ARTICLE I
Name – The name of this club shall be The Syracuse Camera Club
ARTICLE II
Objectives – The objectives of the club shall be to promote the art of photography and to promote camaraderie among its members.
ARTICLE III
Membership – Any person interested in the art of photography is eligible for membership, subject to the provisions of the by-laws.
ARTICLE IV
Club Officers – The officers of the club are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The President provides overall leadership and direction to the club; presides over all meetings; delegates duties to the other officers; and coordinates the membership and activities of all standing and ad-hoc committees. The Vice President acts on behalf of the President in the same capacity whenever the President cannot perform her or his duties. The secretary manages club correspondence and maintains club meeting minutes when appropriate. The treasurer manages the club’s bank account by depositing all money into a dedicated account and by paying authorized bills; keeps a record of all members; maintains receipts and disbursements; and makes an annual report on the financial status of the club to the Executive Committee and the Membership.
Election of Officers – A nominating committee shall be appointed by the President in March and report its recommendations to the membership at the April competition meeting. The chair of the nominating committee shall post the slate on the Syrcam Yahoo group. Nominations from the floor shall be entertained at the May Competition meeting, and the final slate shall be posted on the Yahoo Syrcam discussion group following the meeting. Voting for new officers shall take place at the June Competition meeting.
Executive Committee – There shall be an executive committee, consisting of all the Officers, the chairpersons of all standing committees, past presidents, and such other members as the President feels can contribute.
Standing Committees and other club functions. There shall be a number of standing committees and individuals appointed to assist with various functions of the club. These may include the following: Record Keeping, Workshop Organizing, Print Competition, Digital Competition, Judge selection, Image Shows, Membership, Outreach, Webmaster, Facebook moderator, Syrcam group moderator, Zenfolio gallery moderator. The moderators and chairs of these committees shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the other officers.
ARTICLE V
Meetings – There shall be two regular meetings every month from September to June for workshops and competitions, and additional meetings for image shows shall be scheduled throughout the year. Additional special meetings may be called by the President or a vote of the membership, or a regular meeting may be dispensed with by the majority vote of the membership.
ARTICLE VI
Quorum – A quorum shall consist of twelve members in good standing for the transaction of business.
ARTICLE VII
By-laws – The members shall be empowered to adopt such by-laws not inconsistent with the Constitution from time to time as they shall deem proper. Any proposed changes in the by-laws shall be announced at a regular meeting and posted on Syrcam by the Secretary. Discussion and voting shall take place at a meeting following this announcement. A simple majority of members voting shall indicate approval of change.
ARTICLE VIII
Fiscal Year – The fiscal year of this club shall commence on August 1 and shall end on July 31.
At the end of each fiscal year, the Treasurer shall make an annual report on the financial status of the club to the Executive Committee and the Membership.
ARTICLE IX
Section 1 – Dues
The annual dues shall be the amount specified from time to time by a two-thirds vote of the club at any regular meeting. The club operates from September 1 to August 31 next succeeding. Annual dues are due on September 1. If a new member applies on or after February 1, the annual dues for such new member shall be one-half the full year’s dues.
Section 2 – Household Membership
The first member of any household joining the club shall pay regular annual dues. All other members of the household shall pay one-half of the regular annual dues. Maximum rate per family: regular dues plus 1/2 the regular amount. Student rate: 1/2 the regular amount.
Section 3 – Competition Eligibility
After November 1 of each year, only Honorary Members and regular members whose annual dues are fully paid and not in arrears may compete.
Section 4 – Honorary membership
Honorary membership is automatically conferred on persons who have been active members for 25 years, or to those who have contributed in extraordinary fashion to the Club and have been selected by the Executive committee. Honorary members who enter the monthly competitions are expected to contribute an amount equal to one-half the annual dues.
ARTICLE X
Amendments – Amendments may be proposed at any regular meeting of the club, and discussed. They must be tabled, to be voted on at a subsequent regular meeting. Amendments will be posted on Syrcam by the Secretary after they have been presented. The proposed amendment shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the membership at any regular meeting.
RESOLUTIONS
1. Meeting Time
Meetings shall begin promptly at 7:30 p.m.
2. Duration of the Business Meeting
In order to assure that the program for the evening commences in a timely manner, under no circumstances will discussion of business extend beyond 30 minutes.
3. Website – Syracuse Camera Club
The SCC maintains a website to provide information about the club, its purposes, and its activities. The site will be maintained by a member who volunteers to be the webmaster.
https://syracusecameraclub.org/
4. Online Forum – Syrcam on Yahoo! Groups
The SCC maintains an on-line discussion forum. The forum will have two purposes: (1) to be a repository for minutes, competition results, announcements, and other official club information and documents; (2) to allow SCC members to share information with and seek support from other forum participants through on-line discussions. Participation in the forum will be restricted to SCC members in good standing. A forum moderator will be found among the members of the SCC.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/syrcam/info
5. Photo Gallery – SCC on Zenfolio
The Syracuse Camera Club maintains a photo gallery on the Zenfolio photo sharing site, where members can post their photos and visitors may view or comment on them.
http://syracusecameraclub.zenfolio.com/
6. Social – SCC on Facebook
The Syracuse Camera Club maintains a group on Facebook to promote the club on social media and bring the club and its photography to the attention of the online community.
https://www.facebook.com/SyracuseCameraClub/
Revisions:
Approved January 2010: Removed outdated references throughout document
Approved August 2013: Updated gallery information, Resolution (5)
Approved August 2016: Add Standing Committees, clarifications on club year definition, update Resolutions to club web site (3), forum (4), social (6)
Approved August 2018: Revise Article IV, to add officer definitions and remove non-elected club positions verbiage
May 2019: Restore non-elected club positions verbiage