By Laws
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Approved on 19th May, 2005
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this organisation shall be the “GUANGZHOU WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL CLUB”.
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
The purpose of the organisation shall be to promote social and cultural exchange between the women of the Guangzhou expatriate community through meetings, activities and charitable contributions in the spirit of mutual understanding and friendship. Activities shall be non-political and non-profit.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership shall be extended to the women of the foreign community in Guangzhou holding a non-PRC passport, or whose husband holds a non-PRC passport, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.
2. The activities of the club shall be open to all members in good standing. Members in good standing are those whose subscriptions have been paid.
3. The Executive Board has the right to suspend members whose dues are delinquent.
4. Membership in the organisation shall be terminated by decision of the Executive Board in the event that a member acts contrary to the club’s purpose or image, or does not meet the membership’s criteria.
5. The Executive Board shall decide membership fees annually.
6. No refunds or discounts shall be given on membership fees.
7. The annual membership fee will be charged from 1st June to 31st July (the following year).
8. The summer months are looked at as a renewal period for current members.
9. The annual fee includes free morning coffees, afternoon teas and a minimum of nine Gazette issues.
10. Guests will be charged for coffees and teas, children up to 6 years are free of charge.
11. These fees shall be approved or revised annually at the discretion of the Board.
ARTICLE IV – MEETINGS
1. An annual general meeting of the General Membership shall be held each May to carry out the elections of the Executive Board. The Annual General Meeting shall be limited to members only.
2. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held monthly or when called by the president.
3. As and when required between monthly Board Meetings, an extra-ordinary meeting via telephone/internet is acceptable. An ‘E-meeting’ (electronic process) must have no less than a two-thirds response from the Executive Board. Each member shall ‘reply all’ in response. The President shall post the voting outcome via internet to the Board, as soon as possible. Each E-meeting will be duly noted in the following Board Meeting minutes.
ARTICLE V – OFFICERS
There shall be fourteen elected Board Positions: President, Vice President, Gazette Editor, Gazette Advertising Editor, Secretary, Treasurer, Hospitality Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Housing Representative Coordinator, Activities Coordinator, Newcomers Coordinator, Webmaster, Charity Services Liaison and Discount Coordinator.
All positions of the board may be filled by a pair of women with the exception of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. An elected officer may choose an assistant. Assistants to any board position do not have voting power. Elected Officers shall be eligible twice for re-election.
A. Duties of the Elected Officers:
1. The President shall reside at all Executive board meetings and the Annual General Membership Meeting. She shall liaise with officers and committee chairs. She shall write a monthly letter for the Gazette, and prepare an annual report to be presented at the General Membership Meeting in May.
2. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in her absence and shall act as assistant to the President as needed. She shall set up and chair committees for events like the Christmas Bazaar, Cocktail Party and End of the Year Party.
3. The Gazette Editor shall be responsible for editing and publishing a minimum of nine GWIC Gazettes per year. Editing and publishing of articles shall be upon the Editor’s discretion.
4. The Gazette Advertising Editor shall be responsible for collecting ads and fees. She shall assist the Gazette Editor as needed.
5. The Membership Coordinator shall be responsible for implementing membership policy, collecting fees and maintaining the member database. She shall publish a membership directory twice a year in October and March and provide current membership information monthly to the board.
6. The Secretary shall take minutes of all Board meetings and compile them for the record. She shall be responsible for distribution of the minutes and official club correspondence. She shall contact all Board members if the President calls a meeting. She should know all GWIC By-laws and should be able to answer any questions that are raised pertaining to the subject, in the absence of the Parliamentarian. She shall also maintain the GWIC Inventory List.
7. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all monies received and disbursed by the club and shall keep records of all transactions. She shall submit a monthly report to the Board and shall be responsible for preparing the financial records for annual audit.
8. The Hospitality Coordinator shall be responsible for arranging a monthly lunch, the monthly board meeting and liaise with the hotels for the monthly morning coffee and afternoon tea functions. She shall provide information concerning these events to the Board.
9. The Housing Representative Coordinator shall be responsible for distributing the monthly gazette. She shall recruit housing representatives and maintain ongoing communication concerning club activities, events and membership.
10. The Activities Coordinator shall be responsible for organising local tours, trips and classes. She shall assist members in starting their own activity groups.
11. The Newcomers Coordinator shall be responsible for greeting new members and providing them with a Newcomer’s Packet. She shall organise a monthly outing or meeting to acquaint newcomers with Guangzhou and other GWIC members.
12. The Webmaster shall be responsible for maintaining the GWIC webpage and finding domain space at a reasonable price. She shall be the contact person for all webpage-related issues.
13. Charity Services Liaison shall serve as the contact person for outside charity organisations. She shall submit articles to the Gazette that provide information on charitable opportunities. At her discretion, she may chair charity events.
14. The Discount Coordinator shall contact businesses or services attractive to the expat population and solicit discounts on behalf of GWIC members through a contractual agreement. Maintenance and expansion of discounts are to be maintained with the discount listing made available on the website and in hard copy to the members twice yearly (October and March).
B. Duties of the Appointed Officers
The following officers shall be appointed by the elected officers and shall be voting members of the Executive Board. Terms of Office shall be at the discretion of the Board.
1. The Parliamentarian and Historian shall be the immediate past president or someone appointed by the president. She must have full understanding of the By-laws and shall keep the club’s yearbook updated.
2. The Professional Women’s Group Coordinator shall coordinate a monthly evening activity focusing on members who are not available for daytime meetings. She shall keep a contact list and e-mail monthly notices of this event. She shall provide information to the Board, particularly the Gazette Editor and Webmaster, of these activities. Due to the nature of her position, she shall be excused from attending Board Meetings.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE BOARD
1. The Elected Officers and Appointed Officers shall constitute the GWIC Executive Board.
2. A quorum shall be defined as a majority of two-thirds of the Board members present.
3. In the event of a Board vote, each Board position has one vote. If both women of a shared board position are present, they will abstain from voting if they are in disagreement. If in agreement, one vote will count.
4. Executive Board meetings shall be held monthly or at the discretion of the Board. It is expected that members of the Board will attend every regular Executive Board meeting. Should a member miss two consecutive regular Board meetings the Board will review the reasons for such absences.
5. Should an officer fail to fulfil her duties, the Board may consider removing her from serving on the Board and select a new member.
6. Vacancies occurring on the Board shall be filled by majority vote of the Board. Thus elected, this person shall serve until the next General Election.
ARTICLE VII – ELECTIONS
A. Nominations
1. In January, the President, with advice of the Board, shall appoint a (remove the word Board) member who will not be running for an elected office to chair the Nominating Committee. The Chairperson shall recruit two regular members to assist with the election. The Parliamentarian may act as an advisor. Members of the Nominating Committee are not eligible to run for elective office.
2. A Notice of Nominations Committee for Board Elections shall be placed in the February Gazette.
3. The job descriptions of each elected board position shall be placed in the March Gazette.
4. Nomination Forms shall be distributed with the April Gazette.
5. Completed forms shall be handed into the Nominating Committee throughout April. The Nominating Committee shall collect nominations for each of the thirteen elective offices.
6. Nominations shall be published, as an insert, with the May gazette.
B. The Annual General Meeting
1. The Nominating Committee shall conduct the election at the Annual General Meeting.
2. In the case of only one nominee per office, the election will be by show of hands.
3. In the case of more than one nominee, then election will be by written ballot.
4. The new officers will be installed at the end of the May Board Meeting.
5. Terms of office shall be for one year following the May Board Meeting and extending through elections the following year (May to May).
6. Elected Officers shall be eligible twice for re-election.
7. The President shall announce the Appointed Officers at the September board meeting.
ARTICLE VIII – FINANCE
A. The fiscal year for purposes of audited income and expenditure shall be from 1st June to 31st May of the succeeding year.
B. An annual audit of the Club’s financial records shall be conducted before the September Board Meeting.
C. An addendum titled “GWIC Financial Accountability Guidelines for Events and General Procedure” is attached. These guidelines can be amended by Board vote during Board Meetings. They are included here as procedural guidelines for the handling of funds.
D. An addendum titled “GWIC Advertising Guidelines” is attached. These Guidelines can be amended by Board vote during Board Meetings. They are included here as procedural guidelines for the handling of advertising funds.
E. Expenses above 1,000 RMB need prior approval from the board.
ARTICLE IX – STANDING RULES
A. Priority in club activities will be given to members.
B. All officers and committee persons shall keep records and submit them to the president as requested.
C. Any club information and/or property shall be surrendered upon position termination.
D. Member data will be for club use only.
ARTICLE X – PARLIAMENTARY
Should procedural questions arise, reference shall be made to Robert’s Rules of Order.
ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENTS
These By-laws may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of members present at any Annual General Membership Meeting providing the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing to the entire membership not less than one month prior to the vote.
ARTICLE XII – DISSOLUTION OF CLUB
In the event of the dissolution of the organisation known as “The Guangzhou Women’s International Club”, the balance of the treasury will be donated to a Guangdong charity.
19th May, 2005
24th May, 2007 – Amended: addition of Discount Coordinator Board position – Article V, A14.
22nd May, 2008 – Amended: change membership year from 1st June to 31st July – Article III, 7. Amended: all board officer positions may be filled by pair of women except President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer – Article V.
