Greater Portland Area Costumers' Guild By-Laws and Standing Rules

Previous version passed 9 October, 1999, viewable here.

First revision passed 12 May, 2001, viewable here.

Second revision passed 10 August, 2004.

Definitions

The Greater Portland Area Costumers' Guild, also known as the GPACG, is located in Portland, Oregon and its environs.

In situations not specifically addressed hereafter, Robert's Rules of Order shall prevail.

Purpose

The purposes of the Greater Portland Area Costumers' Guild are:
1) to provide costumers and clothiers, whether amateur or professional, regardless of membership in any organization, with an understanding network of creative minds and talents to draw upon and to pass their own knowledge to;

2) to teach, publicly and privately, the mutual impact and influence of clothing, costume, and their related industries, whether major, minor or cottage, on societies and cultures historically, currently, and in the potential future;

3) to sponsor publications, events, classes and other special projects to further these goals.

4) and have fun doing it.

 

Members' Rights and Responsibilities

1) Definition of Membership
a) A person becomes a member, either Full, Student or Associate, upon payment of the appropriate fee and either the turning in of a completed Member Information Sheet or the completion of the applicable online database entry/entries.

        i) In the case of Student Members under the age of 16, parental or guardian signature is also required.

b) A Full Member is one who receives a local newsletter in addition to all other rights and responsibilities of membership.

c) An Associate Member is one who lives at the same address as a Full Member and does not receive a local newsletter. An Associate member enjoys all other rights and responsibilities of membership.

d) A Student Member is one who, by right of a current valid student ID card, obtains a Full Membership and all its attendant rights and responsibilities at a reduced subscription fee. If a Student Member's scholastic status changes before the membership comes due for renewal, the status of Student Member remains unchanged until the membership renewal date.

2) Voting and Proxy Voting Rights
a) All members, whether Full, Student or Associate, whether officer or member at large, have equal voting rights.

b) No member has more than one vote.

c) Proxy votes may used by any member who can not attend a meeting.

d) Proxy votes must be in writing, either hardcopy original or printed-out email, and are valid only for the date specified and for a particular vote if so specified.

e) Proxy votes must be presented to the Secretary either before or during the vote to become valid and are attached to the minutes for that session.

f) Only those whose memberships are current are eligible to vote.

g) Recorded votes are final.
3) Requirements for Majority Vote
a) A simple majority vote of the paid membership, either present or by proxy, is sufficient for all voting purposes except in the following cases:
i) a major financial expenditure; to wit, 50% or more of the general fund or $100.00, whichever is less.

ii) significant changes to the by-laws.

iii) a vote of confidence regarding an officer.
 

b) Majority vote on the aforesaid special cases will consist of 2/3 (two-thirds) of the then-current membership, either present or by proxy, and will have prior announcement in the newsletter. If the newsletter is in hiatus, and the entire membership has access, notification will be made by publication on the appropriate elist. If there is no appropriate elist, notification will be made by mail or email to the entire current membership.

c) Votes are counted among those present and those who have sent proxies, not the entire membership. If a member does not appear for a vote and does not send a proxy, s/he has no say in the vote.

4) a) If the local membership finds that there is a problem with a member having or displaying habitual bad manners or exhibiting other behaviour that may cause harm to the public image and/or the workings, either public or private, of the guild, the offending member will be spoken with by a representative of the Board in an attempt to resolve the problem.

b) If the problem persists, revocation of membership by vote will be considered as a last resort. For a vote of this nature to pass, it will require a vote of 2/3 (two-thirds) of the paid membership, either present or by proxy, and will have prior announcement in the newsletter.

5) If a person leaves the guild either by his/her own volition or by revocation of membership, at the ex-member's request, his/her dues will be pro-rated and refunded. All rights and responsibilities of membership cease as of the notification date of quittance or revocation, whichever is applicable.
 

Officers and their Responsibilities

1) The Board is defined as the List of Guild Officers as published in the current newsletter and/or as currently posted on the website (whichever is more recent) regardless of whether all the posts are filled.

2) Elections
a) General elections of officers will be held annually at the October meeting.

b) If a post becomes vacant before the October meeting, it shall be filled within 60 (sixty) days.

c) i) Nominations shall be made in writing, physical or electronic, to the Secretary giving the name of the person being nominated and the position the nomination is for.

ii) The Secretary shall forward the list of nominations to the Editor in a timely fashion for publication.

iii) When possible, nominations will be published in the newsletter for 2 (two) issues prior to the meeting where the vote will take place.

iv) Nominations that are made too late for publication will be announced at the meeting where the vote will take place.

3) a) Nominees for guild office must be regularly-attending and have current memberships.

b) Officers must maintain their current-member status during their term of office.

4) a) At each meeting, officers must make a report of any activities in their office since the last meeting.

b) Officers must give to the Secretary and the Editor written copies of said monthly report at the same business meeting for inclusion in the published minutes.

c) Officers who do not appear for 3 (three) consecutive business meetings or made arrangements for representation, regardless of written reports sent in, will be removed from office.

d) A vote of confidence may be called on any officer at any regular business meeting with the vote occurring at the next regular business meeting. Member notification of the upcoming vote is necessary for validity.

e) Officers must include in their office archives a written copy of said report.

5) a) Officers who do not appear and do not send written reports for 2 (two) consecutive business meetings will be placed on probation for 2 (two) months.
b) If while on probation, an officer misses a meeting and does not send in a report for that meeting, that person will be removed from office immediately.

6) Officers must pass to their successors all records and supplies of the office. If officers wish to keep copies of their office records for themselves, it shall be done at their own expense.

7) Costs incurred as a result of fulfilling the duties of office will be considered eligible for reimbursement up to 3 (three) months after the date of invoice.

Meetings

1) a) Meetings shall take place at the times and locations published in the newsletter or online via webpage or elist(s).

b) The meeting agenda will be as follows:

approval of previous meeting minutes
officers' reports:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Secretary
Editor
WebAdmin
eList Moderator
other officers and/or agents
events
old business
new business
followed by open activities (also called "the Craft Session")
c) Meeting minutes will be published in the following month's newsletter or online via webpage or elist(s).

d) Minutes of the previous regular business meeting will be read as published and approved if acceptable. Any corrections or clarifications can be made at this time. Such changes will be published as part of the current meeting's minutes.

Standing Rules & other Miscellanea

Accepted by vote as part of the general elections dated 9 October, 1999, was the GPACG nickname of "the Robe Warriors".


It was agreed by those present at the regular meeting dated 20 November, 1999, during discussion regarding the incorporation and name registration paperwork to be filed with the State of Oregon that "upon dissolution of our organization, all money will be sent to the main ICG office and all guild-owned books and tapes will be sold to guild members with the profit sent to the main ICG office, any items not sold will be donated to the Multnomah County Library." (Offical meeting minutes - 20 November, 1999)


By unanimous vote of members present or represented by proxy, the GPACG seceded from the International Costumers' Guild at the regular business meeting on 14 October, 2000. The intention to vote had been duly published among the GPACG membership.

Standing Rule to over-ride the SR of 20 Nov 1999 - "Upon dissolution of our organisation, all library holdings and sales inventory will be made available for sale to then-current members or donated to publicly-accessible libraries, theatre groups, schools or similar organisations. All moneys will be disposed of by similar donation or put toward a farewell party as voted by the then-current membership. Final disposition of holdings will be determined by the then-current membership. Any donations in physical inventory will revert to original donors." (Official meeting minutes - 12 May, 2001)



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