IONS Bylaws

IONS shall at all times be operated exclusively for charitable purposes
within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
funds, whether income or principal, and whether acquired by gift or
contribution or otherwise, shall be devoted to said purposes.

Mission Statement:

IONS is a non-profit organization dedicated to education through the
practice of game base learning, the promotion of the hobby of gaming and
related non-mainstream hobbies.

Vision Statement:

To create, expand and preserve a community of gamers and seek involvement
with associated groups.

Article 1: Organizational Structure:

1. IONS is governed by a Board of Directors through the executive
   council consisting of;
   1. President
   2. Secretary
   3. Treasurer
   4. Executive Assistants.
      
      1. Vice President
         
      2. Archivist
         
      3. Auditor
         
   5. Committee Head/s as needed.
      
      1. Convention Manager
         
      2. Communications Officer
         
      3. Videographer
         
      4. Dealer Liaison
         
      5. Advertising Agent
         
      6. Venue Coordinator
         
      7. Membership Liaison
         
2. Members constitute due paying participants in IONS functions and
   events.
3. Participants are not members of IONS but can attend IONS events and
   are included in distribution lists.

Article 2: Board of Directors:

1. IONS members are encouraged to donate their service and attendance
   to IONS, and may do so by declaring their intent to serve on the Board of
   Directors by submitting a petition of application.
2. If the declaring IONS member is accepted by a 2/3rd majority vote of
   the Board of Directors, in quorum, he/she will become a board member once
   he/she has signed the Board of Directors agreement.
3. Board members must fulfill a quarterly/annual obligation of service
   and attendance, which includes:
   1. A minimum of six (6) instances of service in each quarter.
   2. Attendance at a minimum of three (3) IONS events or functions in
      each quarter.
   3. Attendance at a minimum of half of the Board of Directors meetings
      per year.
4. Board members not in compliance to their obligations to IONS will be
   placed on notice. The board member in question can then respond to any
   unrecorded participation or service or be able to compensate with additional
   participation and/or service in future quarters.
5. Board members not meeting their quarterly obligations for three (3)
   consecutive quarters shall be notified of pending removal from the board.
   The board member in question will have one quarter to respond to the
   non-compliance issues. At the meeting following the notice of pending
   removal, the Board of Directors will determine the board member's
   disposition by electing to:
   1. Remove the board member in question.
   2. Grant a term of inactivity.
   3. Delay determination of disposition until the next meeting.
6. Board members, including members of the executive council may be
   removed with or without cause at any Board of Directors meeting by a 2/3rd
   majority vote of the members in quorum. Executive officer vacancies shall
   be filled by their Executive Assistant. Assistants shall be filled in the
   normal fashion.

Article 3: Executive Council

1. Duties and scope of the Executive Officers are listed in the
   Responsibilities and Purview document (Schedule B) of the policies and
   procedures.
2. The term of all elected officers shall be one (1) year. There is no
   limit to consecutive terms as long as the officer is rightfully re-elected
   annually.
3. Elections for officers shall be held annually within the fourth
   quarter IONS board meeting. Newly elected officers will take charge at the
   beginning of the first quarter.
4. The office of any member of the executive council can be called into
   question by a majority vote of the board. The officer in question shall
   have until the next scheduled board meeting to defend him/her self against
   the cause for the motion. A vote of confidence shall be set on the agenda
   for the next board meeting. If a majority vote of the Board of Directors
   members in quorum results in a motion of no confidence the board member is
   removed from their office, and the office shall be filled by the Executive
   Assistant.

Article 4: Board meetings

1. Board meetings shall be held quarterly, in accordance to the
   financial calendar.
2. The meeting shall not coincide with an IONS event or function so as
   not to distract from the business of IONS.
3. The date and location of the meeting shall be scheduled at least two
   (2) weeks in advance of the date, optimally being decided within the
   previous board meeting.
4. The proposed agenda for the meeting will be distributed to board
   members at least one (1) week prior to the meeting date.
5. Board meetings may be open to IONS members, or third parties with an
   interest or stake in the function of the meeting. Non board members will
   not be allowed to participate in the discussion, unless recognized by the
   chair for specific input, nor shall non board members be allowed a vote.
6. Quorum for the meeting shall include:
   
   1. All three (3) Executive Officers (or in lieu of the officers their
      Executive Assistants).
   2. Half (1/2) of the committee heads.
   3. A majority of the remaining directors (directors accounted for in
      either a or b not included).
7. The Order of Business at a meeting shall be as follows;
   
   1. Roll Call to establish quorum and attendance
   2. Announcements
   3. Approval of previous meetings minutes
   4. Election of Officers (specific to the annual meeting)
   5. Executive Officer reports (President, Secretary, & Treasurer)
   6. Committee reports
   7. Reports on prior action items (presented by the director taking the
      action)
   8. Continuation of old business (items to appear on agenda)
   9. New business / motions (ideally to appear on agenda)
   10. Setting of next board meeting date
   11. Recitation of assigned action items
   12. Adjournment
8. Special or Emergency board meetings may be called by the Executive
   council to attend to or react to time sensitive issues. Such a meeting may
   circumvent sections 2, 3 & 4 of this article.

Article 5: Committees

1. Undertakings by IONS that require a dedicated person or committee
   to assure its successful completion may require the assignment or assembly
   of a committee by a majority vote of the Board of Directors members in
   quorum.
2. The committee head shall be identified as a board member willing to
   organize the task assigned.
3. The responsibilities, purview and term of such a committee are
   circumscribed by the Board of Directors by the drafting of an article of
   operation which must be ratified by a majority vote of the Board of
   Directors members in quorum.
4. Committees may organize and operate as is required by their
   commission but must make regular reports to the Board of Directors as
   specified under their articles of operation and article 4 of the bylaws.
5. The Executive Council may modify the articles of operation of a
   committee or dissolve the committee with a majority approval of the Board of
   Directors members in quorum.

Article 6: Policies

1. IONS for the benefit of the organization and mission shall employ
   policy to make clear the organizations intent and operational procedures.
   Policy statements shall be included as an addendum to the bylaws and shall
   be displayed appropriately in accordance to their relevance. Such policy
   statements may include but are not limited to:
   1. A schedule of definitions of the bylaws, policies and procedures to
      make plain the content of IONS documents and communications.
   2. A list of responsibilities and purviews of the Executive Officers,
      directors, committee heads and members to be used as instructional material
      and guidelines for operation.
   3. A Corporate Calendar identifying dates for operation tasks and
      deadlines.
   4. Code of Conduct (expectations for IONS member, board member and
      officer behavior and comportment while attending IONS functions, meeting or
      while conducting IONS business).
   5. Donation and Support Policies to set ground rules for how and with
      whom the organization will accept/decline donations.
   6. A collection of forms used by the organization.
   7. Procedures for Advertisement Disclosure & Distribution.
   8. Conflict of Interest Policy.
   9. Privacy Policy.
   10. Internet policies (what information needs to be posted where, who
       has access to what information, what channels do members go through to
       modify what is on-line, etc.).
   11. Advertising policy (what trademarks will be approved for use, what
       artwork is acceptable, what contact information should be provided, etc.).
   12. Attendance prohibitions (who shall be banned from attending IONS
       events and functions, for what reasons, for how long, etc.).
   13. Convention policies (prohibition of alcohol/smoking, registration
       procedure, event sign-up procedure, other specific statements of liability,
       etc.).
   14. Dealer policies (how do dealers fit in the structure of IONS, how
       do dealers interact with committee heads, how are dealers chosen to
       participate).
   15. Dress code for IONS events and functions (including costume
       contests, etc.).
   16. Food policies, (relative to venue).
   17. Language policy.
   18. Security policies.
   19. And etcetera.

Article 7: Amendments to Bylaws:

1. The bylaws may be amended, altered and appealed by the Board of
   Directors by a majority vote of the quorum at any regular or special Board
   of Directors meeting.

Article 8: Suspension of Bylaws:

1. A member of the executive council may propose a suspension of the
   bylaws or rules of order if or when special circumstances dictate but such a
   motion must be ratified by a majority vote of the of Board of Directors
   members in quorum.
2. Rules of order which protect the fundamental rights of the
   corporation or of individual members and ordinary rules of order contained
   in the bylaws or constitution may not be suspended.

Article 9: Dissolution:

1. The corporation may be dissolved by a 2/3rd majority vote of all
   members of the Board of Directors.
2. In the event of dissolution of the corporation the assets shall be
   applied as follows: Jack Vasel Memorial Fund (EIN 45-1583593).
   1. All liabilities and obligations shall be paid, satisfied and
      discharged; or adequate provision shall be made therefore.
3. Assets not held on condition of return, transfer or conveyance to
   any other entity shall be distributed to a charitable organization,
   organized under Section 501 (3) (c) of the IRS Code.

Privacy Policy

Applicable to Members and Participants

IONS recognizes the importance of protecting the personal information of our
members. IONS collects personal information regarding members and
participants attending IONS events to facilitate communications with and
between our members and participants. This information is to be used solely
to further the purposes of IONS and to conduct its necessary operational
activities.

The information includes:

• GameDay sign-in.
• Compilation of membership profile.
• Dues and other billings.
• Web-site usage or web-access data.
• Event attendance.
• Convention registration and/or entry information.

Uses of private information:

IONS will use identified private data for special advertising, non-dues
revenue programs or other purposes in accordance with the Purposes and
Objects as determined by the Board of Directors, specifically:

• IONS event notification.
• IONS game master recruitment.
• Support of IONS initiatives or events including public relations.
• Notifications of interest to local area gamers.
• Special opportunities for non-IONS gaming including IONS specific
  retail opportunities.
• Disclosure of information as required by law or pertinent to
  judicial or governmental investigations.

Prohibitions:

IONS shall not distribute personal information to any partners or third
parties for any non-IONS objective without the express consent of the member
associated with the data to be shared.

Code of Conduct Policy

• Executives when dealing with third parties, partners and/or the
  media.
  • The highest standards of propriety and decorum must be exercised at
    all times.
  • Do not falsify, fabricate or misrepresent the organizations status,
    characteristics or accomplishments at any time.
  • No confidential information regarding the operation of the
    organization will be shared with the public.
• Board members in session or in official communication.
  
  • Obey the dictates of the meeting's chairperson (President or Vice
    President).
  • Keep focused on the issue at hand, don't be distracted by other
    matters or allow side-tracking of the issues at hand.
  • Keep arguments in perspective and never allow issues to become
    visceral.
  • Refrain from any non-professional language. Use no language which
    you would be embarrassed to be quoted later.
  • Name calling, derogatory remarks, and ridicule have no place in a
    meeting or in official correspondence.
  • Do not refrain from giving input on any issue - better to ask too
    many questions or have too many suggestions rather than not enough.
• Directors & Members at events or functions.
  
  • Treat all participants as you would like to be treated - fairly.
  • Remember that IONS events exists for the participants to enjoy
    gaming.
  • Treat the facility and or venue with respect, members will be
    responsible for damages, vandalism will not be tolerated.
  • Encourage participation, but don't force it.
  • Sportsmanship and game etiquette shall be observed at all times.
  • Teach that enjoyment is more important than winning.
  • Play by the rules - the rules of the game must be upheld for the
    sake of the game.
  • Control your temper - verbal abuse, trash talk, and intimidation
    will not be tolerated.
  • Inappropriate language has no place in IONS, all communication
    should be G rated.
  • Never ridicule mistakes or losses - supporters are there to support
    not degrade.
  • Lead by example and respect all players, game masters and spectators.
  • Bullying, physical or verbal abuse will not be tolerated.
  • Recognize all volunteers who are giving up their valuable time.
  • Never publicly criticize any member or participant - raise personal
    concerns with organization organizers in private.
  • Don't use ugly remarks based on race, color, religion, age, gender
    or ability / experience - you'll let down the organization and yourself if
    you do - & many such comments are actually now illegal.