ASHLAND YOUTH SOCCER, INC.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I: /MEMBERSHIP
Section A. / Membership in this organization shall be granted to any parent or guardian of a player registered to play/ participate in programs provided by Ashland Youth Soccer, Inc. (AYS) in the most current fall or spring season without regard to race, color, creed or national origin.ARTICLE II: /
MEETINGS
Section A. / The Organization shall hold annually a general meeting at a date as shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Advance notice of these meetings stating time, place and date will be sent to each eligible member by any means deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.Section B. / Meetings of the Board of Directors and appointed coordinators shall be held as determined by the Secretary at a location to be selected by him/her. If the attendance will be limited below the required number of attendees because of the chosen date, or if a significant reason exists to move the normal meeting date, an alternate date shall be put forth by the Secretary.
Section C. / Only Board members and people appointed to AYS positions may freely attend the meetings of the Board of Directors. Other persons interested in attending a meeting or discussing an item at an AYS meeting, should contact the secretary to be placed on the agenda at a future meeting. A person (member or non- member) showing up at a scheduled AYS meeting, who is not on the agenda, shall be allowed to attend the meeting only at the board’s approval.
Section D. / Executive Board members may convene an emergency Executive Board meeting if the need arises. An emergency board meeting may be initiated by any of the Executive Board members but it requires four of the five Executive Board members to agree upon it being held. The meeting also requires four of the five Executive Board members to be present at the meeting. The meeting should only be called for a specific item, which is deemed significant enough that it cannot wait for the next Board of Directors meeting. Only the item(s) for which the meeting was called should be discussed and any policy enacted should pertain to the reasons for which the meeting was called. Any item brought up for a vote requires four Executive Board members to vote in approval of the action item. Any policy change enacted or action taken at the emergency board meeting shall be announced at the next Board of Directors meeting.
Section E. / Any individual who at any time by their behavior creates an intimidating or hostile environment shall be asked to leave by the Secretary or the Executive Board member facilitating the meeting. Examples of this include the use of profanity, shouting or threats of physical harm either real or perceived. If an individual once asked to leave refuses to do so, the secretary or the executive board member presiding over the meeting shall immediately adjourn the meeting. The Executive Board of Directors shall reconvene at a later date to consider appropriate disciplinary action.
ARTICLE III: /
OFFICERS AND THEIR ELECTIONS
Section A. / The officers of this organization shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Registrar. The term for each office is two years and begins on January 1 following the election. These officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the members present at the general meeting during the year in which the previous term expires.Section B. / The officers set forth in Section "A" above shall constitute the Executive Board ofDirectors of the Organization.
Section C. / The Board of Directors consists of the Executive Board of Directors and other elected Board members. Other elected Board Members shall consist of the Referee Director, In-Town Director, Travel Director and Coaching Director. The term for each office is two years and begins on January 1 following the election. These Board members shall be elected by a majority vote of the members present at the general meeting during the year in which the previous term expires.
Section D. / A vacancy in any office except the presidency shall be filled for the remainder of the term by an appointment of the President with the majority approval of the Executive Board of Directors. Should the President vacate his/her office, the Vice President would automatically assume his/her office. A new Vice President would be appointed.
Section E. / The nine (9) board positions shall have their two year term expire such that (4 or 5) of the 9 positions are up for election each year.
Section F. / All AYS members shall be eligible to vote for open positions. Only AYS members are eligible to run for open board positions. In the event that an open position has no member nominees, a non-member may be nominated only with the unanimous approval of the Executive Board of Directors. Any AYS member may be nominated by submitting the nomination in writing to the secretary at least 10 business days prior to the general meeting. A member may nominate himself or herself for a position. Nominations from the floor will only be accepted when no written nominations have been received timely for such position. AYS will put forth a ballot containing members who have agreed to run for the open positions in order to facilitate the election process. The Secretary will tabulate the ballots and announce the results at a later point during the meeting.
ARTICLE IV: / DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section A. / The President shall preside at all meetings of the Organization and of the Board of Directors, shall be a member ex-officio of all committeesand shall perform all the duties usually pertaining to that office.
Section B. / The Vice President shall act as an aide to the President and shall perform the duties of the President in the case of his/her absence.
Section C. / The Secretary shall prepare an agenda for all meetings based on the input of the other members of the Board of Directors, committee members, or appointed coordinators; shall facilitate the meeting; shall keep an accurate and detailed record of all meetings of the Organization and of the Board of Directors meetings; shall be responsible for all correspondence of the Organization and shall perform such other duties as may be delegated to him/her.
Section D. / The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the Organization; shall keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures and shall pay out funds only as authorized by the President, the Board of Directors, or as deemed an ordinary and necessary business expense by the Treasurer him (her) self. The Treasurer shall present a concise but clear statement of the status of receipts, expenditures and fund balances when requested by the Board of Directors and at regularly scheduled meetings of the Organization.
Section E. / The Registrar shall receive and process all player registrations; shall register and place teams in accordance with the policies and regulations of the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) and/ or an affiliate of MYSA.
ARTICLE V: / COMMITTEES AND OTHER APPOINTED POSITIONS
Section A. / The President shall appoint additional individuals as coordinators as He/She deems proper and necessary to fulfill the objectives of the Organization.. They shall be for a calendar year and the appointees shall be allowed at the Board meetings and may freely contribute at these meetings.
Section B. / The Board of Directors shall determine the committees deemed proper and necessary to fulfill the objectives and the purpose of the Organization.
Section C. / The Board of Directors shall appoint all committee chairpersons. The chairperson shall appoint additional members to the committee. The Board of Directors has the authority to dissolve the committee as it deems appropriate or it shall automatically dissolve at the completion of its stated objective.
ARTICLE VI: / VOTING/ AMENDMENTS
Section A. / Except in the case of an emergency Executive Board meeting as described in Article II Section D at least five Board members need to be present for AYS policy or any other general business to be voted upon and at least two of these Board members present need to be Executive Board members
Section B. / General matters require a simple majority of the Board members present to enact change. However, a two-thirds vote is required to remove a board member or any individual in an appointed position (including coaches) for improper conduct.
Section C. / Any Board Member holding more than one position on the Board shall be entitled to only one vote.
Section D. / If a scheduled meeting does not meet the attendance requirements listed above, themeeting may be called to order and the agenda discussed but no votes shall be taken.
Section E. / If additional Board members present themselves and attendance eventually reaches the above prescribed requirements, the meeting will immediately become valid for setting club policy.
Section F. / Policy and/or action items may also be voted upon by electronic mail (e-mail) if an item arises that can’t wait until the next meeting due to time constraints. An e-mail needs to be sent with all members included in the to: or cc: list. The e-mail needs to state the reason why the action can’t wait until the next meeting and a motion needs to be put forth. Before Board members can respond with a “yes” or a “no” to the motion put forth, it needs to be seconded. The e-mail containing the “second” can also contain the Board members vote. The remaining Board members have 48 hours from the time on the e-mail proposing the motion to vote. The same rules above apply to the number of votes necessary to be a valid, binding motion (at least three Executive board members responding and at least six total Board members). The result of this vote shall be tabulated and reported by the Secretary at the end of the 48 hours and put in the next Board of Directors minutes.
Section G. / These By-Laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Organization by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been presented to the membership ten (10) days prior to the voting.