ARKANSAS BRIDGE ASSOCIATION
ACBL - UNIT 161
BY-LAWS
June 1, 2002
| ARTICLE 1 ELECTIONS |
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| Section 1. | The Unit shall be divided into districts and one or more members from each district shall be elected to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting. | |
| Section 2. | The Board of Directors may change the districts if two thirds of the general membership, present and voting at the annual meeting, approves. | |
| Section 3. | Board members will be elected for a two year term. Positions number one, three, five, seven, nine, and eleven are elected at an annual meeting. Positions number two, four, six, eight, and ten are elected at the following annual meeting. The geographical limits for the Unit are set by the ACBL and are subject to change by them. | |
| Section 4. | Area, position or district: Counties | |
| Area one and two: Faulkner, Pulaski and Conway | ||
| Area three, four and five: Garland, Saline and Perry | ||
| Area six: Cleburne, Van Buren, Stone, Izard, Sharp Fulton, and Independence | ||
| Area seven: Lonoke, White, Woodruff, Prairie, Monroe, St. Francis, Phillips and Lee | ||
| Area eight: Randolph, Clay, Lawrence, Green, Craighead, Mississippi, Poinsett, Jackson and Cross | ||
| Area nine: At large | ||
| Area ten: At large | ||
| Area eleven: At large | ||
| An officer may be from either an area or an at-large position. | ||
| Section 5. | The nominating committee shall recommend a person in each area for positions to be filled. The Committee will be a three person committee, appointed by the President to have a report ready 45 calendar days prior to the annual meeting. The President shall not be a member, nor an ex-officio member of this committee. The committee may have only one board member on it and may not nominate themselves. | |
| Section 6. | Any member may run for a position on the board by presenting a petition with twenty signatures of members in good standing and have it in the secretary's hands 30 calendar days prior to the annual meeting. If running for a position in area one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight, the member must have residence in that area and the twenty signatures of members must have residence in that area. | |
| Section 7. | The President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected by the membership for a term of two years. | |
| Section 8. | Any member of the Board shall be eligible for re-election. With the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer, no one shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same position. | |
| Section 9. | The Board may appoint someone to fill an unexpired term of a Board member who moved from the area, misses three Board meetings in a row, resigns, is recalled, becomes ineligible to serve, or otherwise vacates his/her seat. | |
| Section 10. | The Board may ask for a recall election of any member of the Board when seventy-five percent (75%) of all Board members vote for a recall. The general membership may remove any member of the Board from office when sixty percent (60%) or more of the members voting by mail, vote to remove the Board member. | |
| ARTICLE II MEETINGS |
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| Section 1. | Special meetings may be called by the President; or upon written request of not less than a majority of the Board of Directors or upon request of not less than five percent (5%) of the members of the Unit. | |
| Section 2. | Voting by proxy is not permitted at any Unit Board meeting. A member must be present to vote at any Unit Board meeting. | |
| Section 3. | A complete agenda of all Unit business will be mailed to each Board member, postmarked at least 2 weeks prior to any business meeting. A Board member shall be advised in the agenda, of any matter to be brought to a vote before the Board at the upcoming business meeting. In case of an emergency issue, each Board member shall be contacted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting and advised of the issue to be voted on and the vote must be unanimous. | |
| ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP |
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| Section 1. | Payment of annual dues to the ACBL shall automatically make them members of the Unit. | |
| Section 2. | A member shall be considered in good standing if his dues for the current year are paid and he is not under suspension either in the ACBL or the Unit. The privileges of members of good standing shall be as follows: | |
| A. | To vote, in person, at the annual meeting for the election of members for the Board of Directors. | |
| B. | To participate in any tournament and other activities conducted by the Unit and the ACBL. | |
| C. | Each member shall be eligible to election as a member of the Board of Directors of the Unit, or for appointment as a member of any of its committees subject to the restrictions hereinafter imposed. | |
| Section 3. | The Board of Directors may, at their discretion, revoke membership in the Unit or may suspend it for a definite or indefinite period of time. Suspension or revocation of membership shall not, however, become effective until the member has been apprised of the contemplated action and the reason thereof, and has had reasonable opportunity to defend himself, or protect his rights. | |
| ARTICLE IV BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
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| Section 1. | The Board of Directors shall consist of the duly elected eleven members and the retiring President. The retiring President is a voting member of the Board. The President votes on Board matters only in the case of a tie. | |
| Section 2. | Among the powers conferred upon the Board of Directors are: | |
| A. | To discuss and decide on the general policies pertaining to the Unit. | |
| B. | To initiate amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws as herein provided. | |
| C. | To fix all dates and locations of tournaments conducted and promoted by the Unit. | |
| D. | To elect the Unit's representative and alternate to the District Board meeting. | |
| Section 3. | The Board of Directors is the governing body for the Unit and the President is the executive head who puts into operation and carries out the Board's instructions. | |
| ARTICLE V DUTIES OF OFFICERS | ||
| Section 1. | The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors. He/she shall supervise the management of the affairs of the Unit and perform all other duties incidental to his/her office. He/she shall be a member ex-officio of all committees, except the nominating committee. He/she shall be Chairman of the Board of Directors and shall vote on Board matters only in the case of a tie. | |
| Section 2. | The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President during his/her absence or during his/her inability, for any legitimate reason, to act. | |
| Section 3. | The Secretary-Treasurer shall have the care, custody of, and the fiduciary responsibility of all funds, securities and property of the Unit, and shall deposit the funds in such bank as may be approved by the Board of Directors. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep accurate books of accounts and all receipts and disbursements. He/she shall submit a financial report at the annual meeting and at such other times as may be required by the President or the Board of Directors. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the books and records of the Unit including minutes of all regular and special meetings and shall handle all official and such other correspondence as he/she may be instructed to conduct by the President or the Board of Directors. He/she shall perform all such other duties as may be incidental to the office. He/she has the authority to purchase for the Unit, supplies as necessary for Unit operation, up to a specified amount set by the Board each year. | |
| ARTICLE VI COMPENSATION OF OFFICERS |
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| Section 1. | The Board of Directors is hereby specifically empowered to fix compensation to be paid to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Unit. The amount to be fixed to be within the discretion of the Board of Directors and at such time in the future that the Board of Directors deems it advisable. | |
| Section 2. | The Board of Directors is empowered to reimburse actual and reasonable expenses of the Unit's representatives to attend District 10 Board meetings. | |
| ARTICLE VII STANDING COMMITTEES |
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| Section 1. | The following standing committees may be appointed by the President: | |
| A. | A Tournament Committee to plan, arrange and exercise general supervision over Sectional and other tournaments conducted or sponsored by the Unit. | |
| B. | A Conduct and Ethics Committee to receive and inquire into any complaint or charge against any member involving conduct or ethics at any tournament and to report its findings of fact and its recommendations to the Board of Directors for such action as the Board shall consider proper and to the best interest of the Unit and the game. | |
| C. | A Membership Committee to stimulate interest among new players, and encourage membership. | |
| D. | A Publicity Committee to publicize the Unit's tournament activities and the advantages of membership in the Unit. | |
| Section 2. | The President may appoint ad hoc committees as necessary for the operation of Unit business. | |
| ARTICLE VIII ORDER OF BUSINESS |
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| The order of business shall be as follows: | ||
| 1. | Reading of the minutes of previous meeting | |
| 2. | Treasurer's report | |
| 3. | Correspondence | |
| 4. | Reports of officers | |
| 5. | Reports of committees | |
| 6. | Old business | |
| 7. | New business | |
| 8. | Elections | |
| 9. | Resolutions | |
| ARTICLE IX RULES OF ORDER |
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| Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall be accepted as the governing authority for this organization in all matters not specifically covered by the Constitution and By-Laws of the Unit. | ||
| ARTICLE X QUORUM |
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| Four percent (4%) of the membership of the Unit in good standing shall be considered as a quorum for the transaction of Unit business. Seven members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for Board of Director's meetings. | ||
| ARTICLE XI AMENDMENTS |
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| Section 1. | Amendments to the By-Laws may be made in the manner provided in Article VI of the Constitution. | |
| Section 2. | The concurrence of two-thirds (2/3) of all members present and voting shall be required to pass an amendment to the Constitution or By-Laws, provided 30 day notice of such amendment has been given. | |