Section 1: The name of the organization shall be North Louisiana Historical Association (NLHA).

Section 2: The North Louisiana Historical Association is organized to encourage an appreciation and understanding of the history of North Louisiana. For purposes of the organization, “North Louisiana” is considered to include all of the State from approximately Alexandria northwards. The NLHA is a not-for-profit educational and social organization chartered by the State.

Section 3: The Archives of Noel Memorial Library, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, is the designated records repository for the NLHA.

Section 1: Membership is open to any individual, family, business, or organization that subscribes to the purposes of the NLHA.

Section 2: Dues shall be set by the Board of Directors and will be paid on a calendar year basis.

Section 1: Annual Meeting. The date, time, and location of the annual meeting will be set by the Board of Directors and will be the main business meeting of the organization. It will generally be held in conjunction with the spring luncheon.

Section 2: Special Meetings. To the extent possible, there will be two special meetings per year at different locations in North Louisiana. Every attempt will be made to hold the meetings at places of historical interest and to obtain a speaker on a historical topic.

Section 3: Notice. Notice of meetings will be mailed to members. Meetings are open to the membership, guests, and members of the public.

Section 1: Role, Size, Compensation. The Board is responsible for overall policy and direction of the NLHA. The Board may delegate responsibility for specific activities or projects to committees made up of members of the organization. The Board shall consist of fifteen members serving staggered three-year terms, five new members being elected each year. Board members are eligible for re-election for two consecutive terms. After serving two consecutive terms, a board member may not be re-elected within the next year. The board receives no compensation other than reasonable expenses.

Section 2: Meetings. The Board will meet in conjunction with the annual and special meetings. Special Board meetings may be called by the President or by one-third of the Board, and due notice will be given of the same.

Section 3: Board Elections. Election of the Board of the NLHA will occur as the first item of business at the annual meeting. Directors will be elected by a majority vote of the members in attendance. Officers will be elected by the Board of Directors in their meeting after the annual meeting.

Section 4: Quorum. At least eight Board members must be present before business can be transacted or motions made or passed.

Section 5: Officers and Duties. There shall be five officers of the NLHA consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor of the Association’s journal, North Louisiana History. Their duties are as follows:

--Coordinates all activities of the Board
--Assures that officers and committees are performing assigned tasks
--Chairs meetings of the Board and membership
--Collects and deposits records of the Association at the LSUS Archives

--Chairs the Program Committee, which recommends the place and speaker for future programs; coordinates programs with Board
--Prepares meeting notices for mailing to membership
--Is responsible for the annual meeting; coordinates place, speaker, time, etc., with Board
--Presents the Overdyke/Bradbury Awards at the annual meeting

--Prepares minutes of each Board and membership meeting and provides them to the Editor for inclusion in North Louisiana History and provides minutes to each member of the Board

--Annotates minutes for action items and unfinished business and provides such annotations to the President at least two weeks prior to the next meeting

--Provides periodic financial reports to the Board with a copy to the Secretary and Editor for inclusion in North Louisiana History

--Collects and deposits dues. A first dues notice should be mailed in January, a past due notice in March-April, and a final notice in June-July. Members who have failed to pay dues by August will be dropped from the rolls.

--Solicits appropriate articles for inclusion in North Louisiana History (the journal)

--Supervises publication of the journal with the printer and assures timely distribution

Officers shall serve two-year terms and may be re-elected. The immediate past president will be invited to serve as an ex-officio officer for one term.

Section 6: Vacancies. An ad hoc committee made up of the NLHA’s past three presidents will solicit nominations for annual vacancies on the Board; those nominations will be presented to the floor at the annual meeting. Mid-term vacancies may be filled by a majority vote of the Board, taken at any meeting. Such vacancies will be filled only to the end of the particular member’s (or officer’s) term.

Section 7: Resignation, Termination and Absences. Resignation from the Board or of an officer must be in writing and received by the Secretary. A Board member may be dropped for excess absences from Board meetings if s/he has three unexcused absences in a year. An officer or Board member may be removed for other reasons by a three-fourths vote of the remaining directors.

Section 8: Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board may be called upon the request of the President or one-third of the Board. Notice of special meetings shall be sent out by the Secretary to each Board member postmarked two weeks in advance.

Section 1: The Board may create committees as needed. The President will appoint committee chairs and members.

Section 2: The Editor will chair the committee for selecting the annual Overdyke Award winners. The President, in consultation with the Editor, will select three committee members to judge each division. The committee will solicit papers on some aspect of North Louisiana history from both graduates and undergraduates. The authors of the best papers will receive monetary awards, their papers shall be published exclusively in North Louisiana History, and each will receive a one-year subscription to the journal.

Section 3: The President will appoint three members to a committee for selection of the Bradbury Award. It is a monetary award presented to the author of the best article on North Louisiana history printed in North Louisiana History over the course of the past calendar year.

ARTICLE VI: DISSOLUTION

Section 1: Upon dissolution of the Association, the Officers will assure that all outstanding obligations of the Association have been met. The Board will then designate an appropriate recipient for any remaining assets, with preference being given to educational institutions or scholarship funds related to United States history in general and Louisiana history in particular. The Association’s Constitution/Articles of Incorporation must be considered in this regard.

Section 1: These Bylaws may be amended when necessary by a majority of the Board of Directors. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Secretary to be sent out with regular Board announcements or other Association business.

These Bylaws were approved at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the North Louisiana Historical Association on February 12, 2006.