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Article I
Membership
• Each new and existing member shall be of good character, good business and professional reputation. New applicants shall be personally and actively engaged in that particular line of business/professional specialty for a period of at least six months in which he/she is classified in MBN.
MBN Code of Conduct
Members are to participate actively in MBN.
- Regular meeting attendance is required. Regular meeting attendance is 60% of all meetings for the entire meeting.
- We hope you will elect to do business with Midtown Business Network members and give referrals to them.
- Maintain, encourage, and enhance communication between members – both compliments and grievances.
- Actively seek new members for MBN.
Members are to be leading, qualified providers in their field.
• Each member must maintain the highest ethical standards in his or her field.
• Produce a quality product or service and stand behind their work.
• Seek to resolve differences with other members before informing other members of the issue.
• Be responsible for guests adhering to this same code of conduct.
• Seek to enhance the professional credibility of the organization and its members.
• Pay dues on time.
• Maintain proper dress, manners and etiquette.
• Always deliver what you promise and only promise what you can deliver.
• An individual membership that is terminated, either by voluntary or involuntary means, may not be passed automatically to another person from the same company.
3. Only one member may represent a protected business specialty and only one protected
business specialty may be represented by a member unless approved by the board. Therefore, the list of assigned protected business specialties will be determined and defined by the board of directors. Any person representing a multi-level marketing company will not be considered for membership.
4. Although occasionally a guest may be invited to attend a meeting for reasons other than a prospective member, generally only prospective members will be invited and the guest's primary business specialty may not adversely impact the primary business specialty of an existing member. To avoid this, the member should directly contact the member who might be affected, or talk to the Vice President of Membership. In the event that the guest does not pay, the member will be responsible for payment.
• A prospective member must attend three out of four consecutive meetings as a guest, complete an application for membership, then return the application to the Vice President of Membership, along with a one time application fee prior to being eligible for membership. One half of the application fee shall be refunded if membership is denied.
• The Vice President of Membership is responsible for conducting an investigation of the background of each prospective member, as is reasonably required, to confirm his/her business and personal integrity, to confirm the prospective member's business specialty and whether there are conflicts with other members of a magnitude that could justify membership denial. The results of the investigation, along with a recommended action, shall be reported to the board of directors by the Vice President of Membership for vote on the membership application. The objection of any one member, with reason, will bar any individual with the exception of an appeal to the board. Thereafter, the decision of the board will be final.
• A change of protected business specialty by existing members shall require the submission of a new application for membership without fee. It shall be the member's responsibility to notify the Vice President of Membership of any changes in status or address. The Midtown Board reserves the right to terminate a membership.
• A member may reserve his/her protected business specialty and retain membership during a leave of absence, not to exceed one quarter, by obtaining approval of the Board of Directors and by payment of fifty percent dues while on leave. A request for a leave of absence must be made in writing and submitted to the Board of Directors within two weeks of the beginning date of the leave. The request must state the beginning and ending date of the leave and the reason for the absence.
• When a member's dues are delinquent for a period exceeding forty five days from the first day of the preceding month, the member's business specialty shall be open and unprotected. Membership will be terminated for failure to bring dues current within sixty days. If the category becomes open due to delinquency and a prospective member of the same category begins attending meetings, then the member must resubmit an application for membership, without fee, and compete for the position with the prospect. If the member should become delinquent at any time during the next ninety days, then membership is terminated.
• Membership will be subject to termination upon review by the board if a member fails to attend three consecutive meetings without notification or approved leave of absence. Once a member has missed three meetings, he/she must resubmit an application for membership without fee and must be present at three of the next four meetings in order to reestablish their full membership status. A member may have another person attend a meeting as an alternate in his place no more than three times in any calendar quarter, however, such alternate may not participate in any action requiring the vote of members.
Article II
Organizations and Elections
• The fiscal year of MBN shall be the calendar year ending June 30, or such other fiscal year as the Board of Directors shall determine.
• The governing body of MBN shall be the Board of Directors. They shall meet at least once a month to conduct its business. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The president shall be called upon to vote only in the event of a tie.
• The Board of Directors shall consist of ten members including the six elected officers and four elected at large members.
• Terms of office for the at large members of the Board of Directors shall be twelve months with election of two at large members at the first meeting in February and August of each year. No at large member may serve two consecutive terms.
• A vacancy in the at large membership of the Board of Directors may be filled by Board appointment until the next normal election.
• Terms of office for the officers shall be six months beginning immediately after the election the first meeting in February and August of each year. No officer may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same board position.
• A vacancy in an office may be filled by board appointment until the next normal election.
• Candidates for office must be members of MBN a minimum of six months prior to being nominated and shall be chosen by a nominating committee that is appointed by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors and that is comprised of three members and one at large board member.
• The nominating committee shall present its slate of recommendations to the general membership for consideration at the last regularly scheduled meeting in January and July of each year. At these meetings, nominations shall be solicited from the floor and if acceptable to the nominee, shall be added to the slate of elections.
Article III
Officers and Duties
• The officers shall consist of:
President
First Vice President
Vice President of Programs
Vice President of Membership
Secretary
Treasurer
2. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at meetings of the organization and of the Board of Directors, to coordinate the activities of the officers, and to appoint one of the four at large board members as Parliamentarian whose duties include, but are not limited to, consulting with guests at general meetings to determine the guest's category in an effort to avoid a conflict of interest with current members and to screen multi-level marketing companies. He/she is also to perform all other such duties as ordinarily pertain to that office.
3. It shall be the duty of the First Vice President to coordinate the activities of the various committees. In the absence of the President, the First Vice President will perform all of the duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of President and will continue to perform all of the duties that pertain to the office of First Vice President as long as necessary.
• It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Programs to coordinate meeting programs.
In doing so he/she is to be certain there is no overlap of business specialty between speakers and members, no selling or solicitation of a product or service, to aid other officers in the performance of their duties and to perform all other such duties as ordinarily pertain to that office.
5. It shall be the duty of the Vice President of Membership to assure that all completed applications have been verified prior to presentation to the Board of Directors, to aid other officers in the performance of their duties, and to perform all other such duties as ordinarily pertain to that office. The Membership Committee shall have responsibility for the growth and integrity of the membership by careful verification of applications and identification of potential conflicts to protect business specialties. He/she is also responsible for keeping a current list of business specialties and contacting delinquent or non attending members by phone or mail. He/she is to announce member applications to the general membership, and any objections must be expressed to the board prior to the next board meeting.
6. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to record attendance at board meetings, to conduct all official MBN correspondence, to record minutes of Board of Directors meetings, to organize and maintain correspondence and records of MBN, send cards, flowers or correspondence when approved by the board, to aid other officers in the performance of their duties, and to perform all other such duties as ordinarily pertain to that office.
7. It shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer to maintain all financial records of MBN, record attendance at each meeting, have custody of the funds, pay bills, send dues statements, collect dues, report dues delinquency to the Board of Directors, and to report on the financial condition of MBN to the Board of Directors, and to perform all other such duties as ordinarily pertain to that office.
Article IV
Meetings
• The maximum of forty eight regularly scheduled meetings of members shall be scheduled so that the social period, luncheon and program shall normally end at one o'clock p.m.
• Notice of off weeks shall be announced at each meeting beginning at least two weeks prior to the off week.
• No notice of regular meetings is required. Special meetings may be held at any time upon two weeks notice by regular mail to all members at their address listed on the most current member roster.
Article V
Dues and Assessments
• Dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors payable at the first meeting of the quarter in advance. Guest fees shall be twenty dollars per meeting for the first three meetings attended. The amount of the dues and special assessments may be adjusted by the Board of Directors. If a member terminates, prepaid dues will be refunded pro rata.
2. The returned check fee is twenty dollars.
Article VI
Committees
• The President shall form any committee as necessary to accomplish a function of the organization and may appoint any member as chairman of such committee or open board position.
Article VII
Ammendment of By Laws
• These by laws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two thirds of the attending membership at any regularly scheduled meeting of MBN, provided that notice of intention to amend the by laws has been announced to the general membership at least two weeks prior to said meeting.
