a business curriculum.

(Last amended review 2019.)

"REMINDERS: We are organized and operate under the Rules of IRS 501C-7, last filed in 2018. State Continued Existence filing every 5 years. Next date due 2-13-2023."