Policies & Bylaws

The Historical Society of South Dundas seeks to officially form and incorporate by affiliation under the Ontario Historical Society. 

 

Name 

        -The name of the organization shall be the Historical Society of South Dundas 

 

-The address shall be: 

5885 Carman Road, P.O. Box 555, Iroquois, Ontario K0E 1K0 

 

-Web address: www.historicalsocietyofsouthdundas.ca 

 

-Facebook page: www.facebook.com/HistoricalSocietyOfSouthDundas 

 

 Purposes: 

 

1. To promote public interest in the history,and heritage of the communities within the Municipality of South Dundas; to disseminate any knowledge pertaining to the history of South Dundas to the public

 

  2. To preserve, renew, restore, and maintain the Forward House located in South Dundas with a view to commemorating the site and educating the public about it. 

 

  3. To undertake activities ancillary and incidental to the attainment of the above charitable purposes. 

 

Objectives: 

  4. To promote public interest in the history, artifacts, and built heritage of the communities within the Municipality of South Dundas; to disseminate any knowledge pertaining to the history of South Dundas to the public; to advance the education by improving the public’s understanding and awareness of the history of South Dundas by hosting events, displays, exhibitions and performances; to support programs offered by the Society and by producing educational material. 

 

  5. to advocate for the preservation and protection of the built heritage of South Dundas.  

 

  6. To promote, research, conservation, storage and display of historic material, artifacts, documents and records of South Dundas (once we have a facility in which to properly store and maintain them). 

 

  7. To support and collaborate with like-minded community groups and organizations. 

 

  8.To accept donations of historical documents, artifacts, pioneer and indigenous relics (in collaboration with relevant groups) and other articles of historic significance. 

 

  9. To establish and maintain a South Dundas Heritage Centre. 

 

  10. To solicit, receive and manage donations, grants and legacies; set policies and establish program priorities.

 

 

The Historical Society of South Dundas shall carry on the above objectives without the purpose of financial benefit for its members, and any profits or other accretions to the Society shall be used in furtherance of its purposes. 

The directors shall serve such without remuneration and no director shall directly or indirectly receive profit from their position. 

 

Definitions:

History: The study of the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.

 

Built Heritage: Buildings, monuments, and other physical structures that assist in telling the story of the history of South Dundas.

 

Artifact/artefact: Movable or portable item of historic relevance. Please note that Artefact is the British and commonwealth spelling where Artifact is the US spelling.

 

Fiscal Year: 

 

The fiscal year of the South Dundas Historical Society shall follow the calendar year. 

 

Auditor: 

 

The auditor’s report shall be presented by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting  

 

 

Amendment: 

 

The constitution of the Society may be revised, or amended or altered only upon due notice to the membership not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Annual General Meeting or such special meeting as may be called to consider the matter. A vote of two-thirds of the membership present shall be required to pass any revision or amendment. All proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing. 

 

Dissolution: 

 

In the event the Historical Society of South Dundas ceases to exist, such funds and historical documents, records and possessions of the Society as may remain after providing for all debts and obligations of the Society shall be distributed in the most advantageous manner possible. The remaining cash on hand and other possessions shall be distributed at the discretion of a majority of the members in attendance at a special meeting called for the purpose of the dissolution of the Historical Society. 

   

By-Laws:

 

By-Laws shall be established and set forth as may be required. By-laws may not be established or amended unless in accordance with the Constitution of the Historical Society of South Dundas. By-laws may be introduced, revised, altered or amended only upon due notice being given to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual General Meeting or such special meeting as may be called to deal with the matter. A vote of two thirds of the membership present shall be required to establish, revise or amend a by-law. 

 

Membership: 

 

Membership in this society shall be open to any person interested in the history of the region. Interested persons may be enrolled as a member with the receipt of an annual fee as set up by the Board of Directors of the Society. Categories of membership may be established by the Society, as it is deemed necessary. 

 

All categories of membership are entitled to full voting privileges. 

 

The following types of membership may be granted in the following categories, and be renewed at the time of the annual meeting: 

 

1. Individual Membership —$15.00 

2. Student Membership   — $ 5.00 ​

3. Lifetime Membership —   $75.00 

 

 

 

Officers: 

 

The South Dundas Historical Society will comprise the following officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Director at Large and Treasurer. 

 

Board of Directors: 

 

The management of the Society shall be directed by a Board of Directors consisting of officers.  

 

The Board of Directors shall consist of five officers 

 

• President 

• Vice president 

• Director at Large 

• Secretary 

• Treasurer 

 

All officers shall be elected in the Annual General Meeting. Any member in good-standing of the society is eligible to vote at the AGM. Any member in good-standing of the society of legal age (18 years) is eligible to serve on the board. The Board of Directors shall meet not less than two times per year. 

 

Any vacancies within the Board of Directors of a duration of less than 3 months shall be filled by an interim officer as nominated by the board for the purposes of maintaining quorum. The interim officer shall be selected from members of the society who are of the age of majority. Any vacancies of more than 3 months shall be filled by election at the next available membership meeting which will have a 30 day announcement of such an election.

 

Terms of office: 

 

The Board of Directors shall be elected for a term of two years and will be limited to two consecutive terms. Limitations need not apply provided that two new directors are elected each term. If any elected official fails to attend three consecutive meetings without appropriate reasons, they will be replaced by an interim officer until the next annual meeting. 

 

The Board of Directors may be enlarged by a unanimous vote of all members of the Board of Directors, or by amendment of the Society’s constitution during the AGM. 

 

Sub-Committees: 

 

Sub-committees may be established for any long-term projects that would fall under the umbrella of HSSD.  At least one person from that sub-committee shall report at every HSSD public meeting. 

 

The Executive Committee may establish sub-committees for whatever purposes are considered expedient and may determine the composition of the sub-committees. 

 

Meetings of the Society: 

   

1. General Meetings of the Society shall be held on dates and places to be determined by the Executive.

2. The Society will hold no fewer than six general meetings per year. In the event a meeting does not have quorum, the next meeting will occur at the next regular meeting. 

3. Annual General Meeting shall be held on or close to a yearly basis as the Executive can arrange.

4. ​Meetings shall rotate at select locations within the Municipality of South Dundas, where space and capacity of buildings allow. Preference will be given to spaces for which rental fee is free. 

5. ​In the event that an in-person meeting cannot be held due to extraordinary circumstances (e.g. public emergency lasting several months) a virtual meeting (upon an agreed upon technical platform) may be held instead. Every effort shall be made by the Executive to provide a virtual attendance opportunity for members upon request.

6. Meetings must include an agenda and shall be available one week before any meeting on the society’s website, and circulated to all members at the start of each meeting. 

7. ​At a special, general or annual meeting, 6 members in good standing, including 3 members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. 

8. ​In the event of a tie vote at any meeting of the Society, the executive chairing shall cast the deciding vote. 

9. ​Minutes of meetings of the society shall be prepared for each meeting and shall be approved at the subsequent meeting of the same purpose. For example minutes of the annual members meeting shall be tabled at the next annual members meeting only, and executive meeting minutes shall be tabled at the subsequent executive meeting.

10. ​Minutes of all meetings shall be available to be reviewed once they have been approved.