"THESE BYLAWS, ACCEPTED AND APPROVED BY "CLUB NAME" OF "CLUB ADDRESS" THIS
___________ DAY OF ________________ IN THE YEAR____________"
ARTICLE I. NAME
A. This organization shall be known as: "Club Name"
ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES
A. "Club Name" is organized for the purpose of:
1. Providing social, recreational and educational activities for
its membership.
2. Participating in and supporting civic activities for the
betterment of the local area.
3. Promoting safe and sensible operation of our 4-wheel drive
vehicles
4. Promoting conservation and ecology by becoming involved in
related projects in the local area as well as on a national
level.
5. Making plans to maintain and develop current trails and OHV
areas
6. Working towards resolution of legislative issues as it relates
to our use of certain land(s).
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP & DUES
A. Owners of 4-wheel drive vehicles and other interested parties are
eligible for membership in "Club Name". Each membership includes
the immediate family, however,voting power is restricted to that
person whose application has been approved. Any participating
dependent over 21 years of age must furnish his or her own membership.
If the dependent should get married or leave home before the age of
21, they must maintain their own membership and will no longer be
considered a part of the immediate family for membership purposes.
If the dependent moves from home before he or she reaches the age of
21 and returns before he or she reaches the age of 21 by leaving the
first time, the 21 age option has been voided.
B. Applicants for membership must be at least 18 years of age, hold a
valid drivers license and must show a minimum of liability and property
damage insurance coverage on their vehicles as to save the "Club Name"
harmless from litigation.
C. Application for membership in the "Club Name" is available through
the "Club Name" Membership Secretary. Applications for membership
will be accepted at any time during the year, however, membership dues
will not be prorated for partial years.
D. All members must conduct themselves in a respectable and orderly
fashion, in or out of club activities. Any member disgracing himself
or herself in the public eye will be immediately subject to expulsion
from "Club Name" upon a decision of the Board of Directors after a
hearing.
E. Membership in "Club Name" will not be limited by number, and
membership will be open to new membership applications throughout
the year.
F. Dues of this organization shall be determined by the Board of Directors
with the approval of the membership. Dues will be due by November 1
of each year. If membership dues are not received by November 1 of
each year, the membership will be terminated and the member's name
will be dropped from the roster.
G. Members shall immediately notify the Membership Secretary of any change
of home address, mailing address, or phone number.
H. Membership of "Club Name" will consist of the following types:
1. Charter Members
a. Members in good standing as of the date the charter is
adopted.
2. Probationary Member
a. Title given to the first 12 months of any new membership.
during this period, the Probationary member shall:
1. Be allowed to display Region and Association
emblems, decals, and patches on jackets and
vehicles.
2. Attend and sign the roster books of at least 2
meeting of the Board of Directors throughout
the year in order to maintain his or her
membership. It is the responsibility of the
member to sign the meeting roster books. Any
member not fulfilling these obligations will
be notified in writing after the following
Board Meeting. At the discretion of the
Board of Directors, and by majority vote of
the Board,
Under extenuating circumstances, a probationary
member may be excused from attending meetings.
3. Be permitted to chair a committee, but not
permitted to be on the Board of Directors.
3. Members in Good Standing
a. Title given to that member who has completed the
probationary period and whose application has been
approved an accepted by the Board of Directors
and the majority of the members. The Member in Good
Standing shall:
1. Have full and complete voting rights on Region
issues
2. In order to be eligible to be nominated for an
office on the Board of Directors, a member in
Good Standing must have attended and signed
in on the roster books at least 2 of the
regular meetings throughout the dues year when
he or she is nominated. (Explain-A Probationary
Member just being voted in as a Member in Good
Standing must have been a Member in Good
standing long enough to sign in at 2 of the
regular meetings in the year he or she is
nominated.)
3. Be eligible to run for committee
chairpersonships on any designated committees.
4. A non-member spouse of a Member in Good Standing
will be permitted to chair a committee, but
not permitted to be on the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IV MEETINGS
A. Meetings shall be held "add meeting dates"(ie, Spring/Fall or a
particular month)
B. At any regularly scheduled meetings, in order to conduct business
of the "Club Name", a quorum will be set at 30% of the membership and
at least four (4) officers in attendance.
C. Each year the meeting date meetings will be designated as our
semi-annual meeting. The agenda of the meeting shall include:
1. A report from all committees that worked
2. A report from all Region officers
3. Treasurers financial statement
4. Elections and results (if any)
D. When necessary the board may hold additional meetings during the
year as needed. These meetings will be open to the general membership
and will be announced as much in advance as possible to the general
membership. In order for the board to conduct business or hold a
meeting, there must be at least five (5) board members present.
ARTICLE V. ADMINISTRATION
A. The Board of Directors shall consist of seven (7) officers:
President, Recording Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer,
Land Use Chairman, Community Services Chairman, and by-law Chairman.
Each of these offices will be filled with qualified (Article III.H)
Members in Good Standing through the voting process as described
in Article IX, Elections. It will be their duty to draw up an agenda
for all Board of Directors Meetings, and all other meetings. Further
duties of the Board of Directors shall be to conduct the day to
day business and to take such actions as might best fulfill the
amlsa of this organization.
B. No Officer on the Board of Directors shall be permitted to succeed
himself for more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same office.
At the end of serving two (2) terms in one office, he or she will
be eligible to run for any other Office on the Board of Directors
except in the one in which he or she just served.
C. The Board of Directors shall always consist of an uneven number.
Any offices added will require a by-laws change.
ARTICLE VI. DUTIES AND POWERS OF OFFICERS
A. The President's duties shall be as follows:
1. Preside over all meetings
2. Be present at all events when possible
3. Shall, as the executive officer, have the duty to carry out
the policies and decisions of the entire membership and the
Board of Directors.
4. Shall keep an accurate record and file of all items (and their
location) that belong to the "Club Name".
5. Shall be responsible to auditing the "Club Name" treasury
6. Work as liaison to introduce new clubs/membership to the
"Club Name"
7. Mandatory attendance at the meeting date Meetings.
8. Ensure that volunteer groups are designated for any events
and/or promotions.
9. Develop ideas for increasing member body and marketing the
"Club Name".
B. The Recording Secretary's duties:
1. Keep and preserve all records and minutes of the meetings.
2. Prepare and distributes minutes of each meeting within 30
days of the meeting.
3. Will summarize all of the meetings for publication in the
Region D Newsletter
C. The duties of the Treasurer shall be as follows:
1. Keep accurate and complete records of the funds and accounts
of this organization and maintain a record thereof
2. Make disbursements from the funds of the organization as
directed by the Board of Directors or the membership.
3. Ensure that all "Club Name" debts are paid in a timely manner
4. The signature of the Treasurer is mandatory on any check to be
disbursed by the "Club Name" for the payment of bills.
5. To enable the Treasurer to maintain an audit trail, as
required by the CPA, he or she shall set up and/or approve
all record keeping systems and forms used for the receipt
or disbursement of funds at any club money making event.
6. Shall direct all activities associated with the collection,
counting and deposit of funds at any "Club Name" money-making
events.
7. All "Club Name" funds will be kept in a separate account,
and under no circumstances should "Club Name" funds be
commingled with personal funds.
D. The duties of the Land Use Chairman shall be as follows:
1. Monitor the status of lands/trails currently used by the
"Club Name".
2. Advise all members of any new, pending or existing
legislation that may affect the status of the lands/trails
currently used by the "Club Name"
3. Distribute all pertinent land use related information to
President and Club land use delegates with time being of the
essence.
4. Submits a report of current land status and legislative issues at
each "Club Name" meeting.
5. Notify all members of any pending local, state or federal
meeting regarding land use or legislation that may affect our
ability to use our vehicles in certain areas.
6. Will recruit volunteers from each club to participate in any
trail construction and/or maintenance projects.
7. Attends any town, state or federal meetings with regard to
land use issues.
E. The duties of the "Club Name" Editor shall be as follows:
1. Seeks out and/or receives trip reports, event reports, etc.,
from members for publication in the "Club Name" newsletter
F. The duties of the By-Laws Chairman shall be as follows:
1. Will maintain current working copies of the "Club Name" By-Laws.
2. Will update the By-Laws after a change voted in by the
"Club Name" Board of Directors and membership body.
3. Distributes updated copies of the "Club Name" By-Laws to the
club President, and to individual members upon request.
G. The duties of the Membership Chairman shall be as follows:
1. Keep a complete file of all memberships, including those in
Good Standing
2. Shall distribute and accept all applications for membership
at each of the meetings.
3. Collect all dues and fees connected with dues to the "Club Name"
4. Shall distribute dues to the "Club Name" Treasurer in the month
the monies were collected.
5. Shall inform the Board of Directors, one month in advance, of
any member reaching status of "Good Standing"
6. Shall provide a list of qualified members in good standing
eligible to be nominated for an office on the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VII. EXPENDITURES AND FINANCE
A. All monies received from all sources shall be immediately turned over
to the Treasurer to be deposited in the checking account of "Club Name"
B. Any expenditure over $500.00 will be considered by the membership at
any meeting and be voted on by them and carry a majority vote of
those in attendance.
C. All expenditures must be in the best interest of the "Club Name"
ARTICLE VIII. COMMITTEES
A. Committees shall be appointed by the President and answer to the Board
of Directors.
B. All committees and sub-committees will turn all reports pertaining
to their event, for permanent filing and future reference, to the
Secretary within 30 days after the events.
C. Any committees making recommendations for expenditures will do so
without regard to race, religion, or personal affiliations. All
committee recommendations for expenditures will be based on the best
available competitive costs.
ARTICLE IX. ELECTIONS
A. Elections will be held once every 2 years at the meeting datel meeting
B. Newly elected officers will take office the January following the
election and will preside over and hold office for 2 years.
C. Voting will be done in person; not by proxy or through the mail.
D. Voting will be by secret ballot
E. All ballots must be counted and checked by three (3) members other
than nominees.
F. A larger number of votes is necessary for the election of any office.
G. In the event of a vacancy in any office, the Board of Directors
shall appoint a Member in Good Standing to fulfill the unexpired term.
Fulfilling an unexpired term will not be considered as serving a full term.
ARTICLE X. CHALLENGE
A. A written challenge of any individual membership, on in good standing
or probationary, may be filed by another member in good standing.
This challenge will be filed to the attention of the Board of Directors.
The written challenge should include all allegations that are to be
brought up.
B. Upon receipt of a written challenge, a challenge meeting will be held
no earlier than 2 weeks or later than 8 weeks after the time of the
formal written challenge is received by the Board of Directors.
C. The challenged member will be sent, by certified mail (return receipt
requested) a photocopy of the challenge letter, notice of the time
and place of the meeting and a copy of the procedure to be followed.
E. The challenger will be sent, by certified mail (return receipt requested)
a notice of the time and place of the meeting and a copy of the procedure
to be followed.
F. Those in attendance at the challenge meeting shall be the Board of
Directors, the challenger and the challenged member; however,
witnesses may be called in as needed. Following the challenge
meeting procedure, after presentation of both sides, the Board of
Directors will make their decision and inform both parties.
G. If either the challenger or the challenged member disagrees with
the decision of the Board of Directors, he or she must then request,
in writing, a hearing before the general membership. This written
request must be made at least one week before the next regular
meeting. If the next regular meeting is more than 30 days from the
date of receipt of the request for a hearing, a meeting will be
scheduled within 30 days. The other party involved must then be
notified that there will be another hearing, whether at the general
meeting, or a specially scheduled meeting. Each party, the challenger
and the challenged member will be allowed 15 minutes on the floor to
present his or her side of the story and any witnesses. Three fourths
of the members in attendance, presenting a quorum, must vote in favor
of the challenged member loosing his or her membership.
H. The member who brought the challenge against another member may not
challenge the same person for at least one year after the challenged
member regained his membership. However, another Member in Good
Standing may bring another challenge against the same individual as
long as the facts of the challenge are different than that which
has already been before the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE XI. PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGE MEETING
A. The President shall be the presiding officer at the Challenge Meeting.
B. Before beginning the meeting, he shall:
1. Inquire of both parties as to whether all procedures outlined
in Article X have been complied with.
2. Inquire of the challenger if he wishes to proceed or rescind
the challenge.
3. Proceed with the meeting only if all seven members of the
Board of Directors are in attendance.
4. Advise the parties that it will require five of the seven
members to vote for expulsion in order for the challenged to
lose his or her members.
5. Read the challenge letter to all in attendance.
6. Read the following procedure to all in attendance.
a. The challenger shall be given one half hour to present
all information to the Board of Directors as to why
the challenged should lose his or her membership.
All facts presented shall be made by the challenger
or through witnesses other than the challenger. The
challenger shall be permitted to ask questions of all
witnesses called and permit the witness to address the
Board.
b. After the challenger has completed his side, the
challenged shall be given one half hour to give his
presentation by making his own statements to the board
and/or by calling witnesses for his won defense.
These witnesses may address the Board and/or answer
questions of the challenged. Further, the challenged
may cross-examine the challenger or any of the
challenger's witnesses.
c. After the challenged member completes his defense,
the challenger may post questions to the challenged
member and/or call any witness to rebut the challenged
defense. This part of the inquiry shall take no
longer than 15 minutes.
d. During any presentation, any member o the Board may
ask questions of anyone giving testimony.
7. The President shall be responsible for the conduct of the
meeting and the behavior of all in attendance.
8. After a discussion between the Board in private, the vote
shall be taken. Only the decision of the Board shall be
given to the parties and not how each member voted. The decision
shall be given to the parties the same day or as reasonably soon
thereafter as possible. Any appeal shall be governed by
Article X
ARTICLE XII. PROCEDURE FOR CHALLENGING AN OFFICER
A. Any member in good standing may challenge an officer of the "Club Name"
by submitting to Board of Directors a written challenge setting forth
all facts as to why the officer in question should be impeached.
The written challenge must not only be singed by the challenger, but
must also contain five signatures of members in good standing who
agree with the challenger that the officer should be impeached.
B. The officer challenged must be given at least three weeks notice that
the challenge will be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting,
or at a specially scheduled meeting, and will be given a copy of the
written challenge.
C. The President shall be the presiding officer for the hearing unless
the President is being challenged; if the President is being challenged,
the remaining Board members will elect a Board member to preside over
the hearing.
D. The written challenge shall be read to all members in attendance.
E. The presiding officer will read the following procedure to all
members in attendance.
1. The challenger shall be given one half hour to present all
information to the members as to why the officer should be
impeached. All facts presented shall be made by the
challenger or through witnesses other than the challenger.
The challenger shall be permitted to ask questions of all
witnesses called and permit the witnesses to address the members.
2. After the challenger has completed his side, the challenged
officer shall be given one
half hour to give his presentation by making his own statements
to the members and/or by calling witnesses for this own defense.
These witnesses may address the membership and/or answer
questions posed by the challenged officer. Further, the
challenged officer may cross-examine the challenger or any of
the challenger's witnesses.
3. After the challenged officer complete his defense, the
challenger may post questions to the challenged and/or call
any witnesses to rebut the challenged defense. This part
of the inquiry shall take no longer than 15 minutes.
4. Only the challenger, the officer challenged and their witnesses
may address the members. Any questions that a member may have
of either the challenger or the challenger's witnesses, the
officer challenged, or the officer's witnesses must be
presented in writing to the presiding officer who in turn will
ask the question posed.
F. The presiding officer shall be responsible for the conduct of the
meeting and the behavior of all in attendance. After the presentation
of all sides to the issues, the members shall vote by means of a
secret written ballot indicating on their written ballot whether the
officer should be impeached or not impeached. In order for an officer
to be impeached, it shall take three fourth vote of the membership,
being a quorum present.
G. Either the challenger or the impeached officer may appeal the decision
of the membership. The same procedures as outlined in this Article
shall be followed, however, the appeal may only be based on new facts
that were not presented at the first challenge meeting. The Board
of Directors shall determine by vote whether or not the appeal states
new facts not previously heard by the membership. At least five members
of the Board must vote for the allowance of an appeal.
H. If, by vote of the membership, an officer is in fact impeached, the
membership shall immediately elect a new officer by means of a secret
ballot.
ARTICLE XIII. EVENTS
A. The Board of Directors, the local and state law enforcement agencies
have set up strict rules and policies concerning trailriding and the
use of the properties we trailride on with the permission of the owner.
Infractions of these rules and policies could cause us to lose our
right use these properties, therefore, they will be strictly enforced.
Any violators of the established policies will be warned once at a
general meeting and if the infraction is committed again a second time,
the member found guilty will be immediately removed from the membership
roll and will not under any circumstances by given another opportunity
to apply for membership to "club name". The challenge option does not
apply.
B. All events are subject to approval by the Board of Directors
C. When feasible, adequate insurance shall be procured at all publicly
attended events.
D. All events must be conducted in an orderly manner with safety as the
prime factor.
E. No member or guest under 18 will be allowed to drive on a trailride
unless accompanies by or with written consent of parent or guardian.
F. All members and guests participating in an event shall abide by the
Motor Vehicle Code of the State concerned and by the laws and
regulations of the city, county or the circumstances concerned. The
welfare and reputation of the Region depends upon the character it
gains with the city, county, state and federal authorities. Any
flagrant violation of the code is sufficient cause for removal of any
or all membership privileges. (Challenge Option, Article X applies)
ARTICLE XIV. RULES & PROCEDURES
A. Unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws, Roberts Rules of Order,
revised edition, shall govern parliamentary procedure.
B. The Board of Directors shall draw up a set of rules and regulations
for the governing of the individual on a persona basis while on any
"club name" activity. OPTION: These rules can be changed by each new
Board of Directors.
C. Voting on any issue by the membership at a regular membership meeting
will be by hand vote other than elections. A motion may be called for
a secret ballot when deemed necessary.
D. Voting on a probationary member to become a member in good standing
will take a majority vote of the membership present to accept his or
her membership.
ARTICLE XV. AMENDMENTS
A. These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote at a regular
"club name" meeting. The quorum present and voting. Any amendment
must be presented to the membership at the regular "club name"
meeting and at the meeting preceding the meeting in which the vote
is to be taken.
B. Proposed By-Law changes shall also be published in the newsletter
prior to the meeting they are to be voted in.
ARTICLE XVI. SALE OF PROPERTY
A. In order to sell any or all property, real or otherwise, owned by
the "club name", the same procedure shall be followed as a by-law
amendment. (Article XV)
ARTICLE XVII DISSOLUTION OF THE REGION
A. If for any just reason the "club name" must disband, it will require
a 90% vote of the total membership in favor of dissolution.
B. A motion should first be made on the floor of a general meeting,
seconded and then voted on, a quorum being present and a majority
being in favor of carrying out the following procedure.
C. The voting for dissolution will take place through the US Mail.
Notification, ballots and pre-addressed return envelopes will be sent
to all members by registered mail. A ballot not returned within 30
days will be considered a resignation from the club. Ballots will be
returned by registered mail to a designated representative, or if
necessary, to a lawyer retained by the "club name". The results will
be read by the designated representative, or the lawyer, at the next
regularly scheduled meeting following the 30 day period. If it is
necessary to schedule a special meeting to read the voting results,
all members will be notified of the time and place of the meeting
by registered mail. The announcement of a special meeting
time and place will be mailed along with the ballot. Any special
meetings will be held following the 30 day period.
C. In the event of dissolution of "club name" for any reason, after all
liabilities are met, any remaining assets would be donated to charity
or a non-profit organization of the Regions choice. The vote on the
choice of charity or non-profit organization will require a simple
majority vote of the membership present, a quorum present and voting.