| HK HOUSE OF PEERS - BYLAWS
HK HOUSE OF PEERS
BYLAWS
As
Amended April 11, 2008 |
ARTICLE I – NAME
AND STRUCTURE
The name of this organization shall be
"HK House of Peers," hereinafter referred to as "HOP." It shall be a
non-profit organization founded by authorized independent Harmony Kingdom Collector Clubs,
hereinafter referred to as "Member Clubs." The voting members of HOP shall
consist of representatives, known as delegates, from each of the member clubs.
HOP is independent of Harmony Ball
Company, and PGF, Ltd., hereinafter collectively referred to as
"the Company," and the Royal Watch, but is endorsed by these entities in a
mutual effort to promote Harmony Kingdom collectibles and encourage participation in the
independent member clubs.
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
The Member Clubs have certain shared
values that guide the actions of HOP. They are: (1) The spirit of collecting stays alive
by encouraging communication between the Company and collectors; (2) All Harmony Kingdom
collectors’ ideas are valuable and worthy of being shared among other collectors and
with the Company; (3) Collector Clubs are an integral part of the continued success of a
collectible line; 4) Collectors and the Company alike should treat each other with dignity
and respect; and (5) We promote harmony within the collecting community and share that
harmony with society as a whole through charitable works.
The purpose of HOP shall be to: (1)
Insure communication among Member Clubs and assist in the coordination of multi-club
activities; (2) Sponsor collector activities at the national or international level; (3)
Serve as liaison between the Company and Member Clubs; (4) Coordinate charitable
activities on a national or international level, and (5) Review applications submitted by
independent Harmony Kingdom clubs and make recommendations to the Company within the
guidelines established for authorized independent club status.
ARTICLE III –
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 – Membership.
Membership in HOP is open to all authorized independent Harmony Kingdom collector clubs.
Section 2 – Delegates.
Each Member Club shall select one primary HOP delegate and one alternate HOP delegate. To
facilitate decision making and information flow, at least one delegate from each Member
Club shall be an officer or a member of their Board of Directors. Furthermore, due to the distances involved and the
necessity to keep apprised of developments as they occur, all HOP delegates and alternates
must be available via e-mail and have Internet access. A delegate and the alternate may
not be from the same household. It is recommended that a HOP delegate or a proxy delegate attend the Annual
Meeting.
Section 3 – Use of Personal
Information. From time to time it becomes necessary to announce thanks or
congratulate a delegate for participation in HOP activities, or to provide contact
information for HOP related purposes. Therefore, unless denied in writing by the delegate,
permission is hereby granted to HOP to use said delegate’s name and contact
information in HOP or the Company publications, including the Company or HOP Web sites.
Information received from clubs about the club, their officers or delegates is needed to
perform HOP functions. With the submission of information to HOP, the club hereby grants
HOP permission to use said information as it relates to HOP activities. Personal
information on HOP delegates will not be released outside the organization for any other
purpose without the delegate’s permission.
Section 4 – Term of Office.
The term of office for each clubs’ delegates shall be established by the Member Club.
Member clubs are required to immediately notify HOP of any delegate changes.
Section 5 – Duties.
Section 5.1 – Primary
Delegate. The duties of a primary HOP delegate is to represent the interests of
the Member Club with HOP activities and to act in the best interests of Harmony Kingdom
collectors as a whole. Accomplishing this may involve: attending meetings either in person
or electronically; disseminating information provided by HOP to Club Members; responding
to requests from HOP for information about the Member Club; and participating in HOP
decision making processes. The primary delegate is authorized to vote on any HOP matter on
behalf of the Member Club.
Section 5.2 – Alternate
Delegate. The duty of an alternate delegate is to represent the Member Club in
the absence of the primary delegate. An alternate delegate is authorized to vote on HOP
matters only in the absence of the primary delegate.
Section 6 – Removal of delegates.
Section 6.1 – Delegates
may be removed from the position of delegate at any time by the Member Club in accordance
with the Bylaws of that club.
Section 6.2 – If a
delegate fails to perform their duties as specified above, HOP may request that the Member
Club select another delegate to represent their best interests.
ARTICLE IV –
OFFICERS
Section 1 – Officers. There shall be five (5) elected officers, which shall comprise the Board. The elected
officers shall be: 1) President; 2) Vice President; 3) Secretary; 4) Treasurer; and 5)
Member-at-Large.
Section 2 – Election of Officers.
Section 2.1 – Nominations. Prior to each Annual Meeting, a Nominating Committee shall be selected by the Board to provide a
slate of officers for the expiring terms. The slate will be submitted to the delegates 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting. At the Annual Meeting of HOP, the delegates shall elect officers to serve for the
respective terms. Nominees must be a delegate (primary or alternate) of their Member Club. Only one delegate of a Member Club can be an officer at the same time.
Section 2.2 – Elections. Voting
shall be by voice vote unless the delegates agree to a written, mail, or electronic
ballot. Officers shall be considered duly elected by a simple majority vote of the members
voting. In the event of a tie, the delegates shall vote again. In the event of a tie after
the second vote, the winner will be determined by the flip of a coin.
Section 2.3 – Term of
Office. Officers shall serve for a term of two (2) years or until
their successors are elected and installed. In order to ensure that there is continuity on
the Board, the terms will be staggered so that no more than three officers will be elected
in any one year. To accomplish this the President,
Secretary, and Member-at-Large are elected in one year and the Vice President and
Treasurer are elected the following year.
Section 2.4 – Vacancies. A vacancy in any office shall be filled by appointment of the Board for the remainder of
the fiscal year, unless more than one delegate in good standing volunteers for the
position. In which case selection will be made by a simple majority of voting delegates.
If the vacancy will be longer than one fiscal year, the position shall be included in the
next election process and the term shall be one year. Should a HOP officer cease to be the
Member Club’s delegate to HOP, the HOP office will be considered vacant.
Section 3 – Duties of the Board.
Section 3.1 – Meetings. The Board shall meet prior to the Annual Meeting of HOP, and at other times as necessary,
or as called by the President, or by three (3) officers of the Board, to discuss any
pending business. Three (3) officers present at a meeting shall constitute a quorum for
voting. Meetings may be conducted in person or via electronic means (e.g. telephone
conference or via the Internet).
Section 3.2 – Finances. The Board shall approve an operating budget annually, which shall be available to Member
Clubs. Payment of bills over one hundred U.S. Dollars ($100.00), which are not within the
approved budget, must have prior approval by the Board.
Section 3.3 – Removal From
Office. The Board, by vote at a meeting with a quorum present, shall have the
power to remove a Board member from office for continued or frequent non-performance of
their duties as specified in the bylaws and / or for any malfeasance or misfeasance in
office.
Section 3.4 – Appointed
Positions. The Board shall have the authority to create and dissolve special
committees or positions as necessary, such as but not limited to: Webmaster, Charity
Coordinator or Special Event Coordinator. Any collector, including HOP officers, may hold
these positions. These appointed positions may vote on specific issues at the discretion of the Board.
Section 3.5 – Dissolution. In the event of dissolution, all outstanding bills shall be paid. Assets remaining shall
be donated to a 501(c)(3) charitable tax-exempt organization as recognized by the Internal
Revenue Service and selected by the HOP delegates. The delegates shall be notified of the
final disbursement of funds.
Section 4 – Duties of the
Officers.
Section 4.1 – President: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all HOP and Board meetings. The
president may vote at Board meetings. In the event of a tie, a second ballot shall be
cast. In the event of a tie on the second ballot, the President will cast the deciding
vote. The President shall serve as the liaison between HOP and the Company.
Section 4.2 – Vice
President: In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall fulfill all
duties and responsibilities of the President as indicated in Section 4.1 of this article.
The Vice President shall perform such other duties as specified by the Board.
Section 4.3 – Secretary: It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep a full and accurate record of the minutes of
all General and Board meetings. The Secretary shall submit written minutes to the Board
for approval. The Secretary shall maintain copies of HOP correspondence. The Secretary
shall maintain current records of all clubs’ details including, but not limited to,
the addresses and other contact information for Member Club Officers and Delegates, club
and donation addresses, meeting and location information, and any other information which
may be used on HOP Club Web pages. To assist in the authorization of new clubs and
facilitate the gathering of forms and details needed to submit an application to the
Company for authorized independent club approval.
Section 4.4 – Treasurer: It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to keep a full and accurate record of all monetary
transactions of HOP. The Treasurer shall receive all funds and deposit them in HOP’s
bank account. The Treasurer shall disburse funds at the direction of the Board. The
President is authorized to sign checks in the absence of the Treasurer. The Treasurer
shall prepare a current financial report for each Board meeting and a final report for the
Board within 30 days of the end of the fiscal year for the Board’s approval. The
Board may request that a non-Board member perform an audit. The Treasurer shall prepare a budget for the next fiscal year by
April 1st of each year, presenting it to the Board for review. The Board shall
secure budget approval at the Annual Meeting. Upon approval, the budget will be
distributed to voting delegates.
Section 4.5 – Member-at-Large: A Member-at-Large shall serve on the Board. The Member-at-Large shall from time to time
perform duties as specified by the Board.
Section 4.6 – It
shall be the duty of the officers to attend all General and Board Meetings, either in
person or electronically. Should an officer be unable to attend a meeting, the officer
shall ensure that his or her duties (e.g., reports, etc.) are presented by another
officer. All officers shall submit receipts to the Treasurer for reimbursement of all
approved expenses.
ARTICLE V –
MEETINGS
Section 1 – There
shall be an Annual Meeting of HOP delegates in conjunction with an annual event. If no collector event is held, then the Board shall schedule an Annual Meeting at a place and time convenient to the delegates. Additional meetings may be scheduled at the discretion of the Board as needed.
Meetings may be conducted in person or via electronic means (e.g. telephone conference or
the Internet).
Section 2 – The Board
shall call a Special Meeting upon the written request of five (5) delegates. A Special
Meeting can be held in person or electronically. Notice of a Special Meeting conducted
electronically and the business to be transacted must be given to all delegates at least
five (5) days prior to the meeting ("Proper Notice"). If the meeting will be
held in person, notice must be given at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the meeting
("Proper Notice"). Only business for which the Special Meeting was called may be
transacted.
Section 3 – At any
Annual, General, or Special Meeting, after Proper Notice to the delegates, the voting
delegates attending, either in person or electronically, shall constitute a quorum.
If the meeting is held completely electronically, two-thirds (2/3) of the voting delegates
shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VI –
GENERAL
Section 1 – The fiscal
year of the organization shall be from July 1 through June 30.
Section 2 – HOP
officers, delegates, and collectors appointed to committees or positions where they
represent HOP, may not accept gifts from any company or organization that would result in
the appearance of a conflict of interest. The Board shall determine in advance if under
special circumstances and in the best interest of HOP an exception shall be granted.
ARTICLE VII –
BYLAWS
Section 1 – These Bylaws
may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the delegates. Proposed Bylaw
amendments shall be provided to all voting delegates at least thirty days (30) prior to
voting. Absentee ballots shall be permitted.
Section 2 – Inclusion of
the rules contained in the current edition of "Roberts Rules of Order, Newly
Revised" shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable and as long as they
are not inconsistent with these Bylaws.
Section 3 – The
delegates of HOP ratified these Bylaws on December 1, 1999; they became effective
immediately. All amendments become effective immediately upon approval by the delegates.
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___________________________________
Leanna Barron, President HK House of Peers |
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for use by a HOP Independent Club.
Please request permission using the e-mail address below.
© 1999-2008 HK House of Peers. All rights reserved.
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