The Painted Stone Settlers, Inc.

By-Laws

(Adopted February 2, 2006) 

ARTICLE I

NAME

 The name of this organization is The Painted Stone Settlers, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as The Painted Stone Settlers).  

ARTICLE II

PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES

 The purposes and objectives of The Painted Stone Settlers are:

 A) To present and emulate frontier life in the Kentucky territory during the years of the American Revolution in as authentic a manner as possible,

B) To encourage and facilitate research, preservation and authentic presentation of lifestyles, skills, traditions and events experienced by the men and women of the Kentucky frontier in the later 18th Century, 

C) To educate ourselves and others by utilizing a combination of lifestyle interpretations and "first person" impressions of civilian, militia and American Indian personas, types of dress, food ways, arts, crafts, trades, frontier and domestic skills and re-enactments of specific events, and then sharing our knowledge and resources through demonstrations, participation in community events, presentations to schools, churches, civic groups, etc.

D) To establish, maintain, promote and support public interest in local history, 

E) To host The Painted Stone Celebration and The Long Run Historical Reenactment and Floyd's Defeat in September; and

F) To do all other things necessary and proper in the furtherance of the stated purposes and objectives consistent with the exclusively educational and non-profit nature of The Painted Stone Settlers.  

ARTICLE III

POWERS

The Painted Stone Settlers will operate exclusively for charitable, historical and educational purposes as defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code, and may not engage in any activities that would prevent it from obtaining or cause it to loose its federal tax-exempt status.  

ARTICLE IV

MEMBERSHIP

A) Membership in The Painted Stone Settlers is open to any person interested in the serious and dedicated pursuit of "living history" for the Kentucky territory during the early years of American history, and who will comply with The Painted Stone Settlers' goal of presenting frontier life in Kentucky in as authentic a manner as possible, and in so doing, instill in others a knowledge and appreciation of our rich local history. Members shall act at all times to further the interests of The Painted Stone Settlers, and shall do nothing to jeopardize the reputation of The Painted Stone Settlers.

 B) To become a new individual member, an applicant must

1) Submit a completed Membership Application with the necessary dues payment,

2) Be at least 18 years of age; and

3) Be accepted by a majority vote of the members present at the next regular meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers.

C) To become new family members, an applicant must:

1) Submit a completed Membership Application with the necessary dues payment,

2) Consist of at least one adult and his/her children, natural or adopted, or a married couple without children.  

3) Be accepted by a majority vote of the members present at the next regular meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers.

D) To become a new patron member, an applicant must:

1) Submit a completed Membership Application with the necessary dues payment,

2) Be at least 18 years of age; and

3) Be accepted by a majority vote of the members present at the next regular meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers.

E) Honorary members shall be those individuals who have provided such service and/or support to The Painted Stone Settlers as to warrant that they be voted Honorary Membership in The Painted Stone Settlers by a majority of members at a regular meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers. Honorary members shall be exempt from payment of dues.

F) Membership may be changed from one category of membership to another at the time of membership renewal at the request of the member and upon approval by a majority of members at the next regularly scheduled meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers.

G) Membership in The Painted Stone Settlers may be continued upon the annual payment of dues, and the member remaining in good standing with The Painted Stone Settlers.

H) Every new individual member or family will be assigned a mentor, and it is expected that in the first year of membership, the following criteria shall be met:

1) Make, purchase or otherwise lawfully obtain the basic accoutrements and clothing necessary for the presentation of a complete "first person impression" of a Kentucky settler and/or an "American Indian" (AKA Native American) of an Eastern Woodland culture during the era of the American Revolution, 

2) Participate in at least one primitive camp out with The Painted Stone Settlers, and

3) Show by activities that he/she has an active interest in this association.

I) GOOD STANDING: A member shall be considered to be in good standing when they fulfill all the obligations of their membership as set out in these By-Laws, including payment of dues. In the event the conduct of any member shall appear to be in violation of these By-Laws, the Board of Directors may, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board, suspend or expel such member. An expelled or suspended member may petition the Board for reinstatement as a member in good standing, and the Board may return them to a member in good standing upon a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board and the payment of annual dues, if applicable. 

J) DUES: Dues shall be set by the Board of Directors and presented to the membership by November of the year prior to the year the dues are to take effect. Dues are payable by January 31 of each year. For renewing individual, family, and patron members, failure to pay dues by January 31 shall mean that the member has failed to renew their membership, and their name shall be stricken from the membership roster for The Painted Stone Settlers. Members who fail to renew by January 31 may apply as new members throughout the year. 

K) PARTICIPATION: All Individual and Family Members are expect to participate regularly in the various activities of The Painted Stone Settlers, including but not limited to regular monthly general membership meetings, re-enactments hosted by the Painted Stone Settlers and "demos," and events hosted by other re-enacting groups or historic sites. Failure to participate regularly may result in a determination by the Board that the member is no longer in good standing. 

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS

The Painted Stone Settlers shall have a Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as the Board) which shall consist of the elected officers of The Painted Stone Settlers, these being President, Vice President, Treasurer, Scribe, Public Relations Officer, Quartermaster and one elected representative from the general membership. No one person may hold more than two elected offices at the same time. All officers must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the election. 

A) Term of office: The term of office shall be two years, with elections to be held at the November general membership meeting of the election year. Officers shall take over the responsibilities of their office at the close of the November general membership meeting in which they are elected. Officers may serve consecutive terms.

B) Any and all elected officers 

1) Will achieve their posts only by an election of the regular members, and

2) Can only be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of all the regular members.

C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECTED OFFICERS:

1) PRESIDENT: The person elected to preside over The Painted Stone Settlers should have demonstrated a full understanding of the requirements and intent of accurate "living history" activities, especially for the Kentucky frontier during the American Revolution, and be dedicated to guiding the other officers and the membership in a fashion which will preserve the purpose and goals of The Painted Stone Settlers.

The President shall chair all Board and Membership meetings. It is the President's duty to enforce the By-Laws and to guide the membership, insuring their activities and conduct comply with the By-Laws.

The President has no power to appoint or remove any officer without a vote from the membership. The President may appoint committee chairpersons for both standing and special committees and assistants to elected officers, and may assign various responsibilities to specific members, with their consent, when the abilities of said member(s) would be appropriate for the well being of the organization.  

The President has the authority to call a meeting of the full membership, of only the regular members, and/or of the Board.

2) VICE PRESIDENT: The office of the Vice- shall be responsible for assisting the President in maintaining the purpose and goals of The Painted Stone Settlers and its By-Laws. The Vice-President will preside in the absence of the President and assist the President in the leadership of The Painted Stone Settlers.  

Should the President for any reason be unable to complete his/her elected term of office, the Vice-President will assume the position of President until the following general membership meeting when an election can be held to fill the office of President for the remainder of the term. If the Vice-President is elected to the office of President, a new Vice-President will then be elected at the same meeting.

Additionally, the Vice-President will substitute for the Treasurer in his/her absence. If the Treasurer is for any reason unable to complete his/her elected term of office, the Vice President shall cover these duties until a new treasurer is elected by a vote of the general membership to complete that term of office.  

3) TREASURER: The Treasurer will be responsible for any monies and accounts of The Painted Stone Settlers, and shall file all necessary paperwork relating to federal and state taxes. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the records of any and all accounts of this association. A monthly report will be provided during the membership meetings.  

Any checks or withdrawals from association accounts must require a signature of two of the following three officers: the Treasurer, the Scribe, or the President. Any removal of funds for payments or reimbursements must be approved by a vote of the Board. A vote of a quorum of two-thirds of the general members is required for any amounts exceeding $500.00. 

The Treasurer shall collect dues. 

The Treasurer shall collaborate with the Scribe in preserving tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status requirements and in maintaining accurate membership rolls. 

4) SCRIBE: The Scribe shall have charge of all organizational papers, files and correspondence of The Painted Stone Settlers. He/she shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings, both general membership and board meetings. The Scribe shall keep reproducible file copies of all reports and correspondence and shall assist other officers and committee chairpersons with the composition and production of letters, advertisements, press releases and/or any other documents necessary to the business of The Painted Stone Settlers.

The Scribe will be responsible for the distribution of mailings and membership applications. Maintaining current copies of the By-Laws and other documents necessary to the governing of the association is the responsibility of the Scribe. Notifying the membership of proposed changes to such documents prior to membership meetings in which such changes would be presented for a vote is also the duty of the Scribe. The Scribe shall perform such other duties as may be assigned from time-to-time by the President or the Board. 

5) PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: The Public Relations Officer is responsible for all communications with the public and media, including schools and parks. All press releases, brochures, articles or other forms of written information must be approved by the Board prior to being released. The Board may give approval of a general concept of advertising in lieu of approving all written information releases. With the sanction of the Board, the Public Relations Officer and such other members deemed appropriate by the Board may provide verbal communications to the public and media in speeches, presentations and interviews.  

Any communications for the media or other organizations shall be supervised by the Public Relations Officer, and the communication concept must be generally approved by the Board prior to release and/or publication.

6) QUARTERMASTER: The Quartermaster is responsible for all goods owned by The Painted Stone Settlers. This office must be filled by a person who can attend a majority of functions and has, on a limited basis, the ability to store some of The Painted Stone Settlers goods. The whereabouts of all goods including but not limited to tents, cooking utensils, and artillery is the responsibility of the Quartermaster. The Quartermaster will keep a logbook of all items owned by The Painted Stone Settlers, where they are stored and when loaned out – to whom they are on loan, with a date loaned out and a date returned. All members using items belonging to the group must do so within the guidelines set up by the quartermaster.

D) ELECTION OF OFFICERS: A general election of officers shall be held every other year at the November general membership meeting. Nominations will be made from the floor. Election to any office is based upon receiving the simple majority of the votes of the members present at the meeting. An individual can only be nominated for an office with their knowledge and consent. 

If a majority of the members present at the November meeting agree, balloting may be by electronic e-mail with a voting deadline set by a majority of the members present at the meeting, with the results distributed to all members before the end of the next regular meeting either electronically, by mail, by announcement at the next regular meeting, or a combination of all methods. 

E) VACANCIES AND RESIGNATION FROM OFFICE: Any officer may resign from office at any time by delivering a written resignation to the President, and this resignation shall be read in the following general membership meeting. Immediately following the reading of the resignation announcement of any officer's inability to complete a term, or the removal of a member from their elected office, an election shall be held to elect a person to fill that office for the remainder of the term.  

Should the President resign, the Vice-President will assume the duties of President until the following general membership meeting when an election can be held to fill the office of President for the remainder of the term. If the Vice-President is elected to the office of President, a new Vice-President will then be elected at the same meeting.

ARTICLE VI

QUORUM

 A quorum is defined as 51% or more Individual and Family Members present at a meeting who are at least 18 years of age. This definition applies to both the general membership and to the Board. 

ARTICLE VIII

FINANCE

A) The fiscal year of this association shall begin on January 1 and end December 31. At the end of each fiscal year, the Treasurer shall outline a financial statement to be presented to the general membership by the end of March.  

B) Donations to this association may be accepted, but any such donations must not indebt this association to the donor. Once non-profit status has been achieved under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, donations to the association will be tax-deductible, and the Treasurer shall provide to the donor a receipt for any such donation. In the instance of donations of goods, the receipt shall reflect the fair market value of the item(s) donated. 

C) Any officer or member may be reimbursed for actual costs incurred during the duties assigned to him by the Articles of Incorporation, these By-Laws or the Board, if the following criteria have been met:

1) Permission for said expenditures $500.00 or less must be obtained from a Board member prior to the expenses being incurred.

2) A detailed report of any such costs must be presented to the Treasurer for approval. A copy of this report must remain on file with the Treasurer.  

3) A vote of 50% of the members present is required for any amounts exceeding $500.00, and expenditures projected to exceed this amount should be thus presented for a vote prior to the expenditure being made. 

D) All association checks must be signed by any two of the following: the President, the Treasurer, or the Scribe. 

E) The Treasurer may use any system of bookkeeping, with which he/she is acquainted, providing such system provides adequate information for the efficient management of this association. 

F) A record of all financial transactions must be kept on file with the association's Treasurer for a minim of seven years. 

G) An independent audit of the financial records may be performed by a Certified Public Accountant every year between February 1 and April 30 if approved by The Board. The report of the accountant (in years deemed necessary) shall be presented by the Treasurer at the next general meeting of The Painted Stone Settlers. 

ARTICLE X

AMENDMENTS or ADDITIONS to these BY-LAWS

A) After approval by the Board, any amendment or change to these by-laws shall require a 51% majority vote of the members present at the next general meeting, if all members of The Painted Stone Settlers have been notified of the purpose of that meeting.

B) Any proposed amendment or change presented to the Board on a petition signed by six or more voting members shall be present to the voting membership with or without Board approval

ARTICLE XI

DISSOLUTION OF THIS ASSOCIATION

A) In the event that this association's paid membership should fall below four members, or by a unanimous vote of all regular members, the Painted Stone Settlers may dissolve. In such an instance, any properties of the association shall be offered first in a "members only" auction, and any items remaining thereafter will be publicly auctioned, and all monies of the association combined with the revenue of said auctions shall be donated to a charity or organization chosen by a vote of the remaining members. 

B) The written records and documents of the association would then be donated to The Shelby County Public Library to be kept with their Kentucky history reference collection. 

C) No individual members or officers shall be held liable for any unpaid debts of the association upon its dissolution.