|
Following are the proposed by-laws amendments. Members will vote on each proposed amendment separately. You may vote either by proxy using the ballot that will come in your June Flying Changes, or you may attend the General Membership meeting at Expo NM, the afternoon of July 5th, 2008. ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP 1. The membership year shall be from November 1st through October 31st, [with dues paid after October 1st applying to the following year. ] Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 2. The membership classes are as follows: b. family – those domiciled together and living as a family; only one name will be submitted to USDF for GMO membership Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE V – BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1. The Board shall consist of the elected officers, the immediate Past President and the chairpersons of the various standing committees. The Past president will serve for no more that one term past their last active term as President. A board member may hold more than one position on the board, but be entitled to only one vote in Board or Membership matters. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 2. The Board shall meet on dates and at times and locations as determined by the Board. [plus interim meetings at the call of]. Emergency meetings may be called by the President or upon petition of at least three members of the Board. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 3. If a vacancy occurs in an Officer position, the [President] Board shall appoint a current member of the Association to the position for the remainder of the term. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 4. A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of [four] five of its members. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS 1. The elected officers of the Board of Directors are President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. Only current members 21 years of age and over and in good standing shall be eligible to run for office. [Committee chairs, discussed below, will also be members of the Board of Directors.] Candidates for office must be paid members of NMDA for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to running for office, and must have served on the Board for at least one year immediately prior to running for office. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 4. Duties of the President: a. to preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the general membership meetings. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall preside. In the absence of both, the Board Members present shall determine who shall preside. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE VII – MEETINGS 1. A meeting of the general membership shall be held annually in the fall. Interim meetings may be called by the President, the Board of Directors, or by a petition of ten or more current members. Notice of such meetings shall be given at least [two] six weeks prior to the meeting date. The Board of Directors will meet [as needed, generally once a month] on dates and at times and locations as determined by the Board. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE VIII – COMMITTEES 1. The President will appoint Chairpersons of standing and ad hoc committees [and the Chairpersons thereof] to manage the affairs of the organization. The Chairpersons will recruit additional committee members as needed to fulfill the business of the committee. Chairpersons of standing committees shall be members of the Board of Directors. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ 3. Committees of a permanent nature shall be called standing committees and may include, but not be limited to: a. Membership: to maintain an accurate record of the current membership of the Association and of the horses registered, and to report to the USDF [as required] monthly or as often as new members have joined; g. Junior/Young Rider: to represent their interests and needs of Juniors and Young Riders in the Association; i. Education/Clinics: to plan and organize clinics and other activities for the education and training of the NMDA members; 4. Ad hoc committees may include, but not be limited to: a. (For the Nominating Committee see Conflicting Proposals below) b. Financial Review Committee: to review the financial accounts of the organization annually, and to present a report to the President. c. Welcoming/Hospitality: to help recruit new members by making people feel welcome at meetings, shows, and other club events. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS 1. Amendments to the By-Laws [and Standing Rules] may be proposed by the Board of Directors or by the general membership. 2. Proposed amendments must be published and distributed to the membership at least [three] four weeks prior to the meeting called for the consideration thereof. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE XI - AFFILIATIONS 1. The Association shall be affiliated with [USA Equestrian] the United States Equestrian Federation and the United States Dressage Federation, Inc. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ The Association may affiliate with other [horse] appropriate organizations as approved by the [membership] Board of Directors. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ ARTICLE IX – STANDING RULES The Standing Rules of the Association shall be established by the Board of Directors to specify the policies, procedures and rules by which the business of the Association shall be conducted. The Standing Rules derive their authority from the By-Laws. Whenever a conflict exists between the Standing Rules and the By-Laws, the By-Laws shall be the prevailing authority. Once the Standing Rules have been established (or when amended), they will be published in the NMDA handbook and on the web site. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ Conflicting Proposals for By-Law Amendments Several proposed by-laws amendments were submitted following the initial publication and distribution of possible amendments. All that could be were either added or incorporated into the standing rules or the proposed amendments above. Four remain in conflict with each other, and need to be resolved through vote of the entire membership. The “conflicting” proposed amendments are presented below. In each case, vote to approve only one of the two versions. If you vote for both, your vote will not be counted, as it would effectively cancel itself. ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS 2. Term of office shall be two years, [from] beginning December 1st [through] and ending November 30th of the second year following election. The terms of the President and Secretary shall begin in even numbered years beginning in 2008, and the terms of the Vice-President and Treasurer shall begin in odd numbered years beginning in 2009. Officers can serve two consecutive terms, then must spend at least one year out of office before running again for any office. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph below. OR 2. Term of office shall be from January 1st through December 31st [with nominations made in writing to the Secretary by October 15th]. A Nominations and Elections Committee will be established in accordance with Article VIII, Section 4. .[and elections occurring] Ballots will be sent to the General membership by U.S.P.S. mail ballot [sent] by November [15th] 1st. Completed ballots must be returned by the Members to the Nominating Committee and postmarked by November 22nd to be counted. [The] Announcements of the winners of the election [elected officers] will be [announced] posted on the web site by December 1st.and published in the January newsletter. Committee Chairs will serve the same term as the elected officers. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph above. 4. Duties of the President: e. to appoint [an audit] a financial review committee to review the financial records of the Association and to report the findings to the membership either via mail or publication in the newsletter [by December 31] within 30 days of the completion of the financial review. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph below. OR e. to [appoint] arrange for and complete an audit [committee to review] of the financial records of the Association and to report the findings to the membership either via mail or publication in the newsletter by December 31 Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph above. ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS 2. Meetings of the membership and of the Board shall be open to all current paid members [and to others having an interest in dressage] of NMDA, and to guests invited by the Board, if appropriate. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph below. OR 2. Meetings of the membership and of the Board shall be open to all current members and to all others having an interest in dressage. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph above. ARTICLE VIII-COMMITTEES 4. Ad hoc committees may include, but not be limited to: a. Nominating Committee: to solicit nominations for Officer positions; to prepare, distribute, collect, and count ballots; and to announce winners of the election. If a recount is called for, this Committee shall conduct the recount in the presence of all candidates for the office being recounted. Candidates for Office cannot serve on this Committee. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph below. OR a. Nominations and Election Committee A Nomination and Election Committee will be established by August 1st each year with at least three current non-Board Members on a volunteer basis. If more than three volunteer, the Board may select three of the volunteers. One member of the Committee will be designated as the manager of the election process. The Committee will submit a nomination request by U.S. Mail by September 1st to the General Membership and posted on the web site. A deadline and process to submit nominations must be included in the notice. All nominations will be accepted as long as the Nominee is a current Member. Nominations will be posted on the web site and published in the Newsletter or sent to the General membership by U.S. mail by no later than October 15th. All Nominees will be given equal access to the General membership contact information to be used for campaigning. A secure and anonymous balloting process will be established by the Committee. Ballot counting will be completed by the Committee and validated by a Board member who is not a Nominee or a designee by the Board if all are Nominees. Approve: _____ Disapprove: ______ If you approve this paragraph either disapprove or ignore the paragraph above. |