Southern Nevada Mensa

southern nevada mensa

AMERICAN MENSA LOCAL GROUP CHARTER
SOUTHERN NEVADA MENSA

BYLAWS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA MENSA

ARTICLE l: Organization

  1. The name of the organization shall be Southern Nevada Mensa (SNvM).
  1. The name of the newsletter shall be Mind Bets. SNvM retains ownership and all statutory and common law rights to the name, “Mind Bets”.
  1. SNvM is a local group of American Mensa, Ltd. (AML) and is subject to the constitution of Mensa, the Bylaws of AML and the resolutions adopted by the American Mensa Committee (AMC).
  1. AML has granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to SNvM for the use of the mark “Mensa” and a logo, consisting of a globe over a stylized “M” within a border, in connection with non-commercial uses of SNvM. AML retains full ownership of the mark and logo and all statutory and common law rights in the mark and logo.

 

ARTICLE II: Membership

  1. Membership of SNvM shall be open to all members of AML in good standing in the geographic area assigned to SNvM by the AMC, or as otherwise assigned by AML. 
  1. Mensa members in good standing who are affiliated with other local groups or other national Mensa organizations are welcome to participate in the activities of SNvM at the discretion of the host or hostess. Such individuals, with the exception of the National Ombudsman or designee when on official National business, may not vote, hold office or participate in business activities of SNvM.
  1. Southern Nevada Mensa shall observe the preferences of members for data suppression and publication, as filed with AML, when publishing a local roster or membership directory.

 

ARTICLE III: Officers and Duties

  1. The Executive Committee (ExComm) shall be the governing body of SNvM.

  2. The ExComm shall consist of the following six elective officers: Local Secretary (LocSec), Assistant Local Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Officer, Program Chair and Membership Chair.

  3. The six elective officers shall be elected as provided in Article V.

  4. A minimum of two-thirds (rounding to the nearest whole number) of serving ExComm officers is required to constitute a quorum for the transaction of official SNvM business. No ExComm member shall have more than one vote but every ExComm member shall have the right to vote on any question before the Committee. A tie vote is equivalent to a no vote on the question.

  5. All ExComm members and appointed officers of SNvM must be current members in good standing of AML and SNvM. An officer is defined as any person who is given a title with specific responsibilities.

  6. The Local Secretary shall be the Chief Executive Officer of SNvM and shall be liaison between AML and other local groups and shall pass information back and forth between the local group and the national office in a timely fashion. He or she shall be responsible for scheduling and conducting ExComm meetings.

  7. The Assistant Local Secretary shall succeed to the office of LocSec if that office becomes vacant during a term. If both the LocSec and Assistant LocSec are unable to serve, a LocSec shall be selected and appointed by ExComm from among their own members or the general membership of SNvM. The Assistant Local Secretary shall be responsible for drafting minutes of ExComm meetings and seeking approval of minutes by ExComm vote and maintaining approved minutes in a file. The Assistant LocSec or designee shall be responsible for keeping minutes of all officially noticed SNvM business meetings. In the absence of the LocSec the Assistant LocSec shall preside at ExComm meetings.

  8. The Treasurer shall be responsible for financial accounting and property for SNvM. The Treasurer shall disburse authorized expenditures upon presentation of receipts or as directed by vote of ExComm. The Treasurer shall submit to ExComm a quarterly report showing income, expenses and current balance for all accounts and funds under control of SNvM including RG, Scholarship and/or other special funds. Each such report shall be published in Mind Bets following official acceptance by ExComm. All bank accounts in the name of SNvM shall have at least two authorized signatories, those being the LocSec and Treasurer. Only one signature shall be required on fiscal documents to access the accounts. All funds of the local group must be held in accounts in the name of Southern Nevada Mensa. An audit of all accounts and funds must be conducted annually during the month of October. Any person with qualifications and experience as determined and approved by ExComm and who was not involved in the issuing or collecting of money during the period under consideration may carry out the audit. An audit report must be approved by ExComm and published in Mind Bets.

  9. The Communications Officer shall be responsible for the local group newsletter, Mind Bets, and shall, with consent of ExComm, appoint the Editor.

  10. The Program Chairperson shall arrange and schedule activities and shall advise the Editor of events to be calendared.

  11. The Membership Chairperson shall be responsible for publicity, public relations and recruitment.

  12. The Editor shall edit Mind Bets and provide for its publication on a monthly basis. Minimum distribution of Mind Bets shall be to all members of SNvM. The Editor shall publish a calendar of activities, minutes of meetings, ballots, results of elections, annual audit, post office forms and such other material or information as desired in his or her discretion. It is intended that the Editor have wide discretionary powers over the content of Mind Bets, however, the Editor may be removed by majority vote of a quorum of ExComm officers or by petition signed by one-third of the members of the local group.

  13. Additional non-voting officers may be appointed and removed by the Local Secretary with advice and consent of ExComm. An Ombudsman shall be one of the appointed positions.

  14. Out-going Officers shall turn over all records and property to successors not later than 15 days after leaving office.

  15. Elected Officers may be removed from office for cause by majority vote of ExComm quorum at an official, published meeting or by recall election as stated in Article V, herein. Cause includes non-attendance at three consecutive ExComm meetings, non-performance of duties or acts inimical to Mensa.

  16. The term of office for elected and appointed positions shall be one year, from October first through September thirtieth of the following calendar year.

  17. Formal action by ExComm shall require a majority vote of ExComm members in attendance at an advertised public meeting unless otherwise specified in these bylaws.

  18. No elected officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office.

  19. ExComm members who resign or are removed from office or fail to continue service for any reason may be replaced by nomination and majority assent of the ExComm.

 

ARTICLE IV: Meetings

  1. ExComm meetings may be scheduled by the LocSec as appropriate, however at least one meeting must be held quarterly. Notice of meetings must be published in Mind Bets.
  1. Special SNvM business meetings may be called at any time by the LocSec, by ExComm or by petition of ten percent of the local group membership. The date, time, place and purpose of such meeting shall be published in Mind Bets or sent to all members by direct mail at least seven days before the scheduled meeting. Only items on a pre-publicized agenda may be discussed or acted upon at a special meeting.
  1. ExComm meetings, special meetings and election meetings shall be scheduled within the geographic area assigned to SNvM by AMC.
  1. All meetings shall be open to members of SNvM and AMC. No official business of SNvM shall be conducted outside an official, noticed meeting.

 

ARTICLE V: Elections

  1. Not later than June 15, ExComm shall appoint an Election Committee (ElComm) of no more than three members including the Chairperson. ElComm shall submit a slate of officers for the regular annual election in the August publication of Mind Bets.
  1. No member of ExComm is eligible to serve on ElComm while continuing to hold office. No member of ElComm may run for office.
  1. ElComm shall accept, up until two days prior to the deadline for the September publication of Mind Bets, nominations submitted by petition of five SNvM members and which petition must include a statement by the proposed nominee that he or she will serve if elected.
  1. ElComm shall submit voting instructions and official ballots for publication in the September issue of Mind Bets (or, in case of a recall election, the appropriate issue not later than 45 days following approval of a valid recall petition). ElComm shall schedule the time and place of an election meeting which shall provide a voting period of at least 14 days following posting of September (or other) Mind Bets to all SNvM members. Mail posted or hand-delivered official ballots may be accepted up until the beginning of the official ballot count at the scheduled election meeting. ElComm shall be responsible for maintaining the security of the election, counting ballots and certifying the results of the election. ElComm shall notify the Executive Committee, each winning candidate and the Editor of Mind Bets of the outcome of the election. The ElComm Chairperson shall retain all returned ballots and related materials for at least 30 days following the date of the election meeting.
  1. The ElComm Chairperson or Designee shall, in the event of a tie vote, flip a coin to determine the winner.
  1. A recall election may be initiated by a petition citing the reasons for the recall attempt and signed by at least 10% of the membership of SNvM. Balloting provisions of a regular election shall apply except that a recall election must be held within 60 days of the presentation of a qualified recall petition. ElComm shall be responsible for determining whether or not a submitted petition is valid and, if so, carrying out the election process.

 

Article VI: Amendments

  1. A petition signed by 20% of SNvM membership or a two-thirds majority vote of the ExComm may propose amendments or changes to these bylaws.
  1. Proposed amendments or changes shall be submitted to AMC for approval. After approval by AMC the proposed amended or changed bylaws shall be published in Mind Bets. Balloting shall be conducted under the direction of ElComm a maximum of 90 days following such publication.
  1. Proposed amendments or changes receiving a majority vote of returned ballots by eligible voters (members of SNvM in good standing) shall become effective after receiving final approval by AMC. The American Mensa Committee will notify SNvM of the effective date of the approved bylaws.**

 

Article VII: Rules of Order

  1. Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, latest edition shall govern in all cases not specifically covered by these bylaws.

 

 

** These current bylaws were approved by AMC on January 8, 2007.

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