BY-LAWS OF GUY W. IVERSEN POST, CEDAR FALLS, IOWA, AMVETS POST #49

ARTICLE 1. QUORUMS

Section 1. A quorum at all meetings shall consist of twenty (20) of the regular members eleven members and no less than three (3) elected post officers

Section 2. A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of its members.

ARTICLE II. COMMITTEES

Section 1. The following committees may be appointed by the Commander: Membership, Finance, Medical and Hospital, Welfare Programs, Legal Aid, Legislative and Nominating.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall consist of all the elected officers of this Post and the immediate Past Post Commander, and the President of the Board of Trustees. All appointed officers may also be members of the Executive Committee, but shall act as ex officio members, the privilege of voice, but no privilege of vote. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to create additional standing committees, and shall provide for mechanics of their operation.

Section 3. Temporary committees may be appointed by the Commander, and may consist of any number of persons.

Section 4. The Veterans Park Committee shall be appointed by the Commander with approval of the Post Membership as provided in Article V. Section 15 of these By-Laws. They shall be responsible for maintaining the Post Veterans Park grounds, all flag poles, and flags and recommend replacement to the Post after coordinating with the Finance Officer. They shall maintain an up to date roster of all flags donated to the Post for display purposes.

ARTICLE III. MEETINGS

Section 1. This Post shall meet on the first Tuesday of every month at a place designated at the previous meeting, unless a special meeting shall have been called.

Section 2. Written notices, when possible, shall be sent to all members in sufficient time to notify them of meetings.

Section 3. All business meetings of this organization shall be conducted under current edition “Robert’s Rules of Order.”

ARTICLE IV. ELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

Section 1. A Commander, First, Second, and Third Vice-Commanders, Judge Advocate, Provost Marshal, Adjutant, and Finance Officer shall be elected annually by the members of the post. Members of the Board of Trustees shall also be elected annually as prescribed by the Standing Rules of the Board of Trustees.

Section 2. A chaplain, historian, service officer, and public relations officer shall be appointed by the newly elected commander with the approval of the Post membership. In addition, the newly elected commander shall appoint a Color Guard Captain and a Parks Captain, subject to the approval of the post membership. The newly elected commander may appoint a SOA Advisor, Editor, Jr. AMVETS Coordinator, and a ROTC Coordinator subject to the approval of the Post membership.

Section 3. The nomination of new officers for the coming year will begin at the regular monthly meeting in April; further nominations and the election of said officers will be held at the regular monthly meeting in May.

Section 4. Sufficient written ballots will be prepared by the Adjutant. The Provost Marshal will then distribute, collect and supervise the counting of the ballots by the tellers. He then shall announce the winner and destroy the ballots.

Section 5. After such election, the officers so elected and appointed shall be sworn in, and shall take office at the June meeting, or at a scheduled installation later in May.

Section 6. In the event that the office of Commander is vacated, the First Vice-Commander will temporarily serve as Commander until the next regular meeting of the membership, at which time a Commander to serve the unexpired term shall be elected by the membership.

Section 7. Should any other office be vacated, the Commander is empowered to appoint a successor for the completion of the term, provided a majority of the Post Membership approves such appointment.

Section 8. In the event that a Post Commander was not nominated and/or elected, the outgoing First Vice-Commander shall assume the duties of the Post Commander for a period not to exceed 60 days. Within the 60-day time frame, a new nominating committee will be established by the Acting Commander to seek an individual to fill the position of Post Commander. In the event that the office of Post Commander remains vacant after the 60-day time frame, the provisions of Article V. Sections 2-4 will be enforced. In no case will the Post be without a Post Commander past the August Monthly regular meeting.

Section 9. Any elected Trustee or elected officer shall be deemed to be excused during the period of time when that trustee or officer journeys south during the winter months, better known as “Snowbirds”. The trustee or officer shall resume his elected position on the Board of Trustees or officer of the post upon his return from the south.

ARTICLE V. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. COMMANDER: The Post Commander shall preside at all meetings of the Post and Executive Committee, except he may temporarily delegate said authority to any Vice-Commander. He shall be the Executive of the post and shall perform all functions pertaining to that position. He shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees, with voice, but without vote of all committees.

Section 2. FIRST VICE-COMMANDER: In the absence of the Post Commander, the First Vice-Commander shall function in that office. He shall be Chairman of the Membership Committee, if one has been appointed and maintain a complete record of the membership, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Committee.

Section 3. SECOND VICE-COMMANDER: In the absence of the Post Commander, and the First Vice-Commander, the Second Vice-Commander shall function in those respective offices.
1. Shall coordinate all post patriotic activities and be in charge of all Post AMVET Programs.
2. Review and re-evaluate all existing programs and report recommendations to the Post Membership.
3. Be cognizant on all programs of the national, and state organizations.
4. Serve as Chairperson of the Post Programs Committee, if one has been appointed.
5. He shall be Chairman of the committees responsible for all activities attendant to the observation of Memorial Day and Veterans Day, coordinating this with other Veterans organizations as appropriate.
6. He shall carry out other duties as may be assigned to him by the Post Membership.
7. `The outgoing Second Vice Commander is responsible for the planning and execution of the Memorial Day activities at the Post.

Section 4. THIRD VICE COMMANDER: In the absence of the Post Commander, the First Vice-Commander, and the Second Vice-Commander, the Third Vice-Commander shall function in those respective offices.
1. Shall coordinate all post activities concerning veterans hospitals, with particular emphasis on the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.
2. He shall be in contact with the Director of Volunteer Services, Adjutant, or the Commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home. Shall make every effort to assist the Iowa Veterans Home with volunteers, and/or articles of need when requested by the Iowa Veterans Home.
3. He shall be cognizant of all department and national programs and activities concerning veterans hospitals and shall make a report and recommendations to the Post Membership.
4. He shall be in charge of the Saturday Night Steak Fries. He shall conduct inventories as prescribed in the Standing Rules for Saturday Night Steak Fries and shall coordinate this activity with the Ladies Auxiliary, Sons of AMVETS, Junior AMVETS, the AMVETS Riders, and the manager of the Board of Trustees. He shall carry out other duties as may be assigned to him by the Post Membership.

Section 5. ADJUTANT: The adjutant shall be the administrative officer of the post and shall act as secretary of the Post. He shall be charged with maintaining all records and correspondence, and shall handle all the routine business of the post. He may receive compensation upon approval of the membership .He may delegate matters to an Executive Secretary, or recording Secretary, or to such other clerical assistance as may be provided.

Section 6. FINANCE OFFICER: The Post Finance Officer shall be in charge of all licenses that are required by the State of Iowa, the Department of Iowa AMVETS, and National Department of AMVETS and Post 49. All licenses shall be issued in the name of “Guy W. Iversen AMVETS Post 49, Inc.” He shall file the yearly 990 forms with the Internal Revenue Service and the Iowa Department of AMVETS. He shall have supervisory responsibility of the Board of Trustees treasurer, but shall have no signatory authority. He shall be charged with collecting, banking, and accounting for all funds received by the Post. He shall make a written report and audit at the completion of the fiscal year, or whenever called upon by the Executive Committee. He shall be chairman of the Finance Committee.

Section 7. The Provost Marshal shall maintain order at all meetings or gatherings, and shall count the ballots at all elections, and perform other duties as may be assigned to him by the Executive Committee. He shall prepare the meeting room for all post meetings.

Section 8. JUDGE ADVOCATE: The Judge Advocate shall be the legal advisor to the Commander, the Executive Committee, and the Board of Trustees.

Section 9. SERVICE OFFICER: The Service Officer shall be in charge of aid for veterans who seek help or relief from the Veterans Administration or other governmental agencies.

Section 10. PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: This officer shall be charged with keeping the public informed as to the AMVETS’ activity and to foster sound public relations. He shall also be charged with all plans of the Post for participation in plans and activities for which authority may be delegated

Section 11. CHAPLAIN: The Post Chaplain shall be charged with the spiritual welfare of all members. All services and rituals shall be on non-sectarian character.

Section 12. SONS OF AMVETS ADVISOR: The Sons of AMVETS Advisor shall be charged to guide, advise, and cooperate with the Sons of AMVETS in carrying out their programs.

Section 13. HONOR GUARD CAPTAIN: The Honor Guard Captain shall be in charge of the Honor Guard when requested to perform a military funeral. He shall recruit new members of the Honor Guard as needed and shall be responsible for all of the Honor Guard equipment, including flags, rifles, and all other needed equipment. He shall coordinate with the Finance Officer when equipment is needed. He shall make a monthly report to the Post during its regular monthly business meeting. He shall serve as a member of the Veterans Park Committee

Section 14. PARK CAPTAIN: The Park Captain shall be in charge of the Post Veterans Park and shall be responsible for all of the flags that are flown within the park. He shall maintain all of the flag poles and coordinate their replacement with the Finance Officer. He shall serve as a chairperson of the Veterans Park Committee.

Section 15. VETERANS PARK COMMITTEE: The Commander shall appoint with the approval of the Executive Committee one Post member to the Veterans Park Committee, and one member of the Board of Trustees (may be selected by the Board of Trustees). They shall serve as the Veterans Park Committee. The Parks Captain shall serve as Chairperson. The Honor Guard Captain shall also serve as a member of the Veterans Park Committee. The Finance Officer shall serve as an ex-officio, with voice, but without vote.

Section 16. JR. AMVETS COORDINATOR. The Jr. AMVETS Coordinator is charged with coordinating all activities of the Post’s Jr. AMVETS. The Coordinator shall guide, advise and cooperate with the Jr. AMVETS in carrying out their programs. The Coordinator shall attend all post meetings and submit a written report at the regular business meeting of the Post.

Section 17. ROTC COORDINATOR. The Post ROTC Coordinator to the University of Northern Iowa shall attend all commissioning ceremonies. He shall present to the new officers a framed certificate from AMVETS Post 49 along with a baseball cap. He shall periodically meet with the head of the Department of Military Science. He shall make the ROTC contingent aware of any special activities at Post 49 in which they may want to participate. He shall attend the ROTC Awards Ceremony at the University of Northern Iowa.

Section 18. EDITOR. The Editor of the monthly newsletter of the post shall gather articles, pictures, etc., for the monthly newsletter and shall coordinate the printing of the newsletter with the printer.

Section 19. LADIES AUXILIARY LIAISON. The AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Liaison shall be charged to advise, and cooperate with the Ladies Auxiliary in carrying out their programs and submit a written report at the regular business meetings of the Post.

Section 20. SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE: When this committee is established the commander shall appoint three (3) members to staggered terms of office. He shall appoint one member to a three-year term; one member to a two-year term; and one member to a one-year term. One member of this committee will expire annually. The Commander will then appoint one member to a 3-year term annually. The member serving the one-year term will be the Scholarship Chairman for the year.

ARTICLES VI. DELEGATES TO CONVENTION

Section 1. At least thirty (30) days prior to the Department Convention, delegates and alternates shall be chosen to attend the Convention by an election at a general meeting, after proper nomination, the number of such delegates to be in accordance with the Department regulations and rules.

Section 2. The Post Commander and the immediate Past Post Commander shall constitute two of the delegates.

Section 3. The Post Commander shall be a delegate to the State Convention. The Post shall be entitled to six (6) delegates for its first one hundred fifty (150) members. Thereafter, the Post shall also be entitled to one (1) delegate and one (1) alternate for each fifty (50) members or fraction thereof and one vote for each Past Department Commander. Delegates shall be based upon each Post’s membership as recorded at State Headquarters as of May 15.

ARTICLE VII. FINANCE

Section 1. The annual dues of this post shall at all times be a minimum $5.00 more than the Department and National annual dues. The dues shall always be maintained at $5.00 increments. For example, $25.00 , $30.00.

Section 2. All fund-raising activities must be approved by the Post Executive Committee.

Section 3. Regulations as to delinquent dues may be made by the Executive Committee and enforced by the Finance Officer.

Section 4. An annual budget shall be prepared by the Finance Officer and submitted to the Executive Committee for approval, and adequate books and records of the Finance Officer shall be subject to inspection and regulation by the Executive Committee at all reasonable times.

Section 5. The Finance Officer shall render a report of receipts and disbursements to each meeting of the Post. He shall be responsible for filing IRS Form 990 with the District Internal Revenue Office, or a certificate in lieu thereof where the 990 is not required. The closing date of the annual accounting period of this Post shall be December 31st.

Section 6. All post officers, employees and trustees shall be properly bonded by a surety company to cover the average amount in Post Savings, but not less than $10,000, and a copy of the Post Bond shall be filed with the National Headquarters.

Section 7. A Board of Trustees is authorized for this Post. The Post shall elect six (6) members from its membership to serve on the Board of Trustees to serve three (3) year terms, with two (2) terms expiring each year. These trustees shall be elected in May during the Post elections. The remaining members of the Board of Trustees shall be the incumbent Post Commander, incumbent Post Finance Officer and the incumbent Post Adjutant.

Section 8. No commitment or contract exceeding the expenditure of $100.00 shall be made, except on approval of the membership at a regular meeting. Between monthly regular business meetings, the expenditure of up to $100.00 may be made by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. This vote must be taken by the Post Commander and conducted either by email, phone or text. This expenditure must be announced at the next regular business meeting of the Post.

Section 9. A public fundraising project is defined as any project or program involving a solicitation or request to nonmembers of AMVETS for a donation or pertaining to the sale of merchandise, goods, tickets, or advertising matter of any kind or character.
Any fundraising project or program conducted by a post or any combination of posts or subordinates thereof in which there is no other person, firm or corporation involved, and in which such fundraising project or program is conducted solely by the post, shall not be deemed to be within the purview of this section, provided that the anticipated gross receipts from such fundraising project or program do not exceed the sum of $10,000; in the event it is anticipated that the gross receipts will exceed $10,000 in any fiscal year, then said project or program shall be submitted as described above. Failure of a post or combination of posts or subordinates thereof to adhere to the provisions of this section shall be considered grounds for disciplinary action.

ARTICLE 8
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

It is the AMVETS Post #49 policy that all members and employees have a right to work and socialize in an environment free of discrimination which includes freedom of harassment – whether that harassment is based on sex, age, race, national origin, religion sexual orientation, marital status or membership in other protected groups, that AMVETS Post #49 prohibits harassment of its employees and members in any form by supervisors, co-workers, customers or suppliers.
Sexual harassment is often described as unsolicited advances. It may range from inappropriate sexual suggestion to coerced sexual relations. Harassment is viewed as a situation in which an individual in a position to control, influence, affect another’s employment, promotion, job assignments or socialization with other members or guests uses that power to coerce a person into sexual contact or relations, or punishes the refusal. The harasser may be the victim’s employer, supervisor, coworker, member or guest. No person, either explicitly or implicitly, shall threaten or insinuate that any employee’s, members or guest’s submission to or rejection of sexual advances will in any way influence any personal decision regarding the above named individuals.
Anyone who is subject to sexual harassment should, if possible, inform the alleged harasser that the conduct is unwanted and unwelcome. Post 49 recognizes that sexual harassment may occur in unequal relationships, (i.e. between a supervisor and his/her employee) and that it may not be possible for the victim to inform the alleged harasser.
Such conduct may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal of the harassing individual. With respect to non-employees, offending customers, suppliers, members, or guests will be asked to leave and not return.
All complaints must be reported to AMVETS Post #49 Commander, President of the Board of Trustees, or any Post #49 Officer. A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine if sexual harassment has occurred or if any AMVETS Post #49 Policy has been breached. ALL COMPLAINTS and actions taken to resolve them will be treated in the strictest of confidence. However, if the Statute of Limitations on any complaint has expired (300 days), there will be no action required by AMVETS Post #49.
You have our assurance that AMVETS Post #49 will personally act swiftly and decisively on any violation of this policy.

ARTICLE IX. RESOLUTIONS

Section 1. All resolutions adopted by this Post shall be forwarded to Department Headquarters.

Section 2. It shall take a majority vote of members present to pass any resolution other than amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws

ARTICLE X. DEFINITIONS

The word “he” wherever it shall appear in either the Constitution or By-Laws of AMVETS shall be construed as referring to both sexes.

ARTICLE XI. RESTRICTED USE OF ORGANIZATION

AMVETS, or any component part thereof, shall not be used to promote the interest of any individual, organization, faction or product. Any violation of this provision shall be sufficient cause for disciplinary action against the offending member.

ARTICLE XII AMENDMENTS

These By-Laws may be amended at the Annual Meeting by a majority vote of the members present. Proposed amendments must be submitted, in writing, to the Executive Committee during the April monthly business meeting. The membership shall be notified of the proposed changes at least 10 (ten) days prior to the Annual Meeting. These By-Laws, however, may be amended at any Annual Meeting without notice, by a unanimous vote of the members present and voting. Copies of all approved amendments shall be forwarded to the Department Headquarters by the Adjutant within thirty (30) days after their adoption.

Approved and adopted at the Regular Business Meeting of AMVETS Post #49, May 1, 2018.

Marvin Mattfeld, Commander Barry D. Remington, Adjutant