Amended and adopted, April 1, 1991; Aug. 25, 2014; Oct. 14, 2015

ARTICLE ONE

(a) This organization shall be known as the Bloomington Press Club, Incorporated, (hereinafter referred to as the “Club”) and shall conduct operations as a not-for-profit corporation as provided by the laws of the state of Indiana.

(b) Two primary functions of the Club are

1.) to serve as an educational  organization for members to hear news media personnel or news-makers speak at monthly meetings,  and

2.) to provide media internships to college students and scholarships to area high school students to attend the Indiana University High School Journalism Institute each summer.

ARTICLE TWO

(a) The Club shall be governed by its elected officers and by its elected Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”)

(b) The Club Officers shall be the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. All Club officers shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, with the President and Secretary being elected before Jan. 1 of odd numbered years and the Vice President and Treasurer being elected before even numbered years. With Board approval and consent of the officer, an officer may serve one consecutive second term.

(c) The Board shall consist of the Club officers and five (5) other Club members, excluding the immediate past president, who shall serve in an ex-officio capacity.

(d) The Board shall meet at the request of the Club President at least three (3) times within the term of its members. The Club President shall preside at all Board meetings. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall preside. In the absence of both the President and the Vice-President, a Board member designated by the President shall preside. Prior to each annual meeting of the Club, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall prepare for the Board a complete list of all Club members eligible to vote on matters before the Club. The Board shall update such a list as necessary.

ARTICLE THREE

(a) The executive power of the Club shall be vested in the President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and discharge all the duties which devolve upon a presiding officer. Duties include: working with the Board to secure speakers for monthly meetings, reserving appropriate meeting places, overseeing paperwork necessary in maintaining the Club’s status as a non-profit organization, and delegating these and other responsibilities as necessary.

(b) The President, or his/her designee, shall represent the Club at any outside functions and activities.

(c) The President shall gain the advice and consent of the Board with regard to all contractual and legal obligations before the Club.

(d) The Vice-President shall perform all duties incumbent upon the President during the absence or disability of the President. The Vice-President is also in charge of membership: recruiting new members, keeping an official roster of the membership, keeping a list of prospective members, and creating an email list for member communication.

(d) The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept in a book provided for that purpose, a complete record of proceedings of all meetings. Said record book shall be available for the inspection by any Club member in good standing. The Secretary is in charge of communication with members and prospective members regarding upcoming meetings and other functions  and handles general publicity as well.

(e) The Treasurer shall keep or cause to be kept complete records of accounts showing accurately at all times, the financial condition of the Club. The Treasurer shall deposit or cause to be deposited funds of the Club in depositories designated by the Board. Such deposits will be made with dispatch in regard to their receipts. Every three years, the Officers, directed by the Treasurer, will perform (or will have performed by an outside accountant), an informal audit.

ARTICLE FOUR

(a) The Board shall have the authority to set annual dues. Except for routine operating expenses, both dues and fund-raising monies will be used for the charitable functions as described in ARTICLE ONE (b).

(b) Memberships are effective from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31 of the following year. Annual dues are due and payable by Dec. 31. Current members who have not paid by Oct. 31 will receive email reminders from the vice president in November and December. People who join by Dec. 31 will be on official membership rosters and will have full membership benefits, including receiving meeting announcements, having voting privileges, being invited to special events, and the like. Those members who do not renew by Dec. 31 will have their names put on the Prospective Members roster and will no longer receive Club announcements. They and other prospective members are welcome to join at any time after Dec. 31, but will have to pay the full amount for dues during the remaining time. At the discretion of the treasurer, dues may be paid in advance, prior to Sept. 1, for the following membership year.

ARTICLE FIVE

(a) Members shall be in the field of news, advertising or public relations, or persons deemed by the Board to be assets to the Club.

(b) The Board shall have full authority to pass on the qualifications for membership.

(c) All members shall have voting privileges.

ARTICLE SIX

(a) The President, with the approval of the Board, shall appoint a nominating committee each year to gain consent of candidates for Board membership. The slate will be presented at the Club’s Annual Meeting after providing appropriate notice of such a meeting. Board members will be elected at such an Annual Meeting. The Treasurer or a designee of the President shall provide a financial report to the Club membership at such an Annual Meeting.

(b) At the next scheduled Board Meeting, the newly elected Board shall elect two (2) Officers of the Club from among its own members to serve for the ensuing years.

ARTICLE SEVEN

(a) The Board shall have the authority to make, alter or repeal these by-laws. The affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all members of the Board shall be necessary to effect any alteration, amendment or repeal thereof.

(b) Alteration, amendment or repeal of these by-laws may be effected only at a duly-called meeting of the Board, and must be submitted to members of the Board in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to such meeting.

(c) In the unlikely event of the dissolution of the Club, any remaining monies in the treasury would be deposited in the Indiana University Foundation account that the Club has and would be used in perpetuity by the Foundation for the defined purpose of supporting media internships for worthy college students.