1. The name of this organization shall be: Esperanto Society of New England (ESNE; Esperanto ESNA).

2. The purpose of ESNE/ESNA shall be to promote the use of the international language Esperanto.

3. Membership shall be open to everyone who supports the aim of ESNE. A member is anyone who pays the established dues. Only members have the right to vote and to hold office.

4. Officers shall be president, vice-president, corresponding secretary, education secretary, newsletter editor, and treasurer; all of them shall be elected for a two-year term at the May meeting. Their duties shall be as follows:

   1. The President shall preside at every meeting, supervise the work of other officers, and officially represent ESNE/ESNA.
      

   2. The Vice-president shall take the place of the president when the president cannot fulfill his/her duties.
      

   3. The Corresponding Secretary shall be in charge of the minutes for each meeting, answer written requests regarding the organization, and keep the membership list.
      

   4. The Education Secretary shall be in charge of lesson materials and other education services for members.
      

   5. The Editor shall be in charge of the newsletter.
      

   6. The Treasurer shall accept all dues and make a detailed financial report at each May meeting of ESNE/ESNA.
      

5. Meetings: The time and location of each meeting shall be at the pleasure of the president or vice-president. Each meeting shall be announced by newsletter, telephone, or postcard. In addition it shall be announced vocally during the previous meeting.

6. Amendments: This constitution shall be amendable by favorable vote of the membership. A proposed amendment signed by one-fifth of the membership or two-thirds of the officers shall be sufficient for the proposal to be presented to the membership for a mail-in ballot. Such a proposal shall become official if two-thirds of the cast ballots are favorable, with the condition that the number of favorable ballots be at least one-fifth of the total number of memberships. Every ballot postmarked within 30 days after the ballot distribution date will be counted. The ballots will be kept for inspection by the members.

7. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the purposes of this organization are exclusively educational and charitable within the meaning of Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. In the event of dissolution, this organization will, after payment of liabilities, distribute any remaining assets to an organization or organizations at that time exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

These by-laws were accepted by the members attending the meeting of 12 April, 1981.

An amendment in June 1983 added Section VII and replaced "Bostona Esperanto-Klubo", "Boston Esperanto Club", "BEK" and "BEC" with "Esperanto Societo de Nov-Anglujo", "Esperanto Society of New England", "ESNA", and "ESNE" wherever they appear.

An amendment in September 1992 changed Section VI from "two-thirds of the total membership" to "two-thirds of the voting ballots, with the condition that the number of favorable ballots be at least one-fifth of the total number of memberships.".

An amendment in June 2002 replaced "Esperanto Societo de Nov-Anglujo" with "Esperanto Societo de Nov-Anglio" wherever it appears. It also replaced "one-year term" in Section IV with "two-year term ".

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© 2005 Steven Brewer

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