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Constitution and Bylaws
Constitution - Name and
Objectives
Bylaws:
Article I - Membership:
Section 1:
Eligibility
Section
2:
Dues
Section 3:
Election to Membership
Section 4:
Termination of Membership
Article II - Meetings and Voting
Section
1: Club Meetings
Section
2: Special Club Meetings
Section
3: Board Meetings
Section 4:
Board Business and Vote Confirmation
Section 5:
Voting
Article III - Directors and Officers
Section
1: Board of Directors
Section 2:
Officers
Section 3:
Vacancies
Article IV - Club Year, Annual Meeting, and Elections
Section 1:
Club Year
Section 2:
Annual Meetings
Section 3:
Elections
Section 4:
Nominations
Article V - Committees
Article VI - Discipline
Section 1:
American Kennel Club Suspension
Section 2:
Charges
Section
3: Board Hearing
Section
4: Expulsion
Article VII - Amendments
Article VIII - Dissolution
Article IX - Order of Business
Article X - Parliamentary Authority
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CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
OF THE
SOUTHERN CLASSIC CANAAN DOG CLUB
C O N S T I T U T I O N
ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECTS
SECTION 1.
The name of the Club shall be the Southern Classic Canaan Dog Club.
The legal residence of this Club shall be the Greater Atlanta, Georgia
area.
SECTION 2.
The objects of the Club shall be:
(a) To further the advancement of Canaan Dogs;
(b) To do all in its power to protect and advance
the interests of dog
shows, obedience trials and all other A.K.C. sanctioned events,
and to encourage
sportsmanlike competition at such events;
(c) To conduct sanctioned matches, specialty
shows, and obedience
trials and other A.K.C. sanctioned events, under the rules of the
American Kennel Club.
SECTION 3.
The Club shall not be conducted or
operated for profit and no part of
any profits or remainder or residue from dues
or donations to the Club
shall inure to the benefit of any member or individual.
SECTION 4.
The members of the Club shall adopt
and may from time to time revise
such bylaws as may be required to carry out
these objects.
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B Y L A W S
ARTICLE I
MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1.
Eligibility.
There shall be three types of membership open to all persons
who are in good standing with the American Kennel Club and who
subscribe to the purposes
of this club.
1. REGULAR
MEMBERSHIP: Open to persons
eighteen (18) years
of age and older who reside within the states of Georgia, North
Carolina and South
Carolina.
2. JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP:
Open to persons between six (6) and
eighteen (18) years of age who reside within the states of Georgia,
North Carolina and South
Carolina.
3. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP: Open to persons eighteen (18)
years of age
and older who do not reside within the states of
Georgia, North Carolina and South
Carolina.
SECTION 2.
Dues. Membership dues shall be set by the Board of Directors and
shall be payable on or before the first day of January of each year.
No member may vote whose
dues are not paid for the current year.
During the month of November, the Treasurer
shall send to each
member a statement of dues for the ensuing year. New approved
applications received after September first of any year shall receive
membership
for the balance of that year and all twelve months of the
year immediately
following.
SECTION 3.
Election
to Membership. Each
applicant for membership shall apply
on a form as approved by the Board of Directors which shall provide
that the applicant agrees
to abide by these constitution and bylaws and
at such time as the American
Kennel
Club shall recognize this club,
by the rules of The American Kennel Club.
The
application shall state
the name, address, and occupation of the applicant and a
brief
statement of their involvement in dogs, including why they wish to join
the
SCCDC, and it shall carry the endorsement of two members of the
SCCDC in good
standing, and be filed with the Secretary.
Accompanying the application, the
prospective member shall submit
dues payment for the current year. Any person whose application is
rejected shall be refunded any dues paid.
All applications are to be filed with the Secretary and each application
is
to be read at the first meeting
of the club following its receipt. At the
next club meeting the application will be
voted upon and affirmative
votes of two-thirds (2/3) of the Regular Members
present and voting
by secret ballot at that meeting shall be required to elect the
applicant.
Applicants for membership who
have been rejected by the club
may not reapply within six (6) months after such rejection.
SECTION 4.
Termination
of Membership. Memberships may be terminated:
(a) by resignation. Any member in good standing may resign from the
Club
upon written notice to the Secretary. No member may be
designated as resigning
in good standing who resigns while in debt
to the club.
(b) by lapsing. A membership will be considered as lapsed and
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automatically terminated if such member's dues remain unpaid 60
days after the first day of the fiscal year; however, the Board
may
grant an additional sixty (60) days of grace to such delinquent
members in meritorious cases. In no case may a person be entitled
to
vote at any Club meeting whose dues are unpaid as of the date
of that meeting.
(c) by expulsion. A membership may be terminated by expulsion as
provided
in Article VII of these bylaws.
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ARTICLE II
MEETINGS AND VOTING
SECTION 1.
Club Meetings. Meetings of the Club shall be held quarterly at a
place,
date and hour designated by the Board of Directors. Written notice
of each such meeting
shall be mailed by the Secretary to each member
at least thirty (30) days prior to
the meeting. The quorum for the annual
meeting shall be twenty (20) percent of the Regular Members in good
standing.
SECTION 2.
Special
Club Meetings. Special Club meetings may be called by the
President, or by a
majority vote of the members of the Board who are
present and voting at any regular or special meeting of the Board; and
shall be called by the Secretary
upon receipt of a petition signed by
five (5) Regular Members of the Club who are in good
standing. Such
meetings shall be held at such hour and place as may be designated by
the Board of Directors. Written notice of such a
meeting shall be mailed
by the Secretary at least fourteen (14) days and
not more than thirty (30)
days prior to the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall
state the
purpose of the meeting and no other Club business may be transacted.
The quorum for such a meeting shall be twenty (20%) percent of the
Regular Members in
good standing.
SECTION 3.
Board Meetings. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held
quarterly at such times and places as may be designated by the
President or by a majority vote of
the entire Board. Written notice of
each such meeting shall be mailed
by the Secretary to each member
of the Board at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of
the
meeting.
The quorum
for such a meeting shall be a majority of the Board voting
in person, by US mail, FAX, telephone or other electronic means, subject
to
the confirmation provision as herein set forth.
SECTION 4.
Board Business and Vote Confirmation. The Board of Directors may
conduct
its business in person, by US mail, FAX, telephone or other
electronic means,
through the Secretary. Items voted upon by means not
containing the Board member’s signature must be confirmed with their
signature by US mail or FAX within
seven (7) days.
SECTION 5.
Voting. Each Regular Member in good standing whose dues are paid
for
the current year shall be entitled to one vote at any meeting of the club at
which he/she
is present. Proxy voting will not be permitted at any club
meeting or election.
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ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
SECTION 1.
Board of Directors. The Board shall be comprised of the officers and
four (4) other
persons all of whom shall be members in good standing.
Officers shall be elected
for one-year terms; the four other members
shall serve terms of two (2) years
each, and the terms shall be staggered
so that two expire each year. Election
shall be held at the Club's annual
meeting as provided in Article IV and each
Office held until their
successors are elected. General management of the Club's
affairs shall
be entrusted to the Board of Directors.
SECTION 2.
Officers.
The Club's officers, consisting of the President, Vice President,
Secretary, and Treasurer shall serve in their respective
capacities both
with regard to the Club and its meetings and the Board and its
meetings.
(a) The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and
of the
Board, and shall
have the duties and powers normally appurtenant
to
the office of President in addition to those particularly specified
by these
bylaws.
(b) The Vice President shall have the duties
and exercise the powers
of the President in case
of the President's death, absence, or
incapacity.
(c) The Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the
Club and
of the Board and of all matters of which a record shall be ordered
by the Club; have charge of
the correspondence, notify
members
of meetings, notify new members of their election or rejection to
membership,
notify officers and directors of their election to office,
keep a roll of
the members of the Club with their addresses, and
carry out such other
duties as are prescribed in these bylaws.
(d) The Treasurer shall collect and receive all moneys due or
belonging
to the Club. Moneys shall be deposited in a bank designated by the
Board, in the name of the Club. The books shall at all times be open
to
inspection by the Board, and a report shall be given at every
meeting on the condition of the Club's finances
and every item of
receipt or payment not before reported; and at the annual
meeting
an accounting shall be rendered of all moneys received and
expended during
the previous fiscal year. The Treasurer shall be
bonded in such amount as the
Board of Directors shall determine.
(f) The offices of Secretary and
Treasurer may be held by the same
person, in which case the Board shall be comprised of the officers
and three other persons.
SECTION 3.
Vacancies.
Any vacancies occurring
on the Board or among the officers
during the year shall be filled until the next annual election by a majority
vote of all
the then members of the Board; except that a vacancy in the
office of President shall be
filled automatically by the Vice President and
the resulting vacancy in the office of
Vice President shall be filled by the
Board.
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ARTICLE IV
THE CLUB YEAR, ANNUAL MEETING,
ELECTIONS
SECTION 1.
Club Year. The Club's fiscal year shall begin January 1 and
end on
December 31. The Club's official year shall begin immediately at the
conclusion of the
election at the annual meeting and shall continue
through the next annual meeting.
Each retiring officer shall turn over to
their successor in office all club
properties and records relating to that
office within thirty (30) days following the election.
SECTION 2.
Annual Meeting. The
annual meeting shall be held in the month of
February, at which officers and directors for the ensuing year shall be
elected by secret
ballot from among those nominated in accordance
with Section 4 of this Article. They
shall take office immediately upon
the conclusion of the annual meeting and each
retiring officer shall turn
over to the successor in office all properties and records
relating to
that office within thirty (30) days after the election.
SECTION 3.
Elections. The nominated candidate receiving the greatest
number of
votes for each office shall be declared elected. The nominated candidates
for the Director
positions on the board who receive the greatest number
of votes for such positions shall
be declared elected. If any elected
nominee, at the time of the election, is unable
to serve for any reason,
such nominee shall not be elected and the vacancy so
created shall be
filled by the new Board of Directors in the manner provided by
Article
III, Section 3.
SECTION 4.
Nominations.
No person may be a candidate in a Club election who
has not been nominated in accordance with these bylaws. A
Nominating Committee shall be chosen by the Board of Directors
before September first of the election year.
The committee shall consist
of three (3) members and three (3) alternates, all
Regular Members in
good standing, no more than one of whom shall be a member of
the
current Board of Directors. The Board shall name a chairman for the
committee.
The Nominating Committee may conduct its business by
US mail, FAX, telephone,
or other electronic means subject to similar
provisions as otherwise set forth
herein.
(a) The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the Regular
Members
of the Club in good standing, one candidate for each office
and for each
other position on the Board of Directors, and shall
procure the acceptance of
each nominee so chosen. The Committee
shall then submit its slate of candidates
to the Secretary who shall
mail the list to each Regular Member of the Club on
or before
October first, so that additional nominations may be made by
Regular
Members if they so desire.
(b) Additional nominations of
persons who are Regular Members in
good standing may be made by written petition addressed to the
Secretary at his/her
regular address and postmarked on or before
November first, signed by two members
in good standing and
accompanied by the written acceptance of each such additional
nominee signifying their willingness to be a candidate. No
person
shall be a candidate for more than one office.
(c) Nominations cannot be
made at the annual meeting or in any
manner other than as provided in this Section.
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ARTICLE V
COMMITTEES
SECTION 1.
The Board may each year appoint standing committees to advance the
work of
the Club in such matters as dog shows, obedience trials,
trophies, annual prizes, membership, and other fields which may well be
served by committees. Such committees shall always be subject to the
final authority of the Board. Special committees may also be appointed
by a majority of the Board to aid it on
particular projects.
SECTION 2. Any
committee appointment may be terminated by a majority vote of
the full membership of the Board upon written notice to the appointee;
and the Board
may appoint successors to those persons whose
services have been terminated.
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ARTICLE VI
DISCIPLINE
SECTION 1.
American
Kennel Club Suspension. Any member who is suspended
from the privileges of
The American Kennel Club automatically shall
be suspended from the privileges of
this Club for a like period.
SECTION 2.
Charges. Any member may prefer charges against a member for
alleged misconduct prejudicial to the best interests of the club.
Written charges with specifications must be filed in duplicate
with the Secretary together with a deposit of $10.00,
which shall
be forfeited if such charges are not sustained by the board following
a hearing.
The Secretary shall promptly send a copy of the charges
to each member of the board
or present them at a board meeting,
and the board shall first consider whether
the actions alleged
in the charges, if proven, might constitute conduct prejudicial
to the best interests of the club. If the board considers that the
charges do
not allege conduct which would be prejudicial to the
best interests of the club,
it may refuse to entertain jurisdiction.
If the board entertains jurisdiction
of the charges, it shall fix a date for
a hearing by the board not less than three (3)
weeks nor more than six
(6) weeks thereafter. The Secretary shall promptly send one copy
of
the charges to the accused member by registered mail together with a
notice of
the hearing and an assurance that the defendant may
personally appear in their
own defense and bring witnesses if they wish.
SECTION 3.
Board Hearing. The Board shall have complete authority to decide
whether counsel may attend the hearing, but both complainant and
defendant shall be
treated uniformly in that regard. Should the charges
be sustained after hearing all
the evidence and testimony presented by
complainant and defendant, the Board may by
a majority vote of those
present suspend the defendant from all privileges of the
Club for not
more than six (6) months from the date of the hearing. And, if it deems
that
punishment insufficient, it may also recommend to the membership
that the
penalty be expulsion. In such case, the suspension shall not
restrict the defendant's
right to appear before their fellow members at
the ensuing club meeting which considers
the Board's recommendation.
Immediately after the Board has reached a decision,
its finding shall be
put in written form and filed with the Secretary. The
Secretary, in turn,
shall notify each of the parties of the Board's decision and penalty, if
any.
SECTION 4.
Expulsion.
Expulsion of a member from the Club may be accomplished
only at a meeting of the club following a Board hearing and upon the
Board's
recommendation as provided in Section 3 of this Article.
Such proceedings may occur at a
regular or special meeting of the
Club to be held within sixty (60) days but not earlier
than thirty (30) days
after the date of the Board's recommendation of expulsion.
The defendant
shall have the privilege of appearing in their own behalf, though
no
evidence shall be taken at this meeting. The President shall read the
charges
and the Board's finding and recommendation, and shall invite
the defendant, if present,
to speak in their own behalf if he/she wishes.
The Regular Members shall then vote
by
secret ballot on the
proposed expulsion. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of those
present and
voting at the meeting shall be necessary for expulsion. If expulsion is
not so
voted, the Board's suspension shall stand.
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ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1.
Amendments to the constitution and bylaws may be proposed by the
Board of Directors or by written petition addressed to the Secretary
signed by ten
percent (10%) of the Regular Membership in good
standing. Amendments proposed by
such petition shall be promptly
considered by the Board of Directors and must
be submitted to the
Regular Members with recommendations of the Board by the Secretary
for a vote within three (3) months of the date when the petition was
received by the Secretary.
SECTION 2. The
constitution and bylaws may be amended at any time provided a
copy of the proposed amendment has been mailed by the Secretary
to each Regular Member accompanied by a ballot on which they may
indicate their choice for or against
the action to be taken. The notice
shall specify a date not less than thirty (30)
days after the date of
mailing by which date the ballots must be returned to the Secretary
to be counted. Two-thirds (2/3) of the Regular Members in good
standing, whose
valid ballots are returned within the time limit, must
approve any such amendment in
order for it to take effect.
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ARTICLE VIII
DISSOLUTION
SECTION 1.
The Club may be dissolved at any time by the written consent of
not less than
two-thirds (2/3) of the Regular Members in good
standing. In the event of the dissolution of the Club, other than for
purposes of reorganization, whether
voluntary or involuntary or by
operation of law, none of the property of the Club nor any proceeds
thereof nor any assets of the Club shall be distributed to any members
of the Club but after payments of the debts of the Club, its property
and assets
shall be given to a charitable, non-profit organization for
the benefit of dogs selected
by the Board of Directors.
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ARTICLE IX
ORDER OF BUSINESS
SECTION 1. At
meetings of the Club, except as otherwise provided herein, the
order of
business so far as the character and nature of the meeting
may permit, shall be as
follows:
Roll Call
Minutes of last meeting
Report of President
Report of Secretary
Report of Treasurer
Reports of Committees
Election of Officers and Board (at annual meeting)
Unfinished business
New business
Adjournment
SECTION 2.
At meetings of the Board, the order of business, unless otherwise
directed
by majority vote of those present, shall be as follows:
Reading of
minutes of Last Meeting
Report of Secretary
Report of Treasurer
Reports of Committees
Unfinished business
Election of New Members
New business
Adjournment
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ARTICLE X
PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
SECTION 1.
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order,
Newly Revised, shall govern the Club in all cases to which they are
applicable and in
which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws
and any other special rules of order
the Club may adopt.
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