February 29, 1948
as amended 1982;
March 25, 1993;
June 12, 1997;
October 8, 1998;
September 10, 2009;
June 14, 2018;
September 14, 2023
Preamble
We, the undersigned, being desirous to secure for ourselves the pleasures and benefits of the association of persons commonly interested in Amateur Radio, by furthering better cooperation among its members, develop individual proficiency, furthering the interest of radio in the general community, do hereby constitute ourselves THE MERIDEN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, and do enact this Constitution and By-Laws as our governing documents.
Date this twenty-ninth (29) day of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight (1948).
February 29, 1948
Amended: 1982, March 25, 1993, June 12, 1997, October 8, 1998, September 10, 2009, June 14, 2018, September 14, 2023
Signed by:
President Edward Snyder
Vice President Eric Olsson
Secretary Bart Toftness
Treasurer Rick Becker
Station Activities Manager Rob Cichon
Constitution
Article I – NAME
The name of the Corporation shall be: MERIDEN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC., hereinafter referred as “MARC, Inc.”
Article II – PURPOSES
MARC, Inc. is a non-profit, non-stock corporation organized solely for the purposes set forth hereinafter.
MARC, Inc. seeks to comply and support the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service as defined in the Federal Communications Commission Rules Part 97.1. It seeks to expand public understanding and appreciation of the Amateur Radio Service, encourage men and women to participate in this service, provide emergency and public assistance communications services, assist and improve the technical skills of its members, contribute to the advancement of the radio art, and to otherwise support charitable and public goodwill efforts.
MARC, Inc. will accomplish these purposes through volunteer activities of its membership, financial support of charitable and educational opportunities, and public benevolent efforts.
Article III – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 The membership of MARC, Inc. shall consist of those individuals who are members in good standing who have paid their dues as defined in the By-Laws.
Section 2 All persons interested in Amateur Radio shall be eligible for membership in MARC, Inc.
Section 3 All members shall be entitled to vote at any regular or special meeting of MARC, Inc.
Article IV – DIRECTORS
Section 1 Directors of the Corporation shall be the officers of MARC, Inc. (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Station Activities Manager). Their terms as Directors shall be concurrent with their terms in MARC, Inc.
Section 2 A special meeting of the Directors may be called by the president, or upon the written request of any three (3) Directors. Notice, through reasonable contact means, to all the directors informing them of the special meeting and business to be transacted. Such notice shall be made 48 hours before the time therein set for the meeting. Only such business as is designated in the said notice shall be transacted at such special meeting.
Section 3 The Directors of MARC, Inc. shall be responsible for the formulation of appropriate financial and activity documentation required by Federal and State statutory regulations. The Directors of MARC, Inc. shall ensure the activities of this organization are in conformance with the purposes set forth herein.
Article V – OFFICERS
Section 1 The officers of MARC, Inc. shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Station Activities Manager.
Section 2 The officers of MARC, Inc. shall be elected for a term of one year by a vote of members present in person or by other means on voting day, provided there be a quorum as defined in the By-Laws. Elections shall be held on the day of the Annual Meeting, which is the November business meeting.
Section 3 Vacancies occurring between elections must be filled by special ballot within sixty (60) days after the vacancy is announced.
Section 4 Officers may be removed on a motion by three-fourths (3/4) vote of quorum membership present and voting at the meeting, provided that: a) a special meeting has been requested to address the removal issue; b) the special meeting has recommended a motion to remove; c) the officer has not resigned; d) the motion is voted on at the next regular business meeting; e) a quorum is present at both the special and the regular meeting. All financial authority of the officer being considered for removal shall be removed until the matter is resolved.
Section 5 Candidates for office in MARC, Inc. shall have a valid Amateur Radio license.
Section 6 Duties of Officers:
Section 6a The President shall preside at all meetings of this organization and conduct the same according to the rules adopted. He or she shall enforce due observance of this Constitution and By-Laws; decide all questions of order; sign all official documents that are adopted by the organization; and perform all customary duties pertaining to the office of the President. He or she shall, at the expiration of his/her term, turn over everything in his/her possession belonging to the organization to his/her successor.
Section 6b The Vice-President shall assume all the duties of the President in the absence of the latter. He or she shall, at the expiration of his/her term, turn over everything in his/her possession belonging to the organization to his/her successor.
Section 6c The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings, present applications for membership approval, carry on all correspondence, read communications at each meeting, and notify membership by reasonable communication means of every special meeting of the organization, except when excused by action under the By-Laws. He or she shall, at the expiration of his/her term, turn over everything in his possession belonging to the organization to his/her successor.
Section 6d The Treasurer shall receive and receipt for all monies paid to the organization. He or she shall keep an accurate account of all monies received and expended. He or she shall pay no bills without proper authorization which occurs at a business meeting. Any recurring cost, brought before the membership for approval, shall have a sunset date. The treasurer shall maintain a list of recurring costs and their sunset dates. This list shall be available to any member in good standing. The treasurer shall bring a request for authorization for any sunsetting cost to the membership for reapproval at a regular business meeting and the one month wait between the request and the vote for approval for recurring costs is waived. At the end of each month, he or she shall submit an itemized statement of disbursements and receipts. The Treasurer shall keep a roll of members. He or she shall, at the expiration of his/her term, turn over everything in his/her possession belonging to the organization to his/her successor.
Section 6e The Station Activities Manager shall be responsible for station building, station upgrades and upkeep, all transceiving equipment and activities involving the Memorial Club Station and/or stations operated in the name of the organization and shall ensure that the membership has access to any and all equipment needed to participate in station activities. SAM shall be responsible for Emergency Coordination within the organization and with outside agencies and work in conjunction with the local EC. An emergency plan shall be kept on file with the Secretary. The Station Activities Manager shall, at the expiration of his/her term, turn over everything in his/her possession belonging to the organization to his/her successor.
Article VI – MEETINGS (IN PERSON OR BY OTHER MEANS)
Section 1 The By-Laws shall provide for all meetings of this organization. Regular meetings shall be provided in the By-Laws. The meeting shall be declared by the President in advance to be a business or an activity meeting. Special meetings are unscheduled meetings that may be called by the President upon the written request of any five (5) members of MARC, Inc. for a specific purpose.
Section 2 A quorum of the total membership plus two officers (one of which is the President or Vice-President) shall be necessary for the transaction of business. A quorum is defined in the By-Laws.
Section 3 Elections shall be held at the business meeting in November (annual meeting).
Section 4 When a proposal is brought forth at a meeting without the necessary quorum present, notification by reasonable communication means shall be made to all members by the Secretary stating the proposal that will be brought up at the next meeting to vote for or against it. Reasonable means of communication shall be made at least 48 hours before the business meeting.
Article VII – FINANCES
Section 1 MARC, Inc. may levy upon the general membership such dues or assessments as shall be deemed necessary for the business of the organization within its objectives as set forth in the Purposes of the organization.
Section 2 MARC, Inc., from time to time, may participate alone or with other organizations in fund raising activities to supplement member dues and assessments.
Section 3 MARC, Inc., may accept donations from the membership or the general public to be used in the accomplishment of the Purposes of the organization. Financial donations shall be designated for a specific purpose or general fund usage. Equipment donations shall be under the direction of the Station Activities Manager.
Article VIII – OPERATIONS
Section 1 MARC, Inc., through designated members and committees, may provide technical advice to members concerning equipment design and operation to assist in compliance with FCC Rules Part 97, complete frequency observance, clean signals, uniform practice, and absence of spurious radio radiations from member stations.
Section 2 Where equipment and facilities permit, establish and maintain a Memorial Club Station. The Memorial Club Station shall be for the use in membership activities and provide emergency communications.
Section 3 The current Station Activity Manager shall be the Trustee of the Memorial Club Station to hold the station license as provided for under FCC Rules Part 97.
Section 4 MARC, Inc., through designated members and committees, may provide emergency and public assistance communications services.
Section 5 MARC, Inc., through designated members and committees, may provide support for all persons to participate in the Amateur Radio Service, improve the technical skills of its members, and support allied charitable and public goodwill efforts.
Article IX – AMENDMENTS
Section 1 This Constitution or the By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present in person or by other means on the day of the vote. Proposals for amendments shall be submitted in writing at a regular business meeting and not voted on until the next regular business meeting. A quorum must be present at each meeting.
Article X – RULES
Section 1 Robert’s Rules of Order (or Cushing’s Manual) shall govern all proceedings of this organization.
Article XI – DISBANDMENT
Section 1 Upon dissolution of MARC, Inc. assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to the state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by the Superior Court of the county in which the principal office of MARC Inc. is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes by law.
By-Laws
Section 1 MERIDEN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC. DOING BUSINESS AS (d/b/a) WALLINGFORD AMATEUR RADIO GROUP:
MARC, Inc. shall also d/b/a the Wallingford Amateur Radio Group when conducting and transacting business in the Town of Wallingford. A Certificate of Trade Name shall also be filed by the President with the Town of Wallingford for MARC, Inc. d/b/a the Wallingford Amateur Radio Group.
Section 2 SECRETARY: It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep the Constitution and By-Laws of MARC, Inc. and have the same at every regular and special meeting. He or she shall cause all amendments, changes and additions to be noted thereon and shall permit the same to be consulted by members upon request.
Section 3 MEETINGS (IN PERSON OR BY OTHER MEANS): Meetings will consist of regular, special, and activities meetings.
Regular meetings shall be held the 2nd Thursday of each month except for the December meeting which may be rescheduled to another December date to meet the needs of the club. Regular meetings will be held at such place as the President shall designated, or as agreed upon by the membership. A quorum necessary for the transaction of business is defined as one-tenth (1/10) of the total membership plus two officers (one of which is the President or Vice-President).
Special meetings may be called by the President upon the written request of any five (5) members of MARC, Inc. Notice shall be made by reasonable communication means at least 48 hours before the special meeting. The notice shall inform all members of the business to be transacted. Only such business as is designated in the notice shall be transacted at the special meeting.
Activity meetings shall be held the 4th Thursday of each month at such place as the President shall designate, or as agreed upon by the membership.
Section 4 MEMBERSHIP: Application for membership shall be in writing at a regular meeting and each application must express a willingness of the applicant to abide by the Constitution and By-Laws, and such rules as shall from time to time be promulgated by the organization. Two-thirds (2/3) of those present shall approve the applicant before he/she shall be considered elected to membership.
Section 5 TREASURER: The Treasurer shall pay no bills without proper authorization determined at a business meeting. The treasurer shall present requests for expenditures over $500.00 at a regular business meeting and that vote shall wait until the next regular business meeting. He/She shall make the books available for annual audit prior to the installation of newly elected officers.
Section 6 DUES: Membership dues are due March 31 of the current year. (See article 3 of the Constitution.)
Section 7 STANDING COMMITTEES: At the first regular business meeting of the new year, the President shall insure that a minimum of six (6) standing committees are in place. These shall be the Technical, Community Outreach and Communications, Program and Entertainment, Scholarship, Repeater, and Wallingford Amateur Radio Group. The President is an ex-officio member of all committees. The duties of said committees shall be as follows:
a) The Technical Committee shall perform its duties in accordance with Article VIII – Operations Section 1 of the Constitution. b) The Community Outreach and Communications Committee shall publicize meetings and be the organization’s contact with the public at large. c) The Program and Entertainment committee shall be responsible for Activity meetings and may also provide assistance for Club Station activities in conjunction with the Station Activity Manager. In addition, the committee may assist other special committees in planning Field Day, picnics, etc. d) The Scholarship committee shall administer and be responsible for the scholarship resources in behalf of the membership of MARC, Inc. The committee shall consist of no less than four (4) members plus the President as an ex-officio member. Within a period not to exceed ninety days after the acceptance of these By-Laws, the Scholarship committee shall submit a Scholarship Plan of Operations to the MARC, Inc. officers for approval and be appended to these By-Laws as an integral section. e) The Repeater Committee shall be responsible of the Club Amateur Radio repeater. The committee shall be comprised of 5 MARC members to ensure operation of the repeater. f) The Wallingford Amateur Radio Group shall function to support the Town of Wallingford with emergency communications, the Community Emergency Response Team, and other town activities as appropriate.
Section 8 REPEATER OPERATION A detailed Repeater Plan of Operation shall be appended to these by-laws as an integral section.
Section 9 PURPOSES MARC, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Section 10 RESTRICTIONS No part of the net earnings of MARC, Inc shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that MARC, Inc shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the purpose clause hereof. No substantial part of the activities of MARC, Inc. shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and MARC, Inc. shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, MARC, Inc. shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.