Catalina 25, Fleet 8

On the Chesapeake at Middle River

Note: This version of the Constitution and By-laws has been updated to incorporate in the body of the text all the amendments up to and including the amendments approved 30 April 2005, by the membership then present. While it is believed to be accurate, it has not yet been reviewed and certified as a true and accurate copy by the revision committee.

CATALINA 25 - FLEET 8 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
(Revised 30 April 2005)

Article I - Name

The name of this organization shall be as derived from an association with the CATALINA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, namely: CATALINA 25 - FLEET 8.

Article II - Purpose

There are three prime equally important purposes of this organization and they are:
1. To promote a program of family cruising and social activities so that members may enjoy the good fellowship associated with the ownership and sailing of a Catalina sail boats.
2. To promote the education of members regarding the safe operation and maintenance of their boats, and to enhance sailing and navigation skills of members.
3. To promote sailboat racing under uniform rules and regulations which will test the skills of the skippers and crews of the member boats.
4. To solicit all owners of sailboats of any manufacture who share the purposes of this organization and to secure their membership in this organization.

Article III - Membership

Section 1. - Classes of Membership
1. A REGULAR MEMBER is one who must be a boat owner or spouse/significant other of that boat owner and who has paid full individual dues for the current period. Regular members shall, upon payment of dues, have the responsibility and privilege of making motions, voting, and holding elected office in this organization.

2. An ASSOCIATE MEMBER is one who is a non-boat owner who joins this organization because of an interest in sailing, who shares the purposes of this organization, who supports the welfare of it’s members, and who wishes to participate in the social functions of this organization. An associate member shall, upon payment of dues, have all of the obligations of regular membership, and shall be entitled to all privileges including making of motions, voting, and holding of any elected office.

Section 2. - Membership Removal
1. Failure to pay dues in a timely manner shall constitute automatic removal from membership. Payment of dues at any subsequent time during the current year shall restore the member to good standing.

2. Any member may be suspended and/or expelled from the organization for “just cause” by a motion to that effect carried by three-fourths vote of the entire regular membership. Such a special session can be called by minimum of three regular members or two officers or by similar motion and vote made at any general meeting at which 3/4 of the entire regular membership is present. “Just cause” shall be for conduct or action deemed prejudicial or injurious to this fleet organization.

Article IV - Conduct of Meetings

ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER, Newly Revised - 1990, 9th Edition shall be the final authority in resolving all disputed points in organizational procedure. This reference manual shall be purchased by treasury funds for the organization. The Secretary shall be custodian of this manual and bring it to each meeting of the membership.

Article V - Officers

Section 1. - Officer Makeup: (see Attachment B)
As a minimum, there shall be two officers and they shall perform the duties of: (1) - Fleet Captain, (2) - Secretary, (3) – Treasurer, and (4) – Cruise (Activities) Director as determined by general agreement among them. In addition, the organization membership may create and elect through proper motion, additional offices as the membership so elects. (Fleet Measurer – if a racing interest returns) Officers may, from time to time, by general agreement among them, create special and/or ad hoc committees appoint committee chairpersons and staff such committees as shall promote and support the purposes of this organization.

Section 2. - Election of Officers
Nominees for officers shall be nominated by any member in good standing (including self) to the organization’s Secretary and/or to the Fleet Captain at least 15 days in advance of the CHANGE OF WATCH DINNER, All nominees shall be notified in a timely fashion of their nomination by the then acting Fleet Captain. Those then agreeing to hold office, shall have their names so forwarded by the Fleet Captain to the general membership via the Secretary. The Secretary shall issue an organization newsletter for this purpose which is to be delivered to the membership at least 5 days in advance of the election date. In addition, nominations may be accepted from the floor. Each officer shall be elected by secret ballot, though all offices may be combined on one ballot paper as an expediency. Each officer shall be elected by simple majority of those regular and Associate members present at the CHANGE OF WATCH DINNER. Newly elected officers shall begin their term of office immediately at the close of this meeting at which they were elected.

Section 3. - Vacancy Of Office
Should any office become vacant, a replacement shall be elected into that position by special election meeting called by the Fleet Captain or if his office is that vacated, by the next officer in succession (Past Captain if available, then Secretary, followed by Treasurer) in as timely a fashion as possible while following the 5 day due notice to the general membership outlined above.

Section 4. - Removal Of Officer
Any officer may be suspended and/or expelled from the organization for “just cause” by a motion to that effect carried by three fourths vote of the entire regular membership. Such a special session can be called by minimum of three regular members or two officers or by similar motion and vote made at any general meeting at which 3/4 of the entire regular membership is present. “Just cause” shall be for conduct or action deemed prejudicial or injurious to this fleet organization.

Article VI - Responsibility Of Officers

Section 1. - Fleet Captain
The Fleet Captain shall call general and special meetings and shall lead and preside over these meetings. The Fleet Captain shall authorize expenditure of funds for the everyday conduct of organization business such as postage, newsletter expenses, annual trophies and awards, etc. Typically, other expenditures will require the vote of the general membership. It is, however, possible for the Fleet Captain to authorize a financial disbursement in special situations. (See Office of Treasurer). The Fleet Captain shall appoint committees with the advice and consent of the membership, as deemed necessary to co-ordinate or accomplish tasks considered to be in the general interest of the membership.

Section 2. - Secretary
The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings, provide and/or supervise the delivery of all meeting notices, and keep all records of this organization including a complete current membership roster and a current copy of this constitution and by-laws. The Secretary shall bring a current copy of the membership, Constitution and By-Laws, and Robert’s Rules Of Order to each general and special meeting. The Secretary shall keep a record of all his communication with outside organizations and report all such correspondence to the general membership at general and special meetings or in a timely fashion through written notice if deemed prudent. The Secretary should either issue or oversee issuance of Fleet 8 newsletters to the membership.

Section 3. - Treasurer
The Treasurer shall have custody of, and be responsible for, all funds and/or securities, and all financial records pertaining to this organization. The treasurer shall receive and disburse funds as necessary, as authorized by the membership and/or the Fleet Captain. The treasurer may be directed to disburse funds without the approval of the membership if the Fleet Captain deems such disburse to be a special case. Such joint action by the Fleet Captain and the Treasurer shall be justified and explained by the Fleet Captain in writing to the Secretary to form a matter of record for later reporting to the general membership in a timely fashion. The Treasurer shall prepare and present at the Spring General Membership Meeting, a financial report concerning income from all sources to date and anticipated expenditures for the season just about to begin. This Spring report shall include any proposed corrections to those expenditures and/or any request for emergency dues along with their schedule of collection as may be required to meet the anticipated expenditures. In the Fall, the Treasurer shall prepare a financial summation of the season “just past” along with anticipated expenditures for the up-coming year and present that report at the annual Change Of Watch Dinner. That Fall report shall also include suggested figures, as agreed to by the executive board, for the next year’s membership dues and/or fees based on those up-coming anticipated expenditures.

Section 4. - Fleet Measurer
The Fleet Measurer shall co-ordinate the season’s racing schedule and in general, oversee the activities associated with racing in this organization to insure conformance with the one- design regulations of the Catalina 25 National Association. The Fleet Measurer shall represent this association at the All Catalina Council and report to the general membership on those activities. The Fleet Measurer shall keep record of all club one-design race results and determine the award of racing trophies for presentation by the Fleet Measurer at the Change Of Watch Dinner.

Section 5. - Other Offices
The duties of the other offices elected by membership shall be as charged at the time of election. The job description at the time of election shall be attached to, but NOT BECOME A PART OF THIS CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS. This description should be prepared in advance of election for that post.

Article VII - Meetings

The Fleet Captain shall call at least two general meetings, open to all members, per calendar year. The first meeting shall be in the early Spring (April?), before the active season and the second meeting shall be at the end of season in the late Fall (November?). The SPRING MEETING shall be for the purpose of discussing plans for the season just to begin, and any other matters which the officers and members consider worthy of discussion. The Fall meeting is herein referred to simply as the CHANGE OF WATCH DINNER. The Change Of Watch Dinner Meeting shall be for the purpose of year end reporting on all activities, the presentation of awards, the establishment of next year’s anticipated expenditures, the voting on next year’s associated dues and fees, and the election of the next year’s officers, etc. There shall be at least 15 days advance notice of such meetings in writing to the entire membership, both regular and associate. The Fleet Captain (or any two organization officers) may call any other meetings as deemed necessary throughout the year. A quorum of a majority of currently elected officers and at least a matching number of non-officer regular members must be present to constitute any official meeting. As noted previously in Article Ill, Section 2 and Article V Section 4, a special meeting for suspension/expulsion may be called as well.

Article VIII - Voting

Each member whose dues are fully paid at the time of voting shall have one vote. For further definition of a member, see Article III, Section 1, item 1 and 2, of this Constitution and By-laws. Proxy votes are not allowed.

Article IX – Amendments (see Attachments A & B)

No amendment to this Constitution and By-Laws may take place until a minimum of 2 sequential monthly notices, in writing, to the entire regular membership have been issued regarding the general wording and intent of the amendment. No sooner than 15 days nor longer than 90 days following the issuance of the second notice, a timely general meeting shall be called and the issue placed before the regular membership in the form of a motion. This shall be followed by seconding and discussion. A vote in the affirmative by at least 2/3 of the regular membership present at that meeting shall be required to carry the amendment.

Article X - Dues

The specific dollar amount of regular member dues, associate member dues, and racing fees shall be announced by the Treasurer, following coordination with the executive board members, at the Fall CHANGE OF WATCH DINNER and shall be approved by simple majority vote of those regular members present at that meeting. These dues and fees shall be paid to the office of Treasurer by no later than the last day in February so that the Treasurer can give a meaningful report of financial status at the Spring General Meeting. Members not paid by the end of February are in likelihood of being dropped from the organization rolls following an arrears notice issued by and under the terms of the Treasurer. If deemed advisable, the dues paid by associate members, or regular members who are retired, could be less than other regular members, but the specifics of the dues structure are at the discretion of executive board.

“Attachment A” Adopted April 9. 1994

Fleet Officer Post 1994
The Fleet Constitution defines the jobs of Fleet Captain, Race Measurer, Fleet 5ecretary and Fleet Treasurer. In addition, other fleet offices are to be created and filled or deleted as needed. At the present time (1994 Season) Fleet 8 has separated the positions noted above and in the body of the Fleet Constitution, into individual officer positions. In addition, the positions of Immediate Past Fleet Captain and Cruise director have been added as full officer positions.

The Immediate Past Fleet Captain is expected to be available to assist the newly elected Fleet Captain if questions or problems arise during the time immediately after the election of the new Fleet Captain. In addition, the Past Fleet Captain may function as a voting member of the fleet officers, to provide direction and opinion as needed. This position is automatically held without election by the outgoing Fleet Captain at the time of officer elections, and is held until the next turnover in the post of Fleet Captain. The Immediate Past Fleet Captain is equal to all other fleet officers in voting rights and privileges.

The Cruise Director has the responsibility of planning the fleet’s cruising schedule and advising the membership, preferably via newsletter, of cruising destinations, rendezvous times, and activities during fleet cruises. The Cruise Director is equal to all other fleet officers in voting rights and privileges.”

“Attachment B” Adopted July 10, 2000

Amendments
Revised the by-laws amendment process to allow up to 90 days for a membership vote after the second proposal posting (rather than the original 15-30 days.

The offices of Captain and Measurer require a member who is the owner of a Catalina 25, all other offices are exempt from this requirement

Amendment Adopted April 30, 2005
(Incorporated into the text of the document above)

Article III - Membership

Section 1. - Classes of Membership (Text in bold has been deleted)
1. A REGULAR MEMBER is one who must be a boat owner or spouse/significant other of that boat owner or co-boat owners or spouse/significant others of those boat owners (of a Catalina sailboat), and who...

2. An ASSOCIATE MEMBER is one who is a non-boat owner (or non-Catalina boat owner) who...