Roanoke Valley Democratic Women Bylaws
Article I
Name
The name of the organization shall be Roanoke Valley Democratic Women.
Article II
Mission
To advance and promote the platform* of the Democratic Party.
Goals
To promote active participation by the women of the Roanoke Valley in activities which support Democratic principles.
To provide members with information and education regarding issues, and legislation.
To support and promote women candidates and identify issues of current importance to women.
To support and promote Democratic candidates to be elected. We will not endorse the candidacy of any person prior to her or his nomination.
Article III
Membership
All eligible voters, whose political views are in accord with the national, state, and local goals of the Democratic Party and who are willing to support the party nominees, shall be eligible for membership.
Article IV
Officers and Their Election
Sec. 1: The Officers shall consist of a President, Vice President for Programs, Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Ways and Means, Vice President for Legislature, Vice President for Membership, a Recording Secretary, and a Treasurer. Officers shall be elected to serve for a term of two years. Elections shall be held at the organization’s September meeting in each even-numbered year. The President may appoint a Parliamentarian, a Chaplain, and a Historian as needed. All officers must be paying members.
Sec. 2: In the absence of the President, the Vice president for Programs shall preside. Additionally, each Vice President shall serve as chair of a standing committee as indicated in Section 1 above.
Sec. 3: At the first regular meeting in May of each even-numbered calendar year, the President shall appoint a five-member Nominating Committee. This committee shall present a slate of officers for each office in September for the election to be held in October. Nominations may be made from the floor with the prior consent of the nominee. The members shall vote either by voice vote, or by show of hands. If there is more than one nominee for any office, the vote for that office shall be by written ballot or by a poll in a virtual meeting with the host not voting.
Sec. 4: Elected officers are limited to two consecutive terms in the same office. Elected officers must be members in good standing and have paid membership dues by March 1 of each year. Officers will begin their office in January of the following year.
Sec 5: All officer vacancies will be filled by the Executive Committee to serve until the next election.
Article V
Duties of Officers
Sec. 1: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings and to perform all other duties pertaining to the office. She shall appoint all additional necessary committees. She shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except for the nominating committee and shall have general oversight of all the work of other officers and committees.
Sec. 2: In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform all duties pertaining to that office. If the President resigns, or otherwise becomes unable to serve out her term, the Vice President of Programs shall succeed at once to the office. As soon as possible, the Board shall select a new Vice President of Programs.
Sec. 3: The Vice President of Communications will be responsible for communications to membership, on the website, and social media. She will also be responsible for ensuring that we have packets in place for members who do not have access to e mail.
Sec. 4: The Vice President for Ways and Means will develop and implement fundraising strategies. This committee will work to ensure that the Roanoke Valley Democratic Women has adequate funding to operate now and in the future years to come. The committee continues to look at ways to support the financial obligations of the club. The committee will also sponsor fund raisers throughout the year as appropriate. This committee will coordinate all aspects of the events.
Sec. 5: The Vice President of Legislative will develop strategies to support the legislative activities and communicate to members.
Sec. 6: The Vice President of Membership will perform all duties related to membership. She will maintain an accurate membership roster. In addition, she shall work to retain club members, provide welcome to visitors, create guest packets as necessary and conduct ongoing membership building programs and efforts to keep and encourage new members.
Sec. 7: The Recording Secretary shall keep and properly record the minutes of all meetings. Said minutes shall be read and approved by an ad hoc committee of two, appointed by the President at that meeting. The minutes then will be distributed to the membership by email or other means and voted upon at the next meeting.
Sec. 8: The Treasurer shall receive and have charge of all funds of the organization and shall properly deposit said funds in the organization’s specified account. She shall disburse such funds as authorized by resolution or motion of the organization or upon the authority of the Board or President She shall keep an accurate account of all receipts and disbursements and submit all required reports.
Article VI
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall consist of all officers and the immediate past President. In the absence of an adopted motion or resolution of the membership in a regular meeting, the Executive Committee shall have full authority in all matters pertaining to the business of the organization.
Article VII
Meetings
Sec. 1: Regular meetings of the organization shall be held six times a year at such time and place as the Executive Committee shall determine. Meetings may be either in person or web based. A majority of members present will constitute a quorum.
Sec. 2: Special meetings of the organization and/or the Board of Directors shall be called by the President. Notice of such a meeting and its objectives shall be provided in a timely manner.
Article VIII
Finance
Sec. 1: The Board of Directors shall determine the annual membership dues and communicate to the membership.
Sec. 2: The Membership Committee shall be responsible for collection of dues. Annual dues shall be payable each year on January 1. A written notice shall be sent to members in November by email or other means.
Sec. 3: Dues must be paid by April 1 to be considered a member in good standing.
Sec. 4: An annual budget will be developed by the President and Treasurer with input from each Committee Chair. The Board of Directors will approve the annual budget.
Sec. 5: Financial Review-The President will appoint a committee for a financial review of the books for each fiscal year and report the findings to the Board at the February Board meeting. Results of this internal financial review will be presented to the Board and will be available for the membership.
Article IX
Records
All officers shall turn over all records, including electronic records, to their successors upon completing their terms of office.
Article X
Parliamentary Authority
The most current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the authority on all points of parliamentary procedure not covered by these bylaws.
Article XI
Amendments
These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the organization by two-thirds vote of members present and voting, provided notice of said amendment(s) has been submitted to the membership two weeks prior to the meeting. Bylaws shall be reviewed every two years, in odd numbered years.
*https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/
Revised 2012
Revised 2020
Revised 2022