ARTICLE I – NAME AND PURPOSE

The name of the Quilt Guild shall be “Pieces From The Heart Quilt Guild". Hereafter known as the “Guild”.
The purpose of the Guild is to create, stimulate, promote and maintain an interest in all aspects of quilting.
The Guild logo shall be a pieced heart.
This Guild may be dissolved by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Members present at a special meeting called by the Executive Board. Notice of the meeting must be mailed or emailed to every Member at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.
General Members have one (1) participating vote on any matter requiring a vote. No proxy votes will be accepted. The President’s vote is the deciding vote should a tie occur.
These By-Laws and the Articles of Organization dated December, 2023, become the governing documents for the Guild upon ratification by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the attending members.

ARTICLE II – EXECUTIVE BOARD

1. The Executive Board shall include the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. At least one representative from each Standing Committee should attend the monthly Board meeting. The immediate past President(s) shall be an Ex-Officio member of the Board.

ARTICLE III – ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTIONS

The Annual Meeting shall be held in January. If the January meeting is cancelled, the Annual Meeting will take place at the next scheduled meeting.
The Treasurer shall present the budget to the Executive Board at the January Board meeting for approval. The approved budget will be provided to the general membership by the March meeting.
In September, a Nominating Committee of three (3) Members shall be appointed by the Board. In November, the slate of Executive Officers and Standing Committee Officers will be presented to the membership, and other nominations will be taken with the consent of the Member being nominated. Elections will be held in December by ballot, or if there is only one nominee per office, the election may be made by a show of hands with a majority of Members present needed to ratify the slate.
Term of Office shall be one (1) year beginning in January. If a position cannot be filled by the membership, the current office holder may hold the office again with a vote by the Executive Committee. Unexpired terms shall be filled to the expiration of the term by the sitting Board.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERS

Membership shall be eligible to anyone with an interest in the art of quilting.
A person shall become a Member upon payment of current dues.
Annual dues are payable at the February meeting and are good for one (1) year. Dues for renewing Members shall be the full amount of the annual dues regardless of the month of renewal.

Dues for New Members will be as follows:
Dues for New Members will be as follows:

Annual Dues $25.00
February through April $25.00  May through July $20.00  August through October $15.00
November through January $10.00

Members may invite and bring guests to meetings; we ask that if the guest attends more than two meetings within the year, they either join the guild or will be asked to pay the meeting's fee; special circumstances can be considered and fees waived by the Executive Board as needed. Meeting fees for non-members will be determined when the speaker schedule is established; see Article VII, section 1.

ARTICLE V – AMENDMENTS

Amendment requests shall be presented in writing to the Executive Board at an Executive Board meeting. The By-Laws document may be amended at any regular business meeting by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Members present, provided the amendment was presented to the membership at the previous meeting.

ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE OFFICER DUTIES (These Offices can be Co-Chaired)

The President shall:

Preside at all meetings of the Guild and Executive Board.
Be an Ex-Officio member of all committees, except the nominating committee.
Have general supervision of the Guild and perform such other duties as pertaining to the office.
Write a letter for the newsletter.
Be responsible along with the Secretary for one (1) of the two (2) post office box keys.
Shall obtain approval of the previous month's meeting minutes from the Board Members present at the current month's meeting.
Obtain a “Raffle” permit from the city of Morris for any raffles the guild may hold.

The Vice President shall:

Assist the President.
In the absence of the President, shall perform all presidential duties.
Shall be in charge of all charity projects, not associated with a quilt show or special show, for non-profit organizations.
Shall be in charge of reviewing this document in the odd numbered years, starting in July.
Conduct a physical inventory each year to be submitted to the Board at the February meeting. The inventory will be used by the President and Treasurer to complete the Annual Report for the Illinois Attorney General.

The Secretary shall:

Assure an accurate record of proceedings of the Business meeting, Board meeting and Special Executive Board meetings.
Be responsible for conducting general correspondence as required.
Shall send get well, sympathy, etc. cards as needed.
Shall submit meeting minutes from the previous month to the Newsletter Chair for distribution via email to the Board Members to review prior to the upcoming monthly meeting. The minutes are to be a separate document from the newsletter.
Check the Guild's post office box, be responsible for the keys along with the President for one (1) of the (2) keys, and bring the mail to the Board meeting. The Secretary may request the assistance of another Member in fulfilling this duty.
Be responsible for the Guild's email account and answer and/or forward emails as needed.
Shall forward a copy of the approved minutes to the webmaster to be posted in the Private Facebook Group for the membership's information.

The Treasurer shall:

Keep a permanent itemized, accurate account of all receipts and expenditures of funds for the Guild for a period of seven years.
Pay all bills incurred by the Guild in a timely manner.
Shall report monthly to the Guild and submit a financial report.
The books shall be audited by April 30th by a special appointed committee.
Will be responsible to prepare and file all pertinent tax documents and liability insurance paperwork.
The Treasurer shall present the budget to the Executive Board at the January Board meeting for approval. The approved budget will be provided to the general membership by the March meeting.

ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEE OFFICER DUTIES

STANDING COMMITTEES (These Committees can be Co-Chaired)
Committee Officers may provide input to the Newsletter.
1. Contract Coordinator/Program Facilitator
  1. This is a two (2) year position beginning in January and ending in February of the second year. The first year of the term, the elected Member will serve as Contract Coordinator. As Contract Coordinator, will initiate and obtain contracts for speakers and arrange workshops and programs for the remainder of that year as necessary AND for the following year.
  2. The second year of the term, the Member will serve as Program Facilitator for the programs and workshops that were contracted during the first year of the term. As Program Facilitator, this Member will make sure all accommodations for speakers and workshops are available. Once the speaker schedule is established, the board will determine meeting fees for non-members to attend a meeting or a workshop. Those non-members can determine whether they want to join the guild as new members (under the new member dues structure) or whether they want to be charged as non-members.
2. Special Projects
  1. Plan projects for the Members to participate in during the year
  2. A Member may suggest a project to the Special Projects Chair for approval. This does not include the Vice President charity project as stated in Article VI: Section 3.
3. Hospitality
  1. Plan a summer picnic and the Christmas party.
4. Membership
  1. Collect dues and provide receipt
  2. Maintain birthday basket Maintain current membership lists, with addresses, email addresses and phone numbers and make sure all Members and the Newsletter Chair receive copies and updates.
  3. Welcome Members and guests at the door.
5. Raffle Quilt
  1. Is in charge of all aspects of the raffle quilt design, construction, tickets, sale of tickets, submission of bills, and suggesting the name of a charity to receive a donation. The charity is to be approved by the Board.
  2. May request the assistance of Members in completing the raffle quilt duties.
  3. Members may be asked to suggest to the Board charities they wish to be considered for the donation.
  4. The net profit from the raffle quilt will be divided between the charity and the Guild. The percentage to be given to charity will be decided by the Executive Board. The Board may also decide to donate a set amount from the net profit.
6. Newsletter
  1. Responsible for publishing a monthly/bi-monthly newsletter.
  2. Send quilting-related emails to Guild Members.
7. Quilt Retreat
  1. Shall plan and execute all activities for the annual retreat
8. Webmaster
  1. Maintain the Pieces from the Heart Quilt Guild website.
  2. Ensure the "piecesfromtheheartquiltguild" domain name is renewed.
  3. Maintain the Guild's Facebook account with pictures and information instead of a scrapbook.
9. Facility Donation: The Facility Donation is to be determined by the Executive Committee.
OTHER COMMITTEES

Nominating Committee
1. In September, a Nominating Committee comprised of three (3) Members shall be appointed by the Board. This committee shall present a slate of Officers in November to the Members and have the slate published in the newsletter. At the November meeting, other Officer nominations will be taken in accordance with Article III.
Quilt Show Committee
1. This Committee consisting of at least two (2) people shall be active for two (2) years.
2. They are to plan and carry out the quilt show every other year. They will appoint subcommittees as needed to execute the quilt show.
Special Committees
1. These Committees will be appointed as needed for special activities.

ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS

The regular meetings of this Guild shall be held on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm at The First United Methodist Church of Morris, or other facility as determined by the Executive Committee.

Time and place of regular meetings may be changed by the Executive Board or by a majority vote of the Guild. The Executive Board meetings are held at 6:00 pm before the regular meeting, unless otherwise noted at the previous meeting.

POLICIES

The Guild membership is limited to 100 members
The membership roster is for Guild use only.
Members will have first choice at all activities, then, if room is still available, guests may participate.
Every Member is asked to sign-up for treats during the year.
Members are required to either turn off their cell phones or put the cell phone on vibrate during the program and business meeting. Phone conversations should be taken to the hallway or out of the building.
Members are expected to act with common courtesy during the meeting and program by being seated and being quiet.
Members are to wear official nametags.
Any Member having a grievance should inform the appropriate Board Member in writing.
All Members are expected to participate in the Guild’s major projects and activities.
All Members are expected to work on charity projects.
The fiscal year of the Guild is February 1 to January 31.
All Members are encouraged to financially support any Guild fundraiser with the buying and selling of raffle tickets.
Members who are asked to give a program will be paid (if they so choose) for their presentation. The amount of payment will be determined by the Executive Board. A contract will be signed by the guild member presenting.