Bylaws

Lebanese American Society of Seattle (LASS) – Bylaws

Revised – March 27, 2019

A – CONSTITUTION: 1

B – BYLAWS OF THE LEBANESE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SEATTLE:

C- Duties/characteristics of the Board of Directors:

Exhibit A…

A – CONSTITUTION:

  1. The name of the Society is the LEBANESE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SEATTLE.
    1. REGULAR correspondence of the society shall be done by mail, Electronic mail (email), SMS (text message) or by telephone
    2. Annual General Meeting (AGM) correspondence shall be done by mail or email
  2. The objective of the Society is as follows:
    1. To establish ties of loyalty and mutual respect between its members and the people of Washington State, and to contribute to the development and progress of this country.
    2. To provide the opportunity for members to gather in fellowship together, primarily on a social basis.
    3. To strengthen the ties between its members and people of Lebanon.
    4. To encourage the participation of its members in social, economic, and commercial relationship between the United States of America and Lebanon.
    5. To foster the Lebanese cultural heritage among its members and Washington State.
    6. To welcome and when deemed necessary to render assistance in establishing the residency of Lebanese immigrants in Washington State.
    7. To create and foster a spirit of understanding among the members of the Society.
    8. To promote the principles of good government and good citizenship.
    9. To take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social, and moral welfare of the community.
    10. To unite the Society members in bands of friendship and mutual understanding.
    11. To provide a forum for the open discussion of any matters of public interest; provided however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by society members.
    12. To encourage Society members to serve their community without personal financial rewards and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, profession, public works, and private endeavors.
  3. The operations of the Society are to be chiefly carried on in the Greater Seattle Region.
  4. Multiculturalism – As proud Americans, we support multiculturalism in the United States.

B – BYLAWS OF THE LEBANESE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SEATTLE:

  1. Wherever the expression “SOCIETY” occurs in these Bylaws, it shall be deemed to mean “LEBANESE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SEATTLE”.
  2. The Society shall consist of:
    1. Honorary Members (Refer to “Bylaws Article 3” for details)
    2. Active Members (or Individual)/Family Members
    3. Associate Members (Someone who pays the dues but cannot vote)
    4. Business Members – Business Members must have a business owned or managed by a Lebanese, persons of Lebanese origin and / or descent and others related to them by marriage or adoption.  Business Membership fees will be re-evaluated very two (2) years.  Business Members shall be entitled to all privileges and benefits of the membership.  See Exhibit A for additional benefits.
    5. Senior Members – Senior Members (62 years and older) of Lebanese origin and / or descent and others related to them by marriage or adoption, shall be entitled to all privileges and benefits of the membership by ONLY paying half the membership fees
    6. Honorary Member – An Honorary Member will be granted only to a person who have performed and outstanding service to the community or Society. He/She shall be one who, for signal services to the Society, has been nominated by the Directors and approved by the Society. He/She shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits of the membership in the Society and shall not be called upon to pay any dues. He/She shall not have any voting privileges at any Society meetings.
  3. Active members shall be Lebanese, persons of Lebanese origin and / or descent, and others related to them by marriage or adoption, and shall be entitled to all privileges and benefits of the membership. See Exhibit A for additional benefits.
  4. Only those as indicated in Article 4 above, and above the age of 16, shall have the right to vote in the Society on any or all matters.
  5. Associate Members (Non-Lebanese descent) shall consist of persons other than those qualifying as Active Members and shall have privileges and benefits of the Society other than voting.
  6. All events organized by this Lebanese American Society of Seattle will be open to the public.  Members will have a subsidized event cost.  Non-members will pay the full amount.
  7. Annual dues, as identified in this Membership Fees Matrix, shall be assessed and, potentially amended, by the Board Members during the Annual General Meeting.

Membership Fees Matrix:

Membership Tiers Fees
Individual (25-62) $25.00
Couple $45.00
Family (up to 5 people) $60.00 ($5/ additional member)
Senior (62+) $10.00
Business $100.00
Student (16-24) $15.00
  1. The membership fee will be based on a calendar year, which ends on December 31. If payment is not received by March of the following year, a member will lose his/her membership with the Society. Full membership payment received at any time during any calendar year will expire on December 31. Partial payments will not be allowed.
  2. The Membership Committee shall submit applications for membership to the Board of Directors at their regular meetings.
  3. A member in good standing may bring charges/accusations against any member of the Society whom they deem not worthy to be a member, by bringing charges to the Board if LASS who will notify the member being charged (by mail or/and Email) to attend a special Board LASS meeting for a hearing. In the event the committee decides the charges/accusations are valid and the member in question is expelled from the Society, then an extraordinary resolution to this effect would be brought before the next General meeting for discussion and vote.
  4. As for any member of the Executive Committee and / or Board of Directors, if they miss three consecutive general meetings, they could be considered expelled from office.
  5. Any Board Member who misses three consecutive meetings (without valid reason accepted from the board) throughout the year will be dismissed. Subsequently, Board Members will nominate people for that position where the president will make the final decision
  6. Any Board Member who misses three consecutive meetings will be asked to present an acceptable excuse to the Board. If not accepted by the Board, he / she will be dismissed.
  7. An Individual, Student, Senior or Business membership has only one vote, and one membership card.
  8. Family/couple membership have only two votes, and two membership cards.
  9. The Board of Directors shall appoint the Chairperson of all committees (as needed)
  10. Elections:
    1. A nominating committee will be formed by the Board of Directors (from members who are not running for office in the election).
      1. Letters or/and Emails will be sent to all members advising them of the upcoming election. Letters or/and Emails will have a candidacy form attached. If interested, candidacy forms are to be submitted to the chairperson of the nominating committee two weeks prior to election meeting.
      2. Approval of nominees will take place at the General Meeting. There will be no nominations from the floor.
    2. The following Officers of the Society shall be elected each year:
      1. President: Must be in good standing for a minimum of two consecutive years and serve one term in any capacity as a Board Member.
      2. Past President: Current President will automatically become the Past President when his/her term is completed and will have full voting power.
      3. Vice president: Must be in good standing for two consecutive years and serve one term on the Board of Directors.
      4. Secretary: Must be in good standing for two consecutive years and serve one term on the Board of Directors.
      5. Treasurer: Must be in good standing for two consecutive years and serve one term in the Board of Directors.
    3. The Board of Directors: Must be in good standing for two consecutive years. Two directors are elected to serve a one-year term, and two directors are elected to serve a two-year term in the Board of Directors.

C- Duties/characteristics of the Board of Directors:

  1. The president shall be as follows:
    1. The President must be a Lebanese or Lebanese descendant. Preferably who can speak Arabic.
    2. To preside at all the meetings
    3. To call all meetings to order at the appointed time
    4. To announce business before the assembly in its proper order
    5. To state and put to a vote all motions that is properly brought before the assembly
    6. To preserve order and proper behavior
    7. To decide all questions of order
    8. Whenever a vote by the President would affect the result or when the assembly is voting by ballot, the President may vote also.
    9. Do not interrupt a speaker if the person is in order, but rather listen to the speech (which would be addressed to the chair and not the assembly).
    10. Be careful not to appear to take sides while conducting a meeting, but you may call another member to take the chair while you address the meeting.
    11. Do not leave the chair while routinely speaking on a motion or a matter of order etc.…
  2. The Vice President shall assist in the implementation of the duties of the president. The vice president will take the chair in the absence of the president.
  3. The Secretary shall be as follows:
    1. Keep the records (minutes) of the proceedings of each meeting.  Records should only main points of discussion, including any concluded resolution.
    2. The secretary must ensure that the minutes for a meeting is typed and presented to the Board of Directors for approval during the next scheduled meeting.
    3. The secretary must keep a copy of minutes for each meeting and must never use the information personally to make any criticism or any favorable remarks about what was said or done in a meeting.
    4. All communications directed to the society must come via the Secretary
    5. At the end of the secretary’s term, he / she shall give up to the successor all books, papers, or anything else belonging to Society.
    6. The secretary shall ensure that the permanent file of the Lebanese American Society of Seattle remains updated on a routine basis. Such file will include the following:
      1. All minutes
  4. Copies of all financial statements
  5. Copy of annual reports filed with the Washington Secretary of State
  6. Bank account numbers
  7. Incorporation documentation
  8. Signing authorities
  9. Copy of updated membership list
  10. Copy of membership receipts
  11. Copy of the Organization license/Permit
  12. Official seal of society for safe keeping (to be shared with the President)
  13. Copy of all communications to the Society
  1. Treasurer shall be as follows:
    1. Oversees the General financial decisions of Lebanese American Society of Seattle.
    2. Establishes structure for funding, fundraising and sales
    3. Setup financial planning and budgeting
    4. Generates Financial reporting (Year End Reports, Balance Sheets, Income Statements)
    5. Keeps a complete, itemized, & accurate record of Lebanese American Society of Seattle cash flow transactions
    6. Controls fixed assets and stock
    7. Manages the Bank account(s) of LASS & accounts consolidations
    8. All funds received should be promptly deposited in the bank
    9. All bills should be paid promptly, and a record of each check be recorded
    10. Be always prepared to give an account of all funds and bills in your keeping.
    11. Keeps Financial records available for audit at any point in time.
    12. At the end of his/her term, all monies, bills, papers, and financial statements shall be turned over to the next appointed successor.
    13. Transitionary period of 1-3 months is required between current treasurer and his/her successor
  2. Directors are but not limited to:
    1. Public relations
    2. Communications
    3. Fundraising
    4. Programs
  3. Directors make up the governing body of the nonprofit corporation and are stakeholders in the organization’s purpose and success.
  4. The Board of Directors will be in the management, direction, and administration of the business and finances, and to set the policies of the Society. They shall also have the power to make house rules and regulations governing the Society, provided they are consistent with the Bylaws.
  5. No document shall be executed by or on behalf of the Society except by the authority of the Board of Directors.
  6. The execution of all documents and the signing of all checks in connection with the administration of the Society shall be done be any two of the following: President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer.
  7. Meetings of the Society are as follows:
    1. Annual General Meeting will be held in the month of February of each year and every year and other General meetings will be held at the request of the Board of Directors on two weeks’ notice. Said notice to be made by phone or mail or/and Emails.
      1. AGM and elections can be held after the last Friday of January and before end of February
  1. The Board of Directors shall meet regularly at the call of the President when required. A quorum for General meetings shall consist of two-third members. Notice of General meeting is to be made by mail or/and Emails, at least two weeks prior to the meeting date. Unless an emergency meeting is called by the President.
  2. In the event the Society wants to spend funds for Society purposes, it will be able to spend 10% of the bank balance to a maximum of $10,000.00 for any event. In the event that the expenditure exceeds 10% of the bank balance or the maximum of $10,000.00, this expenditure will require an extraordinary resolution to be passed by a 75% majority of good standing members on the membership list at the General meeting.
  3. Once a year, a general audit is to be made by the finance Committee (appointed by the board) of the society.
  4. In the event when the Society chooses to adopt a common seal, it will be held in custody by the secretary.
  5. All books and records of the Society may be inspected by any member, upon two weeks of notice to either the secretary or treasurer as the case may be.
  6. A seventy percent General Membership vote is required to amend any of these Bylaws by extraordinary resolution.

Exhibit A…

All members should have benefits available pertaining to their membership.

-Scholarship opportunities for students in college that hold a high academia status (e.g. 20% of total membership fees + donations, per year).

-Some type of yearly Newsletter highlighting special events in members lives (e.g. when a member gets engaged, married, starts a new business, gets promoted, gets on the honor roll etc.).

-Member Directory that is given out with memberships for members contact information (e.g. phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc.)

-Discounts at Lebanese restaurants that want to participate, in exchange for hosting at least one event that year at their location.

-Subsidized or free hosted events for being a member

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