Deaf Seniors of Georgia Bylaws
(as revised at the Statewide Conference at the DoubleTree by
Hilton Hotel, Columbus, GA, on May 17, 2022)
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be the DEAF SENIORS OF GEORGIA, hereafter referred to as the DSG.
ARTICLE II
Objectives
Section 1. The objectives of the DSG are:
a. To bring attention to the special issues and needs of deaf seniors and to work towards their solutions;
b. To bring attention to the special issues and needs of other senior citizen groups;
ARTICLE III
Membership
Section 1. Any person, aged fifty (50) years or over, shall be eligible for membership in the DSG.
Section 2. Categories of senior citizen memberships shall be:
a. Active Membership:
1. An active member pays annual dues and has these privileges as “follows:
2. Making motions at meetings.
3. Having voice and debating rights.
4. Voting at meetings.
5. Holding office as President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer (see Article V, Section 2)
b. Associate Membership:
1. Associate membership shall be open to all who are under the age of 50. Associate members may have
voice but cannot vote at meetings. They may serve on committees but not as officers. Associate
members may not serve on the DSG Board of Directors for any reason.
Section 3. Organizations:
a. Any organization that serves the deaf senior citizens may become an affiliate of’ the DSG by a majority vote of the Board of’ Directors;
b. Affiliates dues shall be $50.00 per year;
c. One representative from each organization in good standing shall have a voice at all meetings.
ARTICLE IV
Dues and Funds
Section 1. Dues of active and associate members shall be $15.00 per person per year.
Section 2. Dues are payable annually.
Section 3. Any change in the membership status during a “fiscal year shall not affect his/her dues for the remainder of
the year.
ARTICLE V
Officers
Section 1. The officers of DSG shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer
a. The spouse of the President shall not be the treasurer.
Section 2. Each officer must be an active deaf or hard of hearing member in good standing.
Section 3. The term of office shall be two (2) years, or until a successor is chosen. Officers may be reelected for an
additional term but shall not serve more than six (6) consecutive years in the same office. Exceptions:
Pandemic, natural disaster, war, etc… that the statewide conference cannot be held. The term of office
shall begin immediately after the election.
Section 4. Nominations for office shall be made by the Nomination Committee, but may also be made from the
floor during the conference. Persons, running or nominated for office, must be present at the conference.
Section 5. Vacancies in office between terms may be filled by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at a regular or
special Board meeting.
Section 6. Trustees: The eligibility requirement for the trustees shall be the same as for officers.
ARTICLE VI
Elections
Section 1. Election of officers shall be held at the biannual statewide conference.
Section 2. All elections shall be by “Plurality Vote.”
Section 3. There shall be no voting by proxy.
Section 4. Newly elected officers shall assume the office immediately after the final adjournment of the current
meeting and continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified. The following oath shall be
administered by the retiring president or other member in good standing:
“I solemnly promise to observe and uphold the
constitution and bylaws of the organization, to
promote the objectives of the organization and to
protect it from those who willfully harm it. I will at
all times discharge the duties of my office to the
best of my ability, so help me God”
ARTICLE VII
Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President of the DSG shall:
a. Preside at regular or special meetings;
b. Appoint committee chairs, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors;
c. Direct the Secretary to conduct votes of the Board of Directors between meetings as required;
d. Act as liaison for the DSG with the Georgia Association of the Deaf Home Office and the Executive Board, and attend GAD Board of Directors meetings;
e. Represent. DSG with cooperation of the Georgia Association of the Deaf before the general public, units of
government and deaf communities.
f. Act as an ex–officio member of all committees and Board of Directors other than the By laws and Nomination Committees.Section 2. The Vice President shall:
a. Preside at meetings in the absence of the President;
b. Perform other duties as assigned by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors;
c. Shall be responsible for supervising events coordinator(s)/chairperson(s).
Section 3. The Secretary shall:
a. Record and keep the minutes of membership and regular, special and Board of Directors meetings;
b. Shall keep all CD/DVD/Flash Drives from all board members and from all statewide conferences, history and photos for records;
c. Receive and send official correspondence;
d. Maintain official correspondence in files.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall:
a. Receive and record dues and other funds in a DSG checking account and pay all outstanding bills.
Section 5. The Executive Board shall reimburse any officer’s, carrying out his/her duties, and expenses as set by the
Board.
Section 6. Delegates, if elected as the Statewide Conference to any conference or convention, shall be reimbursed the
same as outlined in Section 5.
ARTICLE VIII
Board of Directors
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the four (4) officers, the three (3) trustees.
a. At least two trustees must be present at any meeting to verify and sign the treasurer’s report and any financial paperwork. If two trustees are not present, the President may assign a member to serve as a temporary trustee for this purpose only.
Section 2. The powers and duties of the Board of Directors shall be:
a. To conduct the affairs of’ the DSG, in accordance with the bylaws;
b. To appropriate and approve the expenditure funds set aside for its activities;
c. Shall receive the membership list from the membership chair;
d. Each board member shall put his/her report on a CD/DVD/Flash Drive.
ARTICLE IX
Meetings and Quorums
Section 1. Regular meetings:
a. Shall be held three (3) times per year, In the Fall, Winter and Spring;
b. A statewide conference shall be held biannually during even years, the date to be
determined by the conference committee;
c. The Board of Directors has the authority to change the date of the DSG Conference.
Section 2. The Order of business of’ this Association shall be as follows:
Invocation
Reading of Minutes Communications
President’s Address
Report of the Officers
Report of the Committees
Unfinished Business
New Business
Elections of’ new Officers/Conference bids
Section 3. Fifteen (15) active members in good standing and four (4) DSG Officers shall constitute a quorum for
meetings. Allow for only one (1) officer absence.
Section 4. Each active member in good standing at all meetings shall have one (1) vote.
Section 5. Special meetings may be called by the President or on the written request of at least three (3) members of the
Board.
Section 6. At the Annual Statewide conference non–registrants shall pay the current conference registration fee.
Section 7. The standing committee reports shall be submitted in writing to the Board the day before the Statewide
Conference.
Section 8. The Statewide Conference Minutes and the Treasurer’s Report shall be read and/or Corrected at the next
General Meeting.
ARTICLE X
Committees
Section 1. Standing committees shall be:
1. Bylaws Committee
2. Nominating Committee
3. Membership Committee
4. Tour Committee
5. DSG Tree Committee
6. Fund Raising events
Section 2. Other committees are subject to approval of the Board of Directors or by a vote at meetings.
Section 3. The chair of each committee may elect other committee members up to a number approved by the
Board of Directors;
Section 4. The chair of each committee shall submit a report when so requested by the Board of Directors and in any
event, shall make a complete written report to be submitted to any regular meeting.
ARTICLE XI
Suspension of Bylaws
Section 1. Shall require a two–thirds vote.
ARTICLE XII
Amendments
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a two–thirds (2/3) vote of the membership present during the voting at
the statewide conference.
Section 2. Proposed amendments shall be considered only if presented by the Bylaws Committee Members seeking
changes in the bylaws must submit proposed changes in writing to the Chairperson of the Bylaws Committee before and during the conference.
Section 3. Changes in the provisions of these bylaws, which result automatically from amendments to the bylaws, shall go into effect at the time of the adoption unless otherwise specified in that change.
Section 4. The revised bylaws shall be distributed within 90 days of the adjournment of the Statewide Conference.
ARTICLE XIII
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. Unless otherwise provided in these bylaws, the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, the current edition,
shall be the Parliamentary procedure of the DSG authority.
ARTICLE XIV
Dissolution
Section 1. In the event the DSG is dissolved, all assets remaining after payment of existing debts shall be distributed to
the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. We request that GCDHH have these funds be earmarked to be used as requested by DSG and to be monitored by a committee established by DSG prior to it’s dissolution.