CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECTIVES
Section 1. The name of the Club shall be "The Eastern Nebraska Boston Terrier Club."
Section 2. The objects of the Club shall be:
(a) To
encourage and promote quality in the breeding of pure-bred Boston Terriers
and
to do all possible to bring their natural qualities to
perfection.
(b) To urge
members and breeder to accept the standard of the breed as approved by
the
American Kennel Club as the only standard of excellence by which the Boston
Terrier breed shall be judged.
(c) To
protect and advance the interests of the breed by encouraging sportsmanlike
competition at dog shows and sanctioned matches, and obedience
trials.
(d) To
conduct sanctioned and licensed specialty shows and obedience trials under the
Rules and Regulations of the American Kennel Club.
ARTICLE II
OPERATIONS
Section 1. 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 2. The
members of the Club shall adopt and may from time to time revise such by-laws
as
may be required to carry out these objectives.
BY LAWS
ARTICLE I
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. ELIGIBILITY. There shall be four types of membership:
Regular, Family,
Associate, and Junior. Regular, Family, and Associate
memberships are open to
all persons eighteen years of age and older who are in good standing with the
American Kennel Club
and who subscribe to the purpose of the Club. Junior
membership is open to persons 12
to 17 years of age. Regular membership entitles
the member to vote and hold
offices within the Club. Family membership entitles
the family members who are
at least 18 years of age or older to vote subject to a
maximum of 2 (two) votes
per family membership. Family membership also entitles
the family members to
hold office. Associate membership entitles the member to all
Club privileges
except voting and holding office. Junior members may not vote or
hold office. They may be able to convert to Regular membership upon reaching their
18th birthday. While membership is to be unrestricted
as to residence, the Club’s
primary purpose is to be representative of the breeders and exhibitors in its immediate
area.
Section 2. DUES. Dues for Regular membership shall not exceed $25.00 per year. Dues
for
family memberships shall not exceed $30.00 per year, and will be composed of 2
adults in the same household. Dues for Associate
memberships shall not exceed
$20.00 per year. Dues for Junior membership shall not exceed $15.00 per year.
Dues are payable on or before the first meeting in January of each year. If dues are
not paid by April 1st of the current year, a member is considered in arrears and will be
considered terminated. No member may vote whose dues are not paid for the current
year. The Treasurer shall send statement of dues for the ensuing year to each member
in the month of November.
Section 3. Election to Membership. Each applicant for membership shall apply on a form as
approved by the Board of Directors and which shall provide that the applicant agrees
to abide by the Club's Constitution and By-Laws and the rules of the American Kennel
Club. The application shall state the name, address, and occupation of the applicant and
it shall carry the endorsement of two members in good standing. Accompanying the
application, the prospective member shall submit dues payment for the current year.
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 3/4 of the members present and voting at that
meeting shall be required to elect the applicant. Applicants for membership who have
been rejected by the Club may not re-apply within six (6) months after such rejection.
Section 4. Termination of Membership. Membership may be terminated:
(a) By
resignation. Any member in good
standing may resign from the Club upon
written notice to the Secretary, but no
member may resign when in debt to the
Club. Dues obligations are considered a debt
to the Club and they become incurred
on the first day of each fiscal
year.
(b) By
lapsing. A membership will be
considered as lapsed and automatically terminated
if such member’s dues remain unpaid 90 days after the first day of the Fiscal year;
however, the Board may
grant an addition 90 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 as provided in another Article
of these By-Laws (See
Discipline).
ARTICLE II
MEETING AND VOTING
Section 1. CLUB MEETINGS. Meetings
of the Club shall be held monthly within the greater
Omaha, NE area with time, date and place to be determined by the Board of
Directors. Written Notice of each meeting shall be
mailed by the Secretary by separate
notice or via the Club’s newsletter if the meeting information is clearly indicated on the
front page of the newsletter, via first class mail, at least 10
days prior to to date of the
Club meeting. The quorum for such meetings shall be 20% of the voting 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 of Directors 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 members of the Club who are in good
standing. Such
special meetings
shall be within the greater Omaha, NE area at such place, date, and hour
as may be designated by the person or persons authorized herein to call such meet-
ings. Written notice of such meetings shall be mailed by the Secretary at least 5 days
and not more than 15 days prior to the date of the meeting, and said notice shall state the
purpose of the meeting, and no other Club business may be
transacted thereat. The
quorum for such a meeting shall be 20% of the members in good standing.
Section 3. Board Meetings. Meetings
of the Board of Directors shall be held within the greater
Omaha, NE area on
the regular club meeting date prior to the general club meeting or at a
time and place agreed upon by the Board. Board meetings will be announced with the
regular meeting
announcement. The quorum for such
meetings shall be a majority of the
Board.
Section 4. Special Board Meetings. Special
meetings of the Board may be called by the President,
and shall be called by the
Secretary upon receipt of a written request signed by at least
three members of
the Board. Such special meetings
shall be held within the greater
Omaha, NE area at
such place, date, and hour as may be designated by the person
authorized herein
to call such meeting. Written
notice of such meeting shall be mailed by
the Secretary at least 5 days and not more than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting.
Any such notice shall state the purpose of the meeting and no other business shall be
transacted thereat. A quorum for such a meeting shall be a majority of the Board.
Section 5. Voting. Each
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 is present. Proxy voting
will not be permitted at any Club meeting or election.
ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Section 1. Board of Directors. The
Board shall be comprised of the President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer,
and three other persons, all of whom shall be members in good
standing and all
of whom shall be elected for one-year terms at the Club’s annual meeting
as
provided in Article IV and shall serve until their successors are elected. General
management of the Club 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
add-
ition to those particularly specified in these By-Laws.
(b) The Vice
President shall have the duties and exercise the powers of the President
in case
of President’s absence, death, or incapacity.
(c) The
Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the Club, Board, and of all
matters of which a record shall be ordered by the Club. He/she shall have charge
of the
correspondence, notify members of meetings, notify new members of their
election
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 By-Laws.
(d) The
Treasurer shall collect and receive all moneys due or belonging to the
Club.
He/she shall deposit the same
in a bank designated by the Board, in the name
of the Club. Signatures on the checking accounts be Treasurer's, along with one
of
any of the other Officers. His/her
books shall at all times be open to inspection
to the Board and he/she shall
report to them at every meeting the condition of the
Club’s finances and every
item or receipt or payment not before reported; and at
the annual meeting he/she
shall render an account of all moneys received and ex-
pended during the previous
fiscal year.
(e) The
office of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by the same person, in which
case the Board shall be composed of the officers and four 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 at its first regular meeting following the creation of such
vacancy,
or at a Special Board Meeting called for that purpose, except that a
vacancy in the office
of President shall be filled automatically be the Vice
President and the resulting vacancy
in the office of Vice President shall be filled by the Board.
ARTICLE IV
CLUB YEAR, ANNUAL MEETING, AND ELECTIONS
Section 1. Club Year. The
Club’s Fiscal year shall begin on the 1st day January and
shall end on the 31st day of December.
Section 2. Annual Meeting. The
annual meeting shall be held in November, at which the annual
election is held
to elect officers and board members for the ensuing year. All officers
and board members will be
elected to serve 2 year terms, with the Vice President,
Secretary and two (2)
board members to be elected in even-numbered years, and the
President, Treasurer and one (1) board member to be elected in odd-numbered years.
Elected officers and board members will
take office immediately upon the conclusion of
the election and each retiring officer shall turn over to his/her successor in office all
properties and
records relating to that office with 30 days after the election.
Section 3. Nominations. No
person may be a candidate receiving the greatest number of votes
who has not been nominated. During the month of
August, the Board shall select a
Nominating Committee consisting of three
members and two alternates, not more than
one of whom may be a member of the
Board. The Secretary shall
immediately notify
the committee-persons and alternates of their selection. The Board shall name a board
member as Chair-person for the Committee and it shall be his duty to call a committee
meeting that shall be held on or before September 1st.
(a) The
Committee shall nominate one candidate for each office and three candidates
for
the other positions on the Board, and, after securing the consent of each person
so nominated, shall immediately report their nominations to the Secretary in writing.
(b) Upon
receipt of the Nominating Committee’s report, the Secretary shall at least
two
weeks before the October meeting notify each member in writing of the
candidates
so nominated.
(c) Additional
nominations may be made at the October meeting by any member in
attendance. Provided that the person so nominated does not decline when his name
is
proposed, and provided further that if the proposed candidate is not in
attendance
at this meeting, his proposer shall present to the Secretary a
written statement from
the proposed candidate signifying his willingness to be a
candidate.
(d) Nominations
cannot be made at the annual meeting or in any manner other than as
provided in this section.
ARTICLE V
COMMITTEES
Section 1. The
Board shall appoint committees as deemed necessary to conduct the business
of
the Club; namely, Show Chairman, Match Chairman, Membership Chairman,
Trophy
Chairman. Special committees may be appointed by the Board to aid it on
particular projects.
Section 2. Any
committee appointed 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.
ARTICLE VI
DISCIPLINE
Section 1. American Kennel Club
Suspenson. 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 or
the breed. Written charges with
specific-
ations must be filed in duplicate with the Secretary together with a
deposit of $25.00,
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 of a hearing by the Board not
less than 3 weeks
nor more than 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 his own defense and
bring witnesses
if he wishes.
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 reprimand or suspend the
defendant from all privileges of the Club for not more
than six 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 a
case,
the suspension shall not restrict the defendant’s rights to appear before
his 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 60 days but not earlier than 30 days after the date of the Board’s
recommendation of expulsion. The
defendant shall have the privileges of appearing in his
own behalf, though no
evidence shall be taken at this meeting. The President shall read the
charges and the Board’s findings and
recommendations, and shall invite the defendant, if
present, to speak on his own
behalf if he wishes. The meeting
shall then vote by a secret
ballot on the proposed expulsion. A 2/3 vote of those present and voting
at the meeting shall
be necessary for expulsion. If expulsion is not so voted, the Boards
suspension shall stand.
ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Amendments
to the constitution and by-laws may be proposed by the Board of Directors
or by
written petition addressed to the Secretary signed by twenty percent of the
member-
ship in good standing. Amendments proposed by such petition shall be promptly considered
by the
Board of Directors and must be submitted to the members with recommendations of
the Board by the Secretary for a vote within three months of the date when the
petition
was received by the Secretary.
Section 2. The constitution and by-laws may be
amended by a 2/3 secret vote of the members present
and voting at any regular or
special meeting called for the purpose, provided the proposed
amendments have
been included in the notice of the meeting and mailed to each member at
least
two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
ARTICLE VIII
DISSOLUTION
The Club may be dissolved
at any time by the written consent of not less than 2/3 vote of the 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 the 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
payment
of the debts of the Club, its property and assets shall be given to a charitable
organization for
the benefit of dogs selected by the Board of
Directors.
ARTICLE IX
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Section 1. At meetings of the Club, the order of business, so
far as the character and nature of the
meeting may permit, shall be as
follows:
Roll Call
Minutes of the last meeting
Report of the President
Report of the Secretary
Report of the Treasurer
Report of Committees
Election of Officers and Board (at annual meeting)
Election of new members
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
New business
Adjournment
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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