Printable copy here MARS BY-LAWS

By-Laws of the Monroe Astronautical Rocket Society

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Monroe Astronautical Rocket Society.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

The purpose of the Monroe Astronautical Rocket Society, hereafter called the MARS, shall be to
aid and encourage by all suitable means all people interested in model rocketry and its related
sciences. MARS shall:
(a) promote the safe pursuit of rocketry;
(b) prepare, collect, correlate, and disseminate by publication or otherwise facts, information,
articles, books, or other literature pertaining to rocketry, and shall engage in, encourage, and
promote the educational aspects of rocketry;
(c) establish and maintain means of communication with its members, committees, other
functions, and its affiliates, and shall collaborate or affiliate with other organizations whether
scientific or otherwise, in any manner and to any extent which, in the judgment of the Board of
Trustees, will best aid in accomplishing its objectives;
(d) strive to promote and improve the image of rocketry with the general public and with all
levels of government, and shall cooperate with all levels of government to the end that non-
professional rocket activities may be conducted without undue restriction;
(e) encourage membership in MARS and promote the growth of MARS;
(f) engage in and encourage organized rocket activities as MARS or the Board of Trustees
may from time to time deem necessary or desirable in connection with this article;
(g) promote an increasingly wide interest in the scientific techniques pertaining to rocketry,
encourage research and experimentation; and MARS may buy, hold, or convey real and personal
property to that end.
(h) shall be a sanctioned and chartered National Association of Rocketry (NAR) section.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: The membership of MARS will be comprised of citizens of the United States or other
nations regardless of where they may be residing.

Section 2: The membership of MARS shall comprise the following classes:
(a) Senior Membership,
(b) Junior Membership,
(c) Honorary Membership,
(d) Manufacturer and Corporate Supporting Membership, and
such additional classes as the Board of Trustees may deem it appropriate to create.

Section 3: Senior members shall be those persons 18 years of age or older who are interested in
the sciences of rocketry, astronautics, or their allied fields

Section 4: Junior members shall be those persons under 18 years of age who are interested in the
sciences of rocketry, astronautics, or their allied fields.

Section 5: Honorary members shall be those persons who, by their contribution to the sciences of
rocketry, astronautics, or their allied fields, or by their interest in or aid to MARS, shall be
deemed eligible for such membership by a vote of the Board of Trustees.

Section 6: Manufacturer and Corporate Supporting members shall be limited to those firms who
manufacture, produce, distribute, or sell rocket engines, kits, parts, components, accessories,
and/or equipment and those firms or organizations who are interested or involved in rocketry,
astronautics or their allied fields, including the educational aspects thereof.

Section 7: A person or organization having expressed his (its) desire for membership shall
become a member of the appropriate class upon satisfaction of the Membership Committee as to
his (its) sincerity of purpose and good reputation, upon affixing his (its) name to a statement
pledging to serve and abide by the National Association of Rocketry Safety Code(s) in all non-
professional rocket activities, and upon payment of dues required by these By-Laws.

Section 8: Members of all classes shall be entitled to attend all business and other meetings of
the MARS. However, as later provided herein, only voting members of MARS need be formally
notified of meetings. In addition, all classes of members shall be entitled to participate in the
rights and privileges of MARS except as expressly provided herein.

Section 9: Voting on all matters related to the business of the MARS shall be restricted to Senior
and Honorary Members of MARS as well as a single vote from each Manufacturer Member and
each Corporate Supporting Member.

Section 10: For conduct prejudicial to the objectives, reputation, or property of MARS, or for
failure to observe and abide by the Safety Code(s) of the National Association of Rocketry in all
model rocket activities, a member of any class may be censured, suspended, or expelled by a
Committee of three Senior members in good standing appointed by the President. Notice of all
charges against such member and of the time and place of the meeting at which they are to be
presented shall be sent to the member by mail not less than thirty (30) days prior to such a
meeting. A written summary of all evidence to be presented shall be sent to the member by mail
not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to such a meeting. Such member shall be given the
opportunity to be heard at the meeting in his own defense. Such member in addition to, or in lieu
of a personal appearance, may present a written defense; an address to which such written
defense is to be sent must be provided to the member not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to
such meeting. Any member of any class charged with violation(s) of the Safety Code(s) of the
National Association of Rocketry shall automatically be suspended from membership until the
meeting of the Committee at which his, her or its case is to be decided, providing the time of
suspension is not longer than one (1) year from the date of suspension until the date of the
hearing. No person, once having been admitted in good faith as a member of the MARS, shall be
denied the right to continued membership except for the above reasons and through the above
procedure, or except for non-payment of dues or other debts owed to MARS.

ARTICLE IV: DUES

Section 1: MARS will levy dues as determined by a vote of the Board of Trustees.
Section 2: Membership shall be effective for the calendar year
Section 3: A family membership plan shall be offered.
Section 4. All rights and privileges of a member whose dues or debts to MARS are not paid in
full on or before thirty (30) days after they are due shall be suspended until such time as said
dues and/or debts are paid in full. The membership of any member whose dues or debts to
MARS are not paid in full on or before one hundred and eighty (180) days after they are due
shall be cancelled and the cancelled membership shall not be reinstated until said dues and/or
debts are paid in full and the requirements of Article III, Section 7 of these By-laws have been
satisfied again in connection such reinstatement.

ARTICLE V: MEETINGS

Section 1: Business meetings of MARS shall be held at least once each year at a time and place
to be determined by the Board of Trustees.

Section 2: Special meetings may be called by the President or any two members of the Board of
Trustees.

Section 3: Not less than ten (10) days or more than sixty (60) days before the date of any Annual
or Special Meeting of Members, MARS shall give to each Member written or printed notice
stating the time and place of the meeting and, in the case of a Special Meeting, indicating that it
is being issued by or at the direction of the person or persons calling the meeting and the purpose
or purposes for which the meeting is called. Such notice shall be delivered either by first class
mail or by presenting it to the Member personally. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be
given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the Member at his
or her post office address as it appears on the records of MARS or, if a member has filed with the
Secretary of MARS on a written request that notices to that member be sent to a different
address, then such mailing shall be directed to such member at such different address.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, a waiver of notice in writing, signed by the person or
persons entitled to such notice, whether before or after such meeting is held, or actual attendance
at the meeting in person without objection to lack or deficiency of notice prior to the conclusion
of the meeting, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such notice to such persons. Any
meeting of Members, Annual or Special, may adjourn from time to time to reconvene at the same
or some other place, and no notice need be given of any such adjourned meeting if the time and
place to which the meeting is adjourned are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment
is taken, and at the adjourned meeting any business may be transacted that might have been
transacted on the original date of the meeting. However, if after the adjournment the Board of
Trustees fixes a new record date for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting
shall be given as set forth in this Section 3.

Section 4: The presence in person or by proxy of Members having not less than one -third (1/3)
of the total votes of the Membership entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.
However, if a meeting cannot be held because a quorum is not present, the majority of the
Members present, either in person or by proxy, may, without notice other than announcement to
those physically present, adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum shall be present
in person or by proxy. Trustees shall be elected by the affirmative vote of Members entitled to
vote and casting a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of Members. With respect to all acts
other than the election of Trustees, the act of Members casting a majority of the votes cast at a
meeting shall be the act of the Members unless the act of a greater or lesser number is required
by law.
All elections will be conducted by secret ballot.

Section 5: Wherever the vote of the membership is required to be taken in connection with any
action of MARS, the meeting and vote of the membership may be dispensed with if all Members
who would have been entitled to vote upon the action if such meeting were held shall consent in
writing to such action being taken.

Section 6: “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised” shall govern the procedure at all meetings. Unless
otherwise provided by statute, or by these By-Laws, all elections and all questions shall be
decided by a majority of the votes cast.

ARTICLE VI: BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Section 1: The governing body of MARS shall be a Board consisting of four (4) Trustees who
shall be Senior or Honorary members of MARS having had membership in MARS for at least
three (3) full years, and two Trustees shall be elected every year for a term of two (2) years or
until their successors are elected by the voting members of MARS. All Trustees shall be NAR
members in good standing and no Trustee shall serve as an officer or board member of another
national or local rocketry club or organization.

Section 2: Three (3) or more members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum. Any
one or more members of the Board may participate in a meeting by means of a conference
telephone, internet chat or video or similar communications equipment allowing all persons
participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.

Section 3: Meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at least once a year. Notice of all
meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be sent by the Secretary to each Trustee at least thirty
(30) days in advance.

Section 4: In case of vacancy in the Board of Trustees by death, resignation, removal or failure
of election, the remaining Trustees may appoint any Senior or Honorary member of MARS
otherwise eligible to run for election to the Board to fill the unexpired term subject to a
ratification vote of a majority of the voting membership at a special election.

Section 5: The Board of Trustees shall cause minutes to be kept of their meetings and of all
actions taken by them by which MARS may be bound or which involve the expenditure of funds
of MARS. Such minutes shall be kept by the Secretary and shall be made available to the
membership within sixty (60) days of such meetings or such actions.

Section 6: The fiscal years of MARS shall begin on January 1 of each year. The Board of
Trustees shall cause to be made and certified a report of all the receipts and disbursements of
MARS for the past fiscal year, a true copy of which shall be placed with the minutes of the
annual meeting of the Board of Trustees. The board of Trustees shall establish and approve an
operating budget for the fiscal year at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the calendar
year.

Section 7: Failure to attend at least half of the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees in any
given year shall be cause for removal of a Trustee upon vote of more than one half (1/2) of those
Trustees present and voting at any meeting of the Board. Attendance for out of State Board of
Trustee members may be accomplished through phone or e-mail.

Section 8: For conduct prejudicial to the objectives, activities, property, or reputation of MARS,
a Trustee, either elected, appointed, or Honorary, may be removed from office by a three-
quarters (3/4) vote of those Trustees present and voting at any meeting of the Board after notice
of the charges against him and an opportunity to be heard in his own defense.

Section 9: At all meetings of the Board of Trustees, the conduct of the meeting shall be governed
by “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.”

Section 10: The Board of Trustees shall present annually a report, verified by the President and
Treasurer, or by a majority of the Board of Trustees, showing the whole amount of real and
personal property owned by MARS; where, and how invested; the amount and nature of the
property acquired during the year immediately preceding the date of the report, and the manner
of acquisition; the amount applied, appropriated or expended during the year immediately
preceding such date; and the purpose, objects or persons to or for which such applications,
appropriations, or expenditures have been made; which report will be filed with the records of
MARS.

Section 13: The Board of Trustees may from time to time authorize the bestowal of any
appropriate honors or recognition in the name of MARS to any persons whom the Board may
deem deserving.

Section 11: The Board of Trustees may from time to time authorize the bestowal of any
appropriate honors or recognition in the name of MARS to any persons whom the Board may
deem deserving.

Section 12: The Board of Trustees shall annually establish and approve by majority vote an
Operating Agreement that defines Board decision making processes and club financial processes.
The Operating Agreement may be amended at any time with majority approval of the Board of
Trustees.

ARTICLE VII: OFFICERS

Section 1: The officers of MARS shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a
Treasurer, a Senior Advisor and such other officers as from time to time shall be appointed by
the Board of Trustees.

Section 2: The officers of MARS, other than the Senior Advisor, shall be elected from and by the
members of the Board of Trustees at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees following the
Trustees’ election. The Senior Advisor shall be elected by the members of the Board of Trustees
at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees following the Trustees’ election and may but shall
not be required to be a member of the Board of Trustees.

Section 3: Every officer shall serve for one (1) year or until his successor is elected and qualified.
Every officer shall be subject to removal at any time by a three-quarters (3/4) vote of those
Trustees present and voting, provided the officer be given written notice of the charges against
him and an opportunity to be heard in his own defense.

Section 4: If there be a vacancy in the office of President, the Vice-President shall exercise his
duties until the next meeting of the Board of Trustees, at which time the Board will elect a
member of itself to serve out the unexpired term of office. If there are vacancies in other offices,
the President, subject to ratification action of the Board of Trustees, shall appoint a member of
the Board of Trustees in good standing to fill the unexpired term of office.

Section 5: All officers are required to be National Association of Rocketry (NAR) members in
good standing. No officer shall serve as an officer of another rocketry club, national or local,
while an officer of MARS. This does not preclude simple membership in another club.

ARTICLE VIII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all principal functions of MARS,
including meetings of the Board of Trustees; to represent MARS in dealings with other
organizations and outside agencies, oversee the activities of the committee chairmen ; and to
transact business in the name of MARS as directed by the Board of Trustees and in accordance
with these By-Laws.

Section 2: It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to act in the place of the President in the case
of his failure or inability to act; at the direction of the President, to transact any business that
would be in the power of the President to transact; and, in the case of death or disability of the
President, for any reason, to serve in his stead until his successor is elected or appointed.

Section 3: It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep a correct and accurate account of the
minutes of all meetings of MARS or the Board of Trustees; to receive, file, prepare and answer
the correspondence of MARS such as the President or the Board of Trustees may request; to
maintain a record of all material, photographs, drawings, publications, or archival material of a
historical nature and provide an accessible file of same for use and inspection of MARS; to keep
a correct and accurate list of the membership with the class of membership and the last known
mailing address of each member; to prepare and mail all notices of the meetings of MARS or
Board of Trustees; to prepare, distribute, collect and record the results of ballots; and to perform
other such clerical and administrative work as may be deemed necessary by the President for the
conduct of the affairs of MARS.

Section 4: It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect all dues and assessments; to care for the
funds of MARS; and to make all financial reports as required by these By-Laws. Any
disbursements of the funds of MARS shall be made by the Treasurer, and all checks, drafts,
notes, and orders for payment of the funds of MARS shall be signed by the Treasurer. The
Treasurer may appoint as his deputy another of the trustees, subject to Board approval, to collect
and deposit moneys paid to MARS as well as make disbursements as necessary to carry out the
day to day business of the club.

Section 5: It shall be the duty of the Senior Advisor to provide advice and historical club
precedent in any matter deemed necessary by the other officers.

ARTICLE IX: COMMITTEES

Section 1: The President shall appoint, subject to the ratification of the Board of Trustees, the
Chairmen of the standing Committees and the Chairmen of such Special Committees as the
President shall, from time to time, deem necessary or desirable to achieve the aims and purposes
of MARS.

Section 2: The standing committees shall consist of the following:
(a) Membership Committee,
(b) Education Committee,
(c) NYPOWER Committee
(d) Launch Operations Committee
(e) Equipment and Capital Expense Committee

Section 3: The Membership Committee shall have as its duties the promotion of membership in
MARS, the procurement of membership applications and other promotional materials, the
certification as to class of a potential member, the conduct of the membership campaigns under
the direction of the President, and the recommendation to the Board of Trustees of new
membership classes as deemed appropriate and desirable from time to time.

Section 4: The Education Committee shall have as its duties the planning, programming,
implementation, and supervision of education programs in which MARS may become involved;
and co-ordination, co-operation, and assistance with and to educators in all matters relating to
education that will further the aims and purposes of MARS.

Section 5: The NYPOWER© ® Committee shall have as its duties the planning and coordination
of the annual NYPOWER© ® launch, preserve and build the reputation of NYPOWER© as a
well respected regional and national launch event, and generate goodwill towards the hobby of
sport rocketry through NYPOWER©®.

Section 6: The President may assign additional duties to each committee in line with its regular
duties as may be required.

Section 7: The President shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees. Trustees may be ex-
officio member of committees of their choosing. All Chairmen of Committees shall serve until
their successors are appointed and qualified.

Section 8: The Launch Operations Committee shall have as its duties the planning and
organization of the MARS rocket launch activities. It shall establish policies and procedures to
insure safe rocket launch range operations at all MARS events in compliance with NAR safety
codes, Federal Aviation Administration AA rules, National Fire Protection Association FPA
codes. The committee may create policies as necessary for safe range operations as required
my(by) specific launch sites or landowner agreements. The Launch Operations Committee is
also responsible for proper stewardship of all allocated budgeted funds that the Board of Trustees
appropriates to the committee to operate launches during the fiscal year.

Section 9: The Equipment and Capital Expense Committee shall have as its duties the
maintenance, management and acquisition of equipment and capital assets necessary to
accomplish the purpose set out in Article II. The Equipment and Capital Expense Committee is
responsible for submitting equipment and capital asset acquisition budget proposals for the
current and following fiscal year.

Section 10: Committees must keep a record of expenses and disbursements from their allocated
annual budget. Each committee chairman shall provide quarterly financial reports to the MARS
President.

ARTICLE X: SHARING OF EARNINGS

No member, Trustee, or officer of MARS, or any person connected with MARS, shall receive at
any time any of the net earnings or pecuniary profits from the operation of MARS, provided that
this shall not prevent the payment to any such person of reasonable compensation for services
rendered to MARS in effecting any of its purposes as shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees;
and no such person or persons shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the assets or
property upon dissolution of MARS. All members of MARS shall be deemed to have expressly
consented and agreed to such a dissolution or winding up of the affairs of MARS, whether
voluntary or involuntary, and the assets and property of MARS then remaining in its hands shall
be distributed or turned over to such educational or scientific institutions or organizations, upon
such terms and conditions, and in such amounts and proportions, as the Board of Trustees may
determine, to be used by the institutions or organizations receiving them for the purposes similar
to or kindred to those set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation of MARS as then amended.

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS

These By-Laws may be altered, repealed or amended and new By-Laws may be adopted at any
regular or special meeting of the Members, by vote of a majority of Members entitled to vote
present in person or by proxy or (except as to any matter affecting membership qualifications or
voting rights) at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Trustees or by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the whole Board of Trustees.