Constitution and By-Laws
of the
Wichita County Area Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club
District 15
Constitution
Article I – Name
The name of this organization shall be the Wichita County Area Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club.
Article II – Objective
Believing that there is a great need for a closer affiliation between home and the college, and mutual benefit will be derived for both parents and students, this club was formed. The organization was formed to aid students in their studies (with encouragement), to express interest in the students’ morale, mental, and physical welfare, and to aid students in a way that might be deemed acceptable and necessary. And to provide scholarships to deserving Wichita County Area students attending Texas A&M University College Station.
This Club is organized as a chapter club of the Federation of Texas A&M University Mothers’ Clubs (referred to herein as the Federation) for charitable and educational purposes, including for such purpose the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).
Article III – Membership
Wichita County Area active membership consists of mothers, stepmothers, guardians, grandmothers of students, former students of Texas A&M University and fathers of single parent families, who have students at Texas A&M. Membership is extended to people in the areas surrounding Wichita County Area which have no Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club in their county. Any member who desires to serve as an officer may be a candidate for office provided, she is a member in good standing.
Article IV – Election
Section 1: The officers of this organization shall be elected at the March business meeting. New officers will be installed at the conclusion of the May business meeting. Their term of office will run from June to the conclusion of the May business meeting. No officer shall serve more than two (2) consecutive years.
Section 2: Nominations for offices shall be made by a Nominating Committee, which shall be appointed in February, consisting of the Vice President-at-large as Chairman and at least two members, appointed by the President. The President shall appoint an alternate member to serve in the absence of any one of the nomination committee members.
Section 3: The Nominating Committee shall consider only members of the Wichita County Area Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club. Each member nomination must be contacted and consent to serve in the office for which she is being considered. The Nominating Committee shall consider leadership skills, attendance and interest for each office.
Section 4: Additional nominations may be made from the floor provided the consent of the nominee has been obtained. When there is more than none nominee for an office, the election shall be by ballot.
Article V – Officers
The elected officers of this organization shall be:
President, President-Elect, Past President/Parliamentarian, 1st Vice President (Membership), 2nd Vice President (Programs/Socials), 3rd Vice President (Communications/Website), 4th Vice President (Fundraising/Boutique), Treasurer, Secretary
Article VI – Executive Power
Section 1: An Executive Board composed of the elected officers and standing chairmen shall have full authority to act for this organization between regular meetings.
Section 2: The President of this club, or her alternate shall serve as voting representatives for this club, to meet with the Executive Board of the Federation in the fall and spring.
Section 3: In case of vacancy in an office, the office shall be filled with another member of the Wichita County Area Club, appointed by the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, with the exception of the President.
Article VII – Voting Powers
The right to vote at the regular monthly meetings shall be extended to all members in good standing. The President will vote to decide a tie.
Article VIII – Amendments
This constitution may be amended by two-thirds vote of those present provided the proposed amendment or amendments are first submitted to the Executive Board.
Article IX – Restriction Clause
No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distribute to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in these articles. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) or the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any further United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any further United States Internal Revenue law).
Article X – Dissolution
Upon the dissolution of the organization, the Executive Board shall, after paying or making provisions for payment of all of the liabilities of the organization, liquidate all remaining assets and donate funds to the TAMU scholarship fund.
BY-LAWS
Article I – Meetings
Section 1: The regular monthly meeting will be held the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm. Ten members shall constitute a quorum at a regular meeting.
Section 2: The Executive Board shall meet no less than three (3) times during the year.
ARTICLE II – DUES
Active members shall pay annual dues that are set by the Executive Board and approved by the Club. Membership must be renewed annually for the fiscal year June 1 through May 31. Dues are not pro-rated. Dues and fees assessed by the Federation will be paid for each active member by the Club Persons who wish to become a member of the Wichita County Area Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club shall pay dues of $40.00 per year ($15.00 for each additional child). The club shall send $2.00 per member to the Federation Treasurer, per her requirement and meeting deadline of February 1st.
ARTICLE III – DUTIES OF OFFICERS
President
It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings and perform all the duties which pertain to her office. She shall appoint all committee chairpersons and special committees, as needed and act as ex-officio member on all committees. The president will select a chair of the Nomination Committee. The President shall be certain that all reports, due annually to the Federation, are filed by the established deadlines.
President-Elect
The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of her inability to serve and shall perform such duties as from time to time may be designated by the Executive Board. The President-Elect will be familiar with all activities pertaining to the office of the President. Attend all meetings.
Vice President at Large (Parliamentarian)
The Parliamentarian shall be the immediate past president and shall be ready at all times to advise the organization in regard to all questions of parliamentary usage which may be referred to her, following Robert’s Rules of Order. The Past President shall be the Vice-President-At-Large and will fill any vacancy on the Executive Board until said vacancy is filled by election or appointment. She shall serve as a member of the Nominating Committee and shall assist whenever needed.
1st Vice President (Membership)
The 1st Vice President shall be Chairman of Membership and shall preside in the absence of the President and perform such duties as are necessary in her absence. She shall keep a record of all members and aid in recruitment of new members. She will also contact and recruit mothers, grandmothers or anyone interested in the purpose of the organization. She will contact mothers of incoming freshmen and transfer students in an attempt to increase membership of the Club. She will record attendance at all meetings and functions, greet members and provide nametags. She will oversee the production and distribution of the yearbook/directory and club t-shirts. She is also responsible for sending birthday cards to our Aggie students.
2nd Vice President (Programs/Socials)
Coordinates programs with President and schedules speakers. She shall host and introduce guest speakers at club meetings. She shall make arrangements for and have responsibility of all programs for the Club. She shall also be responsible for planning socials as requested and approved by the President. She shall ensure monthly meeting place is secure and insure proper notification to the club members. Oversees and coordinates with the hospitality chair for refreshments and decorations.
3rd Vice President (Communication/Website)
The 3rd Vice President shall be Chairman of Communication and will be responsible for all communications to club members, maintenance of website and social media (Facebook). She will oversee the Publicity and Publications Committee.
4th Vice President (Projects & Fundraising)
The 4th Vice President shall be Chairman of Projects and Fund-Raising activities. Duties include the sale of items at all general meetings and special events (i.e. Parent’s Weekend, Boutique, etc.) including raffles and additional fundraising activities. Works with President on opportunity for the club to give back to the community with service projects.
Secretary
It shall be the duty of the Secretary to take minutes and keep a written record of all meetings of the club as well as Board Meetings in a book (so it can be held as a permanent record, and will be passed on to the next secretary, each successive year). Minutes will be emailed to each member and made available at each meeting for discussion. Minutes shall be approved at each meeting. The secretary will provide the President with a copy of the minutes each month before the next meeting. Attendance at all meetings will be recorded in the minutes.
Treasurer
The Treasurer shall receive all monies and shall receipt for same. She will pay out money by check and upon the order of request of the President or a majority vote of the Club. She will report such expenditure monthly. The books will be audited (by an auditing committee from the club) and turned over to the new Treasurer in June.
ARTICLE IV – STANDING COMMITTEES AND DUTIES
The President shall appoint the Chairman of the following Committees: Nominating Committee, Audit Committee, Scholarship, Hospitality, Publicity/Publication, Goody Bag. The standing committee chairmen shall be voting members of the Executive Board.
Duties of the Standing Committees:
- Nominating Committee Shall consist of at least three active members. The Nominating Committee Chair shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.
- Audit Committee Shall consist of three active members in good standing. The purpose of the committee shall be to audit the Club’s financial records as prepared by the Treasurer. Both the outgoing and incoming Treasures shall attend the Audit Committee meeting.
- Scholarship Committee Shall provide the general membership and public with scholarship information, application and deadlines. Collect student applications, check eligibility, review content and rank applications to receive merit scholarships based on the criteria set forth and approved by the Board. Make recommendations to the Board at May meeting for approval of dollar amounts to be awarded based on the budget.
- Hospitality Shall serve as hostess at all functions and be responsible for refreshments and decorations at the general meeting and other Club functions as needed. Works with Social Chair on arranging for decorations and food at special events as needed.
- Publicity/Publication Shall contact all news media concerning club activities, items of interest and achievements. Keep copy of each item she has given to the press, and keep clippings from newspaper articles published about the Club. She will also act as Historian. As Historian she shall keep a record of all publicized items concerning the Club or University in a scrap book provided by the club for display purposes.
- Goody Bag Shall receive orders from members for Goody Bags two times a year to be delivered to College Station right before finals of each semester. Plan Goody Bags based on member and student feedback and based on the budget approved by the Board. Procure the items, coordinate the assembly and set up the delivery of the Goody Bags by volunteer moms at the MSC in College Station.
Article V – Delegates
Section 1: The delegates to the Federation Annual Business meeting shall consist of three representatives, the President and two elected members from each Texas A&M University Mother’s Club, with a membership of one hundred or less and one extra delegate for each additional fifty members according to the Federation by-laws.
Section 2: Delegates whose club have not paid their dues by March 1 of each year shall be denied the right to vote at the annual Federation business meeting. Clubs organized after March 1 are an exception in accordance to Federation By-laws.
Article VI – Quorum
Ten members shall constitute a quorum for regular business meetings. Five members shall constitute a quorum at an Executive meeting.
Article VII – Parliamentary Authority
Order of business and parliamentary authority procedure shall be followed as given in Robert’s Rules or Order-Revised, when they are not in conflict with the Federation Constitution and By-Laws.
Article VIII – Amendments
The By-Laws shall be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of those present, provided such amendments have been submitted to the Executive Board, and provided that it is in accordance with Federation By-Laws.
XI – Standing Rules
Annual reports shall be made by each individual Club. The Club reports shall be made on uniform blank furnished by the Federation, and at the discretion of the president of the Federation, shall be either read or on display at the Annual Business Meeting. Report is due to Federation by May 31st.
Additional standing rules which apply to the Federation of Texas A&M University Mothers’ Club may be found in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Federation. The local Club President or Secretary has a copy.
Revised: 8/4/2020
