North Carolina Literary and Historical Association

OUR CONSTITUTION . . .

CONSTITUTION OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA LITERARY AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
(Adopted at the Annual Meeting on December 3, 1971, and amended at the Annual Meetings on December 21, 1977, November 9, 1979, November 21, 1980, November 19, 1982, November 7, 1986, November 1990, November 1992, November 2001, and November 2002).

ARTICLE I — NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1. This Association shall be called the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.

Section 2. The purposes of this Association shall be as follows: (1) To foster the interest of our people in the literature and history of North Carolina. (2) To encourage productive literary activity within the State, and to assist in bringing to public attention meritorious works by North Carolina writers. (3) To promote broad and varied activity in the field of state and local history. (4) To serve as a medium for the constructive exchange of ideas among persons concerned for the permanent well-being of North Carolina. To cooperate so far as may be practicable with other organizations in North Carolina whose purposes are similar to the purposes of this Association.

ARTICLE II — OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the Association shall be a President, President-Elect, and a Secretary-Treasurer.

Section 2. Officers shall be elected by the Association at an annual meeting, to serve for a term of two years or until their successors are elected and qualified. The President-Elect shall be confirmed at an annual meeting and shall serve for a term of two years unless unusual circumstances make this succession impossible or undesirable.

Section 3. In the event of the death or resignation of the President, the President-Elect shall fill the unexpired term. Any other vacancy in office shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee of the Association until the next meeting of the Association.

Section 4. The duties of the President shall be: (1) To preside over all meetings of the Association. (2) To appoint all committees, except where it is otherwise provided. (3) To maintain the general interest of the Association, and to enlist the counsel and support of the membership in doing so. (4) To lead in keeping constantly before the membership the stated purpose of the Association, and in formulating or furthering a program through which those purposes may be translated into effective activity both during and after his term of office.

Section 5. In the absence of the President at any meeting, the President-Elect shall preside.

Section 6. Acting under the general direction of the Executive Committee, the Secretary- Treasurer shall attend to the correspondence, and have charge of the funds, records, and employees of the Association. He shall be that officer chiefly responsible for promoting the free interchange of communication between the membership and Executive Committee, and for submitting to the members, by mail or at meetings, timely reports upon matters of common interest.

Section 7. All persons nominated to office shall be members of the Association, and the person nominated as President-Elect should usually be nominated from those persons who have served at least one year on the Executive Committee.

Section 8. Upon nomination of the Director of the Division of Archives and History and the Secretary-Treasurer, the Executive Committee may employ a person to serve as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. This person shall attend meeting of the Executive Committee without vote.

ARTICLE III — EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. (1) There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the officers prescribed in Article II, the immediate Past President, the Director of the Division of Archives and History if that person is not an officer, and nine persons elected to serve as members of the Committee. Three Executive Committee members shall be elected each year, to serve for terms of three years. The change from six members of the Executive Committee to nine shall be effected as follows: members whose terms have not expired shall serve out their terms and one additional member shall be elected for a one-year term and one for a two-year term, to provide three members in each of the terms.
(2) Election of a member of the Executive Committee to an office, or appointment by the Executive Committee to fill a vacancy in an office, shall create a vacancy in the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may fill a vacancy in the Committee membership by appointment until the next annual meeting. If the unexpired term extends for one or two years past that meeting, the remainder of the term shall be filled by regular nomination and election.
(3) Six members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Association under the provisions of this constitution, including but not limited to giving instructions to and requiring reports from the Secretary-Treasurer and other officers.

Section 2. A nominating committee of three members shall be appointed by the President for the purpose of nominating candidates for office and for membership on the Executive Committee, to be voted upon at the next annual business meeting.

Section 3. The Executive Committee is empowered to authorize other committees as needs for them may arise.

ARTICLE IV — ENDOWMENT TRUST

Section 1. There will be five members called the "Trustees of the Endowment Trust" elected to five year terms staggered such that one member will be elected for one year, a second for two years, a third for three years, a fourth for four years, and a fifth for five years.

Section 2. The Trustees shall meet at least once per year to discuss and administer the business of Endowment Trust Account. The trustees may meet more than once per year at their discretion.

Section 3. Members are up for re-election during the annual meeting. In odd-numbered years, the Executive Committee votes for reelection at the annual business meeting. In even-numbered years, the membership at-large shall choose to elect or reelect a member. Members may be reelected indefinitely.

Section 4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend these meetings in a non-voting capacity. The Secretary-Treasurer may be elected to the Trust, and if this is so, may serve in a voting capacity. The Secretary Treasurer must report the business of the Trust meeting to the Executive Committee.

Section 5. The Trustees have authority over the Endowment Trust Account, but the Executive Committee has regulatory authority over the Trustees. The Executive Committee, by majority vote, may remove or replace any Endowment Trustees member if a trustee dies during service, resigns, or is removed from office. The Executive Committee may appoint a trustee to fill the remaining unexpired term of the person he or she replaced.

ARTICLE V — MEMBERSHIP, DUES, FINANCES, AND MEETINGS

Section 1. Any persons who subscribe to the purposes of the Association is eligible for membership and shall be admitted to membership upon advance payment of dues prescribed in Section 2 below.

Section 2. Annual dues for membership in the Association shall be established by the Executive Committee and approved by the membership with categories of membership set forth:

CATEGORY RATE AUGMENTED RATE
Student $15.00 $20.00

Individual $30.00*
$600.00 life***
$40.00*
$800.00 life***

Household $40.00* $50.00*

Institutional $50.00* $60.00*

Contributing $100.00** $120.00**

* Fifty percent of these memberships are tax deductible.
** Seventy-five percent of these memberships are tax deductible.
*** One hundred percent of these memberships are tax deductible.

(1) Basic rates for regular membership in the Association include a one-year subscription to the North Carolina Historical Review and the newsletter Carolina Comments, as well as to members-only functions and discounts ranging from 10-25 percent on the
(2) Registration and ticket costs of most public programs sponsored or cosponsored by the Association and on selected publications issued by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History.
(3) Augmented rates provide, in addition to the benefits listed previously, a one-year subscription to the North Carolina Literary Review.
(4) Student memberships may be held by registered full-time students for up to four years, are not tax deductible, and are one-half the cost of individual memberships.
(5) Households include up to four individuals at the same residence, each may claim association discounts and attend members-only events, and all together share association subscriptions.
(6) Institutional rates entitle two representatives of institutional members to attend association functions; institutional members may also claim membership discounts on publications, and two institutional representatives may use the member discounts on Association events.
(7) Contributing members are entitled to extend to two nonmembers invitations to members-only events; a contributing membership may be for an individual or household. A listing of contributing members and life members will appear once a year in Carolina Comments unless anonymity is requested.
(8) Names of members will appear in all four annual issues of the North Carolina Historical Review.

ARTICLE VI — AWARDS

Section 1. (1) The Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award, established by this Association on December 5, 1969, shall be conferred annually upon a person, organization, institution, corporate body, or group of same, engaged in the study, writing, teaching, publication, preservation, restoration, or dissemination of knowledge pertaining to North Carolina history. The award shall be determined by a singular contribution to North Carolina history or by a congeries of noteworthy services that deserve recognition. The major criterion for this award shall be a judged performance in the advancement of North Carolina history. The recipient or recipients of this award shall be selected by the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award Committee consisting of the immediate past President, the current President, and one member of the Association elected by the Executive Committee. The Director of the State Division of Archives and History shall serve as ex officio member of the committee.
(2) If and when interest earned on money deposited as the Christopher Crittenden Fund exceeds the amount required for engraving, the purchase of cups, and other expenses incident to the presentation of the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award, the Executive Committee shall be authorized to establish an additional memorial to Dr. Crittenden through sponsorship of some phase of the work of the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association. Should, in any year, the interest be insufficient to provide funds needed for this additional memorial, the transfer from the general treasury shall be permissible.
(3) At the discretion of the Executive Committee, the Association shall cooperate with other historical, literary, and cultural organizations in North Carolina in providing appropriate times and platforms for the presentation of awards recognizing contributions to North Carolina life and heritage.

Section 2. (1) The purpose of the W. Keats and Elizabeth H. Sparrow endowment shall be to help support and, in time, to support in full the keynote lecture for the annual meeting of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. If in time 75 percent of the annual earnings regularly exceeds the cost of the annual keynote lecture, the remaining portion of the 75 percent of the earnings may be used to support other association initiatives.
(2) The endowment corpus shall eventually total at least $5,000. Keats and Elizabeth Sparrow shall complete the endowment total by contributing $1,000 installments annually or by leaving a bequest to the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. (resources permitting, the Sparrows will attempt to increase this corpus to $10,000 or more.)
(3) To ensure the perpetual growth of the endowment corpus, only up to 75 percent of the annual earnings shall be expended. The remaining 25 percent or more of the annual earnings shall be reinvested in the corpus.
(4) The endowment corpus shall remain inviolable in perpetuity.

ARTICLE VII — CONSTITUTION: ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS

Section 1. This constitution, having been approved by the Executive Committee, shall become effective upon approval by three-fourths of the members voting.

Section 2. For adoption of an amendment, approval of three-fourths of the members voting shall be required.

Section 3. A copy of this Constitution, incorporating amendments that may be adopted from time to time, shall be furnished to each new officer and member of the Executive Committee at the time he or she assumes office and shall be available at any time to any member of the Association upon written request to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association.