By-Laws of the
OmaHOPS Homebrew Club
August 21, 1998
Article I — Organization
The NAME of the organization shall be the OmaHOPS Homebrew Club (hereinafter referred to as “OmaHOPS”).
Article II — Vision
SBC: We will brew and drink the best damn beer.
Article III — Objectives and Policies
The Objectives of the organization are to brew beer; to disseminate among the members information pertaining to the brewing, consuming, presentation, judging, and history of beer; to promote homebrewing of the freshest and highest quality beer; to promote and encourage homebrewing competition; and to foster general goodwill throughout this great nation of ours through the making and consuming of this noble and most excellent beverage.
It is policy of the OmaHOPS to brew and consume beer strictly for fun. Under no circumstances do the OmaHOPS support or condone in any manner the sale or barter of homebrewed beer, the operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol by any member or by any participant in any club event, or the provision of alcoholic beverages to minors.
Article IV — Membership
Membership Qualifications : Any person interested in the brewing of beer and at least 21 years old may become a member, contingent upon meeting the requirements of “membership in good standing.”
Dues : The amount of annual membership dues will be determined by the Club Officers and submitted to the membership for approval. Dues will be paid by all members by the end of January of each year. Members not having paid their annual dues by the end of March, and who fail to remit them when duly notified, will be dropped from the membership roster for non-payment, unless the request an extension of payment.
New Members : New members may be accepted at any time, subject to meeting the requirements of members in good standing.
Members in Good Standing : To be a member in good standing, a member must:
Participate in some aspect of the club
Pay annual dues
Resignations : Resignations may be requested by action of the Officers when, in their opinion, the actions or conduct of a member bring discredit to the organization.
ARTICLE V — Expenditures
Not-for-Profit Status : The OmaHOPS has been organized and functions as a not-for-profit organization. All monies received by dues, raffle sales or by any other means shall be used for sustaining the club and its major objectives.
Expenditures : Any expenditure, other than the normal monthly operating expenses, must be approved by the Officers at a regular or special meeting.
Extraordinary Expenditures : Any expenditure over One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) must be approved by the General Membership.
The fiscal year of the organization shall correspond to the calendar year.
ARTICLE VI — Club Officers
Composition : The Club Officers shall be composed of five (5) elected officers. The Officers shall meet at the request of the President or any three (3) Officers.
Meetings : The Officers shall meet as required.
Attendance : Any Officer who fails to attend three meetings during his or her term, without valid reason, may be replaced by the Officers without any further action.
Motions : Amendments to these by-laws must be presented to the Officers for evaluation. The Officers will then discuss and evaluate the proposal before passing their recommendations on the general membership. An amendment must be presented to the general membership and be passed by a majority vote.
Quorum Requirements : A quorum shall consist of three (3) of the Officers.
ARTICLE VII — Officers and Duties
President : The President shall preside at regular and special meetings. The President has the authority to appoint chairmen to committees and designate the duties of said chairman.
The President must have been a Club Officer for the previous 12 months.
The President may not hold any office within any other brew club.
Vice-President : The Vice-President shall be responsible for assisting the President as required with any club activities and shall also perform the duties of the President during his absence or temporary disability.
The Vice-President shall be responsible for the administration of the club by-laws.
The Vice-President shall be responsible for securing a time and place for each club meeting.
Secretary : The Secretary shall take minutes at each regular and special meeting. Minutes of each meeting shall be filed in the club files.
The Secretary shall maintain the club files.
The Secretary is responsible for the the publication and distribution of the monthly club newsletterThe Secretary may appoint a general editor, if desired, to meet the latter responsibility.
Treasurer : The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds belonging to the club and shall maintain a full and accurate account of all monies.
The Treasurer shall deposit all monies within seven (7) days of receipt, in the account of the OmaHOPS. All cash receipts shall be verified by the Treasurer and one other Officer at the conclusion of all meetings, events, etc.
The Treasurer shall file a detailed report quarterly in the club files.
A detailed account’ of monies and expenditures shall be made available within seven (7) days to any member in good standing when requested of the Officers.
In February of each year, bank forms shall be filled in with the names of the new officers. Checks for business of the club shall have two (2) signatures: the Treasurer and either the President or Vice-President. These three signatures shall be on file at the bank.
All financial records will be submitted annually to an Auditing Committee no later than February of the subsequent year. This Committee shall be appointed by the President and shall consist of one (1) Officer and two (2) persons from the general membership, all three of whom shall not be signatories to the account for the current year nor the immediate past year. Auditing records and accounts shall be open to the President at any time.
Events Coordinator : The Events Coordinator shall be responsible for developing and organizing all club events.
Order of Officers : If for any reason the President and Vice President shall both be absent from a meeting, the above order of officers shall be followed in numerical sequence to take the place of the President and Vice-President.
That officer shall be responsible for seeing that his regular position is filled in such an event.
Qualifications : Anyone who seeks or accepts the responsibility of an Officer or a Committee Chairperson must be willing to assume all the responsibilities set forth in these by-laws and shall currently be a member in good standing.
Terms of Office : The terms of all elected officers shall be for one (1) year, commencing at the installation in January and continuing to installation in January of the following year.
All elected officers have a term limit of two consecutive years in a given office.
Nominating Committee : The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee Chairperson at the November general meeting.
The Nominating Committee Chairperson will select two (2) members at least one of whom is not an Officer to assist in obtaining candidates for election of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Events Coordinator.
The list of candidates shall be presented at the January general meeting at which time nominations will also be accepted from the floor.
All nominations must have had prior approval of the nominee prior to nomination.
Absentee balloting shall be done by mail and must be received prior to the January meeting. Other ballots may be handed to the Committee Chairman at the January general meeting.
Installation of new officers shall be held at the January general meeting.
ARTICLE VIII — Meetings
Regular meetings shall be held on the last Friday of each month.
ARTICLE IX — Liability
No individual general member nor any member of the Board, nor any authorized representative of OmaHOPS shall be personally liable for any debt or obligation of the association.
Any business, corporation or any other entity contracted with, or otherwise having any claim against the club may look only to the current funds and property of the association for payment of any claim, debt, damages, judgement or decree, or any money that may become otherwise due and payable to them.