ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1
The name of the organization will be the USS Ulysses S. Grant Alumni Association, hereinafter called The Association

Section 2
The USS ULYSSES S. GRANT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION is a fraternal organization of United States Navy Submariners who served aboard the nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN 631). The USS Ulysses S. Grant Alumni Association is the formal continuation of the USS Grant Forum established by Michael Arteburn. The primary purpose of the Association is to encourage and support the ongoing communication and friendship among its members. The Association will maintain a sailing list and contact information of all shipmates, periodically issue newsletters and special bulletins and organize and host formal reunions for the benefit and camaraderie of its membership.

Section 3
The Association will be non-profit and will not have nor issue shares, stocks or dividends.

ARTICLE II: OFFICERS, TERMS OF OFFICE, COMMITTEES

Section 1
The elective officers of the Association will be President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian.

Section 2
Elective officers will be elected at the biennial meeting and their terms will be two (2) years. There is no limit on the number of terms for any office, but each officer must be nominated and elected as described within these bylaws. Individuals may hold multiple offices if so elected with the exception of President and Vice-president.

Subsection A
For the initial election of officers by The Association and for the express purpose of maintaining continuity, the offices of Vice-president and Historian will be one (1) year terms.

Section 3
The President may form committees, including but not limited to a Membership Committee and a Reunion Committee and may appoint chairmen for such committees as necessary to conduct the business of The Association.

Section 4
The elective officers, all appointed officers and the Chairmen of any established committee will form the voting membership of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for the managing of monies for The Association, with the specific task of recording and reporting the activity of those funds delegated to the Treasurer.

Section 5
In the event of a mid-term vacancy of an elective officer the President shall appoint a successor that will be reviewed and voted on by the general membership at the next bi-annual meeting.

ARTICLE III: DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

Section 1
The President shall preside at all business meetings and act as reunion host. He will give notice of all meetings and conduct the correspondence of The Association. He may appoint other officers for the purpose of accomplishing the business of The Association with a concurrence of a majority of The Board.

Section 2
The Vice-president will render such assistance to the President as he may require and will perform the duties of the President in his absence or disability. The Vice-president will be the Chairman of the Membership Committee.

Section 3
The Secretary will be responsible for taking and reading the minutes and notes of all Association functions. He will maintain and update the Association Sailing List and work with the Webmaster to maintain a current posting on the website. He is responsible for updating and maintaining all aspects of the computerized Sailing List. Upon receipt of membership forms from the Treasurer he will maintain a list of members in good standing.

Section 4
The Treasurer will be responsible for keeping the accounts of The Association and report thereon at all business meetings and within any published newsletters. At least one elected officer will be a co-signer of The Association Treasury; however, only the Treasurer is required to sign checks for paying The Association bills. He will forward all Membership Forms to the Secretary to facilitate entry of the new member’s information onto the Sailing list. He will collect membership dues as specified in ARTICLE IV, Section 6 and forward membership forms, if applicable, to the Secretary along with a list of members in good standing. He will prepare and issue an annual financial statement of The Associations funds to the Board.  When requested, he will provide the President with a summarized financial statement and a status of current membership dues.  The Treasurer will apply for and maintain certification of the Association as a tax exempt IRS 501C (19) Veterans fraternal organization.

Section 5
The Historian will be responsible for the collection, cataloging, and maintenance of Ships Memorabilia. He will work with The Board to find and establish a permanent museum for the housing of USS Grant artifacts. He will also store backup media of The Association records, including but not limited to: computer data, newsletters, photographs, meeting minutes, etc… He will report his inventory in a style of his choosing at the biennial meeting. He will also be responsible for the creation and publication of the Quarterly Newsletter.

Section 6
The Webmaster is an appointed position and will be responsible for the maintenance and care of the official USS Grant website (www.ussgrant.com or other such name as suggested by the Webmaster and as designated and agreed upon by The Board).

Section 7
The Chairman of the Reunion Committee will be responsible for working with the Reunion Committee to plan the biennial reunion. His responsibilities include the selection of facilities, menu, music, entertainment, etc…, for the reunion. He will also select the location and dates for the reunion with the consent of a majority of The Board and in accordance with the stated desires of the Association membership.

Section 8
The position of USS Grant Alumni Association Founder is bestowed upon Michael Arteburn for the work that he has done in the establishment of the USS Grant Forum and for the foundation he provided to The Association. This position is exempt from dues, retains all rights of a member in good standing, and requires no additional service beyond what has already been performed.

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP, DUES, CONTRIBUTIONS

Section 1
All persons who served onboard the USS Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN 631) at any time are eligible for membership in The Association.

Section 2
Spouses of deceased individuals who are either current members or would otherwise be eligible for membership become Auxiliary Members and are exempt from paying dues.

Section 3
Children are eligible to become Auxiliary Members of The Association if an otherwise eligible parent is deceased.

Section 4
The Board may bestow Honorary Membership upon individuals for service they have provided in the support of The Association. Membership will be approved by a majority vote of The Board.  Members in good standing may nominate individuals for Honorary Membership.

Section 5
Only members in good standing having paid their annual dues have voting rights. Honorary and Auxiliary Members are non-voting members of The Association.

Section 6
Annual dues will be $10.00 with future amounts to be determined at the biennial business meeting and will cover a period of January 1 through December 31. To reduce the administrative burden of annual dues collection, all dues may be collected in two (2) year increments. New members, paying their dues after October 1, will have their dues credited to the next calendar year. Any changes in the annual dues will require a majority vote of the members in good standing at the biennial business meeting. Dues will be paid to the Treasurer who will maintain a list of those members in good standing.

Subsection A
With the initial formation of The Association occurring during the middle of the year, the initial dues of $20.00 will cover the balance of the current year and the next year, ending on December 31, 2011.

Subsection B

The board, by majority vote, can suspend the collection of dues based on reports from the Treasurer for a period of two years (between reunions).

Subsection C

Initial Lifetime dues were arbitrarily set at an amount of $50.00 and once paid confer membership to the Association for the duration of the existence of the association.  A bi-annual assessment will be made by the Treasurer on the adequacy of the Lifetime Dues amount and will present a recommendation to the board to either retain or change the amount as appropriate.  Lifetime dues may only be modified or removed by majority vote of the Board of Directors.  Any modification to the Lifetime Dues would only affect future new Lifetime memberships.

Subsection D

Lifetime dues will be split between our General Account and our Lifetime Membership Account.  The Treasurer is authorized to move funds to the General Account in the amount of one year’s membership fees per Lifetime member per year.

Section 7
Donations and contributions will be accepted for the purpose of funding the functions of The Association.  All such donations or contributions will be forwarded to the Treasurer for recording and deposit.

Subsection A

The Board will provide guidance to the Treasurer on distribution of any donations and/or contributions for the benefit of The Association.

Section 8
The Association may collect dues in a variety of methods (cash, check, or electronic payment).  If any such payment method were to be compromised in some way but not through the negligence of any officer (e.g. website hacked, payment processor hacked, banking error by the banking institution), then the officer(s) shall be held blameless so long as they make The Board aware of the issue as soon as they become aware and collectively The Board takes action to correct the issue.

Section 9
The Association reserves the right to apply for tax exemption status under section 501 (c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code and as such should amendments be necessary to the bylaws to be in compliance with those regulations then simply majority vote by The Board is all that will be necessary to change the bylaws but only as they pertain to the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 10
The Association will recognize and coordinate with an Auxiliary organization – USS Ulysses S. Grant Auxiliary Alumni Association, hereinafter called the Auxiliary Association, if formed, by the spouses, surviving widows or children of either current members or those that would otherwise be eligible for membership.  This is a distinct organization and in no way should conflict with the rights granted by Article IV, Section 2 and Section 3.

ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1
Members will assist in locating former shipmates and forward their names and contact information to any Association officer, who will then in turn transfer the information to the Secretary for inclusion in the Sailing List.

Section 2
Members may assist in obtaining newspaper, television, radio, or magazine coverage for reunions and distribute flyers and/or bulletin board notices of same.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS, REUNIONS, ELECTIONS

Section 1
All members in good standing may attend the biennial business meeting and reunion.

Section 2
There will be a biennial reunion to be held in a city chosen by The Board at the recommendation of the Chairman of the Reunion Committee in accordance with the stated desires of The Association membership and in accordance with the subsections below:

Subsection A

The reunion city shall be selected in accordance with the Reunion City Selection Procedure v1.0, included as an appendix to these by-laws.

Subsection B

The hotel shall be selected in accordance with the Hotel Selection Procedure v1.0, included as an appendix to these by-laws.

Section 3
All members attending the biennial reunion will be requested to attend the biennial business meeting for the purpose of electing officers and voting on other business matters.

Section 4
There will be at least one Board meeting during non-reunion years. This may be done by telephone conference or by e-mail if travel to a common meeting place is not feasible. Not less than a majority of The Board must be present at the meeting/conference to constitute a quorum for making decisions or obtaining approvals.

Section 5
The President, at his discretion, may call for meetings of the Board at other times to conduct business of The Association; however, in accordance with Section 4 of ARTICLE VI, there must be a quorum of Board members to constitute an official Board meeting.

Section 6
The Board may direct the Treasurer to distribute funds to support mini-Reunions so long as they are in accordance with the associated procedure for the conduct of a mini-reunion, attached to the by-laws as Mini-Reunion Procedure v1.

ARTICLE VII: PROTECTING THE ASSOCIATION

Section 1
No member of The Association, acting in the name of The Association, will engage in any activity for self profit in the form of money or assets, arising from business transactions or dealings. No member of the Association, whether for self profit or not, shall distribute to any non-member the private information of members contained in the membership list maintained by the Association.

Section 2
Any member whose actions dishonor or jeopardize the existence of The Association will be subject to review and possible expulsion from the Association by the Board of Directions. Expulsion will require a unanimous vote from all Board members.

ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS

Section 1
These by-laws may be amended by any member in good standing provided that:

Subsection A
The amendment has been received and reviewed by the President of The Association and communicated to the Board.
Subsection B
The amendment is published to the members in good standing at least two (2) weeks prior to a vote regarding the changes to the by-laws.
Subsection C
The amendment is passed by a two-thirds vote of the members in good standing.

ARTICLE IX: DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION

Section 1
When circumstances arise that render the Association unable to maintain adequate membership to sustain Association operations, it may be necessary to dissolve the Association.

Subsection A
The required offices of President, Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer can no longer be filled through temporary appointment (Article II, Section 5) or election.
Subsection B
Reunion no longer has attendance of at least 10 shipmates.
Subsection C
Any other time as deemed appropriate and voted on by The Board

Section 2
The Board of Directors shall initiate such action and a majority of the Board must approve the dissolution proposal before presenting the proposal to the membership for vote.

Subsection A
Then a simple majority vote of all members in good standing would be required for dissolving the Association.

Section 3
Upon dissolution, the Board of Directors will vote on the distribution of all monies. All monies must be donated to a viable, legitimate, charitable organization as decided upon by the Board. Under no circumstances, will any asset of the Association be retained by any individual member nor may any member directly benefit from the disposition of funds or other assets. Memorabilia from the ship not previously donated to a museum will either be transferred to a museum of the Boards choosing or to the Navy Archives in Washington DC.