Article I
Section 1. This association shall be known as The Arabian Cutting Horse Association.
According to its Articles of Incorporation the Association shall be a non-profit corporation; with no capital stock; no paid officers or directors; and it shall hold no member, Officer or Director liable for any corporate debt.
Section 2. The term for which it will exist shall be fifty (50) years.
Section 4. The principal office or place of business of this Association shall be the home of the duly appointed Secretary of the Association. The legal address of this Association shall be the same.
Section 5. There shall be no capital stock and in lieu of stock certificates, membership cards shall be issued to all members. Membership cards shall be signed by the Secretary.
Section 6. Membership cards shall be non-transferable.
Article I l
PURPOSE
The purpose of The Arabian Cutting Horse Association is to encourage the development of the public interest in livestock and ranching through the promotion and sponsorship of public cutting horse contests, public exhibition of cutting horses in conjunction with cattle and livestock; the presentation and participation of cutting horse events in other general livestock exhibitions;
•To set up standard judging and show rules for Arabian cutting horse contests
•To standardize pay out schedule for prize monies
•To standardize the election and appointment of judges and directors or spokesmen for such contests, exhibitions and expositions
•To encourage the development and breeding of finer Arabian cutting horses
•To cooperate with other organizations (namely, the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) and Region VIII) and individuals in developing and maintaining the highest quality of this incomparable breed
•To encourage, aid and conduct events for the purpose of advancing the outstanding qualities of Arabian horses
Article lll
OFFICERS AND DUTIES
Officers of the Association shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary- Treasurer, Membership Chair and Newsletter Editor. Each of these officers shall be a current voting member in good standing of the Association.
These officers shall hold office for a period of two (2) years or until their successors are duly elected and qualified; commencing January first and ending December thirty-first. Nominations for President and Vice President are to be made from the nominating committee; the nominating committee shall consist of the Board of Directors. Ballots for President and Vice-President shall be sent to the membership by September first and returned by October first to be tallied. New Officers will be put in place at the annual meeting held during AHA U.S. Nationals.
Any Officer of the Association may be removed by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present at any called meeting of the membership, provided that written notice of the purpose of said meeting has been given in accordance with Article VI of these By-Laws.
Examples of cause for removal: 1) missing three (3) consecutive Board meetings; 2) missing more than four (4) Board meetings in one (1) year; 3) not paying membership fees by the first-called Board meeting of the year; and 4) dereliction of duties, etc.
Should a vacancy occur in the offices of Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Chair or Newsletter Editor, any voting member in good standing may be elected by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors to fill out the unexpired term.
A. The President shall:
be the chief executive officer of the Association and, be subject to the control of the Board of Directors, shall have general supervision, direction and control of the business and Officers of the Association.
1.preside at all meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors;
2.appoint the chairpersons of all committees other than those provided for elsewhere in
these By-Laws.
3.with the treasurer (or other appropriate individual), sign all written contracts authorized by the association;
4.have the general powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of president of a corporation and shall have such other powers and duties as may be
prescribed by the Board of Directors or these By Laws.
B. The Vice-President shall:
1. in the absence or disability of the President to perform all the duties of the President and when so acting, shall have all the power of, and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President;
2. be in charge of Programs at General Membership Meetings;
3. have other powers and perform other duties as may be prescribed by the President.
5. All outgoing Presidents of TACHA shall be Honorary Vice-Presidents.
C. The Secretary - Treasurer shall:
Secretary-Treasurer is to be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.
1. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also issue all notices on calls to the Directors and members.
2. keep, or cause to be kept, a book of minutes of all minutes of the Association and the Board of Directors meetings, with the time and location, type of meeting, the proceedings thereof, and the names of Officers and Directors present and absent, and shall submit such minutes for publication in the newsletter.
3. be responsible for the safekeeping of all correspondence and other valuable papers of
the of the Association not assigned to another Officer of Director;
4. keep the Motions Book with a record of all motions passed by the Board of Directors or the General Membership;
5. have other powers and perform other duties as may be prescribed by the President.
6. receive and distribute prize monies as prescribed by the TACHA judging and show rules.
7. keep accurate books of account of the Association’s transactions, which shall be the property of the Association.
8. prepare and present an itemized financial statement at the Annual Meeting, and at such other times as required by the President;
9. chair the Budget Committee and present a proposed Budget to the Board of Directors annually at the January Board Meeting;
10. submit the Association books for an audit during the month of January each year;
11. perform all other duties commonly incidental to this office;
12. file income taxes.
D. The Membership Chair shall:
Membership Chair is to be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.
1. keep, or cause to be kept, the official membership roster with addresses, telephone numbers, and other information on all members, and shall promptly notify AHA of any additions, changes or deletions;
2. have other powers and perform other duties as may be prescribed by the President.
3. keep the membership roll, issue membership cards or certificates; conduct, supervise, count and record the balloting of all elections, and perform such other and further duties as usually pertain to this office, including those especially assigned to him/her from time to time by the Board of Directors.
E. The Newsletter Editor shall:
Newsletter Editor shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.
1. be responsible for publishing and mailing the newsletter, on a schedule established by the Board of Directors;
2. have other powers and perform other duties as may be prescribed by the President.
Section 2. All vacancies in the offices of the Association shall be filled by the Board of Directors, and those so appointed shall serve until their successors have been elected and qualified.
Article I V
MEMBERS
Section 1. Any individual (regardless of whether he or she owns or rides a cutting horse), firm, partnership, organization, riding club, state or regional group of good character and reputation interested in cutting horses may become an active member of this Association.
Section 2. Annual Dues: annual dues shall be charged each member according to their membership category. The Board of Directors shall establish the rates of the dues, any other membership fees to be assessed, due dates and deadlines with respect to AHA guidelines.
Section 3. Members must pay the annual dues each year by December 15th. Dues shall be considered delinquent after said date.
Any member delinquent in payment of annual Association dues by December 15th will be subject to a five-dollar ($5.00) penalty, total fifty dollars ($50.00). Members, who do not
pay their current annual dues will forfeit their The Arabian Cutting Horse Association membership. Notification will be made by letter, giving opportunity to pay current annual dues or be dropped from TACHA membership.
Section 4. Non members are not eligible to receive show points. A $ 100.00 penalty will be assessed for payment of points earned during fiscal year, after current dues are paid in full.
Section 5. All membership fees and dues shall be paid to the Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 6. The fiscal year of this Association shall be January 1st through December 31st of each year.
Section 7. Individuals, firms or partnerships will be issued annual membership cards. Firms or partnerships must designate who the voting member will be.
Section 8. The annual meeting of the members of this Association shall be held at a time and place designated by the Board of Directors.
Section 9. Special membership meetings may be called by the President at any time and place on reasonable notice to all members.
Section 10. Nine (9) members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting and a majority of such quorum shall decide any question that may arise at any meeting. All membership meetings may be adjourned from day to day and from time to time until a quorum appears.
Section 11. Each member shall be entitled to one vote.
Section 12. Any member who shall make himself or herself a nuisance by constant complaints or fault finding or by harassing the Secretary or President because of real or fancied grievances, may at the discretion of the Board of Directors be dropped from membership and if such action is taken, his/her membership fee shall be returned and all privileges of the Association be denied him/her thereafter.
Section 13. The order of business at any meeting of the members shall be:
Roll call
Proof of due notice
Reading and disposal of minutes
Report of Officers and Directors
Unfinished business
Election (if any)
New business
Adjournment
Section 14. The designation of Honorary Member may be conferred by the Board of Directors upon any person or persons rendering single or honorable service to the Arabian Cutting Horse Association, or in other horse associations or civic organizations or city, country or governmental affairs.
Article V
DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors of this Association shall consist of twelve (12) or less members in good standing and shall consist of the President, Vice-President, and the appropriate number of other members of this Association.
These officers shall hold office for a period of two (2) years or until their successors are duly elected and qualified; commencing January first and ending December thirty-first.
Ballots for the Board of Directors shall be sent to the membership by September first and returned by October first to be tallied. The new Board will be put in place at the annual meeting held during AHA U.S. Nationals.
Section 2. Members of the Board of Directors must attend at least two (2) Board Meetings per calendar year. It shall be the duty of the President to appoint a Director or Directors to fill the vacancy of any Director approved by the sitting Board.
Section 3. The annual meeting of the Board of Directors of this Association shall be held immediately preceding or following the annual membership meeting of the members.
Section 4. Special meeting of the Board of Directors may be called by the President or any four (4) members of the Board of Directors at any time or place, on one week’s notice.
Section 5. A quorum at any meeting of the Board of Directors shall be not less than four (4) of the Directors. A majority of such quorum shall decide any questions that may come before the meeting. All Directors’ meetings may be adjourned from day to day or time-to-time until a quorum appears.
Section 6. The order of business at all meetings of the Board of Directors shall be:
Meeting called to order
Roll call
Reading and disposal of minutes
Unfinished business
Election (if any)
Report of officers and committees
New business
Adjournment
Article V l
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Any by-laws may be repealed, modified, or amended, and by-laws may be adopted at any regular meeting of the members of the Association, or at any special meeting of the members if due notice has been given that this will be part of the order
of business.