Bylaw Amendment Article V Duties of Officers
NBRC Item 2014-003
The passage of NBRC Item 2014-002 (Amendment to Bylaws – Article IV) on March 3, 2014 created a domino effect whereas other bylaws required amending in order to be compliant. Article V was addressed by the Committee, specifically pertaining to the job descriptions for the Director-at-Large, Public Relations
Director, and Publishing Editor.
Existing Bylaw:
Article V Duties of Officers
Section 5
The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary – Treasurer, Regional Directors,
Director-At-Large, Publishing Editor and National Fly Director and shall be the governing body of the National Birmingham Roller Club. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be recorded for the record and maintained on file
by the Secretary / Treasurer.
Section 6
A quorum of fifty percent plus one is required to conduct the business of the Executive Committee.
Section 7
The Publishing Editor shall be appointed by the President. In addition to performing public relations duties as necessary, the Publishing Editor shall publish the NBRC Bulletin. The Executive Committee shall establish a yearly
stipend to be paid on a quarterly basis to the Secretary-Treasurer and to the Publishing Editor. The NBRC treasury shall bear the costs of reasonable travel and room expenses to enable the Publishing Editor to attend NBRC annual
conventions.
Proposed Amendment
Article V Duties of Officers
Section 5
The Publishing Editor shall be elected by the general membership for a term of four years. The Publishing Editor shall publish the NBRC Bulletin. The Executive Committee shall establish a yearly stipend to be paid on a quarterly basis to
the Secretary-Treasurer and to the Publishing Editor. The NBRC treasury shall bear the costs of reasonable travel and room expenses to enable the Publishing Editor to attend NBRC annual conventions.
Section 6
The Public Relations Director is elected by the general membership for a term of four years. He is endowed with the responsibility of maintaining the positive image of the club. He is, in many ways, a spokesman of the NBRC, communicating its policies and activities to people inside and outside the organization, representing the club to existing members, potential members, the public, the government, the media, and other external sources. To be most
effective, he must observe and respond to social, economic, and political trends that might impact membership, establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them. The Director of Public Relations will work to identify primary groups and audiences from which new members may be derived; determine the best way to communicate information to them, and then develop and implement a plan to reach out to them. He will develop and maintain advertising and promotional programs that are compatible with the target audience, maintaining the NBRC image and identity. In order to assist him in these activities, the Public Relations Director may recruit, appoint, assign, supervise, and review the activities of an appropriate number of committee members as he deems necessary to accomplish these objectives
Section 7
Upon expiration of his two-year term of office, the President automatically succeeds to the office of Director-at-large with no requirement of additional election to qualify for that office. In this capacity, he serves to assist the President in the control and administration of NBRC affairs, particularly in coordinating the annual NBRC Convention He is responsible for soliciting potential host clubs; for evaluating the qualifications of their particular region of the country as hosts for the convention; for working with the host and the NBRC Secretary-Treasurer in the decisions as to the selection of the hotel convention site, buses, meals, design and fabrication of convention t-shirts and hats; as well as any other related issues necessary in the planning of the annual NBRC Convention. He will communicate and coordinate with the President in his recommendations as to the final recommendations of the Director-at-large and the Secretary-Treasurer regarding these issues. The Director-at-large is also in charge of the fabrication of plaques as required by the President, to award to various members and club officers for their service and accomplishments,
excluding the National Championship Competition plaques, which are the responsibility of the National Fly Director.
Section 8
The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary – Treasurer, Regional Directors, Director-At-Large, Publishing Editor, National Fly Director, and Public Relations Director and shall be the governing body of the National Birmingham Roller Club. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be recorded for the record and maintained on file by the Publishing Editor.
Section 9
A quorum of fifty percent plus one is required to conduct the business of the Executive Committee.
NBRC Item 2014-003
Vote Result: The item passed the committee by a 28-0 vote.
Acceptance Date: 03-12-14
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Approval of Individuals Serving in Multiple Offices
NBRC Item 2014-004
Two Executive Committee members were appointed or elected to serve dual offices prior to bylaw revision on March 6, 2014 — Revision of NBRC Item 2014-002 (Amendment to Bylaws Article IV). In that action, Section 6 was revised to state that “Any officer serving in two elected positions, with said approval, shall only be allowed one vote on the Executive Committee.” In order to quell challenges that officeholders were illegitimate and to become compliant to revised policy, a proposal was made to officially approve the multiple offices for Nick Siders (Vice-President and 5B Regional Director) and Don Macauley (Director-atLarge, National Fly Director, and Junior Program Coordinator). Approval would not revise an existing bylaw nor create a new one; with the activity simply being proper protocol with having officers serving multiple
offices.
Article IV, Section 6
Individuals Serving in Multiple Offices
Individuals may submit their candidacy to run for both national and regional office at one and the same time; however, no candidate shall hold more than one elected office, national or regional, at the same time. Exceptions, if any, shall
require the approval of both the President and the Executive Committee. Any officer serving in more than one elected position, with said approval, shall only be allowed one vote in the Executive Committee.
Proposal
In compliance with Article IV, Section 6 it was proposed that the Executive Committee: 1) approve Nick Siders to hold both the office of Vice-President of the NBRC as well as Regional Director for 5B, and 2) approve Don Macauley to
hold the national offices of Director-at-Large, National Fly Director, and Junior Program Coordinator, with each individual to have only one vote on the Executive Committee.
NBRC Item 2014-004
Vote Result: The item passed the committee by a 27-0 vote.
Acceptance Date: 03-17-14
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Bylaw Amendment Article III Membership and Dues
NBRC Item 2014-005
Recommendation was made to reword “Article III — Membership and Dues” for enhanced clarity and more precise meaning. In addition, passage of the measure would grant lifetime membership to all members of the NBRC Hall of Fame. Significant rewording is underlined in the proposed amendment.
Existing Bylaw:
Article III Membership and Dues
Section 1. Any person who breeds Birmingham Rollers is eligible for membership by paying the prescribed yearly dues and agreeing to comply with the rules, regulations, Constitution and By-laws of the NBRC. Family memberships
are also available for named individuals, together with their spouses/partners and/or children 12 years old or over and residing in the same household. Those individuals who are NBRC members through family memberships will receive
one periodic NBRC Bulletin per family membership in the name of the designated primary member. Family memberships shall be entitled to one vote in the election of NBRC officers or for any other matter brought before the club membership for voting. Each named member of the household that is eligible for family Membership is eligible for participation in the annual NBRC National Championship Fly competition and in the NBRC Master Flier program to
receive points under his/her own name, independent of the other named family members; however, in each competition, a maximum of four kits may be entered per family membership.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall have the following authority and power with regards to membership:
a) Establish and regulate a schedule of dues for memberships of various types.
b) Discipline members up to and including expulsion, who fail to adhere to the bylaws and policies of this Club, for actions detrimental to the Club or hobby, and/or fail to conduct themselves in a gentlemanly and sportsman-like manners.
c) Establish guidelines and/or policies for membership.
Section 3. The NBRC Secretary shall have the authority to drop members who fail to submit their prescribed dues within their activation month; this shall include any other membership that may be linked to the dropped member.
Proposed Amendment
Article III Membership and Dues
Section 1. Any person who currently breeds Birmingham Rollers, has bred them in the past, or has a genuine interest in the Birmingham Roller breed of pigeon is eligible for membership by paying the prescribed yearly dues and agreeing to comply with the rules, regulations, and Constitution and By-laws of the club. Family memberships are also available for named individuals, together with their spouses/partners and/or children 12 years old or over and residing in the same household. Those individuals who are NBRC members through family memberships will receive one periodic NBRC Bulletin per family membership in the name of the designated primary member. Family memberships shall be entitled to one vote in the election of NBRC officers or for any other matter brought before the club membership for voting. Each named member of the household that is eligible for family membership is eligible for participation in the annual NBRC National Championship Fly competition and in the NBRC Master Flier program to receive points under his/her own name, independent of the other named family members; however, in each competition, a maximum of four kits may be entered per family membership.
Section 2. Members will at all times conduct themselves in a gentlemanly and sportsman-like manner and uphold the positive public image of the NBRC and the pigeon hobby, in general. Penalties for misconduct, as determined by the
NBRC Executive Committee, may result in a member being suspended or expelled from the club.
Section 3. The amount payable by club members for annual membership dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee and periodically reconsidered as needed.
Section 4. Membership dues are due annually on the anniversary date of membership activation. Failure to submit within activation month will result in a member being dropped from the club membership list and future bulletins will
not be issued. Each member’s due date will be on each bulletin and it is incumbent upon the member to keep his/her
dues current.
Section 5. Those individuals who are currently members of the Hall of Fame, or are inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future, will be granted a lifetime membership in the NBRC.
Executive Committee Debate
There was unison support for the modification of Sections 1-4 of the proposed amendment, but committee members were divisive on Section 5. While most members were in complete agreement that Hall of Fame inductees deserved
the entitlement, nearly half of those voting were not in favor of the treasury funding the proposal. Allocating funds therefore sparked a considerable amount of healthy debate before the issue was resolved.
NBRC Item 2014-005 Vote Result: The item passed the committee by an 18-17 ote.
Acceptance Date: 03-27-14
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NBRC 2014-006
At the deadline date for this bulletin’s content, the Executive Committee was In the process of addressing
NBRC Fly Policy 001.07, which currently reads:
Flyers who cross over regional boundaries to fly in another adjacent region, must first notify, in writing, the Regional Directors of both regions in order to prevent the possibility of duplication. In so doing, members who choose to fly in another region, other than the region in which they reside,
may only vote for Regional Director in their home region.
The proposed revision which would amend policy was presented as:
Regional Directors must include any and all NBRC members who reside in their region and want to compete; assuming they pay the fly fees necessary to compete in the regional competitions of the NBRC National Championships. The Regional Director may include a surcharge adequate to cover the cost of
gas/mileage to transport the judge to remote locations greater than 2 ½ hours or 150 miles. Competitors may only participate in one region’s qualifying competitions and may not compete in either the 20-bird or the 11-bird competition in an adjacent region if their home region is not offering one of the competition
venues. Fliers may not cross over regional boundaries to fly in adjacent regions if, in doing so, their home region will not have enough fliers to generate a qualifier in the finals.
Fliers who wish to cross over regional boundaries to fly in an adjacent region, must first request it in writing or by e-mail, no later than 30 days prior to the earliest competition is to be held by the earliest of the two regional competitions in that year. If this deadline is not met, any changes that are made will not take
effect until the competition that is to be held in the following year. The request must be submitted to the Regional Director of each region and to the NBRC National Fly Director. Regional Directors who receive such a request are expected to consult with the competitors in their regions before reaching a decision, in
order to gauge the willingness of the fliers in the region to accept a flier from outside the their region or to lose a flier to an adjacent region. Consent from the National Fly Director and, at least, one of the Regional Directors is required for the approval of the request to fly in an adjacent region. Once granted, such
petitions to compete in adjacent regions are considered permanent until such time as they are requested and reversed through this same process as described herein. If approved, members who choose to fly in another region, other than the region in which they reside, may only vote for Regional Director in their home region.
Based on the complexity of this issue and intensity of emotion expressed in the discussion period, each item in this proposal will be individually debated and voted upon.
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DIVISION OF REGION 2C
NBRC Item 2014-019
Flyers residing in the state of Mississippi formally requested that Region 2C, whose boundaries consisted of Louisiana and Mississippi, be split to create Region 2E, which would designate the state as a separate entity. RD Aubrey Thibodeaux (2C) supported the split, citing that an additional 14-hour drive was
necessary to include the Mississippi fliers with those in Louisiana. The distance influenced participation in some years when they (Mississippi fliers) were omitted from the competition when they wanted to compete due to judge acquisition. Thibodeaux expressed confidence that Louisiana will continue to recruit enough
kits for a qualifier without the Mississippi flyers. If the new region (2E) was approved by the EC, Pha Hall volunteered to serve as the RD. Names of Mississippi flyers that supported the proposal accompanied the request.
Vote Result: The item passed the committee by a 24-2 vote. 12 Members did not vote.
Acceptance Date: 12-03-14
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DIVISION OF REGION 9A
NBRC Item 2014-020
A group of members residing in Region 9A formally requested that the region be split into two separate entities, making the area more manageable because of the large number of fliers. The boundary of the new region would be from Santa Monica East along Highway 10 until it intersects with the 605 Freeway, then south along 605 to Seal Beach, ending at the coast (a map was provided for the EC to
evaluate). The members behind the proposal cited that because of the region’s vast size, it has long been a logistical and financial hardship on 9A to conduct fly competitions in a timely manner due to the large number of fliers. To accommodate the flyers in the former (original) 9A area, the flyers requested the
separation and formation of Region 9J.
The EC members were torn and debated heavily on how best to resolve the matter. The general feeling was that the actual intent behind the proposal was based upon personal relationships and differences, with the overriding concern that it was more of a people issue than a geographical one.
Those in favor recognized legitimate concerns that the old 9A boundary of 605 is no longer a clear dividing line between the two camps of roller men, and things are no longer geographically distinct. Separating the flyers into two regions would respond to the concerns of 20-30 9A members who were indicating they
would not participate under the new boundary assignment Those in opposition contended that whenever a region requests a split due to geographic issues or having not been allowed to participate in their region due to the logistics, then it represents a legitimate reason to sub-divide an area, based on past and present guidelines on how regions are formed. This proposal was based upon neither. It was felt that in giving a particular group of flyers a “custom” region based upon their choice of either flying or not flying, the club would setting a dangerous precedent.
In casting a vote for or against the proposal, each member of the EC had to decide whether the negative was strong enough to outweigh any benefit that would be gained.
Vote Result: The item failed to pass the committee by a vote of 11-16. 11 Members did not vote.
Rejection Date: 12-10-14