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Below are the Constitution, Bylaws and Standing Rules of the State Society of Mayflower Descendants in Hawaii.
To go directly to the Bylaws or Standing Rules, click on their links.
Amended April 8, 2000 Article I -- Name and Objects Section 1. The name of this Society shall be The State Society of Mayflower Descendants in Hawai`i. Section 2. The Society of Mayflower Descendants in Hawaii is a constituent part of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. The Constitution and Bylaws of the General Society, together with the enactments and orders of the General Board of Assistants in pursuance thereof, are the paramount authority governing the State Society, its officers and its members, and no action by the State Society or its officers in conflict therewith is valid. Section 3. The Objects of this Society shall be:
Section 1. All persons over 18 years of age who are descended from a passenger on the Mayflower on the Voyage which terminated at Plymouth, New England, in December, 1620, shall be eligible for membership; and all persons under eighteen years of age shall be eligible for junior membership; provided however, that no person shall be eligible for membership who is pledged to or advocates the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States, or that of any State or Territory; or who has been guilty of treasonable practices; or who is not of good moral character; and this State Society shall have the right to expel from its membership any person for any of these causes. Section 2. Every application for membership in this Society shall be made on a preliminary blank provided by this Society, which application blank shall bear the autograph signatures of the applicant and two members, who shall vouch for such applicant. Section 3. Junior Memberships shall be available for juniors of any age up to eighteen (18) years, which Junior Membership may continue until the age of twenty-five (25) years. Section 4. A member in good standing in the State Society may make application for Junior Membership in behalf of any person under eighteen (18) years of age who is related to a present or past member of the General Society by blood through the line which such member was proved for the Society. A Junior may be elected to Life Membership subject to the submission of the usual lineage papers executed by the member on behalf of the applicant and approved by the State Historian and the Historian General. Other Junior Members may between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-five (25) transfer to Regular Membership in this Society, provided the usual lineage papers shall have been furnished and approved. A State and General Number shall be assigned to each Junior Life Member, and to other Junior Members when they become Regular Members. Junior State Numbers shall be assigned to Junior Members. No Junior Member and no Junior Life Member may vote or hold office.
Section 1. The officers of this Society shall be a Governor, Deputy Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, Assistant Historian, Elder, Counselor, and four Assistants. They shall serve for two years or until their successors are elected and qualified. They shall be elected by majority vote at the annual meeting of this Society. No officer except Treasurer, Historian and Assistant Historian may serve in the same office for more than two successive terms. Section 2. The Board of Assistants shall consist of the above named officers of the Society together with all former Governors of the Society. Section 3. The duties and powers of the officers shall be regulated by the Bylaws and this Constitution. Section 4. Vacancies occasioned by death or resignation may be filled by the Board of Assistants for the unexpired term.
Section 1. Two regular semi-annual meetings of the Society shall be held each year. The annual meeting ("Spring Meeting") shall be held in March or at such time and place during the first six months of the calendar year as fixed by the Board of Assistants. A second regular semi-annual meeting ("Compact Day Meeting") shall be held in the Fall, on or about Compact Day. All other meetings of the Society shall be held at such times and places as determined by the Board of Assistants, provided that this shall not prohibit the Governor or a specified number of members as determined by the Bylaws from calling a special meeting. Section 2. The number of members, which shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Society shall be ten, and for a meeting of the Board of Assistants shall be five.
The Society shall have the power and authority to establish and to repeal Bylaws for its Government.
The seal of the Society shall contain a representation of a sailing vessel of the seventeenth century, and around it the name of the Society and the words "Plymouth, 1620" and "Hawaii, 1958."
Section 1. Any twenty members of this Society, whose dues are fully paid for the current year, or the Board of Assistants acting as such, shall have the right to propose an amendment to this Constitution. Section 2. At least one month before a regular semi-annual or special meeting of the members, a notice of the date and place of the meeting, together with the text of the proposed amendment, shall be mailed to all members with such recommendations as the Board of Assistants may elect to make, and such notice shall ne accompanied by a printed ballot on which any member may record his or her vote for or against the proposal and return the same to the State Secretary. A member may vote in person. Publication of the aforesaid notice, including the ballot, may be done in a Society newsletter preceding the meeting by at least one month.
Section 1. Dissolution of the Society may be proposed by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Assistants voting at a regularly called meeting of the Board. Notice of the dissolution proposal to the general membership shall be in the manner specified for proposed amendments to the Constitution. Voting of the general membership shall be by written ballot and a majority of ballots received shall be required for dissolution of the Society. Section 2. Upon dissolution of the Society by formal action, or by operation of law or otherwise, the Board of Assistants shall first provide for the payment of all the outstanding debts and obligations of the Society, shall deliver all books, records, genealogical papers of the Society into the care, custody and control of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Any remaining assets shall be distributed to a nonprofit fund, foundation or corporation, such as the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes and which has established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 3. The property of the Society being irrevocably dedicated to educational purposes, no fund, asset, or money of the Society shall at any time inure to the benefit of any individual member, nor shall any such fund, asset, or money be delivered to or divided up among the members at the time of the dissolution of the Society.
Amended April 8, 2000 Article I -- Membership Section 1. A person desiring membership in the State Society of Mayflower Descendants in Hawaii shall complete and submit to the State Historian two forms provided by the Society: (1) A preliminary application and (2) a lineage worksheet. Section 2. Applicants for membership shall be voted on by the Board of Assistants and either accepted or rejected. Three negative votes shall reject the applicant. Section 3. Worksheets for accepted applicants shall be processed by the State Historian under procedures established by the Historian General. Upon approval of an applicant's lineage papers by the Historian General, the State Secretary shall declare the applicant elected to membership in the State Society of Mayflower Descendants in Hawaii and shall notify him of his election. Section 4. Any person whose preliminary application has been rejected or withdrawn shall be entitled to have a new application considered upon payment of a new application fee.
Section 1. Written notice to the general membership of the Spring Meeting and the Compact Day Meeting may be provided in the Society newsletter or otherwise. Section 2. Special meetings of the Society may be held at any specified time and place at the call of the Governor or upon the written request of ten members. The object of such special meetings must be stated in the notice. Section 3. The Board of Assistants shall hold meetings at the discretion of the Governor or on call of three members of the Board at such hours and places as he, she, or they may determine. Section 4. The following shall be the order of business at all meetings of the Society.
Every two years, prior to the Spring Meeting, the Governor shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three members. The committee shall name one candidate for each office to be filled, and shall give its report at the Spring Meeting. Nominations may also be made from the floor. No member may be nominated without his or her consent. Election shall be at the Spring Meeting. In case of more than one candidate for an office, voting shall be by written ballot, with a plurality vote of the members present determining the winner.
Section 1. It shall be the duty of the Governor to preside at all meetings of the Society and the Board of Assistants, to appoint special committees for specific purposes, and to perform such other duties usually vested in the chief executive officer of similarly-situated non-profit organizations. Section 2. It shall be the duty of the Deputy Governor to exercise all functions of the office of Governor during the absence or disability of the Governor. Section 3. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to record all proceedings of the Society and the Board, to keep complete lists of all members, to notify members of their election following approval of lineage papers by the Historian General or following transfer, to notify members of the Society and Board of Assistants of all meetings to be held, to make whatever notices and communications that may be required by order of the Society or the Governor, and in general to perform all duties usually pertaining to such office. Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to take charge of all funds belonging to the Society, to keep suitable books of account, to charge, collect and receive all fees and dues and all other monies payable to the Society, to make all necessary disbursements customarily incurred by the Society or special expenditures authorized by the Board, and to report the condition of the treasury at all Society or Board meetings. The Treasurer shall send to each member by the first day of January a written notice of annual dues for the ensuing year. The Treasurer shall also see that any members of the Society who desire them are provided with certificates, insignia and rosettes furnished by the General Society at the established price. Section 5. The Historian shall offer minor assistance to applicants for membership whose preliminary applications have been approved, give provisional review to their references and evidence, and prepare and process final application forms in accordance with General Society procedure. The Historian shall keep a file of final application papers of all members of the Hawaii Society together with all documentary evidence submitted by them. Section 6. The Assistant Historian shall assist the Historian as requested. Section 7. The Elder shall officiate when called upon at any meeting of the Society. Section 8. The Counselor shall render legal aid and opinion upon matters pertaining to the Society when requested to do so by the Board of Assistants.
Special committees appointed by the Governor for specific purposes shall have authority to fulfill such assignments.
Section 1. The preliminary application and lineage worksheet fees imposed by the Society shall be paid when the preliminary application is submitted. Section 2. Annual dues for membership in this Society shall be payable upon notice of acceptance by the General Society and by January 1 of each year following; provided however that, if notice of acceptance by the General Society occurs after July 1, the dues for the remainder of that year shall be prorated. Section 3. If annual dues remain unpaid as of December 15, the member shall be dropped from the rolls, unless otherwise ordered by the Board of Assistants. Section 4. The fee for Junior Membership shall be paid when the application for Junior Membership is submitted. No further dues shall be required of Junior Members. Section 5. Any member upon payment of a one-time fee may become a Life Member, exempt from further payment of dues. Dues collected for a Life Membership shall be retained by the Treasurer, during the lifetime of the member, in a savings account, and only the interest be available for current expenses. At the death of the member, the entire fee shall be available for Society purposes. Section 6. The Board of Assistants, when circumstances warrant it, may designate a long-time member as a Senior Member, in recognition of past services and loyalty, exempt from further payment of dues. Section 7. Any member who has resigned in good standing may apply in writing to the Board of Assistants to be reinstated. With the approval of the Board and upon paying dues for the year in which the resignation was accepted and an additional reinstatement fee, the member shall be restored to full membership. Section 8. Any member who has been dropped for non-payment of dues may apply in writing to the Board of Assistants to be reinstated. With the approval of the Board and upon payment of all delinquent dues for the time the member was carried on the rolls of the Society, including the year in which the member was dropped and an additional reinstatement fee, the member shall be restored to full membership.
Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended in the same way as provided for amendments to the Constitution. Section 2. Any section of these Bylaws may be suspended for a special purpose at any time by unanimous vote of the members present at a meeting of the Society.
This Society is organized exclusively for purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
Not withstanding any other provision of the articles, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted (a) by an organization exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law.)
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the deliberations of the Society and Board of Assistants.
Adopted May 1, 1993 The Application fee of $50 must accompany the preliminary application. This fee is not refundable if the application is not approved by the Historian General. Lineage Worksheet will be issued to the Applicant upon receipt of the Preliminary Application and fee. Upon approval of Membership by the Historian General, the newly elected member must pay dues to the Treasurer. Annual dues will be $30 for the calendar year January 1 through December 31. A new member will be assessed prorated dues for the remainder of the year from the time an application is approved. By payment of a one time fee a newly elected member or a member in good standing can become a Life Member. The fee for Life Membership is as follows:
Supplemental Application fee of $50 must accompany member's Supplemental Application Papers. This fee is not refundable. The fee for Junior Membership is $5 paid at the time the child is enrolled.
The fee for Junior Life Membership is $500 in addition to an Application fee of
$50 and must accompany Application Papers. If Application is not approved
by the Historian General, a refund of $500 will be made to the applicant. |