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BY-LAWS OF THE
MISSISSIPPI ARABIAN HORSE ASSOCIATION, INC.
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of the organization
shall be MISSISSIPPI ARABIAN HORSE ASSOCIATION, INC. Hereinafter
referred to as the Association.
ARTICLE II
LOCATION
The territory of the Association shall consist of the area
encompassed by the boundaries of the State of Mississippi. Its
principal office shall be the office address or in lieu of the same,
the resident address of the President.
ARTICLE III
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Association
shall be as follows:
To aid and encourage the breeding, exhibition, and perpetuation of
the Arabian and Half-Arabian horses.
To Promote and coordinate the efforts and activities of all
interested Mississippians in Arabian horse events on local, state,
regional and national levels.
To encourage, promote, and where possible, assist in the development
of local Arabian riding clubs, with the specific purpose of
encouraging Arabian participation in local open horse events.
Likewise, it will seek to familiarize local open show judges with
Arabian standards for judging at halter and performance.
To study the history, characteristics, breeding, and genetics of
Arabian horses, and to collect, coordinate, preserve and distribute
useful information about them.
To encourage and coordinate the efforts and activities of
Mississippi Arabian breeders in the development and maintenance of
the highest possible quality in Arabian horse breeding standards,
efforts and practice.
To encourage and conduct exhibits and shows for the purpose of
advancing the quality of Arabian Horses.
ARTICLE IV
STRUCTURE
Section 1
This corporation shall be nonprofit, nonunion, nonpartisan, and
nonsectarian whose members shall have the sole right to govern and
control all activities through their duly elected officials.
Section 2
This corporation shall uphold democratic principles and shall
conduct their business in accordance with the guidelines established
by the By-laws of the International Arabian Horse Association and
the same of Region XII thereof.
Section 3
The association does not contemplate any pecuniary gain or profit to
the members.
ARTICLE V
MEMBERSHIP
1. Application for initial
membership shall be made on such form and in such manner as
determined by the Association and shall be accompanied by payment of
the dues for the current year. Any applicant agrees to abide by and
support the By-laws of this Association.
2. There shall be five (5) classes of membership, namely: 1)
Individual (18 & over AHA), 2) Individual (3 year 18 & over AHA) 3)
Individual (18 & over Non-AHA) and 4) Youth Memberships and 5)
Honorary.
3. Each Individual (18 & over AHA) & Individual (3 year 18 & over
AHA) member shall be entitled to one vote on any matter coming
before the membership.
4. Each Individual (18 & over non-AHA) member is a voting member of
MAHA, but is ineligible to vote on AHA matters or serve as an
officer or director. They may participate in MAHA High Point Awards
(if they reside in MS), Futurity, receive newsletters, and other
communications, be listed in directory, Hall of Fame.
5. Honorary MAHA membership may be grated by a majority vote of the
Board of Directors, subject to the approval of the regular
membership, to individual who have performed outstanding services in
promoting the Arabian horse in Mississippi. Honorary members shall
not be required to pay dues. Honorary members shall have no voting
rights.
6. Youth membership shall be any person seventeen years of age or
under, with the written consent of a parent or guardian, who agrees
to abide by and support the By-laws of this Association. A youth
member has voting rights and the right to hold office in the Youth
Club.
7. A member may resign by submitting written resignation to the
president of MAHA. Dues shall not be refunded to any member who has
resigned.
8. Any Member who has not paid dues by December 31st of each year
shall automatically be dropped from membership.
9. Any member who shall have resigned or who shall have been dropped
from membership may be reinstated by provided they submit an
application for membership with applicable dues.
10. Membership shall be terminated for any member who fails to abide
by the By-laws, the respective By-laws of the International Arabian
Horse Association. The respective By-laws of Region IXX and/or any
other rules by which this corporation may be governed. (ie AHSA
rules)
ARTICLE VI
DUES
Annual dues shall be renewed by
the 31st of October of each year. Current year’s dues must be paid
for a member to have the right to vote. Under no circumstances will
MAHA pay the dues for any member or officer in the club. Annual dues
shall be as follows:
A. Individual (18 & over IAHA) IAHA membership plus $15.00
B. Individual ( 3 year, 18 & over IAHA) IAHA membership plus
$45.00
C. Individual ( 18 & over non-IAHA) $20.00
D. Youth (17 & under IAHA) IAHA membership plus $5.00
ARTICLE VII
OFFICERS
The officers of the Association
shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, and a
Treasurer. Officers will be elected the first Sunday in March of
each year. Officers will take office the first of March. Any Officer
who misses two (2) consecutive meetings, both called and scheduled,
without adequate cause will be terminated from their tenure.
No person shall be nominated or serve as an elected officer of MAHA
who has not been a member of the club for at least one year
preceding the year they are to serve. Further, any nominated officer
must have attended at least 50% of the meetings and functions of
MAHA in that preceding year.
ARTICLE VIII
DIRECTORS
There shall be nine (9)
directors. One-third (1/3) shall serve one year, one-third (1/3) two
years, and one-third (1/3) three years. The directors shall be
empowered to fill vacancies among officers and among directors when
required. Directors shall be elected the first Sunday in March of
each year to fill those terms expiring. Directors, who miss two (2)
consecutive meetings, both called and scheduled, without adequate
cause will be terminated from their tenure.
The Board of Directors shall have power to take any action not
inconsistent with law, with the Articles of Incorporation, the
By-laws, or with any duly enacted Resolution of the Membership.
ARTICLE IX
DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
1. Duties of the President:
a. The President shall preside at the Annual Meeting, meetings of
General Membership and meetings of the Board of Directors.
b. Except as otherwise provided, the President shall appoint all
committees that serve at the pleasure of the President.
c. Within the limitation imposed by the Articles of Incorporation,
the By-laws, and any duly adopted Resolution, the President shall
have general power to conduct and manage the affairs and business of
the Association.
2. Duties of the
Vice-President
d. The Vice-President, in order of precedence, shall assume the
duties of the President in the event of the Presidents absence or
inability to act, or at his/her request.
e. The Vice-President shall have such other duties, respectively, as
may be specifically delegated to him/her by the President.
3. Dues of the Secretary:
f. The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept a full and complete
record of proceedings of the Annual Meeting, Regular Meetings, and
of meetings of the Board of Directors and of action taken by the
Board of Directors.
g. The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept, the seal, books,
documents, and papers of the Association, and shall affix the seal
to all papers duly authorized by the President.
h. The Secretary shall handle, or cause to be handled, all
correspondence and communications approved by the President and
perform all duties incident to the office of the Secretary.
i. The Secretary shall publish notice of the place and date of the
Annual Meeting, General Meetings and Meetings of the Board of
Directors.
j. The Secretary shall keep a corrected current copy of the
Association By-laws.
k. The Secretary shall have such other duties as may be delegated to
him/her by the President.
4. Duties of the Treasurer:
l. The Treasurer shall receive all monies belonging to, or paid to
the Association and safely deposit the same to the account of the
Association.
m. The Treasurer shall disburse funds of the Association in
accordance with directions given him/her on authority of the General
Membership.
n. The Treasurer shall keep complete books of account, prepare and
present itemized statement at the Annual Meeting, and prepare and
present such interim reports as may be required by the President.
o. The Treasurer shall handle such other duties as may be delegated
to him/her by the President
p. Records shall be audited prior to transfer to new officers.
ARTICLE X
MEETINGS
1. There shall be an
election meeting scheduled the first Sunday in March of each year.
2. There shall be a minimum of four (4) general meetings in a
year plus any additional meeting deemed necessary by the President
and/or General Membership.
3. All members shall be notified at least two (2) weeks in
advance of all meetings. The club newsletter shall suffice for such
notice.
4. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the voting members
present.
ARTICLE XI
FINANCIAL
The depository of the Association
shall be kept in a bank designated by the Board of Directors. The
current Treasurer shall deposit all funds of this association in the
account of the Mississippi Arabian Horse Association, Inc. The
current President and Treasurer shall countersign all monies
disbursed.
The Treasurer and President must approve all expenses and no expense
of $300 or more may be made without approval from the President,
Treasurer and majority of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE XII
COMMITTEES
Section 1
The Executive Show Advisory Committee shall be chaired by the Vice
President. The Committee shall be comprised of six (6) additional
members, each to serve three-year terms, on a rotation, with two
members to be elected by the membership of the club each year. In
the event of a vacancy in the Executive Show Advisory Committee, the
first runner-up in the voting for new Executive Show Advisory
Committee members at the current year’s annual meeting shall be
appointed to fill the vacancy. In the event that no first runner-up
is able or willing to serve, or in the event that only the two
members elected chose to run for the Executive Show Advisory
Committee, a special meeting of the general membership will be held
for the purpose of electing a replacement to fill the vacancy.
The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the President and
shall be comprised of three members (Individual IAHA), only one of
who may be from the Board of Directors. The duties of this committee
shall be to present a slate of candidates for all elective offices,
these names to be made known to the membership at least thirty-(30)
days prior to the election. Further nominations may be made from the
floor.
Horse Show Chairman: The Board of Directors will appoint a Horse
Show Chairman, who will be responsible for the Class A shows. This
chairman will appoint his/her committee. The General Membership
shall make any suggestions as to the show to said committee.
Convention Delegates: The club will vote for delegates to the IAHA,
Region 12, and Youth Conventions, with MAHA paying all reasonable
expenses for the IAHA Delegate(s). It is understood that any
person(s) accepting said appointment agrees that they will attend
the convention(s), attend the meetings, representing MAHA and will
make a written report to the club.
Section 2.
The President and/or the Board of Directors may at any time appoint
a committee to handle the affairs of any given project provided it
is within the scope of the purpose of the corporation. The duties
shall be specified at the time of the appointment of the committee.
The chairman of each committee shall at the conclusion of the
project give a report to the general membership. The President
and/or the Board of Directors may declare a committee chairmanship
vacant because of nonperformance of duties and appoint a successor.
Section 3.
The secretary shall maintain a roster of all committees that shall
include the name, address, and telephone number of the chairman and
members of the committees. All committees shall submit all plans and
budgets to the Board of Directors for approval.
ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENTS
An amendment to the By-laws must
be submitted in writing to the President. Any member in good
standing of the association may submit said amendment.
Amendments must be submitted in writing twenty (20) days prior to
the next scheduled membership meeting. The Secretary through the
newsletter shall mail proper notice to the membership.
ARTICLE XIV
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the Association in all
cases to which they are applicable, and in which are not
inconsistent with the By-laws.
2. All Officers shall reside within the Association
boundaries.
3. All meetings shall be held within the Association
boundaries.
4. Voting by mail, phone or proxy shall not be permitted.
(EXCEPTION: The Board of Directors may vote by phone on a Board
decision to the President on issued that need an immediate
decision.)
5. Each member shall be given a copy of the By-laws.
ARTICLE XV
ADDITIONAL POWER OF THE CORPORATION
1. To affiliate with the
national organization.
2. To engage in any manner of business to raise money for the
purposes in paragraphs A, B, C, D, E, and F, of parti supra, and to
engage in any and all lawful activities and to have all powers
necessary to effect any or all of the purposes in which this
non-profit corporation is organized.
3. To receive donations, bequests, and devises of property,
both real and personal.
4. To own, hold purchase, trade, sell, exchange, and deal in
and otherwise dispose of all kinds of real and personal property.
5. To sue and be sued, complain and defend in its corporate
name.
6. To have a corporate seal, which may be altered at pleasure
and to sue the same by causing it or facsimile of it to be impressed
or affixed on any matter, reproduced.
7. To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange,
transfer and otherwise dispose of all or any part of it’s property
and assets.
8. To lend money for it’s corporate purposes, invest and
re-invest it’s funds, and to take and own real or personal property
as security for the payment of funds so owned or invested.
In addition to the authority now provided by law, to make donations
for the public welfare or for charitable, scientific, or educational
purposes.
ARTICLE XVI
FINAL DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS
In the event of dissolution,
abandonment or termination of this corporation, no income,
contribution or other revenue or funds shall accrue to the benefit
of any individual or of any group not affiliated with the
Mississippi Arabian Horse Association. After current indebtedness
has been paid, the remainder shall be specified for the research of
equine disease as named by the Board of Directors or to the Arabian
Horse Trust.
ARTICLE XVII
SUPERSESSION
These By-laws supersede any and
all By-laws in effect heretofore, and supersede any and all
resolutions inconsistent herewith.
ARTICLE XVIII
ENACTMENT
The By-laws and/or amendments
thereto, shall become effective upon adoption and publication unless
otherwise specified.
________________________________________________________
MISSISSIPPI ARABIAN HORSE ASSOCIATION, PRESIDENT
Date:___________________
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