Article I – General

A. Name: The organization shall be called the Berks County Parrot Head Club (BCPHC).

B. Purpose: The purpose of this nonprofit organization is to promote friendship and organize social activities for people who share affection for a tropical spirit, island music and a desire to contribute to the betterment of the community through a variety of volunteer and charitable efforts and functions.

C. Disclaimer: We are recognized by, but in no way attached to Jimmy Buffett or any of his business interests. Clubs are allowed to use the trademarked term “Parrot Head” but NOT Jimmy Buffett’s name or any of his other trademarks.

Article II – Membership and Dues (amended 7-06)

A. Club Membership: Membership in the BCPHC shall be open to all, regardless of age, sex, creed, national origin or sexual preference. A member will be considered in good standing so long as their dues are current.

B. Voting Members (amended 2-2021): To qualify as voting members, members must be paid in full as of January 31 of the Election and participate in a minimum of 5 BCPHC functions including, but not limited to: general meetings, committee meetings, events, highway cleanups, tiki times, etc.)

C. Benefits of Membership (amended 2-2021): Members will be entitled to receive Club mailings, attend Club events and to purchase Club merchandise. Membership also entitles members to be eligible to attend Meeting of the Minds (MOTM). Ticketed Club Events that do not require members or non-members to purchase “seats” such as open seating events will allow free admission to children under the age of 16.

D. Dues: Annual memberships will renew December 31st, payable to the Berks County Parrot Head Club. Dues amounts are as follows:

1. Single: New member $30; Renewal $20
2. Couple (includes any immediate family members under 21 years of age): $40; renewal $30 (includes any immediate family members under 21 years of age)
3. Membership Dues for those individuals or couples who join July 1 (or after) will be half price of the current New Member Dues.

E. Dues Notices: (amended 2-2021) Annual dues notices will be published in the newsletter and/or email preceding October 1st, mentioned at monthly general membership meetings, and/or USPS mailed.

F. Conditions of Membership: (amended 7-06) Any member with dues in arrears as of the February general membership meeting will be considered inactive.

Your participation as a member at club events implies the granting of permission to use your likeness in photographs that may be published in the club newsletter, the club website and/or social media.

It shall be the policy of this organization that photographs of members will be published ONLY if there is NO potential for harm or embarrassment to the subjects of the photos. To that end, the newsletter editor and web manager will exercise the utmost discretion in choosing photographs for publication. We are all required to act responsibly in any social situation so as to not cause damage to any individual, person or self thereby acting responsibly at all times.

As the BCPHC will not condone any behavior contrary to our objective, the Executive Board will review the actions of any member acting in a manner injurious to the Club or to other members, guests or hosts of the Club and, if such harmful actions are unanimously determined by the Executive Board to be detrimental to the Club or in adversity to the purpose of the Club as described in Article I-B above, said member will be notified in writing of his or her suspension from Club membership.

H. Membership Lists: (added by amendment 6-10-03) In an effort to avoid unwanted spamming or mail solicitation, the membership list shall be maintained by the Club secretary and shall not be disbursed to the general membership, but rather distributed only to Board Members or Committee Chairs and used only for contact of the general membership for Club purposes and PHIP purposes.

Article III – Officers, Board Members and Elections

A.  Election Procedures (amended 2-2021)

B.  Officer/Elections: The Club will elect the following officers for a two-year term under the conditions listed below; President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer. Elections will be held during the November business meeting. An election notice will be sent to all members in good standing via Email Prior to the November election. This notice will include the offices to be elected; the date, location and time of the election; a statement that the election will be on a secret ballot by simple majority of those present in-person or virtually at the meeting; and an invitation to attend. An absentee ballot may be requested by contacting the Secretary who will send the ballot and double envelope. The ballot is placed in the envelope anonymously. That envelope shall have the member’s name on it and be verified that they are in good standing.   The inside envelope is then placed in an outside envelope which is mailed to the Secretary.  The absentee ballot must be received by November 1^st to be counted.  Nominations will be from the floor during the October business meeting or in writing and sent to the Club address of record postmarked no later than October 1st. Any member wishing to run for an office will be entitled to a 1-2 minute speech during the meeting. Elections will be conducted by the election committee, who is appointed by the President at the meeting.  The election committee will distribute, collect, and tally the ballots.  Vacated positions shall be appointed for the duration of the term by the majority vote of the Executive Board. The First and Second Vice Presidents shall be determined by the number of votes they received during the election. The elections shall be the first order of business at the November General Meeting.  In the event nominations and elections cannot occur as scheduled, they shall be tabled to the next meeting and members will be notified via email. No candidate for office may address the collected membership prior to the elections with the exception of the 2-minute speech.

C.  Eligibility to Run for Office: (amended 2-2021) In order to be eligible to run for office, a member who is in good standing for the preceding year is eligible to run for office.

D.  Executive Board/Officers: The Executive Board will consist of the Club President, two Vice- Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer. The Executive Board will be responsible for insuring all Club activities are conducted within the guidelines of Parrot Head in Paradise Inc., as established in the PHiP bylaws established at the 1997 Meeting of the Minds, and the Club Statement of Purpose as outlined in Article I-B. The Board will be empowered to make decisions between business meetings to insure these goals are met. All decisions will be by majority decision. Any and all Board decisions will be reported at the next general business meeting. The Board will act on recommendations received from the general membership at the general business meetings and forward projects/concepts to the general membership at the general business meetings.E. E.

E.  Responsibilities of Officers:

President: The President shall

1. Have such powers and duties that are customarily exercised by such an office.
2. Be Executive Officer of the Club and preside at all general business meetings, special meetings, and meeting of the Executive Board.
3. Assign the individual responsibilities of the Vice Presidents.
4. Work with committee chairpersons and Vice Presidents in order to help insure all assigned tasks are completed in a timely manner.
5. Have the power to call special meetings of the Club and the Executive Board.
6. Appoint, subject to the approval of the Executive Board, members to the Standing and Special Committees, including vacancies.
7. Deal with other matters as may be placed in his or her charge by the Executive Committee or membership.
8. Deal with and try to resolve complaints and issues within the Club and with PHiP.
9. Serve as liaison with PHiP or designate this role to another member of the Executive Board on a case-by-case basis.

First Vice-President: The First Vice President shall

1. In the absence of the President, have the powers and duties of the President;
2. Serve as liaison with other Parrot Head Clubs and BCPHC committees;
3. Deal with other matters and or powers that are delegated to the position by the President or the Executive Board.
4. Work to insure all PHiP/local charity guidelines are met.

Second Vice President

1. In the absence of the President and First Vice President, the Second Vice President have the powers and duties of the President;
2. Serve as liaison with other Parrot Head Clubs and BCPHC committees;
3. Deal with other matters and or powers that are delegated to the position by the President or the Executive Board.
4. Work to insure all PHiP/local charity guidelines are met.

Secretary: (amended 7-06) The Secretary shall

1. Ensure that minutes are recorded at all business and Executive Board meetings.
2. Disseminate all general business-meeting minutes via email in a timely fashion.
3. Maintain a current database of all member emails.
4. Be the point person for all Club email communications.

Treasurer: (amended 2-2021) The Treasurer shall

1. Record and keep track of all financial functions and transactions, including membership dues.
2. Notify the Secretary of all new memberships for addition and inclusion to the Club membership database.
3. Balance accounts and issue checks for all charities and expenditures based on receipts supplied.

Article IV – Meetings

A. General Business Meetings: General Business Meetings will occur at least every other month, initially beginning with monthly meetings. These meetings will be conducted by the Club President or, in his absence, the First Vice President or Second Vice President if neither the President or First Vice President are available. A chair or designated representative from each committee shall be present at these meetings. Any member in good standing may attend the business meeting. All Club decisions at the business meeting will be by a simple majority vote of those present. Minutes will be taken at all meetings and reported by the following meeting. All meetings will be held within the geographical boundaries of the Club.

B. Social Meetings/Fundraisers: The Club shall attempt to schedule at least two social events each year, one meeting being dedicated to a fundraising effort for a local charity and one being dedicated to a community effort or environmental project. Members will be notified of these events through regular meetings, newsletters or interim email broadcasts and the following rules will apply:

1. If the event is held in public area, both members and prospective members/guests are invited and guests or non-members will pay a TBD amount, based on a space-available basis.
2. If the event is held in a private area or where the Club has paid for the event, only Club members will be eligible to attend.
3. There may be some minimum age requirements associated with some Club events dependent upon the individual rules of the proprietors of the host locations. That is, some events may exclude members or guests under the age of 21.
4. Executive Board Meetings: (amended 2-2021) The Board will meet on an as needed basis, at least quarterly. Minutes from these Executive Board meetings will be made available to all members in good standing upon request.

C.  Executive Board Meetings: (amended 2-2021) The Board will meet on an as needed basis, at least quarterly. Minutes from these Executive Board meetings will be made available to all members in good standing upon request.

Article V – Committees

A. General: The following standing committees are established in order to maximize involvement and participation of the Club members: newsletter, membership, volunteers, merchandise, charity, and events. Other special committees may be established by the President, Executive Board and/or general membership to deal with specific projects. The Board assumes responsibilities of any committees that do not have a Chairperson.

B. Committee Roles: The purpose of all committees is to ensure that day-to-day functions and special events are completed in a timely manner. To this end, the committees, working under a Chairperson, are given the detailed responsibility of specific events and activities. The committees are expected to work closely with the Executive Board on all projects/events. They are also required to keep the President and Board informed of all plans and progress. The functions of the various committees are as follows:

1. Newsletter (amended 2-2021) – Prepare a newsletter minimally on a semi-annual basis to include, but not limited to: articles of interest, current events, calendar of events, recognition of members, membership information and notification of board meetings and election of officers.
2. Membership – Promote new membership and retain existing membership.
3. Volunteer – Organize volunteers for events.
4. Merchandise – Obtain donations or sponsored merchandise for sale at Club events. Keep inventory of acquired merchandise, silent auctions and raffles.
5. Charity – Research information for charities to be funded by Club events. Serve as contact to chosen charities.
6. Sponsorship Committee (added to bylaws by amendment dated 4-2-03) – Make requests and contacts to the local business community for donations or contributions of services, products or money, which the Club shall use for raffles, silent auctions, etc., or to help defray out-of-pocket costs of charitable events. The sponsorship committee shall work in concert with both the merchandise and event committees.
7. Marketing – (added to bylaws by amendment dated January 8,2013) – Promote the BCPHC club and all activities. This committee will provide leadership and responsibility of the website and any other social media associated with BCPCH.
8. Events – Organize fundraising/charitable events and organize community/environmental projects, including securing the location and music, where applicable.

Article VI – Adoption of Bylaws

A. Adoption of Bylaws: Proposed changes to the bylaws will be sent to the general membership by email and will be available at the next meeting by hard copy. After the general membership has read the proposed changes to the bylaws, a vote will be held at the following general meeting. The proposed modifications/ amendments to the bylaws will be accomplished by a two-thirds vote of the general membership present at the meeting.

Article VII – Charity/Altruism

A. Altruism: Events and/or activities sponsored by the BCPHC will have a portion of the proceeds raised donated to a designated charity. The Club will donate time and/or money to at least one local charity each year. The Club will be involved in at least one environmental cause a year. The charity committee has the responsibility to make recommendations to the general membership as to which charities to support. Individuals may also recommend charities and should do so through the charity committee.

Article IX – Expenditures/Reimbursements

A.  Approvals: (amended 1-2013) BCPHC members wishing to be reimbursed or approved for expenditures for BCPHC-related activities such as, but not limited to; construction materials, necessary supplies for official Club events, other official and/or Club sponsored functions, prior to spending money shall:

1. Any board member can approve a single payment up to $100.
2. A payment of $101-$4,999 requires executive board approval.
3. For disbursement of funds over $5,000, the general club membership approval is required. An exception to the $5,000 and over rule is that the Charity checks from funds raised by club-sponsored activities do not require approval.

B.  Process for Reimbursement: To obtain reimbursement, the member shall submit the written approval along with the receipts to the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall reimburse the Club member within 30 days of receipt of proper expenditure and approval documentation. Reimbursement requests submitted without written approval or authentic receipts will not be honored. No exceptions.

C.  Operating Costs (added by amendment dated 4-2-03) will officially authorize the Club to withhold up to 10% of its net proceeds from each of its events, designated as “operating costs” to cover items such as, but not limited to, required deposits, purchases for raffles or silent auctions, advances, prepayments, etc.

D.  Checks require the signatures of two Executive Board Members, who are all authorized to sign checks.

Article X – Club Incorporation/Tax Exemption (amended 7-06)

1. Incorporation: The BCPHC filed nonprofit Articles of Incorporation with the Pennsylvania Department of State.
2. Tax Exemption: The BCPHC is characterized for federal income tax purposes as a 501(c)(4) organization. Note that contributions and dues to the BCPHC are NOT tax deductible. If for any reason the BCPHC disbands at any time, any residual monies in any accounts belonging to the BCPHC will be donated to charity and NOT returned to Club members.