These Bylaws shall, at the time they are adopted and ratified, completely supersede and replace any and all existing Bylaws, rules, procedures or other governing precepts of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. Upon being adopted and ratified as specified herein below, these Bylaws shall be the sole and exclusive operating statutes of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc.

The name of this organization is Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. In these Bylaws, the organization shall be referred to as 'Prydonians of Prynceton Inc.', 'The Prydonians of Prynceton', 'Prydonians of Prynceton', 'The Prydonians', 'the organization', or 'the club'.

The principal office of the organization shall be at a location to be determined by the club's Board of Directors. Such a location must be within the territory of the State of New Jersey.

The organization shall be governed by a Board of Directors to be known as and hereafter referred to in these Bylaws as 'The High Council of the Prydonians of Prynceton' or, simply, 'The High Council'. Members of the High Council will be referred to as 'High Councillors'. Rules for the selection of and duties, powers and responsibilities of the High Councillors shall be set forth in Article VII.

Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. is a science fiction media fan club.

Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. shall have exclusively social, educational, cultural and charitable purposes, and any other purposes not excluded by N.J.S.A. 15A:1-1, including but not limited to the following:

a) promoting fandom of science fiction television, films and other media

b) supporting and promoting the broadcasting and other distribution of science fiction television, films and other media

c) uniting fans of science fiction television, films and other media

d) providing services and information to the club's members in accordance with these Bylaws.

e) serving as a social and informational network for the club's members and for all fans of science fiction television, films and other media

f) establishing and/or implementing educational activities and/or supporting charitable causes as appropriate and as recommended by the High Council and/or other members and as approved by the High Council

g) cooperating with and/or sharing information with other clubs and/or organizations that share our goals and ideals, with the approval of the High Council

h) any and all other purposes consistent with the foregoing as decided up and approved by the High Council

a) Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. is a not-for-profit organization under the relevant and applicable statutes of the State of New Jersey and the Federal Government of the United States of America. Its properties and assets are irrevocably dedicated to social, cultural, educational and charitable activities as provided for in the relevant state and federal statutes. No part of the net earnings, properties or assets of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. shall, on dissolution or otherwise, inure to the benefit of any private person, indidivual or any member or director of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc., except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services rendered and/or expenses incurred, or otherwise to fulfull the purposes, goals, intentions and ideals set forth in Article IV.

b) Upon the dissolution of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc., the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all outstanding debts and/or liabilities of the organization, transfer all the remaining assets of the organization to Friends of New Jersey Network, Inc. (CN 777, Trenton, N.J. 08625), a tax-exempt institution.

a) Membership in the Prydonians of Prynceton is open to anyone willing to pay the dues as required by the High Council and fulfilling other requirements as stated herein and elsewhere

b) Membership commences upon the payment to the club of such dues. Dues money is dedicated to the maintenance and operation of the club and its activities.

c) Several types of membership are available, including (but not necessarily limted to): Individual Membership; Family (or Household) Membership; Honorary Membership; Student/Senior Citizen Membership; and Gift Membership. Definitions of these (and any other) types of membership may be issued by the High Council. The High Council may establish appropriate dues payments for these and other types of membership.

d) Members are entitled to each issue of the club's newsletter published during their membership (family/household members receive only one copy). They are also entitled to other items, services and/or privileges the High Council may decide.

e) Members in good standing may attend club functions and High Council meetings. They may serve the club by working on its committees or in other ways.

f) 'Member in good standing' is defined as a member whose membership has not expired and who is not under suspension of membership. For purposes of receiving the newsletter and attending club functions, honorary members are members in good standing. Suspension of membership is set forth in Article X.

g) A member may resign from the club at any time and may receive a prorated refund of his or her remaining dues. Any member who resigns in good standing may rejoin the club at any later time upon payment of a new membership fee as applicable.

h) No member may be suspended or expelled except for cause as defined in Article X of these Bylaws upon unanimous vote of the High Councillors present at a regularly scheduled meeting of the High Council at which such suspension or expulsion is discussed.

a) The High Council is the Board of Directors of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. The High Council possesses all the powers, rights, duties and responsibilities customarily possessed by any Board of Directors of a not-for-profit corporation according to the relevant and applicable laws of the State of New Jersey. Its members (hereafter referred to as 'High Councillors' or 'officers') are the club's only officers. No High Councillor shall be compensated for his or her services, except that they may be reimbursed by the club for expenses incurred in the fulfillment of their duties.

b) High Councillors must be members of the club in good standing, as defined in Article VI section (f). Honorary Members may not be High Councillors. High Councillors may not serve while unders suspension of membership or during any period when they have not paid appropriate dues, if and when applicable. High Councillors must be at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time they join the High Council.

c) The number of High Councillors shall be determined by the High Council; except that the number may not be less than five (5) nor more than nine (9).

d) The High Council shall be self-perpetuating. New High Councillors shall be appointed by the existing High Council from the club's eligible members. Appointment of a new High Councillor shall require at least a two-thirds vote of the current High Council (except as noted in section (g) below).

e) A High Councillor may be suspended or expelled from the High Council by unanimous vote of the other High Councillors for cause, including (but not limited to): neglect of duty, violating the club's rules of conduct (see Article X below), not renewing membership (if and when applicable), taking any action that significantly harms the club, missing two or more consecutive meetings of the High Council without explanation or excuse, or other causes.

f) A High Councillor may resign by giving at least sixty (60) days written notice to the President or Secretary. Any removals or resignations of a High Councillor will be reported at the next monthly Assembly and in the next issue of the club's newsletter.

g) A High Councillor who resigns from the High Council may be reappointed to the High Council at a later date, provided that he or she is still eligible as defined above in Article VII section (b). A High Councillor who is expelled from the High Council for any reason (see Article VII section (e)) may be reappointed to the High Council only by unanimous vote of the High Council.

h) For legal reasons, the club must have a President, a Treasurer and a Secretary. The High Council shall designate one of its members as President, one as Treasurer and one as Secretary. No High Councillor may hold more than one such designated position at any one time. All other High Councillors are not required to have specific titles or functions, although they may, as determined by the High Council.

i) The President shall be the chief executive officer of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. He or she shall preside at all club functions or shall designate another member to preside. The President shall represent the club to other clubs and to other organizations with which the club deals and at other functions at which the club is present. The High Council may designate others to represent the club in specific cases. The President shall be appointed by at least a two-thirds vote of the High Council.

j) The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping the club's official financial records. He or she shall keep, or cause to be kept, a set of financial books according to relevant statutes and standards. He or she shall report every month to the High Council and to the club on the club's financial status. He or she shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, the club's finances, including (but not limited to) its bank account(s) and other assets and properties, and shall be reponsible for paying, or causing to be paid, all legal debts and other liabilities of the club, out of the club's resources. The Treasurer shall be appointed by at least a two-thirds vote of the High Council.

k) The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the club's official nonfinancial records. He or she shall keep, or cause to be kept, the club's records, including the corporate book and seal and all other official records. The Secretary shall be responsible for all legally required filings. He or she shall keep, or cause to be kept, minutes of all High Council meetings. The Secretary shall be appointed by at least a two-thirds vote of the High Council.

l) The High Council shall keep, or cause to be kept, a complete, up-to-date and accurate database (in both paper and electronic form) of the club's members and other such information neccesary to the club's operations and activities.

m) The High Council may, at its sole discretion, appoint other people to perform specific tasks required for the club's operations or to fulfill the purposes set forth in Article VI. Such appointment does not by itself or in any other way constitute appointment to the High Council. Such appointment is only for the express purpose or task given and not for any other. No compensation shall be paid for such service, except that reasonable reimbursement may be made for expenses incurred in the performance of such tasks requested by the High Council.

n) The club shall bear and accepts no responsibility for nor shall it be bound in any way by the actions, statements, promises, undertakings and/or initiatives of any High Councillor or any other person designated to act on behalf of the club under Article VII section (m) who is acting outside the scoep of his or her express, apparent or implied authority under either relevant statute or any provision of these Bylaws. The club disavows and will accept no liability for any harm or damage caused by any wrongful action(s) and/or ultra-vires acts undertaken by any such person that is not in accordance with these Bylaws.

o) The High Council shall meet once each month at a time and place to be determined prior to each meeting. No business will be transacted at any meeting of the High Council in the absence of a quorum, which is defined as three-fifths of the active High Councillors at the time of the meeting. Meetings of the High Council shall be open to any and all members of the club in good standing at the time of the meeting; however, the High Councillors may, at their sole discretion, decide to hold on or more executive sessions during any High Council meeting, at which executive session(s) only High Councillors may be present. Decisions will normally be taken bya simple majority vote of the High Councillors present, except as otherwise noted in these Bylaws.

p) Decisions of the High Council shall, when appropriate, be announced at club functions and printed in the club's newsletter. Changes in the membership of the High Council and proposed amendments to these Bylaws (or additional rules adopted as extensions to the Bylaws) shall always be announced. However, failure to follow the provisions of this section shall in no way invalidate any decision of the High Council.

q) Any member in good standing may bring a matter to the attention of the High Council by requesting space on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled High Council meeting. Such a request should be made to either the President or the Secretary as much in advance of the next meeting as possible.

The High Council may, at its sole discretion, establish such subsidiary bodies as committees, etc., to assist in the club's operations. Any member in good standing may serve on any and all such bodies, except as otherwise decided by the High Council. Such committees may be headed by any member in good standing, except as otherwise decided by the High Council. Heads of committees need not be High Councillors. Committees may be disbanded by the High Council.

No one except High Councillors or others specifically designated by the High Council may officially and/or legally speak on behalf of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. for any reason whatsoever. Authorization to non-High Councillors is granted only for the specific reason expressed and not for any other purpose. Any use of the name, logo, publications and/or other property of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. that is not specifically authorized by the High Council is hereby disavowed and will not be binding on the club, its officers or members. Any use of the name, logo, publicatins and/or other property of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. must be authorized by the High Council in writing in advance of its use and is only for the express purpose authorized.

Members of the Prydonians of Prynceton are expected to respect the rights, safety and comfort of others. The High Council will consider complaints by members or others about the conduct of members at club functions or other places where their behavior might infringe upon the rights, safety and/or comfort of members or others and/or might bring the club itself into disrepute. The High Council may, at its sole discretion, decide to investigate such complaints. If the High Council finds such complaint to be justified, it may, at its sole discretion, reprimand or in some other way discipline the member who is the subject of the complaint. Such a member has the right to appeal before the entire High Council.

a) A first complaint that is sustained may result in a simple reprimand; a second may result in a suspension of membership of not less than three (3) months; a further sustained complaint may result in expulsion from the club. Any suspension or expulsion must be by unanimous vote of the High Councillors present at any regular meeting of the High Council at which such action is discussed.

b) Any member expelled from the club must wait at least six (6) months before appealing to rejoin the club. Readmission is solely at the discretion of the High Council.

a) There will normally be at least one public meeting (usually referred to as an 'Assembly') of the club every month. During certain summer months the High Council may, at its sole discretion, cancel or substitute some other event for the monthy Assembly. The schedule of meetings and all other functions will be announced in advance and published in the club's newsletter. Any changes and/or additions to and/or deletions from this schedule will also be announced and published as far in advance as possible.

b) All members in good standing may attend any and all club functions; they may also bring family members, friends and other guests, as appropriate. At all monthly Assemblies, there will be an 'Official Business' portion of the meeting at which official club matters may be discussed. Members shall have the right to make announcements, ask questions, etc., during this Official Business portion of the Assembly. High Council decisions shall, where appropriate, be communicated to members at this time. There may also be programming at Assemblies. Any member may request time to present appropriate programming at an Assembly by requesting in advance. Programming shall be announced and published in advance when possible.

c) In addition, the High Council may, at its sole discretion, plan and schedule additional events, such as parties, picnics, outings, etc. These shall be announced and published as much in advance as possible.

d) Members and all others attend Assemblies and other public club functions at their own risk. The club will assume no responsibility and/or liability for any harm or damage sustained by any person or property present at any club function.

e) Members may offer and agree to host club functions in their homes or on their property. They do so at their own risk.

a) The club shall publish, or cause to be published, a monthly newsletter (herein above and below referred to as 'the newsletter'). The newsletter shall contain official club news as well as material of general informational interest to the club's members pertaining to the club's purposes.

b) The newsletter staff shall actively solicit and accept contributions from members and from others qualified to contribute.

c) Each member in good standing shall receive a copy of each issue of the newsletter published during his or her membership. Family memberships shall receive a single copy.

d) All contributions to the newsletter become the property of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. Rights to contributions revert to their creators after first publication in the newsletter except: when such rights have been transferred in writing to Prydonians of Prynceton Inc.; or when: the club commissioned such contribution, paid for such contribution, or paid for the materials used to create such contribution. However, in such cases, the High Council may, at its sole discretion, decide to return the rights to such contribution to its creator.

e) Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. retains any and all copyright to all material actually published in the newsletter. Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. has established a policy regarding reprinting or other republication of material originally published in the newsletter. Interested parties may contact Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. for a written copy of this policy (which also appears elsewhere in this Web site). No original contribution (bylined article, story, or other written work, artwork or photograph) may be reprinted or republished anywhere else for any reason whatsoever without the express written permission of the editor or publisher of the newsletter.

f) The High Council will appoint an editor of the newsletter. The editor must be a member in good standing of the club at the time of his or her appointment. The editor is not required to be a member of the High Council. The editor is responsible only to the High Councul and shall have first and final say over the editorial content of the newsletter.

g) The editor may resign by giving at least sixty (60) days written notice to the President or the Secretary. The editor may be reappointed at a later date provided he or she is still eligible as defined in section (f).

h) The editor may be removed from his or her position by a two-thirds vote of the High Councillors present at a regular meeting of the High Council at which this is discussed. The editor may be removed for cause, including (but not limited to): neglect of duty, misuse of club funds and/or other property; committing a libelous act; other abuse of powers; and other causes.

a) These Bylaws may be amended by the High Council upon a four-fifths vote of High Councillors present at a regular meeting of the High Council at which this is discussed. Any such amendment(s) must be passed at two (2) consecutive meetings of the High Council.

b) Any member in good standing may propose an amendment for consideration by the High Council.

c) Adoption of such amendment(s) by the High Council will be announced and published as soon as possible.

a) These bylaws may be amended by action of the High Council.

Any member in good standing may propose an amendment for consideration by the High Council. The High Council, at its sole discretion, may choose not to consider any amendment proposed by a member if they feel that the proposed amendment is frivolous or not in the best interests of the club. If the High Council chooses not to consider a proposed amendment, they will publish it along with their reasons for not considering it.

Any amendment that is going to be considered by the High Council must be published at least 30 days before being considered by the High Council.

[Clarification:"Published" wherever used in this Amendment means being printed in full in the club's newsletter as well as being posted in full on the club's Web site and Internet mailing list.]

b) To be adopted, a proposed amendment must be approved by a minimum of four-fifths of the High Council at two successive regularly scheduled High Council meetings. If a High Councillor cannot be present, he or she can register his or her vote, for or against the proposed amendment, in writing, with the Secretary prior to the meeting. For this purpose only, a quorum at such meeting will not be required, provided that all High Councillors who cannot be present have registered their votes, for or against the proposed amendment, in writing, with the Secretary prior to the meeting.

Adoption or rejction of the amendment will be published as soon as possible after the High Council has voted.

[Clarification: Before adoption of this Amendment to Article XIII, 6 of the 7 High Councillors had to approve a proposed amendment at two successive regularly scheduled High Council meetings for the proposed amendment to be adopted.]

c) Once adopted by the High Council, the amendment must be ratified by the club's membership. Ratification will take place at the next regularly scheduled Assembly, at least 30 days after the second vote of approval by the High Council. All members in good standing may vote to ratify or reject the amendment. Members in good standing present at the Assembly may vote at the Assembly; members in good standing unable to attend the Assembly may vote in writing prior to the meeting, using a procedure to be determined by the High Council at the time the amendment is proposed for consideration and published along with the proposed amendment. Members may vote only once, either in person or by writing.

The amendment will be ratified unless BOTH of the following conditions are met: The amendment must be rejected by a simple majority of all members in good standing voting (50% plus 1 of the votes cast voting against); AND at least ten (10) total votes must be cast (not including High Councillors). If EITHER of these conditions is NOT met, the amendment will automatically be ratified.

Once ratified, the amendment will immediately come into effect. If rejected, the amendment cannot be considered again for at least twelve (12) months to the day from the date of rejection.

[Clarification: The purpose of this section is to give the membership an opportunity to say "No." The adopted amendment will be considered ratified unless rejected by a sufficient number of members to be meaningful. Otherwise, it will automatically be considered ratified.]

d) Ratification or rejection of the amendment by the membership will be published as soon as possible after the membership has voted.

a) The High Council may, at its sole discretion, adopt and issue additional rules that it deems necessary for the club's operation, providing such additional rules do not conflict with or contradict any other part of these Bylaws.

b) Additional rule(s) shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the High Councillors present at any regular meeting of the High Council at which such rules are proposed.

c) Any such additional rule(s) adopted shall have the force of any other provision of these Bylaws and shall be announced and published, when appropriate.

Notwithstanding these Bylaws, no High Councillor or other member of the club can or shall be required by virtue of his office or demand of the membership to perform or cause to be performed any action that would or might violate any statute or ordinance of any jurisdiction in which the club operates or in which the High Councillor or other member resides, is domiciled, or sojourns.

These Bylaws shall take effect and supersede any and all existing Bylaws of Prydonians of Prynceton Inc. upon unanimous approval of the High Council and after being ratified by the membership of the club. The manner of ratification shall be decided upon and approved by the High Council after the Bylaws are approved. The manner of ratification will then be announced and published.

The Prydonians of Prynceton - Fandom at its Best!

Last updated: 2010-02-27