Name

The name of this corporation is The Chatham Retired Men’s Association, Inc. (the “Association”). The Corporation may identify itself to the public as “The Chatham Men’s Club” in appropriate circumstances.

Purpose

The purpose of the Association is:

To bring together men of Chatham at a place where they can gather socially and become acquainted in an informal atmosphere; and
To provide programs and educational opportunities on subjects thought to be of common interest to the members; and
To provide members with a convenient mechanism to make personal donations of funds or goods to local charities.

Membership

Membership shall be open to all men who are (i) either registered voters or residential taxpayers in the town of Chatham; (ii) either retired or essentially eligible to retire from regular remunerative work; and (iii) are willing and able to actively participate in the Association’s affairs. Invited guests of members are welcome at any Association meeting.

There are three classes of membership: Active, Associate, and Honorary.

Active Membership shall be limited to two hundred twenty-five (225) men and shall require the payment of the regular membership dues and participation in Association activities. A prospective new member shall first attend an Association meeting as a guest. Thereafter, his application for membership may be filed with the Membership Committee. New members shall be admitted in the order of their applications. The Membership Committee shall first recommend such admission and such recommendations shall be acted upon at any meeting by vote of the Active Members present. Applicants for membership must give a brief biographical summary

Associate Membership is available to former Active Members who have attended regular meetings. An individual who has been an active member in good standing for at least one year, has moved from Chatham to another nearby town, and who desires to retain his affiliation with the Association, may, with the consent of the Executive Committee, continue his membership as an Associate Member. Associate Members shall pay the regular membership dues and have their names listed in the Association Directory, but shall be ineligible to vote or to serve as an officer or member of any standing or functioning committee. If an Associate Member moves back to Chatham, the Membership Committee may reinstate him as an Active Member without additional action by the members.

Honorary Membership shall be granted to any member upon reaching the age of ninety (90) or upon concluding twenty-five (25) years of Active membership. Additionally, Honorary Membership may be electively granted to individuals who have shared their time and expertise in unique and extraordinary ways for the benefit of the Association. Candidates for elective Honorary Membership will be presented by the Executive Committee to the membership at a regularly scheduled meeting. A majority of those present and voting may approve a candidate’s status as an Honorary Member. Honorary Membership shall continue for life without the obligation to pay dues or fees or the obligation to serve on any committee or as an officer. Honorary Membership shall include all of the privileges of Active Membership.

Meetings

The Association Year (and fiscal year) shall be from July 1^st of one calendar year through June 30^th of the next calendar year.

Regular meetings of the Association shall be held each Friday during the eight-month period from October 1^st to May 31^st, inclusive, at a time and place determined annually by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may cancel any regular meeting or call a special meeting. In the absence of a contrary determination by the Executive Committee, regular meetings shall convene by 2:00 p.m. and shall adjourn no later than 3:30 p.m. Each regular meeting shall be preceded by a social period during which time refreshments will be served.Regular meetings will ordinarily be cancelled should Chatham schools be closed due to weather and the Association Executive Committee will make a reasonable effort to notify the membership of any meeting cancellation through a mass communication.

At each meeting there may be a roll call of the Active and Associate Membership.

All guests shall be introduced to the members by sponsoring members.

Dues

Annual dues for active and associate members shall be determined by the Executive Committee and approved by majority vote of the members at a regular meeting.

The dues of a new member shall be payable immediately upon his being voted into membership, except for new members admitted after April 1^st, who will not be liable for dues that fiscal year. Dues are otherwise payable at the first meeting of October of each year, except that Active or Associate Members with 25 years of Association membership will be exempt from dues. Members delinquent after October 31^st of such year, without good cause, shall be dropped from membership.

Officers and Responsibilities

The officers of the Association, except as otherwise noted below, are as follows.

The Chairman of the Executive Committee, who shall be the Presiding Officer at Executive Committee Meetings.
A Moderator,who shall be the Presiding Officer at regular meetings, and at Executive Committee meetings should the Chairman be unable to attend. The Moderator shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three members by April 1^st to create a proposed slate of officers for the following year.
An Assistant Moderator, who shall serve as Presiding Officer at regular meetings in the Moderator’s absence.
A Non-Officer Second Assistant Moderator who shall conduct meetings should the Moderator and Assistant Moderator be unable to do so.
A Treasurer who shall collect membership dues and have custody of, and make budgeted disbursements from, Association funds. The Treasurer shall be an ex-officio member of the Membership and Directory Committees. An auditor shall be designated by the Executive Committee to conduct an annual audit of the Treasurer’s records at the end of June.
Up to two (2) Non-Officer Assistant Treasurers, either of whom may serve in the Treasurer’s absence.
A Secretary, who shall keep minutes of the Executive Committee meetings, shall receive and present to the Association all communications, and be responsible for responding to such communications as required or directed. The Secretary, upon learning of a member’s death, resignation, withdrawal, or otherwise becoming ineligible for membership, shall inform the Membership Committee and the Moderator as soon as practical.
Up to two (2) Non-Officer Assistant Secretaries, who shall be responsible to the Secretary as follows:
1. An Assistant Secretary who shall serve in the absence of the Secretary and shall be particularly charged with the duty of communicating with members who are ill, disabled or hospitalized, in person, by telephone or in writing, as appropriate to the circumstances. This Assistant Secretary shall also be responsible for sending a card of sympathy to the widow or family of a deceased member as soon as practical upon learning of the death.
2. An Assistant Secretary who shall keep a count of the attendees at regular meetings and preserve the records in the Association Archives. This Assistant Secretary shall provide a suitable repository for the preservation of the Association’s permanent records, attendance and prior membership.

Committees

There shall be:

An Executive Committee comprising:

The most recent Past-Moderator who shall serve as Chairman
of the Executive Committee
Five members at large elected from the Active membership
A Representative of the Program Committee
A Representative of the Membership Committee
The Moderator
The Assistant Moderator
The Treasurer
The Secretary.

Each year at large members shall be elected to fill any vacancies on the Executive Committee for a term of two fiscal years. Any interim vacancy occurring in the Executive Committee may be filled by appointment by the Chairman for the full unexpired term of the member causing the vacancy. Appointment to a vacancy in the Chairman’s office shall be made by majority vote of the Executive Committee, having been called to order by the Secretary.

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for:

Development and maintenance of Association policies;
Review and/or investigation of requests for services,
contributions, and proposals involving financial expenditures;
Matters of Association interest;
Presentation of their findings and recommendations to the
Association at any regular meeting. This
Committee shall coordinate the activities of all other elective or appointed
committees in the best interests of the Association. The Executive Committee shall meet quarterly,
or at the request of the Chairman or any member of the Executive Committee, to
consider matters of Association interest.
Authorization of the expenditure of Association funds for
any non-budgeted item up to $1,000 when approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the
Executive Committee members present. Expenditures above $1,000 must be approved
by majority vote of the membership at a regular meeting.

A Coffee Committee comprising at least five (5) members, serving for a fiscal year, which shall be responsible for the availability of refreshments during the social hour preceding each meeting.

A Membership Committee of at least five (5) members, serving for a fiscal year, which shall confer with each proposed new member; determine his qualifications for membership; advise him of Association policies and obligations of membership, and, if in order, recommend such applicant for Association membership. The Membership Committee shall annually review the membership roll to determine if any members have achieved the requirements for Honorary membership. The Membership Committee shall annually update and publish a Membership Directory, copies of which shall be distributed to members on or about November 1^st, and shall be responsible for providing name badges to all members in order to facilitate interaction at Association meetings.

A Program Coordinating Committee of at least five (5) members, serving for one fiscal year, which shall be responsible for the year’s weekly programs. The Program Coordinating Committee shall solicit and receive members’ suggestions regarding programs and, where appropriate in its own discretion, seek the approval or disapproval of the membership for any specific proposed program. It shall be the goal of the Program Coordinating Committee to develop programs on a wide range of topics so as to engage and inform the members. The Committee will provide appropriate audio-visual equipment for speakers.

A Technology Committee of at least three members to provide on-site audio-visual support for each weekly meeting in consultation with the guest speaker, their sponsor and the meeting moderator; to maintain an online database of member information as provided by the Membership committee; and to maintain the content on the website (www.chathammensclub.org) and other digital platforms as well as vendor relationships required to provide robust service to members and non-members.

A Directory Committee of at least three members, one of whom shall be the Chairman of the Membership Committee (Treasurer, ex-officio), shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of a membership directory, copies of which shall be distributed to the members shortly after November 1^st.

A Special Committee for a specific purpose may be appointed by the Moderator.

The Chairman of the Executive Committee shall be a member, ex-officio, of all committees of the Association.

Elections

Except as otherwise provided, officers and standing Committees for the following year, July 1^st thru June 30^th, shall be elected at the last meeting of the Association in May of each year. Vacancies created in any office during the year shall be referred to the Executive Committee for interim appointment. The Nominating Committee shall make recommendations to the membership for officers and committee members to be elected at the last meeting of the Association in May.

Miscellaneous

The Association Directory is for the personal use of Association members. Neither the Directory nor proceedings at meetings may be used for business promotions, political promotions, or solicitations; nor shall the Directory be made available to any non-member for similar purposes. The Directory may include the name of the last or current employer of the member, but not his title, except for self-employed professionals.

The Association shall not endorse any political parties, nor candidate(s) for elected office, nor nominees for appointed public office; nor shall any member endorse a political candidate in the name of the Association.

No petition may be circulated at any meeting. A member may announce that a petition is available for signature, but the signing shall be done outside the regular meeting room.

No fees shall be paid to speakers and the Program Committee shall ensure that speakers understand that policy in advance of any presentation.

No financial commitments of the Association shall be made by any committee or individual unless they are budgeted or approved by the Executive Committee.

All members are expected to serve on committees and as officers to the extent that health and abilities allow.

Termination

If for any reason the Association shall be dissolved, none of the Association’s assets shall accrue or inure to any private individual, including in particular any member, director or officer of the Association, but rather shall instead be transferred to a charitable organization (i) which is qualified as exempt from income taxation under applicable federal law and (ii) whose charter or other organizational documents permit the use of such assets for charitable purposes.

Amendments

Proposed amendments will be approved by the Executive Committee and then announced at any regular meeting of the Association and voted on at the next regular meeting. Any amendment requires an affirmative vote of the majority of the Active Members present and voting at such meeting.

These By-laws, including amendments, were unanimously approved and adopted at a regular meeting of the Chatham Retired Men’s Association, Inc. on May, 17, 2024.