Article I - Name and Location

The name of the organization shall be the New Hampshire State Quilters’ Association. It shall be a nonprofit organization meeting in the State of New Hampshire.

Article II - Purpose

The New Hampshire State Quilters’ Association is dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of quilts and the perpetuation of the art and the craft of quilt making through education and participation.

Article III - Membership

1. Membership shall be open to those individuals who have sought a forum to gather together for the purpose of furthering education, promoting the art and expanding the friendship circle shared by persons interested in quilts and the fiber arts.
2. Membership in the organization shall not serve as a vehicle for general merchandising of products or services, nor will NHSQA abide incursion of dealers, or others seeking to capitalize on the resources or knowledge of the members.
3. Members in good standing have paid the annual dues as required.
4. Only members in good standing shall be eligible to vote on matters pertaining to the policies and procedures of the Association at general meetings.
5. Only members in good standing shall be eligible for, or hold, elected office.

Article IV - Annual Dues

1. Dues shall be collected to meet operational expenses of the Association and will be reviewed by the Board as needed.
2. Dues are to be paid each year on or before the October general meeting.
3. Persons joining the Association at any time during the year shall pay the full annual dues

Article V - Business Year and Meetings

1. The general meetings shall be held at intervals as specified by the board during the business year.  The business year shall be from October through September.
2. All meetings of the New Hampshire State Quilters’ Association shall be run according to the Newly Revised Robert's Rules of Order.
3. Attendance of officers shall be mandatory at board meetings.  Any officer missing more than two consecutive boards or general meetings without showing just cause may forfeit their office, be notified and replaced.
4. Any member may attend a board meeting but will not have voting privileges.

Article VI - Officers and Their Duties

The Board of the NHSQA shall be composed of elected officers and appointed chairs. The business of the Association shall be transacted through regular officers: a President, a Vice President, Program Chairman, Membership Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and the Committee chairs.

1. The President shall:
• Preside at all meetings
• Call and preside at board meetings as needed.
• Shall have an agenda prepared prior to each meeting that is distributed to the Board.
• In the absence of the Secretary and/or Treasurer, they shall appoint an individual to serve pro-tem.
• Present proposed committee chairpersons to the general membership during the year, which must be affirmed by the membership majority.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.
2. The Vice President shall:
• Assist the President and exercise all functions of the President in their absence.
• Be responsible for chairing a nominating committee, which shall choose a slate of officers for the upcoming year.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.
3. The Secretary shall:
• Keep records of all general and board meetings.
• Handle correspondence.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.
4. The Treasurer shall:
• Have charge of all funds, receive dues, and disburse monies upon authorization of the executive committee and shall keep a record of transactions.
• Make reports at the general meetings as to the status of the treasury and submit it to the Newsletter editor.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.
5. The Program Chair shall:
• Be responsible for planning programs of interest for presentation to the membership at general meeting.
• Be responsible for planning workshops/seminars of interest to the membership at times in addition to general meetings.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.
6. The Membership Chair shall:
• Be responsible to keep records of each member, provide membership cards to our members, collect membership dues and turn them into the Treasurer.
• Be responsible to provide mailing labels.
• Perform all other incidental duties of the office as required.

Article VII - Nominations, Elections, and Terms of Office

1. Any NHSQA member in good standing may run for a board or committee position. The member must submit their name and the position of interest to the Vice President on or before the designated submission deadline which is announced by the election committee.
2. The Nominating Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President, and may consist of several member volunteers.
3. A slate of candidates shall be presented in the NHSQA monthly e-newsletter prior to elections. Members wishing to receive the notice via US Postal mail may make a specific request to the chairman of the nominating committee.
4. The election of officers shall be conducted by electronic or mailed ballot prior to the last General Meeting of the business year, with installation at the end of that meeting.
5. The term of office for the President and Vice President shall be two-years and are elected in even years. The Treasurer and Secretary terms shall be two-year terms elected on odd years.
6. Outgoing officers and committee chairmen shall turn over all books, files and data of the association pertinent to the office to their successors.  The Treasurer shall submit an annual report to the President Elect.
7. Vacancies in any office, with the exception of President, shall be immediately filled by appointment and confirmed by the membership.

Article VIII - Committees

1. The board shall solicit committees as the need arises.
2. Committee Chairmen shall attend Board meetings to advise and participate in discussion.
3. At the end of their term, each committee chairman shall submit duplicate written reports to the President Elect who in turn keeps one copy and distributes the other to the new chair person.
4. The Standing Committees can only be dissolved by the Board.

Article IX - Quorum

For the conduct of business by the Board, a quorum shall be 50% of the Board members in good standing.  A majority of that 50% shall constitute passage of a duly moved and seconded item.

Article X - Amendments

Amendments may be proposed by any member in writing to the Board.  An amendment to the By-laws shall be recommended to the general membership by a majority vote of the Board. To be adopted, an amendment shall require a majority vote of the members in good standing who are present at the meeting.  Amendments to be brought before the membership-at-large during the meeting shall be published in the Association Newsletter prior to that meeting.

Article XI - POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Board of the New Hampshire State Quilters’ Association has adopted a number of policies and procedures.  These guidelines help the Board and Committees to conduct business in a consistent manner and are adjusted as the need arises.  A separate document of policies and procedures will be maintained.

NHSQA POLICES AND PROCEDURES

1. ADVERTISING POLICIES
• Advertising in the newsletter may be allowed and fees may be charged. Quilt related activities of other associations, guilds and/or related organizations may be listed.classified section for sale items shall be for members only and limited to 18 words or less and one add per issue per member as space allows. A fee may be charged.
• Members who wish to bring flyers advertising quilting or other related events to meetings may place their flyers at the information table.  These may not be distributed in the meeting room, or on the chairs, and must be removed from the information table at the end of the meeting.
• Announcement time may be provided to promote quilt show and events.
2. MERCHANDISING POLICIES
• With prior approval of the Board, individuals or groups may sell quilt-related merchandise or services during NHSQA events.
3. QUILT SHOW POLICIES
• To enter an item in the NHSQA quilt show, you must be a member or special exhibitor of the New Hampshire State Quilters’ Association by the date quilt entry forms are due.
• A fee may be assessed for entries.
• Rules governing judging, concessions, and other quilt show policies shall be at the discretion of the show chairman and their committee.
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
• Each Officer, prior to taking their position, and all present Officers shall submit in writing to the President a list of all businesses or other organizations of which they are an officer, director, trustee, owner (either as a sole proprietor or partner), shareholder, employee, or agent which the corporation has, or might reasonably in the future enter into a relationship or a transaction in which the director would have conflicting interests.
• The President shall become familiar with the statements of all Directors in order to guide their conduct should a conflict arise.
• At such time as a any matter comes before the Officers in such a way as to give rise to a conflict of interest the affected Officer shall make known the potential conflict, whether disclosed in written statement or not, and after answering any questions that might be asked, shall withdraw from the meeting for so long as the matter shall continue under discussion.  Should the matter be brought to a vote, neither the affected Officer nor any other Officer with a pecuniary benefit transaction with the Corporation  shall vote on it.
• The Officers will comply with all the requirements of New Hampshire Law where conflicts of interest are involved, including but not limited to the requirements of a two-thirds vote where the financial benefit to any Officer is between $500 and $5000 in a fiscal year, and to the requirement of a two-thirds vote and publication in the required newspaper where the financial benefit exceeds $5,000 in a fiscal year. The New Hampshire statutory requirements are incorporated into and made a part of this conflict policy. State of NH, Statues On-Line