CHAPTER BYLAWS

Article I Purpose

Section 1.01  Purpose

The purpose of the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) is to foster, improve, promote, and protect the versatile hunting dog in Arizona and Nevada as well as in North America.  The chapter shall promote good sportsmanship and game conservation by encouraging members and other hunters to use well trained and mannered dogs.

Article II Membership

Section 2.01  Qualifications for membership

The active members of this club shall be those who have paid their annual dues to the chapter for the current year.

Section 2.02  Chapter Meetings

The members of the chapter shall meet as defined by the Executive Committee but no less than 2 times per year. The meeting times and venue will be designated by a majority of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may, at their discretion, designate the time and place of additional meetings to conduct Chapter business. A quorum shall occur when a simple majority of the Executive Committee and any number of members of the chapter are present at the bi-annual meetings or other meetings called by the Executive Committee.

Section 2.03  Executive Committee Meetings

The Executive Committee shall meet once every six months or as needed to discuss current business at hand. Some examples would be Chapter tests, clinic, demonstration dates, chapter merchandise orders, as well as a review of the chapter finances.

Section 2.04  Voting and other rights of members

Each member (single member or household membership) of this chapter shall be entitled to one vote.

Section 2.05  Annual Dues

Annual dues shall be set by the elected officers and shall be full calendar year dues. Such dues shall be payable by Jan 1st of each year. Members must pay yearly dues to the Chapter prior to participating in Chapter sponsored events. Such events include, but are not limited to: meetings, voting for Chapter Directors, training clinics, hunts at preserves, any type of shooting event, Chapter fund raising events, representation of the Chapter at any type of event, or any other event or function designated as Chapter sponsored.  Members whose renewal dues are not submitted on or before Jan 31st of that year will be removed from the chapter mailing list on Feb 1st.  Any new members who have submitted their chapter membership dues after Oct 1st will not have to pay dues for the following year.

Section 2.06  Disputes

In the event of a dispute or grievance between or among members, and which is of such a serious nature as to damage the purposes or reputation of the Chapter, the President may appoint a committee consisting of at least three members of the Chapter, one of which shall be a member of the elected Board of Directors, who shall serve as Chairperson. The purpose of this committee shall be to gather facts and mediate the dispute. If no settlement can be reached by the efforts of the committee, the committee shall present the matter to the elected Board of Directors for final arbitration.

Section 2.07  Liabilities of Members

No person who is now, or who later becomes a member of this Chapter shall be personally liable to its creditors for any indebtedness or liability, and any and all creditors shall look only to the assets of this Chapter for payment.

Article III Board of Directors

Section 3.01  Number, Title, & Responsibilities of Directors

The Board of Directors shall be elected by the membership and consist of four (5) members until the number of Directors is changed by amendment to these BYLAWS. They shall be the President, Past President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 3.02  President

The President shall have general supervision, direction, control of the business and affairs of the Chapter. He shall preside at all meetings of the members.

Section 3.03 Past-President

The Past President shall act as council for the Board of Directors and shall have other powers and perform other such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by the President.

Section 3.04  Vice-President

In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice President shall perform all the duties of the President and in so acting shall have all the powers of the President. The Vice President shall have other powers and perform other such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by the President.

Section 3.05  Secretary

The Secretary shall keep full and complete records of the proceedings of the elected Directors, shall make service of such notices as may be necessary or proper, shall supervise the keeping of records of the chapter, and shall discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by the President.

Section 3.06  Treasurer

The Treasurer shall receive and safely keep all funds of the Chapter and deposit them in the bank(s) designated by the Directors. The Treasurer shall keep a written record and provide a yearly report of the funds received, deposited, or disbursed. The Treasurer shall have other powers and perform other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the President.

Article IV Executive Committee

Section 4.01  Executive Committee Members

The Executive Committee shall consist of the Board of Directors, one member voted into the position of Executive Officer by means of general election, as well as one charter chapter member if available.  When the time comes that a charter member is not available the general membership will appoint an existing chapter member to this position via the biannual vote.

Section 4.02  Executive Committee Responsibilities

This committee shall be responsible for scheduling test, clinics, training days, as well as any demonstrations or any other chapter related functions.  This shall include dates as well as the location the events will be held.

Section 4.03  Quorum

Five (5) members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 4.04  Powers of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be empowered to operate as prescribed within these BYLAWS. The Executive Committee shall conduct the business of the Chapter until such time as new elections take place and new Committee Members are installed.

Section 4.05  Vacancies

Should a vacancy occur on the Executive Committee, the remaining Committee members shall fill the duties of that Committee member. Should two or more vacancies occur on the Executive Committee, the Secretary shall conduct an election to fill the open positions on the Committee. Such election shall follow the procedure to allow members to nominate and vote for Committee Members to fill existing vacancies until the next scheduled election. The Officers shall be responsible to conduct and insure the validity of the election.

Section 4.06  Compensation

The Executive Committee of the chapter shall receive no compensation for their services as Executive Committee members. The Executive Committee may be reimbursed for personal funds spent in conducting chapter business.  A detailed outline of these expenses will be distributed to the membership with the annual treasury report.

Article V Elections

Section 5.01  Frequency of Elections

Every two (2) years the members of the chapter shall elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary as well as one Executive Committee member.  When the chapter has no original charter members the membership will vote on two candidates to complete the Executive Committee. (Section 4.01)

Section 5.02  Terms of Office

The Executive Committee members shall hold their offices for a period of two years commencing on January 31, following their election, and ending on January 30, two (2) calendar years thereafter.

Section 5.03  Nominations

The Secretary shall solicit the membership in writing for nominations for the members of the Board of Directors by November 1 of the second calendar year. Membership will be required to return nominations by Nov 15 and the Secretary is required to list all nominations on a ballot for each office and submit said ballot to the membership by Dec 1.  Ballots must be returned to the Secretary by Dec 31. The Secretary will total the results and send the results to the membership by Jan 15. The ballots will be retained by the Secretary for a period not less than three (3) months and any member may review those ballots upon written or oral request to the Secretary.

Section 5.04  Eligibility

All persons, who have been a member of the Chapter for a minimum of one year at the time of their nomination and are a member of NAVHDA International, shall be eligible to become a nominee for election to the Board of Directors.

Section 5.05  Disputes and Procedures

The Executive Committee shall be the sole arbiter of disputes with regards to the validity of any election. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to invalidate the results of an election for good cause and place in office said person(s) as whom the Committee has reasonable certainty should have rightfully been declared elected or the Committee may invalidate the election results and schedule a new election. The date of such election shall be declared by the Committee to all members and the Committee shall be responsible to conduct said election, tabulate the results, and report the results to the membership.

Article VI Amendment & Review of Bylaws

Section 6.01  Procedure

Any proposed amendment of, addition to, or repeal of these BYLAWS must first be initiated by a majority of the members of the chapter. Upon receiving such a proposal, the Secretary will mail to voting members of the chapter, a written ballot setting forth the proposed amendment, addition, or repeal. The ballots will direct, that they must be returned to the Secretary no later than 30 days following the date the ballots are mailed to members. These BYLAWS may be amended or repealed only by affirmative vote of a simple majority of the voting members of the chapter who submit ballots within the 30 day period.

Section 6.02  Bylaw Review

The Executive Committee shall review these BYLAWS every five (5) years and may propose amendments to the BYLAWS by means discussed in Section 5.01.

Article VII Committees and Appointments

Section 7.01  Committees and Appointments

Committees and appointment of members for specific purposes or activities may be designated by the chapters President.

Article VIII NAVHDA Testing and Events

Section 8.01  Testing and Event Fees

The entry fee charged by the Chapter for participating in a Chapter test or event shall be established by the Executive Committee.  A full refund of the test entry or event fee will be refunded to the dog owner if they notify the chapter at least 90 days prior to the event date. The dog owner is not eligible for a refund of the test entry or event fees after 90 days. If the Chapter event or test is full with a waiting list, a registered participant can receive a full refund within 90 days of the event date if there is a willing participant to take that individuals place.