BYLAWS

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Bylaws of New Mexico Mensa

Article I. Name and Purpose
1. The name of this organization shall be New Mexico Mensa.
2. New Mexico Mensa is a local group of American Mensa, Ltd., and is subject to the Constitution of Mensa, the Bylaws of American Mensa, Ltd., and the resolutions adopted by the American Mensa Committee. American Mensa, Ltd., is herein abbreviated as "AML" and the American Mensa Committee as "AMC".

Article II. Membership
1. Membership of New Mexico Mensa shall be open to all members of AML in good standing who have paid all current dues in the geographic areas assigned to New Mexico Mensa by the AMC or as otherwise assigned by AML.
2. Mensa members in good standing who are not also members of New Mexico Mensa are welcome to participate in the social activities of the local group at the discretion of the host or hostess. The National Ombudsman, his surrogate, and members of the American Mensa Committee shall be permitted to participate in the business affairs of the local group in the discharge of their official duties.
3. Mensa shall observe the preferences of members for data suppression and publication as filed with AML, when publishing a local group roster or membership directory/register.

Article III. Officers & Duties

1.All elected and appointed officers as defined herein must be members in good standing of AML and New Mexico Mensa. Members in good standing is defined as being under no local, Regional or National sanctions that prohibit holding local office.
2. The governing body of New Mexico Mensa shall be an Executive Committee. The voting members of the Executive Committee shall consist of three elected officers (Local Secretary, Assistant Local Secretary, and Treasurer) plus up to two appointed officers (Membership/Publicity Chair and Editor). No more than one-half of the voting members of the
Executive Committee may be appointed officers. The appointed officers other than the Membership/Publicity Chair and Editor are considered non-voting members of the Executive Committee.
3. The Local Secretary (LocSec) shall be the chief executive officer and the liaison with other local groups and with AML. He or she shall be charged with being the chief point of contact between AML and the local group. By agreeing to be LocSec, the LocSec agrees to pass along information to and from the group in a timely fashion. The LocSec shall notify AML within two weeks of any changes in the membership of the Executive Committee. The LocSec shall also be responsible for keeping minutes of the business and Executive Committee meetings.
4. The Assistant Local Secretary shall assist the LocSec, preside over and take minutes of meetings in the absence of the LocSec, and shall succeed to the office of LocSec if that office becomes vacant. The Assistant LocSec shall serve as the Programs Chair and shall be responsible for arranging for local group activities and shall coordinate with and advise the officers and the Editor of these activities.
5. The Treasurer shall be responsible for financial matters of the local group, including the finances of the local group newsletter, and shall submit to the Executive Committee a semi-annual financial report which shall also be published in the local group newsletter. The financial report shall contain schedules of income, expenses and balances for all funds under the control of the local group, including RG, scholarship and other special funds. The Treasurer's Report shall also include a listing of all equipment owned by the local group. The Treasurer shall submit to the LocSec, at least quarterly, the actual statements from banks and any other institutions where the group's money is deposited or cause a statement to be sent directly to the LocSec or his or her designee (who must also be an officer of the group).
6. The Membership/Publicity Chair shall be responsible for publicity, public relations, membership information and recruitment programs.
7. The Editor shall be responsible for New Mexico Mensa's newsletter and may, with the consent of the Executive Committee, appoint a Publisher. The Editor shall publish notices of meetings and programs, required ballots, results of business meetings and elections, amendments to the bylaws, related discussions and ballots, and the semi-annual financial reports. The Editor shall prepare and publish Post Office forms if required.
8. The Publisher, if appointed, shall assist the Editor in the publication and distribution of the newsletter and in the preparation and submission of any postal forms that might be required.
9. The Executive Committee shall appoint a Mediator for disputes within the local group and an Arbitrator available to serve as a representative to a Regional Hearings Committee. If desired, the Mediator and Arbitrator may be the same or distinct persons and may be the same or distinct from other officers, except that the LocSec cannot also be the Mediator. If said mediator or arbitrator is involved in an official matter requiring their continued presence as an officer, they shall be continued in such office until the existing matter is resolved.
10. Other appointed positions as nonvoting officers of New Mexico Mensa may be appointed by the Executive Committee, and include, but are not limited to, Area Coordinators for outlying groups of members such as Santa Fe/Los Alamos, a Webmaster, and Coordinators for other activities as deemed necessary.
11. The term of office of elected officers shall be one year from July 1st to June 30th, or until installation of a properly qualified successor, except in the case of resignation or removal from office as provided in Article III (13 or 15...).
12. The term of office for all appointed officers expires at the end of the term of office of the current elected officers. Appointees are appointed by the Local Secretary (or, in the case of the Publisher, the Editor) with the approval of the Executive Committee and may be removed from office by majority vote of the Executive Committee unless otherwise stated herein.
13. Any voting officer (elected or appointed) may be removed from office for three consecutive unexcused absences at business meetings, by a majority vote of the remainginremainingvoting members of the Executive Committee. Excusal authority is also a majority vote of the remaining voting members.
14. All officers except the Editor shall turn over all files, office equipment and materials pertaining to their offices to either their successor(s), to the current Local Secretary, or to another member of the Executive Committee no later than four weeks after leaving office unless otherwise stated herein. The outgoing Editor must turn over all files in good order to the incoming Editor no later than 15 days after the outgoing Editor leaves office.
15.Elected members of the Executive Committee may be removed from office for cause by unanimous vote of all other voting members of the Executive Committee or by recall election. A recall election may be called by a petition citing the reason for such action, and signed by 10% of the membership of the local group as listed on the most recent membership roster provided by AML. The balloting provisions of a regular election shall apply except that a recall election must be held within 60 days of presentation of a properly qualified petition at either a regular or special meeting of the local group, and the dates set forth in Article V shall be adjusted appropriately.

16. The Executive Committee shall select a replacement for any Executive Committee member who resigns, or who is removed or recalled. A simple majority of all voting members of the Executive Committee constitutes a quorum to transact business. If the officer to be replaced is the LocSec, and the Assistant LocSec declines the position of LocSec, the Assistant shall nevertheless hold the position of LocSec until the Executive Committee appoints a new LocSec.
18.17. An annual financial review will be conducted during the month following the close of elections of each year. The Executive Committee shall appoint someone to conduct the review who was not involved in the issuing or collecting of money during the previous year. The review shall include viewing actual statements from banks and any other institutions where the group's money is deposited.

18. The Regional Vice Chairman and the National Office shall be notified of any changes of officers within two weeks of such change.

Article IV. Meetings
1. Membership meetings or activities may be held at such times as may be appropriate, however a regularly scheduled membership meeting must be held at least once during a quarter. A regularly-scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee must be held at least once during a quarter. Notice of regularly-scheduled meetings and activities shall be published in the newsletter, or otherwise sent to each member.
2. Special business meetings may be called at any time by the Local Secretary or by the Executive Committee and shall be called upon receipt of a petition signed by 10% of the membership of the local group, using the most recent membership roster provided by AML as a measure of membership count. The date, time, place and purpose of the special meeting shall be announced or reported in the local group newsletter (or by direct mail). No other business than that indicated in the notice calling the meeting may be acted on.
3. All business meetings of New Mexico Mensa, and the Executive Committee, shall be held within the geographical limits of the group as assigned by the AMC or AML.

4. No business may be transacted at any business or Executive Committee meeting except with the concurrence of a quorum. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the voting officers.

5. The host of any event except business and Executive Committee meetings has the right to prohibit any member from attending. All members may attend business or Executive Committee meetings but may be removed for disruptive or otherwise egregious behavior.

Article V. Elections
1. No member of the Election Committee may be a voting member of the Executive Committee or a candidate in the upcoming election.
2. No later than February 15th of each year, the Executive Committee shall appoint an Election Committee which shall, no later than the deadline for the April issue of the local group newsletter, compile nominations for one or more candidates for each elected position on the Executive Committee. The membership of the local group shall be notified of these nominations in the April issue of the local group newsletter or by mail posted no later than April 1st.
3. The Election Committee shall be responsible for conducting the election, receiving and counting the ballots, and certifying the results. The Election Committee shall determine, and cause to be published, those election rules and regulations not covered by these bylaws.
The Election Committee shall declare any uncontested position as elected and shall not hold an election for such uncontested positions.
4. No later than April 15th, additional nominations may be made by petition signed by ten (10) members of the local group and delivered to the Chairman of the Election Committee.
5. Ballots shall be printed in the May issue of the local group newsletter or mailed to all members of the local group, but in either case posted no later than May 1st. The mail ballots must be returned to the Chairman of the Election Committee and received no later than May 31st. Ballots received after that date shall not be counted. A plurality of valid votes cast for each office shall constitute election. Votes which are tied shall be determined by the Chairman of the Election Committee by a flip of a coin. The Chairman of the Election Committee will certify the results of the election to the Local Secretary and shall have the election results published in the July issue of the local group newsletter.
All ballots shall be retained by the Election Committee for at least one month following the balloting deadline in the case of a contested election.
6. Any challenges to the election must be made in writing to the Chairman of the Election Committee and received by July 15th. Any such challenges must be ruled on by July 31st. Any actions by the Executive Committee while a challenge is pending are not affected by the outcome of any such challenge.

Article VI. Amendments
1. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by twenty (20) members of the local group. Such proposals shall be submitted to the AMC for its approval, following which they shall be published in the next issue of the local group newsletter. A mail ballot shall appear in the issue of the local group newsletter that follows publication of the proposal. Balloting deadline shall be no less than 90 days following the first publication of the proposed amendment(s) in the local group newsletter. To become effective, an amendment to these bylaws shall require an affirmative vote of the majority those casting valid ballots, as well as the above approval of the American Mensa Committee, and filing of revised bylaws with the Bylaws Committee and the National Office.

Article VII. Mensa Logo & Name
1. American Mensa, Ltd., (AML) has granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to New Mexico Mensa for the use of the mark "Mensa" and a logo, consisting of a globe over a stylized "M" within a border, in connection with the non-commercial uses of New Mexico Mensa. AML retains full ownership of the mark and logo and all statutory and common-law rights in the mark and logo.

Article VIII. Parliamentary Procedure & Rules of Order
1. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, latest edition, shall govern New Mexico Mensa in all cases to which they are applicable and not inconsistent with these Bylaws.
2. Rules of Order for the Executive Committee and for those matters concerning New Mexico Mensa which are not specified in these Bylaws may be adopted by the Executive Committee.

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