New York State Trappers Association, Inc.
As adopted at the June 14th 2008 Board of Directors Meeting,
Herkimer, New York
Revisions adopted October 20, 2012
Revisions adopted April 26, 2014
New York State Trappers Association, Inc. Constitution and By-Laws
ARTICLE V
Section 1: DESIGNATION OF OFFICERS:The officers of the Corporation shall consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Each officer shall have a vote during Board meetings, in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 2: ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE:A. The officers of the Corporation except for the Treasurer, shall be elected by a mail ballot vote of the membership with voting privileges. Each eligible, fully paid membership is entitled to vote. All Officers, except the President, elected therein shall hold office for a three year term with out limitation on the number of terms they may serve. The President shall hold office for a three year term but shall not be elected more than two terms in succession. The Treasurer shall also serve a three year term, with no term limits, but will be elected from names submitted to the President, and then voted on by a majority vote of the remaining Officers and Board of Director’s.
B. All candidates for office in NYSTA shall be at least 21 years of age. They shall also be a NYSTA member in good standing, and have been actively involved in NYSTA, (which may include an elected leadership role in one of NYSTA’s affiliated Chapters) for at least 4 years.
A member in good standing means; their membership dues are current, they have not been a member of any organization(s) considered subversive, or contrary to NYSTA’s beliefs and goals. Candidates shall also not have engaged in conduct deemed prejudicial to NYSTA. Candidates must have also held a trapping license, and they must meet any other criteria set by the nominating committee.
C. The Nominations/Elections committee shall consist of at least three and no more than or 5 people only one of whom may be a member of the Board of Directors, one may be a past president, and one a County Representative and none of the remaining members shall be Officers.
D. Candidate nominations must be submitted to the Nominations/Elections Committee no later than June 30th of an election year.
1. Nominations must be made in a written form, and must contain the name and address of the nominee, and a petition must be signed by five members in good standing, who shall also include their names and addresses.
2. The Nominations/Elections Committee will compile all the names to be on the ballot.
3. The Nominations/Elections Committee shall review the candidates qualifications to run for office, and determine their eligibility 30 days prior to the Fall Convention/Rendezvous, where the names will be announced.
E. Printed ballots shall be mailed to each voting member in good standing by first class mail or first class bulk mail, in an envelop that is clearly marked on the outside: OFFICIAL BALLOT. Voting member’s signatures must be included with the ballot in the designated location in order to be considered valid and counted. Write-in candidates are ineligible for election and those ballots shall be voided and not counted. During uncontested elections, either the Board of Directors by majority vote may decide that the Trap-Lines Newsletter will contain the official ballot, with that page duly marked OFFICIAL BALLOT, or if all offices are uncontested the Board of Directors will direct the Secretary to cast one vote for the candidate. The cost of printing and mailing the ballots for the election of Officers will be the responsibility of NYSTA.
F. Ballots will be mailed to the membership by NYSTA in mid January and no less than a minimum of 30 days prior to the Annual Member’s Conference. If there is no Annual Members Conference scheduled for that year, the Board of Director’s will pick and announce the date the ballots must be returned by. Ballots must be returned to the election committee five (5) days prior to the Annual Member’s Conference, or by the announced date, to the designated address. No ballots will be accepted at the Annual Member’s Conference.
G. This will go into effect with the next election following the approval of these By-laws.
Section 3: POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT:A. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and shall create the agenda and preside over the Board of Directors meetings of the Corporation, and in general shall perform all duties incidental to the office of President and such duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors.
B. The President is NYSTA’s official spokesperson, unless the President designates someone else.
C. With the approval of the Board of Directors, the President may appoint committees or committee members and may confer upon them or delegate to them such powers not inconsistent with law or the express provisions of these By Laws, as they may deem necessary or advisable, and shall have power to remove them as necessary.
D. The current standing Committees of the Corporation are: The Fall/Rendezvous/ Convention Committee, The Annual Member’s Conference Committee, Scholarship Committee, Budget Committee, Nominations/Election committee, Fund Raising Committee and the Joint Trapping Initiative (JTI) Committee.
E. The President is the Chairperson of the Budget Committee, and shall see that a complete and balanced budget for the coming fiscal year is presented to the Board of Directors by November 1 st and to the membership at the Annual Members Conference.
F. The President shall identify and recommend individuals to fill interim vacancies on the Board, with approval from the Board, until the next scheduled Regional election.
G. The President, Officers and members of the Board of Directors of NYSTA shall behave in a dignified and professional manner and not engage in conduct deemed prejudicial to NYSTA.
H. The President shall have a small “Sunshine Fund”, the amount set by the Board of Directors annually, for the purchase of cards and flowers etc.
Section 4: POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT:A. The Vice President shall perform all duties of the President in the absence of the President and such duties as may be assigned by the President.
B. The Vice President shall assist the President in the discharge of duties and shall perform the duties of the President during any absence, incapacity, death, resignation or disqualification from office.
C. Chairing the Fall Convention/Rendezvous committee and developing the itinerary of the Rendezvous defaults back to the Vice-President if there is no event coordinator.
D. Manages all of the educational/informational material for NYSTA.
Section 5: POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TREASURER:A. The Treasurer shall keep a financial record of the Corporation, shall perform all duties incidental to the office prescribed by law or these By Laws .
1. The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all the funds and securities of the Corporation and shall deposit the same in the name of the Corporation in such bank(s) or trust companies, as the Executive Board may from time to time designate.
2. The Treasurer shall sign checks, drafts, notes, and as prescribed by the By-laws, shall execute in the name of the Corporation contracts and other instruments, unless the Executive Board shall otherwise determine; providing that any promissory note of the Corporation, or checks over a set amount determined annually by the Board of Directors, must be countersigned by the President.
3. The Treasurer shall at the Annual Member’s Conference and, at any meeting of the Corporation, or Executive Committee, present a full statement of the finances of the Corporation.
4. The Treasurer shall collect the dues and the member’s names, birth dates, and addresses. The Treasurer shall maintain the membership list, handle the mailing for the election of officers, and make available to Regional Directors that segment of the mailing list pertaining to their region, unless designated to some one else to maintain, by the Executive Board.
5. The Treasurer may be assigned to perform other duties from time to time by the Executive Board.
6. The Treasurer’s compensation shall be reviewed and established annually by the Board of Directors.
B. The books of the Corporation shall remain open to inspection by members at any time. An internal audit of all of the books of the Corporation shall be performed every two (2) years.
Section 6: POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY:A. The Secretary shall keep and record all minutes of all meetings of the Corporation, shall perform all duties incidental to the office prescribed by law and these By-Laws.
1. Minutes should reflect by a short synopsis of the action or discussion of all agenda items. Motions and votes should have a detailed account of discussion, pros and cons. A record of roll call votes should be kept.
2. The Secretary should also keep a record of the tasks and deadlines the President assigns to other people.
3. The Secretary should also accurately maintain the files and records of NYSTA’s correspondence, positions, policies and history. These files may be kept as hard copies and/or as electronic files, one set kept by the Secretary, another by the President, one for the Executive Director, and one for the Treasurer.
B. The Secretary administers the Oath of Office, at the Annual Member’s Conference, or no later than May 15th.
C. The Secretary’s compensation will be reviewed and established annually by the Board of Directors.
Section 7: VACANCIES:Any vacancy occurring among the Officers of the Corporation may be filled by a majority vote of the Board of Directors for the unexpired balance of any term in such office or position.
Section 8: FREQUENCY OF EXECUTIVE OFFICE:No person shall hold more than one Executive office at a time.