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By - Laws of the Arabian Horse Association of Delmarva
Article I
Name
The name of this corporation shall be the Arabian Horse Association of Delmarva, hereinafter referred to as the Association.
Article II
Purpose and Objectives
To devote the collective interests of Delmarva Arabian horse breeders, owners, and admirers toward the improvement of the breeding and training of Arabian horses; to provide facilities for gathering together for exchanging ideas pertaining to Arabian horses; to promote the Arabian horse through exhibits and shows for the education of those interested and to provide funds for benevolent uses or to provide funds for carrying out the purpose of this association; and to do all other such things, not denied by law, in promoting the purposes of this association.
Article III
Membership Qualifications
I. Owners of purebred Arabians.
II. Owners of partbred Arabians.
III. Anyone interested in Arabian horses and willing to help promote the breed.
Article IV
Membership
I. Memberships offered by the association:
A. IAHA Individual Member (voting) - for individuals over the age of eighteen as of December 1 of the previous calendar year who joins IAHA directly. Includes one (1) voting membership to the International Arabian Horse Association, one (1) voting membership to Region XV, and one (1) voting membership to the Arabian Horse Association of Delmarva with full privileges to all organizations.
B. AHAD Associate Member (non-voting) - for individuals over the age of eighteen as of December 1 of the previous calendar year who joins AHAD only.
C. IAHA Family/Ranch Membership (voting) - for two members of immediate family or two persons jointly residing, over the age of eighteen, including children under the age of eighteen, as of December 1 of the previous calendar year, and joins IAHA directly. Includes two (2) voting memberships to the International Arabian Horse Association, two (2) voting memberships to Region XV, and two (2) voting memberships to the Arabian Horse Association of Delmarva with full privileges to all organizations.
D. AHAD Family/Ranch Membership (non-voting) - for two members of immediate family or two persons jointly residing, over the age of eighteen, including children under the age of eighteen, as of December 1 of the previous calendar year, who joins AHAD only.
E. IAHA Youth Member (non-voting) - for individuals under the age of eighteen as of December 1 of the previous calendar year who join IAHA directly. Youth member is entitled to all the general membership privileges except for the voting rights and privileges specifically granted to the Affiliate members.
F. AHAD Youth Member (non-voting) - for individuals under the age of eighteen as of December 1 of the previous calendar year who join AHAD only. Youth member is entitled to all the general membership privileges.
G. Life Membership (voting) - a life member of IAHA who has listed AHAD as his/her "designated" club. May vote, hold office, and/or be delegate in this club.
H. Honorary Member (non-voting) - any individual member who is nominated in writing to the Board of Directors by a member in good standing, and elected by a majority vote of the Board of Directors under the following condition: (1) Honorary members shall have no voting privileges or privileges of IAHA but will be entitled to participate in all association activities, and (2) a majority vote of the Board of Directors will remove an Honorary member.
II. AHAD and IAHA membership fees are due to the membership chair on or before December 1 of year preceding the beginning of the membership year. There will be a penalty charged by IAHA, for any IAHA membership received after December 31 preceding the beginning of the membership year. Late fees do not apply to AHAD associate memberships.
III. The Association will review the dues schedule annually and collect dues according to type of membership. Any fees necessary for continuing membership in IAHA or for any scheduled membership will be collected with the dues and dispersed by the Association so as to provide those promised benefits.
Article V
Rules for Withdrawal or Termination of Members
I. Failure to pay dues delinquent past February 28 of current year.
II. The Board of Directors may terminate membership for anyone demonstrating behavior detrimental to the purpose and/or function of the Association. Notice of Termination must be made in writing to the address on the current membership list. Appeal may be made directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors including a request for a private hearing with the Board. Failure to respond to Notice of Termination within thirty days may result in automatic cancellation of membership, no dues will be refunded in that case.
Article VI
Officers and Directors Qualifications, Manner of Election,
Duties and Term of Office
I. All officers must reside within Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia and be an adult member of IAHA through AHAD.
II. Qualification for office shall be as follows: said official shall have been a member of IAHA through AHAD during the year of the election, and during their term of office.
III. All officers must be an IAHA member through AHAD by February 28 of the voting year.
IV. All officers shall be elected to a one year term.
A. President - The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, have general supervision, direction and control of the membership and at all meetings of the Board of Directors. He shall be ex officio member of all standing committees and shall have the general powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of President and shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors.
B. Vice-President - In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice-President shall perform all duties of the President and when so acting shall have all powers of and be subject to all restriction upon, the President. The Vice-President shall have such powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed for him by the President. The Vice-President shall be Chairman of the Activities Committee.
C. Secretary - The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept accurate minutes of all meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors by mail. The Secretary shall have the powers and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the President.
D. Treasurer - The Treasurer is the Chief Financial Officer of the Association. The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of Association financial transactions and provides current reports at each meeting. The Treasurer is an ex officio member of and over sees the financial records of all Association activities which collects and/or distributes funds. The Treasurer shall hold the power to disperse funds of the Association in accordance with directions given to him by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, unless previously presented to the membership in attendance at a prior meeting for approval.
E. Delegate - See Article IX
F. Membership Secretary - The membership secretary shall keep or cause to be kept accurate membership records. The membership secretary shall give or cause to be given current membership statistics at each of the monthly meetings.
G. Youth Coordinator - The youth coordinator is responsible for devoting the collective interests of AHAD youth members in activities that will encourage positive sportsmanship and general education involving the Arabian Horse.
V. The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected Officers, Delegate and state Directors.
A. Directors - three in number, including the immediate past president and two elected from membership. These shall be chosen to represent each of the three areas: Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
B. Elections to be conducted with the best known knowledge from the "Robert's Rule of Order".
C. In the case that a Board of Directors meeting is presented with a conflict of interest, that said member shall be excused from the portion of the meeting when dealing with conflicting issue.
Article VII
Elections and Vacancies
I. Elections.
A. Any voting member is eligible for any office or committee
1. Procedure
a. The President will appoint a Nominating Committee of three members 90 days before the fiscal year ends (October meeting). The Nomination Committee will review leadership volunteers and discuss with prospective candidates their interest in elective office. Nominees should become familiar with these By-Laws, the Association organization and expectations for officers.
b. A slate of prospective candidates will be presented to the membership for review 60 days prior to year end (November meeting), and any additional nominations from the floor. Every effort should be made to have two candidates for each office.
c. Notice of an election meeting and slate of nominees shall be mailed to the membership thirty (30) days prior to the election, which shall be held at the December meeting.
d. Election shall be by simple majority of those present at the election meeting.
e. The election shall be considered official once the nominating/election committee certifies that the election process was duly and fairly carried out.
f. The term of office shall begin January 1 of the following year and end December 31.
II. Vacancies in unexpired terms
a. Vacant elective position will be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors. The exception being that the President always succeeded by the Vice-President.
b. Appointed positions may be filled by the President with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.
Article VIII
Meetings and Policy Decisions
I. Policy decisions ultimately rest with the membership. However, the Board of Directors may act on policy issues until the concurrent of the membership can be obtained at a regular meeting.
II. Regularly scheduled membership meetings will be published in advance and held when and where announced. Meetings to normally be held on the first Thursday of each month with the exception of the months of July & August. The June meeting and its date to be optional due to conflict with the horse show.
III. Special membership meetings may be called by the chairperson of the Board of Directors, the Association President, or two members of the Board, but no binding policy decisions can be made unless all members have a least forty-eight hours notice of the meeting.
IV. Decisions will be made by simple poll of those voting members present. Majority rules. No proxy votes will be counted. In the event of an absolute tie vote, the Association President may vote to break the tie.
V. These bylaws may be amended by:
A. A thirty (30) day advanced written notice of proposed change.
B. Written notice must clearly state the working of the proposed change, the wording to be deleted and the intended interpretation.
C. A meeting to vote upon these changes must be held no less than thirty days after the written notice may be expected to reach the membership.
D. A simple majority of those present may approve the By-Laws revision.
E. The revised By-Laws, dated accordingly, will be made available to the membership.
VI. The said annual meeting will be the January meeting of the current year.
Article IX
IAHA Delegate
I. AHAD is an affiliated association of the International Arabian Horse Association. Delegates to IAHA, elected annually by AHAD membership, coordinate communication between AHAD and IAHA.
A. Election of Delegates
1. Any person who is willing to assume the responsibility to serve as Delegate or Alternate should submit a letter to the Board of Directors stating his qualification and desire to do the following: (1) Attend at least five of the nine AHAD meetings during the course of the calendar year, (2) Attend at least three of the four IAHA Regional meetings and (3) Attend IAHA Convention, possibly at a considerable personal expense. Failure to do so will result in possible termination from the position and replace with the alternate. The elected delegate will be required (by IAHA) to submit a written authorization allowing said fees to be applied to the alternate's convention registration fees, and the alternate must pay an additional substitution fee of $10.00. (See Resolution 22-94)
1A. A delegate will be allowed one excused absence during the course of his/her term, if the delegate has a prior conflict with an IAHA sanctioned function, and the delegate is unable to attend an AHAD meeting.
2. Those persons who have submitted written application and who have received Board approval, will have their names placed on the annual election ballot as Delegates to be voted on by the general membership. The candidate who earns the majority vote will be named as the Delegate and the runner-up will be named as the Alternate.
3. In case of a tie in number of votes, determination of order shall be made by the Board of Directors.
4. Should there be a decrease in Association membership causing an excess of Delegates, those receiving the least number of votes will be removed first, beginning with the Alternates.
5. Should a Delegate resign or be removed, the Delegate list shall be advanced in order of precedence.
6. Should the Association be permitted a greater number of Delegates than available on the Delegate or Alternate list, the required number of additional Delegates may be appointed by a majority of the directors to serve until the next annual meeting.
B. Term of Delegates
1. Delegates and Alternates will take office at the Annual Meeting.
2. Delegates and Alternates will serve for a term of one year.
C. Function of Delegates
1. The Delegates shall present current resolutions for the annual IAHA Convention to the membership prior to the convention.
2. The Delegates shall present any necessary proposals to the convention.
3. The Delegates shall report to the Association all important resolutions passed by the convention.
D. Removal and/or Substitution of Delegates.
Delegates may be removed by the Board of Directors for failure or inability to carry out the aforementioned responsibilities.
1. Should the Association be represented by less than the maximum number of Delegates at any function at which Delegates may vote, the absent or incapacitated Delegates' positions shall be filled first by the next Alternate on the alternate's list. If insufficient Alternates are available, such positions may be filled by a non-Delegate/Alternate Association member, approved by majority of those Delegates and Alternates in attendance and by the President of this Association (or any Vice-President or this Associations in the President's absence, or by any other Board of Directors member in the Vice-President's absence). Such substitute Delegate shall serve only for the single function for which he is so approved.
Article X
Principal Committees
The President, or acting in his place, the Vice-President, shall designate all Committees which are necessary for the active functioning of the general affairs of the Association. Committee chairmen will be voluntary with approval of the membership. The chairman will select his/her committees from persons expressing interest. The following are desired standing committees: Show Committee, Banquet/Awards Committee, Nominating Committee, Public Relations Committee, Newsletter/Reporter Committee, and Sunshine Committee.
Article XI
Property Holding and Transfer
This Association shall be operated on a sound financial basis for the fulfillment of it purpose an objectives as stated in the Articles of Incorporation. All property and holdings acquired by the Arabian Horse Association of Delmarva can be transferred only by majority vote of membership present; other than monies for the on going activities of the Association.
Article XII
The Seal: Its Adoption, Custody, and Method of Use
I. The seal will be automatically adopted at the time it is used on the corporation papers. It is a standard seal and does have to be approved by membership. This seal shall be held by the Secretary.
II. The emblem must be drawn up and approved by the membership. It will then be used on papers, letters and other forms used by the Association.
Article XIII
Bank Depository and Which Officers May Act
All checks must be signed by two officers -- Treasurer and President
Article XIV
Bonding of the Treasurer and Other Officers and Agents
Recommended only if required by IAHA - it is not so required; therefore, not necessary
Article XV
Fiscal Year and Audit of Books
I. Fiscal year shall run according to the calendar year - January to December.
II. President shall appoint auditing committee to audit books 60 days prior to year's end.
Article XVI
Principal/Registered Office
The principal office of the Association shall be at current AHAD Secretary's principal resident or the principal business (address).
Article XVII
Books, Records and Reports
To be kept as simple as possible. Record of income and expenses to be stated in checkbook. Secretary's minutes to be kept in continuous loose-leaf book. Treasurer's report to be submitted, in writing, to Secretary at each meeting and included in the minutes. Savings Account to be reported at each meeting. Each member shall document their attendance at a said meeting by signing their name to an attendance sheet, which will also be attached to the minutes for that meeting.
Article XVIII
Dissolution Procedures and Disposition of Assets
Whether to dissolve and the methods whereby it is done to be decided by majority vote of the membership present - providing all members have been notified by mail 30 days prior to the meeting, informing all members of the purpose of the meeting.
All holdings to be sold and cash proceeds to be donated to non-profit Arabian Horse organizations.
Proposed Revision 12/95
Effective 1/96