BYLAWS FOR THE SAINT PAUL ATARI COMPUTER ENTHUSIASTS CLUB OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA

As amended by the membership, September 13, 2002

ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECT

Section 1. The name of the Club shall be the Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts, or SPACE.

Section 2. The object of the Club shall be to bring those with a common interest in Atari computers together for the purpose of sharing hardware, software and information related to Atari.

ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. The number of members of SPACE shall not be limited.

Section 2. Any person or family interested in Atari computers shall be eligible for membership upon payment of the annual dues for the first year.

Section 3. The annual dues shall be $15.00, payable on the anniversary month of the member's joining date.

Section 4. Unused portions of dues are not refundable.

Section 5. Any member found to be in violation of the rules or spirit of the club may be expelled by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Section 6. The Membership Chairman shall be responsible for collecting membership dues and managing the current membership list.

ARTICLE III
MEETINGS

Section 1. SPACE meetings shall be held at 7:30pm on the second Friday of each month, at the Falcon Heights Community Center, unless otherwise directed by the Executive Board.

Section 2. Club business cannot be conducted without at least one Officer and one other member present.

Section 3. All club meetings shall be open meetings.

Section 4. Minutes of each club meeting shall be recorded by the Secretary and published in the club newsletter.

Section 5. The Annual Meeting shall be held each November. At the Annual Meeting, Officers shall be elected and volunteers for other ongoing club duties shall be secured.

Section 6. The President shall preside over club meetings. In the President's absence, the Vice-President shall preside. In their absence, the Secretary shall preside. If the first three are all absent, the Treasurer shall preside.

ARTICLE IV
TREASURY

Section 1. An accounting for all incomes and charges to the SPACE balance sheet shall be published in the newsletter each month.

Section 2. Prior approval by the Executive Board is required if the club is to incur any expense.

Section 3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the duties of managing the club's monetary assets.

ARTICLE V
NEWSLETTER

Section 1. The club shall publish the SPACE Newsletter on a monthly basis.

Section 2. All currently paid club members shall receive a copy of the Newsletter by mail each month.

Section 3. Newsletters shall also be sent free of charge each month to other Atari clubs which are able to return the favor.

Section 4. The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for the duties of collecting articles from the membership, publishing, and distributing the Newsletter.

ARTICLE VI
DISK OF THE MONTH

Section 1. A new SPACE Disk Of the Month (DOM), readable by a standard Atari 1050 disk drive, shall be produced on a monthly basis. This is for the purpose of raising funds for the club.

Section 2. DOMs shall include shareware, freeware, or public domain software or other files for the Atari. DOMs shall not include pirated commercial software.

Section 3. The price of the DOM shall be $3.00.

Section 4. DOMs shall be available for sale at each club meeting, and may be sold to members and non-members.

Section 5. Other clubs may trade DOMs with SPACE on a one-for-one basis.

Section 6. The DOM Librarian shall be responsible for the production and sales of the DOM.

ARTICLE VII
BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM

Section 1. A Bulletin Board System (BBS) supporting Atari computers shall be made available by the club. The BBS provides an online forum for Atari discussions, and an optional communications medium for club matters.

Section 2. The BBS System Operator shall be responsible for maintaining a friendly and welcoming environment on the BBS. Illegal software or offensive language shall not be tolerated.

ARTICLE VIII
WEB SITE

Section 1. The club shall maintain a home page on the World Wide Web. The site shall be primarily designed to attract new club members, and provide online access to club information.

Section 2. The Webmaster shall be responsible for maintaining the web site, and keeping the information presented there current.

ARTICLE IX
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1. The Officers of the club shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and shall be referred to collectively as the Executive Board.

Section 2. The Executive Board shall collectively supervise the affairs of the club, shall be responsible for proper and orderly club operations, shall be responsible for upholding the rules of the bylaws, and shall at all times make decisions with the best interests of the membership in mind.

Section 3. The officers shall be elected by a majority vote of those present, or by acclamation if only one person is running. The term shall be for one year, or until a successor is elected. The term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting at which the officer is elected.

Section 4. The Executive Board shall actively seek volunteers to fill the following positions: Membership Chairman, Newsletter Editor, DOM Librarian, BBS Operator, and Webmaster. These volunteers shall be subject to the approval of the club membership.

Section 5. The Executive Board shall also seek volunteers for other ongoing administrative duties, such as meeting location arrangements and post office box maintenance.

Section 6. Officers shall be subject to a Recall Vote if a majority of the membership so decries. The Recall Vote shall not take place until it has been announced in the newsletter.

Section 7. The rules contained in the current edition of "Robert's Rules of Order" shall govern the club unless they are in conflict with the bylaws, in which case the bylaws shall take precedence.

ARTICLE X
AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

Section 1. A Quorum shall be defined as either a minimum of 50% of the entire membership, or 10, whichever is smaller.

Section 2. Provided that a quorum is present, and provided that the amendment proposal has been communicated to the entire membership in writing in advance, the Bylaws may be amended at any meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

Section 3. Voting shall be by consenting AYE or NAY if a two-thirds vote can be confirmed, or by a show of hands for a precise tally.

Section 4. Proxy voting is not permitted for Bylaws amendment votes.

ARTICLE XI
CLUB DISSOLUTION

Section 1. The club may elect to disband itself by a majority vote of the current membership, provided the proposal has been printed in at least one issue of the newsletter.

Section 2. In such an event, the Executive Board members shall be responsible for the proper and orderly closing of accounts, arrangements, and all normally ongoing club activities.

Section 3. Any remaining material assets of the club shall be distributed evenly among the membership, as best as this is possible. Historical club materials shall be preserved if possible.

Section 4. When all outstanding charges are paid, the Treasurer shall distribute any remaining club funds evenly among the final group of club members.

Return to the SPACE Home Page