CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF
Last Amended
NAME AND OBJECTIVES
SECTION I The name of the
club shall be THE FLORIDA WHIPS. The
Florida Whips is a not-for-profit organization.
SECTION II The
club shall not be conducted or operated for profit nor for the special benefit of any member or
groups of members.
SECTION III The
objectives of THE FLORIDA WHIPS shall be to promote all aspects of equine
harness driving by:
●
encouraging good will in the equine driving world
●
emphasizing safety in pleasure shows, cross country, clinics, trail driving,
etc.
●
educating, training,
and certification in all aspects of carriage driving..
ARTICLE I
MEMBERS
SECTION I All
persons, families, and organizations interested in, and willing to support, the
objectives of the Club are invited to become members of THE FLORIDA WHIPS.
SECTION II Membership
and Dues:
(A). Categories: There
are four categories of membership:
1.
Individual
2. Family: direct
family members living in a single household.
3. Business and/or corporate: one
designated member from the corporation and/or business will have membership
privileges
4. Reciprocal: with other organizations. No dues to be paid, but newsletters
exchanged.
(B) Election to membership on submission of an
appropriate application form is automatic subject to payment of annual dues, excluding
Reciprocal Membership. Termination of
membership will occur as a result of voluntary resignation, non-payment of dues
for more than 30 days after becoming due,
or by expulsion for due cause by a 2\3 vote of the Board of Directors, to
include cruelty, unbecoming behavior and failure to observe safety rules.
(C). Dues are payable on
or before September 1st and payment of such is a requisite for the right to
vote, hold office, serve on committees and for retention of membership. Membership
will be terminated if not paid within 30 days.
ARTICLE
II
MEETINGS AND VOTING
SECTION 1 Club
Year: The Club's fiscal year shall begin on the
first day of July and end on the last day of June. The Club's official year shall begin
immediately at the conclusion of the election at the annual meeting and shall
continue through the election at the next annual meeting.
SECTION II The
annual meeting shall be held in the month of May or June at which
Officers for the ensuing term shall be elected by secret ballot. This annual meeting will be deemed one of the
two required general membership meetings.
The Officers shall take office immediately following the annual meeting
and each retiring officer shall turn over to his successor all properties and
records relating to that office. Each
officer shall be responsible for keeping a written detailed job description on
the board’s website and keep instructions for incoming officer concerning that
office on the website.
SECTION III A
minimum of two (2) regular general membership meetings shall be held
annually at such times and dates as
agreed upon by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at its annual planning
meeting in August of each year.
Publication of dates of these meetings and all general and regional
activities in the monthly newsletter, View
from Behind the Dash, shall be deemed adequate advance notice.
SECTION IV Special
membership meetings may be called by the President with concurrence of
two-thirds of the Board of Directors or may be called by written request to the
President signed by 30% of the membership.
All special membership meetings times and sites must be noticed in
writing to all members at least 20 days prior to the time scheduled for the
meeting. The special membership meetings
notice shall contain the reasons for same and a planned agenda.
SECTION V Regional
planning meetings shall be called by
each regional vice president no later than the end of the first week in August
and notice of which to the members of the region being by mail or phone at
least 14 days prior to the meeting.
Meetings should
be planned so that the state vice-president may attend.
SECTION VI Directors
Meetings: All meetings of the Board
of Directors must be noticed in writing to each Director at least 14 days prior
to the meeting unless such notice is specifically waived by each Director.
The
Annual Planning Meeting will be held by August 17th of each year. Emergency meetings may be called by
the President to the Board of Directors on-line group. Emergency meetings may be called by the
President or by 50% of the Directors.
SECTION VII Voting: Each
membership, i.e., individual, family or business/corporate, is entitled to one
vote at all meetings.
Determinate
voting on issues before the membership requires affirmation by at least 51%
of the votes cast, including written proxies and/or ballots from absentees. Voting for officers will be made by secret ballot, except when only one candidate
is nominated.
Determinate
voting at Board meetings is by 51% of
all the Directors.
ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS
AND OFFICERS
SECTION I The
Board of Directors shall consist of the Club President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Regional Directors and Membership Chairman. Non-voting ex-officio members shall be, but
not limited to, Newsletter Editor, Web Master, and Education Chairman..
A. Terms of Office - All Officers and
Directors shall be elected for two-year terms.
All members of the Board may be reelected to succeed themselves one time
only, and may be
reelected to the same office after a two
year hiatus. Partial
terms shall not be included in term limits.
All members may be elected to another position on the Board at the
expiration of their normal term of office.
B. Vacancies on the Board
1. Should the office of President become
vacant the Vice President shall assume the duties and office of the President until
a special election can be called to elect a President.
2. Should the office of Vice President
become vacant the board will appoint a regional director to assume the duties
until an election can be held.
3. Should the office of Secretary or Treasurer
become vacant, the Board of Directors will appoint a successor who will serve
the remainder of the term.
4. Should the office of Regional Director become vacant, the members of the
Board will appoint a replacement at its next meeting to serve until the end of
the term. The Alternate shall assume the
position until the Board can convene.
C. Election of Officers
1. The President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and
Membership Chair.
shall be elected by the membership, at the annual
meeting, the President and Vice-President in even years, the Secretary,Treasurer
and Membership Chair in odd years
2. The Regional Director shall be elected by a
majority of the members of the region present, including written proxies and/or
ballots, prior
to the annual planning meeting of the region and the board of directors as
follows: the northern and southern
regions in odd years, and the southwest, eastern and panhandle regions in even
years.
3. The Regional Alternate shall be
elected at the regional planning meeting on the same schedule as the Director.
D. Duties of the Board of Directors - The
Board is entrusted with the general management of the
clubs affairs and is required to meet at the call of the President. Absence from three consecutive meetings is
cause for automatic removal from office.
1. Officer Removal from Office: Officers of
the club may be removed from office by a majority vote of the membership at a general meeting or
by a 75% vote of the Directors at any of their meetings. In addition, a Regional Vice President may be removed
from office by a majority vote
of the regional membership. Grounds
for removal from office include malfeasance, misfeasance, absenteeism, or for
actions bringing discredit or harm to the Club.
E. Duties of the President: -The
President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and of the Board of
Directors, and shall have the duties and powers normally assigned to the office of President in
addition to those particularly specified in this document, or designated by the
Board of Directors.
F. Duties of the Vice President: The Vice President or appointed
representative shall attend all regional
planning meetings. In addition, the Vice President shall have
the powers and exercise the duties of the
President in case of the President's absence, incapacity or death. The Vice President shall also serve as
coordinator of the Club's statewide drives,
and is in charge of the calendar.
G. Duties
of the Secretary: oversees the legal affairs of the Club. This officer sends out appropriate notices of
all meetings, keeps a record of all general meetings of the Club and all
meetings of the Board of Directors, to include minutes of the proceedings and a
record of attendees. This officer keeps
a roster of the membership, a record of applications for membership and the
liability release forms and works closely with the membership chairman. The secretary shall also maintain a formal List of Policies adopted by the members and the
board at formally called general membership or board
meetings.
H. Duties of the Treasurer: the
Treasurer is responsible for the financial affairs of the organization. This officer establishes bank accounts,
deposits all funds received, disburses funds as required and maintains books
accurately showing the financial activity and status of the Club. The books shall be available for inspection
by the Board and the Audit Committee.
The Treasurer will make whatever reporting is required by law regarding
the Club's financial affairs and is authorized to employ legal and auditing
expertise to accomplish same. The
Treasurer will submit a written financial report to the membership at the annual
meeting and shall submit a written report for publishing in the newsletter..
I. Duties of
the Membership Chairman shall be to maintain a complete list of members, work
closely with the secretary, send out dues notices, and provide mailing lists.
J. Duties of
the Regional Directors:
The Regional Directors shall be responsible for calling the annual
regional planning meetings to plan a calendar of activities for the year and to
hold the biannual election of the regional vice-president. They shall also keep the editor of the
newsletter, View from Behind the Dash,and
the Vice-President informed as to the
calendar of regional activities, any changes in the calendar and reports on
those activities. They shall also
coordinate with local newspapers, etc. for public relations purposes. The Regional Directors (or Alternates) should
attend all functions in their region.
K. Duties of
the Regional Alternate shall be to attend events and meetings when the Regional
Director cannot, including Board meetings, and will
have voting powers when the Director is not in attendance. The Alternate shall also keep the minutes of
regional meetings.
ARTICLE IV
COMMITTEES
SECTION I All
committees shall be defined and the chairperson shall be appointed by the Board
of Directors .
The committee membership may vary from one upwards. It's functions and
authorities will be shown in the Board minutes that created the committee. The President is an Ex-Officio member of all
committees with the exception of the Nominating Committee on which the
President does not serve.
SECTION II Permanent
Committees are:
A. Nominating Committee. Consists of two directors and three members
and nominates candidates to serve as Directors and Officers. The affairs of this committee are to be kept
secret.
B. Audit Committee. Consists of the President, one director and
one non-Director member and reviews the books and financial affairs of the
organization.
C. Education Committee. The Board of Directors shall appoint the Chairperson, and the Chairperson shall appoint the members.
D. Membership Committee. The Membership Chairman shall appoint the members. The Committee shall be responsible for
distribution of educational material to new members, providing membership forms
and performing membership recruitment.
E. Bylaw and Policy Committee. The Board of Directors shall appoint the Chairperson . The
committee shall review the Bylaws and List of
Policies each year before the annual meeting and make recommendations to
the membership and the board at the annual meeting.
ARTICLE V
REGIONS
SECTION I Regions: The club will be subdivided geographically
into three or more regions. The regions
will be named and delineated by the Board of Directors and each will have an
elected Regional Director.
A. Members
residing on or near the borders between regions may be assigned to the adjacent
region at their request-
B. Members may participate in all activities
(other than voting) of all other
regions.
ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENTS
SECTION I The
By-Laws of this club or any portion thereof, may be altered, amended, or
rescinded by a 2/3 percent vote (including written proxies) of the entire
membership at duly authorized and noticed meetings. The membership will be given written notice
of the changes being considered and an appropriate proxy ballot will be
furnished by mail or via publication in the club's newsletter at least 10 days
prior to the meeting that By-Laws changes are being considered or requested.
SECTION II Revoking
Prior By-Laws: Any and all prior
By-Laws of this club in force and effect at the time of the adoption of these
By-Laws are expressly revoked, rescinded and annulled.
ARTICLE VII
DISSOLUTION
SECTION I The
club may be dissolved at any time by the written consent of not less than 2\3
of the members. In the event of the
dissolution of the club, 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 payment
of the debts of the club, it's properties and assets shall be given to a
charitable organization for the benefit of horses selected by the Board of
Directors.
ARTICLE VIII
ORDER OF BUSINESS
SECTION I All meetings shall be conducted under
Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, except in cases where they do not apply or are not consistent with these
By-Laws.
SECTION II 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 Last Meeting
Report of President
Report of Vice President
Report of Secretary
Report of Treasurer
Election on Officers (at Annual Meeting)
Unfinished Business
New Business
Adjournment
SECTION III At
meetings of the Board of directors, the order of business, unless directed by a
majority vote of those present, shall follow the order as specified in Section
II of this Article.