By-Laws

The Montgomery Potters By-Laws
amended 2/28/2022

ARTICLE I — NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1. This organization shall be known as “The Montgomery Potters”.

Section 2. The purpose of The Montgomery Potters (the Club) shall be to bring together those interested in ceramics, to increase skills and exchange ideas, to stimulate community interest in ceramics, and to sell and display the art of its members through exhibits and sales.

ARTICLE II — MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Members shall be interested in ceramics.

Section 2. A member in good standing is one who has paid their annual dues.

ARTICLE III — BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The Board of Directors for the Club shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the following Committee Chairs: Program, Membership, Sales, Exhibits, Library, Communications, Website, and the Newsletter Editor.

Section 2. The responsibilities of these positions are as follows:

  1. The President shall be the chief executive and preside at all meetings. The President shall appoint ad-hoc Committee Chairs as needed.
  2. The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and perform such duties as may be delegated by the President. The Vice President shall also be the liaison to the Committee Chairs, ad hoc committees, and other volunteer positions.
  3. The Secretary shall record the minutes of the meetings, notify members of meetings and programs,operate, and maintain meeting systems, transmit information from Club Committees and the Board of Directors to the members, and manage all other correspondence.
  4. The Treasurer shall receive all monies due the Club and disburse such funds as authorized by the Board of Directors and in accordance with the approved budget. The Treasurer shall maintain a bank account for the Club and keep an account of all monies received and paid out by budget category and give a report at each meeting of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer, with the aid and approval of the Board of Directors shall draft a budget proposal for the year, to be presented at the September meeting. The budget must be approved by a majority of the members in attendance at the September Board of Directors meeting. The Treasurer shall prepare state and Federal filings and returns as required. The President may appoint an internal audit committee to review the financial records.
  5. The Program Chair shall chair the Program Committee and appoint committee members as needed to assist with selecting guest presenters, updating the website to include program descriptions, coordinating presentation details with presenters, and serving as hosts for the presentations.
  6. The Membership Chair shall receive applications and dues for new members and shall be responsible for preparing an annual membership directory to be accessible to all members.
  7. The Sales Chair shall be responsible for arranging and overseeing the Club Sales.
  8. The Exhibits Chair shall be responsible for arranging and overseeing the Club Exhibits and Juried Shows.
  9. The Library Chair shall oversee custody of the library materials including books, DVDs, and other materials, make these materials available to members, assess overdue charges if materials are not returned on time, make purchases of library materials as budgeted and approved by the Board of Directors, and catalogue and label additions to the collection.
  10. The Communications Chair shall provide publicity for all Club events through appropriate social media and print media venues and inform members of pertinent events that would be of interest to the ceramic community. The Communications Chair shall maintain the Club’s social media platforms, keeping them up to date with timely information about the Club’s activities.
  11. The Website Chair shall maintain the Club’s website, keep the content up-to-date, work with outside vendors to enhance the site’s functionality, and solicit content from the membership.
  12. The Newsletter Editor shall prepare a monthly newsletter from September through May. The Newsletter Editor shall include information and announcements of interest to the members, minutes from meetings, and the Treasurer’s report in the monthly newsletter.

ARTICLE IV – CLUB SALES

Section 1. The Club shall conduct Club Sales to sell the ceramic art of its members. The Club Sales shall be self-supporting, and participants may also be charged a participation fee. The Club shall recoup all costs of the Sale by charging participants a commission rate that is determined by totaling costs, then dividing by total sales less taxes. The participation fee may be calculated as a percentage of sales, or a flat fee, that covers the costs of the event.

Section 2. The Sales Chair shall appoint members as needed to assist in each Club Sale to ensure the successful conduct of the event.

ARTICLE V – EXHIBITS

Section 1. The Club shall hold exhibits to display and/or sell the ceramic art of its members. The exhibits shall include All-Member Exhibits and Juried Exhibits. Members are guaranteed at least one item in the All-Member Exhibits. Juried Exhibits shall include only member work that has been selected by a juror. The Club shall recoup all costs of the Exhibit by charging participants a commission rate that is determined by totaling costs, then dividing by the number of items exhibited by each participant, or a flat fee, that covers the costs of the event.

Section 2. The Exhibits Chair shall appoint members as needed to assist in each exhibit to ensure the successful conduct of the event.

ARTICLE VI — CREATIVE CRAFTS COUNCIL

Section 1. The President shall appoint one or more Club members to be the Club’s representative to the Creative Crafts Council (CCC), an umbrella organization for local craft guilds. The representative shall attend CCC meetings, assist in planning and executing the biennial Creative Crafts Show and keep members informed about all CCC events.

ARTICLE VII — MEETINGS

Section 1. Board of Director meetings shall be held monthly from September through May.

Section 2. Program and membership meetings shall be held monthly from September through May. The Program meetings may be held together with or apart from the membership meetings, or in lieu of a membership meeting. 

Section 3. The President may call special meetings as needed.

ARTICLE VIII — ELECTION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The April meeting shall be designated as the Annual Meeting and election of the Board of Directors shall take place at this time. In preparation for this, the following procedure shall be conducted:

  1. In February, the President shall appoint a Nominating Committee Chair who shall select committee members to assist in preparing a slate for the Board of Directors.
  2. The Nominating Committee shall provide a slate of one or more candidates for the Board of Directors.
  3. The Nominating Committee shall send to each member a list of the nominees in the April newsletter.
  4. Additional nominations may be made by a member at the April meeting, provided previous permission has been obtained from the nominee.
  5. At the April meeting, voting shall be by voice where there is a single nominee. When there is more than one nominee for a position, voting shall take place by electronic survey prior to the May business meeting.

Section 2. Nominees shall be elected if approved by a majority of the members in attendance at the April meeting or by majority vote of respondents to a survey administered prior to the May meeting.

Section 3. The new Board of Directors shall be installed in May at the end of the Board of Directors meeting.

Section 4. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the President, with approval of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE IX — PAYMENT OF DUES

Section 1. Membership dues shall be paid annually by September 30 for the September 1 to August 31 membership year.

ARTICLE X – FISCAL YEAR

Section 1. The fiscal year of the Club shall begin on the first day of September each year.

ARTICLE XI — AMENDMENTS

Section 1. The By-Laws may be amended after review and approval by the Board of Directors and by a two-thirds vote of the members in attendance at a membership meeting following publication of the proposed revised By-Laws in two consecutive monthly newsletters.  

ARTICLE XII – DISSOLUTION

Section1. Upon the dissolution of the Club, after paying all liabilities, the Club shall dispose of its assets to a charitable organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and with a mission in the ceramic arts.