MAD Dogs | Bylaws

Section 1. The name of the Club shall be:
Mid Atlantic Disc Dogs "MAD Dogs" which is a Registered Name.

Section 2. The objectives of this Club shall be:
The Mid Atlantic Disc Dog Club "MAD Dogs" is a regional club that is supportive to all K9 Disc Enthusiasts and Spectators alike. Our focus is competitive fun welcoming all new members, both human and canine, at all competition levels. MAD Dogs encourages all canine lovers and their furry friends through hosting events that are fun, well run, competitive, varied and promoting good sportsmanship. MAD Dogs always has the best interest of our canine companions at heart while catering to the love and fun of the sport. We respect everyone's personal goals in the sport, whether is just for fun or for serious competition. Our intention is to continue growth and partnership with other canine disc clubs in an effort to promote the world of canine disc play.

Section 3.
This Club shall not be conducted or operated for profit. No part of any profits or residuals from dues, sales, or donations to the Club shall inure to the benefit of any member or individual. The club is incorporated as a Non Profit Ordinary Business - Non Stock Corporation in the State of Maryland as of April, 25 2006.

Section 4.
Bylaws shall be adopted and can be amended at the request of the Board for members of the Club as required to carry out these objectives. An amendment needs to be placed in writing to the Board for consideration.

Section 5.
This Club will be protected by at least $1,000,000 of liability insurance to cover its membership and directors. The responsibility for procuring insurance is the Finance Director, who will notify the Club if insurance is not available, denied or cancelled. In that event, the club will not sanction any events for that period of non-coverage.

ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Eligibility:
Membership is open to all persons who are in good standing with the Club and who subscribe to the purposes of this Club.

Section 2. Dues:
A schedule of dues shall be established by the Board of Directors annually and may be changed as necessary. A single membership is defined by: a single adult over the age of 18 years, a family membership is defined as a household including a husband and wife, domestic partners with or without a child under the age of eighteen years. Dues for Regular Members who are nonresident and overseas members shall be at a higher rate to cover additional expenses for membership services. Applicants for membership after September 1st shall pay ½ of the established membership fee for the year's membership.

Dues are payable on or before the March 1st each year. During the month of February, notification shall be sent to each member of his/her dues for the ensuing fiscal year through the Club's newsletter. One notification will be made of unpaid dues. No member may vote or accrue Club points until dues are paid for the current fiscal year.

Section 3. Election to Membership:
Each applicant for membership shall apply on a form as approved by the Board of Directors and which shall provide that the applicant agrees to abide by these bylaws. The application shall state the name and address of the applicant. Accompanying the application, the prospective member shall submit dues payment for the current year as well as proof of a current rabies vaccination for those dogs that compete and/or attend a competition.

If an applicant's membership was previously suspended or revoked, their request for reinstatement must be presented by one of the applicant's endorsers to the full membership of the Club, and the members may reinstate such applicant by secret ballot and a favorable vote of 75% of the voting membership. If membership is denied, said applicant may not be eligible for re-application for membership for one year and shall require the endorsement of two new sponsors who are unrelated and are members in good standing.

Section 4. Termination of Membership:
Memberships may be terminated by the following:

(a) Resignation: Any member in good standing may resign from the Club upon written notice to the Recording Director; but no member may resign when in debt to the Club.

(b) Lapsing: A membership will be considered as lapsed and automatically terminated if such member's dues remain unpaid after April 1st. An individual can apply for reinstatement of membership status with regular dues payment if submitted by August 31st in order for the individual to continue membership. On reinstatement, membership is considered continuous with previous years. For members whose dues remain unpaid after April 1st, all membership privileges are suspended until dues are paid. In no case may a person be entitled to vote at any Club meeting whose dues are unpaid as of the date of that meeting.

(c) Expulsion: A membership may be terminated by expulsion as provided in Article VI of these bylaws.

Section 5. Junior Handlers.
Junior handlers are defined as club members under the age of 15 on the 1st day of the fiscal year.

ARTICLE II: MEETINGS

Section 1. Annual Meeting:The Annual Meeting of the Club shall be held at a place, date, and hour designated by the Board of Directors. The Communications Director shall provide written notice of the Annual Meeting to each member at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting. A published agenda is required no less than 14 days prior to the meeting. The quorum for the Annual Meeting shall be 10% of the members in good standing.

Section 2. Special Club Meetings:
Special Club meetings may be called by a consensus vote of the Board of Directors and shall be announced by the Communications Director. Special Club meetings may also be called by any Director upon receipt of a petition signed by 10% of the members of the Club who are in good standing.

The Board of Directors will designate the place, date, and hours of all special meetings. The Communications Director will provide written notice of such meetings to be mailed at least 14 days and not more than 30 days prior to the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting, and no other Club business may be transacted. The quorum for such a meeting shall be 10% of the members in good standing.

Section 3. Board Meetings:
Meetings shall be in person, teleconference, or internet chat. The meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at such times and places as are designated by a consensus vote of the entire Board. Advance written notice by the Communications Director shall be required for notification of such a meeting. Their business may be conducted by mail through the Recording Director. The quorum for a Board meeting shall be a majority of the Board.

The Board of Directors may conduct its business by mail, fax, or e-mail through the Recording Director. Business conducted by e-mail must include the following precautions: (1) every Board member must be provided with the means to participate; (2) a procedure must be in place to verify the identity of all individuals participating to ensure that they are the eligible Board members; (3) a mechanism must be in place to verify that the eligible Board members are "listening"; (4) all Board members must agree to participate in this manner. The quorum for conducting business shall be a majority of the Board.

Section 4. General Membership Meetings:
General membership meetings may be called by a consensus vote of the Board of Directors and shall be announced by the Communications Director. The Board of Directors will designate the place, date, and hours of all general membership meetings. The Communications Director will provide written notice of such meetings to be mailed at least 14 days and not more than 30 days prior to the meeting. A published agenda is required no less than 14 days prior to the meeting. The quorum for such a meeting shall be 10% of the members in good standing.

Section 5. Formal Transition Meeting:
The elected Directors and retiring officers shall hold a meeting called by the current Chief Director to proceed with a formal turnover of all properties obtained on behalf of the Mid Atlantic Disc Dog Club and records relating to that office within 30 days after the election. The meeting shall be held at such a time and place as designated by a consensus vote of the Current Board and Board Elect. Advance written notice by the Communications Director shall be required for notification of such a meeting. The retiring directors, directors elect, Chief Director, and Recording Director are required to be attendance at a minimum.

ARTICLE III: DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Section 1. Board of Directors:
The Board shall be comprised of seven (7) elected members, all of whom shall be members in good standing with residency in the United States. The Directors shall be elected for two-year terms. They shall be elected to these terms in accordance to Article IV and shall serve through the last day of February, of the year their terms expire.

General management of the Club's affairs shall be entrusted to the Board of Directors. Any Board member may be removed from office if absent without notice for three consecutive meetings. Such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article III, Section 3.

Section 2. Roles:
The members of the Board of Directors will be decided through a bi-annual election in accordance to Article IV, Section 3 for the following roles:

Chief Director – responsibilities include one of two (2) signors on the Club bank account, preparation of meeting agendas, facilitation of meeting discussions, initiation of voting polls and procedures, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.

Finance Director – responsibilities include one of two (2) signors on the Club bank account, collection, record keeping, distribution, periodic reporting, and general management of all treasury activity, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws. His/her books shall at all times be open to the inspection by the Board and he/she shall report to them monthly and at every meeting the condition of the Club's finances and every item of receipt or payment not before reported; and at the Annual Meeting he/ she shall render an account of all monies received and expended during the previous fiscal year.

Recording Director – responsibilities include collection, record keeping, distribution, maintenance, periodic reporting, and general management of all membership information, membership status, meeting discussions, and canine vaccine records, He/she will also assist with member voting statistics, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.
Communications Director – responsibilities include collection, record keeping, distribution, periodic reporting and general management of all event activities. He/she will also formulate and distribute the club newsletter, evaluate website postings, and respond to emails from the website, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.

Procurement Director – responsibilities include purchasing, record keeping, distribution, periodic reporting, and general management of all product sales, product and equipment inventory, event awards, and membership recognition awards, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.

Competition Director – responsibilities include collection, distribution, record keeping, periodic reporting, and general management of all competition scoring requirements and results. He/she will also approve and oversee scheduled events, be responsible for providing Event Packages to Event Coordinators, be responsible for obtaining spreadsheets of all points at all Club hosted events, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.

At Large Director – responsibilities include serving the role of any of the other six directors in the event that they are temporarily unable to fulfill their duties or the role as defined through the consensus voting of the Board of Directors, in addition to those particularly specified in these bylaws.

Section 3. Vacancies:
Any vacancies occurring on the Board of Directors during their term shall be filled through a special meeting called by the Communications Director to solicit nominations for the vacancy, and an ensuing majority vote of the Board. The newly appointed director will hold this position until that position's original two year term expires.

Section 4. Decision Making:
As the Club has a limited budget, no monies will be spent on any item or service above $250 in value without approval by a consensus of the club membership. The only exceptions to this are purchase of ribbons, plaques, merchandise (discs, apparel), and insurance.

ARTICLE IV: THE CLUB YEAR, VOTING, NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS

Section 1. Club Year:
The Club's fiscal year shall begin on the 1st day of March and continue through the last day of February.

Section 2. Nominations:
Any club member in good standing may be nominated for one of the seven (7) Director positions. Directors' positions will be elected annually on an alternating schedule. Each term will be two years, but the positions will not be up for election at the same time. The order of alternating positions up for election are as follows:

Group 1: Chief, Recording, and Procurement Directors
Group 2: Finance, Communication, Competition, and At Large Directors

All nominations must be presented in writing (email is acceptable) to the Recording Director, and validated prior to the date ballots are forwarded to members. The Recording Director must receive all nominations for directors no later than 10 days before the publishing of the nomination ballot.

Section 3. Bi-annual Election:
The election of Directors shall be conducted at a General Membership Meeting at a place, date, and hour designated by the Board of Directors. The date shall be at least three weeks before the end of the fiscal year. A quorum of the majority of qualified voters is required for a valid vote. You must be a member in good standing and fifteen (15) years of age or over as of the first day of the fiscal year to be eligible to vote. Any and all ties will be resolved through a vote of the members in attendance at this meeting. The Recording Director must send the nomination ballot to members within 21 days of the Election Day. Absentee ballots will be accepted for those members that cannot attend the Biannual Election General Membership meeting which must be returned to the Recording Director and be post marked no later than five (5) days before the meeting to be valid. No absentee ballots will be opened until the Biannual Election General Membership meeting. A Election Committee shall be is established in accordance to Article IV Section 4. The persons receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected. If any nominee, at the time the ballots are counted, is unable to serve, such nominee shall not be elected and the vacancy shall go to the nominee with next highest vote count. The following processes will be allowed for voting and will be stipulated by the Board of Directors: absentee ballot, website polling, and/or electronic voting. In order for votes to be valid, the following precautions must be in place: (1) every Club member must be provided with the means to participate; (2) a procedure must be in place to verify the identity of all individuals participating to ensure that they are eligible Club members; and (3) a procedure must be in place to determine that each member has not voted more than once for each open position. A special transition meeting between the current directors and the director elects shall be held in accordance with Article II, Section 5.

Section 4. Election Committee:
An Election Committee shall be established of three members in good standing with the Club. These three persons cannot be running for any Director position. They will help in the nomination process if requested as well as collecting, validating, & tallying the votes.

ARTICLE V: EVENTS & COMMITTEES

Section 1. Event Coordination:
All club members in good standing are encouraged to organize and/or support other club members in organizing events. Events may range from many diverse disc dog activities, such as (but not limited to):

Competitions
Shows and Demonstrations
Practice and Training Sessions
Social Gatherings and Parties
Fund Raising Drives
Animal Shelter or Rescue Support

Section 2. Event Costs:
Event Coordinators are individually responsible for planning, organizing, and running their own activities after conferring with the Competition Director to schedule the event. Event Coordinators should plan entry fees that will satisfy the costs of their event with consideration of rates for handlers with multiple dogs. Any planned event that will not be able to cover its own costs (i.e. no entry fees permitted), and which will require more then $100 funding from the club treasury, must be approved in advance by a majority vote of the club membership Board.

Section 3. Event Planning:
Event Coordinators should communicate directly with the Competition Director and adhere to the following stipulations and guidelines for hosting sponsored club activities that he can submit to them in the Event Package. The Event Package is attached as an addendum to the bylaws.

Section 4. Event Scoring:
A dog may compete with any individual within the health constraints determined by the owner. This is subject to specific event rules. Each dog/handler team is considered a separate team. Junior handlers may use a dog that is competing with someone else and their scores will be counted separately.

Section 5. Conflicts of Interest:
No competitor may judge (or assist a judge) in a freestyle-type event that is in the same division in which they are competing. Spouses and / or domestic partners may not judge the same category the other spouse or partner is competing. Exceptions can be made at the determination of any Board of Directors present at each event.

Section 6. Committees:
Special Ad Hoc committees may be appointed by the Board of Directors to aid members on projects of particular interest to the club membership. Any committee appointment may be terminated by a consensus vote of the Board upon written notice to the appointee, and the Board may appoint successors to those persons whose service has been terminated.

Section 7. Demonstrations:
Twenty percent of the payment from paid demonstrations obtained through the club or held in the club's name will be paid to the club to help cover overhead cost.

ARTICLE VI: DISCIPLINE

Section 1. Charges:
Any Member may prefer charges against a member for alleged misconduct prejudicial to the best interests of the Club. Written charges with specifications must be filed with the Recording Director. The Recording Director shall promptly send a copy of the charges to each member of the Board or present them at a Board Meeting. The Board shall first attempt to resolve the grievance prior to a formal hearing through an appointed arbitrator (an unbiased, independent person from the club and its effected members) who will seek to resolve the grievance to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. If that fails within thirty (30) days from the date that the Board entertained jurisdiction of the charges, the Board shall fix a date of hearing by the Board or a Committee of not less than three (3) members of the Board, not less than three (3) weeks or more than six (6) weeks thereafter. The Recording Director shall promptly send one copy of the charges to the accused member by certified mail, return receipt, together with a notice of the hearing and an assurance that the defendant may personally appear in his/her defense and bring witnesses if he/she wishes.

Section 2. Expulsion:
Expulsion of a member from the Club may be accomplished only at the Annual or Special Meeting of the Club following a hearing and upon the recommendation of the Board or Committee. The defendant shall have the privilege of appearing in his/her own behalf though no evidence shall be taken at this meeting. The Chief Director shall read the charges and the findings and recommendations and shall invite the defendant, if present, to speak in his/her own behalf. The meeting shall then vote by secret ballot (written) on the proposed expulsion. A 66% vote of those present and voting at the meeting shall be necessary for expulsion. If expulsion is not so voted, the suspension shall stand.

Section 3. Suspension:
Suspension of a member from the Club may be accomplished only by consensus vote of the Board of Directors. The Chief Director shall document the club rule and/or behavior violations of the accused member and present the evidence to the Recording Director for distribution to the rest of the Board. The board shall meet to determine if the violations warrant suspension and if so, the appropriate disciplinary period. The Recording Director will inform the member of the Board's decision within 7 days of their determination.

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS

Section 1.
Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by the Board of Directors or by written petition addressed to the Recording Director. Amendments proposed by such petition shall be promptly considered by the Board of Directors and must be submitted to the members with recommendations of the Board by the Recording Director for a vote within three (3) months of the date when the Recording Director received the petition.

Section 2.
The bylaws may be amended at any time provided a copy of the proposed amendment has been communicated by the Recording Director to each member in good standing on the date of the mailing, accompanied by a ballot on which he/she may indicate his/her choice for or against the action to be taken or through a website polling. The notice shall specify a date not less than 30 days after the date postmarked, by which date the ballots must be returned to the Recording Director or the polling voting must be made to be counted. The favorable vote of 66% of the members in good standing who return valid ballots within the time limit shall be required to effect any such amendment.

ARTICLE VIII: DISSOLUTION

Section 1.
The Club may be dissolved at any time by the written consent of not less than 66% of the members. In the event of the dissolution of the Club, other than for purposes of reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary, or by operation of law, none of the property of the Club nor any proceeds thereof, nor any assets of the Club shall be distributed to any members of the Club, but after payment of the debts of the Club its property and assets shall be given to a charitable organization for the benefit of dogs suggested by the Board of Directors and approved by a majority vote of club members.

ARTICLE IX: ORDER OF BUSINESS

Section 1.
At the meetings of the Club, the order of business so far as the character and nature of the meeting may permit, shall be as follows:

Roll Call
Minutes of last meeting
Report of Chief Director
Report of Recording Director
Report of Finance Director
Report of Competition Director
Report of Communications Director
Unfinished business
New business
Adjournment

Section 2.
At meetings of the Board, the order of Business, unless otherwise directed by consensus vote of those present shall be as follows:

Reading of minutes of last meeting
Report of Recording Director
Report of Finance Director
Report of Committees
Unfinished business
New business
Adjournment

Section 3. Order of Business.
At meetings of the Club, Robert's Rules of Order shall be followed to the extent that they are not inconsistent with these bylaws.