By-laws and Rules of the
GRAPHICS PHILATELY ASSOCIATION
Prepared by Robert M. Ritterband, President, in February 1976
Amended July 1999
I. Name: The name of this organization shall be the Graphics Philately Association, hereinafter called the GPA.
II. Purposes: The purposes of the GPA shall be: (A) to encourage the collection and study of any philatelic material that pertains to the topic of Graphic Arts; (B) to encourage the study of various Graphic Arts processes used in the production of postage stamps or postal stationery; and (C) to disseminate among its members all possible information about such philatelic subjects.
III. Affiliation: To carry out its purposes most effectively, the GPA shall maintain an affiliation with a national philatelic society such as the American topical Association and/or the American Philatelic Society. The officers of the GPA shall decide which society or societies with which to affiliate and shall make every effort to keep the GPA in compliance with the affiliation requirements once affiliation has been established. In addition, each member of the GPA shall be encouraged, but not required, to maintain an affiliation with the same national society or societies.
IV. Authority
1. All rights and authority to supervise the activities of the GPA shall be vested in an Executive Board, consisting of not less than five persons, including the four officers listed in Article V below and the editor of Philateli-Graphics. All property owned by the GPA shall be held in the name of the Executive Board.
2. Vacancies in the Executive Board shall be filled by the vote of the remaining Board members, except in the case of the President. In the event that such office becomes vacant, the Vice President shall automatically serve as President for the remainder of that term.
3. In the event that the editor of Philately-Graphics shall also be an officer of the GPA, the Board shall designate a past president of the GPA, or another qualified member, to serve as the fifth voting member of the Board.
V. Officers
1. Officers of the GPA shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
A. The President shall be in general charge of all GPA activities, shall preside at any Executive Board meetings and/or meetings of the membership, shall appoint all committees authorized by the Executive Board, and a\shall be an ex-officio member of all such committees.
B. The Vice President shall serve as an aide to the President, and shall perform the duties of the President in his absence or inability to serve, along with any additional duties assigned to him by the President. The Vice President shall not be considered a president-elect.
C. The Secretary shall handle correspondence of the GPA, along with membership records, and minutes of any meetings of the Executive Board or the members.
D. The Treasurer shall receive all monies in the name of the GPA, and shall make such payments as are authorized by the Executive Board. He shall maintain permanent records of all GPA finances, and shall submit an annual report for publication in Philateli-Graphics.
2. Procedures for the nomination and election by mail of new officers shall be established by the Executive Board, and shall be carried out by the President and Secretary, acting jointly.
3. All officers shall be elected for two-year terms, and shall be eligible for reelection. Terms of the founding officers shall expire on 30 June 1977, and all subsequent terms shall expire on that same day during each odd-numbered year.
VI. Membership
1. Any individual having an interest in the purposes of the GPA shall be eligible for membership. Organizations, however, shall not be eligible. Various classes of membership may be established by decision f the Executive Board.
2. For record keeping, a permanent membership number shall be assigned to each incoming member, which number shall not be used again at any time for any other member. Charter members shall be those who have joined the GPA no later than 31 December 1975.
3. Applications for membership shall be submitted in writing to the President or the Secretary, accompanied by payment in full of the current dues and fees.
4. An application for membership may be rejected by majority vote of the Executive Board.
VII. Dues
1. The Executive Board shall have the right to establish, increase or decrease the amount of membership dues or other fees at any time, but not retroactively.
2. Failure of any member to pay such dues within six months after proper notification shall be cause for suspension of that membership.
VIII. Meetings: Activities of the GPA shall be conducted chiefly through the exchange of mail. The Executive Board, however, shall be authorized to hold meetings and/or exhibits at any time, provided that the membership has been notified of same at least sixty days prior to any such event.
IX. Philateli-Graphics Newsletter
1. Contact between members shall be maintained principally through the issuance of a periodic newsletter entitled Philateli-Graphics, at a cost to be included in the membership dues.
2. The Editor of Philateli-Graphics shall be appointed by the Executive Board, and shall be an ex-officio member of the Board.
3. The publication of Executive Board notices in Philateli-Graphics shall constitute official notice to all members of any Executive Board actions or decisions.
X. Amendments: These by-laws may be amended at any time by a two-thirds vote of the members voting, provided that the proposed changes have been considered previously by the Executive Board, and that the members have been notified at least thirty (30) days before said vote is undertaken.