I. Name:

Kakish (Qaqish) family Society, California, USA

II. Main Office:

La Verne, California, USA

III. Founders:

1.      Ibrahim Issa Kakish

2.      Kamal Mousa Kakish

3.      Hanna Issa Kakish

4.      Mazen Freih Qaqish

5.      Michael Fawzi Kakish

6.      Samir Mousa Kakish

IV. Goals:

1.      To gather the Kakish/Qaqish family together in fellowship and love.

2.      To out as a group together at least once a year for picnics, potlucks, dinners, and other activities.  Expense to be paid by individual member.

3.      To unite the Holidays: Christmas in the Western tradition, Easter in the Eastern tradition.

4.      To have social parties together for Christmas and Easter (Individual members will pay their own expenses).

5.      To celebrate the Christmas, and New Year party together with relatives.  The cost of the ticket is the responsibility of the attending members.

6.      The income from the party:

a.       The administrative committee decides the price of the ticket.

b.      Every member who is over 12 years old is to pay $2.00 per month towards the annual party.

c.       The registered members have to pay half the price of the ticket, when attending the party.

d.      The members have no rights to ask for compensation if they do not attend the party for any reason.

7.      Assisting and helping the members who are in need (If funds are available).

8.      Death and emergency accounts.

V. The General Assembly:

1.      Active Members – 18 years or over

2.      Supporting Members – Under 18 years old

3.      Honorary Members – Husbands who are married to Kakish/Qaqish family wives

VI. The Administration’s Council (Steering Committee):

1. It is made up of seven members who are elected by a secret ballot.

2. Every member elected to the council assembly musty be 25 years old or above.

3. To be a member of the General Assembly for a period not less than one year.

4. To be in good standing and conduct.

5. He/She must fulfill his/her material, social and membership duties regularly.

6. In case of a resignation or death of any member of the Administration’s Council, the next person who is on line and qualified will replace him/her immediately.

7. In case of resignation or death of any member and council was chosen without election.  The council will be allowed to choose a new member from the General Assembly.

8. All the Administration Council members must be of the Kakish/Qaqish family.

9. The term of the Council members shall be two years.

VII. The General Meeting:

1. The general meeting convenes once a year.

2. An emergency meeting may be convened any time of the year by written request and signed by at least two thirds of the active members of the General Assembly.

3. The general meeting is considered valid by the presence of 55 percent of the General Assembly.  A second general meeting is scheduled and considered valid by the presence of 35 percent of the active members of the General Assembly if the required 55 percent attendance was not met.  The time period between the two meetings should not exceed one month.

4. The General Committee will discuss the financial situation and all the suggestions which have been presented to the members on the table.

5. The Administration Council will present a detailed financial report and all the activities of the past year to the general meeting.

6. After the presentation of the report, the president of the Administration Council will announce the resignation of the Administration Council.

7. The Administration Council that has been previously elected will take over after the resignation is complete.

8. The General Assembly will elect a new Administration Council on condition that they will keep at least three members from the former members who have resigned.

9. In case of an emergency and one active member was not able to attend the meeting, he shall have the right to send another active member to replace or represent in the meeting.

10. Any active member who does not come regularly to the meeting will not be allowed to be elected to the Administration’s Council.

VIII. The Meeting of the Administration Council:

1. The council will meet at least once a month

2. The council will meet for emergency at any time during the month.  This meeting must be requested by the president or the vice president.

3. The council will elect the president, vice president, treasurer, and the secretary during the first meeting.

4. The meeting shall be legal by the presence of four members including the vice president or president.

5. In the closing of every meeting the members will sign the minutes.

6. The members shall schedule the time and date of the next meeting.

7. A member of the Administration Council may lose his/her job if absent three times without an acceptable excuse.  The member may be excused if he/she is (a) sick (b) traveling.

IX. The Duties of the General Assembly:

1. To discuss and extend the Kakish/Qaqish Family Society bylaws.

2. To elect the Administration Council.

3. To discuss the Administration Council reports.

4. To discuss the financial report.

5. To discuss the suggested projects by the general membership and to vote on them.

X. The Duties of the Administrative Council:

1. To present a detailed report to the general assembly regarding the accomplishments during the time of their leadership and duties.

2. To present a detailed report to the general assembly regarding the financial situation during the annual meeting.

3. The complete supervision over all the properties, savings, and investments of the Kakish/Qaqish Family Society.

4. To visit sick members as informed.

5. Helping the members of the society according to the society’s ability and affordability.

6. Visiting and consoling the friends outside the Kakish/Qaqish family who have lost a loved one in the name of Kakish/Qaqish family.

7. The Administrative Council has no right to change, add, or amend the bylaws without the approval of two thirds (2/3) of the active members.

XI. Dissolving the Administrative Council:

1. A written letter must be presented by at least one third (1/3) of the active members to the Administrative Council requesting a general meeting wishing to dissolve the council.

2. The Administrative Council is to inform for an emergency meeting to discuss and to study the request and to make a decision for a convention of the general assembly.  This emergency meeting should be requested two months after receiving the letter of request.

3. The meeting shall be legal by the presence of sixty percent (60%) of the active members.  If the number is not achieved, the meeting may be legal by the presence of forty percent (40%) of the active members.  The period should not exceed one month from the previous meeting.

4. The active members who request and sign for the dissolving of the council should elect one of them to give reasons and reasonable evidence for this request.

5. The request shall be discussed by the general assembly, taking into consideration the reason for this said request with the accepted evidence for that purpose.

6. The Council Committee could be dissolved by the agreement of two thirds (2/3) of the active members who are present.

7. The general assembly may appoint three active members to supervise a new election of a new Council Committee.

8. The dissolved former council must submit all the files, papers, bills, checks, and anything that is related to the society to the new council within one week and after the new election.

XII. The Society Income:

1. The membership dues.

2. The emergency/death savings account.

3. Income from social parties and picnics.

XII. The Membership Dues:

1. $20.00 to be paid with every new application.

2. $20.00 to be paid whenever the withdrawing member joins again.

3. $20.00 to be paid if the member does not make his/her payments within nine months.

XIV. The Society Finance:

1. No one is permitted to spend any amount from the society account until four members from the Administrative Council sign for it.

2. Checks will not be cashed unless two signatures are signed by the treasurer and the president of the vice president.

XV. The Treasurer:

1. The treasurer must record all the income and expenses of the society in an official record.

2. The financial record of the society should be ready at all times.

3. To deposit the society’s money in the bank everyday.

4. The treasurer should prepare a detailed financial report and present it to the general assembly in the annual meeting.

5. To prepare an account record for each member.

XVI. The Secretary:

1. The secretary must record all the council’s sessions.

2. To prepare the invitations to all members for the general or annual meetings.

3. To keep complete record of all members with complete addresses and phone numbers.

XVII. The President of the Society:

1. To represent the society in the government and all other official entities.

2. To send the invitations for the Council’s meetings.

3. To prepare the program and places for the parties, social events, and picnics.

XVIII. The Emergency/Death savings account:

          The Purpose:

1. To help all members who are in need according to the activity, affordability of the society.

2. In case of death of any member of the general assembly whether he/she was active, supportive, or honorary:

a.       In case of the death of any active member who was faithful in his/her dues and was living in Southern California may be buried in the family graveyard without cost to the family, and also the family will be presented a check of $1000.00.

b.      In case of active member who was living outside of Southern California and the family do not with to bury their loved one in the family lot, they will be given $1250.00 for the price of the grave and food.

c.       In case of a member who was living in Southern California and did not pay his/her dues for a period of six (6) months without any legal excuse as sickness, traveling or laid off and after informing that member at least three times, the society will give a grave without any cost and pay the loved ones $350.00.  But, if that person was living outside Southern California, and the family does not wish to bury their loved one in the family lot, they will be paid $600.00.

d.      In case of the death of a member who has been less than six months as an active member will be given the same as the above letter c.

e.       If a member passed away, had not paid his/her dues for nine (9) months or more, the society owes his/her family nothing.

f.        If a visitor of the Kakish/Qaqish family dies in Southern California, the Administrative Council decides what is right and suitable to be done (within its ability).

3. Revenues:

To be paid by members in payments of $3.00 per month.

XIX. The Withdrawal:

          The active or honorary member has the right to withdraw from the general assembly according to the following steps:

1. The person must give a written application with his/her signature and two other witnesses.

2. The Administrative Council will look into his application in the first session.  No emergency meeting will be convened for this purpose.

3. The withdrawing member will not be refunded what he paid to the membership dues, death, and emergency accounts.

4. In case of death of this said member, he/she will be treated as the letter e in the main number XVIII.

5. If the withdrawing member wishes to renew his membership in the Society before a period or six months, he/she must pay an amount of total six months of payment.  After this period of withdrawing member will pay a membership fee as a brand new member.  If he/she wished to do that, he may write a request to the Administrative Council.

XX. The Dissolving of the Society:

1. The Society may be dissolved by 80% of the active society members’ vote.

2. The General Assembly must elect a committee nine members to supervise and dissolve the Society and the distribution of finances, to every active member per their period of fulfilled obligation.

XXI. Distribution of the Bylaws:

The Kakish/Qaqish Family Society’s bylaws will be typed, printed, and distributed in the Arabic and English languages.  It will be distributed free of charge to all active members, one to each family.  If another member of a family needs more copies, he may order for a charge of $10.00 each.

XXII. The Acceptance of the Bylaws:

Decisions have been taken to accept this bylaw as given in details with all the above points.  The general assembly has accepted all what has been in this bylaw in the meeting which was convened on Saturday, May 15^th, in the year of our Lord 1989.  The general assembly also accepted all amendments that took place in the meeting of December 25, 2000.

This bylaw belongs to the Kakish/Qaqish Family Society with all its letters, words, and points.