EAST ARM ROWING CLUB

MEMBERS AND VOTING MEMBERS CONSTITUTE THE CLUB

(Guidelines: It is always a threat to a non-profit that the club be “hijacked” by a substantial infusion of members with an ulterior purpose – there is no permanent shareholder body. Many clubs provide that only members who have been in good standing for a year may vote. In our case we also have nominal members (for insurance purposes) from the regatta teams. Thereafter some of them become members at a regatta discount which is less than a third of what fully fledged members pay).

Any person who has been approved by the Board, or by the President in the case of short term regatta team members, may be a member. But only voting members may vote for board membership, officers, and other decisions by the club. A voting member is a member who has been a paid up member (discounted rate or not) in good standing for at least a year. Non-voting members may and should participate in all discussions and deliberations of the club.

Other classes of membership: The club may create other classes of non-voting membership, including Junior, Honorary (member can attend social functions etc but is no longer using the club facilities on regular basis), Distant member (reduced fee for member who moves more than 80 miles away).

MANAGING THE CLUB: ELECTING THE BOARD, ROTATION, BOARD MEETINGS

(Guidelines: Nereid has two layers: Board , and Officers who run the the actual operations of the club. Joe Holland says it works well. All corporations have this structure. But also, all successful organizations have maximum involvement of members – a small ruling clique spells death to a club. So we should have a larger board with members rotating in and out. Larger means less wieldy, so we should make sure the board is not wasting members time debating the costs of stamps. The board decides the goals for the year, suggests the officers, and meets to discuss a critical issue like building a new clubhouse floor etc).

The policy setting body shall be a board of seven members, with a quorum of three (note: this is different from the supermajority required to change bylaws described at 1. above) . Each member shall serve for two years. Vacancies which occur other than by expiration of the two year term, shall be filled by a majority vote of the Board either by board member motion or officer recommendation. There must be at least two new members on the board each year. Failure to attend three consecutive board meetings shall be deemed a de facto resignation by that member. Notice of meetings may be by email, and the secretary shall be charged with keeping accurate updated email addresses. Every member of this club, unless the board decides otherwise in a particular case, must be reachable by providing the club with a current email address with prompt notice of any change to such address.

The president shall automatically be a member of the board, and all committees ex officio. The vice president shall not, unless in capacity of acting-President. The secretary shall be present to record minutes at all meetings, but he or she may delegate that function to another member acceptable to the chairperson of the board. The board shall elect a chairperson. It is expected at this stage that the chairperson and the president shall be the same person, but this is not necessary.

The board shall meet to set long term plans, plans for the year before the season begins, suggest a slate of officers for the Annual General Meeting of members, track progress of their plans, and meet for key decisions, including the removal of a member for cause, and major expenditures (for example a purchase equal to the budget of the club). The board shall create ad hoc committees for any purpose they desire. The board must meet at least once a year, in February or March. Subsequent meetings and decisions may be by teleconference or email. The board has the power to demand any club records, or reports from its officers.