Gorham Historical Society

The name of this organization shall be GORHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Section 1.    Purpose

The purpose of the Society is to bring together those people interested in the history of the Town of Gorham and State of Maine and to collect and preserve ephemera and artifacts of the history of the town and its citizens so that people now and in the future will have resources to study their heritage.

Section 2.  Function

The  Society’s major function will be to discover and collect any material or memorabilia which may help to establish or illustrate the history of Gorham.

The Society shall provide for the preservation of such material and for its accessibility, as far as may be feasible, to all who wish to examine or study it;  seek cooperation with officials  to insure the preservation and accessibility of the records and archives of the Town of Gorham and its institutions; and support the  preservation of historic buildings, monuments, and markers.

The Society shall disseminate historical information and arouse interest of the past by publishing historical material in the newspapers or otherwise; by holding meetings with pageants, addresses, lectures, papers, and discussion; by marking historic buildings, sites, and trails; and by using the media to awaken public interest. 

The Society shall use, purchase, sell, convey, mortgage, lease or rent real or personal property only and solely for the purposes for which this Society was organized and to do all things necessary to carry out the purposes of this Society.   No part of the net earnings, if any, of this Society shall  benefit, without equal consideration, any Member, Director, or Officer.  

Section 1.    Membership shall be open to all persons interested in the purpose of this Society.

Section 2.    Types of membership shall be:

(a)    Charter Member-- Any person who became a member prior to January 31, 1969.

(b)    Active Member -- Any person upon payment of annual dues.

(c)    Sustaining Membership --  Any business, club, association, or other group that assists in sustaining the work  of the Society by paying annual dues. The sustaining member does not have voting rights.

(d)    Honorary Member -- Any person, in recognition of achievement or of services rendered to the Society, and elected by a 2/3rds vote of members present at any regular meeting.  Honorary members do not pay dues but do have full voting rights.

(e)    Student Member -- Any full-time student in high school or college upon     payment of annual dues.  The student member has voting privileges.

       
Section 3.   

 Annual dues for the next calendar year for each type of membership shall be established at the annual  meeting when the officers are elected and shall be due at the next regular monthly meeting.   

Section 1.    

The officers of the Society shall be President, Vice-President, Vice-President of Project Development, Vice-President of Programs, Executive Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer. The Board of Directors shall consist of the Society officers and the Immediate Past President.

Section 2.    Their duties are as follows:

(a)      The PRESIDENT shall preside at all meetings of the Society;  appoint the chair of Committees;  preside at meetings of the Board of Directors, and be an ex officio  member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.           
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(b)    The VICE-PRESIDENT shall assist the President and perform the duties of the President in the absence of that Officer.

(c)    The VICE-PRESIDENT OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT shall, in collaboration with the Board of Directors, engage in the planning of activities and fund raising events as needed to achieve Society goals; shall be responsible for the implementation of special  projects designated by the Executive  Committee; shall annually present to  the Society a status report of all activities.                    

(d)    The VICE-PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS shall arrange for the programs for the Society meetings. 

(e)    The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY shall collect the dues and transmit them to the Treasurer; shall keep the minutes of the Board of Directors; shall maintain a list of members and shall attend to all business correspondence.

(f)    The RECORDING SECRETARY shall keep the records of all regular meetings and shall attend to all courtesy correspondence of the Society.

(g)    The TREASURER  shall deposit the funds of the Society in accounts designated by the Board of Directors, keeping an account of the same, and provide written reports at all regular monthly  meetings and the Annual Meeting, and whenever required by the Society or the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall pay out the monies of the Society on the presentation of bills approved by the Board of Directors.

(h)    The BOARD OF DIRECTORS shall provide leadership assistance to the President, authorize expenditures of less than $100 without membership approval, authorize the Treasurer to deposit funds to  accounts they designate,  meet at the discretion of the President or  by vote of the Board membership.  The Board will consist of the seven officers, and the Immediate Past President. A quorum of the Board of directors shall be five.

Section 3.   

The officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting and shall serve a term of  two years. The President, the Vice-President and the Executive Secretary shall be elected at the 2006 Annual Meeting to serve two-year terms.  The Vice-President of Project Development, the Recording Secretary, the Vice-President of Programs and the Treasurer shall be elected at the 2007 Annual Meeting to serve two-years terms.  Thereafter two year terms shall be served by all officers.

Section 1.    Regular Meetings     

The meetings shall be held regularly on dates to be determined annually. If it is deemed advisable to change the date of a regular meeting, this may be done by majority vote at any regular meeting of the membership or by the Board of Directors.  A written record of all regular meetings shall be supplied to the membership prior to the next regular meeting.

Section 2.    Annual  Meeting

The annual  meeting shall be in October for the purpose of hearing the annual reports from all Officers and Standing Committees;  electing Officers for the following calendar year,  and establishing membership dues.

Section 3.   

 Special meetings may be called by the Board of Directors.  A written notice of ten (10) days shall be given to the membership for special meeting.  No business shall be transacted except that mentioned in the notice of that meeting.    

Section  4.  

 A quorum for a regular or special meeting shall be twenty (20) members .

Section 1.   

Vacancies occurring among the officers and committee chairs shall be filled by the Board of Directors to serve the remainder of the term.

Section 1.   

There shall be the following Standing Committees: Membership, Publicity, Ways and Means, House, Curator of Historic Memorabilia (archives building), Scholarship, Editor of the Gorham Historical Society Newsletter, and Historic Sites. Standing Committee Chairs  may enlist volunteers for membership to their respective committees.

Section 2.   

There shall be a Nominating Committee appointed annually with one member appointed by the Directors and two elected by the membership.     

Section 3.   

The Auditor, as appointed by the Board of Directors, shall examine the financial records of the Society annually and shall  make such reports as the Board of Directors shall require and, will, on an annual basis, file a complete audit to be  kept with the permanent records of the Society.

Section 1.   

Any amendment to the By-Laws shall be proposed in writing to the membership     not less than a month in advance of the annual meeting. The amendment shall be discussed and acted upon at the annual meeting. Adoption of amendments shall be by a 2/3 vote of those present.

Section 1.   

The rules contained in “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised”  shall govern proceedings at all meetings of the Society.