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CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
(changes voted at the 2007 Annual Meeting)
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
OF THE
PLATTE VALLEY HUNTING RETRIEVER CLUB, INC.
PREAMBLE
The breeders and fanciers
of Hunting Retrievers have organized themselves as the Platte Valley Hunting
Retriever Club, Inc. and affiliated with the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc. for
the express purpose of advancing the principles of the Platte Valley Hunting
Retriever Club, Inc. and the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc., and to work
collectively toward the education of Hunting Retriever owners and breeders
toward the improvement of Hunting Retrievers as a whole, by influencing the
breeding of better and finer Hunting Retrievers. Further it is the purpose of
the Platte Valley Hunting Retriever Club, Inc. to support and protect inherent
rights of American citizens to own guns, bear arms, hunt and promote the breed
and type of dog of their choice; and to promote complementary conservation and
management of game birds and wildlife species commonly pursued by members of the
Platte Valley Hunting Retriever Club, Inc., as well as to educate hunters and
further the application of high ethical standards, good habits and good manners
in hunting and land use.
ARTICLE I
The name of the Club shall
be the Platte Valley Hunting Retriever Club, Inc. (known as PVHRC for the
remainder of document). The home office of the PVHRC shall be the residence of
the President.
ARTICLE II
Section A. To create a
closer relationship and to instill confidence between breeders, owners and
fanciers of Hunting Retrievers in order to educate Hunting Retriever owners and
breeders on improving the breeds and training the dogs for their enjoyment, and
in order to improve the breeds in accordance with the Hunting Tests set forth by
the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc., and the United Kennel Club, Inc.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Section A. Any breeder,
owner and/or fancier of Hunting Retrievers regardless of sex, race, creed or
color may be eligible for membership in this organization.
Section B. Annual
membership dues shall be due January 1. Any member of the PVHRC who has not paid
dues by January 1 becomes delinquent and shall be dropped from the membership
roll until membership is renewed by payment of dues. New members who join on or
after October 1 shall be paid for the following calendar year.
Section C. Young people are
encouraged to be part of PVHRC, and individuals of any age are eligible for
voting membership. Members of any age shall enjoy full rights and
responsibilities of membership, except when offices or activities are
age-restricted by state or federal law or by U.K.C. policy (for U.K.C. Licensed
events) or by specific PVHRC policy.
Section D. All officers and
directors shall also pay dues.
Section E. The amount of
the dues shall be set from time to time by the Executive Committee.
Section F. Upon the signed
recommendation of one member, seconded by another member and approved by a
three-fourths vote at a General membership meeting, Life membership can be
conferred upon an adult member of the PVHRC who shall have rendered notable and
outstanding service to the PVHRC. A Life member shall be entitled to all
privileges of any member in the organization without paying local annual dues.
ARTICLE IV
Expulsion of Members
Section A. Any member of
the PVHRC may be expelled by a majority of the Executive Committee voting the
secret ballot for conduct by word, deed or act detrimental to PVHRC including
but not limited to, unsportsmanlike conduct, illegal taking of any game,
destruction of property while involved in hunting, hunting tests or other
related dog work, or conviction of illegal hunting and fishing acts.
Section B. Any member of
the PVHRC so expelled shall have the right to appeal to the membership for
reinstatement. Said appeal shall be filed in writing with the Secretary of the
PVHRC within seven (7) consecutive calendar days after the effective date of
said expulsion. The appeal for reinstatement shall be acted upon at the next
General Membership meeting. Reinstatement shall be granted upon a two-third
majority vote of the members present at the meeting.
ARTICLE V
Officers
Section A. The officers of
the PVHRC shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
These officers shall constitute the Executive Committee and, assisted by up to a six-person elected Board of
Directors, will perform the duties prescribed by these by-laws and by
Parliamentary Authority adopted by the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc.
Section B. At a meeting
prior to the annual membership meeting, a Standing Nominating Committee
consisting of the Executive Committee (excluding the President) shall nominate
candidates for the offices to be filled at the General membership meeting.
Before the election at the annual meeting, or by absentee ballot to the
membership, additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted.
Section C. The officers
shall be elected by secret ballot to serve one year. Officers' term of office
shall begin immediately following the annual General Membership meeting. The
annual meeting shall be held in January of each year. Officer vacancies (except
president) occurring prior to the end of the term shall be filled by election at
a general membership meeting. Board of Director vacancies shall be filled by the
President with approval of the rest of the Executive Committee and the remaining
Board of Directors.
Section D. No Member shall
hold more than one office at a time, and no member shall be eligible to serve
more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
Section E. After February 1, 1988,
no member shall be eligible for the nomination as an officer of the PVHRC until
after he/she has been a member of the PVHRC at least one year.
Section F. The President of
the PVHRC will be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the Hunting
Retriever Club, Inc. Consequently, the PVHRC membership has to be maintained,
and the president's membership dues have to be maintained by him/her in order
for his/her participation to occur at the national level.
Section G. The PVHRC Board
of Directors shall consist of up to six PVHRC members. Length of term is
one year. Directors are to be nominated and elected in the same fashion and at
the same time as the officers. The Board of Directors are to meet with and
assist the Executive Committee in carrying out the business and interest of the
PVHRC.
ARTICLE VI
The Executive Committee
Section A. The officers of
the PVHRC shall constitute the Executive Committee.
Section B. The Executive
Committee and Board of Directors shall perform general administration and
supervision of the affairs of the PVHRC between its business meetings, fix the
hour and place of meetings, make recommendations and shall perform such other
duties as are specified in these by-laws.
Section C. Unless otherwise
ordered by the President or the Executive Committee, regular meetings of the
Executive Committee together with the Board of Directors shall be held preceding
the General Membership meetings. Special Executive Committee meetings shall be
called by the President or the Executive Committee when necessary and advisable.
ARTICLE VII
Meetings
Section A. The General
Membership meetings shall be held as ordered by the PVHRC or by the Executive
Committee and Board of Directors. The location will be determined by the
Executive Committee. The regular meetings shall be for the purpose of electing
officers, receiving reports of officers and committees and for any other
business that may arise.
Section B. Special General
Membership meetings can be called by the President or the Executive Committee.
Section C. All membership
meetings shall be open to all paid up members.
Section D. All business
submitted by vote to the general membership shall be decided by a majority vote
of the members present at regular meetings, except as otherwise stipulated in
this Constitution. Abstentions will reduce the denominator of the fraction for
purposes of determining a simple majority. Members are authorized to vote by
written, notarized proxy.
ARTICLE VIII
Committees
Section A. A standing
Nominating Committee shall nominate candidates for the offices to be filled at
the General Membership meeting.
Section B. An Auditing
Committee of three members shall be appointed by the President prior to the
annual meeting each year. It shall be the duty of the Auditing Committee to
audit the Treasurer's accounts and to report at the annual meeting.
Section C. Such other
committees, standing or special, shall be appointed by the President or as the
Executive Committee shall from time to time deem necessary to carry on the work
of the PVHRC. The president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees
except the Nominating Committee.
ARTICLE IX
Affiliation
Section A. The PVHRC shall
be affiliated with the Hunting Retriever Club, Inc. and United Kennel Club, Inc.
There shall be no other affiliation with any other registering office, club or
group. This Article of this Constitution may be changed by a 100 percent
unanimous vote of paid up members in attendance at a special meeting,
notification of which has been sent to all paid up members at least fourteen
(14) days in advance. For the purposes of counting the votes, any members who
have abstained from voting will not be counted in either the numerator or the
denominator. Absence from the meeting will be considered an abstention in
voting.
ARTICLE X
Duty of Officers and Executive Committee
Section A. President
The President serves as the
presiding officer and spokesman of the PVHRC. He/she shall preside over all
meetings of the membership and the Executive Committee.
As Executive and Managerial
head of the PVHRC, he/she shall be responsible for the preservation and
maintenance of the highest principles of the PVHRC. He/she shall have authority
to appoint any and all committees as he/she may deem necessary to carry out the
business and interest of the PVHRC. He/she shall service as an ex-officio member
of all committees except the Nominating committee. As an ex-officio member of
committees, the President has the same rights as the other committee members but
is not obligated to attend meetings of the committees.
The incumbent serves as
administrative head of the PVHRC and acts under the immediate direction of the
Executive Committee or Assembly. The President is responsible for the day-to-day
administration of the PVHRC between Executive Committee or General Membership
meetings. Where practical, he/she shall seek out input from the other officers
before making major decisions between meetings.
Section B.
Vice-President
The Vice-President assists
the President in directing, coordinating and controlling activities of the PVHRC.
The President and Vice-President shall work closely together endeavoring to keep
the lines of communication open to insure the Vice-president is kept well
informed. The Vice-President shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
President on issues needing consultation. In the absence of the President, the
Vice-President succeeds to the presidential office on the resignation, removal,
death or disability of the President.
The Vice-President is
charged with the following responsibilities:
1.) Appoint members of
the Rules Committee.
2.) Coordinate all
benefit and other special non-recurring events sponsored by the PVHRC.
3.) Chair the Annual
Meeting Location Committee.
4.) Accept other
responsibilities as assigned by the President.
The Vice-President serves
in an active capacity in managing the functions of the PVHRC. Therefore, it is
important that the incumbent is competent to perform the duties thereof.
Section D. Secretary
The duties of the
Secretary are:
1.) To keep a record of
all the proceedings of the organization, usually called the minutes.
2.) To keep the
organization's official Membership roll.
3.) To make the minutes
and records available to members upon request.
4.) To maintain record
book(s) in which minutes are recorded with any amendments to these documents
properly recorded, and to have the current record books on hand at every
meeting.
Section E. Treasurer
The incumbent shall hold
funds deposited with him/her and disburse them as bills are received. Any two
members of the Executive Committee are authorized to endorse items for deposit
or cash or sign items ordering withdrawal from PVHRC account. The treasurer is
required to keep current, as nearly as possible, a balance of PVHRC funds at all
times. He/she is required to make a full financial report annually. This report
will be audited annually prior to the General Membership meeting by an appointed
Auditing Committee. Additional interim reports will be made as needed.
The treasurer serves as a
member of the executive committee and has full privileges thereof, i.e., voting
rights, motion rights, debate rights, etc. The treasurer must be bonded for a
sum sufficient to protect the PVHRC from loss as required from time-to-time by
the Executive Committee. The bond shall be the amount of the projected receipts
annually. The bond will be paid for by the PVHRC.
Section F. Executive
Committee
Members of he Executive
Committee (assisted by the Board of Directors) will participate in the decision
making process and the general supervision of affairs of the PVHRC between its
business meetings.
The incumbents actively
participate in meetings of the Executive Committee expressing their views,
concerns and motions. A director will willingly serve on special committees to
consider, investigate or take action on certain matters or subjects pertinent to
administration of the PVHRC.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
With the exception of
ARTICLE IX designating the affiliation of the PVHRC with the Hunting Retriever
Club, Inc. This Constitution may be amended at any regular meeting by two-thirds
majority vote of the members present in favor of said amendment. The proposed
amendment must be circulated to all members, in writing, at least fourteen days
before the meeting at which the vote will take place.
ARTICLE XII
Termination and Dissolution
No assets, earning or fund
balance of the PVHRC shall inure to the benefit of any member. If the PVHRC is
ever dissolved, all net assets of the club are to be distributed to a Sec.
501(c) (3) organization designated by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XIII
Hunts, Fun Days, Etc.
All H.R.C./U.K.C. rules and
policies will be followed at all U.K.C. Licensed Hunts sponsored by the PVHRC.
The Executive Committee has the right to promulgate additional operational rules
as necessary for the safety of members and their dogs, to the extent such
matters are not covered by H.R.C./U.K.C. rules.
ARTICLE XIV
Parliamentary Proceedings
Section A. Roberts Rules of
Order shall be accepted as a basis of Parliamentary procedure in all meetings of
the PVHRC.
REVISION DATE: JANUARY 10, 2007.
Reflects amendments passed at January 10, 2007 general membership meeting.
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