Shore Point
Amateur Radio Club
By-laws
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On June 21,
2010, the SPARC membership voted to meet in April and September without the
executive board structure as voted in the February 22, 2010 meeting.
On February 22,
2010, the SPARC
membership voted to suspend meetings and the
executive board structure for the
foreseeable future. All Club
activities will continue to take place.
These include walk-a-thons, cookouts, nets, Field Day, breakfasts, the Durham
Fair fundraising event and the Christmas Party. The existing Club dues
structure will remain in place.
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Article I
(Name and Object)
Sec. 1 This organization shall be known
as the “Shore Point Amateur Radio
Club”, abbreviated SPARC
through the remainder of this text.
Sec. 2 The objective of SPARC is to promote
the continued use and develop-
ment of amateur radio,
and its active role in the community.
Article 2
(Membership)
Sec. 1 A full member must hold a valid
license and be a current member of the
ARRL. Associate
membership shall be open to any interested party.
Sec. 2 Members must be present if he/she
wishes to vote on any motions or
club business, except as noted in Article 4, Section 6.
Sec. 3 Applications for membership shall
be reviewed and voted on by the
Board of Directors and Officers.
Disciplinary actions with
other clubs
or other amateur radio
organizations may be grounds for rejection of an
application.
Sec. 4 Only a member in good standing may
vote on any and all motions
or matters concerning
SPARC.
Sec. 5 Only members whose dues are
current are to be considered a member
in good standing.
Article 3
(Committees)
Sec. 1 Any committee shall consist of a
chairman, appointed by the president,
the chairman to appoint
at least two assistants.
Sec. 2 All committees will report to the
president at regular meetings.
Sec. 3 The following will be standing
committees.
1. Fund Raising Committee
2. Emergency & Event Communications
Committee
3. Technical Committee
Sec. 4 The following
committees will be formed as necessary.
1. Grievance Committee
2. Election Committee
Article 4
(Officers)
Sec. 1 The SPARC does not own the
repeater or any equipment or parts
associated with it.
Sec. 2 The SPARC Board of Directors shall
consist of:
a. the repeater owner/ treasurer
b. the club president
c. the club vice president
d. the club secretary
e. the immediate past president
f. in accordance with section 8, possibly
two (2) E-Board
officers
Sec. 3 The owner(s) of the repeater and
associated equipment shall be the only
person (people) to
delegate the position of control operator and the
programming content of
the repeater controller, computer etc.
Sec. 4 The SPARC is responsible for any
and all maintenance and operating
costs associated with
the repeater, so long as it is using the equipment.
Sec. 5 The owner of the repeater will
serve as Treasurer for SPARC and report
those funds at all
regular monthly meetings. This office
does not come
up for election until
such time as the SPARC owns or discontinues use
of the equipment donated
for use only, by the respective equipment
owners.
Sec. 6
a. All officers shall be nominated and voted on by membership majority.
Elections shall take place at the first meeting in November. Each office shall be a one year term. All officers shall remain in position unless
voted out by the membership or they resign.
b. Voting
Procedure
1. A committee must be voluntarily formed
on election night
consisting
of three members. None of these members
are
eligible to run in any E-Board elections for that year. This
committee must be approved by a majority of the membership
present.
2. The members of this committee will pass
out official club
ballots at
the meeting and collect them afterwards.
Each
committee member will total up the votes separately and will
determine who the new officers are (b, c & d from
Article 4,
sec 2). At that
point it will be clear whether one (1) or two (2)
temporary positions shall need to be filled. The committee shall
then tally the votes of all candidates for the temporary
positions,
E-1 & E-2.
Should only one temporary position be needed, the
Candidate with the highest vote count shall be declared the
Winner. Should both
temporary positions need to be filled, the
Committee shall declare the candidates with the two highest
vote
Counts as the winners of the E-1 and E-2 positions. At that time
a spokesperson for the Election Committee shall announce to
those present the results of all elections. In the event that both
temporary positions need to be filled but only one candidate
be
running, the committee shall inform those present of the
situation and the newly elected president shall have the
opportunity to appoint someone (with their consent) to fill
the
second temporary position (E-2) prior to their taking office
in
January. No votes
are to be disclosed by the committee to the
rest of the membership unless there is an official inquiry
into the
integrity of the vote count.
3. Absentee ballets will be allowed
provided the following
procedure is adhered to.
Any discrepancies from this will cause
the vote to be null and void. A member wishing to vote and
who will not be attending the meeting, must obtain an official
S.P.A.R.C.
absentee voting ballot, complete it
in the proper
manner and place it in a sealed envelope. This envelope should
remain unmarked and be sealed inside a second envelope. This
outer
envelope must be signed by the
member across the sealed flap. Only one ballot may be placed in an
envelope. The envelope can be brought
to the meeting by anyone attending the meeting. It may be mailed to this person or given to them by hand. It must be handed over to the election
committee when the committee requests them.
This is the only time they
will be accepted. The current E-Board
shall make available the official ballots in a reasonable manner, such as Club
gatherings and meetings.
4. In the event
of a tie vote, a revote will be taken among the
membership
present only. No absentee ballots will
be considered at this time. If another
tie is attained, a set of playing cards will be used to determine the
winner. The election committee will
remove nine (2-10) numbered cards from a single suit from the deck. Each candidate will select a card. The candidate with the highest numbered card
wins.
Sec. 7 A vacancy in the position of any
elected officer except that of president,
may be filled by an
appointment by the president until a special election
can be held. The term of this appointment and/or special
election will be
for the remainder of the
current term. Should a vacancy occur in
the
office of the president,
the vice-president would become president, and
then exercise his/her powers
under this section to fill the now vacant
positions.
Sec. 8 The Executive Board (Officers),
shall consist of five (5) persons.
If there is more than
one repeater owner, the owners must decide among
themselves who will hold
a position on the Executive Board.
A temporary position
(E-1) shall be created if:
a. The repeater owner/treasurer is elected
to the club president position; or
b. The newly elected president is also the
immediate past president
If both a. & b. are
true then two temporary positions will be created (E-1
& E-2).
The nominations for
these positions will take place at the October
meeting along with the
nominations of the entire Executive Board.
Elections will take place at the November meeting as specified
in
Article 4, sec 6, paragraph b. Both E-1 and E-2 positions shall run
the same term as the other officers (January to
December). Any
reference to the Board of Directors, Executive Board
(E-Board), or
club officers shall all
have the same meaning in these by-laws.
Sec. 9 The duties of the Vice President
and any E-Board positions are
designated by the club
president which may include, but not be limited to
overseeing club
committees and other Executive Board functions.
Sec. 10
The e-board may make expenditures of $50 or less (not totaling more
than $200 per year without a general club vote) by majority vote of the
e-board.
Article 5
(Amendments)
Sec. 1 These by-laws may be amended by a
motion and second at any
regular meeting,
majority to pass. The proposed changes
must be
submitted in written
form to the club prior to the actual vote.
Article 6
(Order of Business)
Sec. 1 1. Role
Call
2. Reading of previous meetings minutes
3. New applications for membership
4. Financial report
5. Committee reports
6. Old Business
7. New Business
8. Comments
9. Adjournment
Article 7
(Initiation Fees and Dues)
Sec. 1 Dues shall be twenty-five (25) dollars
yearly, due the first day of each new
calendar year; but no
later than March 31. Dues not paid by
March 31
shall result in member’s
privileges being revoked until such time as they
are paid.
Sec. 2 Family membership shall be
thirty-five (35) dollars yearly.
Sec. 3 Senior citizens and 100% disabled
persons dues shall be twenty (20)
dollars yearly. Households consisting of 2 or more qualified
individuals
shall qualify for family
senior membership or family disabled membership
at twenty-five (25) dollars
yearly.
Sec. 4 Initiation fees shall be a
one-time charge of five (5) dollars per person.
(New members shall
receive a certificate of membership)
Sec. 5 Dues
shall be due and payable upon approval of membership, and prior
to their expiration date
(March 31). Dues for memberships
started on or
after June 1 shall be
1/2 the rates shown above. All dues or
any part of
dues are not refundable.
Sec.6 “Out of State Affiliation” shall
be made available to any amateur operator
who
resides out of the state of Connecticut.
The affiliate will be given repeater codes only, with no actual voting
membership status in the club.
This
option is intended for hams that travel through the state and use the repeater
and wish to donate and/or have access to repeater functions. Affiliates are responsible for following all
club rules and by-laws and must be voted in by the Executive Board.
The
dues are as follows:
A one-time $5 application fee for
all.
Normal
$15 per year
Family $20 per year
Senior
/ Disabled $10 per year
Article 8
(Infractions)
Sec. 1 All members will conduct
themselves and abide by all the rules and
regulations pertaining
to amateur radio practices and operating
procedures as set forth
by the FCC. The trustee will have the
right
to set operating
standards whenever it pertains to the use of any
equipment which uses
his/her call sign for FCC required identification.
Sec. 2 Under no circumstances shall a
member give any repeater access codes
or any other information
which can be considered as violating the
security of the repeater
or club business to anyone.
Sec. 3 Any infractions of these by-laws,
will be investigated by the grievance
committee.
Article 9
(Disciplinary Action)
Sec. 1 Any member accused of any
violations of these by-laws or any club
rules,
including election discrepancies,
will have advanced notice of a meeting with the grievance committee at which
time he/she will be able to be heard in his/her own defense.
Sec. 2 After such meeting, the grievance
committee will report their findings
and recommendations to
the board of directors.
Sec. 3 The board of directors will decide
on the appropriate disciplinary action,
which can include suspension,
expulsion or payment of any damages
sustained by the club as
a result of their action.