MBTCLUB
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECTIVES
Section 1.
The name of the Club shall be Minuteman Boston Terrier
Club.
Section 2.
The objectives 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 and to work to breed out genetic problems.
b).
to urge members and breeders
to accept the standard of the breed as approved by The
American Kennel Club as the only standard of excellence
by which Boston Terriers shall be judged.
c).
to do all in its power
to protect and advance the interests of the breed by
encouraging sportsmanlike competition at dog shows and
obedience trials under the rules of the American Kennel
Club.
d).to conduct sanctioned and licensed
specialty shows and obedience trials under the rules
of The American Kennel Club.
Section 3.
The Club shall be conducted and operated as a non-profit
organization and shall use all monies for Club activities
and for the benefit of the Boston Terrier.
Section 4.
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.
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.
Membership shall be open to all
persons who are in good standing with The American Kennel
Club and who subscribe to the purposes of this Club.
There shall be the following
categories of memberships:
A).
Regular Membership.
Regular membership shall
be open to all persons eighteen years of age and older.
Regular members are eligible
to vote and to hold office.
B). Family Membership.
Family membership shall
be open to all immediate family members as a unit.
Family member shall be
entitled to all privileges of membership except that
family member(s) under the age of eighteen are not eligible
to vote or to hold office.
Family members shall be
entitled to automatically convert to regular membership
upon reaching their 18th birthday.
C).
Junior Membership.
Junior membership shall
be open to all person 10 to 17 years of age.
They shall be entitled
to all privileges of membership except those of holding
office and the entitlement to vote.
They shall be entitled
to automatically convert to regular membership upon
reaching their 18th birthday.
D).
Associate Membership.
Associate
membership shall be open to all persons 18 years of
age and older.
They shall be entitled
to all privileges of membership except those of holding
office and the entitlement to vote.
If requested, each shall
be entitled to automatically convert to regular membership
upon membership renewal.
E).
Life Membership.
Life membership may be
conferred upon such members in good standing as have
been determined to have rendered extraordinary service
to the welfare of the Club and the breed.
Life membership may be
conferred following either the recommendation by the
Board of the Minuteman Boston Terrier Club or by recommendation
by written petition endorsed by a total of five members,
and either recommendation shall be approved by a favorable
vote of 75% of the members present and voting at the
next Annual Meeting.
Life members shall be exempt from
the payments of annual dues, and shall hold all privileges
of regular membership.
Members accorded Life Membership
prior to the adoption of these By-Laws shall not have
their Life Membership retroactively affected.
Section 2.
Dues.
Regular membership dues shall be twenty dollars ($20.00)
per year, not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00).
Family membership dues
shall be twenty five dollars ($25.00) per year, not
to exceed thirty five dollars ( $35.00).
Junior membership dues
shall be twelve and one-half dollars ($12.50) per year,
not to exceed eighteen dollars ( $18.00).
Associate membership shall
be fifteen dollars ($15.00) per year, not to exceed
twenty five dollars ($25.00).
Dues shall be set by the
board at or before its November meeting, and shall be
payable on or before the 1st 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.
Section 3.
Election to membership.
Each applicant for membership
shall apply on a form as approved by the Board and which
shall provide that the applicant agrees to abide by
these 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 who are
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 Membership Chair.
Each application shall
be read at the next meeting.
At the following meeting
the application shall 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 months after such
rejection.
The prepayment of dues submitted by the rejected
applicant shall be refunded in full within 14 days of
the date of the meeting at which the applicant was
rejected,
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, 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 30 days after the first day of the
fiscal year; however, the Board may grant an additional
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
by expulsion as provided in Article VI of these By-Laws.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS AND VOTING
Section 1.
Club Meetings.
Meetings of the Club shall be held in the greater Worcester
County, Massachusetts area on the 2nd Sunday of February,
April, June, September, October, and December, at such
hour and place as may be designated by the Board.
Written notice of such meeting shall be mailed
by the Secretary at least 10 days prior to the date
of the meeting.
The Board, at its discretion, may change the
date of any Club meeting.
The quorum for such meetings shall be 20% of
the voting-eligible 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, or
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 held in the greater
Worcester County, Massachusetts area at such place,
date, and hour as may be designated by the person or
persons authorized herein to call such meetings.
Written notice of each meeting shall be mailed
by the Secretary at least five 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 voting-eligible members in good standing.
Section 3.
Board of Directors Meetings.
Meetings of the Board shall be held in the greater Worcester
County, Massachusetts area on the 2nd Sunday of February,
April, June, September, October, and December at such
place, date, and hour as may be designated by the Board.
At the discretion and agreement of a majority
of the Board, any of these meetings may be held via
teleconference or videoconference.
Written notice of each such meeting shall be
mailed by the Secretary at least five days and not more
than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting.
The Board may at its discretion change the date
of any Board meeting.
The quorum for all Board Meetings shall be a
majority of the Board.
Section 4.
Special Board of Directors Meetings.
Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President,
or 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 in the greater
Worcester County, Massachusetts area at such place,
date, and hour as may be designated by the person authorized
herein to call such meeting.
At the discretion and agreement of a majority
of the Board, any of these meetings may be held via
teleconference or videoconference.
Written notice of such meeting shall be mailed
by the Secretary at least five 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 meeting shall be a majority
of the Board.
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MBTC PRIVATE CONSTITUTION
Section 5.
Voting.
Regular, Life or Family member 18 years of age and older
in good standing whose dues are paid for the current
year shall be entitled to vote at any meeting of the
Club at which he or she is present.
Proxy voting will not be permitted at any Club
meeting or election.
Section 6.
Membership
Communications.
Notification of club meetings, dues notices, minutes,
and newsletters, as well as Board of Director notifications
of meetings and minutes from said meetings may be sent
via email, provided that: The member or Board member
has signed an authorization agreeing to this method
of communication.
Such authorization, which is revocable, will
also release the club from liability should the notification
be received late or not received by the member due to
circumstances beyond the club’s control.
ARTICLE III
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Section 1.
Board of Directors.
The Board shall be comprised of the President, Vice-President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Historian and four 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’s affairs shall
be entrusted to the Board of Directors.
Section 2.
Officers.
The Club’s
Officers, consisting of the President, Vice-President,
Secretary, Treasurer and Historian, shall serve in their
respective capacities both with regard to the Club and
its meetings and the Board and its meeting.
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 in these By-Laws.
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.
He or 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 monies due or
belonging to the Club.
He or she shall
deposit the same in a bank designated by the
Board, in the name of the Club.
His or her books
shall at all times be open to inspection of
the Board and he or she shall report to them
at every meeting the condition of the Club’s
finances and every item of receipt or payment
not before reported, and at the annual meeting
he or she shall render an account of all monies
received and expended during the previous fiscal
year.
The Treasurer shall
be bonded in such amount as the Board shall
determine.
The Treasurer’s
books shall be reviewed at the end of each fiscal
year by the Board.
e). The
Historian shall maintain a record of
significant events and occurrences related to
the Club and the Breed.
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 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
by the Vice-President and the resulting vacancy
in the office of Vice-President shall be filled
by the Board.
ARTICLE IV
THE CLUB YEAR, ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTIONS
Section 1.
Club Year.
The Club’s fiscal year
shall begin on the 1st day of January and end
on the 31st day of December.
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 2.
Annual Meeting.
The annual meeting shall
be held in the month of October at which Officers
and Directors for the ensuing year shall be
elected by secret, written ballot from among
those nominated in accordance with Section 4
of the Article.
They shall take
office immediately upon the conclusion of the
election and each retiring officer shall turn
over to his or her successor in office all properties
and records relating to that office within 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 four
nominated candidates for other positions on
the Board who receive the greatest number of
votes for each position shall be declared
elected
Section 4.
Nominations.
No person may be a candidate
in a Club election who has not been nominated.
During the month
of July, 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 and alternates
of their selection.
The Board shall
name a Chairman for the Committee and it shall
be his or her duty to call a committee meeting
which shall be held on or before August 1st.
a).
The committee shall
nominate one candidate for each office and four
candidates for the four other positions on the
Board, and after securing consent of each person
to be nominated, shall immediately report their
nominations to the Secretary in writing before
August 15th.
b).
Upon receipt
of the Nominating Committee’s report, the Secretary
shall before September 1st notify each member
in good standing in writing of the candidates
so nominated.
c).
Additional nominations
may be made at the September meeting by any
member in good standing in attendance provided
that the person so nominated does not decline
when his or her name is proposed and provided
further that if the proposed candidate is not
in attendance at this meeting, his or her proposer
shall present to the Secretary a written statement
of acceptance from the proposed candidate.
No candidate shall
run for more than one position.
The written notice
for the September nomination meeting shall bear
a statement caption, “Extract from the By-Laws
Article IV, Section 4C”, followed by the verbatim
quotation of the first two sentences from this
sub-section.
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 may each year
appoint standing committees to advance the work
of the Club in such matters as Specialty Shows,
Obedience Trials, 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.
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
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MBTC PRIVATE CONSTITUTION
Section3.
Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the Parent
Club.
The delegate or alternate
delegate shall represent the Club in the manner
provided in the By-Laws of the Boston Terrier
Club of America, Inc.
In the event that
the delegate cannot carry out his or her duties
for any reason, the alternate delegate shall
serve in his or her stead.
The delegate and
alternate delegate shall be elected at the Annual
meeting of the Club from nominations made in
the same manner outlined for Officers and Board
of Director candidates..
No person may be
nominated in absentia without his or her prior
written consent.
The Secretary shall
provide the Parent Club with the names of the
delegate and alternate delegate
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 or the breed.
Written charges with specifications must be
filed in duplicate with the Secretary together with
a deposit of fifty ($50.00) dollars 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 no
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 not less
than 3 weeks or more than six weeks thereafter.
The Secretary shall promptly send one copy of
the charges to the accused member by certified mail
together with a notice of the hearing and an
assurance that the defendant may personally appear
in his or her own defense and bring witnesses if he
or she wishes.
Section 3.
Board of
Directors Hearing.
The Board shall hold a hearing; counsel for both the
complainant and the defendant may attend the
hearing.
Both the complainant and the defendant must be
treated uniformly in that regard.
Should the charges be sustained after the
hearing all the evidence and testimony presented by
the 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 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 his
or her fellow members at the ensuing Club meeting
which considers the Board 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 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
proceeding may occur at a regular or special meeting
of the Club to be held within 60 days but not
earlier than after the date of the Board’s
recommendation of expulsion.
The defendant shall have the privilege of
appearing on his or her 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 or
her own behalf if he or she wishes.
The members at the meeting shall then vote by
secret ballot on the proposed expulsion.
A 3/4 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
ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENTS
Section 1.
Amendments
to the Constitution and By-Laws may be proposed by
the Board or by written petition addressed to the
Secretary signed by twenty percent of the membership
in good standing.
Amendments
proposed by such petition shall be promptly
considered by the Board 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
vote of the members present and voting at any
regular meeting called for that 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
Section 1.
Dissolution.
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
other than for purposes of reorganization whether
voluntary 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 its property and assets shall be given
to a charitable organization for the benefit of
dogs.
This charitable organization shall be selected by
the Board of the Club.
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 last meeting
Report of President
Report of Secretary
Report of
Treasurer
Reports 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
Report of Committees
Unfinished
business
New business
Adjournment
A RTICLE
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
By-Laws and any other special rules of order the
Club may adopt.
ARTICLE
XI
STANDING
RULES
Section 1.
The Events Committee shall be responsible for
dealing with acts of alleged prejudicial conduct
which occur during or in connection with club
events.
Five members shall be named from the Board of
Directors, one of which shall serve as chairman.
The Events Committee members shall each hold
their positions until their successors are
appointed.
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