NPSWG Constitution and By-Laws
(Revised April 2005)

Article I - Name

Section 1 The name of this organization shall be Northwest PA Spinners and Weavers Guild.

Article II - Purpose

Section 1 The purpose of this organization shall be to promote education and interest in the art of spinning, dyeing, weaving and fiber related techniques.

Section 2 To learn and to share our learning, to motivate and inspire one another, to extend the scope of our work, to foster exchange of information, to reserve our historical arts and skills, to raise the quality level of our work, especially in design and color and to involve the schools in our arts.

Section 3 All of the activities of this organization shall be without gain or profit, directly or indirectly, incidental or otherwise, to its members.

Article III - Membership

Section 1 Any individual who is interested in the objectives of this organization, and who pays current dues, shall be eligible for membership and receive a guild newsletter. Paid membership dues entitles immediate family members to participate in any and all activities of the guild.

Article IV - Election of Officers

Section 1 The officers shall be:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Newsletter Editor

Section 2 These officers and heads of standing committees shall constitute the Executive Board.

Section 3 Biannually, at the first meeting of the year, the President shall appoint one of the members-at-large as a Presiding Officer of the Nominating committee. This committee shall consist of the Presiding Officer and no less than two other members. They shall present a slate of officers at the following meeting. Nominations from the floor shall be called for; nominees must agree in advance of the voting to serve in that office if elected.

Section 4 The privileges of holding office and voting shall be limited to those persons holding valid memberships as defined in Article III.

Section 5 Officers shall assume office June 1. In the event of an officer not completing a term, the Executive Board will appoint someone to serve the portion remaining.

Article V - Duties of Officers

Section 1 The President shall preside at all meetings of the organization and the Executive Board, and shall be a member ex-officio of all committees except the Nominating Committee. The President shall also appoint committees for special projects as the need arises.

Section 2 The Vice-President shall act as aide to the President and preside as the President in the absence of the President. The Vice-President shall also be responsible for planning programs from January 1 following the June inauguration to January 1 two years hence.

Section 3 The Secretary shall keep accurate written records of all meetings of the organization and of the Executive board and shall act as Corresponding Secretary as needed.

Section 4 The Treasurer shall receive the dues of the organization, keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, and shall pay out funds as authorized by the Executive Board. The annual financial report shall be presented at the end of the fiscal year, and a proposed budget shall be presented at the beginning of each fiscal year. The Membership Chairman shall keep a current membership list, assign numbers to new members and work closely with the Treasurer.

Section 5 The Newsletter Editor shall assemble information from members and other guilds, organize and type the newsletter, run sufficient copies, ready it for mailing and have it sent out one to two weeks prior to the regular meeting.

Article VI - Schedule and Quorum of General Membership Meetings

Section 1 The regular meeting of the organization will be held bi-monthly.

Section 2 Special meetings may be called by the President, one other officer, and at least five other members to discuss only the item or items for which such meeting was called.

Section 3 A quorum shall be composed of two officers and at least 10 other members in good standing.

Article VII - Parlimentary Authority

Section 1 Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall govern the organization in all applicable cases.

Article VIII - Amendments

Section 1 The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended or revised at any regular meeting of the organization by two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided the membership has been advised in advance of the amendment.

Standing Rules and Procedures

I. Dues

Section 1 Dues shall be set at $20.00 per membership per annum.

Section 2 Annual dues shall be payable by the beginning of the fiscal year, January 1. Unpaid members are dropped from the rolls prior to publication of the March newsletter. March issue of The Hub carries a full list of paid members. New persons joining prior to July 1 will pay full membership. Persons joining after July 1 will pay half membership. Membership includes family members living in one household.

II. Demonstration Policy

The policy applies only to events that we attend as a guild; as always, individual members are welcome to demonstrate as they please.

Section 1 The fee for demonstrations at events that charge admissions is $100 to the guild treasury.

Section 2 If the event is a fleece-to-shawl demonstration, the guild will retain ownership of the shawl. (The policy applies just to fleece-to-shawl demonstrations, not competitions where prizes are awarded.)

Section 3 The fee may be waived or reduced at the discretion of the guild.

III. The Helen McCartney Memorial Scholarship

The purpose of the Helen McCartney Scholarship is to further the education of guild members in spinning, weaving, and dyeing.

Section 1 Members attending a workshop or conference may request a scholarship for up to one-half of a workshop fee, up to a maximum of $100. Workshop teachers usually need to know attendance figures one month prior to the event and low enrollment may result in cancellation of the event. therefore, scholarship applications deadlines should be set at least two weeks before the cancellation date, allowing time to reach a decision so the applicant may be included in the initial workshop attendance figures. Scholarship decisions will be based on value of the proposed presentation by the scholarship recipient to the general guild membership. If the workshop is cancelled, the scholarship must be returned to the guild.

Section 2 In return, scholarship recipients are expected to present a program on the workshop topic to the guild within one year. This program should be scheduled in cooperation with the program coordinator relatively soon after workshop attendance, while enthusiasm and knowledge are fresh.

Section 3 No more that a total of three individual awards will be made in a calendar year, which creates a cap of $300/year.

Section 4 The scholarship committee will meet at regularly scheduled guild meetings whenever there is a request for funds. Funding requests may be submitted to any committee member.

Section 5 In order to maintain the scholarship fund, the guild will

a.) on the date of the recipient’s program to the guild, reimburse the scholarship fund the amount usually paid to a program presenter; and

b.) donate the proceeds from the raffle of one shawl per year.

Members are encouraged to add a scholarship contribution to their annual dues payments.

IV. Heads of Standing Committees and Duties

Section 1 These shall consist of:

• Librarian
• Hospitality
• Grants/Funding
• Awards
• Guild Equipment
• Public Relations
• Helen McCartney Memorial Scholarship Committee
• Interguild Representative

Additional heads of Standing Committees may be appointed with the approval of other officers.

Section 2 Duties of the Librarian shall consist of being responsible for collecting, cataloging, and care, arrangement, and repair of books, manuscripts and newsletters.

Section 3 Duties of the Hospitality committee shall be to keep the "Resource Card File" up to date, coordinate refreshments at the meetings and to be responsible for Guild Raffles.

Section 4 Duties of the Grant/Funding Committee are to search out, apply for, and elicit funds from all available sources with the approval of the Executive Board.

Section 5 Duties of the Awards Chairman shall consist of bringing to the Board of Directors a list of individual(s) he or she feels is deserving of a service award. The Chairman will then arrange for the award to be made and will present it.

Section 6 Duties of the Guild Equipment Chairman will be housing the guild equipment when it is not being rented. The chairman will make sure the equipment is in good working order and make adjustments when needed. If repairs are necessary the Board will determine if these are routine (ordinary wear and tear), or if they are of a more serious nature. The Chairman will be responsible for retaining the "Equipment Rental Agreement" form from each individual renting equipment. Equipment rental is available for members only at $12 per month for 8H Baby Wolf loom and $6 per month for all other equipment. A $12 per week late fee will be assessed if the loom is not returned by the due date.