HSQ House Rules

Revised August 2012

This organization shall be known as Heartstring Quilters.

The purpose of this organization shall be to provide a supportive atmosphere for those interested in quilts and the quilt-making heritage. Heartstring Quilters (HQ) provides a time for the sharing of knowledge, skill and experience, and allows all members to benefit as a group, to improve their individual skills and to support the art of quilting.

Members

Members are those who pay annual dues and are willing to accept the responsibility of a guild job to support the organization. If a member should move out of the area and be unable to attend meetings regularly, their name will be transferred to a Non-Resident Member file in order to open up a membership slot. Such members may still choose to renew membership if they wish to remain on the mailing list. Members shall be eligible to vote at general meetings on amending the House Rules, electing officers and other issues presented to the membership.  The total active membership of the guild shall not exceed 50 members.

Annual Dues

The fiscal year is September 1 through June 30. Annual dues shall accompany membership application and/or renewal. Heartstrings dues are $40 annually. Dues will be paid at the September meeting, or may be mailed to the Membership Chair. Membership is limited to 50 people, therefore, It is important to pay annual dues in a timely fashion. The deadline is October 31. Members who have not paid their dues by the deadline may be dropped from the membership and a slot opened up for a new member.” New members may join at any time there is an opening. After January 31, dues will decrease to one-half the amount set for the year. All dues collected are the responsibility of the Treasurer, but will be collected by the Membership Committee. The Board shall have the authority to increase annual dues, subject to approval by a majority of paid members. Membership cards are issued after dues are paid. Presentation of guild membership cards while shopping at some area quilt shops may allow a discount on purchases. Each member will receive one guest pass.

Guest fees shall be paid prior to the start of each meeting. This fee will be refunded if the guest joins the guild and pays the membership dues that evening.  The guest fee is $3.00; $5.00 if there is a speaker.

Registration

Upon application for membership, a registration form will be filled out. This form includes personal data, quilting experience and quilting interests. The Membership Chair will maintain these records.

Name Tags

All members are strongly encouraged to wear the nametag given to them by the Membership Committee and made available at the start of each meeting, to monthly meetings, guild workshops, and other guild functions. Nametags give everyone the opportunity to get to know one another better.

Elected Officers

The term of office shall be one year, from September 1-August 31, with the option of continuing upon annual re-election one more year, with no one serving more than (2) years consecutively. Any extension of terms beyond 2 years must be approved by a majority vote of the guild members. The officers of Heartstring Quilters shall be President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers, along with the Committee Chairs, comprise the Board.

Duties of Officers

·           The President will preside at board and general meetings, and will call special meetings as deemed necessary. The President will be able to sign checks of the guild and will appoint guild members to fill vacant offices, subject to board approval.

·           The Secretary will take minutes of all meetings, board and general, and submit them to the President and Newsletter Editor. These minutes will be available to the general membership at their request.

·           The Treasurer will receive and deposit monies to the guild checking account, write guild checks, maintain guild financial books, and submit a quarterly financial report.

Meetings

Monthly general meetings will be held the second Thursday of each month. A quorum for the transaction of business at meetings shall be comprised of the paid members in attendance. The meetings will consist of a guild business meeting and a featured program, with occasional exception. The business meeting begins at 7:15 p.m., and is comprised of the items more fully explained below. When the program features an invited guest speaker, not a Heartstrings member, the program will commence at 7:00 p.m. followed by the break and business meeting.

The Board shall meet a minimum of four (4) times per year. The day-to-day internal affairs of the guild are to be handled by the Board, which is the governing body. Two-thirds of the Board membership comprises a quorum.

Election of Officers

The annual election of officers will take place at the general meeting in June of each year. Election will be by a simple majority vote of the members present. Any candidate must be a member in good standing.

Committees

Committee chairs shall become voting members of the Board. Each committee chair is responsible for forming his or her own committee. Each committee shall perform duties as outlined by the Board. The committees are as follows: Membership, Programs, Newsletter, Website, Hospitality, Raffle, and Sunshine.

Membership

Membership chair and committee will assist the President as called upon, will greet members and guests, provide forms, House Rules and other information to members or prospective members, will receive all new and renewal applications, will keep attendance records, will collect annual dues, guest fees and fines, and submit these to the Treasurer. The committee will develop, maintain, publish, update and distribute a membership list bi-yearly. The committee will also keep a list of inactive members.

Programs

The Programs Committee will plan and coordinate quilt-related programs for each monthly meeting. The membership will be encouraged to participate in programs such as instructors, speakers, reporters, etc. The upcoming programs will be published in the newsletter (and posted on the website). The committee will contact speakers and provide a letter of confirmation and a contract. The committee will keep such correspondence on file, and write a “thank you” to each speaker.

The Programs Committee will schedule and coordinate workshops, demonstrations, and other educational events, will register and collect monies pertaining to a scheduled event, and will give a record of money received, along with all the money, to the Treasurer. All registrations will be paid for at the time of the registration and are NON-REFUNDABLE. When there are still openings in a workshop or other event, after all members have been given an opportunity to register, this committee has the responsibility of opening registration to guests.

Newsletter

The Newsletter Editor and committee prepares and publishes a monthly newsletter (September through June) and is responsible for distributing it to the general membership via e-mail. The newsletter is also posted on the guild’s website. All submissions should be sent to the editor by the 15th of the month for inclusion in the following month’s newsletter.

Website Committee

Responsible for updating and maintaining the guild’s website.

Hospitality

A refreshment break is taken during the monthly meetings. Each month three (3)

members are assigned the responsibility of providing refreshments to at least 25 people, arriving early to set up prior to the meeting and cleaning up afterwards.

The Hospitality Chair is responsible for maintaining supplies for coffee, tea, etc., and provides a listing of membership assignments to the editor of the newsletter, who will list assignments each month.

Sunshine will offer support to members when needed in good times and bad. Members are encouraged to contact sunshine when they have pertinent information regarding life events affecting members.

Raffle

Each month, members have the opportunity to win a prize by participating in the raffle. Tickets are $1.00. Money from the raffle is deposited in the Guild treasury.

Show and Tell

During the monthly meeting, members are encouraged to show finished, unfinished, collected and new acquisitions. This time can also be used for problem solving. A sign-up sheet for Show and Tell is provided by the Membership Committee at the start of the meeting and passed around for sign up.

Challenge/Mystery Quilts

A voluntary quilt project that has specific guidelines to follow in order to stay within restricted parameters. Example: size, color, block style, theme, etc. This is an occasional activity led by member volunteers.