By-Laws

I. Name

The name of this organization shall be the Archaeological Study Unit.

II. Purpose:

The purpose of the Unit shall be:

1) the collection and study of philatelic material related to the archaeology and the prehistory of the Old World,

2) the dissemination of this knowledge to Unit members and other interested persons and philatelic libraries, and

3) the promotion of the exhibition of philatelic material related to Old World Archaeology.

III. Membership

A. Classes:

1) Active membership is open to anyone interested in Old World Archaeology.

2) Other classes of membership, dues-paying or honorary, will be established by a majority vote of The Board of Directors, as needed.

B. Procedure to Join:

All Applications for Membership shall be made in writing. They will be sent to the Unit Secretary-Treasurer or his/ her designee for processing. In addition to a completed application, the prospective member will forward payment of a minimum of one Volume’s Dues at the applicable rate. Prepayment of more than One Volume’s Dues is acceptable. If the application is not accepted for any reason, the prepayment will be refunded.

IV. Dues

The rate of dues for active members and all other classes shall be determined by The Board of Directors. The primary expense of the Unit is the printing and mailing of the Unit Official Bulletin and Indices. Before a general dues increase goes into effect, The Board of Directors will publish the reason(s) in the Unit Bulletin, and allow reaction from members, who should communicate with the Secretary-Treasurer. All dues are due and payable at the beginning of the fiscal year, which will be at the publication of Issue #1 of each Volume of the Official Bulletin.

A member in any dues-paying class of membership, who has not paid his/her dues within three months from the publication of Issue #1 of the current Volume, shall be dropped from membership. No more issues of the Official Bulletin will be mailed to members delinquent in dues or dropped from membership. Upon payment of overdue monies to the Secretary-Treasurer, the suspended member will be re-instated, and one copy of all back issues of publications to which the member is entitled will be forwarded.

V. Board of Directors

A. Members and Duties:

1) President: The President shall have general charge of the business and affairs of the Unit, shall preside at all meetings, shall appoint all committees authorized by The Board of Directors, and shall be an ex-officio member of all such committees.

2) Vice-President: The Vice-President shall serve as an aide to the President and shall perform the duties of President in the President’s absence or inability to serve, and shall perform such additional duties as delegated by the President.

3) Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer shall conduct correspondence relating to the welfare of the Unit, notifying The Board of Directors when appropriate, and he/she shall keep records of membership and meetings of the Unit. He/she shall receive all monies in the name of the Unit, and shall pay out monies authorized by proper voucher. He/she shall maintain a permanent record of all finances of the Unit. He/she shall submit a detailed annual report to the other members of The Board of Directors. A summary of this annual report shall be printed in the Official Bulletin.

4) Editor: The Editor shall be in charge of the preparation and distribution of all publications of the Unit. The editor shall be appointed by a majority vote of The Board of Directors.

5) Directors: There shall be three Directors.

6) Emeritus/Emerita Directors or Officers

At the discretion of the Board of Directors, a retired officer or director may be given the title of Director Emeritus/a or Officer Emeritus/a. They shall be listed in the Official Bulletin with the current officers during their lifetime.

WebMaster: The webmaster shall take charge of the owasu.org and the owasu.com website and other electronic publications of the organization. The organization shall maintain ownership of the website(s), and the copyright(s), and the intellectual properties involved, and shall be financially responsible for paying the charges and expenses involved with the maintenance of the material. The webmaster shall be appointed by a majority vote of The Board of Directors.

B. Terms of Office:

The President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for three year terms, beginning at the start of the fiscal year, unless filling out an unexpired term. The Directors shall also serve for three year terms, which may be staggered. The Editor and Webmaster shall serve until such time that he or she sends a letter of resignation to the Secretary or President, and the Board of Directors accepts the letter.

C. Election:

Election shall be by mail ballot, with a majority of ballots cast by those members eligible to vote being necessary for election. The ballots will be mailed to the Secretary-Treasurer for tabulation. Results of the election will be published in the next issue of the Official Bulletin.

D. Powers:

1) The Board of Directors shall have the power to conduct all business of the Unit within these Bylaws. All major decisions of The Board of Directors shall be published in the Official Bulletin, for the knowledge and benefit of the members.

2) The Board of Directors may conduct business by postal service, E-mail or phone at their convenience, provided that three affirmative votes minimum be obtained to pass any motion. Any article failing to receive three affirmative votes may not be brought back before the Board for further discussion for 180 days.

3) If any officer’s position falls vacant between elections, The Board shall fill it until the next election. This will require a minimum of three affirmative votes for the nominee, with a simple majority above the vote for the next nominee sufficient for election.

4) The Board of Directors will have the power to replace another member of The Board for malfeasance of office, by majority ballot, and written notice from the Secretary-Treasurer to the specific Board member. In the case of the Secretary-Treasurer, written notice will be from the President.

VI. Publication:

The name of the Official Bulletin shall be The Old World Archaeologist. The publication of any official notice in the bulletin shall constitute official notification to all members. One copy of each bulletin will be transmitted to each member, plus to such philatelic libraries as The Board of Directors will determine. The editor shall determine if U. S. Mail or other method of transmittal is in the best interest of the membership for timeliness and cost.

VII. Affiliation:

The Unit shall be affiliated with such National Philatelic Organizations as The Board of Directors shall vote to accept. Current affiliations include The American Philatelic Society, and The American Topical Association.

Amendments:

Revisions or amendments to these By-laws shall be approved first by The Board.

These Bylaw revisions and amendments shall then be presented to the membership for final approval. The vote to accept shall be by a two-thirds vote of the active members voting, providing that notice of the proposed amendment has been sent in writing to each member at least one month in advance, or published in the Official Bulletin with ballot to be mailed to the Secretary-Treasurer for tabulation.

VIII. X

IX. Dissolution

If the unit is dissolved, the Board of Directors shall direct the Secretary-Treasurer to refund remaining monetary assets equally to all active members. First, all outstanding debts and obligations of the unit shall be cleared. Second, the Board of Directors may designate donations to worthy Philatelic Organizations for educational or literary purposes.

No change to Code of Ethics