ATRBA Constitution

ATRBA Constitution & By-Laws

AMERICAN THRIANTA RABBIT BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I – NAME
This organization shall be known as the American Thrianta Rabbit Breeders
Association. Hereafter also known as ATRBA.

ARTICLE II – OBJECT
The object of this Association shall be to promote and improve the breeding of Thrianta
rabbits; to disseminate information to the members; and to encourage the exhibition of
Thrianta Rabbits.

ARTICLE III – AFFILIATION
This Association shall be chartered with the American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP
Any person who agrees with the object of this Association may become a member by
making application to the Secretary and paying the dues as outlined in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE V – MEETINGS
This Association shall hold annual meetings at such time and place as may be
designated in the By-Laws
ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS
SECTION 1: The elective officers of the Association shall be President, Vice President,
and six (6) Directors shall be elected for a two (2) year term by and from the
membership. Herein these officers shall be referred to as the Board

SECTION 2: The Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed by two-thirds majority vote of
the Board, to serve for a three (3) year term commencing on January 1st. The Board
may make reappointment. The Secretary /Treasurer may be removed from office, for
cause, during any term of office.

SECTION 3:        Elected officials shall take office at the American Rabbit Breeders
Association Convention following his/her election.

SECTION 4: The President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer shall serve as ex-
officio members of the Board. All members of the Board must be members of the
American Rabbit Breeders Association. Any vacancy of office during an un-expired term,
the President shall appoint a replacement with approval of the Board within (30) thirty
days.

SECTION 5: Vacancies shall be filled by the President with the approval of two-thirds
(2/3) two-thirds majority vote of the Board.

ARTICLE VII – ELECTIONS
SECTION 1: Any member, over age 18, and having been a member in good standing
for at least one (1) year, wishing to become a candidate for any elective office of this
Association shall submit a "letter of intent" listing the member’s name, and office for
which the member desires to be a candidate, be signed by the member and sent to the
Secretary by mail, postmarked no later than June 15 prior to election. E-mail is not
acceptable.
.
SECTION 2: No elected member may serve more than three (3) consecutive two-year
terms in the same elective office

ARTICLE VIII – DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION 1: The President shall preside at all meetings of this Association. The
President shall appoint all committees and fill all vacancies in office that may occur
between elections. The President shall maintain general supervision over all
necessary affairs of this Association that may arise between the annual meetings. The
President shall have the right to delegate particular duties of the Secretary/Treasurer
when deemed necessary, with approval of the Board. This may include re-assigning
part of the duties of the Secretary-Treasurer to other members of the organization as
required to maintain the most effective operation of this Association.

SECTION 2: The Vice-President’s duties are the same as those of the President in the
absence of the President.

SECTION 3: The Secretary/Treasurer shall conduct the general correspondence of this
Association; keep the minutes of the Annual and/or Special Meeting(s). The
Secretary/Treasurer shall have charge of all books, papers, and records pertaining to
the office. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep a listing of all current members. The
Secretary/Treasurer shall notify all members upon expiration of dues either by
Newsletter or by first class mail. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep account of all
money coming into the office from any source. The Secretary-Treasurer shall deposit
all funds into a Bank approved by the Board, making payments from funds of the
Association. He/she shall submit a Treasurer’s Report at the Annual Meeting and
publish a quarterly report in the Thrianta Newsletter. The Secretary/Treasurer shall
secure such bond, as the Board may deem necessary, cost of said bond to be paid by
the Association. The Secretary/Treasurer shall assure that a Newsletter is prepared
and mailed to the membership on a timely basis set forth by the Board. The
Secretary/Treasurer shall provide information for inclusion in the newsletter and as
requested for a club web site. The Secretary/ Treasurer shall keep the Sweepstakes
points for all members in good standing of the club, separately for Open and Youth
members.

SECTION 4: The Directors shall perform such duties as are assigned to them by the
President and as set forth in the By-Laws according to Roberts Rules of Order.

SECTION 5: The Board shall have general control of the affairs of the Association
between the annual meetings. The Board shall decide upon all matters arising that are
not covered by the Constitution and By-Laws. The Board shall be responsible for
making decisions and taking action based on what is deemed best for the Association.

SECTION 6:        Each member of the Board must attend at least one (1) annual
meeting or one (1) general meeting held in conjunction with the National show during
his/her term. Failure to attend may result in removal from office at the discretion of the
Board.

ARTICLE IX – AUTHORITY
This Association shall have the authority to make such laws, establish such rules and
adopt such regulations as may be necessary for the betterment of the Association and
government of its members.
ARTICLE X – COMPENSATION
SECTION 1: The Secretary/Treasurer shall be paid a commission of (10) ten percent of
all sanction fees and all membership dues received during the time period he/she
serves in that capacity.
ARTICLE XI – RESOLUTIONS
SECTION: 1: Any amendment to this constitution shall be made by resolution, in
writing, signed by ten (10) or more members in good standing of this Association and
mailed to the Secretary/Treasurer a minimum of 90 days prior to the Annual General
Membership Meeting.

SECTION 2: All resolutions are to be confined to one (1) subject.

SECTION 3: Any resolution to the Constitution must be printed in at least one ATRBA
newsletter. “Any resolution for change to the constitution must be approved by a two
thirds majority vote of the members present at the Annual Meeting. Approved
resolutions shall take effect January 1 following the annual meeting.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I – DUES
SECTION 1: The amount of the annual dues, renewals, surcharges, Life Membership,
etc. shall be set by the Board and submitted to the membership for approval at the
annual meeting. If approved by a majority of the members in good standing, present at
that meeting, the revised costs to take effect on January 1st. of the year following
approval. The membership shall be notified of any changes in dues and fees through
the Newsletter.

ARTICLE II – MEETINGS
SECTION 1: The annual meeting of the Association shall be held in the city and during
the time of the American Rabbit Breeders Association National Convention. An official
meeting of the membership may be held in conjunction with the National Show
provided a quorum is present.

SECTION 2: A Special Meeting may be called by the President at the request of 15
members of this Association providing the Board considers the request urgent and
necessary. If such a request is granted, the Secretary/Treasurer will notify the
membership at least 30 days prior to the date of the Special Meeting, setting forth the
reason the meeting has been called, the location and the time of the meeting. The only
item, which may be discussed at the Special Meeting, is the item for which the meeting
was called. The President may call a meeting of the Board when he/she deems
necessary.

SECTION 3: Robert Rules of Order shall be considered as the final authority for this
Association on all questions not specifically covered by the Constitution and By-laws.

ARTICLE III – QUORUMS
Ten (10) members, who must include at least three (3) board members, shall
constitute a quorum at any meeting. Five (5) members of the Board of Directors shall
be a quorum at any Board of Directors Meeting.

ARTICLE IV – DISCIPLINE
SECTION 1: Any member being charged with willful misrepresentation or fraud or
dishonest dealings or conduct derogatory to this Association must have such charges
made in writing and sent by certified mail to the Secretary/Treasurer. The person
making the charges accompanied by a $100.00 non-refundable filling fee must sign all
such charges.

SECTION 2: Any member, against whom charges have been filed, shall be furnished a
copy of the charges by the Secretary/Treasurer. The member charged shall have thirty
(30) days to file a written reply. The charges, together with the reply, shall be sent to
each Board member for their consideration. Each member of the Board shall reply to
the Secretary/Treasurer with his judgment of the charges. The Secretary/Treasurer
shall inform the President of the Board’s action. All decisions of the Board may be
handled through First Class Mail.

ARTICLE V – ELECTIONS
SECTION 1: The President and three (3) Directors shall be elected in even numbered
years. The Vice President and three (3) Directors shall be elected in odd numbered
years. The term of office shall be two years. The terms of office shall be two (2) years.

SECTION 2: The Secretary shall prepare a ballot listing only the names of the eligible
candidates for each office. A pre- addressed envelope addressed to the Chair of the
Election Committee shall be included with the ballot. The ballots shall be mailed no
later than July 15. Ballots to be counted must be postmarked no later than August 15.
The Election Committee shall meet at an agreeable time no earlier than one week after
said deadline, open all envelopes received and do an official count. Ballots that have
been altered, or contain write-in names will be considered invalid. The Chair shall notify
the President and Secretary of the results. All ballots and a written report shall be sent
to the Secretary within ten (10) days. The Secretary shall retain the ballots for six (6)
months. Term of office shall commence with the first day of the ARBA National
Convention.

SECTION 3: Any candidate within 30 days of the election results and upon payment of
$100.00 fee may ask for a recount of ballots. A recount must be done with at least three
(3) members present. A recount will be done at the annual meeting.

SECTION 4: In case of a tied vote, the Secretary/Treasurer shall prepare a ballot with
the names of those tied and the members attending the annual meeting shall cast
ballots to break the tie.
ARTICLE VI – COMMITTEES
Standards Committee: Chairperson and four (4) members;
Election Committee: Chairperson and two (2) members;
Membership Committee: Chairperson and one (1) member;
Newsletter Committee: News Editor and one (1) member,
Auditing Committee: Chairperson and two (2) members,
Web Site Committee: Chairperson and one (1) member.
The President may, if deemed necessary, appoint Special Committees with approval
of    the Board. All chairmen and committee members must be members in good
standing of this Association.

ARTICLE VII – SANCTIONS
Any ARBA chartered club may apply for an ATRBA Open and/or Youth Sanction. ARBA
Sanction number along with sanction fee of $10.00 for an open sanction and $7.00 for
a youth sanction must be included with sanction request. Sanctions must be
postmarked a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to show date.

ARTICLE VIII – SWEEPSTAKES CONTEST
The ATRBA Sweepstakes contest shall run from July 1st through June 30th of each
year. You must be a member in good standing of the ATRBA at the time the animal is
shown in order to receive sweepstakes points, and at the time the awards are
presented in order to receive the award. Awards shall be presented at the annual
meeting to the winners of 1st. through 10th place. All ATRBA members in good
standing at the time of the shows, shall be awarded double points for exhibition at the
ARBA National Convention and at the ATRBA National Show.

ARTICLE IX – RESOLUTIONS
SECTION: 1
An amendment to these By-Laws may be submitted in writing by a member in good
standing of this Association and mailed to the Secretary/Treasurer a minimum of 90
days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting. Any resolution to the By-Laws         must
be printed in at least one ATRBA newsletter.
Comments and concerns may be mailed or emailed to the Secretary/Treasurer by any
member in good standing. A maximum of 200 words must summarize comments.
These summaries must be read at the annual meeting prior to the vote, providing the
words used are appropriate for general reading.
Amendment votes will take place at the annual meeting.

SECTION 2: All resolutions are to be confined to one (1) subject.

SECTION 3: Any resolution to the By-Laws must be approved by a 2/3rd. majority vote
of the members present at the Membership Meeting. Approved resolutions shall take
effect January 1st. following approval.

ARTICLE X – ORDER OF BUSINESS
Roll Call of Officers, Reading of un-approved Minutes of all Meetings, Reading of
Secretary’s Report, Correspondence, Financial Report, Report of Officers, Report of
Committees, Old Business, New Business, Election of Judges, Any Other Business for
the Good of the Association, Adjournment.

Approved by Membership Vote
4-1-07