Bylaws of Oakridge / Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce
Article I – Name
The name of the organization shall be the Oakridge / Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce.
Article II – Mission
The mission of the Oakridge / Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce is to promote and improve the business environment, stimulate a vibrant local economy, promote tourism and produce a cooperative effort to enhance the overall quality of life in the Oakridge / Westfir areas to their highest potential.
Article III – General
The chamber shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, handicapped condition, marital status, affiliation, or sexual orientation.
Article IV – Purpose of Membership
The purpose of this organization is to develop and perpetuate the welfare of the cities of Oakridge, Westfir, and the area served by these communities, ensuring a growing, healthy, and diversified economy. The primary goal of the Chamber should be to support the businesses of our community. The organization shall be nonpartisan and nonsectarian.
Article V – Membership
Section 1: Any person, association, corporation, partnership, nonprofit, or estate having an interest in the objectives of this organization shall be eligible to apply for membership. Application for membership shall be in writing, on forms provided for the purpose, and signed by the applicant. Any applicant shall become a member upon payment of the regularly scheduled dues.
Section 2: Annual membership dues are due on July 31st of each year. New membership dues will be prorated as of the date joined for the balance of the current year.
Section 3: Any individual, organization, firm or business whose dues remain unpaid per the above schedule shall be declared not in good standing and will be unable to vote on any business of this organization. The Chamber may also suspend web advertising and referrals until membership dues are brought current.
Section 4: the Treasurer will maintain a membership roster with a record of dues paid.
Article VI – Board of Directors
Section 1: The Board of Directors shall be comprised of seven members elected by the membership. In addition to the elected board members, the mayors of the cities of Oakridge, and Westfir and immediate past president of this organization shall automatically have full privileges of board membership. This will create a Board of Directors of utmost 10 m embers. Officers of the Chamber of Commerce shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2: Terms of office shall be for two (2) years and each year four new members shall be elected to the Board of Directors for continuity.
Section 3: Members of the Board of Directors must attend at least 10 meetings per calendar year, unless excused by the President or Vice President. If any board of director miss 3 consecutive board meetings the board will evaluate the reasoning and the member may be asked to confirm their commitment to continue in their position.
Section 4: An attempt will be made to fill vacant positions on the board within 60 days.
Section 5: The City Administrators of Oakridge, Westfir, and the other cities belonging to the Chamber of Commerce shall be ex-officio board members of the Oakridge Westfir area Chamber of Commerce, and will not have voting privileges in order to prevent conflicts of interest.
Article VII – Subcommittees
Section 1: Existing non-profit organizations or alliances within the City of Oakridge and Westfir that focus on specific areas of development that fall within the Chamber’s Mission can propose to become a subcommittee of the Chamber. A copy of the new subcommittee’s existing Bylaws or Guidelines must be submitted for review by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will have the ability to approve or deny the subcommittee with a vote as long as there is a quorum.
Article VIII – Finances
Section 1: The Treasurer shall deposit all monies of the organization in the chamber account of such bank or depository as directed by the Board of Directors.
Section 2: The Board of Directors shall be authorized to spend and invest monies necessary to operate the organization in a financially sound manner. The Board of Directors shall create and publish an annual working budget, available for review by the public and the general chamber membership by November 30 preceding the budget year. The annual budget shall include expected revenue and expenses of the organization.
Section 3: All monies expended by this organization shall be paid by check with two joint signatures of the President, Vice President, Treasurer or Secretary being required on all checks submitted for payment based on valid invoices for board approved expenditures.
Section 4: Membership investment shall be at such rate or rates, schedule, or formula as may be from time to time prescribed by the Board of Directors.
Section 5: The fiscal year for the Oakridge/Westfir Chamber of Commerce shall be from January 1 to December 31.
Section 6: The Board of Directors shall publish bi-annual ( June 30th & Dec 31st ) financial information (consisting of a traditional income statement and balance sheet).
Article IX – Duties of Officers
Section 1: President. The President shall:
● Preside at all regular and Board of Directors meetings,
● Appoint such committees as directed by the Board of Directors,
● Be responsible for establishing the locations for all meetings of the organization,
● Set the agenda for all board and general meetings, and
● resolve conflict within the organization.
Section 2: Vice President. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall:
● Preside at any meetings of the organization and
● Secure and schedule speakers on programs for the general membership meetings of the organization.
Section 3: Secretary. The Secretary shall:
● Keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the organization and shall submit and store all notes, correspondence and records.
Section 4: Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:
● Obtain signatures on checks for outgoing mail and delivery to the post office,
● Keep all deposit receipts on file.
● Give a financial report at each meeting
● Preside over the budget committee, and
● Be responsible to work with the bookkeeper to provide by April 15th, the end of the year tax information for the tax preparer.
Section 5: The above officers shall be considered the Executive Committee and shall be responsible for the Chamber related activities of any paid employees or independent contractors.
Section 6: No person employed by the Chamber shall be a member of the Board of Directors. That person may have ex-officio status as a board member with no ability to vote.
Section 7: According to Robert’s Rules of Order, the Board of Directors may vote electronically on Motions that have had proposals made, and discussions of topics and issues put before the Board of Directors. As a matter of procedure, the Oakridge-Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors may vote electronically when the Board President deems it necessary by calling for a vote via email. Board members are required to respond within 24 hours via email to the Board President with their vote yes or no; including a signature and their executive board seat , or stating they are a board member; plus their telephone number for verification. The Board President shall tally the votes, then forward the result of the vote to each board member. The Board Secretary shall include a copy of the email containing the President’s call for a vote, and the results in the minutes of the next regularly scheduled board meeting.
Article X – Elections
Section 1: The President shall appoint an election committee at the board meeting in September. This committee shall consist of three general members, three board members and the executive director. The executive director will be an ex-officio non-voting member of the nominating committee.
Section 2: The nominating Committee shall publish a call for nominations to the general membership by October 1st.
Section 3: The secretary shall mail or email a list of candidates to each member of the organization on or before the 1st day of November. All nominees must be active and in good standing.
Section 4: The annual election will be held at the first regularly scheduled general membership meeting in November. The nominating committee will tally the votes and announce the results.
Section 5: The newly elected members of the Board of Directors shall meet with the outgoing members.
Article XI – Meetings
Section 1: There shall be a minimum of one general membership meeting of this organization per quarter, with the exception of when other activities may be planned. Further general membership meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the president when deemed necessary.
Article XII – Quorum
Section 1: At any duly called general membership meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, those voting members in good standing shall consist of a quorum. An action of the board shall have a minimum of four voting members present which shall constitute a quorum of the board of directors. At committee meetings, those present shall constitute a quorum, unless otherwise noted in the committee operating guidelines.
Article XIII – Rules of Order
Section 1: All meetings shall be conducted in a respectful and organized manner. All business will be conducted in accordance with the Roberts Rules of Order.
Article XIV – Amendments
Section 1: These bylaws may be amended or altered by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of a majority of the members present at any regular or special meeting providing the notice for the meeting includes the proposals for amendment. Any proposed amendments or alterations shall be submitted to the board and to the members in writing at least 10 days in advance of the meeting in which they are to be acted upon.
Ratification:
Section 1: These bylaws were ratified by the general membership at a general membership meeting held on 01-16-2017
Revision Dates:
October 20, 2003
April 17, 2006
February 5, 2007
November 30, 2009
January 4, 2010
March 1, 2010
April 20, 2015
December 13, 2016
January 16, 2017
November 6, 2019