WESTERN WATERS CANOE CLUB
BYLAWS
This club shall be called Western Waters Canoe Club (WWCC).
The purpose of this club is to promote open canoe sport in the San Francisco Bay Area, particularly the South Bay.
These purposes will include:
1. To coordinate and administer open canoe activity following the rules, principles and guidelines of the American Canoe Association (ACA).
2. To encourage, sanction and sponsor open canoe activity on white water, flowing water, and flat water in fresh, salt and tide water areas.
3. To conduct classes and clinics on the safe use of open canoes
4. To cooperate with other groups having similar objectives.
5. To instruct persons in the cultural aspects, as well as the appropriate equipment, thereby helping insure the perpetuation of the sport.
6. To develop and/or provide instructional material/slides, films, suitable for teaching the arts of open canoeing.
7. To keep club members and interested parties informed of club activities via newsletter, distribution of meeting minutes or website updates.
8. To advocate and promote waterway protection and restoration.
9. To advocate for increased waterway access for manually powered recreational boating purposes.
In order to join the WWCC the following membership qualifications must be met:
· Members must be active canoers
· Individual members must be at least 18 years old.
· Persons under the age of 18 may only become a WWCC member as part of a family membership and must be accompanied by an adult or guardian during all club sponsored activities.
If a prospective member does not meet the above membership qualifications and still wishes to join the WWCC, special membership status may be granted by unanimous decision of the Board of Directors. Individuals having special membership status are not allowed to vote. Examples of cases in which a special membership may be granted include but are not limited to: people who do not own or paddle a canoe but wish to participate in WWCC activities in a different type of manually powered boat such as a kayak, rowboat, inflatable boat, surf ski, outrigger or other watercraft that does not conform to the traditional definition of a canoe.
Members may join as individuals or as families. If a member has established membership he/she may change membership from individual to family or vise versa as long as the change does not conflict with the membership qualifications above.
Membership year runs from January 1st to December 31st. New members can join at any time. They will be required to pay a full year’s dues at the time of application. Dues paid after September 30th will run through December 31st of the following year.
The Board of Directors is the Steering Committee of the WWCC. It has a general responsibility at administering business and activities of the club. It is responsible to oversee the activities of the club.
The Board shall consist of the following members:
a. President
b. Vice president (optional)
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Webmaster
f. Members-at-Large
Board members will be chosen by the following procedure at a regularly scheduled meeting. The two most immediate past presidents, in good standing, will become Members-at-Large.
1. Any voting member may nominate any voting member for any board position.
2. The nomination of the member must be seconded by another voting member.
3. The individual who is nominated may decline the nomination.
4. Voting will take place at the next scheduled meeting following the meeting at which the nominations were made.
5. Board members will be elected by a simple majority vote of a quorum.
The term of the Board of Directors shall be from January 1st of each calendar year to December 31st.
All members, except those having a special membership status, will have the right to vote in elections and on any bylaw changes or resolution of the Board/Steering Committee.
All members of the club are encouraged to bring guests to events. If there are, for some reason, a limited number of participants in any event, members will have first choice over guests. Any guest must be a guest of a particular member of the club and no guest will be permitted to attend more than three (3) events without becoming a member of the club.
Meetings will be held on a regular basis. They will be scheduled and will be open. A quorum shall consist of 25% of the membership. In event of a lack of a quorum a meeting can be held, however, there will be no voting permitted.
Dues will be set annually by vote of the club at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply in all parliamentary procedures not covered specifically by the bylaws. Order of business shall be: attendance, minutes, communication, reports, old business, new business, date and site of the next meeting, adjournment.
Amendments to these bylaws may be offered by any member at any meeting. The procedure will be as follows:
The member will submit to the President the proposed bylaw change. It will be read without comment at that meeting. The measure will be voted upon after discussion at the next scheduled meeting. The agreement of 25% of the voting membership will be considered a passing vote.
ARTICLE X: MISCELLANEOUS
In case of urgent need, the president will be empowered to enact business for the club by calling and obtaining permission from three-quarters (3/4) of the Board.
ARTICLE XI: TELEPHONE AND PROXY VOTES
Telephone or proxy votes will not be permitted.