CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

CLUB NAME

This organization shall be registered as the Bass Club of Fort Worth.

ARTICLE II

DISCLAIMER

This Bass Club of Fort Worth assumes no responsibility for Club Members, their actions or accidents.

ARTICLE III

PURPOSE

The purpose of this non-profit organization shall be:

A.     To maintain a high standard of true sportsmanship among its members and fellow sportsman.

B.     To promote a social relationship and a friendly atmosphere.

C.     To sponsor fishing tournaments, to provide an atmosphere of friendly competition.

D.     To promote fishing as a source of recreation.

E.     To promote conservation of our natural resources in every respect.

ARTICLE IV

COLORS

The club colors shall be silver and black, with other colors for accent.

ARTICLE V

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:  An unlimited membership shall consist of all members who have paid their membership dues.

Section 2: 

a.     A member may be deprived of his or her membership, by action of the Executive Board, or a violation of club ethics or unsportsmanlike conduct, after the member has had an opportunity to appear before the Board in his or her behalf.

b.     The expelled member shall have the right to appeal the action of the Board at the next Regular meeting.  The appeal shall be voted on by secret ballot and a majority vote shall Carry or defeat the appeal.

Section3:   Members who participate in special club activities such as:  Casting Kids

            events, Boat/Tackle Shows, Fish Fry, Committees, Special Projects,

            Officers, ( etc.) will be eligible for a special drawing at the Awards

            Banquet for prizes and/or awards given by the Club. Each day of active participation will count as one ( 1 ) entry into the drawing.

ARTICLE VI

OFFICERS

Section 1:  The officers shall consist of President, Vice-President, Secretary,

            Treasurer, Sergeant At Arms, Tournament Director, Newsletter Editor,

            Membership Director, Webmaster,   immediate past President and six (6)

            Board Members At Large. The above officers shall constitute the

            Executive Board.

Section 2:

a.     Each officer shall be elected for a term of one year.  The President shall appoint an officer committee in September to begin recruiting possible officer candidates for nomination in November.  The officers shall be elected by majority ballot of the Members in good standing who are present at the regular December meeting.

b.     Candidates for the office of President must have served as an Officer of the Club for a minimum of one (1) year. 

c.     If no candidate for an office receives a majority vote, the two (2) candidates with the most number of votes shall be in a run-off at the December meeting.

d.     The date, time, and place of the regular December meeting, shall be announced by mail or email to all eligible members.

e.     All voting for Club officers shall be accomplished by Secret Ballot.

f.     A majority ballot as defined in Robertss Rules of Order and this Constitution is fifty percent (50%) plus one (1).

Section 3:  When one or more vacancies occur in elective offices, the vacancy or

            vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by a majority vote

            of the Executive Board.

Section 4:  New Officers shall be installed at the January meeting and assume

            their duties at that time.

ARTICLE VII

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1:  The management of the club is vested in the Executive Board during

            the time the club is not in session.  The Executive Board shall have

            and exercise all powers granted to the club by the Constitution or

            By-laws, except that it shall have no power to alter, rescind, or

            nullify any part or provisions of such Constitution or by-laws. The

            Executive Board may impeach an elected officer of his or her duties

            for just cause.  Such impeached Officer shall have the right to appeal

            the action of the Board at the next regular meeting of the club.  The

            appeal shall be voted on by Secret Ballot and fifty percent (50%)

            plus one (1) of the votes present at the meeting shall defeat the appeal.

Section 2:  The President shall preside at all meetings, appoint committees, and

            be an ex-officio member of all committees or as otherwise provided

            in the Constitution.

Section 3:  The Vice-President shall gather the information gained by all committees appointed by the President and make detailed reports with reference to

            their findings.  In the absence of the President, the Vice-President

            assumes the Presidents duties. The Vice-President will be in charge

            of setting up programs and speakers for club meetings.

Section 4:  The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all club meetings, including

            the Executive Board meetings and record them in an adequate secretarial

            book.  The Secretary shall handle all correspondence except for

            tournament related activities.

Section 5:  The Treasurer shall collect all of the money due the club, deposit

            the clubs funds in the clubs account and pay all authorized debts of

            the club.  The Treasurer shall render monthly reports to the club.  The

            books of the Treasurer shall be audited by a committee of three (3)

            appointed by the incoming President at the annual election.  The audit

            should be completed by the February club meeting and a report given

            at this time. Tournament funds shall be deposited into the clubs bank

            account before the next club meeting.

Section 6:  The Sergeant at Arms shall maintain a roster of all members and guests

            present at each meeting.  This is to be given to the tournament

            director for the purpose of crediting points awarded for club attendance. 

            The Sergeant at Arms duties shall also include assisting in any way

            needed at all meetings of the club, returning order to the meeting

            when needed, and obtaining door prizes and raffle prizes and conducting

            these drawings at the meeting.

Section 7:  The Tournament Director shall be in charge of weigh-in, tournament

            records, Big Bass Pot, and hand out all awards at the meetings.  He

            or she shall also be responsible for selecting tournament headquarters

            and collecting all fees dealing with the tournament. The Tournament

            Director shall be responsible for appointing and delegating the duties

            of any and all assistants.  The biggest fish shall be recorded, and

            all small fish of each contestant will be measured. The Tournament

            Director shall be responsible for placing the sign-in mailbox at the

            designated tournament headquarters for sign-in prior to the official

            start time.

Section 8:  The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for sending out a monthly

            newsletter prior to the Meeting.

Section 9:  The Membership Directors duties shall be to collect membership

            applications and dues, to prepare a Club Roster, to provide all new

            members with copies of the Club Roster, Constitution, and Fishing

            Rules, and to call all new and inactive members to remind them of

            the meetings and the tournaments for a period of ninety (90) days.

Section 10: The Board Members At Large duties shall be to be available to assist

            the board in any way necessary to give input and assist in the

            running of the committees.

Section 11: All members of the Executive Board shall be required to attend at

            least ten (10) monthly meetings, ten (10) board meetings and at

            least seven (7) monthly tournaments, or shall appear before the

            Executive Board to show just cause for absence, or he or she shall

            resign from office.

Section 12: The President becomes a member of the Executive Board for one year

            following his/her term of office. The Past President serves as a

            voice of experience and expertise.

Section 13: The Webmaster will maintain and update the club website

            (http://www.bcfw.org).  Updates will be the Tournament results and

            the Newsletter on a monthly basis.  Emergency notices about

            Tournament changes will be posted as soon as possible.

ARTICLE VIII

DUES

Section 1: 

a:     Memberships are valid January 1 through December 31.

b:     Membership dues:  Twenty five dollars ($25.00) per single and thirty ($30.00) per family.  Membership dues reductions occur August 1 - fifty percent (50%) and October 1 - seventy-five percent (75%).

ARTICLE IX

MEETINGS

Section 1:  The regular monthly meetings will be held on the first Thursday of

            each month.

Section 2:  Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board with twenty-four

            (24) hours notice to all members in good standing.

Section 3:  The members present at any regular meeting or special meeting shall

            constitute a quorum.

Section 4:  A majority of members of the Executive Board shall constitute a

            quorum, and its meetings shall be held the week after the tournament. 

            The time and day to be determined by the board at the first of the year.

Section 5:  The annual election of officers shall be held at the regular monthly

            meeting in December of each year.

Section 6:  Each member will be awarded a ten point bonus to their yearly points

            total for each meeting attended.

ARTICLE X

TOURNAMENTS

Section 1:  The tournament lakes will be decided one (1) month in advance, at the

            regular monthly meeting, by the club members.  If feasible, eleven

            (11) of the tournaments will be held.  All tournaments will be one

            day only (Saturday) unless inclement weather or other club functions

            (special tournaments) dictate changes. In the event of a change in

            the tournament date or place, an attempt must be made by the Executive

            Board to inform all members not present at time of change as soon as

            possible by phone, e-mail, or newsletter. In case of cancellation of

            winning Tournament Lake for any reason, the 2nd place lake shall be

            used.  At each meeting, the 1st and 2nd places shall be announced so

            everyone will know the backup lake.

Section 2:  Weight will be accumulated in pounds and hundredths. A points system

            will be used to  determine standings within the club. Tournament

            points will be awarded with 100 points for 1st, 99 for 2nd, etc.

            All contestants not weighing fish shall receive 15 point less than

            last place stringer. A member paying an entry fee, but not fishing

            the tournament will be awarded the same amount of points as someone

            who fished the tournament but did not weigh a fish.  A points list /

            weight board will be available at each meeting showing the Big Bass

            of the month, year, and total weight for the year.  The Total weight

            program each year will run from January 1, to December 31, inclusive,

            but will exclude the Classic and any special or prestige tournaments. 

Section 3:  Any club participation in a prestige tournament, participants shall

            be determined by selecting the top eligible members on the points

            standing at the end of the club year prior to the competition.  When

            a Top Six are invited to fish in a special tournament and our club

            tournament falls on the same weekend, the club will vote to move

            the club tournament date so the Top Six may have the opportunity

            to fish the special tournament.

Section 4:  Any lake may only be fished twice in the calendar year, except for

            the Classic tournament.

Section 5:  Money awards will be given out at the monthly club meeting following the tournament. In the event that a minor (consisting of any member under

            the age of eighteen (18) years old), places in any club tournament the

            money shall be awarded to a parent or guardian to preserve the amateur

            standing of said minor.

Section 6:  There will be a fish-off Classic involving those persons who finish

            the regular tournament year in the top twenty places, and those persons

            who pay entry fees monthly for seven (7) or more tournaments during

            the same year, and unless otherwise qualified the top four (4) ladies

            of the Ladies Top Ten will be eligible to compete in the Classic.  When

            possible, this tournament will be held the first weekend in December. 

            The club will allocate additional money and or prizes for the Classic

            tournament.

a.     The classic tournament lake shall be decided by a majority vote of those eligible members  present at the November meeting.

b.     The Classic lake will be off limits from the time of vote till time of tournament.

c.     The weight accumulated during the Classic Tournament shall not be added to the current years total weight nor will points be awarded.

d.     There shall be a mandatory entry fee and Big Bass Pot of ten dollars ($10.00) each in addition to the Clubs addition of prize money.  The Classic contestants will be divided into three (3) divisions by their

       total point standing.

Division 1:  top one third (1/3) of Classic anglers by point standing.

Division 2:  middle one third (1/3) of Classic anglers by point standing.

Division 3:  bottom one third (1/3) of Classic anglers by point standing.

The top Classic finisher in each Division will win a rod or reel provided by the Club in addition to any winnings earned. Ties will be broken by the big bass, if this results in a tie, by a flip of a coin. If no fish are weighed in a division a drawing will be held for the prize.

e.     The Classic Tournament shall pay ten (10) places as follows:

First = 20%      Fourth = 10.5%    Seventh = 7%

Second = 16%     Fifth = 9%        Eighth & Ninth = 6%

Third  = 12.5%    Sixth = 8%        Tenth = 5%

f.     The Big Bass Pot shall pay three places as follows:

             First  = 50%

             Second = 30%

             Third  = 20%     

Section 7:  All regular club tournament entry fees and big bass fees for the

            Tournament Director will be paid  by the Bass Club of Fort Worth.