METROPOLITAN GYRO CLUB
POLICIES – 1 January 2015 R25
I. Introduction:
The purpose of this document is to specify the board approved operating policies that the Metropolitan
Gyro follows to implement the clubs by-laws. While Metro Gyro by-laws must be followed and
complied with, Metro Gyro policies are expected to be followed. These policies reflect board
determined and experienced based practices that have proven valuable. These policies can be changed
at any time by the board.
The policies fall into 3 categories: F = Financial, G = General, and M = Membership
II. Policy Responsibilities:
Board Member Responsibilities – All:
 Know all Metro Gyro’s by-laws and policies.
 Implement the following specific responsibilities, policies, and processes.
President
 Preside over official club meetings.
 Appoint committee chairmen and other persons necessary to run the club.
 Assist and coordinate all committees and other officers in carrying out their duties.
 Policies: G3, G4, M4 (see guidance), M6, M8, M9
 Metro Gyro Club Processes: A. Quarterly Billing Process (Late payer duties specifically).
Vice President: See also detailed Metro Gyro VP responsibilities.
 Assist the president
 Coordinate dinners, lunches, and speakers with members responsible.
 Take the lead in promoting meeting attendance.
 Policies: F9, G2, M4 (see guidance), M6
 Metro Gyro Club Processes:
Secretary
 Take minutes at business meeting and board meetings.
 Initiate all club correspondence and notices to members.
 Coordinate membership information with Gyro International.
 Maintain an accurate mailing list and publish the annual club directory.
 Note: Ross Davis and Ben Leadholm manage the changes to and the production of the club
directory until changed by the board.
 Policies: M4 (see guidance), M6, M7
 Metro Gyro Club Processes:
Treasurer
 Prepare an annual budget for approval by the board.
 Prepare and forward quarterly billing statements to members.
 Collect dues and pay bills.
 Prepare a financial statement at the end of each year.
 Maintain and report on critical budget measures.
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

Policies: All financial policies, G1, G3, G4, G5, M4 (see guidance), M6, M8, M9, M11, M12
Metro Gyro Club Processes:
 A. Quarterly Billing Process.
 B. Social Event Budgeting Process.
 C. Metro Gyro measures.
Social Chairman
 Appoint party chairs and oversee planning for major social events.
 Encourage informal small group parties.
 Communicate budget guidelines to party chairmen.
 Policies: F3 (see Discussion – Note), G1, G2, G5, M4 (see guidance), M6, M11
 Metro Gyro Club Processes: B. Social Event Budgeting Process and D. Social Event Process.
Membership Chairman
 Promote membership growth.
 Submit new International Gyro required new member information and order a new member kit,
don’t order the membership badge. Note: The new membership form has a yes/no item for
member kit and badge, always pick yes for the kit and no for the badge.
 Assist members in introducing new members to Gyro.
 Review and update membership rules as necessary.
 Policies: All membership policies except M7
 Metro Gyro Club Processes:
Immediate Past President
 Chair the nominating committee.
 Brief new club officers on bylaws, policies, duties, and processes.
 See that all working and historical records are passed on to the appropriate officers.
 Serve as MC at the annual installation dinner program; invite the District Governor to attend; and
assist with the installation ceremony.
 Policies: G3, M4 (see guidance), M5, M6
 Metro Gyro Club Processes:
III. Policies:
Financial
1.
Guest payment rules for people attending Metro Gyro lunch or dinner meetings:
1. Metro Gyro will pay for up to 3 lunches or dinners for anyone who is thinking of becoming a
member of the club.
2. Metro Gyro will pay for a lunch or dinner of a visiting International or District Gyro officer.
3. Metro Gyro will pay for a lunch or dinner of meeting speakers who are not members of the
club.
4. Metro Gyro will pay for a lunch or dinner of anyone (1 maximum) who plays a primary role
in arranging for a speaker on behalf of the Gyro member assigned the task.
5. Metro Gyro may pay for one (1) lunch or dinner of a person assisting the attendance of an
active member who otherwise couldn’t attend do to illness or other difficulty. The Metro
Gyro president and treasurer will make this determination (See also Guidance below).
6. All other guests, e.g., charter members (see policy M3), resigned members (see policy M4), or
members that bring guests, will pay $20 for lunches and $30 for dinners until changed by the
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board.
Guidance:
 When members introduce guests, it is their responsibility to make it clear that the guest is a candidate to become a
member, is a visiting International or District Gyro officer, or is simply a guest of the member. Metro Gyro’s
membership chairman will verify all membership candidates.
 Members bringing guests that have to pay will be billed for their guests. Members may seek reimbursement from
the guests.
 The cost for lunches and dinners will be set to such an amount so as to, at least, cover all active member overhead
and meal costs as determined by the annual Metro Gyro budget.
 If the active member needs ongoing assistance to attend meetings the Metro Gyro president may authorize the
treasurer to charge the assisting person only the actual cost of the meals and will establish the length of time the
assisting person may attend meetings. Note: It is expected that such assistance will be infrequently needed and then
only for very short periods of time.
2.
Metro Gyro dues are set at $122.00 per quarter per person until changed by recommendation of
the board and approval of a majority of members present at a regular meeting.
Guidance: New members will be charged a quarterly prorated amount of the above quarterly dues from the day they
are voted into Metro Gyro until the end of the quarter.
3.
All Metro Gyro out of budget items must be brought to the attention of and approved or rejected
by the board. Without prior approval, any person doing such purchasing will be responsible for
the cost.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to avoid any budget overrun based on decisions by any one person, member,
or board member.
4.
Member’s who pay a Metro bill by check that is found to have insufficient funds are required to
pay the amount of the bill, plus a late payment fee if payment not made by on-time date (See F5
below), plus any fee Metro Gyro’s bank imposes on the club. Valid payment is expected
immediately but may be delayed to the normal quarterly billing cycle at the treasurer’s discretion.
Discussion: Regarding the late payment fee. Technically a late payment fee should be imposed if a valid payment is
not received by the first of January, April, July, or October. However, if an invalid check is received by the on-time
date, the late payment fee will not be imposed if not identified or corrected by the end of the month. However, if the
payment of an invalid check is made any time after the one-time date, a fine will be imposed if not identified or
corrected by the end of the month.
5.
Late Payment Fines: Members will be fined $20.00 when payment of the quarterly billing
statement is late, i.e., when the treasurer receives the payment after the first of January, April,
July, or October of each year. The fine will increase by $20 for every additional month late until
paid off.
Discussion: The purpose of the late payment fine is to encourage members to pay on time so as to reduce the cashflow problem and the amount of work needed to handle Metro Gyro finances.
Guidance:
 Members may make on-time payments by giving checks to the treasurer (or president or vice-president when the
treasurer isn’t available) at any lunch or dinner meeting prior to 15 December, March, June, or September.
 Members may also make on-time payments by mailing checks to the treasurer. They will be treated as “on-time”
when delivered to the treasurer by the 15th of December, March, June, or September.
6.
Contingency Fund: The treasurer will establish and maintain a contingency fund. The fund will
contain a maximum of $1,000 and be funded by any yearly budget surpluses realized after the
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event cash flow fund (See F9) is deemed adequate.
Discussion: This fund will be used only for unplanned/unbudgeted expenditures. Authorization to use the fund is by
approval of the Metro Gyro board. Note: It is possible the fund will have zero funds if there is no budget surplus
realized.
Guidance: Metro Gyro plans a yearly surplus in the $500 to $900 range to handle budgeted items that cost more than
planned … it is this surplus, if any, that is used to annually (31 December) (re)supply the contingency fund.
7.
IRS Filing: Once a year the Metro Gyro treasurer shall file a form 990-N postcard with the IRS to
meet federal requirements when the club’s gross income is $50,000 or less. When the club’s
gross income is greater than $50,000 the Metro Gyro treasurer shall file form 990-EZ instead.
Discussion: No taxes are expected to be paid since all income is for the benefit of the members.
Guidance: Metro Gyro uses the calendar year as its fiscal year accounting period. This means that the annual 990-EZ
or 990-N submittal must be filed no later than 15 May of each subsequent year but it typically will be sent in on
January of each new year whenever possible. It is suggested that the prior year’s form be used as the basis for the
next year’s submittal. The treasurer shall maintain “proof” of complying with this policy. If 990-EZ’s are submitted,
a new treasurer will add his name to the next 990-EZ form as the contact point so the prior treasurer doesn’t get
continuing mail from the IRS each year.
8.
Event Cash flow Fund: The treasurer will establish and maintain an event cash flow fund. It will
be funded by any yearly budget surpluses realized.
Discussion: This fund is to assure adequate cash reserves to pay Metro Gyro “paid in advance” event bills before
funds are collected from members.
Guidance: Event cash flow problems are most likely to occur during the last quarter of the year when the installation
dinner is held, i.e., advanced payments are maximum then. The amount required is determined by experience and
then not changed unless/until it becomes a problem again.
9.
Annual Food Budget: The per-person lunch and dinner cost will be established for the next Metro
Gyro fiscal year (1 January – 31 December) no later than 1 November.
Discussion: This policy enables the establishment of an Metro Gyro annual budget each year which is less likely to
change during the year, especially for such a ‘big ticked’ item as food costs. Metro Gyro’s treasurer issues the 1 st
quarter next year’s billing statement on 15 November of the prior year, hence he must receive the per-person lunch
and dinner cost no later than 14 November.
Guidance: Metro Gyro’s vice-president will establish the food costs for the next fiscal year. Metro Gyro’s treasurer
will established the next fiscal years final (and draft if available in September) budget using the food cost numbers
negotiated by the vice-president.
General
1.
Anyone who RSVP’s for a Metro Gyro event for which he or she will be billed (not a pay-as-yougo event) but then do not notify the event coordinator that he or she will not be attending that
event in time for the event coordinator to not incur the cost for that person, that person will be
charged for the event.
Discussion: Metro Gyro is a “break even” club, i.e., we strive to only charge what an event costs so as to keep costs
low. Because of this policy, the club has to charge the total final cost of an event back to club members or others
approved to attend. It is the policy of the club to strive to accommodate an attendee’s changing needs, i.e., to allow
them to not pay if they change their minds about attending, so long as the club doesn’t have to incur the cost. In short,
if a person forgets to cancel or tries to cancel attending an event so late that the club must incur the cost, then that
person will be charged for the event.
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Guidance: It is the RSVPing person’s responsibility to insure that the event coordinator is aware of the change in
plans in sufficient time so as to not incur cost.
2.
Speakers: Members will not choose speakers that use their presentation/talk to solicit business.
Discussion: Some speakers or topics are not appropriate for Gyro. We are not in Gyro to solicit each other's business
for ourselves, our friends, or our business associates. This guidance applies in particular to professionals offering
personal services on an individual basis, such as lawyers, investment advisors, financial planners, estate planners,
insurance salesmen, brokers, and trust managers.
 Examples of acceptable practices:
 A banker might talk, for example, about the complexities of founding or running a bank, but we don't want to
hear why his bank is a better place to put our investments or our trust.
 The inventor of breakthrough technology in vegetable cutters might tell us about the difficulties of the patenting
and manufacturing and marketing processes in bringing a new product to market, but we don't want to have a
sales pitch on buying his product.
 Non-profit organization speakers are allowed to request help/donations/offer products for sale (assuming the sale
is a form of donation), or distribute promotional material for their organization, but they should do this briefly
and only once and keep their presentation focused on giving information about their organization’s work.
Speakers who are part of a for-profit organization or who represent only themselves are allowed to announce
once that a product they developed and brought to the meeting, (e.g., a book, a movie, a CD, a work or art, or a
hand craft) is available after the meeting. Other than this brief announcement, they, like non-profit organization
speakers must use all of their presentation/talk to convey information … see first two examples.
 Examples of unacceptable practices:
 From speakers of for-profit organizations: Offers of free services or gifts such as a book given to all members.
 From speakers representing themselves, example: politicians running for office, whether or not they are trying to
get votes, unless they are speaking on some matter not relevant to the campaign.
Guidance: Members choosing speakers should consider the following:
 This policy may be difficult to apply directly due to the complexity of real situations. The member needs to use
common sense and his knowledge of what Metro Gyro members expect when determining what is acceptable.
Because the distinction of when something is being sold or business is being solicited is a fine line to determine and
may be difficult to explain to your speaker please contact the vice-president or president for assistance if you have
any questions or concerns.
 Select speakers that you believe will have a topic of general interest to the group.
 Strive to determine if the speaker has a motive to use the presentation/talk to directly or indirectly seek personal
gain of any kind. If so, talk to the speaker to ensure he/she understands that this is not allowed and he/she agrees to
eliminate any hint of “selling”.
 Encourage the speaker to generate discussion/questions throughout his/her presentation/talk.
3.
Metro Gyro treasurer’s duties are split between the treasurer and the president.
 The president, or the immediate past president when the president isn’t available or is himself
late, will handle all late-payer duties.
 The treasurer will handle all treasurer duties except for late-payer duties.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to allow the treasurer to address planning, policy, process, analysis, and dayto-day billing duties while the president, in the name of the Metro Gyro board, addresses the more sensitive and
personal duties of members who pay later than required.
Guidance: See Metro Gyro processes for the exact treasure vs. president split in duties regarding late-payers.
4.
Metro Gyro membership anniversaries shall be recognized at the 10-year mark and then every 5
years, starting with the 20th year, by being presented a bottle of wine at the annual installation
dinner.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to recognize those who have been active members for at least 10 years.
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Guidance:
 Metro Gyro’s treasurer shall:
 Keep track of members start and anniversary years starting at the 10-year mark and then for every 5 years
starting with the 20th year, and
 Pay for the wine given in recognition out of Metro Gyro’s installation dinner budget.
 The host of Metro Gyro’s annual installation dinner, typically Metro Gyro’s President, shall purchase and
present one bottle of wine for each recognized anniversary … the cost per bottle may be as much as $25.00.
 If the anniversary member does not attend the installation dinner, Metro Gyro’s president shall present the
bottle of wine to the anniversary member at the next Metro Gyro meeting attended.
 Members who leave and return to Metro Gyro will have their anniversary date computed by adding the time in
the club before leaving to the time in the club since returning.
5.
Metro Gyro’s social chairman and each Metro Gyro event chairman shall implement the current
Metro Gyro Social Event Process which contain the following policy provisions:
 Members who signed up to attend an event but have not canceled their attendance by the
cancellation cut off date are charged all per person costs the same as event attendees.
 When the actual total cost of an event is lower than the final estimated cost, the under run
will be paid into Metro Gyro’s contingency fund.
 When the actual total cost of an event is higher than the final estimated cost:
 Up to the first 20% of the over run will be charged to the event attendees and those
members who didn’t cancel in time.
 All remaining over run costs will be paid from Metro Gyro’s contingency fund.
Discussion: All Metro Gyro events are expected to be self funded, i.e., the costs are covered by the attendees. While
the Metro Gyro treasurer sometimes pay event bills and collect payment from attendees at the next billing cycle, the
expectation is that payment will at least equal costs. On the other hand, because of the difficulty in planning and
executing an event accurately and the need to encourage event chairmen, this policy specifies how over runs will be
handled.
Guidance:
 Per person costs are determined first by the social and event chairmen and then by the treasure in the event of
cost over run.
 The amount of the overrun is determined from the actual total cost from event bills received vs. final estimated
cost from the social and event chairmen.
 Metro Gyro’s treasurer will maintain records of all event over runs and will notify the board each time Metro
Gyro has to cover costs from the contingency fund.
Membership
1.
Suspension: Any member who is suspended in accordance with Metro Gyro Club’s By-Laws will
not be allowed to attend any events or lunch and dinner meetings until the suspension is removed.
Discussion: The By-Laws includes three reasons for suspension but do not specify what suspension consists of.
2.
New Metro Gyro member Entry Criteria: To become a new member, a candidate must be
sponsored by 2 current members, attend 3 lunch and/or dinner meetings, attend 1 event, be
approved by the board and, then approved by 2/3rds of the current members at a lunch or dinner
meeting.
Discussion: The purpose of attending lunches, dinners, and an event is so the candidate understands the purposes and
responsibilities of Metro Gyro membership and the current members get to know the candidate.
Guidance:
 Metro Gyro will pay for up to three lunches and/or dinners for each candidate. The candidate will pay for the
event.
 When metro gyro is at it’s maximum member limit, a candidate will be placed on the wait list and cannot attend
any meetings or events until the meeting after they have been voted in by current members.
 When metro gyro is below the maximum member limit and the candidate member attendance criteria is met, the
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candidate cannot attend any meetings or events until the meeting after they have been voted in by current members.
4.
All Metro Gyro members who resign from the club may attend 3 meetings per 12-month period,
no events, and must pay for their meal at each meeting the guest payment amount (see policy
F1.4).
Guidance:
 Every board member should strive to detect if/when a resigned member attends more than 3 meetings in one 12month period and report this to the Metro Gyro president. The president will develop a recommendation for
handling the infraction, present the recommendation to the entire board, and implement a finalized course of action.
5.
Metro Gyro officers are voted in at the first August meeting each year. The new officers have the
responsibility to immediately start the work necessary to get the next year’s:
 Speakers list completed in time for insertion in the Metro Gyro directory, and the
 Metro Gyro annual directory completed and distributed no later than the December dinner
meeting each year, and the
 Next year’s budget estimate to be established no later than 1 October.
They and the prior year’s officers will conduct a board meeting in September. The purpose of the
meeting is for the prior officers to assist the transitioning-in of the new officers.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to give sufficient time to new officers to plan and complete the tasks of
establishing the next year’s speaker’s list, draft budget, and Metro Gyro directory no later than the December dinner
meeting.
Guidance: Officer’s term of office/responsibility is from one installation dinner to the next. However, officer’s newly
elected in August have the responsibility for successfully completing this policy. Therefore each newly elected officer
is responsible for starting work prior to being installed, i.e., they may start as soon as they accept the position of
officer and must start when elected.
6.
All changes in membership information received by any Metro Gyro board member since the last
annual directory should be immediately forwarded to the Metro Gyro secretary.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to establish a single official Metro Gyro membership information location
and board member responsibility.
7.
The Metro Gyro secretary shall inform, and provide required information, to International Gyro of
all added and deleted members as soon as changes occur.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to constantly maintain the clubs correct membership list with International
Gyro so that biannual billing statements are correct. Note that these changes can be made on-line via the internet.
8.
The default period of time for a member to be suspended prior to termination is one month, i.e.,
30 or 31 days depending on the quarter/month the suspension is invoked.
Discussion: Metro Gyro’s by-laws, Article VIII, Section 3, allows the board to grant a period of time to the
suspension period, up to a maximum of 45 days.
Guidance – Treasurer: When suspension is invoked, the treasurer will inform the member and the board of the
suspension, the upcoming automatic termination within one month, and the following options the member may take:
1) Pay up outstanding amounts owed within the time limit, 2) Leave the club in good standing by sending, to the
president, a resignation letter, along with a check to cover then current amount’s the club has had to pay out (treasurer
will inform member of this amount), or 3) Contact the Metro Gyro president to discuss the situation.
Guidance – President: The president, at his discretion/without further board approval, may extend the suspension
period of time up to the 45 day maximum allowed by the by-laws for what he considers “good reasons”. If done, the
president will inform the board of his decision along with the reasons for the decision and any anticipated follow-up
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action.
9.
The cost to members for a leave of absence equals the current dues minus the cost of food.
Discussion: Metro Gyro’s by-laws, Article III, Section 4, requires the board to determine the cost of expenses to
Metro Gyro for an absent member. The board has determined that the total overhead cost for each member is equal to
the current dues minus the cost of food.
Guidance: The treasure establishes a yearly plan which includes the planned amount of cost for dinners and lunches.
This planned amount is used to determine the reduction in dues cost on a per person basis, for the length of the
planned leave of absence.
10.
Requests in advance for leave of absence/inactive status for any active member may be approved
for a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 months by the Metro Gyro Board for reasons of special
hardship such as temporary assignments out of state, illness, or other forms of incapacitation.
Discussion: The purpose of the leave of absence/inactive status is to allow members to retain membership in Metro
Gyro when they can't attend due to situations for which they have little to no control over.
Guidance: The member must specify the length of the leave of absence/inactive status as well as its start and end
dates. Once approved, required payments for the entire leave of absence/inactive status must be made prior to the
leave’s start date and requests for changes to the leave of absence/inactive status must be approved by the board. For
the duration of leave of absence/inactive status, the member may not attend meetings or events. The treasurer will
assure that policy M9 provisions are met for all inactive members.
11.
Metro Gyro hereby establishes the social membership category called Gyrette-Emerita for any
widow of a deceased Metro Gyro member that requests membership, is sponsored by an active
Metro Gyro member, is e-mail enabled, and accepts the responsibilities stated in the guidance
portions of this policy.
Discussion: The purpose of this policy is to allow a continuing relationship between Metro Gyro membership and the
Gyrette-Emerita.
Guidance:
Benefits for the Gyrette-Emerita:
 Attend Metro Gyro social events at the Gyrette-Emerita’s expense.
 Receive Metro Gyro’s newsletter and annual directory.
 Be listed as a current Gyrette-Emerita in Metro Gyro’s database and annual directory.
Responsibilities:
• Gyrette-Emerita:
• Establishes a Metro Gyro active member sponsor and keeps the sponsor up to date on any changes to required
information.
• Attends events.
• Gives permission for including her name, address, phone number, and e-mail address in the Metro Gyro
directory, database, and Treasurer’s billing information.
• Pays billing statements on time.
• Gyrette-Emerita sponsor:
• Provides required Gyrette-Emerita information to the Metro Gyro database manager and treasurer.
• Provides Gyrette-Emerita with a copy of the annual Metro Gyro directory.
• Gives permission for including the sponsor’s name in the Metro Gyro directory, database, and Treasurer’s
billing information.
• Database manager: Maintains all required Gyrette-Emeritae information within Metro Gyro's database.
• Social or event Chairmen:
• Provides event sign-up information to Gyrette-Emeritae via e-mail.
• Provides Gyrette-Emeritae billing information to the Metro Gyro treasurer.
• Metro Gyro's treasurer:
• Maintains all current Gyrette-Emeritae contact information for billing purposes.
• Bills each Gyrette-Emerita, vie e-mail, and collects payment for all Gyrette-Emeritae attended events. Note: A
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Gyrette-Emerita falls under Metro Gyro’s late payment rules like any other active member.
• Metro Gyro's newsletter manager: E-mails Metro Gyro's newsletter to all current Gyrette-Emeritae.
• Metro Gyro’s directory manager: Incorporates the names and contact information of all current Gyrette-Emeritae
in Metro Gyro’s annual directory.
• Board: Withdraws membership of any Gyrette-Emerita that requests membership removal, does not or is late in
paying billing statements, or exhibits non-activity.
12.
Provisional Membership: All candidate members who have completed attending 3 Metro Gyro
meetings and for which there is no Metro Gyro event to attend for at least 2 months, or is too sick
to attend the next event, is eligible to become a provisional member upon being voted in per
Metro Gyro’s regular membership voting By-Laws.
Discussion: The purpose of the provisional membership is to allow a candidate member to attend all Metro Gyro
meetings when an event is not likely to occur for at least 2 months or when a candidate is too sick to attend the next
event.
Guidance:
• Note: The candidate member may go to an event prior to completing the 3-meeting requirement. When this is
the case the normal new membership rules are in effect and this policy is inapplicable.
• The provisional member must attend an event, with his spouse, within 6 months of his becoming a provisional
member or his provisional membership is automatically terminated … unless an extension is requested by the
provisional member and the request is approved by the Metro Gyro board.
• Provisional members will be billed dues and event costs by the Metro Gyro treasurer just like regular members,
including the new member fee.
• As soon as the event criteria is met, the Metro Gyro president will announce the new member at the next regular
meeting. The Metro Gyro secretary will inform Gyro International of the new member, and hence, becomes an
official Gyro member at this time.
• If, before or after the event, the provisional member decides to not become a member he will inform the board of
his decision. The Metro Gyro treasurer will issue a check to the provisional member for any unused dues – any
outstanding event costs starting from the date the board was informed of the decision.
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