By-Laws

USS Tallahatchie County LST-1154/AVB-2 Association
By-Laws

ARTICLE I

I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the USS Tallahatchie County Reunion Group Association and shall herein after be referred to as the Association.

II. PURPOSE

A nonprofit benevolent association to promote the memory of the USS LST-1154, The USS Tallahatchie County LST-1154, and The USS Tallahatchie County AVB-2 to foster good fellowship and camaraderie among the shipmates who proudly served aboard these ships.

III. MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY

All former shipmates of the USS LST-1154, The USS Tallahatchie County LST-1154 and the USS Tallahatchie County AVB-2 who were honorably discharged and their families are eligible for membership. An Officer of the Association may appoint others with interest in the Association as Honorary Members.

IV. GOVERNMENT

The Board of Directors includes the Officers of the Association, eligible past Presidents and the Association Founders. Officers include a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The immediate Past President will serve as a Board Member with full voting rights for a term of 2 years. The Founders shall remain permanent members of the Board of Directors with full voting rights, serving at their own pleasure.

The Association can include an Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee will be comprised of not less than five or more than ten Advisors. To the extent practical, members of the Advisory Committee will be distributed throughout the age groups of the Association and the various regions of the country. The Advisory Committee will be appointed by the Board of Directors and will serve without restriction to a term limit. All officers and board members must have access to the Internet with an E-Mail account.

V. MEETINGS and REUNIONS

The Association shall consider reunion(s) at location(s) chosen by members present at a Reunion Business Meeting held the Friday evening of each reunion. Selection of a reunion location shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present at said Friday evening business meeting. An Advisory Committee will select the Reunion Chairman and present its recommendation to the Board of Directors for approval. The reunion chairman shall be responsible for a site inspection of possible hotels in the chosen city. This inspection shall be done no less than 12 months prior to the reunion, and the results and recommendations of the reunion chairman shall be presented to the Board of Directors as soon as possible after the site inspection. Should the reunion chairman find that the chosen city does not have facilities that our members will find reasonable in terms of cost and or accommodations, he shall in writing inform the board of directors and the board may override the vote of the members and select an appropriate city in the same general region as the voted upon city. The cost of this site inspection will be borne by the association.

The Reunion Chairman is responsible for:

Appointment of members to the Reunion Committee to assist with the many important tasks;

Planning and executing all actions required to schedule and conduct the next Association Reunion;

Arrangement of hotel accommodations, banquets and common meals, entertainment and activities;

The agendas for all meetings and banquets;

Early dissemination of a reunion itinerary and other relevant information to encourage attendance by members of the Association;

Providing reunion attendees with printed nametags, printed programs and promotional material describing the location of the reunion and its environs.

The Reunion Chairman is encouraged to consider the use of meeting planner services often offered or recommended by the area Chamber of Commerce, and to request suggestions from other ship’s reunion chairman who previously held a reunion at the same location

The Treasurer will provide the Reunion Chairman with initial seed money as budgeted to cover miscellaneous reunion expenses such as welcome gifts, vendor deposits and hospitality supplies. The Chairman must return to the Treasurer all expense receipts and vouchers covering all expenditures made for the reunion. The Association will cover any reunion deficit.

VI. DUES

Dues are mandatory. A $30.00 dues request shall be made once during a reunion cycle (Approx 24 months).

Dues expenditures to be budgeted as follows;

Charitable Contributions

Benefiting Naval Veterans organizations.
Expenditure is not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the total dues collected for the billing cycle during which dues was collected.
Memorial donations to be made for only dues paying members.

Reunion Expenses

Memento and miscellaneous gifts, hospitality room, beverages and supplies, welcome aboard party etc.
Funds may also be used to help reduce the cost of the reunion.
Expenditure should not be less than seventy five percent (75%) of total cash on hand.

General operating expenses

Publish and mail quarterly newsletters; Tallahatchie County web site maintenance and other incidentals.
Unbudgeted expenses will be determined by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE II

I. MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITIES

All members are encouraged to assist in locating shipmates and provide addresses and other information to the Secretary. Members should inform the Secretary promptly of accidents, illnesses, and deaths of shipmates and their spouses, as well as their own changes of addresses and those of other members. While acting in the name of, or as an agent for, the Association, no Member of the Association, whether or not an elected or appointed officer, shall engage in any activity for profit or other personal benefit in the conduct of any business or personal transactions or dealings, without the express approval of the Board.

Members who have not expressed an active interest in the Association will be removed from the Association roster and database. Attending meetings and reunions, making a dues contribution or just communicating an interest via email or US Postal mail will maintain an active membership.

II. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

The President shall establish the procedure of the Board and shall preside at all meetings, call special meetings of the Board, appoint the Chairman of all standing committees, appoint special committees and convene the Board as required. Meetings may be conducted by email or telephone. The President shall appoint a member to the Board to fill the duties of any vacated office.

The Vice‑President shall assist the President and preside at meetings in the President's absence.

The Secretary shall issue all notices proper to his office; keep records of Association meetings; maintain the membership database, attend to correspondence and issue a periodic newsletter. At all meetings and reunions, he shall have sufficient copies of the Association BYLAWS available for distribution as needed. He shall submit statistical analysis of the Association membership characteristic makeup to the Board. All records will be available for open inspection by any member of the Association upon a written request.

The Treasurer shall collect and receive all revenues of the Association and deposit such funds in a separate banking account, not to be commingled with any other funds or accounts. Proper vouchers for all disbursements shall be kept with regular books of account, which must be open for inspection by the Audit Committee. The books of the Association must be maintained using industry standard software such as Quick Books and such software must be made available to the Officers of the Association and Audit Committee to insure system compatibility and to facilitate data transfer and information analysis.

The Treasurer will place the signature of each Officer on record with all banking institutions doing business with the Association as an authorized check signer. The Treasurer, upon receipt of expense vouchers for mailings, newsletters and telephone will reimburse such expenses. All un-budgeted expenses must be submitted to the Board for approval.

The Treasurer will prepare a Budget of summarized disbursements by category with the corresponding budget amount for the next reunion cycle. After approval by the Board, the budget will be presented to the membership at the Reunion Business meeting.

The Treasurer will provide detailed financial report to the Board at the Reunion Business meeting. This report will include an itemized year-to-date statement of receipts and expenditures and cash balance.

The Treasurer will prepare a final financial report after the reunion for the Board of Directors and made available upon request to all board members and to the newsletter editor for inclusion in the next regularly scheduled newsletter.

Should the association be dissolved all funds shall be donated to the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Fund.

The Reunion Chairmen will manage reunion expenses as stated in section V Meetings and Reunions.

The Advisory Committee shall make suggestions to the Secretary on any matter it deems important and will act on all matters brought before it by the membership

ARTICLE III

I. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Officers will be elected by a majority vote of the members present at the Reunion business meeting held on the Friday evening of the reunion. A notice of election will be placed into the “Tally Gram” immediately prior to the next scheduled reunion. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the business meeting.

ARTICLE IV

I. CHANGES IN BYLAWS

These By‑Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members present at a Reunion Business Meeting. Such changes must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least three months prior to the Business Meeting. If approved by the Board of Directors, the Secretary will present the amendments to the membership.

II. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS MEETINGS

Procedure and discussions at the Business Meetings shall be in accordance with these By Laws and Roberts Rules of Order.