WILMINGTON ATTRACTIONS & HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION
OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I – Organization
Section 1. THE NAME of this organization shall be the Hotel Motel Association of New Hanover County.
Section 2. THE PURPOSE of the association shall be to promote the interest of the hospitality industry in New Hanover County and surrounding counties; to provide information to the membership; to provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and problems; to facilitate communication among membership; and to promote professionalism within the hospitality industry.
Section 3. AFFILIATION with other organizations shall be at the discretion of the Executive Board; this association shall encourage membership with like-minded organizations to our active members.
Section 4. THE FISCAL YEAR of the association shall end on the 30th day of June each year.
ARTICLE II – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. CLASSIFICATION of membership shall be: Active, Associate, and Honorary.
Section 2. ACTIVE membership shall be available to any Hotel, Motel or Hospitality associated business located within Wilmington Metro and surrounding counties. The member shall designate one owner or employee who shall represent them at meetings, and who shall vote on behalf of the member property.
Section 3. HONORARY lifetime membership shall be conferred by unanimous vote of the Executive Board upon persons who have rendered some distinguished service to the association or the industry. Honorary members shall be ineligible to vote or hold office and shall pay no dues, but shall be welcome at all meetings and social events of the association. Honorary Members shall receive monthly notices of the membership meetings.
Section 4. ADMISSION to membership shall be based upon the receipt of applicants payment of such dues as required by the Executive Board.
Section 5. TERMINATION of membership shall be automatic when dues remain unpaid more than 60 days after the payment date established and notice of effect of nonpayment has been mailed to such member after the payment date. Expulsion from membership for good cause shall be by two-thirds vote of the Executive Board at a meeting where such member is given an opportunity to be heard. Any member so expelled shall have the right to appeal to the membership and the decision of a majority of the membership shall be final.
ARTICLE III – GOVERNMENT
Section 1. THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES of the Association shall be conducted by the Executive Board in accordance with the By-Laws and with the concurrence of the membership.
Section 2. THE EXECUTIVE BOARD shall consist of the President, one Vice President, a Secretary and Treasurer and Executive Director, with the Executive Director have no vote. The Board may also nominate from time to time additional Directors if unanimously approved by the Executive Board and approved at a Membership meeting.
ie: Changes Purposed:
(1) The president position must be an active member.
(2) Any other position may be filled by an active member, and at no time can any inactive member serve office.
Section 3. THE TERM OF OFFICE for all officers shall be a period of (1) year. A vacancy in any office shall be filled by vote of the remaining members of the Executive Board and the replacement of an officer shall be for the balance of the one year term. Officers may be re-elected for successive terms. An officer absent (unexcused) for three consecutive meetings of the Executive Board shall be deemed to have resigned and that position shall be declared vacant.
Section 4. THE MAXIMUM NUMBER of years an officer may serve in the same position is four consecutive years. The president may only serve for two consecutive years.
Section 5. THE DUTIES for each officer shall be those normally associated with the offices described.
Section 6. AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall be employed by the Executive Board with the approval of the membership. The Executive Board shall determine the length of service and shall assign duties to fulfill the purposes and goals of the association.
Section 7. COMMITTEES shall be (1) a Membership Committee; (2) a Legislative Committee; (3) a Nominating Committee; (4) a By-Laws Committee; and (5) other committees determined by the President and approved by the Executive Board.
ARTICLE IV – ELECTIONS
Section 1. A NOMINATING COMMITTEE consisting of three members shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board. They shall elect one active member as a nominee for each position on the Executive Board to be filled by election at the annual meeting.
Section 2. THE REPORT of the Nominating Committee shall be made to the Executive Board and members one month in advance of the annual meeting held in June of each year.
Section 3. NOMINATIONS from the floor shall be allowed following the report of the Nominating Committee. In the event of a contested election for an office, the vote may be taken by secret written ballot if so ordered by executive board. The person with the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected.
Section 4. ELIGIBILITY for election as an officer shall be restricted to Active members in good standing.
ARTICLE V – MEETINGS
Section 1. MEETINGS There shall be a meeting of the membership each calendar year, designated as the annual meeting to be held in June and also bi-monthly meetings. The time and place shall be established by the Executive Board and announced to the membership. Notice of such meetings shall describe the time, place and purpose and shall be emailed/faxed no less than seven days prior to the meeting date.
Section 2. BOARD MEETINGS of the Executive Board shall be held at such times and places the Board shall determine. Other meetings may be called by the President or the Vice Chair Board Member.
Section 3. QUORUM. A quorum of the membership at any meeting shall consist of no less than ten percent of the member business entities having current Active membership. A quorum of the Executive Board shall consist of no less than three members.
Section 4. VOTING. Only active members in good standing shall be permitted to vote and there may be only one vote for each member business entity.
ARTICLE VI – DUES
Section 1. ACTIVE MEMBER DUES. Active member dues shall be established by a majority vote of the Executive Board and approval of the membership.
Section 2. ASSESSMENTS. No assessment shall be made against the membership except upon the recommendations of a majority of the Executive Board and the vote of two-thirds of the membership.
ARTICLE VII – DISSOLUTION
The Association shall use its funds only to accomplish the objectives and purposes specified in these by-laws and no part of said funds shall inure, or be distributed to the individual members of the association. Upon any dissolution of the association, any funds remaining shall be distributed to one or more regularly organized and qualified non-profit organizations as directed by the Executive Board and approved by the membership.
ARTICLE VIII – AMENDMENT
THE BY-LAWS MAY BE AMENDED at any regular or annual meeting of the membership by a majority vote of members present, provided that notice of the general nature of any purposed amendment be mailed to the general membership with fifteen (15) days notice.
ARTICLE IX – ROBERTS RULE OF ORDER
All meetings of the Association shall be in accordance with the By-Laws. In case of a conflict or discussion not covered in the By-Laws, Roberts Rules of Order should govern the meeting.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
June Meeting Notes
June Meeting Notes - 6/30/09
Introduction - Kip Damrow stresses the need to tighten up the focus and logistics of the association as we stand. Suggestions - a newly formed board to review our bi-laws and update them. Also possible switch to bi-monthly meetings. This is the sixth month and we are “spinning our wheels”.
Tom Jones - Wilmington Today - addresses “What is our goal?” Answer - Bring more tourism in with the shifting economy. One way to accomplish this, and a key program, is the Bring it Home Campaign, which seeks out key Civic Leaders who can bring their groups and associations to Wilmington instead of elsewhere.
What's new on the tourism marketing scene?
Steve Mitchum - Pace Communications - addressed changes to a familiar publication:
“Come and Play” Visitor’s Guide - Hiring local writers to expand on the guide with a goal to create an emotional attraction rather than just give info. Will include dining, attractions, and local businesses. Visually has this destination “jump off the page”. Supporting advertisers that will be able to get a positive ROI on investment.
Kim Hufham - Cape Fear CVB - adds to Steve Mitchum's presentation and elaborates on CVB status:
*CVB is partnering with Pace Communications as the state budget was cut. She asks that everyone consider this publication in their advertising budgets. CVB will deliver these books to the lodging sites that want them after July 1.
*The fiscal budget for the CVB has been a “roller coaster”. While the budget was cut $300,000 from last year’s figures, none of these cuts were taken out of advertising. The CVB stresses the importance of advertising in local publications!!
*The CVB will have a new marketing person joining the team on the Convention side, and Kim feels that this will be beneficial in “becoming a proactive marketing team rather than reactive.” She anticipates exciting things coming out of the sales department in the coming year. Participating in the Bring it Home Campaign and promoting sports groups are goals of the CVB as well.
How can we continue to increase our exposure?
Dan Burke - Cape Fear Tours -
SEO Optimization increases by linking sites together. By joining networking sites you increase traffic to your primary site. www.capefeartours.com For example, Children’s Museum has a link website for partners. Because of all of the cross promotional links, if you google Children and Wilmington, the Wilmington Childrens Museum comes up first.
Budget-Minded:
Monique Baker - Battleship NC - Marketing Co-op Opportunities - Do we want her to bring in Publishers, etc. ?
Tom Jones - Wilmington Today will do a drop down rate for any marketing we’d like to do.
New Member & Local Business:
Jack Fryar - Dram Tree Historical Tours - Jack is an expert on and writes books about the history of the lower Cape Fear Coast. Boat Tours of the area available, visit www.dramtreebooks.com/tours for more information.
Update from Monique- Pender County Blueberry Festival was a huge success. The Spot Festival will take place in September, for more information visit http://www.ncspotfestival.com/
ACTION POINTS!!
*The CVB has a twitter, you can become a follower.
ACTION POINT - Join Twitter!! Become a follower - twitter.com@visitcapefearnc
ACTION POINT- Join our Blog! www.wilmhospitality.blogspot.com
ACTION POINT - Check out Dan Burke’s Website, www.capefeartours.com, up and running in the Fall of 2009!!
ACTION POINT - Respond to the CVB Surveys as they come out, as this will help determine occupancy stats and needs in the area.
ACTION POINT - If you have any suggestions for inclusions and ways to make the Come and Play book better, please contact Steve Mitchum.
Looking Ahead:
Bi-law Committee will get together and dissect by no later than July 24th.
Our next and largest meeting will take place on August 18th at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, located in the Riverside Hilton Downtown Wilmington.
**Ruth’s Chris has combatted the slowing economy by starting a summer classics menu and implementing different marketing ideas like live music and 1/2 price bottles of wine
Introduction - Kip Damrow stresses the need to tighten up the focus and logistics of the association as we stand. Suggestions - a newly formed board to review our bi-laws and update them. Also possible switch to bi-monthly meetings. This is the sixth month and we are “spinning our wheels”.
Tom Jones - Wilmington Today - addresses “What is our goal?” Answer - Bring more tourism in with the shifting economy. One way to accomplish this, and a key program, is the Bring it Home Campaign, which seeks out key Civic Leaders who can bring their groups and associations to Wilmington instead of elsewhere.
What's new on the tourism marketing scene?
Steve Mitchum - Pace Communications - addressed changes to a familiar publication:
“Come and Play” Visitor’s Guide - Hiring local writers to expand on the guide with a goal to create an emotional attraction rather than just give info. Will include dining, attractions, and local businesses. Visually has this destination “jump off the page”. Supporting advertisers that will be able to get a positive ROI on investment.
Kim Hufham - Cape Fear CVB - adds to Steve Mitchum's presentation and elaborates on CVB status:
*CVB is partnering with Pace Communications as the state budget was cut. She asks that everyone consider this publication in their advertising budgets. CVB will deliver these books to the lodging sites that want them after July 1.
*The fiscal budget for the CVB has been a “roller coaster”. While the budget was cut $300,000 from last year’s figures, none of these cuts were taken out of advertising. The CVB stresses the importance of advertising in local publications!!
*The CVB will have a new marketing person joining the team on the Convention side, and Kim feels that this will be beneficial in “becoming a proactive marketing team rather than reactive.” She anticipates exciting things coming out of the sales department in the coming year. Participating in the Bring it Home Campaign and promoting sports groups are goals of the CVB as well.
How can we continue to increase our exposure?
Dan Burke - Cape Fear Tours -
SEO Optimization increases by linking sites together. By joining networking sites you increase traffic to your primary site. www.capefeartours.com For example, Children’s Museum has a link website for partners. Because of all of the cross promotional links, if you google Children and Wilmington, the Wilmington Childrens Museum comes up first.
Budget-Minded:
Monique Baker - Battleship NC - Marketing Co-op Opportunities - Do we want her to bring in Publishers, etc. ?
Tom Jones - Wilmington Today will do a drop down rate for any marketing we’d like to do.
New Member & Local Business:
Jack Fryar - Dram Tree Historical Tours - Jack is an expert on and writes books about the history of the lower Cape Fear Coast. Boat Tours of the area available, visit www.dramtreebooks.com/tours for more information.
Update from Monique- Pender County Blueberry Festival was a huge success. The Spot Festival will take place in September, for more information visit http://www.ncspotfestival.com/
ACTION POINTS!!
*The CVB has a twitter, you can become a follower.
ACTION POINT - Join Twitter!! Become a follower - twitter.com@visitcapefearnc
ACTION POINT- Join our Blog! www.wilmhospitality.blogspot.com
ACTION POINT - Check out Dan Burke’s Website, www.capefeartours.com, up and running in the Fall of 2009!!
ACTION POINT - Respond to the CVB Surveys as they come out, as this will help determine occupancy stats and needs in the area.
ACTION POINT - If you have any suggestions for inclusions and ways to make the Come and Play book better, please contact Steve Mitchum.
Looking Ahead:
Bi-law Committee will get together and dissect by no later than July 24th.
Our next and largest meeting will take place on August 18th at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, located in the Riverside Hilton Downtown Wilmington.
**Ruth’s Chris has combatted the slowing economy by starting a summer classics menu and implementing different marketing ideas like live music and 1/2 price bottles of wine
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