03/13/10

The name of the organization shall be the "High Vista Computer Club" (High Vista is the community of High Vista at Ridgewood Lakes, Davenport, Florida), hereafter known as the "CLUB".

The CLUB shall not be operated for profit. The CLUB objectives are:

A.   To foster and encourage development of members’ technical and functional skills in using personal computers, programs and the Internet.

B.   To establish, operate, and maintain a web site (http://www.highvistacc.org) for the benefit of keeping all members of the CLUB informed of meeting notices, minutes, SIG classes, by-laws and other computer related issues.

C.   To establish, operate and maintain a website (http://www.highvistahoa.org) for the benefit of keeping all residents of High Vista at Ridgewood Lakes informed of issues of mutual interest pertaining to the community.

D.  To provide an informal atmosphere of fellowship, goodwill, and camaraderie through scheduled general and special interest meetings, enabling the exchange of information, skills, and ideas between members.

E.   To support the High Vista library as a resource for sharing computer knowledge within our community.

The CLUB shall be organized with a Board of Directors consisting of President, 1^st Vice-President, 2^nd Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and chairmen of Standing committees. The immediate past president will serve as a Member at Large of the Board of Directors.

A.   TERMS: The officers shall serve for a one-year term from their installation at the January regular meeting to the installation of their successor at the next January regular meeting. The Board shall appoint an interim replacement if needed to complete any unexpired term.

B.   ELECTION: The Nominating Committee will be appointed by the Board of Directors in October. The Nominating Committee will prepare a slate of candidates and present the slate to the members at the November General Meeting. Nomination of officers may be made from the floor, in addition to those recommended by the Nominating Committee. Nominees must agree to serve if elected. Nominations will be made at the November general meeting and voted upon at the  December general meeting.

C. FISCAL AUTHORITY: The Board of Directors is authorized to approve expenditures of up to $400.00. All other expenditures must have a majority vote of the membership present and eligible to vote at a regular business meeting. The Board shall prepare an operating budget and present it to the membership for approval at the March general meeting. All expenditures are to be signed by the Secretary or Treasurer or President.

a.   Board decisions require a simple majority of the full Board.

b.   Unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws, general membership decisions require a simple majority of members present at a posted general membership meeting.

1.   President: (May be a full-time or part-time resident). The President shall be the chief executive officer and shall preside at all meetings of the Board and membership. The President shall appoint committee chairmen, subject to ratification by the Board. The President shall sign all written instruments of the CLUB.

2. 1^ST Vice-President and 2^nd Vice-President:  (One must be a full time resident and the other may be a part-time or full-time resident). A Vice-President shall perform the duties and have the powers of the President during any absence of the President. A Vice-President shall arrange programs, speakers, and presentations for the meetings. A Vice-President shall be the Chairman of the By-laws committee.  They shall perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may designate.

3. Secretary: The Secretary shall keep reports of meetings  of the membership and the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall generate the minutes of the meetings and provide approved minutes to the Webmaster for publication on the website. The Secretary shall keep an accurate membership list on file.

4. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall collect all funds, keep an account book containing reports and other CLUB accounting, handle checking and make a financial report to the CLUB at each monthly business meeting.  The approved report shall be included in the minutes of the meeting. In December the books shall be audited by the Board of Directors, or by an appointee of the Board of Directors.

F.   MEMBERSHIP: Any resident or homeowner of High Vista at Ridgewood Lakes is eligible for regular membership upon payment  of annual dues. Membership shall remain in effect as long as the member continues to pay annual dues in a timely manner and remains a resident or homeowner.

G. COMMITTEES: All committees shall serve in an advisory capacity and report to the President and Board of Directors as necessary and     to the membership monthly. The President shall appoint committee chairpersons, who will, in turn, appoint the members of their respective committees. Standing Committees shall be the Website committee under the leadership of the Webmaster, the Education committee, and the Membership/Welcoming committee. The Chairman of a Standing Committee shall serve on the Board of Directors.

A.   Membership meetings are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 P.M. When circumstances warrant, the President may change meeting dates or call special meetings.

B.   The Board of Directors shall meet as necessary as determined by the President. Board members shall be given at least two days advance notice of meeting.

C.   All meetings shall be conducted under Roberts Rules of Order.

D. New officers shall be installed at the January meeting.

Annual CLUB dues for members shall be determined by the Board of Directors and voted on at the October meeting. Annual dues are payable on January 2^nd of each year. Members will be considered delinquent two (2) months after January 2^nd and will be dropped from Membership if delinquent for three (3) months. New members dues will always be pro-rated on a quarterly basis.

The Bylaws may be revised as required to carry out the objectives of the CLUB and shall be reviewed and revised annually or as needed. All proposals for revisions to the Bylaws shall be presented to the Chairman of the Bylaws Committee. A Bylaws Committee shall be appointed by the chairman. The committee’s recommendations for changes to the Bylaws shall be presented to the membership and voted upon at the next regular monthly meeting. A 2/3 majority of those present and eligible to vote at the regular meeting is required to approve changes to the Bylaws.

Neither the CLUB, its Board of Directors, officers nor members take any express or implied responsibility for information that is supplied through the CLUB, nor liability for damages through the use of CLUB owned equipment. All opinions and information should be carefully considered and neither the CLUB, its speakers, the Board, officers, nor members shall be liable for any incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the furnishing or use of any information or opinions in the course of CLUB activities to fulfill our objective to provide an informal atmosphere for the exchange of computer information.

The CLUB may be dissolved at any time with the consent of not less than 75% of the membership after payments of the debts of the CLUB. The property and assets of the CLUB shall be sold by sealed bids with preference given to members in good standing at the time of the dissolution. Any equipment on loan to the CLUB shall be returned to the owner of said equipment. Any remaining funds shall be given to the Alliance Funds of High Vista to be used to benefit High Vista residents.

By motion duly made, these Bylaws were created and approved by the membership in February 2001.