OFFICIAL
BY-LAWS
REVISED
MARCH 2007
OFFICIAL
BY-LAWS
REVISED
MARCH 2007
Table of Contents
1.
League Name.........................................................................................................................
3
2.
League Meetings................................................................................................................
3
3.
League Officers.................................................................................................................
3
4.
Board of Directors.........................................................................................................
3
5.
Term of Office....................................................................................................................
3
6.
Eligibility for Office.......................................................................................................
3
6a. Eligibility for President..................................................................................................
3
7.
Election of Officers.......................................................................................................
3
8.
Election Procedure........................................................................................................
3
8a. Election
Procedures for Board of Directors...................................................
3
9.
Duties of the President................................................................................................
4
10.
Duties of the Vice-President.......................................................................................
4
11.
Duties of the Recording Secretary.......................................................................
4
12.
Duties of the Financial Secretary...........................................................................
5
13.
Duties of the Treasurer...............................................................................................
5
14.
Duties of the Sergeant-At-Arms...............................................................................
5
15.
Duties of the Commissioner........................................................................................
5
16.
Duties of the Board of Directors...........................................................................
5
17.
Duties of the Budget Committee..............................................................................
6
18.
Duties of the Members...................................................................................................
6
19.
Dues..........................................................................................................................................
7
20.
Sponsorship........................................................................................................................
7
21.
Duties of the Auditing Committee............................................................................
7
22.
Duties of the Official Scorekeeper.......................................................................
8
23.
Duties of the Entertainment
Chairman.................................................................
8
24.
Duties of the Committee Chairman..........................................................................
8
25.
Duties of the Awards Chairman..................................................................................
8
26.
Duties of the Team Picking
Committee...................................................................
9
27.
Conditions for Membership........................................................................................
9
28.
Definition of Members..................................................................................................
10
29.
Disability..............................................................................................................................
10
30.
Retirement.........................................................................................................................
10
31.
Illness and Death............................................................................................................
11
32.
By-Law Change Procedure..........................................................................................
11
This league shall be known as the South St. Louis
Corkball League; organized for good fellowship and sportsmanship.
Regular monthly meetings shall be held once a
month, commencing at a time and a location designated by the league.
The league’s officers shall consist of a
President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer,
Sergeant-At-Arms, and Club Historian (corporation Board member).
This league shall have a Board of Directors.
The Board shall consist of the above mentioned officers plus three
members elected to the Board by the membership.
The Chairman of the Board is the retiring President.
All terms of office shall run for a period of one
year. The Recording Secretary and
Treasurer, are the only two officers that may succeed their office for a
period of 5 years (if nominated and elected each year).
The Club Historian has no term-limit (if nominated and elected each
year).
In order to be eligible for officer ship, you must
be a member of the South St. Louis Corkball League for a minimum of two years
preceding the election and be in good standing.
You must have been an officer at one time in the
South St. Louis Corkball League or have been the Entertainment Chairman,
Scorekeeper, or one of the Board of Directors.
The election of officers and Board of Directors
shall be at the December meeting. They
shall take office in January and be officially installed at the function
designated by the members in attendance at the regular December meeting.
The highest office is taken first in the following
order; President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary,
Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms, Club
Historian, and the Board of Directors (see by-law 8A for Board of
Directors election procedures) a member or members not exceeding three are
nominated and voted on by secret ballot. When
two or more members are tied with the highest number of votes for an office, a
secret ballot shall again be taken for those who were tied.
Preferably five or six members are nominated and
voted on by secret ballot. Each
member votes for three names (nominees also); the three receiving the highest
number of votes constitutes the winners.
It
shall be the duty of the President to preside at all league meetings and enforce
strict obedience of the By-Laws, playing rules, and league regulations.
He shall call to account any member of the league violating the same.
The President shall only vote in case of a tie on every subject except
that of officer elections. He shall
vote on the officers’ election. It
shall be his duty to bring before the league all matters of importance.
When time will not permit, he shall act on his own initiative towards the
welfare of the league and its members. On
election night the President shall appoint a Commissioner, an Alternate
Commissioner, Scorekeeper, Awards Chairman, Corkball Equipment Custodian and
Fund Raising Committee Chairman. The
President shall appoint the league’s team picking committee at the January
meeting, which will include last years team captains.
The retiring President, with the assistance of the Awards Chairman, shall
present the awards at the event designated by the members at the regular January
meeting (see by-law 7). The new
President officially installs the new officers.
He shall keep a close watch on all incoming and outgoing money.
He shall inform the Chairman in charge of league affairs to divide
proceeds among members to avoid loss of large sums of money.
He shall appoint an auditing committee at the January meeting to report
on the fiscal year (their report is due no later than the March meeting).
The newly elected President shall poll the entire league membership for
the upcoming season’s playing roster. The
poll shall be conducted by a return mail postcard and the results
must be presented at the January meeting. It shall also be the duty of the President to read by-law 9,
“Duties of the President” to the succeeding President before the body at the
January meeting (at this time the retiring President hands the meeting over to
the new President).
It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to
assist the President at all meetings, help preserve order, and preside in the
absence of the President. At Board
meetings he shall preside as Chairman of the Board in the absence of the
Chairman. He shall appoint a budget
committee and act as this committee’s Chairman.
This budget committee shall consist of at least three members including
the Treasurer and the Entertainment Chairman.
The budget committee meeting shall be held in February to budget
expenditures for the current year’s affairs.
It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to maintain a duty roster,
which shall consist of the following. As
stated in by-law 24, it shall be the duty of the committee Chairman to report to
the Vice-President those members that served on his committee so that the
Vice-President can maintain his duty roster. The Vice-President shall report at the September meeting
those members who have not served on a committee for the current year.
If at all possible, those members who have not served on a committee
should be appointed to whatever committee remains.
The Vice-President shall audit large expenditures on each league affair.
It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to
record the minutes of all meetings. He
shall furnish each member with a copy of the league’s By-Laws and playing
rules. He shall have the
prerogative to ask the President at any time for assistance in regard to
correspondence. It shall be his
duty to check on all new members as to the termination of their probation period
and shall call this to the attention of the President at each monthly meeting.
He shall instruct the incoming secretary of this duty. He shall have
available and distribute on request, new membership applications.
He shall keep record of applicants, their sponsors, and date sponsor
letter was received. He shall take
the minutes at the Board meetings.
It shall be the duty of the Financial Secretary to
invoice each member every twelve months for the succeeding twelve months dues plus
any club designated prepaid fundraising obligations.
The invoice shall be sent on January 1st of each year (see by-law 19). The Financial Secretary shall inform the Board of Directors
of any member
who is four
months 30
days in arrears of his financial
dues/
fundraising
obligations.
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive
all funds to the league from all sources. He
shall make all payments of bills and submit to the league a monthly financial
report of all transactions. It
shall be his duty to check on all monies due the league and inform the President
of any discrepancy or late payments. He
shall be bonded while in office at the league’s expense.
It shall be the duty of the Sergeant-At-Arms to
preserve order at all meetings and to assist the other officers when called
upon. It shall be his duty to pass
out ballots, collect them, and deliver them to the President on election night.
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to settle
all disputes arising during the progress of any league game. In the absence of the Commissioner, the Alternate
Commissioner shall preside. The
Commissioner shall be the official timekeeper, and be responsible for enforcing
the starting time and forfeit time for all league games.
The Board of Directors shall meet as deemed
necessary. The retiring President
is automatically Chairman of the Board for the following year.
The Board of Directors shall act on any complaint registered with them in
writing. The Board shall take action as outlined in by-law 19 regarding a
member(s) not fulfilling his financial obligations. They shall act as outlined in by-law 18 regarding a member
not fulfilling his obligation for league meeting attendance.
Failure to do so is an automatic suspension from the league and said
member shall be notified by the Board of his suspension in writing.
This letter shall instruct the suspended member to come before the Board
and plead his case. The letter
shall state the date and time of the next Board meeting.
Failure to respond to this letter justifies the Board’s recommendation
for termination. The Chairman of
the Board shall report at the next regular monthly meeting what action was taken
what response took place, and what the Board’s recommendations are.
Per by-law 20, the Board shall act upon a sponsor revoking his
sponsorship of a probationary member. Per
by-law 22, when the official Scorekeeper reports to the Board that a member has
missed two consecutive playing dates without his knowledge of a reason, the
Board shall contact said member inquiring about his absenteeism.
Per playing rule 28, the Board shall act upon member(s) play-off
eligibility stemming from an illness. The
Board shall act as needed for the betterment of the club. If necessary, the
Board has the right to temporarily by-pass league By-Laws.
However the league has the right to override the Board’s decision with
a 2/3 majority vote.
This committee shall consist of at least three members, which include the Treasurer and Entertainment Chairman. They shall meet in February and budget the funds for each affair for the current year.
It shall be the duties of each member to adhere to
the By-Laws, playing rules, and regulations of the league at all times.
It shall be the duty of each member to serve on all committees whether he
is appointed to a specific committee, or asked to serve, and shall do so
willingly. All
active members shall assist in all fund raising league functions so described by
the league (see by-law 28 for definition of members).
Any member in good standing leaving the St. Louis area and coming back
for a visit is entitled to attend league functions and upon his permanent return
to St. Louis, shall apply for reactivation within sixty days.
It shall be the duty of each member to attend at least six meetings
a year to remain in good standing.
His failure to attend these
meetings shall be grounds for termination.
Any member can receive credit for a meeting by calling a member of the
Board and explaining why he will be unable to attend said meeting.
Any
member not showing interest in league activities or proving himself detrimental
to the best interest of the league may be brought before the Board of Directors
for their recommendation to the body for suspension. Any member suspended from the league shall forfeit all rights
to the league affairs, and shall have to be voted back into the league as a
member in good standing. Any
member not showing interest in the league or proving himself detrimental to the
best interest of the league may be brought before the Board of Directors to
determine any change in membership status.
All reasonable efforts will be made to contact said member to plea his
case.
Any member with 15 years of good standing who
desires to retire may apply in writing to the league to become a retired member
(per by-law 28 a retired member is a non-dues paying member entitled to all
league functions without league obligations).
A retired member is given a lifetime membership.
All members and their immediate families,
consisting of wife and unmarried children under 21 years of age, may participate
in the league’s social affairs free of charge, unless a fee is voted in for
that particular year. All members
may invite their sweetheart, mother, father, mother-in-law, or father-in-law to
the league’s social affairs. Widows
of deceased members and their unmarried children under age 21 shall be invited
to participate in all free affairs and shall be asked to attend any of the
league’s functions providing they meet the initial expense.
This invitation shall be done in writing and widow’s name shall be
added to the league roster.
Each
playing member must participate in at least 75% of the regular season’s games
played. Verification of absence
shall be brought before the Board of Directors in a case of failure to obtain
this 75%. Each member who fails to
substantiate valid reasons in writing to the Board for being unable to obtain
the 75% playing attendance, forfeits all rights to attend any league functions
other than the regular monthly meetings until the next playing season resumes. This
member shall be brought before the Board for possible suspension.
Each playing member must participate in at least 75% of the regular
season’s games played in order to be eligible to participate in the league
playoffs and be eligible for any awards. Any
member not fulfilling this obligation shall be brought before the Board of
Directors to determine eligibility. All
reasonable efforts will be made to contact said members to plea his case.
At any time after 1/3 of the games have been
played, a member failing to make 75% of the games may be brought before the
Board of Directors to terminate or suspend said member.
All reasonable efforts will be made to contact said members to plea his
case.
Any member not satisfying this 75% rule during his
probationary period will automatically be let go.
It shall be the duty of each member to keep his
address, and phone numbers current.
Every
member must play corkball for a minimum of two years after entering the league.
Every
member brought into this league must come in as an active corkball player.
He shall be on probation for a period of one year.
After one year’s probation, the club shall vote on whether or not
keep him in the club.
The league’s dues shall be in an amount, per
month, set by the club, payable in twelve-month sums only.
These dues can be paid at a regular meeting or by remitting when
invoiced. These invoices will be
sent on the first day of January. Dues
will become delinquent after the February meeting.
A fine of $1.00 shall be due plus an additional $1.00 each thirty days
passing without payment of this invoice. A member not paid by opening day shall
automatically be suspended from the league.
He shall be notified by the Board of Directors that he, the member,
must appear at the next regularly scheduled meeting following suspension or
notify a Board member why he cannot make this meeting.
Any member not paid by the close of the March meeting shall not go
on the draft board and will be considered suspended.
A member in good standing for a minimum of one
year is eligible to sponsor an applicant member.
A member can only sponsor
one applicant per year. The
sponsor is responsible for informing the applicant of all obligations and
duties. The
sponsor may at any time during applicant’s probation year bring him in front
of the Board of Directors for termination of said member.
The sponsor shall obtain an application form for this prospective member
from the Recording Secretary. Sponsor’s
applications are put into order of entry into the league by the postmark and
these applications are sent to the Recording Secretary.
The next season’s playing roster openings will be determined by a
December poll of the entire league membership.
Any applications necessary to fill our playing roster may be accepted any
time after the final poll results through the end of the regular playing season.
The poll shall be conducted by a return mail postcard and
shall be the duty of the newly elected President.
Results of the poll will be reported at the January meeting.
The auditing committee shall consist of five
members with a forum of three present to conduct an audit.
They shall audit all financial records of the league and committee
reports. They shall submit a
complete report by the March meeting.
The official scorekeeper is to record results of
each game played. He shall keep a
statistical record of percentages of player and team’s averages.
He shall post results weekly and bring these to each game.
He shall keep players attendance records and make an absentee report to
the Board of Directors of any member who misses two consecutive
playing dates without any one’s knowledge of a reason missing 75% of the regular season’s games
eligible to play.
He shall ask the captain of that team for information on this
player’s absenteeism. He
shall report all final averages to the Awards Chairman at the close of the
season. He is to serve on the
Award’s Chairman committee, and assist him in presenting the awards at the
annual banquet. He shall be
responsible for the league’s corkballs. He
will issue all new balls for each game. When
the supply of corkballs is getting low, he shall inform the league. If he misses a game he shall appoint someone to issue these
corkballs for him. This person is
responsible for all of the duties of the official Scorekeeper for the night.
He shall serve on the team picking committee and on the follow-up meeting
when the remainder of the team roster is chosen.
He shall provide and distribute a team roster and season schedule to all
members at the regular March April meeting.
He shall select the Chairman for each major
committee and if at all possible he shall attend all of these committee’s
meetings. He shall request the
allotment of funds for affairs from the league Treasurer.
When large expenditures arise on an affair it shall be the duty of the
Entertainment Chairman to give an itemized report to the Vice-President.
He shall select the members of his committee.
He may be supplied members to his committee by the Vice-President.
He shall make good use of the members appointed to his committee. He shall submit a full itemized report, in writing, to the
league no later than the second regular monthly meeting following the affair he
is in charge of. It shall be his
duty to turn in a list of names of those members that worked on his committee to
the Vice-President.
He shall be in charge of purchasing the league’s
trophies. He shall pick a committee
of not less than three men to determine which players shall receive awards.
These
players must be in good standing and have played at least seventy-five percent
of the total games played to be eligible to receive an award. He
shall assist the retiring President in presenting the awards at the annual
banquet.
This committee shall be appointed by the President
at the regular January monthly meeting. There
shall be at least eight members on this committee. The committee must consist of the Chairman of the Board, the
President, Scorekeeper, and the Team Captains from the previous season.
All the committee members shall be active playing members (if the
Chairman of the Board or President are not active playing members, their places
shall be filled with appointments by the President).
The initial duty of this committee is to match pitchers and catchers for
the upcoming season. The committee
is to hold their meeting before the league meeting in February.
They are to submit a proposed schedule for the current season.
This shall consist of a complete schedule showing the starting date, the
number of games to be played and their dates, show if they are five or seven
inning games, show if they are single games or double headers, if it is a split
season or not, and what the arrangements are in case of a tie.
They shall also propose the entire play-off schedule consisting of; the
starting date, the number of games, dates, starting times, five or seven inning
games, and determine a method for the matching of opponents.
Each of these proposed schedules must be presented and voted on at the
regular February monthly meeting. Those
pitchers and catchers that have been matched by this team picking committee
shall meet and choose the remainder of the team roster before immediately
after the regular monthly March meeting is completed.
Again, the Scorekeeper, Chairman of the Board, and President should be in
attendance. The Scorekeeper shall
provide and distribute a team roster and season schedule to all members at the
regular March April monthly meeting.
The team picking committee shall place new applicant members on the
roster as needed to bring the playing strength up to, that which is required for
the upcoming season. On team
picking night if the roster is a man or men short of the required playing
strength, the openings shall be the last placed on the team.
The open positions cannot be chosen before an existing member.
It is the intent of the By-Laws to take players
from the top of the waiting list to fill open roster positions first.
However, if the club is short a starting pitcher or catcher, and there is
a legitimate starting pitcher or catcher on the waiting list, then said player
may be moved to the top of the waiting list to fill the needed starting
position. The majority of the club
shall be in agreement. If time does
not permit, the Board of Directors can make this decision.
This exception should not be abused.
An applicant must
be at least twenty-one years of age and be of good personal character.
He must come into the league as an active player.
Those members that previously belonged to the league shall have the next
position as a playing member, providing there is an opening on the roster and
that said player left the club in good standing.
He is accepted as a full-fledged member even if there is no opening on
the playing roster.
Active member
A dues paying member responsible for all league
obligations.
Inactive member
A dues paying member not playing corkball but still
responsible for all league obligations.
Retired member
A non-dues paying member entitled to all league
functions without regular league obligations.
Furloughed member
A non-dues paying member currently out of town and
can return to active status by notifying league officials.
(Suspended
member)
A member who has failed to meet financial
obligations or has done something detrimental to the club.
To return to active status, he must first make good on his financial
obligation (if any). He also must
be voted back into the club in good standing unless a specific suspension
timetable was pre-established.
(Terminated Member)
A member terminated from the club is kicked out.
He cannot apply to come back in to the club for the remainder of that
year. Any member who wants back
into the club, must be sponsored again and voted back in by the membership.
(Roster Openings)
When a roster opening occurs during the playing
season, the next available player on the waiting list will be given the
opportunity to play on that team where the opening occurred.
Roster openings will be determined by the order in which openings occur.
Thus, if a team has two openings in a row before any other opening
occurs, both positions should be filled prior to any other openings in the
league. A team cannot waive the
taking of a player.
It is the intention of these By-Laws to take the
next available player on the list. However,
if there is a need for a legitimate
starting pitcher or catcher and one is on the list, the Board of Directors, at
its discretion, can allow said starting pitcher or catcher to move up and be
taken next. Also, the Board of
Directors, at its discretion, has the right to assign a new member as they see
fit if they feel it is necessary for the betterment of the club.
Any Board decision regarding these issues may be overridden by a 2/3
majority vote of the membership.
Any member unable to pay dues because of financial
hardship may request his dues be waived for a three-month period.
The Board of Directors shall grant this plus they shall review such cases
quarterly. The waiving of any dues
is at the discretion of the Board.
To retire, a member must have been a dues paying
member for at least fifteen years and be in good standing. Request for retirement must be submitted to the league in
writing.
A member shall notify the Chairman of the sick
committee of the death or illness of his immediate family.
The sick committee Chairman shall send appropriate offering.
The immediate family shall include the following: wife, father, mother,
parents-in-law, and the member’s children.
Any of the league’s By-Laws may be revised,
amended or voided at any regular monthly meeting by a two thirds majority vote
of the members present after the entire membership has been advised by
mail of the proposed change. The
proposed change must be in the form of a motion at a regular monthly meeting,
must be seconded and passed by a two-thirds majority vote of those members in
attendance. The
Recording Secretary shall send out the proposed change to the membership.