Upstate New York Oracle Users Group

Upstate New York Oracle User Group

Charter and Bylaws
Revised July 2003

ARTICLE I - Name

Name of Organization - The name of this organization shall be Upstate New York Oracle Users' Group, Incorporated, hereafter referred to as UNYOUG Inc.

ARTICLE II - Purpose

To facilitate communication and the exchange of information on products, services and technical issues related to the Oracle RDBMS and associated products.
To provide an active voice and consolidated channel of communication of the users of the Oracle RDBMS and associated products in expressing needs, requirements, concerns and suggestions to the International Oracle User Group (IOUG-Americas) and Oracle Corporation.
To serve as a voice in matters concerning the Data Processing Industry, and to facilitate the uses and applications of the Oracle RDBMS throughout the membership.
To coordinate and assist educational endeavors through organized meetings and the dissemination of books, articles, papers and the like pertaining to technical and non-technical information affecting the use of the Oracle RDBMS and associated products.
To function as a channel of communications from the IOUG-Americas and Oracle Corporation to the users of Oracle RDBMS and associated products to disseminate information, plans and intentions for the Oracle RDBMS and associated products and of Oracle Corporation.
To create a forum where the activities and concerns of UNYOUG can be communicated to the IOUG-Americas.

ARTICLE III - Organization

UNYOUG shall be organized into a membership group for the purpose of conducting the affairs and business of UNYOUG and fulfilling its purpose.
The Executive Committee shall coordinate, manage and direct the affairs and business of UNYOUG.
The Executive Committee of UNYOUG shall consist of the following members: The officers of the corporation. The Steering Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee and the Appointed Chairmen.
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) shall be established based upon the common interests in the Oracle RDBMS and associated products among the members of UNYOUG. Each established Special Interest Group shall have a Chairperson to coordinate the activities of the group.

ARTICLE IV - Membership

The membership year for members’ dues is a calendar year, from January 1st through December 31st of each year. There shall be two (2) classes of membership in UNYOUG: Professional membership and Student membership. Membership is non-transferable. However, members can send a proxy to meetings which they can not attend.
Application for membership must be made to the Membership Chair. Upon receipt of the full membership dues by the Treasurer, the new member will be accorded the rights of an UNYOUG member. In the event of any disagreement over qualifications of membership, an appeal may be made to the Executive Committee to resolve the dispute.
The Executive Committee will review membership rates annually. Rates will be approved by the majority of attending members at last UNYOUG general meeting of the calendar year.
The rules for termination or suspension of membership and expulsion from UNYOUG are as follows:
1. A member may be dropped or terminated for non-payment of dues at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
2. A member may be suspended or expelled from UNYOUG for reasonable cause by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the Executive Committee. The affected member must be given warning of the Executive Committee's intent to pursue this course of action at least one month prior to the Executive Committee meeting at which the vote is to take place. During this time, the member may present arguments against the pending action, which shall be heard by the Executive Committee.
3. Any member may terminate his own membership and resign by giving written notice to the President.
Membership dues are non-refundable.

ARTICLE V - Executive & Steering Committees

The Executive Committee, consisting of the four elected officers, shall be elected for a term of one year commencing May 1st and ending April 30th of the following year.
The Executive Committee shall be the final authority on issues concerning memberships of UNYOUG and issues of policy and procedures concerning UNYOUG.
The Steering Committee consists of the Executive Committee (elected officers) and the appointed Chairs. The chairs are appointed by the Executive Committee for a term of one year commencing May 1st and ending April 30th of the following year.
Rules for termination and resignation of members of the Steering Committee shall be as follows:
1. Any member of the Steering Committee may be terminated from service on the Steering Committee by three-fourths vote of the members of the Executive Committee at any meeting called for that purpose. Reasons for termination include, but are not limited to malfeasance, misfeasance or any other misconduct in violation of the Charter, Bylaws or policies of UNYOUG. Each member of the Executive Committee is required to attend at least two general meetings in a given membership year (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31). Failure to comply may result in termination and will be decided by unanimous vote of the remaining members of the Executive Committee and extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration. Any member of the Steering Committee subject to termination shall be advised of the Executive Committee's intention to terminate and notified of the meeting scheduled to address and vote on the issue at least ten days prior to said meeting. The member shall be entitled to appear before the Executive Committee at said meeting and participate in said meeting on his own behalf.
2. Any member of the Steering Committee may resign from his position by written notification to the President or Vice President at any time during the year. At the discretion of the Executive Committee, that member's duties may be assumed by another member of UNYOUG on a volunteer basis, or assigned to another member of the Executive Committee.
Duties of the Executive and Steering Committees are as follows:
1. Executive Committee members shall only act as a Committee and individual members shall have no such power.
2. Executive Committee members shall develop and execute the Organization Policy.
3. Executive Committee members shall approve UNYOUG budget.
4. Executive Committee members shall establish fees for UNYOUG.
5. The Executive Committee shall provide leadership, guidance and management as needed, for the purpose of achieving the purposes and goals of UNYOUG.
6. Steering Committee members shall maintain the confidentiality of the membership list. Use of the membership list for activities that are unrelated to UNYOUG, including but not restricted to the solicitation of a member(s) for employment, soliciting an employer for a job, or the selling of the list or any portion of the list, is forbidden and anyone found doing so will have their membership from UNYOUG terminated as provided in Article IV Section D 2.
7. The Executive Committee will determine the individual access rights needed by an officer or appointee with regard to the membership list. Application for access rights must be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will decide whether to grant the requested rights by a majority vote. The duration of such rights will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The desire of an individual member/contact to not divulge his/her contact information to the Steering Committee will be honored.

ARTICLE VI - Responsibilities of Executive Committee Members

Officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the general membership of UNYOUG; The Executive Committee shall consist of officers of the corporation and all appointed positions. Officers of the corporation are required.
Duties of the Executive Committee members are as follows:
1. President
  1. The President shall serve as the principal Executive Officer
  2. The President shall call and preside over all Executive Committee meetings and all general meetings of UNYOUG.
  3. The President shall act as an ex-officio member of all committees.
  4. The President shall provide for the discharge, pro-tempore, of the necessary functions in the event of the absence of incapacity of an Executive Committee Member.
  5. The President shall appoint special or ad hoc committees as deemed necessary.
  6. The President shall make appointments as provided for in these bylaws.
  7. The President shall establish and maintain relations with IOUG-Americas, local Oracle Offices, Presidents of other user groups and the Oracle Customer Relations Groups as it is deemed appropriate and necessary.
  8. The President shall have the authority to sign checks and drafts of UNYOUG.
2. Vice-President
  1. The Vice President shall be of official service to the President.
  2. The Vice President shall perform the duties, pro-tempore of the President in case of the President's absence.
  3. The Vice President shall coordinate the efforts of the Executive Committee Officers in organizing the general membership meetings.
  4. The Vice President shall coordinate all Special committees that may not be otherwise specified in these bylaws or by special appointment.
3. Secretary
  1. The Secretary shall record and make available to the Executive Committee, the minutes from the Executive Committee meetings.
  2. The Secretary shall record and submit the meeting minutes from the general membership meetings for inclusion in UNYOUG newsletter and on the web site.
  3. The Secretary shall prepare correspondence as needed in support of the other Executive Committee Officers.
  4. The Secretary shall have the responsibility to prepare and send invoices to the membership for the purpose of collecting the annual membership fee.
4. Treasurer
  1. The Treasurer shall collect and keep a record of all receipts and disbursements.
  2. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the deposit of sums received by the organization to the name of the corporation in such depositories as shall be authorized by the Executive Committee.
  3. The Treasurer shall prepare any needed disbursements.
  4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining depositories, in the name of the corporation and for dealing with the institutions holding such depositories.
  5. The Treasurer shall prepare appropriate financial reports for review by the Executive Committee, including an annual budget prepared prior to the start of the fiscal year.
  6. The Treasure shall prepare appropriate financial reports as per requirements of the corporation.
  7. The Treasurer shall have the authority to sign checks and drafts of UNYOUG.
  8. The Treasurer shall prepare and file annual Federal and State income tax statements each year, and make tax payments as required. The Treasurer has the authority to hire a professional Tax Accountant for this purpose.
5. Appointed Positions of the Executive Committee
  1. Membership Chairperson
    1. The Membership Chairperson shall maintain a record and current status of all member information and listings.
    2. The Membership Chairperson shall mail out meeting notices and other information as necessary to the general membership.
    3. The Membership Chairperson shall provide membership information to the Steering Committee as requested by a majority of the Executive Committee.
    4. The Membership Chairperson shall prepare appropriate reports to the Executive Committee.
    5. The Membership Chairperson will be responsible for maintaining the access to and the security of the membership list.
    6. The Membership Chairperson shall be responsible for the active solicitation of new members.
  2. Newsletter Editor
    1. The Newsletter Editor shall coordinate, publish and distribute the UNYOUG newsletter to the general membership and the additional contacts of the group.
    2. The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for determining the number of issues per year to be published based upon material availability from the general membership, SIG Chairpersons and other sources.
    3. The Newsletter Editor shall promote advertising as determined appropriate by the Executive Committee.
    4. The Newsletter Editor shall establish and maintain communications between UNYOUG and other Oracle User Group Newsletter Editors.
  3. Technical Chairperson(s)
    1. The Technical Chairperson(s) shall research and answer all technical questions from the general membership.
    2. The Technical Chairperson(s) shall provide any individual in the general membership with the appropriate contacts should the individual require further information from other Oracle Users.
    3. The Technical Chairperson(s) shall be responsible for submitting a technical article for inclusion in UNYOUG newsletter, and make the column available for questions and answers from the general membership.
    4. The Technical Chairperson(s) shall prepare technical product reviews for inclusion in UNYOUG newsletter.
  4. Meeting Coordinator
    1. The Meeting Coordinator shall be responsible for selecting and securing a meeting location for each general membership meeting
    2. The Meeting Coordinator shall ensure that all equipment (podiums, screens, projectors. etc.) is available as required by the presenters for the general meeting.
    3. The Meeting Coordinator will work with the President and/or Vice President to organize presentations by Oracle Corporation, vendors of products related to Oracle Corporation, and UNYOUG members.
  5. Webmaster
    1. The Webmaster shall be responsible for the creation and maintenance of the official UNYOUG Website.
    2. The Webmaster will be responsible for posting any materials deemed of importance to the general membership as approved by the Executive Committee including meeting locations, general announcements, and the minutes from past meetings.
  6. Nominations Chair
    1. The Nominations Chair shall poll the membership for nominations for the four officer positions each year, at least two months prior to elections.
ARTICLE VII - Committees
1. Committees shall be established to handle specific areas of activity within the organization. Authorization for the formation of committees resides with the Executive Committee. Committee Chairpersons shall be appointed by the President.
ARTICLE VIII - Elections
1. Elections for the Executive Committee Officers shall be held at the first general membership meeting of each membership (calendar) year.
2. Terms of Office: All Executive Committee Officers are elected to a one-year term beginning May 1st and ending April 30th of the following year.
3. Terms of Election:
  1. Candidates for Executive Committee positions will be accepted on a volunteer basis. For Executive Committee positions where there is more than one volunteer The general membership will vote to elect the member for that position.
  2. Executive Committee Officers are elected by receiving a plurality of votes cast. All current Executive Committee Officers are entitled to vote.
  3. Absentee ballots shall be made available to eligible members, upon receipt of a written absentee ballot request by the President. Requests must be received at least one month prior to the election date. Completed ballots must be received by the President no later than midnight two (2) days before the first general membership meeting of the year.
ARTICLE IX - Meetings
1. General Membership Meetings
  1. There shall be at least four meetings per year
2. SIGs or Other Meetings
  1. Separate meetings maybe held by SIGs or by other particular committees either during the general membership meetings at a designated time, or in addition to the general membership meetings. These meetings may or may not be formal UNYOUG meetings and may be a presentation of specific issues or technical materials.
3. Executive Committee Meetings
  1. Any official voting action of the Executive Committee shall require that a quorum be present, a quorum consisting of a majority number of the elected Executive Committee Officers.
  2. The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice each year.
  3. The Steering Committee shall hold an organizational meeting prior to a general membership meeting. Telephone conferences are acceptable.
ARTICLE X -General Provisions
1. Member Information
  1. All listings with member information shall not be released to any outside organization without the approval of the Executive Committee.
  2. Individual members/contacts shall be polled to see if they will allow their names and other contact information to be distributed to other individuals or organizations as well as to the members of the Executive Committee, excluding the Membership Chairperson whose duties require complete access. Their names shall not be distributed without their prior consent.
  3. Steering Committee members shall have the right to view and the use the membership list, as their duties require.
2. Fiscal Year
  1. The Financial Fiscal Year for the corporation UNYOUG, Inc. shall begin on October 1st and end on September 30th of the following Year.
3. Dissolution
  1. Should it become necessary to dissolve the group, the following provisions will control and guide the process:
    1. The dissolution process shall begin providing there is an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the Executive Committee
    2. Executive Committee will follow the legal governing rules for dissolution of 501c corporation.
4. Amendments
  1. Amendments to these bylaws shall be adopted by a three-fourths majority of the Executive Committee
5. Policies
  1. Policy shall be established or altered by a majority of the Executive Committee. Policy, which is not in accordance with these bylaws or any applicable laws, shall immediately become void.

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