CONSTITUTION OF THE QUAD COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

(AS AMENDED SEPTEMBER 15, 2000)

ARTICLE I – NAME

SECTION 1:

The name of this organization shall be the Quad-County Amateur Radio Club. The quad-counties shall consist of Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson and surrounding counties in Pennsylvania.

ARTICLE II – ORGANIZATION

SECTION 1:

The registered office of the club shall be the residence of the secretary.

SECTION 2:

The club may also have offices at such other places as the Executive Board may, from time to time, appoint or the business of the club may require.

SECTION 3:

The club, upon two-thirds vote of the members present, may establish chapters in carious communities within the Quad-Counties for the purpose of easing the travel burden upon its members to QCARC regular meetings while allowing participation in QCARC affairs. Such chapters shall operate under a chapter constitution not in conflict with the QCARC constitution.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1:

The membership of this club shall consist of full, chapter, associate and family membership.

SECTION 2:

The Full (voting) membership shall be any licensed amateur of any class with a station license in effect for a location in the Quad-Counties.

SECTION 3:

The chapter membership shall consist of persons otherwise qualified for full membership in the QCARC. Chapter members shall have voting privileges on all QCARC matters except on those matters affecting treasury funds not supported by chapter dues.

SECTION 4:

The Associate membership shall consist of persons who are ineligible for Full or Chapter status. Associate members may not vote on QCARC matters and shall not be counted in determining vote percentages or for determining quorums.

SECTION 5:

Combined Full-Chapter membership shall be permitted upon payment of the applicable dues. However, vote counts shall be determined on a “one person – one vote” basis.

SECTION 6:

The Family members shall consist of persons that are members of the same household of a Full or Associate member. Family members shall have the same privileges as the primary club member of the household, but will not receive a newsletter. Family membership shall run concurrently with the primary membership.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

SECTION 1:

The officers of the club shall be president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. These officers shall also be members of the Executive Board, of which there shall be five additional members. Officers and board members must be licensed amateurs.

SECTION 2:

All officers and Board members shall hold their offices for the period of one year from the date of their election at the annual meeting, and until their successors are elected and qualified.

SECTION 3:

The President shall preside at all meetings of the membership and of the Executive Board, preserve order, regulate debate and carry out the enforcement of this constitution to the best of his ability. He shall sign all papers and documents of any kind on behalf of the club. He shall have the power to call special meetings at his discretion or when requested to do so by five or more Full members’ signatures. He shall appoint committees from time to time as needed.

SECTION 4:

The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the president in his absence and shall assist him in such a manner as the President may request.

SECTION 5:

The secretary shall keep all minutes, records, books and papers, and perform such correspondence as may be necessary and required.

SECTION 6: (Last sentence deleted 9/15/00)

The treasurer shall have custody of all monies of the club. He shall deposit the same in a bank account in the name of the club and he shall pay all bills as directed by the membership by check, said check to be signed by the Treasurer, or in his absence by any other club officer. The treasurer shall also act as Treasurer for the QCFMA.

SECTION 7:

The Executive Board shall manage the affairs of the club and pay current running expenses of the club as they accrue and may expend sums of money not to exceed one-hundred dollars ($100) in any one month for unusual or extraordinary expenses that may arise, without the prior approval of the membership. They shall have the power to fill any vacancy in any office until the next annual meeting. Three Board members, one of whom is either the President or the Vice-President, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to present at each annual meeting of the membership a full and complete statement of the business and affairs of the club for the preceding year, and at such time as the membership shall direct.

SECTION 8:

Any official of the club may be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the club, provided that charges against said official are made in writing and are filed with the secretary at least one month and one day before the vote is taken. A copy of the charges shall be served on the accused official by the secretary at least two weeks before any vote shall be taken.

ARTICLE V – FUNDS

SECTION 1:

The monies of the club shall be maintained in a general fund and in such other funds as the Executive Board determines as necessary.

SECTION 2: (deleted 2/19/93)

The newsletter fund shall receive $4.00 from each Full and Associate members’ club dues.

SECTION 3:

The general fund of the club shall consist of all monies not designated for a specific fund, whether from donations, or dues.

SECTION 4:

Dues for all classes of membership shall be set as required from time to time by a two-thirds vote of members present.

SECTION 5: (deleted 2/19/93)

If a fund goes bankrupt, no monies will be borrowed from other funds.

SECTION 6:

Dues for initial membership shall be pro-rated as follows:

January – March………….…..100%

April – June……………………75%

July – September………………50%

October – December…………...25%

ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS

SECTION 1:

The annual meetings of the club shall be held on the third Friday of October of each year.

SECTION 2:

The regular meetings shall be called on the third Friday of each remaining month.

ARTICLE VII – AMENDMENTS AND RATIFICATION

SECTION 1:

The constitution of the club may be ratified or amended at any regular or annual meeting, by a two-thirds vote of the members present. The amendments must be published in the newsletter prior to that meeting.

ARTICLE VIII – QUAD-COUNTY FM ASSOCIATION (Deleted 9/15/00)

SECTION 1: - NAME

(A) A subsidiary organization shall be known as the Quad-County FM Association.

SECTION 2: - PURPOSE

(A) The purpose of the QCFMA shall be:

(i) To provide overall management of the operation of the affiliated repeaters.

(ii) To promote FM simplex and FM repeater activity in the Quad-Counties.

SECTION 3: - MEMBERSHIP

(A) Membership shall be open to:

(i) All QCARC members.

(ii) All non-QCARC members who are licensed amateurs.

(B) The only membership category shall be full voting member.

(D) Members may be suspended by a majority vote for violations of FCC regulations or of good operation practices upon recommendation by an affiliated repeater licensee.

(E) Suspended members will receive a prorate refund.

(F) Members withdrawing from the QCFMA will receive no refunds.

SECTION 4: - BOARD OF GOVERNORS

(A) The President of the QCARC shall appoint a three member Board of Governors for the QCFMA from among FMA members.

(B) The terms of office for the Board of Governors shall be one year to run concurrently with the terms of the QCARC officers.

(C) A majority of the Board of Governors shall be licensed amateurs with operated privileges that include the repeater frequencies used by the QCFMA affiliated repeaters.

(D) The Board of Governors shall:

(i) Elect a chairman from among themselves.

(ii) Set dues and levy assessments, both subject to majority approval.

(iii) Prescribe privileges to be enjoyed by members only.

(iv) Not reduce the existing member privileges without majority approval.

(v) Exercise overall management responsibility for the QCFMA and affiliated repeater operations. This management responsibility shall include, but not be limited to, the following.

(a) Maintaining a balance in the QCFMA fund of at least the amount projected for the next six month’s recurring expenses. In order to maintain this minimum balance, the Board of Governors may levy total assessments not to exceed five dollars per member in any twelve month period, subject to majority approval. Additional assessments beyond five dollars (and not included in that total) may be subject approval of 90% of the membership.

(b) Disbursing QCFMA finds for recurring repeater expenses, e.g. electricity and telephone bills, and for repeater equipment repairs necessitated by, but not limited to, normal wear and tear. A repair budget may be authorized in advance, but all repair expenditures must ultimately be approved by the Board of Governors.

(vi) Accept, review and act upon applications for QCFMA repeater affiliation.

(E) All Board of Governors’ decisions not requiring membership approval may be reversed by a two-thirds vote of QCFMA membership.

(F) Any member of the Board of Governors may be removed from office, without cause, by a three-fourths vote of the QCFMA membership.

SECTION 5: - MEETINGS

(A) QCFMA meetings shall be held at regular QCARC meetings as called by the Board of Governors or one-fourth’s vote of the QCFMA membership.

(B) Additional QCFMA business may be conducted over an affiliated repeater if deemed appropriate by the Board of Governors and the repeater licensee. Such “repeater meetings” shall be considered regular QCFMA meetings and shall be subject to all provisions governing regular meetings.

(C) There shall be no minimum attendance for a quorum. Only the proxies presented in writing to the QCFMA Secretary are permissible.

(D) All majority votes are made by a majority of the members present – including proxies. All other votes require the state fraction of the total membership.

(E) All meetings, and their agenda, must be announced on the last QCARC two-meter net prior to the meeting date. Announcements made earlier must be repeater on the last net prior to the meeting date. This shall be the responsibility of the Chairman of the Board of Governors.

SECTION 6: - QCFMA TREASURY

(A) The QCARC Treasurer shall receive all dues, assessments and donations for the QCFMA and shall maintain, by way of separate ledgers, a QCFMA account.

(B) The QCARC Treasurer shall disburse QCFMA funds at the discretion of the Board of Governors. The Treasurer may, at his discretion, require disbursement orders in writing from the Board of Governors – to be signed by the Chairman.

SECTION 7: - AFFILIATED REPEATERS

(A) Amateur repeater stations located within the Quad-Counties may apply to the Board of Governors for QCFMA affiliation.

(B) The QCFMA operates, but does not own, repeater stations. Responsibility for capital equipment and capital expenditures is retained by the sponsor(s) of the repeater.

(C) Affiliated repeaters may withdraw from the QCFMA upon written notification to the Board of Governors. Such withdrawal shall be effective as to the time of the receipt of said written notification by the Board of Governors.

SECTION 8: - REPEATER LICENSE

(A) The repeater licensee shall have the final decision in all matters involving FCC regulations and good operating practices.

(B) In the absence of the repeater licensee, the repeater control operators shall act in his place.

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