Bylaws

Bylaws Revised on January 23, 2016

Bylaws of Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc.
a California Non-profit Public Benefit Corporation

Article I – Organization and Location

Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. (CIW) (initially called the Ojai Valley Woodturners Guild) was formed as an informal club and Local Chapter of the American Association of Woodturners, Inc. (AAW) in 1996 to serve the woodturners in Ventura County and surrounding areas. These Bylaws, originally adopted on October 26, 2002, and as subsequently amended, serve to formalize the organization of this Chapter and its relationship to the AAW. The formal name of this Chapter will be the Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. This organization will use the address of its current President as its address of record with the California Secretary of State and is registered as a Nonprofit Benefit Corporation.

Article II – Affiliation

Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. is affiliated with and intends to take the necessary actions to remain a Chapter in good standing of the American Association of Woodturners, Inc.

Article III – Purposes

The purpose of Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. is to foster a wider understanding and appreciation of the art and craft of woodturning among the general public and our members, and to support woodturning in the community and by our members. This will be accomplished by providing education, information, organization and technical assistance relating to woodturning.

Article IV – Membership

Membership is open to anyone interested in woodturning, regardless of their level of skill or knowledge. The membership dues are set each year by the Chapter.

The members of the Board of Directors shall be members of AAW during their term in office.

Chapter members are encouraged to join The American Association of Woodturners, which entitles them to receive the AAW Journal and directory and be eligible to attend the AAW annual conference.

Article V – Meetings

Regular meetings of this Chapter are held on the fourth Saturday of the month unless otherwise arranged with prior notice to the members. Special meetings or other gatherings and demonstrations may be scheduled at the discretion of the officers. Notice of topic, location, time and date for each meeting will be sent to members prior to the event.

Article VI – Officers and Directors

Board of Directors. The Board of Directors, “Board”, holds the legal responsibility and authority for Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc., and shall formulate policies and procedures to achieve its purposes. It has the authority to approve and amend budgets, to enter into contracts, open checking accounts, hire employees and independent contractors, and perform other activities normally associated with non-profit corporations. The Board is chaired by the President and will consist of eight (8) members: the elected Officers, Committee Chairs, and Director-at-Large. For the Board to meet and vote a quorum of five (5) members must be present. The Board will meet at least quarterly to conduct business, review the financial reports, and will also conduct an annual audit of the Chapter’s finances.

Number and Election. The elected officers and directors of this Chapter shall be President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Communication Chair, Program Chair, Community Outreach Chair, and Director at-Large. These officers and directors shall be elected each November and take office in January of the following year. Other committee chairpersons shall be appointed by the Board, but they will not be members of the Board of Directors.

Term of Office. Each elected Board member shall hold office for one year (January – December), and may be re-elected once for a consecutive term in the same position.

Nominating Committee. The role of the Nominating Committee is to prepare a slate of qualified candidates for the elected offices/positions in the chapter. This committee consists of three active members of CIW. Two are chosen by the Board and one is selected by the membership at the general meeting in September. The chairman of the Nominating Committee is traditionally the previous president of CIW (i.e. usually the current Director at Large). The Board may, however, decide to select someone else. At least one of the three members of the Nominating Committee should not be a current member of the Board. The nominating committee presents the slate at the October meeting.

Removal. Any Officer or Director elected or appointed may be removed when it is deemed to be in the best interests of the Chapter. Removal will be accomplished by a majority vote of the Chapter’s paid-up members in attendance at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Vacancies. A vacancy in any Office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or other reason may be filled by a majority vote of the members or of the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.

President. The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Chapter. The duties of the President shall include: Supervising and controlling all of the business and affairs of the Chapter; Conducting Chapter meetings; Guiding the chapter’s member-oriented educational program with the aid of the Program Chair; Guiding the community-oriented educational and philanthropic programs with the aid of the Community Outreach Chair; Working with the Communications Chair in guiding the internal and external communications of the Chapter; Encouraging interaction with the public and other woodturning groups in the area; Acting as the principal contact person with the AAW and the public.

Vice-President. In the absence of the President or in the event the President’s death, inability, or refusal to act, the Vice President shall perform the duties of President. The Vice-President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the President.

Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive all membership fees and all other monies belonging to the Chapter and disburse monies as needed to pay for the expenses and activities of the Chapter. The Treasurer shall be responsible for preparing a budget for the fiscal year and for keeping current and accurate records of monies that flow through the Chapter. The Treasurer shall maintain an inventory of all Channel Islands Woodturners’ physical assets.

Secretary. The Secretary shall: Record and maintain the minutes of Board of Directors’ meetings; Record and maintain the minutes of the general membership meetings; Be Chair of the Membership committee; Collect membership applications and dues; Maintain, update and distribute the Chapter Membership List; Ensure that all Chapter Officers are current paid-up members of AAW: File the “Statement of Information – Nonprofit” with the Secretary of State, California annually and any other requirements for filing by both the Federal and State of California governments.

Communications Chair. The Communications Chair shall be responsible for facilitating and overseeing the internal and external communications of the chapter. These include, but are not limited to, the chapter website, the chapter library, and publicity/marketing. The Communications Chair is responsible for seeing that all notices are published in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws.

The following positions are appointed annually by the Board of Directors and report to the Communications Chair. The Communications Chair or other members of the Board of Directors may also serve in these positions which are not term limited.

Program Chair. The Program Chair, in consultation with the President and other officers, shall be responsible for demonstrations at meetings and workshops. The Program Chair manages the demonstrations during the current year and schedules demonstrators for two calendar years, the current and the next. Management includes the setting up and taking down of all equipment required for each demonstration and the arrangement of transportation and housing for out-of-town demonstrators. The Program Chair may recruit a Site Preparation Coordinator to organize and direct a crew to execute these set up and take down activities. The Program Chair also may assign other committee members as needed.

Scheduling has a two-fold focus: 1. reserving out-of-area demonstrators who schedule up to two years in advance and 2. booking local demonstrators to fill the nearer vacancies. The Program Chair works with other woodturning clubs in our region to coordinate scheduling and travel for demonstrators. The Program Chair provides program schedule updates to the School Permit person and the Publicity and Website Chairs to ensure timely dissemination of information about up coming meetings.

Community Outreach Chair. The Community Outreach Chair, in consultation with the President and other officers, shall be responsible for coordinating the chapter’s educational and philanthropic programs in the community. These include, but are not limited to, overseeing the chapter’s woodturning tutoring program at the Cabrillo Middle School, the woodturning demonstrations at the Ventura County Fair, and other community outreach activities as assigned by the Board.

Director-at-Large. The purpose of the Director-at-Large is to provide continuity with the previous Board and a knowledge base of the chapter’s recent past. If the previous year’s President is not reelected in any of the Board positions, the immediate-past President shall automatically serve the following year as the Director-at-Large. If the previous year’s President is reelected to the Board, or is unable to serve, the position of Director-at-Large shall be filled by a majority vote of the Board.

Article VII – Voting and Amendments

Formal votes to elect or remove officers or to amend these bylaws shall be by a majority vote of the Chapter’s members in good standing, in attendance at a regularly scheduled meeting. Notice of such action must be made at the prior regularly scheduled meeting and by email. Proxy votes will be allowed if a member cannot be present and may be conveyed by written notice to one of the elected officers. Copies of all modifications to these Bylaws must be filed with the national office of the AAW.

Article VIII – Indebtedness

The Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. may not incur debt for its own local activities. However, prudent encumbrances upon the monies currently held in the treasury or upon anticipated dues or event fees may be approved by the Board in the normal course of business.

Article IX – American Association of Woodturners’ Disclaimers: Fiscal and Legal

The corporation, the American Association of Woodturners, Inc., specifically disassociates itself from any debts, obligations or encumbrances of the Local Chapter. The Corporate Board of Directors of AAW is not responsible for the debts nor shares in the profits of the Local Chapters. The Corporate Organization does not shoulder any legal liability for accidents that occur during events of any kind sponsored or not sponsored by a Local Chapter. The Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. specifically disassociates itself from any debts, obligations or encumbrances of the American Association of Woodturners. The Officers and members of the Channel Islands Woodturners,Inc. are not responsible for the debts nor share in the profits of the American Association of Woodturners. The Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. does not shoulder any legal liability for accidents that occur during events of any kind sponsored by the National Organization (AAW).

Article XI – Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. Disclaimer

By accepting membership each member recognizes and agrees that the Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. is not responsible, as an organization, for any legal liability for accidents that occur during events of any kind sponsored by the Local Chapter. The Local Chapter is a group of individuals who accept fiscal and legal responsibility for their own actions. Woodturning is a potentially dangerous activity and members personally accept for themselves the risk of injury by participating in the activities of the Local Chapter. Each member is responsible for his/her own safety and is encouraged to teach and promote safe working methods for others.

Acceptance of these Bylaws:

These revised bylaws were adopted by a majority vote of the members in attendance at the meeting of Channel Islands Woodturners, Inc. in Ventura County, California on January 23, 2016.