Constitution and
Bylaws
Of the
Of
Adopted
2 February 1993
Amended
7 February 1995
2 January 2000
3 January 2001
7 February 2006
2 January 2007
of
CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS
ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE CLUB
Section
1: The official name of the club, as
established in April 1985, shall
be the Peace Valley Bass
Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Section
2: PURPOSE:
The purpose of the
club shall be:
a)
To
stimulate public interest and awareness in bass fishing as
a major sport.
b)
To
improve bass angling skills through a friendly exchange of bass fishing ideas,
techniques and experiences.
c)
To
improve the relationship between the bass angler and the
general public by basing the club’s organizational standards
upon honesty,
integrity, and the principles of sound morals and good character, as well as,
sportsmanship and fellowship.
d)
Finally,
to unite the common interests and goals of
conservation-minded bass anglers by giving
total support to
all Federal, State and Local Fish and Game
Commission
programs, while pledging complete loyalty to
protect and
defend waste, abuse, and pollution of our
country’s natural
resources.
ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP:
Section
1: NUMBER OF MEMBERS:
The membership of the club shall be restricted
or limited anytime
the number of club members without
boats exceeds the number of
club members with boats available to
support the full intent and
activities of the club.
Section
2: REGULAR MEMBERSHIP:
Regular membership shall be open to
all persons sixteen (16)
Years of age or older without regard
to race, color, creed, sex,
National origin or religion. All persons requesting membership
Into the club shall complete a “new”
membership application
form accompanied by the current annual dues to P.V.B.A. and
an additional
ten dollar ($10.00) new member fee.
In
addition, the person(s) must meet the following requirements of
membership:
a)
Must
be nominated by an active member in good standing
and be approved by the general membership.
b)
All
nominations for regular club membership shall be made
and submitted prior to the club’s regularly scheduled
monthly
business meeting.
c)
Prospective
member(s) should be of good character, honest
and possess sound integrity.
d)
The
acceptance of prospective member(s) into the club
membership requires a two-thirds majority vote of the club
members present at a regularly scheduled club meeting. The prospective
member(s)
will be officially notified of acceptance/non-acceptance.
e)
Should
prospective member(s) fail to be accepted for
membership they may, by their own request, be placed on a
waiting list to be considered for membership at a later
date.
In the interim any monies received for membership dues shall
be immediately returned to the individual(s) pending membership
reconsideration. The membership
application will be retained by the club for record purposes.
f)
The
interim period for reconsideration shall not be less than Thirty (30) days, nor
more than six (6) months.
g)
Upon
being accepted, failure to complete membership by
neglecting to pay “new” membership dues shall automatically
disqualify the prospective new member(s) from the club membership. With the consent of the club’s officers,
“new” membership dues may be paid at a later date, not to exceed thirty (30)
days from the date of acceptance.
h)
Any
regular active member in good standing may request, at
any time, to be placed on an in-active status
by submitting a
written leave of absence request to the
Club President. The
leave
of absence shall not exceed a period of six (6) months.
All club fees/dues must be paid up to
date.
Section
3: JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP:
Junior membership shall be open to all persons fourteen (14)
years of age or older without regard to race, color, creed,
sex,
national origin or religion.
All persons requesting Junior membership
into the club must be the child of an existing regular
member and shall complete a “new” membership application form accompanied by
the current annual dues to P.V.B.A. and an additional ten dollar ($10.00) new
member fee. In addition, the person(s)
must meet all of the requirements of membership required of regular
members. Junior members can only fish in
club tournaments held under the “partner” format whereby they fish with their
parent member. After reaching sixteen
(16) years of age a Junior member will automatically become a Regular
member. Junior members are eligible for
all tournament prize winnings and are eligible to qualify for the Classic tournament
but can only fish in the Classic tournament if their parent member has also
qualified.
Section 4: HONORARY MEMBERSHIP:
Honorary memberships are extended to
those individuals or
organizations voted into the club
because of their sponsorship or contributions which amount to fifty dollars ($50.00)
or more. These memberships shall not be
required to maintain P.V.B.A. club membership, nor pay any regular
fees/dues. Honorary memberships shall be
extended on an annual basis only. All
honorary memberships shall receive a plaque in appreciation of their
sponsorship and/or their contributions.
Section 5: MEMBERSHIP FEES/DUES:
Regular annual renewal membership
dues are open for payment at the January, February and March meetings of each
year. A thirty (30) day
grace
period may be allowed for extenuating circumstances. Any regular
member not renewing their
membership by the March meeting of each
year will be assessed a late charge of $5.00. Current Annual
membership
dues shall be $25.00.
Section 6: MEMBERSHIP SUSPENSION/TERMINATION:
Club membership may be suspended or terminated for any of
the following reasons:
a) Failure to obey any or all Federal,
State or Local Fish and
Game laws.
b) The willful use of firearms or any
similar weaponry during
any organized club activity.
c) Conduct unbecoming a sportsman that
tends to degrade the
integrity of the club.
d) Failure to pay
any club fees/dues, as may be prescribed, in
a timely manner.
Note: All membership
suspension/terminations shall be kept on file, by the Club Secretary, for a
period of one (1) year.
Section 7: DEPARTING MEMBERS:
Any active member, who has been an
active member in good standing for a period of at least three (3) years and is
departing the area, shall receive a plaque in token of the Club’s appreciation
for their support and participation in club activities. The cost of the plaque shall not exceed the
sum of twenty-five ($25.00) dollars.
ARTICLE III: CLUB
MEETINGS:
Regularly conducted business
meetings shall be held a
minimum of once a month. With reasonable advance
notice, the Club President and/or the
Club Vice-President
may convene any special purpose
meetings at any time.
a) A regular monthly business meeting
is currently scheduled
for the first
Tuesday of each month.
b) Meetings will commence promptly at
7:30 P.M.
c) The club membership will be duly
notified of the date, time and location of any special purpose meetings.
ARTICLE IV: CLUB
OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES:
The Club shall be directed by four
(4) Officers:
1. President
2. Vice President/Tournament Director
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
Section 1: DUTIES OF THE CLUB PRESIDENT:
The Club President is an elected office as determined by an
annual club membership election.
a) Preside over regular official club
meetings or other authorized club activities.
b) Appoint and direct all committees
and their functions.
c) The supervising of all official club
activities.
d) Responsible for the proper
management, direction and the assignment of club responsibilities and its
officers.
e) Responsible for the timely completion
and submission of all required administrative and tournament reports.
f)
Assist
the Tournament Director with the scheduling of all club sanctioned tournaments.
g) All other items of assignment as may
be prescribed.
Section 2: DUTIES OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT/TOURNAMENT
DIRECTOR
The Club Vice-President/Tournament Director is an elected
office as determined by an annual club membership election.
a) Preside over regular official
meetings or other authorized club activities in the absence of the Club
President.
b) Direct all committees and functions
coming under his responsibilities.
c) Responsible for determining and
scheduling of all club tournaments established by the club membership.
d) Directly responsible to the Club
President for the timely and accurate recording of all club tournaments.
e) Directly responsible to the Club
President for properly conducting each club tournament which includes, the
accurate measuring and weighing of all fish and the official accurate
score-keeping records of the club.
f)
He
shall also have final authority over all rules, regulations and settlement of
club tournaments.
g) Responsible to the club membership
for providing a “Tournament Information Report” at each regularly scheduled
monthly meeting. The report should
include information on tournament area lakes/waterways, weather conditions,
directions and other pertinent information.
h) Responsible to the club for
providing a proposed “Tournament Schedule” in November of each year. This proposed schedule will be voted on by
the club membership in January of the next year.
i)
All
other items of assignment as may be prescribed by the Club President.
Section 3: DUTIES OF THE CLUB SECRETARY:
The Club Secretary is an elected
office as determined by an
annual club membership election.
a) Report directly to the Club’s
President and Vice-President for the accurate recording of minutes of each
regularly scheduled business meeting.
b) Responsible for the preparation and
mailing of the recorded minutes of each monthly business meeting to all active
members of the club.
c) Responsible for directing all
“Public Affairs” and “Advertising” activities on behalf of the P.V.B.A.
d) Assist the Club President and
Vice-President in all P.V.B.A. affairs.
e) All other items of assignment as may
be prescribed by the Club’s President and/or Vice President.
Section 4: DUTIES OF THE CLUB TREASURER:
The Club Treasurer is an elected office as determined by an
annual
club membership
election.
a) Directly responsible to the Club
President for the handling of all items of business pertaining to membership
fees/dues and the financial matters of the club.
b) Responsible for providing an
up-to-date financial report, accounting for all club funds and assets of the
club. An oral/written report shall be
submitted to the membership at each regularly scheduled business meeting.
c) Assist the Club President and
Vice-President in all P.V.B.A. affairs.
d) All other items of assignment as may
be prescribed by the Club’s President and/or Vice President.
Section 5: ELECTION OF CLUB OFFICERS:
The election of the club officers
will be held annually, in January, during the regularly scheduled business
meeting. The election will be conducted
by open voice acclamation. A simple
majority of the club members present shall determine the results. The election of each officer shall be held
separately in the order listed in these BYLAWS.
Section 6: ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE:
All regular active members in good standing shall be entitled
to one (1) vote for each elected office.
Proxy or absentee votes are “NOT PERMITTED, NOR ACCEPTED”.
Section 7: ELIGIBILITY FOR HOLDING A CLUB OFFICE:
Each perspective candidate/nominee for club office should
reasonable fill the following criteria:
a) Must be a regular member in good
standing with all fees/dues currently paid within thirty (30) days.
b) Must have attended at least
three-fourths (3/4) of the club’s regularly scheduled business meetings and
activities during the previous calendar year.
c) Posses a better than above-average
overall interest in all club activities.
d) Must indicate acceptance of the
nomination prior to the actual election voting and also agree to assume the
full responsibilities of the office for which nominated.
e) Must be present at the election
meeting to accept or deny the nomination.
Agree to serve in the office to the fullest extent possible supporting
the primary purpose and the membership of the club.
Section 8: TERMS OF OFFICE FOR ELECTED CLUB
OFFICERS:
The term of office for all elected
club officers shall be for a minimum period of one (1) year beginning in
January and ending on December 31st of each year. A member may be continually elected to serve
in or hold a particular elected office provided that member accepts the
nomination and agrees to continue to serve in that office.
Section 9: VACANCY OF AN ELECTED OFFICE(S):
In the event an elected club office
becomes vacant for any reason during the calendar year, nominations will be
requested from the club membership and a “Special” election will be held to
fill the unexpired term of the vacated office.
Section 10: SUSPENSION/TERMINATION OF AN ELECTED
OFFICE:
The suspension or termination of an
elected club officer shall be for the same reason(s) as for all regular members
of the club as stated in ARTICLE II, Section 5 of these BYLAWS, with the
exception that any club officer being suspended or terminated from office must
be officially notified in writing prior to the next regularly scheduled monthly
business meeting or activity.
ARTICLE V: TOURNAMENTS,
TOURNAMENT FEES, AND TOURNAMENT
REGULATIONS:
Section 1: TOURNAMENTS:
a) NUMBER OF TOURNAMENTS:
The number of tournaments shall be
in accordance with established guidelines set-forth by the club membership with
the exception of “no point” and any “special” tournaments. These tournaments shall be governed and
scheduled separately by the Club Tournament Director.
b) SELECTION OF LAKES/WATERWAYS:
The selection of lakes/waterways to
be fished shall be determined by a majority vote of the club members present at
the regularly scheduled November business meeting. The selection of tournament dates shall be in
like manner with the exception of any “special” tournaments determined by the
club Tournament Director. Any changes in
the tournament schedule must be made prior to the start of the tournament
season by majority vote of club members.
Section
2: TOURNAMENT FEES:
a)
AMOUNT OF TOURNAMENT FEES:
All club on-day tournament entry
fees shall be twenty-five ($25.00) dollars with the exception of the club
two-day tournaments, which shall be fifty ($50.00) dollars.
b) DISBURSEMENT OF TOURNAMENT FEES:
1. One-day Tournaments: $25.00
Prize money $14.00
Lunker Award 3.00
“Classic” Fund 6.00
Club Treasury 2.00
Total
$25.00
2. Two-day Tournaments: $50.00
Prize money $28.00
Lunker Award 6.00
“Classic” Fund 12.00
Club Treasury 4.00
Total
$50.00
c) TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEE PAYMENT:
All tournament entry fees must be received and paid to the
Club Treasurer prior to “ooze-off” on the day of the actual scheduled
tournament. Unless for “unusual
circumstances” the Treasurer will make “NO REFUNDS” of monies received.
Section 3: TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS:
The tournament regulations shall be
in accordance with those regulations established and set-forth by the Club
Tournament Director for P.V.B.A. and
shall be published separately from
these BYLAWS and distributed to each club member upon joining and being
accepted into the P.V.B.A. club.
Section 4: DRAW TOURNAMENTS – SELECTION OR PAIRING
OF
PARTNERS:
The selection of pairing of partners
shall be accomplished by a random draw held by the Club Tournament Director. Non-boater members will be paired with Boater
members. The Club Tournament Director
shall be directly responsible to the club membership that participating
tournament partners have reasonable and ample time to prepare for the scheduled
tournament.
Section
5: INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT EXPENSES:
Participating members who are paired
as tournament partners shall share all individual tournament expenses. This may be any mutual agreement between
tournament partners and should be at least a reasonable amount of the expenses
incurred. The key words are “mutual
agreement”.
Section 6: AWARDING OF POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY:
The awarding of all points and prize
money shall be in accordance with the established guidelines set-forth within
the P.V.B.A. Club Tournament Rules. A
copy of the Club Tournament Rules, point system and pay-off amounts shall be
distributed to all P.V.B.A. club members in good standing. All club fees/dues must be current within
thirty (30) days for the awarding of any points and receipt of any prize
money. The Club Tournament Director will
present awards for: “First”, Second”, and “Third” places for “Angler of the
Year”, for “Total Weight” as well as the “Big Bass” award for the year and, an
award to the two “Classic” winners are presented at the “Annual Club
Social”. “Angler of the Year” standings
will be based upon a member’s best eight (8) tournament finishes as determined
by points awarded in each tournament.
“Total Weight” will be determined by the total accumulated weight of all
bass weighed in by a member in all regular point tournaments. “Big Bass” will be awarded to the angler who
weighs in the largest bass during the regular point tournament year. In the event of any tie, co-winners will be
awarded.
Section 7: QUALIFYING FOR THE P.V.B.A. CLASSIC:
The P.V.B.A. Classic is an end of
the season team tournament designed to reward the top club fisherman and those
members who participated in a minimum number of tournaments. Qualifying for the Classic shall be limited
to members who finish in the top 50% in the “Angler of the Year” point
standings and any additional member(s) who participated in a minimum of six (6)
regular point tournaments. In the event
that 50% of the paid club membership is a fractional number, that number shall
be rounded to the next higher whole number.
For example, if the club has 31 paid members the top 50% shall be the
members with the 16 highest tournament point totals. There shall be no entry
fee for the P.V.B.A. Classic except for those members who qualify via points
but failed to fish a minimum of six regular point tournaments. Those members will be required to pay a
twenty-five ($25.00) dollar entry fee to fish the classic. All such entry fees shall be used for the
Classic payout.
Section 8: CANCELLATION OF A REGULAR POINT TOURNAMENT
Any regular point tournament
cancelled by the Tournament Director due to weather, unsafe conditions, or due
to actions by federal, state, or local officials shall not be
re-scheduled. The cancellation of any
regular point tournament shall not affect the criteria for “Angler of the
Year”, “Total Weight”, or qualifying for the club Classic.
ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS
TO THE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS:
All regular members of the P.V.B.A.
Club will receive a copy of the CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS upon joining and being
accepted into the club. All Members are
encouraged to completely read them and to make and submit any recommendations
for amending any portions(s) herein.
a)
All
proposed amendments to the CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS shall be submitted in
writing and received by the Club Secretary no later than the regular November
business meeting of each year. This will
allow sufficient notice to the club membership of any proposed amendments prior
to the voting and possible adoption at the scheduled business meeting in
January of the New Year.
b)
Voting
for and adoption of any amendments to the CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS shall be
conducted during the regularly scheduled business meeting in January of each
year.