I. Mission Statement:

The mission of Seeds to Leads, a business networking group within the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, is three-fold: growth and prosperity of each member’s business; formation of partnerships among the memberships to enable and enhance each member’s business and social life; and education of the membership on current topics of mutual interest, either from within or outside of the group.

II. Meetings:

Meetings shall be held regularly throughout the year on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, generally lasting from 8:00 am until 9:10 am. Meetings are located at the GVCC office, at 900 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton. This schedule may be changed with prior notice by the board, or due to extraordinary circumstances (e.g. severe weather). The board shall provide reasonable notice of any scheduling change.

III. Fiscal Policy:

Dues are pro-rated by calendar quarter. Dues are $80 if a member joins, or renews, in the first calendar quarter, $60 for a new member joining in the second calendar quarter, $40 for a new member joining in the third calendar quarter, and $20 for a new member joining in the fourth calendar quarter. A member who leaves the group during a year, for whatever reason, shall not receive a refund of all or part of that member’s fee. All members of Seeds to Leads shall be members in good standing of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce.

IV. Attendance:

Regular and prompt attendance is expected of all members. Any member with absences in three or more meetings in any calendar quarter may be ejected immediately thereafter. Exceptions may be made in unusual circumstances, or where a direct conflict exists between a Seeds to Leads meeting and another GVCC event. In order to request an exception, the member must notify the membership director, in writing, of the request, and the request shall be granted or denied by a majority vote of the board sitting at the time of the request.

V. Guests:

Any member may bring a “guest” company’s representative to up to two (2) meetings. There is no limit to how many different companies may be brought by the same member to one or more meetings, except that a reasonable limit may be imposed by the president, in order that the business of the meeting not be disrupted or unduly delayed. The same company may not be a guest of more than one member company, if doing so would exceed the guest’s limit of two (2) meetings attended. Guests are welcome as potential members, or to provide assistance to a member giving a presentation at that meeting. Guests brought by a member to provide assistance for a presentation are not subject to the two (2) meeting limitation.

VI. New Member Procedures:

A prospective new member may attend up to two (2) meetings without joining. Prospective new members should receive an information package from the membership director, and, upon their paid membership, should receive additional informational materials, as available. Membership begins upon the latter of the receipt by the treasurer of fully paid dues, or the fully completed membership application being received and determined acceptable by the membership director.

Upon receipt of the membership application, the membership director shall review the information to ensure that the prospective member is a current member of the GVCC, and that no conflict of interest exists between the prospective member and any other member of the group. If any member perceives a conflict of interest to exist, the membership director shall attempt to resolve the issue between the conflicting companies. Should no resolution be possible, the prospective member shall be denied membership.

No individual member may represent, or solicit business for, more than one company. A maximum of two individuals from the same member company may attend, either together or separately, but each individual is expected to bring in his/her own leads. Should an individual change companies, they must apply anew for membership.

VII. Membership Renewals:

All memberships are renewable as of the first regularly scheduled meeting in January of each year. Renewal consists of payment in full of the new year’s membership dues to the treasurer. Each member shall have a right of first refusal for renewing their membership, which right shall expire at 11:59 pm, January 31 of each calendar year. Any member not renewing by that time shall be considered to have waived membership, and a competing company, otherwise meeting all the requirements of membership, may join at that time.

VIII. Termination of Membership:

A company’s membership may be terminated because of excessive absences (see provision IV, supra), failure to renew membership in a timely fashion (see provision VII), or by any member giving written notice to the membership director of its intent to leave the group, for whatever reason.

All members are aware of the goals and purposes of the group, and understand that they may be expelled from the group for behavior and/or activities that unnecessarily and repeatedly impede the work of the meeting, and which behavior and/or activities continue after and despite a verbal warning being given to the offending member by the president. The offending member shall be expelled after said warning, if and only if a unanimous vote of the board, followed by at least two-thirds of the general membership, including in both instances the offending member, supports said action, and only after such offending behavior and/or activities have continued or resumed. In such an event, the expulsion is effective immediately following the vote.

IX. Officers:

The officers of Seeds to Leads shall consist of a president, vice president, treasurer/secretary, membership director, and immediate past president. The duties of each of the officers shall be described prior to calling for elections in each year, and may vary to suit the particular needs of the group over time. An officer’s term is for one year, from January 1 to December 31. There are no term limit restrictions on any officer’s position, as long as said officer is duly re-elected each year.

A vacancy among the officers, other than the immediate past president, occurring at any time other than at regularly scheduled elections, shall be filled by appointment by the remaining officers.

Any officer except the immediate past president may be removed from his position (but not from Seeds to Leads) by a three-fourths vote of all officers (including the member in question), followed by a two-thirds vote of the Seeds to Leads members voting at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Any member may propose the recall of any officer, except for the immediate past president. All votes pursuant to this section shall be by written ballot.

X. Elections:

Elections shall be held in the autumn of each year, for all officer positions, except for the immediate past president. Any officer or other member may be elected for any electable position, except that no one member may serve in more than one officer position at the same time. Nominations shall be made for each position by any group member at the regularly scheduled meeting held for that purpose. A member may nominate themselves, or any other member, and neither a second nor a petition is required for nomination to any position. Candidates shall run individually, and shall not form a “slate”, or “party.” Any member may decline the nomination to any position.

Where more than one member is nominated for the same position, there shall be an election, taken by secret, written ballot, of the members present at the meeting, with no proxy or absentee ballots permitted, each member company having one vote per position contested, and the votes tabulated by the then-current president and vice president. A member may run for more than one position at the same time, but, if elected to more than one position, must choose immediately which position to accept, and which to decline. In such an instance, the candidate that received the next greatest number of votes for that position shall assume that position.

Should the winning candidate decline a position for which no other member received any votes, there shall be a new election for that position only, to be held at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Should an election for any position result in a tie between two or more candidates with the greatest number of votes, and if there is any other candidates for the position in question, who received fewer votes, there shall be an immediate run-off election, for which only the candidates who tied shall be eligible. Should there be only two candidates for a position, and a tie results, the tie shall be broken by obtaining votes sent by proxy from the absent members to the Chair and to the Vice-Chair simultaneously. Should the proxy balloting still result in a tie among the votes received 72 hours after the end of the meeting in which the election took place, the board, in place on the day prior to the election, shall vote to break the tie. Should a tie result from the board’s vote, the Chair shall flip a coin to decide the matter.

XI. Resolution of Disputes:

All disputes regarding these rules shall be submitted in writing to the board, which shall decide on each issue, as soon as is reasonably practical, en banc. The board may request a hearing with all parties to the dispute, or may request written or other evidence be submitted, but is not obligated to do so. The decision of the board is final.

XII. Amendment of These By-Laws:

These by-laws may be amended from time to time, as needs warrant, by a three-fourths majority vote among the officers, followed by a majority vote among the entire membership voting at the next regularly-scheduled meeting.

XIII. Group Etiquette and Aspirations:

All members of Seeds to Leads are adults, and are expected to act accordingly. There should be no unprofessional and unnecessary criticism of a member in front of the group. Email and mailing addresses, and phone or fax numbers, provided for communication and networking purposes among group members, are not to be sold, traded, or otherwise used for mass marketing appeals, spam, or other improper purposes. All members are encouraged to bring one new, valid, active lead to each meeting.

XIV. Disclaimer:

Neither Seeds to Leads, nor any officer thereof, may be held liable for a lead between members that causes injury, damage, or loss of any kind to a member. Leads are accepted and/or pursued at each member’s own risk. All members agree that membership in Seeds to Leads is a privilege, not a right, and that they assume their own risk, both physically and financially, by attending and participating. Seeds to Leads shall not be responsible for injuries sustained by a member or a guest attending, or attempting to attend, a meeting, wherever it may be located.