North Dakota Quarter Horse Association
NDQHA BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I.
NAME AND OBJECTIVE
Section
1. This association shall be known as the NORTH DAKOTA QUARTER
HORSE ASSOCIATION, hereinafter referred to as the Association or NDQHA and shall
at all times be operated as a non-profit corporation in accordance with the laws
of the state of North Dakota. NDQHA
will recognize and govern the Amateur and Youth associations.
Section
2. The purpose of this Association shall be to promote and
stimulate the interest in the American Quarter Horse as registered by the
American Quarter Horse Association of Amarillo, Texas.
All the proceedings of this Association will be in harmony with the
policies and activities of the American Quarter Horse Association.
Section
3. The official address shall be that of the Secretary-Treasurer
of the Association.
ARTICLE II.
MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
Section
1. Any person, family, firm, or corporation interested in the
purpose and objectives of this Association may be a member by paying the annual
dues to the secretary-treasurer as prescribed by these by-laws.
Family membership shall include husband and wife or legal guardian and
any children who are 18 years of age and under as of January 1.
Each family, firm, or corporation membership shall be entitled to two
votes on matters of Association business. Single
membership shall be entitled to one vote.
Section
2. Dues for each calendar year shall be determined by the Board.
Dues shall be due and payable on March 1 of each year.
All privileges of the Association shall be limited to paid-up members.
Section
3. Disciplinary procedures
Membership
in this Association is a privilege, not a right.
Any person, firm or corporation having joined this Association will
become subject to the rules and By-laws then in force or later adopted by the
Association, and will be subject to expulsion from the Association as provided
by these By-laws.
Membership,
or application therefore, may be terminated or rejected by the Board of
Directors for cause detrimental to the interests of the Association, its
programs, policies, objectives, and harmonious relationship of its members, as
determined by the Board.
Any person placed under
disciplinary sanction by the American Quarter Horse Association, i.e.,
expulsion, suspension, etc., is automatically placed under like sanction by this
Association. Sanctions shall apply
to all Association activities, i.e., shows, futurities, etc.
Disciplinary restrictions imposed by the Association shall conform to the
restrictions imposed by the American Quarter Horse Association. Whenever anyone
shall be accused of any violation, he shall be given not less than fifteen (15)
days notice of time and place for hearing such accusation by the Board of
Directors, at which time and place he shall have the opportunity, in person, to
be heard and to present evidence in his own behalf and to hear and refute
evidence against him. Any expelled member may be reinstated with the approval of
the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE III.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section
1. The entire management and government of this Association
except as otherwise expressly provided herein, shall be vested in the Board of
Directors. It shall determine
policy & speak for the Association in the best interest of NDQHA.
Section
2. The Board shall consist of nine (9) elected members each
elected to serve a three (3) year term. No
elected Board member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be an ex officio member of the Board
without vote.
Section 3. In the case of a vacancy in the Board by death, resignation, or disqualification, the Board may elect a successor from the membership to serve for the duration of the unexpired term, or they may leave the vacancy open until the Annual Meeting at which time the membership shall elect a successor as provided in Article V, herein.
Section
4. Meetings of the Board of Directors
There
shall be regular meetings of the Board immediately before and after the Annual
Meeting of the membership. The
Board shall hold meetings at the call of the President or by two-thirds of the
directors. Notice of any meeting of the Board shall be reasonable and
must be given to each member of the Board by mail, telephone or electronical.
The agenda shall be distributed to each director at least one week in advance
of the meeting. Minutes of all
regular Board meetings shall be posted on the official wedsite.
Section
5. Any concerns or issues that involve the NDQHA should be
brought to the NDQHA Board of Director’s attention before the American Quarter
Horse Association (AQHA) is contacted. This
rule would apply to all issues not regulated by the AQHA Official Handbook of
Rules and Regulation. (Issues such
as horse abuse, ineligible horse/rider, etc. would follow AQHA guidelines).
Section
6. Quorum & Absences
A
quorum at any meeting of the Board shall be five (5) members of the board. Any
director who is absent for two consecutive meetings shall automatically have
his/her term expire. The remaining
board shall have the option of reviewing said director and determining his/her
status.
ARTICLE IV.
DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section
1. The officers of this Association shall consist of President,
Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer. The
President and the Vice-President shall be elected from the Board by the Board.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be appointed by the Board and may not be a
member of the Board.
Section
2. The President shall have the usual executive powers of
supervision and management such as may pertain to the office of president, and
such other powers and duties as are prescribed in the Bylaws and designated by
the Board. The President shall:
Preside
at all meetings of the Association and the Board.
Be
an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.
Appoint
the chairman and members of special committees with approval of the Board.
Call
special meetings of the Board.
See
that the bylaws, rules, and policies of the Association are enforced.
Section
3. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President
when the President is unable to serve.
Section
4. There shall be an Executive Committee. It shall consist of three members, the President,
Vice-President, and immediate past President.
The Board may delegate to such Committee authority to exercise all the
power of the Board while the Board is not in session.
Section
5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall perform the usual duties
associated with such office as specified by the Board.
a.
Keep the minutes of all general membership and Board meetings.
b.
Maintain all records and documents of the Association.
c.
Conduct correspondence as directed by the Board.
d.
Maintain the Association membership roll.
e.
Maintain the Association financial records.
f.
Collect and maintain all Association funds and make disbursements as
directed by the Board.
g.
Prepare financial reports for the Board and to the membership at the
annual meeting.
The
Secretary-Treasurer shall be bonded in an amount to be determined by the Board.
Accounts shall be audited annually by a certified public accountant
unless otherwise ordered by the Board. The
Secretary-Treasurer may be paid a salary which will be determined by the Board.
Section
6. The Special Event Secretary-Treasurers shall be held to the
same standards as the Association Secretary-Treasurer and/or any other
guidelines the Board may impose.
ARTICLE V.
ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS
Section
1. The annual election of directors shall be held at the Annual
Meeting of the membership. Each
vacant position will be voted on in turn by written ballot, except when there is
only one nominee.
Section 2. Nominations of vacant director positions shall be from the floor.
The
Nominating Committee shall present a slate of candidates to the Editor for
publication in the Newsletter at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting.
Additional nominees for each position may also be presented on the floor
at the Annual Meeting.
Section
3. The member receiving the highest number of votes shall be
elected.
Section
4. Directors shall be elected for a term of three (3) years,
with three (3) directors being elected each year.
Section
5. Newly elected officers shall assume office at the close of
the Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE VI.
MEETINGS
Section
1. Annual Meetings
The
Annual Meeting of the membership shall be held at such time and place as
determined by the Board. Notice of
the Annual Meeting shall be published in the official publication and on the
official website.
Section
2. Special meetings of the members may be held at such time and
place as may be designated by notice whenever called in writing by the direction
of the President or by a majority of the Board or by notice signed by no less
than 20 percent of the members then
in good standing.
Section
3. The members attending any regular of special meeting of the
members shall constitute a quorum for all purposes. Any meeting of the membership shall be chaired by the
President of the Board or the Vice-President in the absence of the President.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall act as secretary of all meetings of the
members but in his/her absence the Board may appoint any person to act as
secretary of the meeting. Minutes of all meetings of the members shall be
published in the Newsletter.
ARTICLE VII.
AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
Section
1. The Bylaws may be amended at the Annual Meeting by a majority
vote of the members present and voting.
Section
2. The proposed amendment (s) must be presented in writing to
the Bylaws Committee at least ninety (90) days prior to the annual meeting.
The committee shall then submit the proposed amendment (s) with
recommendations to the Editor for publication in the Newsletter at least 30 days
prior to the Annual Meeting.
Section
3. Approved amendments shall become effective immediately.
ARTICLE VIII.
RULES OF ORDER
Roberts Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings of all meetings of
the Association, and of the Board insofar as they do not conflict or are not
inconsistent with the provisions of these Bylaws.
ARTICLE IX.
PUBLICATION/WEBSITE
The official publication of this Association shall be the Minnesota
Quarter Horse (MQHA) Newsletter. It shall be available to each member of the
Association without charge. The official website of this Association shall be
www.ndqha.com.
ARTICLE X.
NATIONAL DIRECTORS
Section
1. National Directors are elected annually by the AQHA
Nomination and Credential Committee at the AQHA National Convention and Meeting.
The number of National Directors chosen to represent NDQHA is determined
by AQHA on the basis of the number of American Quarter Horses owned within the
state.
Section
2. The National Directors shall be subject to review annually by
the membership at the annual meeting.
Section
3. Any member that is interested in running for either a vacant
position or to challenge a current director at the next AQHA National Convention
and Meeting will be introduced and be allowed to present his/her resume.
Section
4. The membership will vote on the support of each National
Director position in turn.
Section
5. The secretary will submit the name of the candidate for each
director position with the highest number of votes to the AQHA Nomination and
Credential Committee as the NDQHA choice for National Director.
These candidates will then be voted on at the following AQHA National
Convention and Meeting.
ARTICLE XI.
STANDING COMMITTEES
1. By-laws
2. Budget and Finance
3. Membership
4. Show Committee
5. Futurity
6.
Awards
These By-Laws were amended by majority vote of the NDQHA membership at
the Annual Meeting in Fargo on January 13, 2007. They will become effective on January 13, 2007, according to
Article VII.