SOCIETY of MINIATURE SHIP COLLECTORS

 

From its inception, the 1250 Sale Message Board has provided a forum to announce new models, to discuss topics of interest, and post pictures of models for all to see. Starting about five years ago, we began to periodically organize East and West coast collectors meetings to meet, to buy/sell/or trade models and to forge the first links in personal networks among collectors. A number of collectors now believe the time has come to create an organization of collectors to support all that we have achieved and to provide a means to broaden and deepen the network of contacts among fellow collectors.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY

The Committee would like to put forward five objectives which we think require an organization to achieve and, once achieved, would serve to strengthen the contacts and interactions among collectors and broaden the satisfaction to be derived from collecting.

  1. The organization should aim to promote fellowship and the sharing of knowledge among persons interested in all aspects of building, collecting and displaying model ships and strive to preserve the heritage, techniques, and traditions of crafting miniature ship models.
  2. The primary objective of the organization shall be to promote and support regional meetings that bring together collectors, dealers and producers of 1200/1250 model ships and the general public.
  3. The organization will work to facilitate greater contact and communication among the collecting community by organizing and promoting the formation of Communities of Shared Interest among the members to foster education, fellowship, and the sharing of modeling knowledge.
  4. The organization will work to encourage cooperation with other groups and organizations that share similar interests, including collectors of smaller scales, and encourage the general public’s awareness and participation in all its activities.
  5. The organization should continuously work to promote the hobby of 1200/1250 collecting and other small scales so as to encourage new collectors to join the hobby.

The starting point for our Society will be to assemble a list of names of collectors, their emails, and cities of residence. With such a list of members, we can immediately start to work on more meetings for collectors to come together to buy, sell and trade models. As we begin to understand where collectors live, the Society will work to support the formation of regional collector groups who might live close enough to get together a few times a year to share their recent acquisitions or discuss models they would like to see and perhaps help in finding the necessary plans. Ultimately, Shared Interest Groups might be formed around various aspects of collecting and the Society’s website will be invaluable in this regard as well.

The Committee recognizes that some, perhaps all, collectors are sensitive to registering their email and location. For this reason, the Committee will initially have each name, email, and location sent confidentially to Rick Rudofsky. This will allow us to get the organizational effort underway and maintain your confidentiality while we build our website. Once the site is up and running, email contact will be voluntary and indicated next to the name; when you click on an envelope logo an email message box will appear, but not the member’s email address.  The member will receive the message including your email address and he can choose to ignore the message or reply.  Only Society members will be given a pin number or password to obtain access to the member list in order to make contact or send messages.

BY-LAWS

To form an organization, a set of By-Laws is required to set forth its form and function and ultimately to allow its incorporation as a not-for-profit 501 C-3 corporation. Please look over the By-Laws the Committee has created and let us know if you approve of them by posting on the 1250 Message Board or if you have suggestions for changes click on the link to Charles Jones jonescr@swbell.net .

SOCIETY of MINIATURE SHIP COLLECTORS

A Non-profit Organization

 

Bylaws

 

Article I – Name

1.01 The name of this organization shall be Society of Miniature Ship Collectors (SMSC).

Article II - Objectives

    1. The primary objective of this organization shall be to promote the advancement of the study of Maritime and Naval History, Art and Science through the medium of 1:1200/1:1250 scale model ships.
    2. All actions of the organization will aim to promote fellowship and the sharing of knowledge among persons interested in all aspects of building, collecting and displaying model ships; to preserve the heritage, techniques, and traditions of crafting miniature ship models; and, to participate in model related projects that are of educational service to the general community.
    3. The primary objective of the SMSC shall be to promote and support regional meetings that bring together collectors, dealers and producers of 1200/1250 model ships and the general public. In addition, the SMSC will work to facilitate greater contact and communication among the collecting community by organizing and promoting the formation of Communities of Shared Interest among the members to foster education, fellowship, and the sharing of modeling knowledge.
    4. The SMSC will encourage cooperation with other groups and organizations that share similar interests, including collectors of smaller scales, and encourage the general public’s awareness and participation in all its activities. The SMSC will continuously work to promote the hobby of 1200/1250 collecting and other small scales and to encourage new collectors to join the hobby and /or to become members of the SMSC.
    5. The SMSC will create and maintain a 1:1200/1:1250 Members Website (SMSC Member Board) that will work in concert with existing Internet resources, such as the Steelnavy.com and 1250 Scale Message Boards, but will limit access to the SMSC site to members only for the purposes of elections, by-laws revisions, and communications among the members.

Article III – Membership/ Dues

    1. The Organization shall have one membership class: Active member – a member who has maintained active membership status according to these by-laws. This member is entitled to attend regular SMSC meetings; pay annual dues as provided in Section 3.04 participate in SMSC activities, and/ or work on committees, vote, hold office or committee chairmanship, and receive access to all Web-site and Published communications.
    2. The Board of the SMSC may at its discretion create other classes of membership, if and when, a majority of the Board feel that it would further the objectives of the organization.
    3. Annual dues shall be paid pro-rata upon joining for a given calendar year. Otherwise dues will be payable on the 1st of January each calendar year.
    4. The Board may determine a schedule for the payment of annual dues by Society members to be created and communicated to the membership by a majority vote of the Board when the Board determines that it would further the objectives of the organization.
    5. The Officers, by affirmative vote of two-thirds, may suspend or expel a member for cause after appropriate hearing. The Officers also may, by a majority vote of those present at any regular SMSC meeting, terminate the membership of any member who becomes ineligible for membership, or suspend or expel any member who is in default of paying membership dues.

Article IV Officers and Elections

    1. The elected officers of the SMSC shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Membership Coordinator, and Treasurer and, as a group, will serve as the Board of SMSC.
    2. One member of the board of Officers shall be selected to serve as the parliamentarian on the Board of Officers. A Webmaster may be appointed by the Board of Officers, but shall not serve on the Board.
    3. Annually, the Officers will appoint a Nominating Committee to organize the election process. A candidate for an Officer position must be an active member of the SMSC in good standing.
    4. Nominations for Officers will be solicited from the active membership using various means such as internet, mail, and phone as may be available in order to obtain the widest possible participation. These nominees will be reviewed by the nominating committee and notified of their nomination status.
    5. Voting will be conducted at the members-only web-site after the Committee’s nominating process is complete but not later than January 1st of the next calendar year. The current Membership Secretary will certify and publish the results of the election by January 15th.
    6. The president’s vote is not counted but is the tiebreaker, if needed.
    7. The officers shall begin their terms immediately upon the announcement of the election results.
    8. A vacancy occurring in any office shall be filled by the previous nominating committee, and the nominee presented for election at the next regularly scheduled SMSC Officer’s meeting. A simple majority vote shall elect.
    9. There shall be one Annual Meeting to be at such time and place as may be determined by the Board, provided thirty (30) days notice has been given to the members on the Membership Board.

Article V – Duties of Officers

    1. The President shall preside at all regular and Officer Meetings of the SMSC. He shall appoint Shared Interest Committee Chairs as needed, and be a member, ex-officio, of all committees, except the nominating committee.
    2. The Vice-President shall preside in the absence of the President. He hall be responsible for coordinating all collector’s meetings and workshops. He will appoint members to serve on his committee members and assist in this effort.
    3. The Membership Coordinator shall maintain and update the Organization’s membership list, facilitate contact among members, appoint members and chair the Membership Committee and transact all business relating to application and renewal of memberships.
    4. The Secretary, shall keep accurate records of the regular and executive meetings, and shall conduct the general correspondence of the SMSC. He shall submit the minutes to the SMSC Members Website for publication.
    5. The Treasurer shall collect all dues and keep accurate account of all receipts and disbursements of the SMSC. He shall maintain the SMSC bank account, and present a semi-annual financial statement to the members and file all necessary forms with the IRS and applicable state agencies. The President and the Treasurer shall have the power to sign checks on behalf of the SMSC.
    6. The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for by-law revisions, as well as making sure all general, Officer and nominating committee meetings are run according to Robert’s Rules of Order. He shall present all proposed revisions to the by-laws annually to membership.
    7. The Webmaster shall establish the Organization’s domain name, and shall design, maintain and periodically update the Organization’s website. Design of the website shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Officers and will be compatible with the 1250 Scale Message Board.
    8. Elected officers shall serve terms of two years but not more than two terms in the same office.

Article VII – Standing Committees

    1. The Board may, from time to time, create and dissolve such committees as may be needed and required to further the goals of the organization. The chairs for these committees will be on a volunteer basis and be approved by the Board.
    2. All committee chairs shall have any information needed to be posted on the SMSC Members Board by the 4th Friday of the month.

Article VIII – Amendment of Bylaws

    1. These bylaws may be amended by vote of the Members on the SMSC Members Board by a two-thirds vote, provided the amendment has been submitted in writing and posted on the SMSC Members Board for 15 days. Amendments shall take affect immediately after the vote.
    2. Procedures not covered herein shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order.
    3. Any amendments adopted by the SMSC shall be published on the SMSC Members Board.

Article VIII – Dissolution

    1. In the event of the dissolution of the SMSC, all assets shall be assigned to an organization chosen by the membership in accordance with Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding sections of any future Federal tax code.

NEXT STEPS

Over the next two weeks, the committee will take comments and do their best to incorporate any changes in the By-Laws that will improve the chances for collectors to embrace them. In two weeks we will repost the By-Laws as amended for all to see on this site with a notice also on the 1250 Scale message Board.

Then the Committee will modify the link from the 1250 Message Board and invite collectors to register via the link to Rick Rudofsky urudofsky@aol.com . From those collectors who become charter members, the committee will seek nominations for Officers and hold an election. All charter members of the society will be emailed a set of By-Laws and the results of the election for Officers. The Officers will then undertake to organize the various Committees as set forth in the By-Laws and create a web-site for the Society.