Legacy's Bylaws

1. NAME. The name of this group shall be LEGACY.

2. MISSION. LEGACY was created as an initiative of Forward Quest on January 1, 2000. The mission of LEGACY is as follows:
LEGACY encourages young leaders who embrace the principles of meaningful participation, effective citizenship and extraordinary imagination to unite in an effort to enhance the quality of life and economic well-being in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati communities.
LEGACY has formed a three-pronged approach to achieve it mission: educate members on a broad array of issues impacting the community; develop leadership skills within the membership; and facilitate the involvement of members in the community.

3. MEMBERSHIP.
3.1 Membership Vision. LEGACY seeks young persons ages 21-40 for “active” membership, and strives to have adequate representation with regard to local residence, gender, race and profession. LEGACY is determined to assemble the most talented, enthusiastic, pro-active and forward-thinking group of young persons in the region, who will share their energies and imaginations to achieve LEGACY’s expressed goals.
3.2 Classes of Membership. LEGACY shall be composed of three classes of membership as follows: Active Members, Emeritus Members and Temporarily Inactive Members.
(a) Active Member. Active Members must be persons who are residents of and/or who have business or professional interests in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati community.
The procedure for becoming an Active Member is as follows:
(i) As the need for members dictates, the Active Membership shall provide to the Membership Chair nominations for candidates.
(ii) Those candidates so nominated shall receive an invitation to apply for Active Membership.
(iii) All applicants shall be reviewed by the Membership Committee and, if qualified, shall be accepted as Active Members of LEGACY. In the event that the Membership Committee concludes that an applicant is not qualified for acceptance as an Active Member, the Steering Committee will review the application. If two-thirds majority of the Steering Committee conclude that the applicant is qualified, the applicant will be accepted.
The term of an Active Member shall be one year. An Active Member may renew his/her membership for additional terms provided he/she has fulfilled his/her membership obligations as established and amended from time to time by the Steering Committee. These membership obligations include, but may not be limited to, paying dues, as set by the Steering Committee, and being active in at least one committee.
(b) Emeritus Member. Emeritus Member status may be obtained by Active Members who have reached the age of 41. Emeritus Members, in good standing, shall be afforded all privileges of Active Members except that Emeritus Members are precluded from holding an office or committee chair position. Emeritus Members will not be required to fulfill the committee obligations of Active Members, but are welcome to serve on any committee(s) of their choosing.
(c) Temporarily Inactive Member. Temporarily Inactive Member status may be obtained by Active Members who demonstrate to the Steering Committee that he/she is unable to participate in the work or regular meetings of LEGACY because of:
(i) regular unavoidable conflicts;
(ii) serious long-term illness; or
(iii) career assignments which remove a member from the geographical area for extended periods.
Status as a Temporarily Inactive Member may be obtained only upon a two-thirds vote of the Steering Committee and shall not exceed one calendar year in duration. A Temporarily Inactive Member shall be relieved of the privileges and obligations of an Active Member until such time as his/her Active Membership is reinstated. A Temporarily Inactive Member may be reinstated as an Active Members upon written representation by the Temporarily Inactive Member to the Steering Committee that he/she is prepared to re-assume the privileges and obligations of Active Membership.

4. OFFICERS.
4.1 Officers. The officers of LEGACY shall be: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.
4.2 Election. Officers shall be elected at the annual meeting. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of nominees for the election at least one month prior to the annual meeting and conduct elections at the annual meeting. For an officer position, other than the President, a nominee must be an Active Member in good standing. For the position of President, a nominee must have served on the Steering Committee for a period of at least one year. Anyone in attendance at the annual meeting may nominate another member for an office assuming the nominee meets the criterion for nomination. Only Active Members in good standing shall vote upon officers nominated for service and nominees shall be elected to their respective office upon majority vote of those Active Members in attendance.
4.3 Terms. Office terms shall be one year in length beginning January 1 and ending December 31. Officers may serve two consecutive terms, if elected by the full membership. An officer serving a partial term will not have the partial term counted toward the two consecutive term limit.
4.4 Vacancy. The President may appoint a member of the Steering Committee to fill the unexpired term of any vacant office other than President. A vacancy in the Presidency will be filled first, by the Vice President, second, by the Treasurer and third, by the Secretary. A vacancy of the Steering Committee shall be filled by appointment by the President from the ranks of Active Members.
4.5 Duties.
(a) Duties of the President. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the organization and, subject to the control of the Steering Committee, shall in general supervise and control all of the affairs of the organization. The President shall sign or countersign all contracts and other instruments of the Corporation, as authorized by the Steering Committee, shall make reports to the Steering Committee and members, and shall perform all other duties as are incident to the office, or are properly required by the Steering Committee.
(b) Duties of Vice-President. The Vice-President may assume and perform the duties of the President in the absence or disability of the President or whenever the office of the President is vacant. The Vice-President shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Steering Committee or the President shall designate from time to time.
(c) Duties of the Secretary. The Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the members and of the Steering Committee, and shall perform all of the duties commonly incident to the office, and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers, as the Steering Committee shall designate. In his or her absence at any meeting, an assistant secretary or a secretary pro tempore shall perform his or her duties thereat.
(d) Duties of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have the custody and be responsible for all funds and securities of the organization, and shall keep accurate books of account of the organization’s transactions which shall be the property of the organization and, together with all its property in his or her possession, shall be subject at all times to the inspection and control of the Steering Committee. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the organization in payment of the just demands against the organization, or as may be ordered by the Steering Committee, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the Steering Committee from time to time, as may be required, an account of all of his or her actions as Treasurer and of the financial condition of the organization. The Treasurer shall perform all duties incident to the office, or which are properly required by the Steering Committee.

5. COMMITTEES.
5.1 Steering Committee:
(a) Appointment. The Steering Committee shall be comprised of all officers, chairs of standing committees and other members appointed by the President.
(b) Size. The Steering Committee shall not exceed 21 members.
(c) Powers. The Steering Committee shall have the power to act on behalf of LEGACY and shall act in the best interest of the Active Members.
(d) Chair. The President shall serve as Chair of the Steering Committee.
5.2 Standing Committees. LEGACY shall have the following standing committees:
(a) Program Committee. The Program Committee shall plan and implement educational events and activities related to the mission of LEGACY. The Program Committee shall also be responsible for the annual meeting.
(b) Membership Committee. The Membership Committee shall receive nominations for candidates, invite nominated candidates to apply and review applicants for membership into LEGACY. The Membership Committee shall also recruit appropriate candidates for membership according to the mission of LEGACY.
(c) Leadership Development Committee. The Leadership Development Committee shall undertake various projects, programs or educational events in an effort to develop leadership skills within the membership of LEGACY consistent with the mission.
(d) Public Relations Committee. The Public Relations Committee shall be responsible for all correspondence within the organization and presentation of LEGACY outside of the organization.
5.3 Community Initiative Committees. The Community Initiative Committees will cover a wide range of community initiatives in alignment with the interests and talents of the membership of LEGACY. The goal of these committees will be to get LEGACY members active in the community through exploration, dialogue and projects consistent with the mission of LEGACY. The number and structure of these committees will vary with the interests and talents of the membership. Such committees shall be in such a number and with enough jurisdictional diversity to afford all members a reasonable and meaningful opportunity to fulfill their committee requirement specified in Section 3.2(a). Examples of such committees could be Government, Education, Greenspace & Parks, etc.
5.4 Ad Hoc Committees. The Steering Committee and/or the President may appoint Ad Hoc Committees to address special time limited tasks. One such committee shall be the Nominating Committee.
5.5 Committee Membership . The President shall appoint all Committee Chairs recruited from the ranks of the Active Members. Committee Chairs shall recruit committee members from the full membership. A committee may be created, disbanded, or the structure of a committee changed as determined by the Steering Committee in alignment with the needs of the organization.

6. MEETINGS.
6.1 Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of the full membership shall be held at such time and place as the President may direct upon at least ten days’ prior notice in writing, given personally, or by mail, e-mail or fax to the full membership. The annual meeting will be scheduled at some point in the last two months of the fiscal year. The purpose of the annual meeting will be the election of officers and the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
6.2 Other Meetings. All committees shall meet as needed. Educational meetings, social events and other programs for the full membership will be held from time-to-time.

7. VOTING. Except for those matters requiring hereunder the approval of the full membership, only the Steering Committee will vote on the general business of the organization. The sole voting responsibility of the full membership shall be the election of officers at the annual meeting, an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws brought before the full membership, the dissolution of the organization, and such other items as the Steering Committee may elect to present to the full membership for approval.
7.1 Quorum. A quorum shall consist of 50% of the Steering Committee or full membership, whichever the case may be.
7.2 Voting. Assuming a quorum, a simple majority of those members present shall indicate an affirmative vote, unless otherwise indicated within the By-Laws.
7.3 Amendment to By-Laws.. Any member may propose an amendment to the By-Laws if a majority of the full membership sign a petition to place the amendment before the full membership. An amendment to the By-Laws shall require the normal quorum with a two-thirds super majority vote to indicate an affirmative vote. Any Steering Committee member can propose an amendment to the By-Laws to be brought before the Steering Committee for vote, if it is determined by the Steering Committee that the amendment merely improves the operational efficiency of the organization and in no way substantially alters the organization’s mission or structure. An amendment of the By-Laws brought before the Steering committee shall require the normal quorum and two-thirds super majority vote to indicate an affirmative vote.

8. FISCAL YEAR. The fiscal year of LEGACY shall run from January 1 through December 31. The fiscal year shall apply to financial matters, membership terms and officer terms.
The above By-Laws of LEGACY were adopted by the Steering Committee and ratified by the Full Membership as of June 25, 2002.
________________________________________
Steven M. Feldmann, Secretary