Incorporated 30 January 1906
Revisions accepted and adopted 18 April 1998
ARTICLE I
The name of this corporation shall be The Roger Williams Family Association.
ARTICLE II
This corporation is constituted for the purpose of honoring and preserving the memory of Roger Williams, Founder of the present State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and our progenitor; the preparation and preservation of an authentic genealogy of his descendants; the identification of as many descendants as possible; and the promotion of friendship and social intercourse among them.
ARTICLE III
Members
Section 1. The members of this Association shall be lineal descendants of Roger Williams who have been certified by the Registrar and approved by the Association as detailed in Article VI, Section 7.
Section 2. The husbands and wives of members in good standing are welcomed into associate membership of this Family Association, with full voting power. A spouse may be elected to any office, excepting the offices of President, First Vice President and Second Vice President, or appointed to any Committee, excepting to the Nominating Committee, all of whom must be lineal descendants.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Association shall be a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President (who shall all be lineal descendants of Roger Williams, as stated in Article III, Section 2, above), a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, a Registrar, and an Historian. They shall be elected annually and hold office until their successors are elected. Vote shall be by ballot if there are opposing candidates. The President shall not serve for more than three consecutive years.
Section 2. There may be conferred by vote of the Association the office of Honorary President upon the oldest known living descendant of Roger Williams, and upon the next oldest known living descendant the office of Honorary Vice President.
ARTICLE V.
Meetings
Section 1. There shall be an annual meeting and reunion of members of this Association on the third Saturday in June each year at Roger Williams Park, or at another date within the month of June and/or at another location designated by the Program Committee, chaired by the First Vice President, and announced to the membership in the Annual Bulletin. Written annual reports of officers and committees shall be on file at the meeting and available to the members for review. Officers and two Directors, nominated from the floor shall be elected. Suitable social events and programs shall be presented by the Program Committee.
Section 2. Other meetings of the Association may be scheduled by the President, or the First Vice President with the approval of the Executive Committee, at times and places to be designated by the President or the Executive Committee, with notice to members sent in the Annual Bulletin.
Section 3. Special meetings of the Association may also be called by the President or by the Executive Committee, at times and places to be designated by the President or the Executive Committee, with notices to members no less than two weeks in advance of the special meeting.
ARTICLE VI
Duties of Officers
Section l. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee, shall have the usual powers pertaining to the office of President, and shall be ex-officio, a member of all committees, excepting the Nominating Committee.
Section 2. The First Vice President shall, in the event of the absence or disability of the President, perform the duties of that office. He/she shall be Program Chairman, and be prepared to present to the membership at the Annual Meeting a draft of the schedule of proposed meetings and events of the Association, for meetings beginning in September of each year through the Annual Meeting the following June. He/she shall appoint a Committee of at least two members, and carry out the programs under the direction of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. The Second Vice President shall assist the President and the First Vice President. He/she shall be Chairman of the Refreshment Committee and may appoint an assisting committee or committees.
Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall keep the book of records of the meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee, the certified copy of the Articles of Incorporation, and papers ordered placed on file.
Section 5. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Association and of the Executive Committee, shall send out notices of meetings as required by the Executive Committee and/or the President, including the mailing of the Annual Bulletin, and he/she shall maintain the roll of members with their current mailing addresses, in coordination with the Membership Chairman.
Section 6. The Treasurer shall, under the direction of the Executive Committee, prepare dues notices to go out with the Annual Bulletin; receive all dues as outlined in ARTICLE VIII, Section 1, and all donations of a financial nature; make investments only with the advice and consent of a Trust Committee of two members to be appointed by the Executive Committee, and make accounting of all interest and dividends; make disbursements, carefully preserving all vouchers; make a report at each meeting of the Association and of the Executive Committee, and a full report at the Annual Meeting, duly audited by the Auditing Committee; keep the Association Seal; purchase Association stationery and maintain control of its distribution to officers and authorized committees; and close the books of the Association yearly on 31 March of each year.
Section 7. The Registrar shall make available lineage record forms for the use of applicants for membership; examine and pass upon every application for membership and issue a membership certificate to each approved applicant, and preserve for future binding all approved application forms; make return to the Treasurer of all membership application fees received, as outlined in Article VIII, Section 1; have the power to appoint or enlist a Deputy Registrar from any or all of the Roger Williams family branches stemming from his several children, the Registrar to delegate to such Deputies as many of the powers outlined in this Section 7, Article VI as he/she deems expedient.
Section 8. The Historian shall keep a full record of the activities of the Association, preserve press clippings and other articles pertaining to the Association and its members, and use for such records a book to be furnished by the Executive Committee. The Historian shall also be curator of the archives and memorabilia which has accrued and is accruing to the Association. The Historian shall make a report at each meeting.
ARTICLE VII
Committees
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Committee, composed of (1) the elected officers of the Association, (2) two directors to be nominated from the floor and elected at the Annual Meeting, and (3) past presidents of the Association.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall have general oversight of the Association's activities and finances, appoint committees not otherwise provided for; appoint a Chaplain, a Membership Chairman, and a Publicity Chairman; fill all vacancies arising between annual meetings; and review as necessary the matter of change of membership dues and revision of Bylaws.
Section 3. Meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the President, and may be called at the written request of two other officers.
Section 4. The Auditing Committee shall consist of at least two members of the Association, and present a written report of its audit at the Annual Meeting.
Section 5. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members, not holding office at the time, and shall be appointed by the Executive Committee at least two months before the Annual Meeting. The list of candidates chosen shall be furnished the members at the Annual Meeting. At the time of the election of officers, two Directors shall be nominated from the floor, and further nominations of officers may be made.
Section 6. The Trust Committee shall consist of two members to be appointed by the Executive Committee for the purpose of assisting the Treasurer in the investment of Association funds.
Section 7. The Membership Chairman shall maintain a current list of all members to include name, mailing and home address, whether member is a Life Member, and line or lines from which member descends if a lineal descendant, otherwise a notation that member is an Associate.
ARTICLE VIII
Dues and Fees
Section 1. The application for membership shall be accompanied by the current annual dues, in addition to an initiation fee, and sent to the Registrar who shall pay the same to the Treasurer if the application is approved.
Section 2. The annual dues shall be subject to change as the Executive Committee may recommend and the Association approve.
Section 3. The fee for Life Membership shall be subject to change as the Executive Committee may recommend and the Association approve.
Section 4. A delinquent member, upon application, may be reinstated upon payment of current dues.
ARTICLE IX
The Seal
Section 1. There shall be one OFFICIAL SEAL for this Association, the one adopted and in use at this date, which shall be under the custodianship of the Treasurer.
Section 2. The seal shall be used only as authorized by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE X
Quorum
The quorum of this Association shall be nine members, and of the Executive Committee five members.
ARTICLE XI
Parliamentary Authority
The latest revised edition of Roberts Rules of Order shall govern this Association in all cases to which they apply and are not inconsistent with these Bylaws.
ARTICLE XII
Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended at any annual or scheduled meeting of this Association by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given in writing at the previous meeting.
ARTICLE XIII
In the unlikely event of the dissolution of this Association, all funds, records and other assets of the Association shall be transferred to a non-profit organization as determined by the officers and Executive Committee at that time. None of these funds, records or assets shall inure to the benefit of any individual member or members of the Association.