By-Laws & Job Descriptions

Article I – The Organization
Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the Fairbanks Genealogical Society, hereinafter referred to as the Society.
Section 2. The emblem of the Society shall be the name of the Society within a rectangle with a magnifying glass superimposed on the left over the rectangle.
Section 3. The principal location of the Society shall be in Fairbanks, Alaska, at any local address deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Society.

Article II – Objectives of the Society
Section 1. Promote an interest in genealogy.
Section 2. Encourage and instruct members in the skills of genealogical research through careful documentation and adherence to accepted genealogical standards.
Section 3. Locate, preserve and index public and private genealogical records and, with the consent of the owner of private records, make such records available to members of the Society and to the general public.

Article III – Members of the Society
Section 1. Any person, family or organization with an interest in furthering the objectives of the Society shall be eligible for membership.
Section 2. Upon payment of dues, eligible persons, families or organizations shall become active members of the Society with the right of voting at all meetings and on all matters coming before the membership.
Section 3. All members of the Society are eligible to receive the Society newsletter, The Taproot, either electronically or by mail at the option of the member.
Section 4. At the discretion of the Board, The Taproot may be distributed to non-members or organizations for the purpose of publicity and recruitment, or to public entities such as libraries, museums and other genealogical organizations.
Section 5. Upon joining the Society, a member agrees that property of the Society shall not be used without acknowledging the Society, following the fair use clause of the United States copyright laws.
Section 6. Membership Dues.
a. There shall be three classes of membership: Individual, Family and Organization.
b. Annual dues shall be payable June 1. Members whose dues have not been received by December 1 shall be removed from the membership roster.
c. The membership and fiscal year of the Society shall run from June 1 through May 31.

Article IV – Officers of the Society
Section 1. The governing body of the Society shall be the Board of Directors, consisting of the following officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2. All officers of the Society shall be members in good standing through their term of office.
Section 3. Vacancies occurring on the Board may be filled for the duration of the term by a vote of the remaining members of the Board.
Section 4. The Board of Directors shall:
a. Transact the business of the Society between general membership meetings. A “meeting” for this purpose is defined as obtaining a consensus, either by person, virtually, by telephone or e-mail.
b. Authorize disbursements.
Section 5. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, any officer, elected or appointed, may be removed by a vote of the Board, if, in the majority of the Board, that member may damage the effectiveness of the Society.
Section 6. The Board of Directors shall propose changes as needed to membership dues for individual, family and organizations at the annual meeting.

Article V – Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the general membership and the Board of Directors’ appoint all heads of standing committees, and be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nominating Committee.
Section 2. The Vice President shall preside at meetings of the Society and the Board of Directors in the absence of the President and perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of the President. In addition, the Vice President shall accomplish the duties assigned, amended and accepted at the beginning of his or her term.
Section 3. The Secretary shall be the recorder of all meetings and the keeper of those records. In addition, the Secretary shall accomplish the duties assigned, amended and accepted at the beginning of his or her term. The Secretary shall be responsible for all correspondence of the Society and the keeper of those records. In addition, the Secretary shall accomplish the duties assigned, amended and accepted at the beginning of his or her term.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial aspects of the Society and the keeper of those records. In addition, the Treasurer shall accomplish the duties assigned, amended and accepted at the beginning of his or her term.
Section 5. Additional responsibilities of officers and committees may vary dependent upon skills and ability to devote the necessary time to accomplish the task. Therefore, specific responsibilities and tasks shall be identified by the Board of Directors in separate rosters and, after acceptance of these responsibilities by the officer or committee; the rosters shall be approved by the Board of Directors.

Article VI – Committees
Section 1. Ad hoc Committees may be formed at any time and for any duration upon the approval of the Board of Directors. Standing committees of the Society are the Nominations, Taproot Publication, and Website committees.
Section 2. Committees created for the purpose of gathering genealogical data shall be exclusively comprised of members of the Society in good standing.
Section 3. Under direct supervision of one or more committee members, volunteers may be used in the gathering of data or research. All volunteers will sign an agreement acknowledging that any data developed as a result of their activity are, and shall remain, the property of the Society.

Article VII – Meetings
Section 1. Regular Meetings.
General membership meetings of the Society shall be held monthly except in June, July, August and December. All regular meetings of the Society are open to the public.
Section 2. For the purpose of conducting business at any meeting, a simple majority of members present shall constitute a quorum.
Section 3. Board of Director Meetings.
Board meetings shall be held as needed for the purpose of conducting necessary business. A quorum is defined as a majority of the standing officers. In the case of a tie vote, the President will cast the deciding vote. Members may submit to any Board of Director topics for discussion at the next Board meeting. Reports on Board decisions will be given to the general membership.
Section 4. Special Meetings.
Special Meetings of the Society may be called by the President, the Board of Directors, or by the written request of at least five members. The call for such a meeting shall be given with at least 20 days written notice, which shall state the purpose of the meeting. No business other than that for which the meeting was convened shall be conducted. The Secretary is responsible for notifying members of any special meeting.
Section 5. Annual Meeting.
The regular meeting in May shall be known as the Annual Meeting.
Section 6. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, current revised edition, shall govern the Society in all cases in which they are applicable.

Article VIII – Nominations and Elections
Section 1. Nominations.
a. The Nominating Committee shall present a list of at least one nominee for each office of the Board of Directors to the general membership at the Annual meeting.
b. Nominations may be made by the general membership from the floor of the Annual meeting, provided each nominee is present or has given written consent to serve.
Section 2. Election of officers shall take place at the Annual meeting.
a. The Officers shall be elected for two-year terms and begin their term at the end of the Annual meeting.
b. The President and Secretary shall be elected in even years and Vice President and Treasurer shall be elected shall be elected in odd years.
c. No person shall be elected or appointed unless that person is a member in good standing and willing and able to serve.
d. If there is no Annual meeting in May, or a lack of nominees, election can be delayed by a vote of the officers to have titles stay until the next scheduled Society meeting.
Section 3. Voting.
All members present in person, virtually, or by telephone shall be eligible to vote.

Article IX – Property and Records of the Society
Section 1. Property of the Society is defined as any equipment, records and other data purchased or permanently acquired for use by the membership.
Section 2. Records of the Society are defined as (i) documents associated with the Society’s administration, including, but not limited to, fiscal accounts, minutes of various meetings (membership, Board of Directors, and committee), names and addresses of members entitled to vote, and (ii) any lists, documents, photographs or other electronic or printed data, collected and incorporated into Society research by members of the Society, at the direction of the Board of Directors.
Section 3. The Society shall maintain correct and complete records. Such records shall be kept at the Society’s principal location. Any member of the Society or agent or attorney of the member may inspect these records for any justifiable purpose, and at any reasonable time.
Section 4. At the direction of the Board of Directors, certain documents and publications may be copyrighted and shall bear the following inscription: Copyright © Fairbanks Genealogical Society – XXXX (year of copyright). The originals of such copyrighted documents shall be retained and archived at the principal location of the Society.

Article X – Contracts, Financials and other Legal Authorities
Section 1. Officers authorized to sign bank checks and contracts shall be the President, Vice President and Treasurer.
Section 2. All contracts and other documents obligating the Society financially or legally shall require two authorized signatures.
Section 3. The President, Vice President and Treasurer shall have unrestricted access to all restricted Society records and property.

Article XI – Dissolution of the Society
Section 1. Upon dissolution of the Society, all salable assets shall be converted to cash. After all debts of the Society have been paid, monies generated by the sale of assets shall be used to purchase genealogical materials for a local library chosen by the membership.
Section 2. Other assets of the Society, such as records of operation and data generated by research, shall be archived as per Article IX, Section 4.

Article XII – Amendments
Subject to the following requirements, the By-Laws of the Society may be altered, amended or repealed only at the Annual Meeting in May by a two-thirds vote of those members present.
a. Proposals for By-Law changes, additions or deletions shall be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors at least 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting.
b. All such proposed amendments, together with the recommendations of the Board of Directors, shall be presented to the membership in writing no later than the regular meeting prior to the Annual meeting.

Revised 11/23/1999 Adopted 1/25/2000
Revised 4/7/2000 Adopted 11/25/2003
Revised 3/27/2007 Adopted 5/29/2007
Revised 4/28/2012 Adopted 5/22/2012
Revised 2/18/2016 Adopted 5/24/2016
Revised 7/27/20 Adopted 5/25/2021

FAIRBANKS GENALOGICAL SOCIETY
Job Descriptions/Duties

Officers

President
• Presides over general membership and board meetings
• Prepares the meeting agenda
• Calls special meetings, when necessary
• Appoints annual committees
• Appoints replacement(s) of board member(s) during the year, when required (with confirmation by vote of the Board)
• Directs and appoints an audit committee to audit the Treasurer’s books (annually or when the term of the Treasurer expires)
• Is an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee
• Has signature authority on all Society accounts
• Responsible for maintenance of Society archives

Vice-President
• Presides over meetings of the membership in the absence of the President
• Presides over meetings of the Board of Directors in the absence of the President
• Schedules programs and presentations for monthly meetings
• Has signature authority on all Society accounts
• Arranges and contracts the meeting room for the monthly meetings
• Maintains a list of members available at each meeting for signing in and verifying information. Maintains a list of guests at each meeting. The lists will be passed on to the Secretary at the end of the meeting to be attached to the minutes.
• Updates the membership list and pass on the dues received in person to the Treasurer.
• Responsible for the refreshments at the May meeting and receives reimbursement for those items from the Treasurer.

Secretary
• Takes, transcribes, and submits the minutes of meetings to the Taproot Editor. 
• Includes a list of those present at each meeting to the minutes.
• Maintains copies of Society By-Laws and Operating Manual.
• Responsible of Vice President duties in the absence of the Vice President.
• The outgoing Secretary will hold the key to the post office box.
• Will be responsible to check post office box and distribute items accordingly to board policy.
• Maintain a log of research requests and disposition of those requests and passing the information to the Taproot Editor.
• The log of requests will become part of the Society’s assets.
• Follows through on the research requested, provide an answer, and amount of the fee.

Treasurer
• Deposits all monies received (mail, in person, and online).
• Pays Society bills.
• Maintains Society financial records (checkbook, bank statements, receipts, etc.) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
• Provides a monthly report of financial activity.
• Prepares an annual report of annual income and expenses for the September meeting.
• Makes all financial records available for annual audit.
• Has signature authority on all Society banking accounts.
• Responsible for preparation and submission of the biennial State report.
• Accepts dues from new members.
• Passes new membership information to the Vice President when membership payments are received.

Committees
Website and Facebook:
• Updates the FGS Website, Facebook, and YouTube as needed.
• Informs the membership with any updates at the meetings.
• When request for payment for the hosting website or domain name is received, passes the bill on to the Treasurer.
• Confirms Treasurer receives any electronic payments.
• When request for payment for the hosting website or domain name is received, passes the bill on to the Treasurer.

Taproot Publication:
• Responsible to produce the Taproot monthly and distribute to the members via either electronically or postal service.
• One copy (in digital form) will be passed on to the President to become part of the Society’s assets.
• Submit a year’s worth of Taproot newsletters annually to the UAF Polar Archives.

Nominating:
• The Committee will canvass potential new board members for a slate of officers.
• The slate will be announced beginning with the March meeting and at each meeting until the May meeting. when nominations from the floor can be taken. Upon election of officers, the new officers will take office effective June 1st of the election year.