THE ARTICLES (CONSTITUTION) OF THE PORTLAND SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY

ARTICLE I: NAME The name of the corporation shall be the "Portland Science Fiction Society", and shall be abbreviated "PorSFiS".

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE The Portland Science Fiction Society is created to educate the public in and promote the enjoyment of scientific, science fiction and fantasy media (printed and visual). Specifically, this includes but is not limited to:

1. Providing an opportunity and location for persons with a common interest in science fiction, fantasy, and science to meet and exchange information and ideas.
2. Sponsoring events of interest to science fiction, fantasy and science fans.
3. Promoting an interest in science fiction, fantasy and science
4. Educating individuals and groups in the various aspects and forms of science fiction, fantasy and science.
5. Conducting all activities incidental to meeting these goals.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Membership in the Portland Science Fiction Society shall be open to all sentient beings. There shall be three classes of membership, "Personal", "Family", and "Lifetime". All members shall have voting rights in all ballots and elections, regardless of the type of membership. Personal and Family memberships shall run for one calendar year, commencing on the day that dues are received and expiring one year later. Lifetime memberships shall last for the life of the individual.

Section 1a: Personal memberships shall be defined as a membership for a single individual. A Personal membership is non-transferable, and grants that individual a single vote in all ballots and elections. Additional rights, responsibilities, benefits and privileges shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 1b: Family memberships shall be defined as a membership for all individuals residing in a single residence, up to a maximum of five (5) individuals. A Family membership is non-transferable. A Family membership grants a single vote for each individual in that membership in all ballots and elections. Additional rights, responsibilities, benefits and privileges shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 1c: Lifetime memberships shall be defined as a membership for a single individual that does not expire until their death or such time as they voluntarily renounce their membership. A lifetime membership is non-transferable, and grants that individual a single vote in all ballots and elections. Additional rights, responsibilities, benefits and privileges shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 2: Honorary Memberships shall be bestowed in accordance with the Bylaws. Honorary memberships have no voting rights, and are memberships in name but not in law. They do not fulfill the definition given in ORS 65.001(22)(a).

Section 3: Further classes of membership shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 4: The current cost of any membership shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 5: All known memberships from the previous incorporation (Oregon Registry Number 164035-11) and those created since December 1994 that remain in good standing shall be converted to their equivalent membership levels in these Articles. The expiration dates of these memberships shall remain unchanged. These members are:

• Allyson MW Dyar, Dafydd Neal Dyar and Kurt F Roithinger (family membership)
• Ann Ezell (personal membership)
• Dr. YaLeah (personal membership)
• Matthew Picio and Kristin Picio (family membership)
• Dancer Cloninger (personal membership)
• Stephen M Gaskill, Jr (personal membership)
• Cheryl York and Bryce Walden (family membership)
• Page Fuller (personal membership)
• Douglas Watson (personal membership)
• Steve Forty (personal membership)
• Shava Nerad (personal membership)
• John Andrews (personal membership)
• John Edward Bartley III and Lea Rush (family membership)
• Paul Borte (personal membership)
• Carl Eckrode (personal membership)
• Roger Eckrode (personal membership)
• Kier Salmon (personal membership)
• David Samson (personal membership)
• Debra Stansbury (personal membership)
• Fred Torck (personal membership)
• Helen Umberger (personal membership)
• Roger Wells (personal membership)
• Joyce Zimmerschied (personal membership)
• Sam Butler (personal membership)
• Barbara Oldham (personal membership)
• Skip Ward (personal membership)
• Mike Parker and Sharon Parker (family membership)
• Daniel Reitman (personal membership)
• Keith Lofstrom (personal membership)
• Tracey Hiersche (personal membership)
• Wendy Hubbard (personal membership)
• Linda Cunningham (personal membership)

Section 6: All members shall receive a membership number, in order to identify votes in all ballots and elections to prevent miscounts.

Section 7: A membership may be revoked for misconduct or for non-payment as set forth in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE IV: DIRECTORS

Section 1: The initial Board of Directors of the Portland Science Fiction Society shall be:

• John E. Bartley III
• Kristin J. Picio
• Matthew P. Picio
• Lea Rush
• Debra Stansbury

Section 2: The initial Board of Directors shall confirm the adoption of the Bylaws, appoint officers, and complete corporate organizational tasks in accordance with ORS 65.057 (1)(a). Upon completion of these tasks, the appointed initial officers shall become the Board of Directors of the Portland Science Fiction Society, and the initial Board of Directors shall resign.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS

Section 1: The officers of the Portland Science Fiction Society shall be:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Treasurer

Section 2: Additionally, the following positions shall be appointed by the President and confirmed by a majority of the remaining officers:

• Editor
• Programming Director
• Publicity Director
• Webmaster

Section 3: The officers in Section 1 shall be, for all intents and purposes, the Board of Directors of the Portland Science Fiction Society. The requirements for a quorum shall be defined in the Bylaws.

Section 4: Any member of the Portland Science Fiction Society who is at least 18 years of age shall be eligible for any office.

Section 5: The term of office for all officers shall be one year, commencing at noon (12:00pm) Universal Time on April 1st of the calendar year.

Section 6: All officers shall maintain their membership in the Portland Science Fiction Society throughout their term of office. If an officer fails to do so, then that post shall be declared vacant (see section 8).

Section 7: If any officer misses 3 consecutive officer and / or business meetings without due cause, then that post shall be declared vacant (see section 8). A majority of the remaining officers shall judge what constitutes "due cause".

Section 8: Upon the vacancy of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the presidency. Upon a vacancy in any other office, including the office of Vice-President when the Vice-President assumes the presidency, the President will appoint someone to fill the remainder of the term.

Section 9: An officer may voluntarily resign at any time by delivering written notice to any of the other officers. Upon resignation, all materials pertinent to that office shall be returned to the Portland Science Fiction Society.

Section 10: An officer may be removed from office for misconduct or for other reasons as set forth in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Section 1: The duties of the President are:

1) To preside over all official functions of the Portland Science Fiction Society which he or she attends;
2) To fulfill any further obligations specified in the Bylaws.

Section 2: The duties of the Vice-President are:

1) To preside over all official functions of the Portland Science Fiction Society in the absence of the President;
2) To supervise all ballots and elections and tally the votes;
3) To fulfill any further obligations specified in the Bylaws.

Section 3: The duties of the Secretary are:

1) To maintain any correspondence of the Portland Science Fiction Society;
2) To take and maintain minutes during all officer and business meetings, and submit them for publication on a timely basis;
3) To fulfill any further obligations specified in the Bylaws.

Section 4: The duties of the Treasurer are:

1) To maintain and give account for all funds of the Portland Science Fiction Society;
2) To maintain the membership rolls of the Portland Science Fiction Society
and provide a copy of the membership rolls to the other officers on a timely basis;
3) To maintain any meeting space rental agreements;
4) To submit the applicable corporate and tax paperwork to state and federal agencies on a timely basis;
5) To fulfill any further obligations specified in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VII: ELECTIONS

Section 1: General elections shall be held for the offices of President, Secretary and Treasurer in the manner set forth in the Bylaws. The elections shall be held by means of a publicly distributed ballot, and the results shall be announced prior to April 1st. special ballots shall be held as required.

Section 2: General Elections shall be announced no later than January 15th, in the manner set forth in the Bylaws.

Section 3: The presidential candidate who receives a plurality or majority of votes is declared the President-Elect; the presidential candidate receiving the next highest number of votes is declared the Vice-President-Elect.

Section 4: Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote for each of the three offices. Family memberships shall be entitled to a number of votes per office equal to the number of persons listed for that membership, up to a maximum of five votes for each of the three offices.

Section 5: The Incumbent Vice President shall record and tally the ballots in accordance with the Bylaws.

Section 6: The results of the elections shall be announced in accordance with the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VIII: OFFICIAL EVENTS

Section 1: The Portland Science Fiction Society shall have a monthly business meeting on the second Saturday of every month. The meeting location shall be determined by the officers and an announcement shall be made to the membership as set forth in the Bylaws. The April business meeting is also the annual business meeting of the Portland Science Fiction Society.

Section 2: Additional official events shall be listed in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE IX: BYLAWS

Section 1: Any member of the Portland Science Fiction Society may bring any current Bylaw before the membership for review and discussion at any business meeting. Any subsequent additions, changes or deletions to the questioned Bylaw shall be submitted to a vote at the next business meeting.

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Any amendment (s) to these Articles must be approved by a 2/3 majority of members present in a special ballot. The special ballot shall be performed in accordance with the Bylaws.

ARTICLE XI: DISSOLUTION

Section 1: The Portland Science Fiction Society may be dissolved in a special ballot by a 2/3 majority vote of the entire membership (in accordance with the Bylaws), or by other means in accordance with local, state, or federal law.

Section 2: Upon dissolution, asset distribution and notifications shall be performed in accordance with all local, state and federal laws.

ARTICLE XII: ACTION OF CONSTITUTION

Section 1: This document shall be in effect and in full force on and after the acceptance of the Articles of Incorporation filed with the State of Oregon.

Email the webmaster if you have any questions about this web page.
Copyright 1978-2003 Portland Science Fiction Society