Chapter By-laws

Article I NAME This organization shall be called the Adirondack Mountain Club North Jersey Ramapo Chapter, hereafter referred to as the “Chapter.”

Article II ORGANIZATION This Chapter shall be regulated and subject to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Adirondack Mountain Club, hereafter referred to as the “Club.”

Article III OBJECTIVES The objectives of the Chapter shall be:

A. To further wilderness conservation values, protection of undeveloped areas and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve of the Adirondacks and Catskills, and the Shawangunks, Hudson Highlands, Ramapos, Palisades, and other parks and undeveloped areas and waters in New Jersey and the adjacent areas of New York.

B. To organize and conduct outings and to encourage and educate members about outdoor recreation, such as outings, canoeing, camping, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, in the Adirondacks, Catskills and in New Jersey and the adjacent areas of New York in a manner which shall minimize the environmental impact on these lands.

C. To support efforts to acquire additional public lands and conservation easements within the Adirondacks, Catskills, and in New Jersey and the adjacent areas of New York, in order to ensure the preservation of the public access to ecologically or recreationally significant areas.

Article IV MEMBERSHIP AND DUES Membership in the Chapter shall be open to any person who subscribes to the objectives of the Chapter. Membership in the Chapter shall be categorized in accordance with Article IV, Sections 1 through 14 of the Club’s Bylaws. Voting membership shall be given to all members, with the exception of Affiliate members, provided they are 18 years of age or older.

A. Dues shall be fixed by and paid to the Club. Dues for Affiliate members shall be set by the Chapter Executive Committee.

B. Non-payment of dues shall result in loss of membership according to the provisions of the Club Bylaws.

Article V OFFICERS Officers of the Chapter shall be Chapter Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Trustee, and Alternate Trustee(s). The terms of these Officers will be three years with the exception of the Trustee and Alternate Trustee(s) whose terms will be two years. These Officers may be re-elected for additional terms, except the number of Advisory Council Trustees and their term of office shall be as defined by the Club. Trustees may be appointed by the chair and have a two-year term, renewable once. Only voting members shall be eligible to hold office. Should an office become vacant for any reason, the unexpired term shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee, except that the Vice Chair shall become Chapter Chair for the unexpired term, should the office of the Chapter Chair become vacant. The Officers shall perform the duties customarily associated with such offices as outlined in “Robert’s Rules of Order”.

A. The Chapter Chair shall preside over the executive committee and Chapter Membership meetings. The Chapter Chair shall be responsible for distributing the Chapter’s Bylaws to all newly elected members of the Executive Committee.

B. The Vice Chair shall assist and substitute in the Chapter Chair’s absence, and may, in addition, be appointed Chair of a committee.

C. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes of all meetings, presenting these minutes to the membership and keeping all documents relating to the Chapter.

D. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping account of the Chapter’s finances. An annual report shall be submitted to the membership at the end of the fiscal year. The fiscal year coincides with the calendar year: January 1 – December 31. The Chapter Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary shall audit the Treasurer’s financial accounts before the annual report is submitted to the membership.

E. The Advisory Council Trustee shall attend scheduled meetings of the Club Advisory Council and shall represent the chapter’s views and report to the Chapter Board of Directors. In the event that the Advisory Council Trustee cannot attend a meeting of the Club Advisory Council, the Alternate Advisory Council Trustee shall attend instead.

Article VI Conflict of Interest policy: an officer or member of the Executive Committee must abstain from voting or attempting to influence the vote or take part in the discussion on any matter before the Board that places him or her in a conflict of interest.

Article VII COMMITTEE CHAIRS The Chapter Chair shall appoint Chairs for the following: Conservation, outings, Membership, Newsletter, Programs, Publicity, Trails, Chapter Advisor(s) and Webmaster. Chairs shall appoint the members of their own Committees with the approval of the Executive Committee. The Chapter Chair shall appoint a delegate to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

A. The Conservation Chair shall have charge of all matters pertaining to conservation, shall be responsible for the education of the Chapter membership and the general public in conservation matters, and shall recommend conservation policy and action to the Executive Committee and to the membership.

B. The Outings Chair shall arrange for outings and outing leaders, and publicize the outings in the Chapter Newsletter.

C. The Membership Chair shall maintain current membership records, notify lapsed members of their status, and respond to inquiries about the Club.

D. The Newsletter Chair shall be responsible for the preparation and distribution of the Chapter Newsletter.

E. The Program Chair shall arrange for appropriate presentations at Chapter Membership meetings.

F. The Publicity Chair shall be responsible for the public release of information, including announcements of Chapter events and outings.

G. The Trails Chair, in cooperation with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, shall arrange for, and have charge of, all Chapter activities having to do with trail maintenance.

H. The Webmaster is responsible for maintaining and keeping the Chapter’s website current.

I. The Chapter Chair may appoint Special Chairs as deemed necessary.

J. The Chapter Chair may appoint Chapter Advisors as deemed necessary up to a maximum of three Chapter Advisors serving at any given time. Chapter Advisors are past chairs and may be re-appointed for additional terms. The Chapter Advisor will become a voting member of the executive committee and serves by taking on specific issues or problems the chapter faces, consulting, and making recommendations to the board on issues related to the mission and operation of the chapter. The chapter advisor may be removed by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Article VIII EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers, Chairs and Special Chairs, Chapter Advisors, and the delegate to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. The Chapter Chair serves as presiding officer. All members of the Executive Committee are volunteers who share a thorough knowledge of the Chapter and ADK’s mission.

A. The Executive Committee shall conduct the Chapter business between meetings of the membership. Each attending member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote.

B. The Executive Committee shall meet a minimum of four times a year. Notice of regularly scheduled meetings will be published in the Chapter Newsletter. Notice of special meetings shall be sent to each Executive Committee member no less than one week in advance of the meeting, and be posted on the chapter website. Any Chapter member may attend an Executive Committee meeting in a non-voting capacity.

C. A quorum for Executive Committee meetings shall be at least 50% of the committee, with at least two officers present.

Article IX CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Chapter meetings shall be held periodically and frequently as determined by the Executive Committee. These meetings shall be open to all members and to the general public.

A. The Annual meeting shall be held at the last Chapter Membership meeting of the year.

B. A quorum for Chapter Membership meetings shall consist of ten members entitled to vote.

C. All Chapter Membership meetings shall be held in accordance with “Robert’s Rules of Order”.

Article X ELECTIONS The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Chapter Chair at least five months prior to the annual meeting at which elections will be held.

A. The Nominating Committee shall consist of not less than three members. This Committee shall present to the Chapter members, at the Chapter Membership meeting preceding the Annual Meeting, a slate of nominees for the Officers, none of which may be members of the Nominating Committee. Additional nominations for any or all of these Officers may be made from the floor at the same meeting, nominees’ consent having been previously obtained.

B. Elections when required by the expiration of term limits will be held at the Annual meeting. The newly elected Officers shall take office at the conclusion of that meeting, with the exception that a newly elected Treasurer will assume the position when the outgoing Treasurer completes the financial statement for the current calendar year.

Article XI AMENDMENTS These Bylaws may be amended only by a two-thirds majority of the voting members present at a Chapter Membership meeting provided a quorum is present and written notice of the meeting and the proposed amendment has been submitted to all members two months in advance of the meeting. Any voting member may propose amendments of the Bylaws to the membership, providing the above procedure is followed.

Adopted April 2009
Revised December 2020
Revised November 2021
November 2021