MORRIS PHOTOCOLOR CLUB
Constitution
Article 1: Club Name
The name of this organization shall be the Morris PhotoColor Club (the Club).
Article 2: Objectives
The objectives of the Club shall be:
- To serve as an association for the mutual enjoyment of photography.
- To encourage the advancement of its Members in the knowledge and practice of the science and art of photography.
- To make contributions to the progress of photography as well as the education of those who are interested in photography.
- To provide guidance regarding the techniques and expression of photography for Club Members.
- To promote group activities.
- To promote and share the beauty of photography with Club Members, friends, family, and the public.
Article 3: Membership
Anyone interested in the practice of photography may become a member of the Club (a Member). Members pay an annual fee for membership in this Club, which is subject to change from time-to-time, at the discretion of the Club’s Executive Board. To become a Member of the Club, an applicant must be aged 18 years old or older unless accompanied or sponsored by a parent or guardian.
A Member shall be considered to be a Member in good standing (a Member In Good Standing) as long as they have paid their annual dues and have not been otherwise suspended or expelled from the Club by a vote of the Executive Board for cause.
Article 4: Executive Board
Section 1 – The Club shall be governed by an executive board (the Executive Board) consisting of the President(s), Vice President, Treasurer, and other Chairs (see Section 4). Any immediate past President shall also be a member as long as he or she continues to be a Member in Good Standing.
Section 2 – The office of President may be held by one or be shared by two Members In Good Standing. The single President or the two Members serving in the office of the President shall be denoted as the President(s)
Section 3 – The President(s), Vice President, and Treasurer are elected positions.
Section 4 – Duty-specific chairpeople (the Chairs) include chairs for Technology, Judging, Programs, Awards, Records/Secretary, and Membership/Recruitment. One person may assume more than one role. The President(s) shall appoint duty-specific chairs.
Section 5 – All general policies and changes of policy of the Club shall require the approval of the Executive Board.
Section 6 – If the office of the President should become vacant, the Vice President will assume the role for the remainder of the term. If there are two people serving in the office of the president, the remaining person will serve as President for the remainder of the term.
Section 7- If any office other than that of the President(s) shall become vacant, it shall be filled by appointment by the President(s), but for no longer than the remainder of the term of the President(s).
Section 8 – The Executive Board may suspend or expel a Member from the Club for cause (including non-payment of dues).
Article 5: Meetings
Section 1- Regular meetings of the Club shall be held on a weekday, once or twice a month, September through June (the Season). Regular meetings consist of Programs, Competitions and Member Critiques, and other activities as may be approved by the President(s) or the Executive Board.
Section 2 – Meetings of the Club may take place in-person, or by any electronic means as deemed necessary by the Executive Board, and as mandated or permitted by the state of New Jersey.
Section 3 – Club business shall be conducted at a meeting (the Business Meeting), during one of the last two scheduled months of the Season. The Business Meeting will include but not be limited to: Election of the President(s), Vice President and Treasurer for the following term and any other changes requiring a Club vote. If necessary, the election may occur via an Internet voting process.
Section 4 – The Executive Board shall meet at least once a year, and at such other times, at the call of the President(s), as may be necessary to decide on questions of major policy.
Article 6: Amendments
Section 1 – The Constitution may be amended at any meeting of the Club with a quorum of the Members present or online upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members present or online and voting. Notice of the nature and purpose of the proposed amendments shall have been given to Members at least one month in advance.
Section 2 – The By-Laws may be amended in any manner not in conflict with the provisions of the Constitution by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members voting at any meeting of the Club with a quorum of the Members present or online. Notice of the nature and purpose of proposed action shall have been given at least one month in advance.
Section 3 – Article 4 (Club Competitions) of the By-Laws, Club Competitions, may be amended by the Executive Board without requiring an affirmative vote by the Members.
Article 7: Quorum
Section 1 – A quorum of the Members shall consist of not less than third (1/3) of all the Members in Good Standing present either in person or online.
Section 2 – A quorum of the Executive Board at any meeting for the transaction of official business shall consist of not less than one half (1/2) of the Executive Board’s members present either in person or online.
Article 8: Fiscal Year
The Fiscal Year of the Club shall be from September 1 to August 31 of the following year.
By-Laws
Article 1: Nomination and Election of the President(s), Vice President and Treasurer
Section 1 -The President(s), Vice President and Treasurer shall be elected by a vote of Members present at the Business Meeting. For any position, the candidate with the most votes shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie vote for any office, the winner shall be determined by a vote of the then current Executive Board.
Section 2 – Candidates for President, Vice President and Treasurer shall be selected by a Nominating Committee consisting of three (3) Members In Good Standing appointed by the President(s) at least two months in advance of the Business Meeting. All candidates for elected office shall be Members In Good Standing for at least one year and shall not be nominated without their prior consent.
Section 3 – The Nominating Committee shall report its slate of candidates at a Club meeting held one (1) month in advance of the Business Meeting.
Section 4 – A candidate for elected office may be nominated from the floor at the meeting at least one (1) month prior to the Business Meeting. All nominees for election must have given consent prior to their nomination. In addition, the candidate must be a Member In Good Standing for at least one year.
Section 5 – The newly elected President(s), Vice President and Treasurer shall assume their respective duties beginning with the first day following the last meeting of the Season.
Section 6 – Elected President(s), Vice President and Treasurer shall serve for a two-year term or until their successors have been duly elected.
Article 2: Duties of President(s), Vice President, Treasurer and Duty-Specific Chairpeople
Section 1 – The activities of the Club shall be conducted with the objectives listed in the Constitution for the benefit of the Club Members. The President(s), Vice President and the Treasurer make up the primary governing body of the Club and they have the responsibility of establishing general policies and reviewing and controlling the activities of the Club. Approval of the Executive Board shall be required for:
- All general policies and changes of policy of the Club,
- Any prepared budget for the ensuing year,
- All expenditures in excess of Five Hundred ($500.00) dollars not provided for in the Business Budget.
Section 2 – The President(s) (or their appointed delegate) shall preside at all meetings of the membership; shall appoint the duty-specific chairs (the Chairs); shall appoint the chairs and members of all special committees; shall sign all contracts or obligations of the Club; shall make a report at the first meeting of the new season following their election of the progress of the Club under his or her administration, with recommendations for the coming year; and shall carry the duties of office in such a way as to promote the effective operation of the Club. The President(s) shall be authorized to sign checks in the absence of the Treasurer.
Section 3 – The Records/Secretary Chair shall keep and be the custodian of the records of the Club and shall conduct the Club’s correspondence.
Section 4 – The Treasurer shall act as the custodian of all Club funds and bank accounts and shall collect dues and acknowledge their receipt; shall pay bills not exceeding Five Hundred dollars ($500.00) or as noted above and as directed by the President. All expenditures of more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) must be approved by the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditures and shall, at the time of the Business Meeting, make a written report to the Club President(s) of the condition of the treasury.
The Treasurer shall maintain a record of Club membership dues along with up-to-date email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone list of all Members; as well as any other pertinent information as may be appropriate.
Section 5 – The Technology Chair shall support the Club website and will be responsible for conducting the digitally displayed submissions at Club competitions. This includes all necessary preparation for Member submissions, as well as operating and maintaining the equipment for competitions. The Technology Chair will assist new Members with instructions on image submissions. The Technology Chair will maintain competitions’ results including the posting of appropriate images to the Club’s website. The Technology Chair will maintain and create statistical results as appropriate for the Executive Board to review individual performance with regards to advancing Club Members to new member classes.
Section 6 – The Chairs of Judging, Programs, Awards, and Membership/Recruitment shall each be responsible for activities as their titles suggest.
Article 3: Chair Positions
The President(s) shall, in advance of the first meeting of the year, appoint Members to the Chair positions as needed within the Club for a term of 1 year.
Article 4: Club Competitions
The following rules apply to Club competitions:
- Members In Good Standing may submit images in accordance with Club rules into competitions to be evaluated by one or more judges. The number of images and the types of images allowed in competitions shall be determined by the Executive Board.
- The scoring method shall be determined each year by the Executive Board. Ineligible images (i.e. “images not conforming to the rules of a particular competition”) shall be disqualified from that competition.
- Unless specified otherwise for a competition, there is no time limit on when an image was made.
- An image that receives any award in any prior Club competition may not be submitted in any subsequent regular Club competition unless an exception is made and announced as with the Annual Salon Competition.
- Judges will be determined by the Judging Chair and the President(s) in advance of the upcoming year, to the extent possible, with substitutions as necessary.
- Competition subject and criteria will be suggested by the Members and approved by the Executive Board prior to or early in the season with substitutions being made by the President(s).
Competition Classes
There are three competition classes: ENTRY CLASS which includes new Members as well as novices in photography, ADVANCED CLASS which includes advanced photographers, and SALON CLASS. Competitions are generally held once a month. Class advancement is based on performance in competitions. Images are critiqued by an outside judge to help the Member being critiqued, as well as all other Members, to improve their technique behind the camera and in post-production. To advance from the Entry class to the Advanced class requires an accumulation of 25 points in club competitions. Advancing from Advanced to Salon requires an accumulation of 100 points. Points are awarded in the following way: Merit Award (judge’s score of 9) gets 3 points, Honorable Mention (score of 8) gets 1 point and Salon Best in Show gets 4 points.
If a new Member has been in a higher-level class at another photography club that is part of the NJFCC or other similar state organization, he or she will be slotted to the comparable class with the other club. A new Member may also request a standing sub-committee of the Executive Board to review of a portfolio of their work that would enable her or him to start in a class higher than the ENTRY CLASS.
All competition rules including scoring, classes and advancement are subject to amendment by action of the Executive Board.
Article 5: New Members
New Members shall be accepted upon paying dues and submitting information for the current membership list.
Article 6: Annual Planning Meeting
The Executive Board shall conduct a planning meeting at least once per year to plan the next season. The purpose of the planning meeting is also to review the past performance of the Club and suggest any appropriate modifications.
Article 7: Order of Business
The order of business for regular and Business meetings of the Club shall be prepared or directed by the President(s).
Article 8: Conduct of Meetings
The conduct of all meetings shall be determined by the Executive Board.
Article 9: Conformance with Statutes
It is the intention that the Constitution and By-Laws of the Club shall conform to the relevant Statutes of the State of New Jersey relating to Associations Not for Profit. If by inadvertence, any section of the Constitution or By-Laws does not conform to present statutes or future revisions of the statutes, such sections shall be null and void, and corrective measures to amend such sections shall be undertaken as soon as possible.
Addenda to the Morris PhotoColor Club Constitution and By-Laws
Addendum 1:
Current office holders as detailed in the Morris PhotoColor Club Constitution and By-Laws are:
- Presidents: Rick Kent and David Unger
- Treasurer: Thomas Knoop
- Tech/Website Chair: David Unger
- Programs Chair: Arik Gorban
- Judging Chair: Claire Gentile
- Awards Chair: Rachel Ellentuck
- Membership/Recruitment Chair: Sergio Burani
- Past President: Karen Racz
The current term of the current president(s) and treasurer expires on May 31st, 2023