BY-LAWS OF THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ARTICLE I

TITLE, LOCATION AND PURPOSE

1.  The official title of this organization shall be "The Rutherford County Historical Society."

2.  Its principal office shall be in the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, but auxiliary societies may be  established at such other points within the County as the Society may designate.

3.  The purposes of the Rutherford County Historical Society are to discover, procure, and preserve such facts, articles or documents as relate, directly or collaterally, to the natural, aboriginal, civil, political, military, literary, industrial, agricultural, and ecclesiastical history of the County, or of any contiguous area which may affect or have bearing on such matters within the County.  It will provide for the preservation of such material and for its accessibility, as far as may be feasible, to all who wish to examine or study it, to cooperate with officials in insuring the preservation of the records and archives of the County and of its towns, villages, and institutions, and to undertake or further the preservation of historic buildings or other works of man, monuments, and markers.  It will disseminate historical information and thus arouse interest in the past by publishing historical information in whatever media may be advantageously available; by holding meetings with pageants, addresses, lectures, papers and discussion; by bringing about the marking of historic buildings, sites, and trails; and by the use (if available news media will awaken and sustain public interest.  It will cooperate with the Tennessee Historical Commission, the Tennessee Historical Society, the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiques, and any similar bodies with which it may have contact to collect and preserve materials of state-wide significance, so that these materials can be made available to students and scholars.

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

1.  Any person, eighteen years or older, who is interested in the purposes of the Society, shall be eligible for membership.

2.  Any active member shall be eligible to hold office and must be willing to participate in the transaction of the Society's business.

3.  Annual dues for both Individual and Family memberships shall be determined by the Society, and shall include only one copy of any publication.

4.  Annual dues for Business, Institutional, or Professional membership shall likewise be determined by the Society.

5.  Annual dues are due and payable at the first meeting in September of the current year and members in arrears after January 1 of the following year shall be dropped from membership.  Dues shall be prorated.

6.  The Society has determined that if any student, either in high school or college, who wishes to join the society, the dues will be half price of the regular yearly dues.

ARTICLE III

OFFICERS

1.  The officers of the Society shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. They shall be elected at the regular meeting in September of each year, and shall take office at this time.  They shall hold their respective office for one year, and until a successor in each office is elected.  In no case shall a President or Vice President be eligible to succeed himself or herself for more than two successive terms without special approval from the Executive Board and the Society itself The privilege of voting shall be confined to members present, who must cast their votes in person, according to the form, which may be decided upon at the meeting.

2.  A nominating committee of three members shall be appointed by the President at the regular meeting in July. It shall be the duty of this committee to present at the regular meeting in August the name of one person for each office, each of whom has signified a willingness to serve.  The election of these officers will be made at the regular meeting in September.  Additional nominations may be made from the floor on the day of the election with prior consent of such nominees.

3.  Vacancies in office shall be filled by election, in the manner of the original election, at the next regular meeting following the occurrence of the vacancy, or at a special meeting called for that specific purpose.  If a member of the Executive Board or officer of the Society shall be absent for more than half of the society year, that member and position shall be subject to review by the Executive Board.  If the board member is on his/her first year service on the board and has had several absences, then the service of the member should come under close scrutiny by the Board.

4.  All officers of the Society shall serve without compensation, but should it become necessary for officers of the Society to perform travel, or to perform other work which may prevent his or her attention to the normal demands of personal business or industry, a reasonable and adequate compensation may be paid; however, such compensation shall not be paid without prior direction of the President and the concurrence of the Society.

5.  The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society at which he or she is present, maintain proper decorum, decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to the Society, appoint all members except as otherwise provided in the By-Laws and shall sign all documents requiring official certification.

6.  The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, incapacity, or resignation of the President.

7.  The Secretary shall have a good copy of the charter documents of the Rutherford County Historical Society, the seal of the certificate from the Tennessee Department of State, an updated membership list, the current By-Laws of the Society, a copy of the publications and prices of books and related material, which are for sale, and other official records of the Society.  The Secretary shall keep a complete and accurate record of its transactions, attest all documents requiring official certification; notify all new members of their election, and perform such other duties pertinent to the office as may devolve by action of the Society.  The Secretary shall also conduct the general correspondence of the Society and keep a copy of all official letters written by him or her or the President of the Society.

8.  The Treasurer shall collect and have custody of all money due and belonging to the Society, and disburse the same under the direction of the Society.  The President of the Society shall be authorized to sign checks if the Treasurer is unable to do so.  The President shall co-sign all checks written by the Society. An accurate and supportable record of all receipts and disbursements shall be kept, and an itemized report thereof submitted at each meeting.  If it occurs that Society needs to have more than one banking account, then an additional account or accounts shall be first approved by the President with a secondary endorsement of the Executive Board.  At the proper time, there shall be mailed to each active member, whose dues for the current year have not been paid, a notice of this indebtedness, calling his/her attention to the provisions of the By-Laws in regard to arrearages.  The Treasurer shall give bond, in such sum and with such securities as the Board of Directors shall direct, for the proper discharge of his duties; the cost of such bond will be borne by the Society, if requested.

9.  The Board of Directors shall be composed of the Officers of the Society (4), the immediate past president (1), and three (3) Directors elected in the general election held in September.  One shall be elected for three years, one for two years, and one for one year initially; thereafter, one director shall be elected at the general election in September for a three (3) year term.  The County Historian shall be an ex-officio member of the Board.  The Board of Directors shall meet once every two months, oftener, as the Chairman and a majority of the Board shall direct.

10.  All officers of the Society shall hold and maintain a copy of the charter of incorporation, a copy of the certificate from the state of Tennessee forming this Society, a copy of the current By-Laws of the Society, the current list of publications available for sale and their current price, and an up-to-date membership list containing addresses and phone numbers of persons who are currently members.

ARTICLE IV

COMMITTEES

1.  Within one week after his or her election, the President shall appoint the following standing committees and cause the appointees to these committees to be properly notified. The President shall designate one of the members of each of the committees as Chairman of the committee; all members of several committees shall have their term of service contemporaneous with that of the President by whom they are appointed.

2.  The Membership Chairperson shall be responsible for membership drives and processing new candidates for membership. It shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer and the Membership Chairperson, working together, to maintain a current list of members, and to keep other Executive Board members informed of the changes in membership at regular times throughout the year.

3.  The Acquisitions Committee shall be responsible for the collecting, cataloging, arranging and placing in proper condition and adequate and safe repository such books, manuscripts, newspapers and other historical source material as may be discoverable within the scope of the activities of the Society. In this activity, they will work very closely in cooperation with the local library, particularly to the end that items suitable as source material or exact copies.