Greater Akron Soccer Officials Association. Constitution ARTICLE I: NAME

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1 Greater Akron Soccer Officials Association Constitution ARTICLE I: NAME The name of the organization shall be the Greater Akron Soccer Officials Association (GASOA). ARTICLE II: Purpose and organization Section A: The purpose of the GASOA shall be: 1. To recruit, train, educate and assess scholastic soccer officials for all levels of high school competition. 2. To maintain the highest level of ethical conduct and performance in scholastic soccer officiating. 3. To adhere to the policies and procedures of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS). Section B: Precedence The order of precedence shall be the NFHS and the OHSAA. The association will abide by the articles of incorporation, by laws, policies and requirements of each of these organizations. Section C: The territory of GASOA is the area in which GASOA officials are assigned to officiate to include leagues, partial leagues, independent, private and public schools in which the GASOA has been contracted or has verbal permission to assign for. Section A: Discrimination ARTICLE III: Membership Any person regardless of color, race, sex or national origin may become a member of GASOA after having met the requirements of OHSAA and GASOA. Section B: Membership Requirements All members of this association must be a currently registered soccer official with OHSAA Page 1 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

2 Section C: Rights of Members: 1. To vote in all general and election meetings 2. To be nominated for office after two consecutive years of active membership 3. To be assigned games by the GASOA assigner 4. To receive any awards, citations or recognition pertaining to GASOA membership. 5. To approach the GASOA for assistance or to register complaints pertaining to scholastic soccer officiating. Section D: Independent Contractor Status All members of GASOA are independent contractors who are hired by schools. They are not employees of NFHS, OHSAA or GASOA. As such, the GASOA is not responsible for payment of services or for tracking withholding taxes, unemployment compensation or disability insurance. The only insurance provided to a member of GASOA is through the NFHS and it s group insurance carrier. Section E: Voluntary Association Membership in the GASOA is voluntary. No OHSAA member is required to join the GASOA to receive consideration for games assignments. By joining the GASOA, the member agrees to abide by its constitution, bylaws and decisions made by the Executive Board and not to attempt to resolve grievances with the Association in a court of law. Section F: Dues and Fees 1. Annual fees will be set by the Executive Committee and are payable no later than December 31 of each year prior to the effective year. Example: Dues for 2007 are due no later than December 31, Late fees. Members who do not meet the December 31 deadline must pay their membership fees in addition to a late fee equivalent to the current year GASOA dues. ARTICLE IV: Officers of the Executive Committee No member shall hold more than one elective office. Any member desiring to run for an elective office must have been a member in good standing for a minimum of two consecutive years. Section B: Elected Officers The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Games Assigner. Page 2 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

3 Section C. Terms of Office All members of the Executive Committee shall be elected for two years with the President, VP, Secretary and one Advisory Board member elected in odd numbered years and the Treasurer, Games Assigner and three Advisory Board members elected in even numbered years. Section D: Duties of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee will conduct all routine business of GASOA including, but not limited to: 1. Approval of instructors, rules interpreters and assessors and other committee chairpersons. 2. Recommendations to schools regarding game fees and other matters. 3. Representation of GASOA to OHSAA, schools, athletic departments and local coaches and associations. 4. Routine financial matters. 5. Act on all grievance matters to include school and referee situations. 6. To act on all recommendations of committee chairpersons. A simple majority vote of members present will apply. A quorum shall be three members. Section E: Duties of the Officers 1. President- The President is responsible for the administration of the GASOA. He shall preside at all meetings, appoint all committees and appoint vacated positions with approval of the Executive Committee, until the next general election. The President, along with the Ex-Officio, will review and make recommendations of the preliminary assignment schedule prior to its public distribution. 2. Vice President- In the absence of the President, the Vice President will assume all of the duties of the President. If the President resigns or becomes incapacitated, the Vice President will assume his position until the next presidential election. He will also perform other duties as instructed by the President. 3. Secretary- The Secretary shall record the minutes of all general and board meetings and will report them at all general meetings. He will be the liaison between the GASOA and the OHSAA. The secretary will maintain membership rosters, provide the membership with general information and prepare correspondence with other organizations. In addition, the Secretary will run the annual general election in even numbered year. The Secretary may form a committee to assist him in any of his duties. 4. Treasurer- The Treasurer will collect all fees, dues and monies due the GASOA and will provide disbursements as needed. He will maintain records of these transactions and will report them at general meetings and in a year-end report. The Secretary will advise the Secretary and Games Assigner as to the status of all paid members. The Treasurer will run the annual general election in odd Page 3 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

4 numbered years. The Treasurer may form a committee to assist him in any of his duties. 5. Games Assigner- The Games Assigner shall be responsible for obtaining all school s schedules and assigning games to GASOA members. A preliminary copy of these assignments will be provided to the President and Ex-Officio before the schedule is made public, but final assignments are the sole responsibility of the assigner. He may select an assistant to help him in any of his duties. He will be responsible for preparing an annual report on assigning activities at the end of the season. ARTICLE V- Advisory Board Committee Members Same requirements as the Executive Committee Section B: Elected Advisory Committee Members There shall be four active members of the Advisory Committee. Section C: Terms of office The terms of the four Advisory Board members will be for two years, with three being elected in even numbered years and one being elected in odd numbered years. Section D: Duties 1. To attend all Executive Board meetings. 2. Assist the Executive Committee in the performance of their duties by chairing additional appointed committees. 3. Performing any other duties requested by the President or Executive Committee. ARTICLE VI - The Executive Board Section A: The Executive Board will be made up of the Executive Committee and the Advisory Board. Section B: Requirements: The same requirements apply as in Article IV, Section A. Section C: Duties 1. The Executive Board will set all membership dues and other fees. Page 4 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

5 2. Act on recommendations of the Executive Committee and any business presented by other groups, organizations, schools, or leagues. It will also act on requests by individual members of the GASOA. 3. All members of the Executive Board are eligible to vote in board meetings. A simple majority of members present will determine Executive Board votes with required quorum being six members. ARTICLE VII- Appointed Positions Any person who has been an active member of GASOA for a minimum of two consecutive years may be selected by the president and approved by the Executive Board for an appointed position. Section B: Appointments Appointments will be made at the discretion of the president with the approval of the Executive Committee. The appointees may come from the Board or from the membership and serve at the will of the Executive Board. A person serving an appointed position may hold more than one appointed position as well as an elective position concurrently. Section C: Term limits Appointed positions will run indefinitely or until they have been resigned by the member or until the president or Executive Board terminates the appointment. Section D: Appointed Positions 1. Assessor- to schedule maintenance and upgrade assessments and written testing to GASOA members so that members are afforded the opportunity to improve their refereeing skills and to advance from Class II to Class I OHSAA officials. 2. Rules Interpreter- to keep the membership of the GASOA up to date with existing rules, new rules and revisions and to interpret rules as stated by the OHSAA. To administer the annual written test and forward the results to the peer ranking chairman. To select instructors, presenters and rules topics to keep the membership abreast of current rules, policies and procedures. 3. Fitness- schedule and administer annual fitness tests. Analyze and forward the results to the Referee-ranking chairman. 4. Awards Prepare a list of all eligible service and lifetime member recipients and order these awards for presentation at the annual social. 5. Peer rating- Provide to the membership a simple numerical peer ranking form in which each member can rank fellow referees in several key categories. Forward the results to the referee-ranking chairman. 6. Grievance- Entertain in writing, complaints from coaches, athletic directors, schools, leagues and referees when matters of ethics, sportsmanship and Page 5 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

6 discipline that negatively impact the game of soccer through our organization. Present such claims to the Executive Board. 7. New referee coordinator/recruiting- Actively recruit potential new members for the GASOA. Work closely with these recruits and the OHSAA to insure that all test requirements are met in a timely manner. 8. Referee Ranking- Collect required information with the intent of numerically ranking each referee in the association. ARTICLE VII- Ex-officio The Ex-officio is the immediate passed president. He will adhere to the same membership requirements as all of the other Executive Committee members. Section B: Term limitations The ex-officio will remain as a voting member of the Executive Committee/Advisory Board until the current President s term has ended. ARTICLE VIII- Meetings 1. General meetings- A minimum of six rules interpretation meetings will be held by GASOA annually. Members are required to attend a minimum of four meetings per year per OHSAA requirements. 2. A. State Rules Interpretation meeting will be held each year at the discretion of OHSAA and members of the GASOA will be required to attend accordingly. 3. Election meeting- one election meeting will be held each year after the end of the regular season. 4. Special Meetings- As required and directed by the President. 5. Executive Board Meetings- The Executive Board may meet any time during the year by direction of the President or by written request of any Executive Board member with one weeks notice. Section B: Voting 1. Any member who has failed to pay their annual dues by the published OHSAA start of the regular season will be ineligible to vote during the general election in this association regardless of their status at the time of that meeting. 2. All members in good standing and present at the general meetings are eligible to vote at these meetings. 3. Members who are in good standing at the time of the annual election meeting, but are unable to attend the meeting may vote by absentee ballot. A written ballot of Page 6 Last ratified on 8/27/2006

7 selection must be presented to the Secretary (in even numbered years) or to the Treasurer (in odd numbered years). ARTICLE IX- Amendments This Constitution and by-laws may be amended by two-thirds majority vote of the members present at any general meeting, provided that a notice of the proposed amendment has been supplied to the membership at least two weeks prior to the meeting. Adopted by the GASOA Membership on : August 27, 2006 Page 7 Last ratified on 8/27/2006