BY-LAWS OF THE HUDSON-BERKSHIRE DIVISION OF THE UNITED STATES FENCING ASSOCIATION INC.
ARTICLE I
NAME AND AFFILIATION
The name of the division shall be the Hudson-Berkshire Division of the United States Fencing Association Incorporated, hereinafter be be referred to as "THE DIVISION", and "USFA, INC." respectively. THE DIVISION is a duly chartered subordinate, constituent body of the USFA, INC., exercising powers given by, performing duties directed under, and subject to, the Charter and By-Laws of the USFA, INC., with jurisdiction over the following geographic area: in the State of New York: counties of Albany, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia. Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Franklin. Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer. Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Orange, Otsego. Putnam. Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie. Sullivan, Ulster, Warren and Washington; in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: county of Berkshire; in the State of Vermont: county of Bennington.
ARTICLE II
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of The Hudson-Berkshire Division shall be:
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 - Eligibility: Any person residing in THE DIVISION, or belonging to a fencing club located within THE DIVISION and who is not a member of another division of USFA, INC. and who meets the requirements for membership in USFA, INC. shall be eligible for membership in THE DIVISION.
Section 2 - Classes of memberships: Classes of membership and requirements for membership in each class shall be as stipulated in the By-Laws of the USFA INC.
Section 3 - Admission to membership: Applicants who qualify under section 1 of this Article shall be admitted to membership upon payment of the required dues.
Section 4 - Discipline, suspension & expulsion of members: Competitive penalties of expulsion or exclusion shall be handled by the Executive Committee of THE DIVISION. All other discipline will referred to the Board of Directors of the USFA, INC.
ARTICLE IV
ELECTED OFFICERS
The officers of THE DIVISION shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary and a Treasurer. All officers shall take office the first day of August next following their election, and hold Office until the following July 31st, or until their successors are elected and have qualified. Any voting member of THE DIVISION shall be eligible to hold elective office in THE DIVISION provided that the person is a current member in good standing. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
Section 1 - Chairperson: The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of THE DIVISION and its Executive Committee, and perform such other duties as usually pertain to that office and are not inconsistent with these By-Laws. The Chairperson has the responsibility for filing with the Secretary and the Treasurer of the corporation the annual reports called for under the corporate By-Laws and the standing votes of the Board of Directors. The preparation of these reports may be delegated to the Secretary and Treasurer of THE DIVISION. The Chairperson will select additional Directors entitled to THE DIVISION based on membership as well as a Director for Sectional Affairs who is empowered to vote in sectional matters.
Section 2 - Vice Chairperson: The Vice-Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson, shall perform the duties of the Chairperson.
Section 3 - Secretary: The Secretary shall conduct all official correspondence; keep a record of the meetings of THE DIVISION; issue notices to members of all meetings, and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chairperson of THE DIVISION or other proper authority.
Section 4 - Treasurer: The Treasurer shall keep the accounts of THE DIVISION; receive all monies, fees, dues, etc.; pay all bills approved by the Executive Committee and preserve all vouchers for such disbursements. The Treasurer shall at the annual meeting of THE DIVISION submit a report of the financial transaction of the preceding year. The Treasurer shall keep all funds of THE DIVISION in such account or accounts as the Executive Committee may prescribe. Nominal disbursements may be made from a petty cash fund under such regulation and control as may be established by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chairperson of THE DIVISION or other proper authority.
Section 5 - Combining of Offices: The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined for any year upon majority vote of the members of THE DIVISION voting, in person or by proxy, at the annual meeting. In the event of such a vote, the candidates for the office of Secretary and the office of Treasurer, nominated pursuant to Article VIII of these By-Laws, shall all be deemed candidates for the combined office.
Section 6 - Removal for Cause: There are Two (2) methods of removing officers for cause: Impeachment and Recall.
Impeachment: The accused officer must be given at least fifteen (15) days notice of the charges being brought against him/her before a vote can be held. Additionally all clubs that are not already represented on the Executive Committee must be notified at least fifteen (days) before the meeting so that they can appoint a representative if they wish to. At the meeting the accused officer will be allowed to make a statement to answer the charges laid against him/her. A vote, excluding the accused, will then be taken and the officer will considered impeached only if it is unanimous. Executive Committee members unable to attend the meeting may submit their vote by mail following the procedure outlined in Article VIII, §2. Proxy voting is not allowed for this vote.
Recall: In order to initiate a recall a petition containing the names, USFA membership numbers, and signatures of 25% of the voting members of THE DIVISION, must be submitted to the Executive Committee. Upon receipt of the petition the Executive Committee must inform the accused of the charges against him/her and allow the accused at least Seven (7) days to submit a written response. The Executive Committee must then set a date for the recall vote and provide the voting membership with at least fifteen (15) days notice of the date. The announcement of the vote must include the accused response to the allegations and a ballot to be used for absentee voting as outlined in Article VIII, §2. Proxy voting is not allowed for this vote. The officer will be recalled if the vote passes by a 2/3 majority.
Section 7 - Vacancies: Any vacancy, whether arising from resignation, death, removal, or otherwise, shall be filled, for all offices except chairman, by interim appointment by the Executive Committee for the balance of the term. If the vacancy is for the office of chairman than the vice chairman will assume the office and shall be considered the sitting rather than interim chairman. In this situation the Executive Committee shall then appoint an interim vice chairman. In filling vacancies the Board may appoint any member eligible to hold office.
Section 8 - Multiple Officers from the Same Club: No club may have more than Two (2) sitting officers. If a third officer from the same club is either elected or appointed then one of the officers from that club must resign. If none will do so then the last one elected / appointed will be removed from office. A member is considered to belong to any club that the USFA, Inc. has them listed as being affiliated with. Unattached members are considered to belong to no USFA club.
ARTICLE V
MANAGEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1 - Composition: The management of THE DIVISION shall be vested in an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the establishment of Divisional goals, training and competition schedules and the orderly conduct of the business of THE DIVISION. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers of THE DIVISION, the outgoing Chairperson of THE DIVISION (for a period of one year after he/she leaves office), and any member or members of THE DIVISION appointed or elected to the Committee as member(s)-at-large, and one member each from any or all USFA clubs of THE DIVISION not already represented on the Executive Committee.
The USFA clubs may appoint their club representatives at anytime by notifying the officers of THE DIVISION. This notification must take place at least Seven (7) days before the first Executive Committee meeting at which the representative will sit. Once a USFA club receives a seat on the Executive Committee through an officer or elected member-at-large their appointed representative will lose his / her seat.
The Chairperson of THE DIVISION is allowed to appoint Two (2) of the chairpersons of the standing committees (Article VI) to serve on the Executive Committees. The Chairperson must inform the rest of the Executive Committee of changes in which Two (2) chairpersons are to serve on the Executive Committee meeting at least Seven (7) days before the first Executive Committee meeting at which they will serve. If this is not done then only those chairpersons, if any, that served at the last Executive Committee meeting are considered members of the Executive Committee.
Section 2 - Quorum: A quorum shall consist of One-Third (1/3) of the members of the Executive Committee, or Three (3) members, which ever is the greater.
Section 3 - Meetings: Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such time and place as shall be designated by the Chairperson, and shall be called upon the written request of Three (3) or more members of the Committee. All members shall be given not less than Forty-Eight (48) hours prior notice of all meetings.
ARTICLE VI
COMMITTEES
There shall be Eight (8) standing committees of THE DIVISION whose Chairperson shall be appointed by the Chairperson of THE DIVISION and approved by the Executive Committee. The appointed and approved committee chairmen will serve in their positions until either they resign or until the end of the current term of the Chairperson of THE DIVISION, whichever comes first.
Section 1 - Bout Committee: The Chairperson of the Bout Committee shall have charge of and conduct all competitions in THE DIVISION. The person shall appoint Two (2) or more other members of THE DIVISION for each competition who with that person shall constitute the Bout Committee for such competition. The person shall decide all disputes arising during the course of a competition. An appeal may be taken from any decision of the Chairperson to the Bout Committee as a whole in which event the decision of a majority of the members of the Bout Committee shall control.
In the event the Chairperson of the Bout Committee is unable to be present at a competition, the senior member of the Executive Committee present will serve as Chairperson. In the event that no members of the Executive Committee are present at a competition, a senior member of THE DIVISION from the host for the competition will serve as Chairperson for the duration of the event. Senior shall in this instance be deemed to mean senior in fencing experience, knowledge and respect.
In the event the dispute should involve any member of the Bout Committee, that member will temporarily relinquish his seat on the Committee to a replacement named by the Chairperson, such replacement to serve until the dispute is settled.
Section 2 - Publicity and Membership Committee: The Chairperson of the Publicity and Membership Committee shall have charge of all publicity and public relations relating to THE DIVISION and shall also be charged with the conducting of continuing efforts to promote membership in THE DIVISION.
Section 3 - Arrangements Committee: The Chairperson of the Arrangements Committee shall have charge of all administrative duties involved in the conduct of any competition, other than the duties of the Chairperson of the Bout Committee. The Arrangements Committee shall be in addition to and shall supplement the activities of the Executive Committee in its capacity as organizing committee for all competitions.
Section 4 - Historical Committee: The Chairperson of the Historical Committee shall compile a record of the results of all individual competitions conducted by THE DIVISION, and team competitions participated in by THE DIVISION and results of outstanding individual performances by members of THE DIVISION in all other competitions. The person shall also maintain a record of the fencing and officiating classification of all members of THE DIVISION.
Section 5 - Academy of Arms: The Chairperson of the Academy of Arms shall be responsible for the coordination of training activities aimed at developing additional competent coaches, instructors and directors. The Committee will enlist coaches and rated directors to this end to provide competent instruction.
Section 6 - Equipment Committee: The Chairperson of the Equipment Committee shall be responsible for all division owned equipment. The Committee will oversee the purchase of new equipment, the upkeep of existing equipment, and the disbursement of equipment to clubs within THE DIVISION.
Section 7 - Website Committee: The Chairperson of the Website Committee shall be responsible for the upkeep of THE DIVISION's website. The Committee shall ensure that the website contains up to date and correct information about tournaments and other happenings in THE DIVISION that are of interest to THE DIVISION's members.
Section 8 - Grants Committee: The Chairperson of the Grants Committee will be responsible for overseeing money grants in 3 areas: equipment for loan to new groups/clubs, grass roots development and elite fencer support. Final allocation approval will be by the Executive Committee with the budget being determined at annual meeting of THE DIVISION. This committee will include the Treasurer of THE DIVISION.
Section 9 - Special Committees: The Division Chairperson shall appoint special committees during the term that he/she and/or the Executive Committee deem needful. The Executive Committee, at the next meeting after the special committee's formation, must approve the existence of these committees or they shall be disbanded. Committees shall be dissolved upon the completion of assigned tasks.
Section10 - Super Amalgamation of Committees: The Division Chairperson and/or Executive Committee may elect to combine committees and their function when this may be necessitated by circumstances so as to better utilize personnel.
ARTICLE VII
MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERS
Section 1 - Annual Meeting: An annual meeting of the members of THE DIVISION shall be held each year prior to the month of August, at a date, time and place designated by the Chairperson, and approved by the Executive Committee.
Section 2 - Scheduling Meeting: A meeting of the members of THE DIVISION for the purpose of laying out the season's competition schedule shall be held each year prior to the end of the first week of September if possible at a date, time and place designated by the Chairperson, and approved by the Executive Committee. Though called by the Chairperson the Secretary shall run the meeting. Additional scheduling meetings may be held at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
Section 3 - Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called at any time and place by the Chairperson, and shall be called by the Chairperson upon the written request of not less than Seven (7) voting members of THE DIVISION.
Section 4 - Notice: Written notice of the date, time and place of the annual meeting shall be given to all members not less than Fifteen (15) days in advance of such meeting. The notice shall contain a statement of the offices to be filled at such meeting, a statement as to any proposed amendments to the By-Laws to be voted upon at such meeting, and a statement of any other matters requiring a vote of the membership at such meeting. All members shall be given at least Seven (7) days prior written notice of all special meetings, which notice shall set forth the business to be transacted at the meeting. The Executive Committee and all clubs within THE DIVISION shall be given at least Seven (7) days prior written notice of all scheduling meetings.
Section 5 - Quorum: A quorum shall consist of not less than Seven (7) members of THE DIVISION present in person, and a majority vote of those present shall control, except as herein otherwise provided.
Section 6 - Proxies: Except where otherwise proscribed in these by-laws, voting by proxy shall be allowed at all meetings of THE DIVISION. All proxies are valid for no more than Thirty (30) days after they are given. All proxies shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Secretary of THE DIVISION not less than Seventy-Two (72) hours prior to the meeting. The Executive Committee may prescribe a form for proxies.
ARTICLE VIII
ELECTIONS
Section 1 - Nominations: Nominations for all elective offices set forth in these By-Laws will open in the second issue of the newsletter of THE DIVISION. In that issue the nominations filled by the Nominating Committee shall be listed. If the second issue of the newsletter has not been published by 1 January of the fencing year then nominations will open on 1 January. Additional nominations may be made by written petition up until Six (6) weeks before the date of the election and are to be directed to the Secretary. The petition must clearly state the office for which the nominee wishes to be considered and must contain signatures, addresses and USFA numbers of no less than Five (5) Hudson-Berkshire Division members. The election will take place at the annual meeting during the Divisional Championships at a time and place at or near the site of the competition.
Sitting officers are considered to automatically be running for their office for another term. They do not require a nomination petition. Since interim officers are appointed, not elected, they do not qualify for this and must file a nomination petition if they wish to seek their office for a full term.
There will be NO nominations from the floor unless an office has no one running for it. This can arise from a combination of the following situations: a lack of nominations, a sitting officer deciding to not seek another term, and an office becoming vacant (Article IV, §6) during the fencing year. In this case, and only this case, nominations from the floor will be allowed.
Section 2 - Voting procedure: With the closing of nominations, a mailing will be prepared and sent to the membership as described in Article VII, §3.
In the event that only one person is nominated for an office, the Secretary will be directed to record a unanimous vote for that candidate.
If two candidates are running for one position a ballot will be included with the notice of nominations. In the event of a tie, a run-off will be held between the candidates so tied in accordance with a system approved by the Executive Committee and announced in advance of the election.
In the event of a contested election (three or more candidates for a particular office) the ballots shall be prepared and counted in accordance with a system for preferential voting approved by the Executive Committee. In the case of a contested election a ballot will be included with the notice of nominations.
Members unable to attend the annual meeting may use this ballot to vote. (There will be no provision for proxy balloting). Ballots are to be mailed to the Secretary, or such person as designated by 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Committee, and will be kept sealed until the election at the annual meeting. All Absentee Ballots are to be postmarked Five (5) business days prior to the meeting and are to consist of an envelope within an envelope with the enclosed envelope containing the member's signature, printed name and USFA number on the front. Such absentee Ballots will be counted after tallying the votes of those present.
ARTICLE IX
FEES, DUES AND ARREARS
Section 1 - All initiation fees and dues shall be as prescribed in the By-Laws of USFA, INC.
Section 2 - Dues shall be payable on August 1st of each year, and no member who has failed to pay his or her dues shall be eligible to compete in any competition sponsored by THE DIVISION, and shall have no vote in DIVISION affairs until his or her dues have been paid.
ARTICLE X
BY-LAWS, RULES AND POLICIES OF USFA, INC.
All By-Laws, rules, regulations and matters of policy concerning the conduct of competitions as set forth in the fencing rules and manual of USFA, INC. are hereby incorporated as part of these By-Laws without action by the Executive Committee or the members of THE DIVISION. Where these by-laws are found to disagree with the by-laws, rules, regulations, and policy statements of USFA, INC. these by-laws take precedence unless they violate said by-laws, rules, regulations, and policy statements, in which case the by-laws, rules, regulations, and policy statements of USFA. INC take precedence.
ARTICLE XI
THE DIVISION NEWSLETTER
In order to make known to the members of THE DIVISION the business of THE DIVISION and any other items deemed of interest to the membership, THE DIVISION shall publish a newsletter hereinafter referred to as "TAC-AU-TAC." The purpose of "TAC-AU-TAC" shall be to promote and improve fencing in THE DIVISION.
"TAC-AU-TAC" shall contain a schedule of competitions, registration instructions and notice of entry fees, competition results, timely or historic articles, and other items of interest. One issue shall be published in September, one issue shall be published in January, and additional issues may be published as necessary. Articles may be solicited for publications.
Publication of "TAC-AU-TAC" and its content shall be the responsibility of the Secretary or such individual or individuals as may be appointed by the Chairperson.
ARTICLE XII
VEXILLOLOGY
The colors of THE DIVISION shall be red and black upon a field of white.
ARTICLE XIII
ADMINISTRATION OF DIVISION COMPETITIONS
Section 1 - Competition Structure: THE DIVISION is required to hold a minimum of Five (5) events a season for which all monies go to the division and all expenses are paid by the division. Any club/venue that refuses to host a divisional event after having support for Three (3) autonomous events within a period of the current season and the prior two years may be refused support for both the current season and the following season. Any venue fees charged to THE DIVISION must be identified and itemized prior to the event and can only include real and verifiable costs needed for the venue to be open.
The schedule of events shall be determined at the scheduling meeting (ARTICLE VII, §2). The distribution of events by location and by date and time shall be such that no area in THE DIVISION (ARTICLE I) is consistently advantaged or disadvantaged.
THE DIVISION may schedule special events, which may or may not, have unique entry requirements, as may be appropriate.
Section 2 - Registration for Competitions: To better manage competitions, the Division may require fencers to preregister for competitions. The procedure and deadline shall be prescribed by the Executive Committee, and shall be published with the schedule for the season. Competitors who fail to preregister (when required) shall be required to pay an additional fee prescribed by the Executive Committee for each event they enter.
An event with preregistration may be canceled, at the discretion of THE DIVISION, if fewer than Six (6) fencers enter that event. Fencers preregistered in that event shall be notified in a timely manner.
Section 3 - Requirements for Entry in Competitions: Competitors must have current membership in The USFA to enter Division competitions, unless specifically stated otherwise in the schedule. Where used for eligibility purposes age will be determined in accordance current USFA policy.
The Division shall conduct generally Four (4) types of events:
Section 4 - Entry Fees: Entry fees for events in THE DIVISION shall be determined by majority vote at the Scheduling Meeting, and published with the schedule in the Division Newsletter. If a need arises the Executive Committee may vote alter these fees by calling another scheduling meeting to vote on the matter and notifying all members of the change.
For qualifiers, separate entry fees will be charged for subgroups within a weapon if there are at least Six (6) fencers in that subgroup.
Failure to charge / collect the proper entry fees for a Division tournament will result in forfeit of Division owned equipment rights (ARTICLE XIV, §5). This penalty may be waived at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
Current officers of THE DIVISION are exempt from paying entry fees at tournaments hosted by THE DIVISION.
Section 5 - Late Arrivals: Fencers more than Thirty (30) minutes late for the scheduled beginning of fencing will NOT be allowed to fence. The meet manager may suspend this rule at his/her discretion.
Section 6 - Awards and Trophies: THE DIVISION shall distribute awards for all events, at the completion of the event, for all competitions. Generally, the awards shall be:
Article XIV
DIVISION OWNED EQUIPMENT
Section 1 - Purpose: The purpose of Division Owned Equipment is to foster fencing in clubs that may not be able to afford enough equipment on their own and to ensure that there is enough equipment for all tournaments run within THE DIVISION.
Section 2 -Overseeing of Equipment: As stated in ARTICLE VI, §6 the Equipment Committee oversees the buying, maintenance and distribution of division owned equipment. Purchases of equipment costing over $250 per item must be approved either at the annual meeting of THE DIVISION or by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 3 - Distribution of Equipment to Clubs: Every USFA club in THE DIVISION may petition the Equipment Committee for a set (One (1) scoring box, Two (2) reels, and Two (2) floor cords) of strip equipment. If the club does not already have a set of Division Owned Equipment and is not currently under a suspension of equipment privileges the Equipment Committee must issue them a set of equipment.
If a new request for division equipment is received and a full set is not available the Equipment Committee will follow these steps to solve the problem. First, attempt to assemble a full set by recovering any equipment beyond a single set assigned to division clubs. If this doesn't not produce the required full set then the Equipment Committee will purchase the required equipment. This purchase is contingent upon the Division having the funds to do so and must be approved by the Treasurer and one other officer. This purchase is not bound by the requirements set forth above in §2. If the purchase can not be made for some reason then the issue must be dealt with at the next meeting of the Executive Committee or Annual Meeting, whichever comes first.
Once all eligible clubs that desire Division Owned Equipment have been issued a set the Equipment Committee may distribute any remaining sets or individual pieces amongst the clubs. This may be done as the Committee sees fit but should take into account the needs and sizes of the various clubs. The Executive Committee may override any decision on the distribution of excess equipment.
Section 4 - Presentation of Equipment at Tournaments: Any club that has Division Owned Equipment is required to present the equipment at each and every tournament within THE DIVISION for which it is needed. The equipment must be present before the close of registration for the FIRST event of the tournament and must remain there until the bout committee determines that it is no longer needed. Division owned equipment CANNOT be brought for the use of only one weapon in a multiple weapon tournament. Division equipment is to be used as needed by the host of the tournament. Failure to follow these rules is punishable under §6 of this Article.
A tournament must be posted on the Division web site tournament calendar at least one month ahead of time and the tournament organizer must notify the Executive Committee that equipment is needed at least two weeks ahead of time to require the presentation of Division Owned Equipment. If this is not done then clubs can not be penalized for not presenting Division Owned Equipment at said tournament.
Section 5 - Marking of Equipment: All Division Owned Equipment shall bear markings denoting it as such. When the Division acquires a piece(s) of equipment any markings from individual clubs or other divisions shall be removed or rendered illegible. Clubs are prohibited from placing their own markings on Division Owned Equipment except for temporary, easily removable and non-damaging labels. These labels are for the purposes of ensuring that the club can easily claim its assigned equipment after a tournament. The determination of what is a temporary, easily removable and non-damaging label is at the discretion of the Equipment Committee Chairman or if this office is vacant, the Division Chairman. Violation of these rules is punishable under §6.
Section 6 - Failure to Present Equipment: Any club violating the rules as laid out in the preceding sections will lose its privilege for One (1) set of Division Owned Equipment per occurrence. This suspension of privileges will last for Six (6) months or the remainder of the fencing year whichever is longer. The Executive Committee may waive this penalty once per fencing year, but second and later violations must be enforced.
ARTICLE XV
MATTERS OF PROCEDURE
For all matters of procedure not specified in these by-laws nor in the by-laws, rules, regulations and policy statements of USFA, INC, THE DIVISION shall rely on the current version of Robert's Rules of Orders. A copy of this book shall be owned and kept by a member of the Executive Committee.
Article XVI
Division Website and Emails
Section 1 - Website: THE DIVISION shall maintain a website for the purpose of conveying information to its members. The website must at a minimum contain names of the division officers, the current by-laws, the current divisional competition schedule and a listing of USFA clubs within THE DIVISION. The website shall be considered a primary though not sole means of conveying information to members of THE DIVISION.
Section 2 - Email: Email will be considered the preferred means of conveying information to members of THE DIVISION. Wherever these by-laws DIRECT THE DIVISION or any its members to provide notification in some form email will be considered to be acceptable. The sole exceptions to this policy are absentee ballots, nominations, and proxies. These must still be done by writing and/or postal mail.
Section 3 - Gathering of Email Addresses: The email addresses used by the division will be those that the members have provided to USFA, INC. or to THE DIVISION or its officers directly.
Section 4 - Lack of Valid Email Addresses: If an email address has not been provided for a member or if an email has been returned as undeliverable that member will thereafter receive notification by the original means spelled out in the by-laws.
Section 5 - Opting Out: If a member so desires he/she may opt out of receiving email notifications. If a member does so then they will be handled by the procedures in §4. A member may later provide THE DIVISION or its officers with an email address to resume receiving email notification.
ARTICLE XVII
AMENDMENTS
Section 1 - Manner of Making Amendments: These By-Laws may be amended at any annual meeting of the members, or at any special meeting of the members called for that purpose. The proposed amendments must be made available to the members of THE DIVISION Seven (7) days before the meeting at which they will be voted on. An amendment receiving a majority of all votes cast by the members voting either in person or by proxy shall be deemed adopted. A proposed amendment may also be treated as rule as described in the next paragraph.
Proposed amendments from the floor and those that were not available for public review at least Seven (7) days before the meeting cannot become part of the by-laws immediately. These amendments may be voted on and if passed they will be treated as rules instead of by-laws until the next meeting of THE DIVISION. At that meeting the proposed amendment must be voted on and either adopted as by-law amendments or rejected or remain as rules until the next meeting. By the end of the next Annual Meeting the proposed amendment must be either adopted or rejected.
Section 2 - Effective Date of Amendments: Unless otherwise specified, amendments to these Bylaws shall take effect on August 1 next after their adoption. Copies of the amendments so adopted shall be provided to every member of THE DIVISION within 30 days after their adoption.