Constitution of the Oregon State Beekeepers Association

As approved on October 26, 2025, at General Meeting of Members

aRTICLE I Name.

The name of this organization shall be the Oregon State Beekeepers Association.

ARTICLE II Purpose and Organization

Section 1 Purpose. 

The purpose of this association is to unite the beekeepers of Oregon to improve beekeeping in the state.

Section 2 Organization. 

The association is organized exclusively for charitable, education, and/or scientific purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No part of the net earnings of Oregon State Beekeepers Association will inure to the benefit of or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that Oregon State Beekeepers Association shall be authorized to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the organizing document and the application for federal tax exemption.

ARTICLE III Membership 

Oregon State Beekeepers Association is a nonprofit organization open to membership without regard to race, nationality, ethnic origin, or religious beliefs.

Section 1 Membership Categories. 

Membership in Oregon State Beekeepers Association shall include paid members, affiliate members, and honorary life members. Each member shall have voting privileges in the association and thus be entitled to one vote at the annual meeting and at special meetings of the membership. Proxy voting shall not be permitted. In addition, each member shall receive a subscription for the year of membership to the Oregon State Beekeepers Association publication, The Bee Line. Complimentary subscriptions of The Bee Line may be provided at the discretion of the executive committee or the newsletter editor.

1. Paid members. Any individual person who is interested in apiculture or any other phase of the beekeeping industry is eligible for membership and may become a paid member by submitting the required membership dues and agreeing to be governed by this constitution and its bylaws.

2. Affiliate Memberships. All memberships of any authorized affiliate association will be automatically made members of the OSBA given that the affiliate association meets the criteria of Section 2 below. 

3. Honorary life members. Any person having performed a worthy service for the beekeeping industry by his or her scientific, industrial, or administrative abilities will be eligible for honorary life membership. Honorary life members shall be entitled to all rights and privileges of paid members but shall be exempt from payment of dues. Honorary life members may be nominated by any member of the association and are selected by the executive committee. Not more than two individuals may be selected as honorary life members each year.

Section 2 Affiliate Associations. 

OSBA shall recognize Affiliate associations as follows:

1. Each affiliate association must be approved by the OSBA executive committee before being formally recognized. 

2. Affiliate associations shall submit a list of all of its members and officers thus associated, paying $5 per affiliate memberships per annum (the number being the highest number of memberships during the previous year), and provide the names and contact information of all members for the year of affiliation to the state association secretary and treasurer. 

3. Affiliate associations are encouraged to further the mission and values of OSBA within their local communities. Membership in an affiliate association grants individuals automatic membership status in OSBA, along with associated voting privileges and benefits as stipulated above.

4. Each affiliate association may adopt its own constitution and bylaws, and establish its own due’s structure, as desired by its members, provided there is no conflict with this constitution and its bylaws.

ARTICLE IV Officers  

Section 1 Officers. 

The officers of Oregon State Beekeepers Association shall consist of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

Section 2 Regional Directors: 

The Regional Directors shall have full voting privileges on the Board of Directors. All regional directors shall be current members of Oregon State Beekeepers Association. The regional directors shall be elected from different areas of the state.

Section 3 Affiliate Association Presidents. 

All affiliate presidents shall have full voting privileges on the Board of Directors. Affiliate Presidents shall be elected by the membership of their association. 

Section 4 Leadership

1. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers plus the outgoing president. The Executive Committee oversees the daily operation of the organization and reports to the Board of Directors at the quarterly meetings. The outgoing president shall remain a member of the executive committee until replaced by a succeeding outgoing president. 

2. Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers plus the outgoing president, regional directors, and all presidents of affiliate associations.

Section 5 Working Committees. 

The incoming president shall have the authority to appoint working committees for the ensuing year. The chair of each committee will be invited to attend all Board of Directors meetings. Among committees that might be established are the following: (A) Agriculture Liaison, (B) Fairs and Exhibits, (C) Nominations, (D) Northwest Apiculture Fund for Honey Bee Research, Extension, and Education, and (E) Public Relations.

Section 6 Method of Elections. 

Nominations for the election of officers shall be submitted by a nominations committee and followed by nominations from the membership at the annual meeting. After nominations are closed, the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer shall be elected by a majority of the members then present. Regional directors from different areas of the state shall also be elected by a simple majority of members present at the time. The newly elected officers shall assume duties at the close of the annual meeting. 

Section 7. Terms of Office. 

All officers shall be elected or appointed for terms of one year and will serve until their successors are duly elected and installed.

ARTICLE V Meetings

Section 1 Annual Meetings. 

An annual assembly of the members shall be held at the time and place selected by the Board of Directors.

Section 2 Special Meetings of Board of Directors. 

Special meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the president or on written request of two-thirds of the members of the Board of Directors.

Section 3 Special Meetings of Membership. 

Special meetings of the entire membership shall be called upon written request of theExecutive Committeeor one-fourth of the regular membership. Special meetings of the entire membership also may be called by thepresident when deemed necessary. 

Section 4 Issues. 

Issues, except amendments to this constitution or its bylaws, shall be decided in meetings of the Board of Directors by a simple majority vote of the committee members then present and in good standing, or by electronic vote consisting of all members of the Board of Directors in good standing, decided by simple majority.  

Section 5 Rules of Order. 

The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order (revised) shall govern this association in all cases to which they are applicable and are consistent with this constitution and its bylaws.

ARTICLE VI Dissolution. 

Upon the dissolution of Oregon State Beekeepers Association, assets will be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. 

ARTICLE VII Amendments. 

The constitution of Oregon State Beekeepers Association may be altered or amended only at an annual conference by a two-thirds vote of the total membership present, providing notice of the proposed changes be sent to all members at least one month (30 days) prior to said meeting.

Bylaws of the Oregon State Beekeepers Association

ARTICLE I Membership 

Section 1 Membership Application. 

All applications for membership must be made to the treasurer, or an authorized representative, or via the website https://www.orsba.org, and must be accompanied by the dues for the year of membership. Membership runs from January 1 through December 31 of the year of membership except when membership is renewed or paid by a new member during conference registration process; then, membership runs continuously through the end of the year of the conference and the following year. 

Section 2 Dues. 

Membership dues in the Oregon State Beekeepers Association are as follows:

1. Paid members. Members shall pay dues for the year of membership. Upon acceptance of the membership dues, the member is entitled to receive a copy of the Oregon State Beekeepers Association’s constitution and bylaws.

2. Affiliate Membership. Affiliate memberships are those that belong to an authorized affiliate association that have met the criteria noted in the OSBA Constitution

3. Honorary life members. Honorary life members may participate in all activities of the state association and shall pay no dues for the year of membership to the state association. If an honorary life member wishes to join an affiliate association, then he or she shall pay the dues of the affiliate association. 

4. Dues. Dues may be paid at any time and are current for the year of membership. Any dues not paid within 60 days after the year of membership are said to be delinquent and membership is canceled. The Board of Directors shall determine dues for the year of membership.

5. Donations. Any member wishing to donate funds toward the General Fund, Research Fund, or a specific program may do so. Such funds shall be earmarked and spent only for the benefit of the program so specified at the time of the donation. Donations made at the auction during the annual conference shall be used exclusively for research. If there is a shortfall from the conference, funds from the Research Fund may be used to cover the added expenses. The amount thus borrowed shall be repaid at the earliest possible time. 

ARTICLE II Duties of Officers

Section 1 President. 

The president shall be the directing head and chief executive office and shall preside at all meetings. He or she shall act as chair of the Executive Committee, and Board of Directors, appoint all committees not otherwise provided for, fill all vacancies in office taking place between elections, and call all special meetings of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and of the general membership when requested to do so as provided in the constitution. He or she shall be responsible for seeing that all officers, elected or appointed, perform their respective duties and take the initiative in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the organization and its membership.

Section 2 Vice President. 

In the absence of the president, the vice president shall assume the responsibilities ordinarily falling upon the president. In the absence of both officers, the members may select a chair to serve for the time being. It shall be the duty of the vice president to serve as program chair of the association.

Section 3 Secretary. 

It shall be the duty of the secretary to: 

(A) Maintain a list of all members in good standing.

(B) Keep all honorary life members on the membership rolls.

(C) Record all minutes of annual and special meetings of the membership, as well as minutes of meetings of the Executive Committee. 

(D) Submit an annual report of affiliate associations at the annual meeting of the state association.

(E) Revise the constitution and bylaws after annual membership meetings in which changes have been approved by the membership. 

(F)  Perform such other duties as would naturally be assigned to this office. 

Section 4 Treasurer. 

It shall be the duty of the treasurer to:

(A)Collect all dues and other monies payable to the association and keep a correct record of all receipts and expenditures.

(B) Deposit all funds of the association in a bank or banks approved by the Board of Directors, and disburse funds only as authorized by the association or its executive officers.

(C) Submit a financial report at each regular meeting of the Board of Directors and at the annual meeting of the membership, detailing receipts, disbursements, and balance on hand.

(D) Maintain all financial records following accepted accounting principles and ensure that such records are available for inspection by any officer or member at reasonable times.

(E) Perform such other duties as would naturally be assigned to this office.

Section 5 Regional Directors. 

Regional directors shall serve on the Board of Directors. They will be expected to be aware of the problems facing beekeeping in their respective areas of representation and be responsible for bringing these problems to the attention of the Executive Committee and the members. They also will send monthly reports to the newsletter editor and send a copy of each of the monthly reports to the president.

ARTICLE III Duties of Committees

Section 1 Agriculture Liaison. 

It shall be the duty of this committee to serve as liaison between the Oregon State Beekeepers Association and national, state, and local government entities, agriculture groups, agriculture associations, and grower commissions for beekeeping and honey bee issues. 

Section 2 Fairs and Exhibits.

 It shall be the duty of this committee to cooperate with the Oregon State Fair Board in developing the bee and honey exhibit at the Oregon State Fair whenever possible, and to cooperate with local and district fair managers in developing larger and better honey exhibits in their respective fairs.

Section 3: Nominations: 

It shall be the duty of this committee to work with the membership to solicit the names of members who are willing and able to assume responsibility for positions on the executive committee. 

Section 4 Northwest Apiculture Fund for Honey Bee Research, Extension, and Education. 

It shall be the duty of this committee to engage in the work needed to support this fund for honey bee research, extension, and education within the Department of Horticulture, or its successor, at Oregon State University.

Section 5 Public Relations. 

It shall be the duty of this committee to secure news items and photographs for publication at all beekeeping functions, and to work with officers and committees on proper exposure of apiculture to the public, whenever and however possible, whether by newspapers, radio, television, Internet, or other news media.

Section 6 Other. 

Duties of other committees will be defined at the time they are established.

ARTICLE IV Amendments. 

These bylaws may be altered or amended only at an annual conference by a two-thirds vote of the total membership present at the meeting, provided notice of the proposed changes have been sent to all members at least one month (30 days) prior to said meeting.