CONSTITUTION OF THE SHIPS ON STAMPS UNIT, ATA


ARTICLE I - NAME

  1. The name of this organization shall be the "Ships on Stamps Unit, ATA " (herein-after referred to as the "Unit" ).
  2. The Unit shall be an affiliated Study Unit of the American Topical Association, Inc.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Unit shall be:

  1. To promote the study of philatelic material pertaining to watercraft on stamps, and material relating there to
  2. To share the knowledge of watercraft philatelic activity with fellow Unit members
  3. To encourage the growth of the hobby of watercraft philately and
  4. To support the goals and ideals of the preservation of our maritime heritage.


ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

  1. There shall be three (3) classes of membership in the Unit: (1) Regular, Life, and (3) Honorary Life.
  2. There shall be no requirement for members of the Unit to belong to any other philatelic organization as a prerequisite to membership in the Unit or to elective office.


ARTICLE IV - ELECTED OFFICERS

  1. The elected officers of the Unit shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three (3) Directors.
  2. All officers shall be elected for a term of four (4) years.
  3. No officer shall be elected to more than one office at the same time.
  4. All members shall be eligible for elected office.
  5. An officer may serve any number of consecutive terms.

ARTICLE V - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  1. The Board of Directors.shall consist of the President, the immediate Past President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the three Directors.
  2. The Board of Directors shall be the general legislative body of the Unit.
  3. The Unit President shall be the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
  4. It shall have the power to amend the Constitution or ByLaws of the Unit as provided in the Bylaws.
  5. The Board of Directors shall have oversight over the management of Unit finances and the publication of Watercraft Philately or any other Unit publications
  6. It shall hold its meetings by mail or in open session on such matters and at such times as its Chairman shall direct. A majority vote of all members of the Board shall be necessary to pass any resolution or take any action except otherwise provided in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VI - DUES

Annual Regular and Life Member dues and fees shall be set by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII - OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

The official publication of the Unit shall be titled "Watercraft Philately".

ARTICLE VIII SPECIAL GROUPS

  1. Subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, local chapters of the Unit may be authorized as provided in the Bylaws.
  2. Subject to the approval of the Board of,Directors, special Study Groups Bylaws may be authorized as provided in the Bylaws.

 Bylaws

ARTICLE 1 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

  1. PRESIDENT - The President shall be the chief administration officer of the Unit and shall preside at all Unit meetings. The President shall: (1) be a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors and an ex-officio member of all committees, (2) appoint such Administrative Officials and committees as may be necessary, and (3) execute all legal documents on behalf of the Unit, when so authorized by the Board of Directors.
  2. VICE-PRESIDENT - The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in his absence or inability to serve and perform such additional duties as delegated to him by the President. In the event the office of President is vacated the Vice-President shall become acting President until the next regular election. The Vice-President shall be a member of the Board of Directors.
  3. SECRETARY - The Secretary shall: (1) maintain the official membership roll, (2). be responsible for new member enrollment, (3) conduct correspondence on behalf of the Unit, and (4) perform such additional duties as delegated to him by the President. The Secretary shall be a member of the Board of Directors.
  4. TREASURER - The Treasurer shall: (1) receive and record all monies of the Unit from dues, publications, and all other sources, (2) disburse and record all monies in payment of Unit expenses, (3) submit a Written financial statement to the Board of Directors at the end of each fiscal year, and (4) be a member of the Board of Directors.
  5. Upon the vacancy of any elective office, other than that of the President, the Board of Directors shall appoint a successor to serve until the next regular election.

ARTICLE 2 - APPOINTIVE OFFICERS

  1. The President may appoint such additional officers and Committee Chairmen as may be necessary, except that the appointment of the Editor of Watercraft Philately, or the publisher of Watercraft Philately shall be with the advise and consent of the Board of Directors.
  2. Appointive Officers shall serve for a term of four years, at the pleasure of the President, and may be removed by the President for cause, at any time.

ARTICLE 3 - ELECTIONS

  1. Elected Officers shall be elected by ballot every four years. The initial election under this procedure shall be held in Fiscal Year 1980 with newly elected officers taking office on 1 July 1980
  2. The procedure for the election of officers, subject to revision by the Board of Directors, shall be:
    • The President shall appoint an Elections Officer by 1 September prior to the election.
    • The election shall be announced and nominations therefor solicited from the membership in the September-October (No. 2) issue of Watercraft Philately.
    • Nominations shall be sent to the Elections Officer to be received by him not later than 10 December. The Elections Officer shall obtain from each nominee his written acceptance of his nomination.
    • Nominations will be published in the January-February (No. 4).issue of Watercraft Philately.
    • The Elections Officer shall prepare a ballot listing all nominees for each office. The ballot, together with a return envelope, shall be sent to members with the March-April (No. 5) issue of Watercraft Philately. Completed.ballots shall be returned to the Elections Officer to be received by him not later than 10 June.
    • The nominee,for each office receiving the highest number of votes shall.be deemed elected, except for the office of Director, in which case, the three nominees receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. Tie votes shall be resolved by vote of the Board of Directors.
    • The Elections Officer shall tabulate the vote and certify the results to the Secretary. The results shall be announced at the Annual Meeting at TOPEX, and published in the July-August (No. 1) issue of Watercraft Philately. Newly elected officers shall take office on 1 July.


ARTICLE 4 - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

  1. The fiscal membership year of the Unit shall begin on 1 July, subject to change by the Board of Directors.
  2. Dues shall be payable each year during the months of May and June. Members whose dues have not been received by 1 July shall be dropped from the.roll. Dropped members may be reinstated upon receipt of their dues.
  3. Applicants for Regular Membership shall remit dues for at least one full year, for which they shall receive all issues of the current volume of Watercraft Philately. Membership of applicants whose applications are received during May and June will be entered on 1 July for the following year.
  4. Life Membership in the Unit shall be granted upon payment of an amount equal to twenty (20) times the current annual dues. Payment may be made in one sum or in six (6) consecutive monthly installments.
  5. Honorary Life Membership may be conferred by the Board of Directors upon any member for valuable service rendered to the Unit by that member.
  6. The amount of the annual dues shall be determined.,by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE 5 - LOCAL CHAPTERS AND STUDY GROUPS

  1. Local Chapters. of the Unit may be formed, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, by the filing of a formal petition signed by at least ten (10) members in any specific geographical area. Each Chapter may determine locally its internal governing rules, schedules of meetings, dues, activities, and election on of officers, except that all such Chapters must acknowledge their relation to the Unit in all local notices, press releases, Chapter stationery, and in official correspondence.
  2. Special Study Groups of the Unit may be formed, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors by the filing of at least five (5) formal requests from members for the formation of each Group. Each Group shall 'select a Chairman who shall coordinate Group research, reports and writings. The Editor of Watercraft Philately shall make space available in Watercraft Philately for publication of Group reports, and news of activities. The Unit reserves the right of first publication of Group,handbooks, monographs, etc.

ARTICLE 6. MEETINGS

  1. The Annual Meeting of the Unit shall be held at TOPEX, the annual meeting of the American Topical Association. Notice thereof shall be published in the January-February issue of Watercraft Philately.
  2. Special.meetings of the Unit may be called by the President with the approval of the Board of.Directors. Notice thereof shall be published in Watercraft Philately not later than two (2) issues prior of the date of the meeting.

ARTICLE 7 - OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

  1. Watercraft Philately shall be published at the expense of the Unit and shall be distributed to all members
  2. The Editor of Watercraft Philately shall be appointed by the President with the.advise and consent of the Board of Directors
  3. The Publisher of Watercraft Philately shall be appointed by the President with the advise and consent of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE 8 - PROPERTY

  1. Title to all tangible property of the Unit remains vested in the name of the Unit at all times, and each officer shall release to his successor all that property in his possession at the expiration of his term.
  2. The copyright of all publications published by the Unit shall be in the name of the Ships on Stamps Unit, ATA.
  3. In the event of inactivation or dissolution of the Unit, all assets remaining after all outstanding debts have been paid shall be turned over to the American Topical Association to be held in trust until the Unit can be reactivated, or in case of dissolution, to be used by the Association as it sees fit.

ARTICLE 9 - OFFICIAL NOTICE

The publication of any official notice in Watercraft Philately shall constitute official notification to all members of the Unit.

ARTICLE 10 AMENDMENTS

  1. Proposed amendments to the Constitution or By-Laws may be submitted by any member. Such proposals shall be published in Watercraft Philately and members will have at least 120 days in which to submit their views.on the proposed amendment prior to consideration by the Board of Directors.
  2. The Board of Directors is empowered to amend the Constitution by a unanimous vote, and the By-Laws by a two-thirds majority vote.
  3. The membership shall be notified of amendments approved by the Board of Directors by publication in Watercraft Philately.

Adopted unanimously by the Officers of the Unit, June, 1979, authorized at the Unit meeting at TOPEX 79.
 

W. A. Coffey President

Stirling Cameron, Vice-President

Alfred Reese, Jr., Treasurer

Myron Molnau, Secretary