WAG Bylaws

ARTICLE 1 - NAME
The name of the organization shall be The Writers Alliance of Gainesville, hereinafter called "WAG."

ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE
The WAG shall:
A. Provide opportunities for its members to learn or improve the craft of writing and publishing.
B. Convey such skills to others within the community (including, but not limited to, public or private schools, civic groups, and social organizations) by means of classes, contests, meetings, programs, and other appropriate endeavors as approved by the executive committee.
C. Conduct its business in the manner appropriate for a tax-exempt Fl Chapter 617 organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3).
D. Apply for, disburse, receive, and use funds from donations, annual membership fees, grants or endowments from public or private sources which properly fall within the purview of a IRC 501 (c)(3) organization.  The Writers Alliance of Gainesville operates under a no lobbying clause.

ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP
WAG membership in good standing shall:
A. Be open to any adult (a person over 18 years of age) interested in writing and publishing without regard to race, sex, creed, color, national origin, or physical disability.
B. Be based on an interest in writing and publishing; there shall be no pre-requisite of publication (for pay or otherwise) of work.
C. Have paid in full the dues required as determined by the executive committee.  Dues will be $3 per month or $36 per year.
D. By the act of payment of dues, agree to abide by these Bylaws, as well as any implementing rules and customs of the WAG.
 

ARTICLE 4 - ORGANIZATION
The WAG Members shall:
A. Recognize all members in good standing as the general membership; which shall meet at least one time per month for the general meeting, at a time and location selected by the executive committee. WAG monthly meetings shall be open to the public.   
B. Participate directly in the election of the officers, recall of same, and approval of amendments to these Bylaws.
C. Approve the annual budget.
D. Authorize the executive committee to meet at least once per quarter to handle all WAG business for the general membership, except the tasks previously mentioned.
E. Encourage the formation of workshops, or 6-member “pods,” to deal with specific aspects of writing of interest to the general membership. Workshops will be designed to cover specific genres. 
F. Meetings of workshops shall be at the time, place, and frequency determined by each workshop director, with the advice and consent of the workshop membership. Such workshops shall be open to the public.  The WAG executive board will publicize the availability of these pods and will suggest critique guidelines based on standard workshop guidelines.
G. The WAG executive board will facilitate the creation of new Pods in response to membership interest.
H. Participation in a Pod requires WAG membership.

ARTICLE 5 - OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
A. The elected officers shall be: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, program directors and members-at-large.
B. The executive committee shall be: the officers, immediate past president, editor of the WAG newsletter, contest coordinator, and editor of the annual journal.
C. The term of office for executive committee and officers shall be two years or until their successors are elected or appointed.

ARTICLE 6 - ELECTION OF OFFICERS
A. Members in good standing may be nominated or elected to a WAG office.
B. No member shall be offered as a candidate for office without the consent of that member.
C. Candidates for office shall be sought from the general membership by a three-person nominating committee appointed by the executive committee in the September preceding an election year. The nominating committee’s slate shall be published in the October issue of the WAG newsletter. Additional nominations may be made from the floor during the October general meeting.
D. Elections shall be held during the November general meeting and shall be by a show of hands among a simple majority of the members in good standing present.  Voting by proxy is acceptable.
E. Officers shall be installed and take office from the Call to Order at the January general meeting.

ARTICLE 7 - REMOVAL/RESIGNATION FROM OFFICE
A. Upon the resignation or removal from office of the president, the vice president shall automatically and immediately assume the office of president.
B. Upon the creation of a vacancy in any office (including the vice president’s succession to president), the executive committee shall immediately elect a member in good standing to serve out the remainder of that term.
C. An officer or executive committee member shall be removed from office if he or she is no longer a member in good standing.

ARTICLE 8 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
A. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the WAG. The President shall preside at all WAG meetings, and, with the approval of the executive committee, appoint committees and positions, delegate responsibilities including, but not limited to, public relations director, newsletter editor, anthology editor, contest coordinator, and any others as needed. The President shall perform any duties incumbent upon a chief executive officer of a IRC 501 (c)(3) organization.
B. The Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume the duties stated above. The Vice President shall perform other duties as delegated by the President and act as parliamentarian for the WAG.
C. The Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes of all executive committee meetings and any WAG general meeting where organization issues are acted upon by the general membership, and shall communicate any such minutes upon request. The secretary shall be responsible for correspondence not specific to any other office; such correspondence may be handled upon the request of the secretary by an executive committee member.
D. The Treasurer shall receive and deposit all WAG funds in the financial institution currently serving the WAG.
1. The Treasurer shall keep a written record of all WAG financial matters.
2. The Treasurer shall keep an up-to-date list of members in good standing.
3. The Treasurer shall have the authority to disburse all funds specifically defined in the annual budget. Any other disbursements must have executive committee approval, and signature authority of the President and/or Vice President.
4. The Treasurer shall require receipts for all disbursements.
5. The President shall have the authority to sign checks in the absence or removal of the Treasurer up to $500.
E. Each officer shall maintain accurate and up-to-date records of her or his office and deliver such records to newly elected officers at the end of her or his term. Should an officer resign or be removed, such records shall be given immediately to the President until a replacement is installed.
F. The executive committee shall prepare a proposed budget to present to the general membership at the April general meeting. The executive committee has the authority to determine the amount of membership dues and to direct any other fund-raising efforts to finance the annual budget.
G. Program Chairs will be responsible for coordinating the speaker’s program. The President shall appoint members to help in this task.
H. The Editor of the newsletter shall edit, publish, and e-mail the newsletter prior to the general meeting.  The President shall appoint members to help in this task upon the request of the editor.
I. The Contest Coordinator shall be responsible for publishing the rules governing the contest, contacting the judges, gathering and distributing the entries, and obtaining the list of winners from each judge.
1. The executive committee shall set the rules and categories for the contest.
2. The judges’ decisions are final.
3. The judges are under no obligation to award a place or honorable mention if no entry in a category is deemed worthy.
4. The Contest Coordinator shall maintain a list of all submissions and turn over all entry fees to the WAG treasurer.
J. The newsletter editor is responsible for the look and content of the annual WAG e-publication, as well as producing it within the budget allocated by the executive committee.

ARTICLE 9 - COMMITTEES
A. Special committees shall be appointed by the President and approved by the executive committee to fulfill and perform any necessary functions consistent with these Bylaws.
B. Special committees shall dissolve upon the completion of their assigned task.
C. While a special committee is sitting, the chair of that committee shall attend executive committee meetings and make oral and/or written reports of progress.

ARTICLE 10 - DUES AND PRIVILEGES
A. Membership dues must be paid in full each year by the end of the month in which the member joined. All financial instruments shall be made payable to "Writers Alliance of Gainesville.”
B. Members shall be considered delinquent at the end of her or his anniversary month. Delinquent members shall have an additional one month grace period to pay dues before being dropped from the membership roster.
C. Each member in good standing at the time of distribution shall receive one copy of the WAG journal each year.

ARTICLE 11 - QUORUM
A quorum for any WAG business shall be defined as:
A. All members in good standing present at any general meeting.  A quorum must be represented by at least 10% of the members.
B. Three or more executive committee members present at any regular or specially-called executive committee meeting.
C. Two or more members of any duly-called meeting of a special committee.

ARTICLE 12 - AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
A. Proposed amendments shall be presented in one of two ways:
1. Presented in writing to the executive committee in the form of a petition signed by at least ten members in good standing.
2. The executive committee shall form a committee to review current bylaws and propose any recommended changes. This committee shall have a minimum of three members consisting of executive committee members and/or delegates from the general membership.
B. Proposed amendments shall be published in the next available newsletter
C. At the general meeting following publication of the proposed amendments, the general membership shall vote by a show of hands among the members in good standing present. A two-thirds majority must approve any proposal for passage.
D. Any proposed amendment having gone through the above procedure and not having been approved, may not be presented again for a period of one year. The executive committee shall have the authority to determine if any new proposals constitute the same or substantially the same proposed amendment and deny action on it.
E.  Any member of WAG may propose new programs, speakers, pod formation, etc.  All such proposals will be approved by a simple majority of WAG members.

ARTICLE 13 - NON-PROFIT STATUS
The WAG shall:
A. Conduct itself as a tax-exempt organization as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
B. Use any funds received solely for the maintenance and operation of the WAG.
C. Pay no salaries or other remuneration other than reimbursement of actual, reasonable, and authorized expenses incurred in the maintenance and operation of the WAG.
D. Upon dissolution of the organization, pay any and all outstanding debts, and distribute any remaining assets to another nonprofit agency, fund, or organization having a purpose substantially similar to that of WAG.
E. Ensure that no member of the executive committee or general member shall profit financially from the demise of this organization.

ARTICLE 14 - RATIFICATION
These revised Bylaws were presented in writing to the executive committee of the Writers Alliance of Gainesville on 11/16/08.  They were approved unanimously by the general membership on _____________________________.

(signed and dated)
Wendy Thornton
President
Writers Alliance of Gainesville