CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE BLUE
RIDGE GROTTO
OF THE
Adopted November 15, 1974
Revised October 1990
Revised June 2007
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I, NAME
The name of the Grotto shall
be The Blue Ridge Grotto of the National Speleological Society.
Membership in this Grotto shall be granted to those who are interested in speleology. Members of the Virginia Western Community College Cave Club (VWCCCC) are invited to participate and join the Grotto now and in the future.
There shall be regular
meetings.
The annual meeting shall be a
regular meeting in November.
Special meetings may be
called by the Chairman, or, on application of FIVE
regular members or 30 percent of the regular membership, which ever is greater,
the Chairman shall call such a meeting.
FIVE regular
members or 30 percent of the regular membership, which ever is greater, being
in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
The secretary shall be
notified of each proxy before a vote.
Blanket or continuous proxies shall not be held. Proxies do not count as members in attendance
for section four (4).
Section 1
Amendments to this
constitution may be submitted by a motion and are automatically tabled upon a
second.
A submitted amendment must be
voted on within two months of its proposal, and the active membership of the
club must be specifically notified of the date of the vote and the nature of
the amendment.
A two-thirds majority vote of
all active members shall be required for adoption of any amendment.
BYLAWS
The duties of the Chairman
shall be:
A. To preside at all meetings.
B. To act as an ex-officio member of all
committees.
C. To represent
the Grotto officially in all matters except those which require the cooperation
of the Treasurer.
D. To make appointments to special committees
unless provision is made otherwise in the resolution establishing the committee
and to make changes in the committee with the approval of the majority of the
committee members.
E. To make appointments to standing committees,
to appoint committee chairmen and to remove appointees.
F. To make arrangements for the meeting room.
G. To perform all other duties usually
pertaining to this office.
H. To assume the duties of the other officers in
their absence until the provisions of the bylaws can be carried out.
The duties of the Vice
Chairman shall be:
A. To assist the Chairman as the Chairman shall
require.
B. To act as program chairman for the regular
monthly meetings.
C. In the absence or disability of the Chairman,
the Vice Chairman shall perform all the duties of the Chairman.
D. In the event of a long term absence or
disability of the Chairman (without the resignation of the Chairman) a vote
shall be taken to decree the absence of the Chairman at a regular meeting, of
which this action was announced at the previous regular meeting. The Vice-Chairman shall become Chairman upon
a passing vote of one half or more of the members present.
E. Upon the vacancy of the office of Chairman, the
Vice-Chairman shall become Chairman.
The duties of the Secretary
shall be:
A. To keep a
record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Grotto and to place a copy in
the Grotto files.
B. To keep a roll of the members of the Grotto
and to make this available to all members.
The roll shall include addresses and phone numbers, etc.
C. To conduct
correspondence for the Grotto as directed by the Chairman.
D. To notify
the National Speleological Society of changes in officers and other pertinent
information.
E. To perform
such other duties as this office may require.
The duties of the Treasurer
shall be:
A. To have charge of the finances of the Grotto.
B. To keep an accurate record of the finances of
the Grotto.
C. To be responsible for all receipts.
D. To be responsible for all disbursements, with
the approval of the membership.
E. To give a report of the financial status of
the Grotto at every regular meeting; to have available at all regular meetings
complete details of the years' receipts and disbursements.
F. To make a written yearly report at the
regular November meeting before the election of officers. The fiscal year shall start at the beginning
of the election meeting in November.
G. The past Treasurer shall turn over to the new
Chairman all records from the previous years at each November meeting.
H. To perform such other duties as this office
may require.
ARTICLE II, ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 1
Election:
The officers of the Grotto
shall be elected by ballot from candidates nominated from the floor by a
regular member. A separate ballot shall
be voted for each office. A simple majority
of the active regular membership present at a regular meeting shall be necessary
for an election (except at the annual November meeting). In case there is no majority, the candidate
with the lowest number of votes shall be dropped and a re-vote for the
remaining candidates shall be taken. The
officers elected shall assume their duties immediately.
Eligibility:
No member shall be eligible
to an office who has not been a member of the Grotto for at least one year,
unless there are no such members available.
All officers shall be Regular NSS members.
Resignation:
In the event of the
resignation, release from office of an officer, or vacancy, a special election
shall be called at the next regular meeting, and held at the following regular
meeting to elect a member to the office for the completion of the term of the
office except for the office of Chairman.
Term:
No member shall hold the same
office more than twice in succession, and filling an unexpired term shall in
this regard not be considered as a term of office. The term of office shall be one year, from
November meeting to the next November meeting.
Section
5
Temporary Appointment:
Should an officer resign
during the grotto year, the Chairman shall appoint some member of the Grotto to
assume the office temporarily until Article II, Section 3 of the bylaws can be
applied.
Impeachment:
A. An officer may be impeached for specific and
willful infractions of the constitution, bylaws, or policies of the Grotto or
National Speleological Society.
B. 1- A motion shall be made by a regular member,
committee, or other officer for impeachment stating specific infractions.
2- The motion, upon a second, shall automatically be
postponed until the next regular meeting.
3- The officer shall be given
notice of the motion at least two weeks in advance of the meeting in which the
vote is to be taken, and shall be given ample opportunity to defend himself
before the Grotto.
4-
Final action shall be by
secret ballot and will require a simple majority vote of the active regular
membership or a two-thirds majority vote of those regular members present,
which ever is greater, for impeachment.
C. An impeached officer may be reinstated by a
two-thirds vote of the active membership provided the officer complies with the
requirements of the reinstating motion.
The vote shall be by secret ballot.
ARTICLE III, MEMBERSHIP
Membership:
A. All
applications for membership shall be in writing, endorsed by a Regular member
in good standing and accompanied by dues for one year. Applications shall include a signed statement
that the applicant agrees to practice and promote cave conservation.
B. Members are classified as follows: Regular, Associate, Family, Junior and Institutional.
1. Regular members are individuals 17
years of age or older who are members of the National Speleological Society,
have all privileges of the Grotto, including the right to vote, serve as
committee chairman, receive a copy of currently issued regular publications and
have access to all of the Grotto records and data.
2. Associate members are individuals who
are not members of the National Speleological Society and may not vote, hold
office, or serve as committee chairman.
Such members receive a copy of currently issued regular publications
and, at the discretion of the executive committee, may have access to all of
the Grotto records and data.
3. Junior members are individuals who are
less than 17 years of age and are members of the National Speleological Society. Such members have the same privileges as
Associate members.
4. Family members are members who are in
the immediate family of and reside at the same address as a member, other than
a Family member of the Grotto. Family
members do not receive publications but otherwise have all the privileges of
Regular, Associate or Junior members, depending on their classification as
follows:
A.
"Family
Regular" depends upon a Regular
membership, is a member of the National Speleological Society, and is 17 years
of age or older.
B.
"Family Associate" depends upon a Regular or Associate membership and is not a
member of the National Speleological Society.
C.
"Family
Junior" depends upon a Regular
or Associate membership, is a member of the National Speleological Society and
is less that 17 years of age.
5. Institutional members are incorporated
organizations and unincorporated entities, other than individuals, whose
interests or activities are related to speleology and support the purposes of
the Grotto. Institutional members will
have the same privileges as Regular members except the right to vote, hold
office, and serve as committee chairman.
Additions to membership and
dropping of members:
A. A member must sponsor a candidate for
membership and this proposal must be seconded by another member. No name shall be voted upon until a meeting
following that in which the membership was proposed.
B. The vote in section 2:A
above shall be taken only after such proposed members have demonstrated their suitability
by past participation in Grotto activities.
C. It shall be the duty of the sponsor to see
that the new member becomes familiar with Grotto functions, to see that the
member is introduced to safe caving procedures that will benefit and encourage
his or her enjoyment of caving.
D. Resignation from membership shall be in
writing, and no resignation shall be accepted from a member who is not in good
and regular standing. Members in arrears
for dues for a year shall be dropped.
E.
Procedure for expelling a member shall be the same as for officers.
·
BRG members must
abide by NSS ethics, and practice cave safety and conservation. BRG members who behave in an unsafe and/or
disrespectful manner may be considered for revocation of their membership.
·
Any such behavior
will be called to their attention, (either verbally or in writing) to offer
them the opportunity to correct it.
·
If the behavior
continues they will be given a letter citing specific behaviors that need to be
corrected, along with the consequences of non-compliance.
·
If they continue
to continue the unsafe/disrespectful behavior, their membership will come up
for a vote by BRG members at a regular meeting within 2 months of the date of
the letter.
·
If a quorum
exists and a majority of BRG members vote to revoke their membership, they will
be given a letter to inform them of the final decision.
A. Annual dues shall be as
follows:
1.
Regular membership $ 10.00
2.
Associate membership
10.00
3.
Junior membership
5.00
4.
Family membership
A. Regular 5.00
B. Associate 5.00
C. Junior 2.50
5. Institutional membership 10.00
B. Dues are payable at the
first regular meeting after the annual November meeting.
C. When an election to
membership takes place after June 1, dues shall be one half of the regular
rate.
ARTICLE V, COMMITTEES
Section 1
Committees:
A. The Chairman
shall be empowered to appoint such special committees as he deems necessary at
any time, or, on the majority vote of the members at any meeting, he shall
appoint committees as they direct.
ARTICLE VI, AMENDMENTS
Section I
Amendments:
A. Amendments to these bylaws may be submitted
by a motion and are automatically postponed until the next regular meeting upon
a second.
B. A submitted amendment must be voted on within
two months of its proposal, and the active membership of the Grotto must be
specifically notified of the date of the vote and the nature of the amendment.
C. A
two-thirds majority vote of all active members shall be required for adoption
of an amendment.
Robert's Rules of Order, as
revised, shall be the parliamentary authority on all matters not covered by the
constitution and bylaws of this Grotto.
A Regular Blue Ridge Grotto
member may request, in writing, signed and dated, and must name in that request
any other Regular Blue Ridge Grotto member to cast a vote in the absent
member's name, providing each request includes reference to a specific motion
before the Grotto. Such request must be
in the possession of the Grotto Chairman at the time of the request.
ORDER OF BUSINESS (MODIFIED 1992)
1. Call to order, by the presiding officer.
1a. Introductions of people
present (if needed).
2. Trip reports and trip plans (*K.I.S.S.,
Please!)
2a.
Description of this month's trip.
2b.
Selection of next month's cave trip.
3. Program of the day.
3a. Five minute break (if
needed).
4. Reading of the minutes of the previous
meeting by the Secretary.
4a.
Amendments or acceptance of the previous months' minutes.
5. Treasurer's report.
6. Reports of committees.
Newsletter Safety & Techniques
Membership LOCUS
R.O.C.K.S. Ways & Means
Conservation Other
(A brief report by committee
chair if anything new is happening; otherwise, *K.I.S.S., please!)
7. Voting on tabled
membership proposals (if necessary).
Proposals of new members - table after 2nd
for next month (if necessary).
8. Unfinished business.
9. New Business.
10. Announcements, mailbag, etc.
11. Adjournment.
*(Keep It Simple, Stupid!)
Updates: This document has undergone the following
revisions:
Bylaws, Article VIII: Vote by Proxy. Adopted Jan. 1, 1983.
Bylaws, Article IV:A: Increase in annual membership dues for Regular,
Associate, Junior ,and Family members.
Adopted April 21, 1989.
Constitution, Article V: Separation of the office of Secretary and the office
of Treasurer. The two offices can be split
or merged, as necessary. Adopted September 15, 1989.
Bylaws, Article I: 3 & 4: Section 3 was divided into two parts, creating
section 4 so that the duties of the two offices in Article V of the
Constitution would be clearly stated. Adopted September 15, 1989.
Bylaws, Article 111: 2E: Section 2 Additions to membership and dropping of
members. E was modified to be precise
as to the steps needed to warn and expel a member. Adopted May 18, 2007.