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| By-Laws |
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| As amended and approved by the Voting Members on December 9, 2006. |
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| Article I - Board of Directors |
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| A. | Eligibility for the Board of Directors |
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| (i) | Members are eligible to stand for election, or appointment, to the Board of Directors if they are a Voting Member as defined in Article II, Section A, Paragraph (a) of these by-laws. |
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| B. | Term of office |
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| (i) | The term of office of a Director shall be for one year, from January 1st to December 31st. The person holding each office must stand for re-election at the annual election meeting. |
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| (ii) | There shall be no limit on the number of consecutive years a member may be elected to the Board of Directors. |
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| C. | Composition of the Board of Directors |
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| (i) | The Board of Directors shall consist of a President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Military Coordinator. |
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| (ii) | Duties of the President. The President of the 28th NY Vol. Inf. Co E. shall oversee all operations of the organization. The President shall enforce all sections of these by-laws, and the unit Rules. The president will have the authority to appoint special and standing committees as needed. |
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| (iii) | Duties of the Vice President. The Vice President shall be answerable to the President and shall assist, and substitute for, the President as needed. The Vice President shall Chair all committees. |
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| (iv) | Duties of the Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary shall be answerable to the President and shall record and keep the minutes of all regular and special meetings, the membership roster, and other pertinent documents of the organization and the Board of Directors. |
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| (v) | Duties of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be answerable to the President and shall receive and disperse all organizational monies as directed. The Treasurer shall submit a report of all financial activities at each regular meeting, and a final year-end statement at the December meeting. |
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| (vi) | Duties of the Military Coordinator. The Military Coordinator shall be answerable to the President and shall direct the military activities of the unit. The Military Coordinator’s field rank may vary but shall remain appropriate for the number of troops participating in the unit. The Military Coordinator shall have the authority to field-promote military members to any needed subordinate rank. The Military Coordinator shall annually determine the appropriate subordinate officer structure for the unit and allow the military Voting Members to elect these officers from their ranks. |
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| D. | Replacement of vacant office |
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| (i) | Should the office of the President become vacant, the Vice President will assume the President’s duties. The membership shall then elect a new Vice President to finish the current term of office, using the election procedure stated in Article III, Section C. |
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| (ii) | Should any other office become vacant, the President shall appoint a replacement to assume that office until the next regular or special membership meeting. The membership shall then elect a person to finish the current term of office using the procedure stated in Article III, Section C. |
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| E. | Removal from office |
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| A Director may be removed from office before the expiration of the 1 year term using the following procedure |
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| (i) | A motion must be made, seconded and carried by the voting members at a regular or special meeting calling for a vote on the question of removing an Director from office. |
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| (ii) | Should the motion in (i) pass, the actual removal vote will be tallied at a regular or special meeting no less than 30 days after the passage of the original motion. The Voting Members will be notified in writing no less than 30 days before the next meeting, and allowed a proxy vote if necessary. |
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| (iii) | A 2/3 super majority of Voting Members present, plus proxy votes, will be needed to carry a removal from office motion. |
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| (iv) | Should the vote for removal pass, the opening will be filled per Article I, Section D of these by-laws. |
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| F. | No member may hold more than one office, concurrently, on the Board of Directors. |
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| Article II - Membership |
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| A. | The membership of the 28thNY shall be divided into the three following categories |
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| (a) | Voting Member. To be eligible to vote at regular or special membership meetings the Voting Member shall meet the following requirements: |
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| (i) | Have made application and been accepted as a Regular Member of the unit. |
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| (ii) | The member’s dues payment must not be in arrears for more than 180 days. |
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| (iii) | The member must have attended at least one public function in the previous 12 month period. A public function shall consist of a battle event, living history, parade, grave dedication, or other event where the members shall be in period costume and visible to the general public. |
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| (iv) | Be at least 16 years of age at the time of the vote. |
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| (v) | Agree to follow all unit rules. (Part C below) |
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| (b) | General Member. A General Member must meet the following requirements: |
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| (i) | The person shall have applied for membership to, and been accepted by, the Voting Members of the unit. |
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| (ii) | The person’s dues payment must not be in arrears for more than 180 days |
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| (iii) | Agree to follow all unit rules. (Part C below) |
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| (c) | Guest Member. A Guest Member must meet the following requirements: |
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| (i) | Agree to follow all unit rules. (Part C below) |
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| B. | Dues. |
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| (i) | The annual Dues shall be the lesser value of $10 per person or $20 per family. |
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| (ii) | A family unit, for the purpose of calculating dues payments will be defined as cohabitating adults and their children under the age of 18. |
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| C. | Unit Rules. The Unit rules shall be followed by all Voting Members, Regular Members and Guest Members. The rules are found on the website Rules page. |
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| D. | Insurance. |
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| (a) | The Unit shall not carry a general liability or health insurance policy. |
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| (i) | The Members shall be responsible for their own health and liability coverage not otherwise covered by an event’s host facility or host unit. |
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| Article III - Meetings, Voting and Elections |
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| A. | Meetings. |
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| (a) | The regular business meetings of the organization shall be held on the third Saturday of the month. The Voting Members may agree to forego, in advance, holding a regular business meeting, or change the date held, in order to accommodate the re-enactment schedule with the following exceptions; |
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| (i) | The October nomination meeting shall not be eliminated from the schedule. |
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| (ii) | The December election meeting shall not be eliminated from the schedule. |
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| (b) | Any meeting not held on the 3rd Saturday of the month shall require the approval, by a motion and majority approval of the voting members at a previous regular or special meeting. The change of date will then be published to all members no less than 30 days before the proposed new meeting date. |
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| (c) | The location and time of day of any regular business meeting must be published to the membership no less than 30 days in advance of the meeting. |
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| (d) | A special membership meeting may be called by the President, providing notice is given to the membership no less than 30 days in advance of the proposed meeting. |
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| (e) | An emergency Board of Directors meeting may be called at any time, by any of the Directors. |
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| B. | Voting. |
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| (a) | All voting on motions properly made and seconded, at any meeting, shall be by voice vote of the voting members. |
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| (b) | A simple majority shall carry the vote, with the exception of a removal from office vote as defined in Article 1, section E of these by-laws. |
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| C. | Elections. |
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| (a) | At the October business meeting, a three (3) person panel of Voting Members shall be called for by the President to act as a Nomination and Election Committee. These members shall have no obvious personal interest in the outcome of the election. |
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| (b) | At the conclusion of the October business meeting, the Nomination and Election Committee will draw up a slate of candidates who are interested in running for office. At a date 30 days before the scheduled December election meeting,the nominations will be closed, and the Committee shall issue ballots to all voting members. |
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| (c) | At the conclusion of business at the regular December meeting, the ballots will be counted. |
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| (d) | In the event of a tie for an office with three or more candidates, the top 2 candidates as determined by the previous vote will then be returned to the Voting Members for a re-vote by those members present at the meeting. |
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| (e) | In the event of a tie for a ballot with 2 candidates, the President will instruct the Recording Secretary to cast one deciding ballot. |
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| Article IV - Amendment of the by-laws |
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| A. | These by-laws may be amended using the following procedure. |
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| (a) | A motion may be made, seconded and carried at a regular or special meeting to propose a change or amendment to a specific portion of these by-laws. The motion will then be tabled until brought again for a vote at the next regular or special meeting. |
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| (b) | The motion shall be published to all members no less than 30 days before the actual vote to amend or change the by-laws. |
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| (c) | A successful voice vote shall cause the portion of the by-laws in question to be re-written. |
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| (d) | The changes to the by-laws will take effect 30 days after the successful vote. |
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