Club Bylaws and Policies

Updated Definitions for
Active & Sustaining Membership

On behalf of the Defining Membership working group: Laura Nash, Chair; Lindsay Greimann, Anne Hawley, Marty Mauzy, Kyra Montagu, Allene Pierson, Patty Straus, Robin Mandjes, Ex Officio.

The following definitions and responsibilities of the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club membership are an affirmation of the essential shared values and common interests that have made the club distinctive and strong for over a hundred years. Members have actively committed to these ideas in many ways and the vitality of the club depends on their ongoing participation in all aspects:

  • friendship in affiliation and working together
  • knowledge of gardening related issues (public and private) through many forms of information and expertise
  • outreach to the community

Hospitality has been the social glue. Knowledge content has and will vary as members’ interests evolve and new forms of knowing about plants and ecology emerge. These strengths of the club are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. When members actively participate in all these activities, they are not only reaping personal rewards, they are serving the interests of the whole club.

For this reason, Executive Committee has approved the following updated definitions for Active and Sustaining membership, essential to the vitality of our club.

Membership Definitions and Responsibilities

Both Active and Sustaining Members will have full right of access to all club programs, voting, committees, projects and social events as well as all GCA communications and positions offered in the national leadership. Both categories will pay the same annual dues to the club. Other expectations and responsibilities will vary, as follows

Active Membership

  • Active members annually commit to a minimum set of expectations regarding attendance, hospitality, and committee/officer participation. The club will depend on all Active members to attend at least three program meetings a year, actively serve on at least one committee or special project, and contribute to a hospitality need when asked.

Sustaining Membership

  • Sustaining membership is a voluntary choice intended for members with long service to the club. Sustaining members do not have attendance, hospitality and committee participation requirements, but as welcome and honored members, they are encouraged to participate at all times as they see fit.
  • To qualify, a member must have actively served at least 15 years and must notify the President and Executive committee in writing of her intention to transition by January of the renewal year.
  • As a courtesy to the institutional memory of the club, the writer should include a paragraph highlighting some of her key contributions to the club over the years. This will be shared at the annual meeting to honor the transitioning member.

Emerita and Honorary Members

The categories of Emerita and Honorary Members remain as described in the Bylaws.

Special “Exemptions”

Should a member need to temporarily modify her commitment to the expectations of Active membership, she should communicate personally with the President to discuss it.

Bylaws

The object of the Club shall be to increase knowledge of and to stimulate interest in all elements of horticulture, botany, and design, and to support conservation and community improvement in the urban setting of Cambridge.

Article I: Membership

The Cambridge Plant & Garden Club, as part of The Garden Club of America, shall have a quota of 88 members who may participate in the affairs of The Garden Club of America and shall be composed of the following categories of members:

  • Active Members constitute the working group of the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club and are expected to participate in activities of the Club. Officers and chairs of committees shall be chosen from this group. An Active Member is eligible to represent the Club at annual and zone meetings, can be a member or chair of national committees, and may serve as an officer or director of The Garden Club of America.
  • Associate Members are those who already belong to The Garden Club of America through another club. They are not included in the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club quota of 88 members. They are ineligible for offices and zone chairmanships that report to The Garden Club of America through the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club.
  • Sustaining Members shall be those formerly Active Members who shall no longer be expected to participate in Club activities. They shall pay higher dues, continue to be affiliated with The Garden Club of America through the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club, and be included in the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club’s quota of 88 members.
  • Emerita Members are past members whom the Club recognizes as having made significant contributions to the Club. An Emerita Member does not pay dues and is not included in the Club quota of 88 members.
  • Honorary Members may be appointed by the Executive Committee in recognition of distinguished service to the Club. They are not included in the Club quota of 88 members and do not pay dues. A candidate for membership must be a resident of Cambridge. The Membership Committee shall handle all applications and, with the Executive Committee, act upon them according to established procedures.

Article II: Officers

The officers shall be a President, two Vice Presidents, a Communications Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Finance Committee Chair. These officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting in the spring for two-year terms that will begin on the following July 1. Not all officers are to be elected in any one year.

Article III: Committees

  • The Executive Committee shall consist of elected officers and the chairs of Standing Committees. The Standing Committees shall include Conservation, Finance, Garden History and Design, Horticulture, Hospitality, Membership, Program, Visiting Gardens, and Works. Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the President, with approval of the Executive Committee, as they are needed for Club projects.
  • Standing Committee chairs and co-chairs shall be appointed by the President for two-year terms that begin on July 1. No one may be the chair or co-chair of a particular committee for more than four consecutive years. The President shall be a member ex officio of all committees except the Nominating Committee.
  • The Finance and Works Committees shall have at least three members, including the chair or co-chairs. Other Standing Committees shall have at least two members, including the chair or co-chairs.
  • The Works Committee shall have the responsibility for recommending proposals for funding from the Cambridge Plant & Garden Club Tree Fund, according to established policy.
  • A Nominating Committee shall include all past presidents who are currently Active Members. They shall meet at least six weeks before the Annual Meeting in order to present a slate of officers for election at the Annual Meeting.

Each committee shall maintain a written record of its proceedings and those committee policies which have been approved by the Executive Committee, for the use of succeeding committees. Two copies of the record shall be kept, one for the use of succeeding committees and one to be sent to the Club’s archives.

Article IV: Meeting and Quorum
There shall be a minimum of eight meetings a year. The Annual Meeting shall be held in the spring, for election of officers and the transaction of other business. At the Annual Meeting, reports from the officers and the committee chairman shall be submitted in writing and placed on file. At all Club meetings at which votes are taken, 30 members shall constitute a quorum.

Article V: Dues
Annual dues, payable in May for the next fiscal year, shall be an amount recommended by the Executive Committee and approved at a Club meeting by majority vote of the members present, given a quorum. The Club’s fiscal year shall be July 1 to June 30.

Article VI: Revisions and Amendments
These bylaws may be revised or amended at any membership meeting by a simple majority, provided that a quorum is present and that the proposed text shall have been sent to each member no less than two weeks in advance of that meeting. If not present in person for a bylaw vote at a meeting, members shall have the privilege of voting by U.S. mail or electronic mail. Such votes must be received by the President no later than the start of that meeting.

Guests and New Member
Procedures

Guests
Members are very welcome to bring friends to all meetings and workshops with the exception of the Annual Meeting in May. Occasionally (given a small meeting venue) there shall be a limit placed on the number of guests. Members bringing guests must sign guests in as a record for the Club. The Club President will introduce all guests at the beginning of each meeting.

Membership
The Bylaws of the Club limit membership to 88. This limit, set when the Plant Club and the Garden Club merged in 1966, allows the Club to hold meetings in the homes of members rather than in rented halls. It also allows members to form strong friendships based on each other’s talents and interests. For over 100 years, friendships formed at club meetings have provided the energy that has sustained the Club’s activities and civic projects.

Requirements for Membership Candidates

  1. The candidate must be a gardener or conservationist with a strong interest in the Club’s activities and projects.
  2. The candidate must be a Cambridge resident.
  3. The candidate must have attended at least two Club meetings, workshops or social gatherings prior to the year in which she is proposed (see membership schedule below).
  4. The candidate should attend as many open meetings and workshops as possible during the year in which she is proposed.

Requirements for Proposers and Seconders

  1. If you wish to propose a candidate for membership, please contact the membership chair and obtain a proposal form. (Do so as early as possible, particularly if the club is close to its membership limit.)
  2. The proposer must have been a member of the Club for three years or more.
  3. The proposer must know the candidate well, usually for three or more years.
  4. The proposer should ask two seconders to support the candidate. (Seconders must have been a club member for two years, and should have known the candidate for at least one year.)
  5. The proposer or seconders should bring the candidate to as many meetings and workshops as possible and introduce her to the Club officers and committee chairs.
  6. Proposers should only sponsor one candidate per year, but seconders may recommend more than one candidate.

Membership Schedule

  1. The proposal letters for the candidate (along with proposal form) should be submitted on February 15.
  2. No later than three weeks after the proposal deadline, the Membership Chair will send short biographies of the candidates to members. Members will be asked to share comments with the Membership Committee before the March Executive Meeting at which time the Membership Committee will ask the Executive Committee to vote on candidates.
  3. Newly elected members will be welcomed into the Club at the Annual Meeting in May.
  4. Following the election of the new members at the May meeting, the Executive Committee along with the proposers and seconders will arrange a social event for them sometime in late May, early June or early September. This is meant to be an opportunity for the new member to understand the work of the club and what she would like her focus to be in that work. The occasion a coffee, tea, drinks or lunch should not be elaborate. Its purpose is to welcome and inform.

CP&GC Travel and Lodging Policy

The President is expected to attend both the GCA Annual Meeting and the Zone I Meeting, and chooses her accompanying delegate. A decision about attendance should be made in a timely fashion so that club members may register and make reservations at the lowest available rates.

  • For both the GCA Annual Meeting and the Zone I Meeting:
    – the Club will cover registration fees for the President and one delegate
    – the Club will reimburse the President for travel and lodging expenses (up to the GCA group rate for a shared hotel room)
    – the Club will reimburse the delegate for travel and lodging expenses up to the GCA group rate for a shared hotel room
  • For the National Affairs and Legislative (NAL) meeting:
    – the Club will cover registration fees for one delegate
    – the Club will reimburse delegate who requests reimbursement for travel and lodging expenses (up to the GCA group rate for hotel room)
    – delegate is asked to report to the club on the topics discussed at the NAL meeting
  • For the Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference:
    – the Club will pay registration fees for one delegate
    – the Club will reimburse delegate who requests reimbursement for travel and lodging expenses (up to the GCA group rate for hotel room)
    – delegate is asked to report back to the club the topics discussed at the Meneice ConferenceUnreimbursed travel and lodging expenses paid by individual members for GCA meetings are tax-deductible. Members should keep all receipts for their tax files and consult their own tax advisors. These records should not be submitted to the Treasurer.