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Constitution
ARTICLE I – Name Section 1: The name of this association shall be the Rhinelander Rabbit Club of America. Hereafter; it may be referred to as RRCA.
ARTICLE II – Object Section 1: To maintain and improve the breeding and exhibition of Rhinelander rabbits. Section 2: To provide memberships to all persons interested in promoting and/or supporting the Rhinelander breed. Section 3: To develop and create greater interest and demand for the Rhinelander rabbit for exhibition, commercial value, or as pets. Section 4: To work in close cooperation with the American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc. in maintaining and improving the Rhinelander Standard of Perfection. Section 5: To maintain a sweepstakes system to promote the exhibition of the Rhinelander breed. Section 6: To acknowledge the youth of the RRCA, positively promote and support youth activities, and provide leadership opportunities for the youth within the RRCA.
ARTICLE III – Affiliation Section 1: This club shall be affiliated with the American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc. (hereafter may be referred to as ARBA).
ARTICLE IV – Membership Section 1: Any person may apply for membership by submitting a completed membership application along with payment of at least one (1) year’s dues (Adults – Nineteen (19) years of age or older and Youth – up to Nineteen (19) years of age) to the Secretary/Treasurer of the RRCA. By submitting an application for membership, the applicant agrees to comply with all rules, regulations and mandates of the RRCA. Membership shall include a membership card, the RRCA newsletter, RRCA Sweepstakes contest, as well as other club benefits. Section 2: The RRCA Board of Directors reserves the right to accept or reject, for just cause, any application for membership.Section 3: All adult members shall have the right to vote by mail for election of officers and/or sign petitions for elective members of the RRCA Board of Directors and put forward proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws. Section 4: Members may not vote by proxy.
ARTICLE V – Officers Section 1: The elected officers of the RRCA shall consist of the President, Vice-President and six (6) Directors and shall be elected by simple majority of the mail ballot from the club’s membership. Section 2: The Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed by the President with simple majority approval of the RRCA Board of Directors for a term of two (2) years. Term shall begin immediately upon adjournment of the annual meeting held at the ARBA Convention. Said appointment to take place in odd numbered years and be made at the RRCA Board meeting held at the ARBA Convention. Section 3: The RRCA Board of Directors shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer and six (6) Directors. Section 4: Any adult member, in order to be eligible for office, must be actively engaged in the breeding of Rhinelander rabbits and must have been a member in good standing of this club for not less than one (1) year prior to becoming a candidate for office. Any one (1) member may not hold more than one (1) position on the RRCA Board of Directors. No youth member may hold an elected or appointed Office or Director position at anytime. Section 5: All elected members of the RRCA Board of Directors shall be granted a two (2) year terms of office. The Vice-President and three (3) Directors shall be elected in odd number years. The President and three (3) Directors shall be elected in even numbered years. Section 6: The terms of the newly elected officers shall begin immediately upon adjournment of the annual meeting held at the ARBA National Convention. Section 7: Vacancies in any office, for any reason, shall be filled by appointment by the President subject to a simple majority approval of the RRCA Board of Directors. Section 8: At no time may any two (2) or more members from the same household occupy a position on the RRCA Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VI – Discipline Section 1: The RRCA Board of Directors may, at any time, suspend or expel any member or reject a membership application or renewal, for conduct that in its judgment warrants such action. Any person expelled or refused membership shall not be reconsidered formembership for a period of one (1) year following expulsion or rejection. Section 2: Any charge brought against a member by another member, for misconduct and/or misdoing, must be made in writing and signed by the author and forwarded to the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer. The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall inform the RRCA Board of Directors of the receipt of a complaint, accompanied by a copy of the written complaint. The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer will send a copy of the complaint to the accused member by certified mail within ten (10) days of receipt. The accused member shall have thirty (30) days from the date of mailing to respond to the complaint in writing. Said response to be forwarded to the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer by certified mail. Upon receipt of the response the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall forward copies of the response to the RRCA Board of Directors for their review and determination of any necessary action. In the event the accused member fails to respond to the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer as set forth above, said person shall be removed from the membership files and shall have no right to appeal said action. If deemed necessary by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the RRCA Board of Directors, disciplinary actions may be taken, which may include but not be limited to, suspension or expulsion from the RRCA. In the case of the complaint being filed against the Secretary/Treasurer, the complaint will be sent to the President of the RRCA rather than the Secretary/Treasurer, and the President shall carry out the procedure. Section 3: Any Officer or Director, who becomes delinquent in his /her dues, shall be notified by the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer by certified mail. If membership dues are not received within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing, that office will be declared vacant and the President, per Constitution
ARTICLE V, section 8, shall, as soon as possible, appoint a replacement to the vacated position. Section 4: If any Officer or Director fails in the fulfillment of his/her duties and/or displays a lack of interest in RRCA matters, the RRCA Board of Directors may, by simple majority vote, request that Officer or Director to resign. If he/she fails to resign, the RRCA Board of Directors may, by simple majority vote, declare the office vacated. Section 5: In the event an Officer and/or Director has been removed from office pursuant to section 4 of this ARTICLE, said person shall be ineligible to offer a petition, be appointed and/or run for any office for a period of two (2) years.
ARTICLE VII – Meetings Section 1: The Annual Meeting of this Association shall be held during the annual ARBA Convention and Show. Section 2: A General Membership meeting may be held during the RRCA National Specialty Show, however, this meeting shall not replace the Annual Meeting. Section 3: The President may call a meeting of the RRCA Board of Directors at any time during the Annual ARBA Convention and Show, or the RRCA National Specialty Show. The presence of five (5) members of the RRCA Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum to conduct business. Section 4: Should the need arise, the President may call a meeting of the RRCA Board of Directors at any time by means of mailcorrespondence, telephone conference or electronic communication (i.e., email or fax transmission). Section 5: Results of any balloting among the RRCA Board of Directors shall be kept on file in the office of the Secretary/Treasurer for a period of two (2) years following the vote. A RRCA Board of Director Member failing to report his/her vote to the President within ten (10) days of notification shall, by his/her silence, forfeit the right to vote. Section 6: At all RRCA Meetings, in the absence of the President and Vice-President, the RRCA Board of Directors present shall elect a RRCA Board of Director member to act as Chairperson for that particular meeting.
ARTICLE VIII – Amendments Section 1: Any member may submit a proposed amendment to the Constitution & By-Laws Committee by forwarding same to the Chairperson of said Committee by March 1st. The proposed amendment must be signed by ten (10) adult members of the RRCA in good standing. Section 2: The Constitution & By-Laws Committee shall review said proposed amendment and forward same with their comments to the RRCA Board of Directors by April 1st. Section 3: Any proposed amendment will be published in the April/May/June issue of the RRCA newsletter and then placed on the next ballot before the membership. For the amendment to be accepted, it must receive a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the membership.
By-Laws
ARTICLE I – Membership Fees Section 1: Membership fees shall be recommended by the RRCA Board of Directors, subject to simple majority approval by the membership present at the Annual Meeting. Membership Classifications: Individual – $15 new, $10 renew for 1/yr; $30 new, $25renew for 3/yr Youth – $11 new, $6 renew for 1/yr; $20 new, $15 renew for 3/yr Husband/Wife – $20 new, $15 renew for 1/yr; $45 new, $40 renew for 3/yr (2 adults in the same household) Family – $30 new, $25 renew for 1/yr; $75 new, $70 renew for 3/yr (2 adults and up to 3 children) Foreign Memberships: (All in U.S. Currency) Individual – $25 new, $20 renew for 1/yr; $55 new, $50 renew for 3/yr Youth – $20 new, $15 renew for 1/yr; $45 new, $40 renew for 3/yr H/W – $30 new, $25 renew for 1/yr; $75 new, $70 renew for 3/yr (2 adults in the same household) Family – $40 new, $35 renew for 1/yr; $95 new, $90 renew for 3/yr (2 adults and up to 3 children) Membership term shall extend from the date dues are received to the date of expiration as indicated on the card issued. Renewal members shall expire as indicated on the card that shall be issued to them upon receipt of renewal. Section 2: Application for Life Membership may be made by anyone over forty years of age upon payment of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) or anyone over sixty years of age upon payment of Forty Dollars ($40.00). Section 3: The RRCA Board of Directors may grant Life Membership to individuals whom they determine to be deserving of this honor. These individuals shall be entitled to all membership privileges. Section 4: All members shall be notified by mail by the RRCA Secretary /Treasurer not less than thirty days prior to membership expiration. On the date of membership expiration, the member shall have an additional thirty days in which to renew their membership hereinafter referred to as “Grace Period”. At the expiration of the thirty day “Grace Period”, said member failing to renew will be deleted from the membership files and shall forfeit all privileges and sweepstakes points. Section 5: Any member wishing to renew after the expiration of the “Grace Period” will be required to pay the membership rate for a new member.
ARTICLE II – Duties of Officers Section 1: The President shall preside at all meetings and act as Chairman of the RRCA Board of Directors. He/She shall, with RRCA Board of Directors simple majority approval, appoint all standing or special committees. He/She shall perform all other duties pertaining to the office. The President shall have the same voting privilege as any other member of the Board of Directors. Section 2: The Vice-President shall perform all duties of the President in his/her absence or inability to serve. In case of vacancy of the President’s office, the Vice-President shall succeed him/her in office. Section 3: The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall be custodian of all funds; shall maintain a bank account in the name of the RRCA; shall maintain a complete set of books and records; shall receive and respond in a timely manner to membership applications; shall issue all show sanctions unless a sanction chairperson is appointed by the President with simple majority Board of Directors approval; shall be responsible for issuing all ballots; shall consult and advise the President on any unusual matters; shall furnish a quarterly report to the membership on the RRCA’s financial condition to be printed in the RRCA newsletter, as well as a complete fiscal year financial report to be furnished to the membership in written form at the annual meeting; shall pay all normal and expected claims promptly, with approval by the RRCA President for claims in excess of $200.00; shall maintain current membership files; shall notify members not less than thirty days prior to membership expiration; shall perform such duties as pertain to the office and/or requested by the RRCA Board of Directors. Section 4: RRCA Board of Directors shall have the authority to make such laws, establish such rules and adopt such regulations or policies as may be necessary for the government of its members; shall have the power to transact all necessary RRCA business between meetings; carry out the instructions of the RRCA; act upon charges brought to their attention; authorize expenditures; devise ways and means of carrying out the objects and purpose of the club; formulate rules during the year not covered by the present Constitution and By-Laws; award the location of the annual RRCA Specialty Show. Each member of the RRCA Board of Directors shall, if possible, attend at least one RRCA Board of Directors meeting during their term of office, and shall submit an ARTICLE for inclusion in each quarterly newsletter. Each Director shall represent the wishes of the members of the organization. Section 5: The President shall receive from the RRCA Secretary /Treasurer, within thirty (30) days following assumption of office, a bond in an amount as established by the RRCA Board of Directors covering the respective assets of the club. Said bonding fees to be paid from club funds. The President will appoint a committee of three (3) to perform an annual audit of the records of the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer at the ARBA National Convention, at the end of any RRCA Secretary/Treasurer’s retiring term and as requested by the RRCA Board of Directors.
Section 6: The RRCA Board of Directors shall have authority to modify any fees, dues, or other means of income at any time. Said modification must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE III – Compensation Section 1: The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall receive 25% of all income derived from new or renewal memberships and sanctions for compensation as established by the RRCA Board of Directors. Section 2: The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer may be appointed as Pointskeeper, receiving all completed sanctions and if so appointed, may receive an amount as established by the RRCA Board of Directors for each completed sanction processed. Section 3: Should a Sweepstakes Chairman (Pointskeeper) be appointed, he/she may, for each sanction processed, receive an amount as established by the RRCA Board of Directors. Section 4: The Newsletter Editor may receive an amount as established by the RRCA Board of Directors. Section 5: A Supply Chairperson may be appointed, and may receive an amount as established by the RRCA Board of Directors for services. Section 6: Officers and Committee Chairpersons may, with proper documentation, be reimbursed for expenses incurred pursuant to the duties of their office or position, by simple majority approval of the RRCA Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IV – Standing Committee Section 1: The RRCA newsletter Editor shall be responsible for complete editing and publication of the RRCA Newsletter four times annually, mailing to occur (if possible) in the first month of each quarter. He/She shall receive and process all information pertaining to advertising and shall forward monies received to the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer on a timely basis. He/She shall, at all times, use the utmost discretion in editing any and all information received for the ARTICLEs and advertising. Any materials received and deemed to be of a questionable nature shall be brought to the attention of the President. Section 2: The Election Committee shall consist of a chairperson and two members, none of who shall reside in the same state as the President or RRCA Secretary/Treasurer. The Committee shall receive the mailed ballots and verify results to the President and RRCA Secretary/Treasurer within ten days following poll closing. The Chairman shall retain all ballots for sixty days following the close of election and shall then forward all ballots to the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer. Results shall be kept on file in the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer’s office for a period of two years. Section 3: The Auditing Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and one or more members. No audit committee member may reside in the same state as the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer. The Committee shall be responsible for an annual audit of the club’s financial affairs, to take place during the ARBA National Convention before the RRCA Annual Meeting, and shall report their findings to the membership at the Annual Meeting. The Committee shall perform an audit at the end of any term of the RRCA Secretary/Treasurer and Supply Chairperson (if applicable), or as requested by the RRCA Board of Directors. The Committee shall provide a financial report of any and all audits performed, to be printed in the issue of the RRCA newsletter following the audit. Section 4: The Constitution & By-Laws Committee consisting of not less than three persons shall be appointed for the purpose of reviewing, receiving and/or proposing changes, amendments or resolutions to the Constitution & By-Laws. The Chairperson shall be responsible for preparing and submitting any proposed changes, amendments or resolutions to the RRCA Board of Directors prior to presentation for the general membership’s consideration. It shall further be the responsibility of the Chairperson to assure publication of any and all proposed Constitution changes for the consideration of the general membership by ballots as provided by the Constitution, ARTICLE VIII, section 3. Section 5: The Standards Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and at least three members, at least one of whom shall be a licensed ARBA judge. They shall be responsible for maintaining a study of the Standard, receiving requests for working standards on new varieties, receive requests and proposals from the membership and notify the membership of these proposals in conjunction with election ballots. If changes are approved by a simple majority of the votes cast, the Committee shall submit them to the ARBA Standards Committee with recommendations for adoption, as required by the ARBA procedure and timeline. Section 6: All Standing Committees shall, with approval of the RRCA Board of Directors by a simple majority, be appointed by the President.
ARTICLE V – Special Committees Section 1: Special Committees may be appointed by the President as deemed necessary. Terms of Special Committees shall run from the appointment of the committee until the completion of their duties or December 31 of each year, at which time the committees may be reappointed at the President’s discretion.
ARTICLE VI – Election Procedures Section 1: Any member in good standing desiring to become a candidate for office shall send a “letter of intent” to run for election to the RRCA Secretary/ Treasurer. This letter must state the office for which the candidate will be running, be signed by at least three (3) RRCA
members in good standing, and accompanied by a profile or resume for printing in the news bulletin, postmarked no later than March 1st. The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall then verify the applicant’s eligibility, and include that person on the election ballot, and forward the profile or resume to the Editor of the RRCA newsletter for inclusion in the April/May/June issue of the newsletter. If the member is found to be ineligible for candidacy, RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall notify him/her stating the reason for exclusion from the ballot. No “write-in” candidates will be allowed. Section 2: In the event that any office does not receive a candidate, the President shall appoint a member of the RRCA to fulfill the term of said office with simply majority approval of the remaining members of the RRCA Board. If the office of President does not receive a candidate, the Vice-President shall automatically become President, and he/she shall make appointments, subject to simple majority approval of the remaining Board members, to fill any vacancy on the Board. All appointments to vacant offices shall be made after the election results have been determined. Section 3: The RRCA Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for sending ballots to all eligible members. Ballots will be mailed to the membership no later than the first week of August, including an envelope addressed to the Election Committee Chair. Ballots shall contain elections for Officers and Directors, as well as any proposed amendments to the C & BL. Section 4: Ballots must be returned to the Election Committee Chair and postmarked no later than September 1st. The Election Committee shall assemble at the earliest opportunity, but no later than September 20th, to count all acceptable ballots and send a certified statement of the results to the President and RRCA Secretary/Treasurer within 5 days of the completion of ballot counting. This statement shall be retained in the files of the RRCA Secretary/ Treasurer for a period of two years following the election. Section 5: Facsimiles or copies of the ballots shall not be considered acceptable and will be declared void. Valid and voided ballots shall, sixty days following the election, be forwarded to the RRCA Secretary/ Treasurer and shall be retained for a period of two(2)years. Section 6: The candidate for the office of President or Vice-President receiving the most votes for said office shall be declared the winner. The three (3) candidates receiving the highest number of votes for Director shall be declared the winners. If the office of President or Vice-President receives only one (1) qualified candidate for that office, the candidate will, by the RRCA Board of Directors, be declared the winner of that particular office. If only three (3) candidates qualify for the office of Director, all three (3) shall be declared the winners. Section 7: The President shall, when notified of the results by the Election Committee, notify all candidates of the results of the election. Section 8: No candidate, or relative of a candidate, may serve on the Election Committee. Section 9: In case of a tie for President or Vice-President, or for the 3rd Director’s position, the winner shall be determined by the toss of a coin, to take place at the Board of Directors meeting held at the ARBA National Convention.
ARTICLE VII – Parliamentary Authority Section 1: In order to transact business at any general membership meeting of the RRCA, a minimum of ten (10) members and five (5) members of the Board of Directors in attendance shall constitute a quorum. If no quorum is present, the presiding officer may adjourn the meeting to a day and hour of his/her designation. No decisions may be made at any such meeting lacking a quorum; however, reports, communications and discussions may be heard. Section 2: Unless otherwise provided in these ARTICLEs, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the transaction of business at all meetings.
ARTICLE VIII – Order of Business Section 1: The order of business at all meetings shall be: 1. Call to order. 6. Reading of Communications. 2. Roll Call of Officers 7. Unfinished Business. 3. Reading of Minutes. 8. New Business. 4. Report of Officers. 9. Discussion. 5. Report of Committees. 10. Adjournment.
ARTICLE IX – Amendments Section 1: Any member may submit a proposed amendment to the Constitution & By-Laws Committee by forwarding same to the Chairperson of said Committee by March 1st. The proposed amendment must be signed by ten (10) adult members of the RRCA in good standing. Section 2: The Constitution & By-Laws Committee shall review said proposed amendment and forward same with their comments to the RRCA Board of Directors by April 1st. Section 3: Any proposed amendment will be published in the April/May/June issue of the RRCA newsletter and then placed on the next ballot before the membership. For the amendment to be accepted, it must receive two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the membership. Approved May 23, 2009