(as amended through June 2006)
A. The concept of Standing Rules is defined by Article X.1 of the Bylaws.
B. Standing Rules are adopted, in whole or in part, by majority vote of the Board of Directors. They continue in effect until repealed or modified, in whole or in part, by majority vote of that or any subsequent Board of Directors.
a. Unless otherwise provided for in the Bylaws or these Standing Rules, a motion passes by majority vote.
b. "Approval" means a majority vote in favor.
c. A tie vote fails to pass.
d. A majority is more than half of the votes in favor or opposed. Abstentions, votes of "present", etc. shall not be counted to determine the number of voters.
e. Proxy or absentee voting is not permitted.
f. Each individual in the assembly has one vote, regardless of the number of positions he or she holds.
g. A member otherwise eligible to vote on any business brought before the assembly may vote regardless of any alleged "conflict of interest".
h. The provisions of this section shall apply to all voting in San Diego Mensa, whether at meetings or in elections, consideration of Bylaws amendments, etc., unless otherwise noted in the Bylaws or Standing Rules.
a. Should a member of the assembly dispute a ruling of the Chair, this shall be a privileged motion requiring immediate consideration. If seconded, and after discussion, a vote shall be taken to determine whether to reverse the ruling of the Chair. A tie upholds the Chair.
b. If a ruling of the Chair is challenged, the Parliamentarian may render an opinion. However, this opinion is advisory. The vote of the assembly is binding.
a. A quorum, as defined in Article VI.2 of the Bylaws, is required to transact business at a Board meeting. This includes both regular and special meetings.
b. A "majority", for purposes of a quorum, means more than half of those actually sitting on the Board. If a Board Member tenders his or her resignation prior to or during the Board Meeting, that office is not counted in determining the number of Board Members who must be present to constitute a quorum. Note that a resignation during a meeting can cause the loss of a quorum.
a. The President shall determine the date, time and location of all Board of Directors meetings, both regular and special.
b. A neutral site (as opposed to a member's home) is preferable if at all possible.
a. Conduct of Board meetings is to be as informal as practicable, consonant with achieving the business of the Board with reasonable dispatch. Use of parliamentary procedure shall be exercised as necessary to maintain order and clarity of the proceedings.
b. If anyone who is not a member of the Board of Directors (henceforth, a "visitor") wishes to comment on business before the Board, he or she shall be recognized at the discretion of the Chair, or upon request to the Chair by any Board member. Should another Board member object, those two may state their reasons for and against participation by the visitor, and a majority vote will then determine whether the visitor may speak. In case of a tie, the visitor shall speak.
a. The order of business shall be:
1. Call to order; attendance
2. Approval of agenda
3. Approval of previous meeting's minutes
4. Officers' reports
5. Appointments (as necessary)
6. Member comments & Board responses
7. Old business
8. New Business
9. Task assignments for next meeting
10. Place & time of next meeting
11. Adjournment
1. The President shall prepare a draft agenda. Members of San Diego Mensa, whether Board members, appointed officers, or otherwise, who are aware of business they wish to bring before the Board shall request the President as early as possible to include such business in the draft agenda. The President shall include such business on the draft agenda if he is notified of such at least seven days before the meeting.
2. The President may publish a draft agenda more than seven days before the meeting, and shall publish a draft agenda—including such requested business—onto the public portion of the website between seven days and forty-eight hours before the meeting. The President shall send an email to all Board Members, appointed officers, and business requesters (except those who do not have email or have waived such notice), immediately after such mandatory publication, notifying them that such publication has taken place.
3. The President may modify the draft agenda on the website (on request or or his own initiative) until forty-eight hours before the meeting, but shall not modify it thereafter; and he shall not remove any requested business without the concurrence of the requester; and he shall include the seven-day and forty-eight-hour deadlines in the draft agenda as published on the website.
4. The agenda, as part of its approval by the Board, may be amended as desired by the Board.
5. Copies of the draft agenda shall be available for visitors at the meeting. Visitors shall be asked if they have items they wish the Board to consider, which may then be added to the agenda at the Board's discretion.
c. After the agenda has been approved it may still be amended informally during the course of the meeting unless a Board member objects. In that case, the Board shall discuss and decide by majority vote whether to amend the agenda.
d. Officers' reports shall include reports of appointed officers as well as Board members. The Board member serving as liaison for each appointed officer will introduce or deliver that officer's report.
e. Motions made during officers' reports must pertain to the matter being reported upon.
f. Member comments shall be solicited prior to Old Business. This shall be done regardless of whether visitors have been allowed to participate in the Board's discussions.
a. Summary minutes shall include as a minimum:
1. Attendance
2. All motions acted upon, including mover & seconder
3. Voting record (or tally if secret ballots) on each motion
4. Summary of member comment items
b. Detailed minutes shall include all items in the summary minutes and, in addition, abstracts of officers' reports (or the reports themselves, if submitted in written form) and a synopsis of discussion.
c. Motions withdrawn without action need not be included in the summary minutes, but should appear in the synopsis of discussion in the detailed minutes. Motions tabled shall appear in both summary and detailed minutes, since they have been acted upon.
d. As part of the approval of the previous meeting's minutes, the Board may amend the summary minutes as published in the MENSAN and the detailed minutes as submitted by the Secretary. Any amendments to the summary minutes of the previous meeting shall be included in the new summary minutes for publication in the MENSAN.
a. The President shall determine the date, time, and location of all General Gatherings.
b. General Gatherings shall be held at the time and place specified in the MENSAN notice, regardless of the number of members, or members of the Board of Directors, present.
c. The Bylaws require a General Gathering to be held upon request by 5% of the membership. Should such a petition be submitted, a General Gathering shall be convened within 45 days. Notification in the MENSAN, required by the Bylaws, may be an insert if necessary to meet publication schedules and the 45-day limit.
a. The President, or in the President's absence the Vice President, shall chair the General Gathering. Should neither of them be in attendance, the members assembled may select any member among them to serve as Chair.
b. Business of the General Gathering shall proceed by majority vote.
a. The Secretary shall keep summary minutes of the General Gathering. Should the Secretary not be in attendance, the members assembled may select any member among them to keep summary minutes.
b. Summary minutes of the General Gathering shall include:
1. Topics discussed
2. All motions acted upon, including mover & seconder
3. Voting tally for each motion
c. Minutes of the General Gathering shall be printed in the earliest possible issue of the MENSAN.
a. The powers of a General Gathering are stated in Art. VI, Sec. 4, of the Bylaws.
1. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all references to "officers" in the Bylaws and Standing Rules include both elected and appointed officers.
2. Most duties of office may be delegated. However, members of the Board of Directors may not delegate their seat or their vote on the Board. Other duties which may not be delegated are noted for each office.
3. Responsibilities of office may not be delegated, even when duties of office have been. The officer invested with the responsibility retains it so long as he or she holds the office.
1. The Bylaws assign the elected officers to serve as liaison for the various Board-appointed officers. This does not assign responsibility nor grant direct authority, supervision, or power to appoint and dismiss with respect to these officers, all of which are retained by the Board of Directors as a whole.
2. The Board may exercise its authority through the use of informal communications, advisory motions, directive motions, allocation or withholding of funds, removal from office, and by such other means as it may devise which are not inconsistent with the Bylaws and these Standing Rules.
3. The elected officer responsible for liaison with an appointed officer communicates policy decisions and requests by the Board to the appointed officer.
4. The elected officer responsible for liaison with an appointed officer brings reports, budgets and requests for funds from the appointed officer to the Board of Directors.
1. An officer who feels that another officer has impeded the performance of his or her duties, or has failed to fulfill his or her own duties, shall request mediation by the President. If the President is a party to the disagreement, the Ombudsman shall be requested to mediate.
2. Should such mediation fail to achieve a satisfactory result, the problem shall be reported in writing to the Board of Directors. The Board may discuss the problem on or off the record, in open or closed session. However, if the Board legislates a remedy, the motion and vote tally shall be included in the summary minutes.
3. At any stage in this procedure, any of the parties may request the aid of the Ombudsman to mediate the problem.
1. Any officer wishing to resign shall do so in writing.
2. A letter of resignation by the President shall be delivered to the Vice President.
3. A letter of resignation by any elected officer other than the President shall be delivered to the President.
4. A letter of resignation by any appointed officer shall be delivered to the elected officer responsible for liaison with that office.
5. Resignations due to excessive absences are governed by Article V, Sec. 2, of the Bylaws.
6. If an officer is determined to have resigned, this fact shall be communicated as quickly as possible to all the members of the Board of Directors. All elected officers are responsible for seeking candidates qualified to fill the vacancy. Appointment of a replacement shall be on the agenda of the next Board of Directors meeting.
a. The President may create ad hoc committees as needed.
b. The President shall report all communications from American Mensa, Ltd. to the Board of Directors, barring those specifically confidential.
c. The President may only delegate his or her duties to the Vice President. In the Vice President's absence, the President may delegate the Vice President's duties to another Board member. Such delegation may be done in anticipation of the absence of both the President and Vice President from a meeting, in which case it shall be in writing.
d. The President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: Mensa World Connect Coordinator (15, below).
e. After the Chairman of the Election Committee has certified the results of the election to the outgoing President, and before July 1, the outgoing President shall:
1. notify American Mensa of the results of the election;
2. update the email aliasing records of American Mensa as to elected offices which have a new incumbent (https://secure.us.mensa.org/members/only/emailconditions.php);
3. update the records of the U.S. Postal Service as to who the authorized key-holders are of the group's mailbox;
4. turn over his mailbox key to the incoming President;
5. arrange for the outgoing Secretary to turn over his mailbox key to the incoming Secretary (unless the Board has designated an officer other than Secretary to hold the backup key to the mailbox);
6. tell the incoming President, Secretary, and Development Officer what the Mensaphone "message center" access code is, so that the incoming President Secretary, and Development Officer can act as a backup to the Phone Coordinator, if necessary; and
7. tell the incoming President what the website's FTP address, username, and password are, so that the incoming President (or his designee) can act as a backup to the Webmaster, if necessary.
f. The incoming President shall:
1.
immediately after the first Board meeting, update the email aliasing records of American
Mensa as to appointed offices which have a new incumbent (https://secure.us.mensa.org/members/only/emailconditions.php);
2. thereafter, update the email aliasing records of
American Mensa of new officers, both elected and appointed; and
3. notify American Mensa of new elected officers.
a. The Vice President may not delegate his or her succession to the Presidency should that office become vacant.
b. The Vice President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: Scholarship Committee Chair (8, below); Gifted Children Coordinator (9, below); Editor (see Standing Rule IX.A.4, below); Webmaster (see 18, below).
a. The Secretary shall provide summary minutes of Board of Directors meetings and General Gatherings to the Editor of the MENSAN, who shall print them as submitted. The Editor may make changes only to condense without changing the sense; or to correct spelling, punctuation, or grammar; or with the Secretary's express approval.
b. The Secretary shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: Archivist (11, below).
a. All disbursements shall be by check, signed by the Treasurer or one other officer. The other officer may be the President, Vice President, or Secretary, at the Treasurer's convenience.
b. Authorized expenses shall only be reimbursed upon presentation of adequate documentation, and within 60 days of incurring the expense on behalf of San Diego Mensa, except by approval of the Board.
c. San Diego Mensa's financial records shall be maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and in sufficient detail to facilitate compliance with reporting requirements of local, state, and federal regulatory agencies, as well as American Mensa, Ltd.
d. The Treasurer shall maintain San Diego Mensa funds in checking, savings, CD, or money market accounts as he or she deems appropriate and prudent.
e. The Treasurer may set up imprest accounts for special purposes, such as the Regional Gathering, Scholarships, or Proctor. A scholarship fund, distinct from San Diego Mensa's general funds, shall be maintained if economically feasible. Any such accounts shall be included in all financial reports. The Treasurer may delegate signature authority over such accounts.
f. The Treasurer is required by the Bylaws to submit a quarterly financial report to the Board of Directors. This report shall include as a minimum: a net worth statement; an income and expenditure summary; and a comparison of income and expenditures to the budget.
g. A financial review committee shall be appointed annually, as set out in Art. III, Sec. 5, of the Bylaws.
1. Art. III, Sec. 5, of the
Bylaws reads as follows:
The incoming Board of Directors shall appoint, at its July meeting, a committee of three
or more members of San Diego Mensa to examine San Diego Mensa's financial records and to
verify its cash balances. The incoming Treasurer shall be a member of the committee unless
he or she has been involved with the collection or disbursement of monies during the
period being reviewed. No person shall be on the committee who has been involved with the
collection or disbursement of monies during the period being reviewed. The financial
review shall take place during the month of July, and the results of the review shall be
presented to the Board of Directors at its August meeting.
2. The following persons (or their designees) shall be present at the financial review:
a.
outgoing and incoming Treasurer of San Diego Mensa;
b.
outgoing and incoming Treasurer of the San Diego Mensa Regional Gathering;
c.
outgoing and incoming Proctor Coordinator, or other person handling Proctor funds; and
d.
outgoing and incoming incumbents of any other office which is involved with the collection
or disbursement of monies.
3.
All outgoing officers shall bring with them:
a.
all books and records of their office; and
b. revised signature cards, or comparable documentation, sufficient to cause the appropriate financial institution(s) to start recognizing the signatures of the incoming officer and to stop recognizing the signatures of the outgoing officer (unless the outgoing officer is also the incoming officer, or unless such signature cards [or equivalents] have already been presented to the appropriate financial institution(s)]).
h. The Treasurer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: RG Treasurer.
a. The Bylaws make the Activities Officer responsible for arranging for official activities. Although the Regional Gathering is an official activity, the Activities Officer is only given a liaison relationship with the RG Chair, and thus does not have responsibility for the RG, except as one of seven members of the Board of Directors.
b. The Activities Officer may appoint managers for any or all of the official activities except the RG.
c. The Activities Officer shall encourage, stimulate, and assist members to hold activities. See Standing Rule VIII, below, for details.
d. The Activities Officer may coordinate the calendar (or appoint a calendar coordinator) to minimize schedule conflicts, thus maximizing potential participation.
e. The Activities Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: SIGs Officer (10, below); SIGHT Coordinator (14, below).
a. The Development Officer shall devise and carry out programs to attract new members to San Diego Mensa.
b. The Development Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: Public Relations Officer (12, below); Phone Coordinator (16, below); Proctor Coordinator (17, below); Testing Coordinator (21, below).
a. The Member Services Officer shall devise and carry out programs to increase the value of San Diego Mensa to its members.
b. The Member Services Officer shall be responsible for maintaining a current member list.
c. The Member Services Officer shall be a recipient of the monthly membership printout from American Mensa, Ltd. He or she shall make copies available within five days to officers who request them. Cost of such copies shall be charged to the budget of the requesting officer.
d. The Member Services Officer shall make copies of the monthly membership printout available to members who request them. Cost of such copies shall be paid by the member for whom they are made.
e. The Member Services Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the following officers: Area Coordinators (13, below); Database Coordinator (20, below); Patriarch Emeritus (19, below).
a. The Scholarship Committee shall submit proposals for awarding scholarships from this fund to the Board of Directors for its approval.
b. The Scholarship Committee shall administer the process of selecting recipients and awarding scholarships from San Diego Mensa's scholarship fund. It shall also be the San Diego Mensa agency which administers the MERF annual scholarship program.
c. The Vice-President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Scholarship Committee Chair.
a. The Gifted Children Coordinator shall monitor, foster and promote programs for the benefit of gifted children. Such programs may be sponsored by Mensa, governmental agencies or private organizations.
b. The Vice-President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Gifted Children Coordinator
a. The SIGs Officer shall maintain a list of active Special Interest Groups in San Diego Mensa. This shall include the nature of the Groups' activities and a contact person and telephone number for each SIG.
b. The SIGs Officer shall provide the Editor of the MENSAN with an updated list of SIGs at least quarterly.
c. The SIGs Officer shall provide advice and assistance to members to start and improve local Special Interest Groups.
d. The Activities Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the SIGs Officer.
a. The Archivist shall maintain a permanent, complete, and orderly set of records of San Diego Mensa. These records shall consist of Board of Directors meeting minutes, officers' notebooks, copies of the MENSAN, three years of financial records, and historical copies of all versions of the Bylaws and Standing Rules of San Diego Mensa. The Archivist shall maintain other records as directed by the Board of Directors.
b. The Secretary shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Archivist.
a. The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for the creation of press releases, the gathering of media attention, and generation of appropriate recognition of the club. The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for the promotion of a good public image of San Diego Mensa.
b. The Development Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Public Relations Officer.
a. The Area Coordinators shall be responsible for the promotion of participation by the membership in the activities of San Diego Mensa. The Area Coordinators shall encourage the organization of events within their area, shall be actively involved in such events, and shall be responsible for the coordination of volunteers to help organize and run such events.
b. The Member Services Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Area Coordinators.
a. The SIGHT (Service of Information, Guidance, and Hospitality to Travelers) Coordinator has the duties stated in Chapter 21 of the Actions Still In Effect established by American Mensa, Limited. San Diego Mensa has the right only to nominate a SIGHT Coordinator; appointment requires approval by the AML National SIGHT Coordinator,
b. The Activities Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the SIGHT Coordinator.
a. World Connect is a worldwide Mensa program that pairs cities/local groups around the world with "sister" cities/local groups that would enjoy, and possibly benefit from, the connection. The Mensa World Connect Coordinator shall maintain the World Connect program locally.
b. The President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Mensa World Connect Coordinator.
a. The Phone Coordinator shall have responsibility for the San Diego Mensa Telephone, the "Mensaphone".
b. The Development Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Phone Coordinator.
a. The Testing Coordinator shall have responsibility for scheduling tests, obtaining test locations, seeing that proctors receive neccesary training, and assigning proctors to oversee specific testing sessions..
b. The Development Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Testing Coordinator.
a. See Standing Rule IX.C, "Website", below.
a. Dick Hartje (1908-2001) shall be Patriarch Emeritus, in perpetuity.
b. The Patriarch Emeritus shall vouch for worthy San Diego Mensans as they approach the Pearly Gates.
c. The Member Services Officer shall maintain liaison (to the extent possible) between the Board of Directors and the Patriarch Emeritus.
a. The Database Coordinator shall maintain the San Diego Mensa database and use it to prepare the Directory (see "Directory", Standing Rule IX.B, below) for publication by the Editor.
b. The Member Services Officer shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Database Coordinator.
1. Appointment of replacements for elected offices which have become vacant (except President) shall precede appointment of other officers.
2. Subject to the above priority, the President shall determine the order in which appointments are made.
1. Any Board member may make a nomination. Seconds are not required.
2. If possible, candidates should be present to discuss their qualifications and willingness to serve. However, absence of any or all candidates shall not necessarily be cause to delay a decision.
1. Only members in good standing of San Diego Mensa may hold office; but non-members may serve as consultants to officers.
2. Articles V.4 and V. 8 of the Bylaws limit the number of consecutive terms "during" which a member may serve as an elected officer.
3. An elected officer who is appointed to a second (vacant) elected position must resign from the original office if he or she wishes to assume the new one. Resignation from the elected position is not required if he or she wishes to also assume a non-elected position.
1. Discussion of candidates shall be in closed session at the request of any Board member. Voting shall be by secret ballot, but results shall be reported in the summary minutes and tallies in the detailed minutes.
2. If there is more than one nominee, all candidates shall be discussed and voted on at the same time.
3. Preferential voting shall be used. If there are more than two candidates, each voter shall rank the candidates in order of preference, with "1" the most preferred. The candidate with the fewest "1" votes is eliminated, and his or her ballots are distributed to the candidates marked "2". In the event of a tie, both candidates are eliminated. This process continues until one candidate has a majority of the votes.
4. If a Board Member finds a candidate unacceptable, he may vote "no". This is not an abstention, nor necessarily a vote for the opponent. All candidates may be marked "no" if desired. The intended effect is to hinder such candidates from achieving a majority.
5. If no candidate achieves a majority, the Board may reconsider the original nominees, nominate additional candidates, simply vote again, or table the appointment.
1. The outgoing Treasurer shall prepare a draft budget for the following year. Each officer, outgoing and incoming, may give input to the Treasurer, who shall collate and prepare the draft.
2. The incoming Board of Directors shall modify the draft budget as it sees fit, either at its first meeting or in informal sessions.
3. The reworked draft budget shall be presented informally to the General Gathering to solicit input from the membership.
4. The draft budget shall be formally presented by the Treasurer to the Board of Directors at its second regular meeting. Final revisions shall be made and the budget adopted at that meeting. Failing this, the Board shall schedule a special business meeting to adopt the budget before its third regular meeting.
1. Unbudgeted expenditures greater than $50 shall require seven days notice to all members of the Board of Directors.
2. Notice of consideration of unbudgeted expenditures shall be at a Board meeting or in writing. Notice at a board meeting shall appear in the summary minutes, and constitutes notice to all Board members, whether present or not, for action at the next regular Board of Directors meeting.
A. Unless otherwise specified, notification shall be by certified mail.
B. Publication of minutes, proposed amendments to the Bylaws, recall elections, notification of General Gatherings and Board meetings shall be at the earliest date possible. In no case shall they be printed later than the first issue of the MENSAN with a published closing date later than their submission.
C. The Bylaws require notification of a special business meeting of the Board to each Board member by certified mail or publication in the MENSAN. However, if such a special business meeting is decided upon at a regular Board meeting, written notice to Board members present is not required. Absent Board members must still be given full statutory notice, including (if applicable) seven days for unbudgeted expenditures.
1. The Board of Directors shall select an election committee of at least three members, each of whom shall be acceptable to all Board members voting.
2. Any member of the Board may nominate candidates without second for the election committee, and any member of the Board may reject any candidate without giving a reason.
1. Campaign statements shall be solicited from all candidates. The maximum length shall be 300 words. Statements exceeding 300 words shall be truncated.
2. A photograph may be supplied by each candidate and shall be printed in the MENSAN accompanying the campaign statement. The election committee, in consultation with the Editor of the MENSAN, shall determine the maximum size of such photos. Photos will be cropped to meet this size limit if necessary, but will not be enlarged if smaller.
3. The election committee shall notify all candidates of the criteria for campaign statements and photos and of the deadline for submission. The election committee shall receive this material and transmit it to the MENSAN Editor.
4. All properly submitted campaign material shall be published unedited, subject to approval by the election committee.
5. The campaign statements and photographs shall be the only campaign material published in the MENSAN, other than paid and clearly marked advertising.
1. The election committee shall design the ballot.
2. Write-in voting is not permitted. A write-in vote shall be counted as an abstention.
3. Ballots which are illegible or ambiguous in whole or in part shall have that portion which is indecipherable treated as an abstention. Any clearly marked votes shall be counted.
4. Ballots which are identifiable (for example, if the voter has written his or her own name somewhere on the ballot) shall be counted if they are otherwise valid.
1. After the ballots have been counted, they shall be placed in a sealed container and preserved by the election committee.
2. If no challenge to the election is filed, the ballots shall be delivered to the Archivist, who shall preserve them sealed in the original container for at least three years.
3. If a challenge to the election is filed, the election committee shall continue to hold the ballots until they are required for review or adjudication by a properly constituted authority (such as the American Mensa, Ltd. Ombudsman), or until the challenge is resolved or dropped.
4. In no case shall the ballots from a disputed election be surrendered to an interested party, including any of the newly elected officers or their appointees.
1. Any challenge to the election of a member of the Board of Directors must be made in writing to the Chair of the election committee, with a copy to the outgoing President. Such a challenge must be submitted within ten days of certification and announcement of the results of the election.
2. If a challenge is filed, the election committee shall conduct a public hearing within two weeks of the filing of the challenge. Each affected candidate shall receive at least 72 hours notice of the hearing.
3. The election committee shall come to a decision and publish it within 72 hours after the hearing. It may uphold the election, disqualify any or all candidates for one or more offices, or nullify the entire election for one or more offices. It may also invalidate some ballots.
4. After the election committee has made its ruling, parties to the challenge are not constrained from carrying their protest through normal Mensa avenues of redress.
5. Should some but not all candidates for an office be disqualified, the ballots shall be recounted, with votes for disqualified candidates counted as abstentions.
6. Should some but not all ballots be invalidated, the valid ballots shall be recounted to determine the winner(s).
7. Should all candidates for some offices be disqualified, the incoming Board of Directors shall appoint members to these offices. A disqualified candidate shall not be eligible for appointment to these positions.
8. Challenges to the results of any election shall have no effect on the seating of unopposed candidates.
9. Disqualification of an officer after taking office shall not affect any action taken in good faith by the Board before such disqualification.
1. The official activities of San Diego Mensa are events declared and controlled by the Board of Directors. They are intended for participation by all members.
2. Official activities are the Yearly Regional Gathering ("RG") and the Quarterly General Gatherings.
3. San Diego Mensa is financially responsible for these events, and monitors their expenses.
4. Official activities shall be published in the calendar which appears in the MENSAN.
1. Any group of members may form a Special Interest Group ("SIG").
2. Each SIG shall have a leader, who shall be a member in good standing of San Diego Mensa. A SIG which regards itself as "open" may also have members, other than the leader, who are not members in good standing of San Diego Mensa.
3. SIGs are not official subdivisions of San Diego Mensa.
4. The Board of Directors has no responsibility for, nor any authority over, the actions of SIGs.
1. An "unofficial activity" is an activity (other than the Yearly Regional Gathering and the Quarterly General Gatherings) by a member or SIG of San Diego Mensa.
2. The Editor may publish unofficial activities in the MENSAN calendar if they meet editorial policy (see "Newsletter", Standing Rule IX.A.3, below). One element of this policy may be that the activity be open to all members of San Diego Mensa. Another element may be that the activity pose no substantial competition to the RG. The Editor may ask the Activities Officer to help resolve potential conflicts among unofficial activities, or between an unofficial activity and the RG.
3. The Board of Directors has no responsibility for, nor any authority over, unofficial activities, whether published in the MENSAN calendar or not.
4. The Activities Officer shall use his or her best efforts to ensure that an unofficial Monthly Gathering (open to all members of San Diego Mensa) takes place each month, including the July following the end of his or her term.
5. The Activities Officer shall use his or her best efforts to ensure the continuation of traditional unofficial events, and the establishment of new unofficial events, which are open to all members of San Diego Mensa.
1. The Board of Directors shall publish a monthly newsletter, the MENSAN, for distribution to the membership.
2. The prime purposes of the MENSAN are to provide a Calendar of Events, transmit to the membership minutes of Board Meetings and General Gatherings, convey officers' reports, stimulate membership enthusiasm and Mensa activity, and, space permitting, provide an outlet for selected writings of local Mensans.
3. In any case where a member brings a complaint regarding the editorial policy of the MENSAN to the attention of the board, or of any board member, the matter shall first be referred to the editor for his timely response. If the situation remains unresolved, the parties shall be advised to contact the ombudsman for mediation. Under normal circumstances the Board of Directors of San Diego Mensa will decline to discuss or act on any such matter prior to these steps being taken.
4. The Editor shall prepare a special edition of the MENSAN intended for mailing to locations where it is known that it will be read by non-members, to protect member privacy.
5. The Vice-President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Editor of the MENSAN.
1. A yearly Directory, a special issue of the MENSAN, shall be published on paper. This Directory shall include, but not be limited to, an alphabetical listing of the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of the members. If economically feasible, it may also contain: an alphabetical listing by first names; an alphabetical listing of names by ZIP code; an alphabetical listing of names by birthday.
2. The Directory may contain member biographies as available. Selection of which biographies to publish or exclude is not permitted. Normal editing (for spelling, grammar, and propriety) is permitted.
3. A member's right to suppress or publish information in the Directory about himself/herself is governed by Art. II, Sec. 3, of the Bylaws.
1. The Board of Directors shall appoint a Webmaster to maintain and improve the San Diego Mensa Website.
2. The Vice-President shall maintain liaison between the Board of Directors and the Webmaster.
3. The Directory shall not be published on the website. However, the website may include a list of links to the e-mail addresses and/or websites of those members of San Diego Mensa who have requested inclusion on this list.
4. The website shall have an open area and a password-protected area, and:
a. the password shall be given only to local group members and to out-of-group subscribers;
b. the password shall be changed at least annually, during the spring, after it has been determined which memberships have lapsed because of non-payment of dues; and
c. the new password shall not be given to such lapsed members until they have paid their dues.
5. The webmaster, or a designee of the webmaster, shall, if practical, publish the newsletter on the website. Elements of the newsletter containing personal information, if published on the website, shall be published in the password protected area, unless permission is granted by that member for publication of their information to the general public.
6. When announcing an event (in addition to the announcement in the newsletter), the webmaster shall publish (or withhold) whatever contact information (telephone number, website, e-mail address, street address of a private home) as the event's sponsor requests. In the absence of a specific request, the webmaster may publish:
a. in the open area: only the sponsor's telephone number and website; and, if it is at a public place (restaurant, park, etc.), the street address of the event; and
b. in the password-protected area: any and all contact information.
1. Bylaws and Standing Rules will be published on the website. One paper copy will be made available to any member, without charge, upon request.
A. The "Group Register" is the computer printout received monthly from American Mensa Ltd. This official local membership list is produced monthly at the American Mensa Office and shall be regarded as accurate and complete unless it can be verified that an error has occurred in the American Mensa Offices.