BATTERY ‘G’

SECOND ILLINOIS LIGHT ARTILLERY

BYLAWS

7th Revision November 22, 2015

ARTICLE I NAME

1. The name of this organization shall be: “Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, Inc.” Hereafter, in this document, will be referred to as “The Unit”.

2. The Unit shall exist as an Illinois not for profit corporation. The Unit is not organized as a business, nor shall any of its members use The Unit as a vehicle for profit.

ARTICLE II OBJECT

1. The purpose is to provide an organization for persons with an active interest in the American Civil War period, particularly the role of muzzle loading artillery.

2. Furthermore, it is the intent of the membership to provide living history demonstrations and reenactments of the Civil War era for the educational benefit of the public and the members themselves.

3. The Unit’s objective is to commemorate those who sacrificed much during the American Civil War in general and to honor those original members of Battery G in particular.

4. It is further The Units objective to encourage the preservation and display of Civil War artifacts and materials. In this regard, The Unit’s primary focus will be placed with field artillery pieces and their accouterments.

5. It is The Unit’s highest priority to meet these objectives both safely and authentically.

6. No individual, group, or organization can be allowed to control or interfere with the aims and purposes of this club, or their membership in this organization shall terminate immediately.

ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership shall be open to all interested individuals regardless of race, creed, sect, gender, or national origin. There shall be four classifications of membership: 1) Military, 2) Civilian, 3) Dependent Minor, and 4) Honorary.
  1. Military members must be at least 16 years of age and willing to participate in Unit events as a uniformed member of Battery G.
  2. Civilian members must be at least 16 years of age and willing to participate in Unit events in period correct clothing.
  3. Dependent minors of members may participate in Unit events under the supervision of their parent, guardian, or such conditions as deemed appropriate by the Unit commander. Dependent minors may participate in a military capacity with the consent of the Safety Officer and the dependent minor’s parent or guardian.
  4. Honorary members may be designated as such upon recommendation of the Board of Directors and approval of the Unit.
  1. Military and civilian membership shall occur upon the recommendation of the Adjutant and the payment of dues. Military members shall automatically be designated with the rank of Private.
  1. Military and civilian members who have paid their dues and attended at least one event during the preceding year shall be entitled to vote in all matters before the Unit with the exception of votes regarding rank. Elections of rank shall be restricted to only military members who have paid their dues and attended at least one event during the preceding year.

ARTICLE IV BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  1. The Unit shall have a Board of Directors consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, and two At-Large members.
  1. The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Unit and conduct all business and affairs of the Unit subject to the direction of the Board of Directors. He shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the Unit, be the military commander, and hold the Unit’s highest military rank. He may appoint committees and chairmen of those committees at his discretion.
  2. The Vice-President shall fulfill the role of President in his absence. He shall hold the Unit’s second highest rank and serve as Adjutant.
  3. The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings, maintain the records of the Unit, be responsible for all Unit correspondence, regularly publish a newsletter for the Unit, and collected membership dues.
  4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection and disbursements of the Unit’s funds, with the exception of dues membership, and maintain all financial records. The Treasurer shall be responsible for preparing financial reports for the meetings of the Unit and request audits of the Unit’s finances at intervals not to exceed two years.
  5. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall maintain order at meetings and serve as parliamentarian.
  6. The At-Large members shall consist of at least one civilian member. The civilian At-Large member shall be responsible for any necessary permission slips for minors as well as any necessary medical release forms for the members.
  1. A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of four members.
  2. Members of the Board of Directors shall be elected at the spring meeting of odd-numbered years to a two year term.
  1. A vacancy on the Board of Directors may be filled by appointment of the remaining members of the Board of Directors. The appointment shall last until the next regular Unit meeting.
  2. The President and Vice-President will lose their position on the Board of Directors if they fail to maintain their associated military rank.
  3. The Board of Directors shall meet at the discretion of the President, upon request of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors, and before the spring and fall meeting.

7. The Board of Directors shall appoint a member to each of the following positions.

  1. RECRUITER

    1.  Serves as main contact person for recruiting purposes.

 

  1. WEBSMASTER

  1. Maintains The Unit’s presence on the Internet.
  2. Reports to the Secretary.

ARTICLE V MEETINGS

  1. The Unit shall have at least two meetings every year. One shall be in the spring or late winter, and one shall be in the fall.

  1. Additional meetings may occur at sanctioned events if called by the President.

  2. Further meetings may occur upon written request of 10% of military and civilian members. Such a meeting requires a written notice to all members at least two weeks in advance.

  3. A quorum shall consist of 25% of members eligible to vote.

  4. Parliamentary procedure shall be governed by the most recent version of Robert’s Rules of Order insofar as it is not inconsistent with the by-laws.

ARTICLE VI FINANCIAL AUTHORITY

1. The treasurer is authorized to disburse funds subject to the following limits:

Presidential approval: $250.

Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer approval $100.

Board of Directors approval: $500.

Vote of full membership: any amount

  1. Emergency funds, (such as bus breakdown en route to or from an event) can be approved by any officer up to a limit of $500.


3. A Unit sanctioned event will carry with it the authority to purchase such

consumable supplies as gasoline, gunpowder, friction primers, commissary supplies etc. This sanctioning will require the majority of the membership vote.

ARTICLE VII RANK ELECTIONS

  1. The number of non-commissioned and commissioned officers will be determined by majority vote of the military members.
  2. Rank elections shall take place at either the spring or fall meeting.
  3. At all other times a rank position that becomes open may be filled through

brevetting. A military member is brevetted into a rank by selection of the promotion board. This promotion board consists of the commissioned officers and the company 1st Sergeant.

  1. The promotion board may promote a military member until the next regular

meeting, at which time the brevet holder becomes a candidate for the brevetted rank permanently.

  1. Once voted into a rank, the incumbent will hold his position indefinitely until one

of the following occurs:

A. The incumbent resigns.

B. The incumbent is voted out by the majority of the military members.

C. The incumbent obtains less than 50% of event points available in a year. A point is allocated one per day of attendance at a Battery sanctioned event during public hours. An additional point is available for being in camp prior to 8:00 AM of the first morning and staying with The Unit during public hours until the equipment is loaded on the last day if the event lasts more than one day. A point is also available for each work day. The Unit membership may decide to give double point value to events at the annual spring meeting. The purpose of double point events is to encourage attendance at certain events. Majority vote is required to designate a double point event.

D. The incumbent is promoted into a higher rank.

E. With regards to the President and Vice President they will lose their existing military rank if not reelected as President and Vice President.

ARTICLE VIII DUTIES OF THE MILITARY RANK

1. COMMANDING OFFICER

A. Responsible for the overall supervision of The Unit.

B. Serves as The Unit’s highest ranking officer at all musters.

C. Attends the officers calls at reenactments in behalf of The Unit.

D. First in line in the chain of command.

E. Reports to the Board of Directors.

2. ADJUTANT

A. Serves as The Unit vice-commander and adjutant.

B. Reports to the commanding officer and serves as such in his absence.

C. First Sergeant reports to him.

D. Assign gun crews.

E. Plans daily camp schedules and prepares living history battle scenarios.

F. Supervises attendance keeping.

G. Responsible for acting as event coordinator.

3. FIRST SERGEANT

A. Highest ranking NCO.

B. Responsible for the marching drill of the men.

C. Calls assemblies and formations and is the chief communication link from the officers to the enlisted personnel.

D. Issues daily duty rosters at unit musters.

E. Reports to the Adjutant.

F. All gun sergeants report to him.

G. Responsible for contacting members before an event to verify attendance numbers and is responsible for reporting to the Board of Directors the results.

H. Serves as Safety Officer.

4. QUARTERMASTER

A. Responsible for maintaining all company owned uniforms.

B. Responsible for cataloging all company owned equipment and such equipment that may be on loan to The Unit.

C. May keep a unit supply of basic personal artilleryman’s supplies and make them available for purchase by the members.

D. May serve simultaneously in other military capacity.

E. Not subject to the points’ requirement referred to in Article VIII, Section 5, Subsection C to maintain position.

5. COMMISSARY

A. Responsible for the maintenance of all commissary equipment.

B. Purchases and supervises preparation of camp meals and cleanup.

C. May serve simultaneously in other military capacity.

D. Not subject to the points’ requirement referred to in Article VIII, Section 5, Subsection C to maintain position.

6. GUN SERGEANTS

A. Reports to the First Sergeant.

B. Senior Gun Sergeant is immediately after the First Sergeant in the chain of command and fills in for the First Sergeant in his absence.

C. Aids in the training of the gun drill and safety procedures.

D. Serves as the chief of piece and thereby assigns crew members to their positions.

7. CORPORALS

A. Reports to the First Sergeant until assigned to a Gun Sergeant at a muster. Once assigned, the corporal reports to the assigned Gun Sergeant.

B. Serves as the number three man on the gun crew.

C. Serves as chief of piece in the absence of a Gun Sergeant.

ARTICLE IX RULES AND REGULATIONS

  1. A set of rules and regulations governing uniforms, equipage, participation at events, dues structure etc. shall be written and accepted by the majority of the membership at a Unit meeting and shall not be a part of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE X MISCELLANEOUS POLICIES

1. There shall be a lease agreement between The Unit and its members for all equipage utilized by The Unit but owned by individual members.

2. A member under the age of eighteen must have parental/guardian permission on file annually in order to participate in unit musters. A guest under eighteen years old must have parental/guardian permission on file for each event attended. Furthermore, both the member and guest must be accompanied by a parent or must have a parental consent form signifying the minor is under the custody of a specified attending adult who agrees to this in writing.

3. All members and guests must have on file annually, a medical information form and waiver of liability. Members and guests under eighteen must also obtain a signed medical treatment release.

4. All discharge of firearms in or near camp must first be approved by one of the company officers.

5. Expenses for a sanctioned muster will normally be paid from The Unit’s general treasury. In the event that the treasury is deficient of funds, those members attending an event may be levied a per person amount to cover the consumable supplies. i.e. commissary supplies, equipment transportation and ammunition.

6. There will be no underage drinking in camp in accordance with state or local ordinances.

7. Camp quiet hours are to be observed from midnight until reveille the next morning.

8. Camps are to be maintained in the proper period decorum. All modern items plus cans, wrappers etc. are to remain out of sight during public hours. Language in poor taste will not be tolerated.

9. No Unit member, dependent or guest under the age of sixteen shall carry, display or otherwise have in their possession any weapon, firearm or edged device with a blade length in excess of 4.125”.

10. A sanctioned event is defined as an event which has been approved and designated as such at a formal Battery meeting.

11. A makeup event is defined as an event which has been approved and designated as such at a formal Battery meeting and carries with it one attendance point toward rank retention and may also carry with it limited financial responsibility.

12. No one who has used alcohol within the previous 8 hours may participate in the discharge of a gun.

ARTICLE XI ENFORCEMENT OF UNIT RULES

  1. Once a violation of the Unit’s rules are brought to the attention of a member of the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors shall take action to correct the violation that can include verbal or written warnings, or expulsion from the Unit.

  2. If the violation involves the safety of other people, the senior military member present may take immediate similar actions including expulsion from the event.

ARTICLE XII DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

1. This organization may dissolve itself voluntarily by resolution of the Board of Directors and a 2/3 majority vote of the full membership.

2. A resolution for dissolution must be announced to the membership in writing at least thirty days in advance of the meeting.

3. The assets shall be dissolved as follows:

A. All items on loan to The Unit or leased to The Unit will be returned to the owner.

B. All liabilities and obligations shall be paid.

C. Remaining assets will be dispersed upon the majority vote of those members at the dissolution meeting.


ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENTS

1. The bylaws may be amended at one of the two regular meetings or a meeting called for the express purpose of amending the bylaws.

2. Any bylaw changes must be communicated in writing to the membership prior to the meeting of consideration.

3. Any bylaw change must first be presented to the Board of Directors for their consideration.

4. A vote of 2/3 of the members present is required for passage of an amendment.