The Order of

The Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh, Inc.

CONSTITUTION

 ARTICLE I NAME 

The name of this organization shall be "The Order of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh, Inc.

 ARTICLE II OBJECTIVE 

The Order of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh is an Irish-American social organization dedicated to the purpose of promoting and enhancing the fraternity and good fellowship of its membership. The Organization shall be nonprofit, nonsectarian and nonpolitical.

 ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP 

Section 1 - Any male, 21 years of age and have at least one eighth Irish ancestry or a descendant of a member in good standing, is eligible for membership.

 Section 2 - All prospective members must be approved by the membership committee, and accepted by the unanimous vote of the General Membership as outlined in the By-laws. 

Section 3 - A maximum of one Honorary Social Membership may be awarded by the Executive Committee each year to a deserving individual who, himself, is ineligible for regular membership. 

Section 4 -Any group of 25 or more persons, qualified by the Constitution of this Organization may petition the parent Organization to form a Chapter of the Organization: provided, however, that no prospective member of said Chapter shall reside within ten miles of the meeting place of the existing Chapter.

A. A petition shall be signed by at least 25 persons otherwise qualified to be members of this Organization pursuant to the Constitution and shall be submitted to the President of the Organization. 

B. The president shall present the petition to the Executive Board at its next regular meeting and upon favorable recommendation, the petition shall be submitted to the General Membership at its next regular meeting thereafter. 

1. An opportunity shall be afforded to a spokesman for the petitioners to appear before the Executive Board and upon its favorable recommendation to appear before the General Membership to present the facts in favor of the petition. 

2. If two-thirds of the Member present and eligible to vote approve the petition, then the President is authorized to issue a Charter to the petitioner. 

C. The name of any new Chapter Shall begin "The Order of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh " and then have its geographical designation added thereto.

D. After a Charter has been issued, this organization shall be entitled to vote on the Charter Members of the new Chapter in the same manner in which new members are voted upon by this Organization.

E. Each subsequent prospective member of the new Chapter shall be voted upon by the membership of the new Chapter in accordance with the By-laws of this organization, but only the members of the new Chapter shall vote upon said prospective members.

F. All Chapters shall adopt the constitution of this Organization as their constitution. 

G. The Chapter shall be free to prepare their own By-laws except that said By-laws shall be consistent with the purposes and intent of this Organization. 

H. All new Chapters shall incorporate separately and maintain their own accounts, but shall be subject to audit by the parent organization.

 ARTICLE IV GOVERNING BODY 

The governing body of this Organization shall be known as the Executive Board and shall consist of the Board of Trustees and the Elected Officers. This Board shall be responsible to the General Membership. The duties of this Board shall be outlined in the By-laws. 

ARTICLE V OFFICERS 

Section 1 - The officers of this Organization shall be as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, 1st Keeper of the Shillelagh, 2nd Keeper of the Shillelagh and the Steward.

 Section 2 - The Board of Trustees shall consist of five (5) appointed members one of whom shall always be the senior outgoing officer in order of rank as indicated in Section 1. The term shall be for one year. In the event of no outgoing officer, the incumbent member previously so appointed trustee shall continue for another year.

 ARTICLE VI MEETINGS 

A regular meeting of this organization shall be held as specified in the By-laws. Ten members (excluding officers and trustees) will constitute a quorum. Special meetings will be as provided in the By-laws.

ARTICLE VII AMENDMENTS 

Amendments to this Constitution can be made only after proposed amendment has been submitted to the Chairman of the By-laws Committee in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to the next regular meeting. The Chairman of the By-laws Committee shall read the proposed amendment from the floor for two (2) consecutive meetings before submitting it to the General Membership for a vote after the second reading. 

Amendments must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the members present in order to be passed.