1
EXHIBIT 3.8
BYLAWS
OF
ITCO ACQUISITION COMPANY OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC.
ARTICLE I
OFFICES
Section 1. Principal Office. The principal office of the corporation
shall be located in Wilson, North Carolina, or at such other place as the Board
of Directors shall determine.
Section 2. Registered Office. The registered office of the corporation
required by law to be maintained in the State of North Carolina may be, but need
not be, identical to the principal office. The address of the registered office
may be changed from time to time by the Board of Directors.
Section 3. Other Offices. The corporation may, from time to time, have
offices at such places, either within or without the State of North Carolina, as
the Board of Directors may designate or as the business of the corporation may
require.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF SHAREHOLDERS
Section 1. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the shareholders shall
be held on the first Friday in the month of June in each year, beginning with
the year 1996, at the hour of 10:00 a.m. or such other time on such day
designated in the notice of meeting, for the purpose of electing directors and
for the transaction of such other business as may come before the meeting. If
the day fixed for the annual meeting shall be a legal holiday in the State of
North Carolina, such meeting shall be held on the next succeeding business day.
Section 2. Substitute Annual Meeting. If the annual meeting shall not
be held on the day designated by these bylaws for the annual meeting of
shareholders, or at any adjournment thereof, then a substitute annual meeting
may be called in accordance with Section 3 of this Article and the meeting so
called may be designated and treated for all purposes as the annual meeting.
Section 3. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the shareholders may
be called by the President or by the Board of Directors or shall be called by
the Secretary within thirty (30) days after the delivery to the Secretary of the
written request
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of the holder or holders of not less than one-tenth of all shares entitled to
vote at the meeting. Such request must be signed, dated and delivered to the
Secretary and must describe the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is to
be held.
Section 4. Place of Meeting. The Board of Directors may designate any
place, either within or without the State of North Carolina, as the place of
meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting called by the Board of
Directors. A waiver of notice signed by all shareholders entitled to vote at a
meeting may designate any place, either within or without the State of North
Carolina, as the place for the holding of such meeting. If no designation is
made, or if a special meeting be otherwise called, the place of meeting shall be
the principal office of the corporation.
Section 5. Notice of Meeting. Written or printed notice stating the
time and place of the meeting and, in case of a special meeting, the purpose or
purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered not less than ten
(10) nor more than sixty (60), or in case of a special meeting called at the
request of the shareholders, not more than thirty (30), days before the date of
the meeting, either personally or by mail, by or at the direction of the
President, the Secretary, or the officer or persons calling the meeting, to each
shareholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting. If mailed, such notice
shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail
addressed to the shareholder at his address as it appears on the record of
shareholders of the corporation, with postage thereon prepaid. In addition to
the foregoing, notice of a substitute annual meeting shall state that the annual
meeting was not held on the day designated by these bylaws and that such
substitute annual meeting is being held in lieu of and is designated as such
annual meeting.
If a meeting of shareholders is adjourned to a different date, time or
place, notice need not be given of the new date, time or place if the new date,
time or place is announced at the meeting before adjournment. If a new record
date for the adjourned meeting is fixed, however, notice of the adjourned
meeting must be given to persons who are shareholders as of the new record date.
Section 6. Waiver of Notice.
(a) A shareholder may waive any notice required by law, the
articles of incorporation, or these bylaws before or after the date and
time stated in the notice. The waiver must be in writing, be signed by
the shareholder entitled to the notice, and be delivered to the
corporation for inclusion in the minutes or filing with the corporate
records.
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(b) A shareholder's attendance at a meeting:
(1) waives objection to lack of notice or defective
notice of the meeting, unless the shareholder at the beginning
of the meeting objects to holding the meeting or transacting
business at the meeting; and
(2) waives objection to consideration of a particular
matter at the meeting that is not within the purpose or
purposes described in the meeting notice, unless the
shareholder objects to considering the matter before it is
voted upon.
Section 7. Closing of Transfer Books or Fixing of Record Date. For the
purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any
meeting of shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or shareholders entitled to
receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination of
shareholders for any other proper purpose, the Board of Directors may provide
that the stock transfer books shall be closed for a stated period but not to
exceed, in any case, seventy (70) days. If the stock transfer books shall be
closed for the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to
vote at a meeting of shareholders, such books shall be closed for at least ten
(10) days immediately preceding such meeting.
In lieu of closing the stock transfer books, the Board of Directors may
fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of
shareholders, such date in any case to be not more than seventy days and, in the
case of a meeting of shareholders, not less than ten (10) full days prior to the
date on which the particular action, requiring such determination of
shareholders, is to be taken.
If the stock transfer books are not closed and no record date is fixed
for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a
meeting of shareholders, or shareholders entitled to receive payment of a
dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is mailed or the date on which
the resolution of the Board of Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as
the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of
shareholders.
When a determination of shareholders entitled to vote at any meeting of
shareholders has been made as provided in this Section, such determination shall
apply to any adjournment thereof except where the determination has been made
through the closing of the stock transfer books and the stated period of closing
has expired, and except where the Board of Directors fixes a new record date,
which it must do if the meeting is adjourned to a date more than 120 days after
the date fixed for the original meeting.
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Section 8. Voting Lists. After fixing a record date for a meeting, the
Secretary of the corporation shall prepare an alphabetical list of the names of
all its shareholders who are entitled to notice of a shareholders' meeting. The
list shall be arranged by voting group (and within each voting group by class or
series of shares) and show the address of and number of shares held by each
shareholder. The shareholder's list shall be available for inspection by any
shareholder, beginning two (2) business days after notice of the meeting is
given for which the list was prepared and continuing through the meeting, at the
corporation's principal office or at a place identified in the meeting notice in
the city where the meeting will be held. A shareholder, or his agent or
attorney, is entitled on written demand to inspect and, subject to the
requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 55-16-02(c), as may be hereafter
amended, to copy the list, during regular business hours and at his expense,
during the period it is available for inspection. The Secretary of the
corporation shall make the shareholders' list available at the meeting, and any
shareholder or his agent or attorney is entitled to inspect the list at any time
during the meeting or any adjournment.
Section 9. Voting Groups. All shares of one or more classes or series
that under the articles of incorporation or the North Carolina Business
Corporation Act are entitled to vote and be counted together collectively on a
matter at a meeting of shareholders constitute a voting group. All shares
entitled by the articles of incorporation or the North Carolina Business
Corporation Act to vote generally on a matter are for that purpose a single
voting group. Classes or series of shares shall not be entitled to vote
separately by voting group unless expressly authorized by the articles of
incorporation or specifically required by law.
Section 10. Quorum. Shares entitled to vote as a separate voting group
may take action on a matter at the meeting only if a quorum of those shares
exists. A majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter by the voting
group constitutes a quorum of that voting group for action on that matter.
The shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present may continue
to do business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough
shareholders to leave less than a quorum.
In the absence of a quorum at the opening of any meeting of
shareholders, such meeting may be adjourned from time to time by a vote of the
majority of the shares voting on the motion to adjourn; and at any adjourned
meeting at which a quorum is present, any business may be transacted which might
have been transacted at the original meeting.
Section 11. Proxies. Shares may be voted either in person or by one or
more agents authorized by a written proxy executed by the shareholder or by his
duly authorized attorney in fact.
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An appointment of a proxy is effective when received by the Secretary
or other officer or agent authorized to tabulate votes. An appointment is valid
for eleven (11) months unless a different period is expressly provided in the
appointment form.
Section 12. Voting of Shares. Each outstanding share entitled to vote
shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of
shareholders.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the articles of incorporation or
these bylaws, if a quorum exists, action on a matter by a voting group is
approved if the votes cast within the voting group favoring the action exceed
the votes cast opposing the action.
Shares of its own stock owned by the corporation directly, or
indirectly through a corporation in which it owns, directly or indirectly, a
majority of the shares entitled to vote for directors, shall not be voted at any
meeting and shall not be counted in determining the total number of outstanding
shares at a given time entitled to vote; provided that this provision does not
limit the power of the corporation to vote its own shares held by it in a
fiduciary capacity.
Section 13. Votes Required. The vote of a majority of the shares voted
at a meeting of shareholders, duly held at which a quorum is present, shall be
sufficient to take or authorize action upon any matter which may properly come
before the meeting except as otherwise provided by law, by the articles of
incorporation or by these bylaws. Any provision in these bylaws prescribing the
vote required for any purpose as permitted by law may not itself be amended by a
vote less than the vote prescribed therein.
Section 14. Action of Shareholders Without Meeting. Any action which
may be taken at a meeting of the shareholders may be taken without a meeting if
the action is taken by all the shareholders entitled to vote on the action. The
action must be evidenced by one or more written consents signed by all the
shareholders before or after such action, describing the action taken and
delivered to the corporation for inclusion in the minutes or filing with the
corporate records. A consent signed under this Section has the effect of a
meeting vote and may be described as such in any document.
ARTICLE III
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. General Powers. All corporate powers shall be exercised by
or under the authority of, and the business and affairs of the corporation
managed under the direction of, the Board of Directors.
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Section 2. Number, Tenure and Qualifications. The number of directors
which shall constitute the whole board shall not be less than one (1) nor more
than ten (10). The first board shall consist of one (1) director. Thereafter,
within such limits, the number of directors shall be determined by the
shareholders. Directors need not be residents of the State of North Carolina or
shareholders of the corporation.
The directors shall be elected at the annual meeting of the
shareholders (except as herein otherwise provided for the filling of vacancies).
Those persons who receive the highest number of votes at a meeting at which a
quorum is present shall be deemed to have been elected.
Each initial director shall hold office until the first shareholders'
meeting at which directors are elected, or until such director's death,
resignation or removal. The term of every other director shall expire at the
next annual shareholder's meeting following the director's election or upon such
director's death, resignation or removal. The term of a director elected to fill
a vacancy expires at the next shareholders' meeting at which directors are
elected. A decrease in the number of directors shall not shorten an incumbent
director's term. Despite the expiration of a director's term, such director
shall continue to serve until a successor shall be elected or qualifies or until
there is a decrease in the number of directors.
Section 3. Vacancies. Except as otherwise provided by law or the
articles of incorporation, any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors may
be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors even
though less than a quorum or by the sole remaining director.
At a special meeting of shareholders the shareholders may elect a
director to fill any vacancy not filled by the directors.
Section 4. Removal. Any director may be removed at any time with or
without cause by a vote of the shareholders holding a majority of the
outstanding shares entitled to vote at an election of directors. If cumulative
voting is authorized, a director may not be removed if the number of votes
sufficient to elect him under cumulative voting is voted against his removal.
A director may not be removed by the shareholders at a meeting unless
the notice of the meeting states that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of
the meeting is removal of the director.
Section 5. Compensation. The Board of Directors may compensate
directors for their services as such and may provide for the payment of all
expenses incurred by directors in attending meetings of the Board.
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Section 6. Chairman of the Board. There may be a Chairman of the Board
of Directors elected by the directors from their number at the annual meeting of
the Board of Directors. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board
of Directors and perform such other duties as may be directed by the Board.
ARTICLE IV
MEETINGS OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the Board of
Directors shall be held without other notice than this Bylaw immediately after,
and at the same place as, the annual meeting of shareholders. The Board of
Directors may provide, by resolution, the time and place, either within or
without the State of North Carolina for the holding of additional regular
meetings without other notice than such resolution.
Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Directors
may be called by the President or any two directors. The person or persons
authorized to call special meetings of the Board of Directors may fix any place,
either within or without the State of North Carolina, as the place for holding
any special meeting of the Board of Directors called by them.
Section 3. Notice. The person calling the meeting shall give or cause
to be given oral or written notice of special meetings of the Board of Directors
to each director not less than three (3) days before the date of the meeting.
Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purposes of any
regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors need be specified in the
notice or waiver of notice of such meeting.
Section 4. Waiver of Notice.
(a) A director may waive any notice required by law, the
articles of incorporation, or these bylaws before or after the date and
time stated in the notice. Except as provided by subsection (b), the
waiver must be in writing, signed by the director entitled to the
notice, and delivered to the corporation for filing with the minutes or
corporate records.
(b) A director's attendance at or participation in a meeting
waives any required notice to him of the meeting unless the director at
the beginning of the meeting (or promptly upon his arrival) objects to
holding the meeting or transacting business at the meeting and does not
thereafter vote for or assent to action taken at the meeting.
Section 5. Quorum. Except as otherwise provided by law, the articles of
incorporation or these bylaws, a quorum of the
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Board of Directors consists of (a) a majority of the fixed number of directors
if the corporation has a fixed board size, or (b) a majority of the number of
directors prescribed, or if no number is prescribed, the number in office
immediately before the meeting begins, if the corporation has a variable-range
size board.
Section 6. Manner of Acting. If a quorum is present when a vote is
taken, the affirmative act of the majority of the directors present is the act
of the Board of Directors, except as otherwise provided in these bylaws.
Section 7. Presumption of Assent. A director who is present at a
meeting of the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of Directors when
corporate action is taken is deemed to have assented to the action taken unless:
(a) He objects at the beginning of the meeting (or promptly
upon his arrival) to holding it or transacting business at the meeting;
(b) His dissent or abstention from the action taken is entered
in the minutes of the meeting; or
(c) He files written notice of his dissent or abstention with
the presiding officer of the meeting before its adjournment or with the
corporation immediately after adjournment of the meeting. The right of
dissent or abstention is not available to a director who votes in favor
of the action taken.
Section 8. Action by Directors Without Meeting. Action required or
permitted by law to be taken at a Board of Directors' meeting may be taken
without a meeting if the action is taken by all members of the Board. The action
must be evidenced by one or more written consents signed by each director before
or after such action, describing the action taken, and included in the minutes
or filed with the corporate records. Action taken under this Section is
effective when the last director signs the consent unless the consent specifies
a different effective date. A consent signed under this Section has the effect
of a meeting vote and may be described as such in any document.
Section 9. Meetings by Conference Telephone. Any one or more directors
may participate in a meeting of the Board or a committee by means of a
conference telephone or similar communications device by which all directors
participating may simultaneously hear each other during the meeting, and such
participation in a meeting shall be deemed presence in person at such meeting.
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ARTICLE V
COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
Section 1. Executive Committee. The Board of Directors, by resolution
adopted by a majority of the number of directors fixed by these bylaws, may
designate two or more directors to constitute an Executive Committee, which
committee, to the extent provided in such resolution, shall have and may
exercise all of the authority of the Board of Directors to the extent permitted
by applicable law.
Section 2. Other Committees. The Board of Directors may create one or
more other committees and appoint members of the Board of Directors to serve on
them. Each committee must have two or more members who serve at the pleasure of
the Board of Directors. The creation of a committee and appointment of members
to it must be approved by the greater of:
(a) A majority of all the directors in office when the action
is taken; or
(b) The number of directors constituting a quorum under the
articles of incorporation or these bylaws.
Section 3. Vacancy. Any vacancy occurring in any committee shall be
filled by a majority of the number of directors fixed by these bylaws at a
regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Removal. Any member of a committee may be removed at any
time with or without cause by a majority of the number of directors fixed by
these bylaws.
Section 5. Minutes. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its
proceedings and report the same to the Board when required.
Section 6. Responsibility of Directors. The designation of a committee
and the delegation thereto of authority shall not operate to relieve the Board
of Directors, or any member thereof, of any responsibility or liability imposed
upon it or him by law.
Any resolutions adopted or other action taken by a committee within the
scope of the authority delegated to it by the Board of Directors shall be deemed
for all purposes to be adopted or taken by the Board of Directors.
If action taken by a committee is not thereafter formally considered by
the Board, a director may dissent from such action by filing his written
objection with the Secretary with reasonable promptness after learning of such
action.
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ARTICLE VI
OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers of the Corporation. The officers of the corporation
shall consist of a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and such Vice Presidents,
Assistant Secretaries, Assistant Treasurers and other officers as the Board of
Directors may from time to time appoint. The same individual may simultaneously
hold more than one office in the corporation, but no individual may act in more
than one capacity where action of two or more officers is required.
Section 2. Appointment and Term. The officers of the corporation shall
be appointed by the Board of Directors and each officer shall hold office until
his death, resignation, retirement, removal, disqualification or his successor
shall have been appointed.
Section 3. Compensation of Officers. The compensation of all officers
of the corporation shall be fixed by the Board of Directors and no officer shall
serve the corporation in any other capacity and receive compensation therefor
unless such additional compensation be authorized by the Board of Directors. The
appointment of an officer does not itself create contract rights.
Section 4. Removal of Officers. The Board of Directors may remove any
officer at any time with or without cause, but such removal shall not itself
affect the officer's contract rights, if any, with the corporation.
Section 5. Resignation. An officer may resign at any time by
communicating his or her resignation to the corporation, orally or in writing. A
resignation is effective when communicated unless it specifies in writing a
later effective date. If a resignation is made effective at a later date that is
accepted by the corporation, the Board of Directors may fill the pending vacancy
before the effective date if the Board provides that the successor does not take
office until the effective date. An officer's resignation does not affect the
corporation's contract rights, if any, with the officer.
Section 6. Bonds. The Board of Directors may by resolution require an
officer, agent, or employee of the corporation to give bond to the corporation,
with sufficient sureties, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the
duties of his respective office or position, and to comply with such other
conditions as may from time to time be required by the Board of Directors.
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Section 7. President. The President shall be the chief executive
officer of the corporation, subject to the control of the Board of Directors,
and shall in general supervise and control all of the business and affairs of
the corporation. He shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the
shareholders.
He shall sign any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts or other
instruments which the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed, except
in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by
the Board of Directors or by these Bylaws to some other officer or agent of the
corporation, or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed; and
in general shall perform all duties incident to the office of President and such
other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.
Section 9. Vice Presidents. In the absence of the President or in the
event of his death, inability or refusal to act, the Vice Presidents, in the
order of the seniority of their titles or if they shall all be the same level of
Vice President, in the order of their length of uninterrupted service at such
level of Vice President, unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors,
shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting shall have all the
powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. Each Vice
President shall perform such other duties as from time to time be assigned to
him by the President or Board of Directors.
Section 10. Secretary. The Secretary shall: (a) attend all meetings of
the shareholders and of the Board of Directors, keep the minutes of such
meetings in one or more books provided for that purpose, and perform like duties
for the standing committees when required; (b) see that all notices are duly
given in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws or as required by law;
(c) be custodian of the corporate records and of the seal of the corporation and
see that the seal of the corporation is affixed to all documents, the execution
of which on behalf of the corporation under its seal is duly authorized; (d)
keep a register of the post office address of each shareholder which shall be
furnished to the Secretary by such shareholder; (e) have general charge of the
stock transfer books of the corporation; and (f) in general perform all duties
incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as from time to time
may be assigned to him by the Board of Directors or by the President, under
whose supervision he shall be.
The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept at the corporation's
principal office a record of the corporation's shareholders, giving the names
and addresses of all shareholders and the number and class of shares held by
each, and such other records as are required to be kept at the corporation's
principal office by N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 55-16-01 and any successor to such
statute.
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Section 11. Assistant Secretaries. In the absence of the Secretary or
in the event of his death, inability or refusal to act, any Assistant Secretary,
unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, shall perform the duties
of the Secretary, and when so acting shall have all the powers of and be subject
to all the restrictions upon the Secretary. They shall perform such other duties
as may be assigned to them by the Secretary, by the President or by the Board of
Directors.
Section 12. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall: (a) have charge and custody
of and be responsible for all funds and securities of the corporation; receive
and give receipts for money due and payable to the corporation from any source
whatsoever, and deposit all such moneys in the name of the corporation in such
depositories as shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of Article
VII, Section 4 of these bylaws; and (b) in general perform all of the duties
incident to the office of Treasurer, including preparing, or causing to be
prepared, all financial statements required by law, and such other duties as
from time to time may be assigned to him by the President or by the Board of
Directors.
Section 13. Assistant Treasurers. In the absence of the Treasurer or in
the event of his death, inability or refusal to act, the Assistant Treasurers in
the order of their length of service as Assistant Treasurer, unless otherwise
determined by the Board of Directors, shall perform the duties of the Treasurer,
and when so acting shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the
restrictions upon the Treasurer. They shall perform such other duties as may be
assigned to them by the Treasurer, by the President or by the Board of
Directors.
ARTICLE VII
CONTRACTS, LOANS, CHECKS AND DEPOSITS
Section 1. Contracts. The Board of Directors may authorize any officer
or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver
any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such
authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
Section 2. Loans. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the
corporation and no evidences of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unless
authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors. Such authority may be
general or confined to specific instances.
Section 3. Checks and Drafts. All checks, drafts or other orders for
the payment of money, issued in the name of the corporation, shall be signed by
such officer or officers, agent or agents of the corporation and in such manner
as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of
Directors.
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Section 4. Deposits. All funds of the corporation not otherwise
employed shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the corporation
in such depositories as the Board of Directors may select.
ARTICLE VIII
CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES AND THEIR TRANSFER
Section 1. Certificates for Shares. The Board of Directors may
authorize the issuance of some or all of the shares of the corporation's classes
or series without issuing certificates to represent such shares. If shares are
represented by certificates, the certificates shall be in such form as shall be
determined by the Board of Directors. Certificates shall be signed by the
President or a Vice President and by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary.
All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise
identified. The name and address of the person to whom the shares represented
thereby are issued, with the number and class of shares and the date of issue,
shall be entered on the stock transfer books of the corporation. When shares are
represented by certificates, the corporation shall issue and deliver, to each
shareholder to whom such shares have been issued or transferred, certificates
representing the shares owned by him. When shares are not represented by
certificates, then within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of
such shares, the corporation shall send the shareholder to whom such shares have
been issued or transferred a written statement of the information required by
law to be on certificates.
Section 2. Transfer of Shares. Transfer of shares of the corporation
shall be made only on the stock transfer books of the corporation by the holder
of record thereof or by his legal representative, who shall furnish proper
evidence of authority to transfer, or by his attorney thereunto authorized by
power of attorney duly executed and filed with the Secretary, and, when shares
are represented by certificates, on surrender for cancellation of the
certificate for such shares.
Section 3. Lost Certificates. The Board of Directors or the President
may direct a new certificate to be issued in place of any certificate
theretofore issued by the corporation claimed to have been lost or destroyed,
upon receipt of an affidavit of such fact from the shareholder. When authorizing
such issuance of a new certificate, the Board of Directors or the President may
require that the shareholder give the corporation a bond in such sum as the
Board or the President may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be
made against the corporation with respect to the certificate claimed to have
been lost or destroyed or may require the shareholder to agree to indemnify the
corporation against any claims that may be made against the corporation with
respect to the certificate claimed to have been lost or destroyed.
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Section 4. Holder of Record. The corporation may treat as an absolute
owner of shares the person in whose name the shares stand of record on its books
just as if that person had full competency, capacity and authority to exercise
all rights of ownership irrespective of any knowledge or notice to the contrary
or any description indicating a representative, pledge or other fiduciary
relation or any reference to any other instrument or to the rights of any other
person appearing upon its records or upon the share certificate except that any
person furnishing to the corporation proof of his appointment as a fiduciary
shall be treated as if he were a holder of record of its shares.
ARTICLE IX
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Distributions. The Board of Directors may from time to time
authorize, and the corporation may grant, distributions and share dividends
pursuant to law and subject to the provisions of its articles of incorporation.
Section 2. Seal. The corporate seal of the corporation shall consist of
two concentric circles between which is the name of the corporation and in the
center of which is inscribed SEAL; and such seal, as impressed on the margin
hereof, is hereby adopted as the corporate seal of the corporation.
Section 3. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the corporation shall be
fixed by the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Pronouns. Each reference to pronouns herein shall be
construed in the masculine, feminine, neuter, singular or plural, as the context
may require.
Section 5. Amendments. The Board of Directors may amend or repeal the
bylaws, except to the extent otherwise provided by law, the articles of
incorporation or a Bylaw adopted by the shareholders, and except that a Bylaw
adopted, amended or repealed by the shareholders may not be readopted, amended
or repealed by the Board of Directors unless the articles of incorporation or a
Bylaw adopted by the shareholders authorizes the Board of Directors to adopt,
amend or repeal that particular Bylaw or the bylaws generally.
Section 6. Voting of Shares of Other Corporations. Authority to vote
shares of another corporation or of any association held by this corporation,
and to execute proxies and written waivers and consents in relation thereto,
shall be vested exclusively in the President or such officer(s) and employee(s)
of this corporation as shall be expressly identified by name or title from time
to time by the Board of Directors of this corporation in resolutions formally
adopted for that purpose.
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ARTICLE X
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 1. Coverage. Any person who at any time serves or has served as
a director or officer of the corporation, or in such capacity at the request of
the corporation for any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
other enterprise, or as a trustee or administrator under an employee benefit
plan, shall have a right to be indemnified by the corporation to the fullest
extent permitted by law against (a) reasonable expenses, including reasonable
attorneys' fees, actually incurred by him in connection with any threatened,
pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (and any appeal thereof),
whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or arbitrative, and
whether or not brought by or on behalf of the corporation, seeking to hold him
liable by reason of the fact that he is or was acting in such capacity, and (b)
reasonable payments made by him in satisfaction of any judgment, money decree,
fine (including, without limitation, any excise tax assessed with respect to an
employee benefit plan), penalty or settlement for which he may have become
liable in any such action, suit or proceeding.
Section 2. Payment. Expenses incurred by such person shall be paid in
advance of the final disposition of such investigation, action, suit or
proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such person to
repay such amount unless it shall ultimately be determined that he is entitled
to be indemnified by the corporation.
Section 3. Evaluation. The Board of Directors of the corporation shall
take all such action as may be necessary and appropriate to authorize the
corporation to pay the indemnification required by this Article X, including,
without limitation, to the extent needed, making a determination that
indemnification is permissible under the circumstances and a good faith
evaluation of the manner in which the claimant for indemnity acted and of the
amount of indemnity due him, and giving notice to and obtaining approval by the
shareholders of the corporation.
Section 4. Consideration. Any person who at any time after the adoption
of this Article X serves or has served in any of the aforesaid capacities for or
on behalf of the corporation shall be deemed to be doing or to have done so in
reliance upon, and as consideration for, the right of indemnification provided
herein. Such right shall inure to the benefit of the legal representatives of
any such person and shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which such
person may be entitled apart from the provisions of this Article X. Any repeal
or modification of these indemnification provisions shall not affect any rights
or obligations existing at the time of such repeal or modification.
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Section 5. Definitions. For purposes of this Article X, terms defined
by the North Carolina Business Corporation Act and used but not defined herein
shall have the meanings assigned to them by the Act.
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