BELMONT UNIVERSITY EQUESTRIAN CLUB BYLAWS Updated 5/03/2017 Belmont Equestrian Club Leadership: Clara Walz, Jillian Moulton, Sophie Rogers, Camila Conesa, Andrew Kelm ARTICLE I: NAME. The name of the organization is Belmont University Equestrian Club. ARTICLE II: MISSION STATEMENT. The purpose of the organization is to provide a community to Belmont students who wish to compete on a Hunt-Seat team. We take weekly team lessons and compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) as a team and as individuals. No experience is needed to join the organization, take lessons, but is required to compete. Membership is open to all Belmont students. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS. To be a member of the organization in good standing, a person must: (a) Be a registered student at Belmont University; (b) Be in good academic standing, with a GPA of 2.0 or better; (c) Pay semester dues no later than the specified date given at the beginning at each semester; (d) Attend a minimum of 2 club meetings per semester, unless leadership is given a justifiable excuse (e) attend a minimum of one lesson with our coach the week before a show if the member is competing (f) Abide by all University policies and procedures outlined in the Student Organization Handbook, including completing all required online forms ARTICLE IV: TITLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS. Section 1. Positions and Their Responsibilities. A. President is responsible for the following: - All communication with the IHSA; shall conduct all meetings - General communication with organization members - Attend all University-required leadership meetings - Communication with the coach - Attend all IHSA competitions, whether or not competing - Be CPR certified before the first show - Keep a working document on safety protocols - Inform all members and officers about safety protocols - Be responsible for incident reporting - Delegate the organization of all fundraisers - Communicate with Belmont for apparel and branding - Create and distribute promotional materials B. Vice President is responsible for the following: - Assume of role of President should the President become unavailable - Assist the President in fulfilling his or her duties - Manage social media accounts for the club
- Make sure all members have completed the appropriate steps necessary to maintain membership (see Article III) - Ensure by-laws and rules are explained to members in addition to ensuring that members are upholding the rules and by-laws, and filling out necessary paperwork - Attend IHSA competitions, whether showing or not competing, in the event that the President is unable to attend - Maintain and monitor documents of assets and liabilities; must be CPR certified before the first show - Be responsible for all fundraising and leader of the fundraising committee C. Treasurer is responsible for the following: - Document and maintain records of money, assets, and liabilities - Handle and document all money including organization dues, entry fees, and hotel fees - Upload all documents to DropBox - Manage the bank account - Assure that monthly bank statements match meeting minutes and club financial records - Petition the Student Government Organization for funding - Ensure all dues, fees, etc. are paid in a timely manner following approval by the officers (see section...) - Set semester budgets (previous to the start of the semester), present to officers, vote, and upload to DropBox - Provide a financial report at every leadership meeting - Assure that money allocation follows proper voting procedures D. Event Coordinator is responsible for the following: - Plan organization events - Coordinate lesson schedules with the club - Book locations for organization meetings - Book hotel accommodations for horse shows - Verify with Belmont Student Engagement and Leadership Development (SELD) that all rider and competitor required forms are submitted and approved before specified events (included, but not limited to, Health Disclosure, Assumption of Risk, and MVR) - Go through Belmont EMS training to become certified to book room space on campus. E. Secretary is responsible for the following:
- Maintain meeting minutes - Maintain records of membership status and club documents - Communicate with Belmont University about horse show results - Ensure that all minutes and documents are uploaded to the club DropBox Section 2. Responsibilities of All Officers. (a) Attend every meeting, both leadership and member, unless they can provide a justifiable excuse. (b) Attend all fundraising and events, unless able to provide a justifiable excuse (c) All officers should support one another in duties. (d) An officer s failure to execute the duties of their position (outlined above) will face impeachment (see Sec. 4.C) Section 3. Qualifications of Officers. A. Qualifications for President. To qualify for the position of President, a person must: (a) Be a competing member; (c) Have been a member of the organization in continuous good standing for at least one year before taking office. B. Qualifications for Vice President. To qualify for the position of Vice President, a person must: (a) Be a competing member; (c) Have been a member of the organization in continuous good standing for at least one year before taking office. C. Qualifications for Treasurer. To qualify for the position of Treasurer, a person must: (a) Have knowledge of Microsoft Excel; (b) Have an understanding of accounting, ledgers; and bookkeeping; and (c) Have been a member of the organization in continuous good standing for at least one year before taking office. D. Qualifications for Event Coordinator. To qualify for the position of Event Coordinator, a person must: (a) have been a member of the organization in continuous good standing for at least one year before taking office. E. Qualifications for Administrative Assistant. To qualify for the position of Administrative Assistant, a person must (a) Have knowledge of Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel Section 4. Elections and Appointments, Term Limits, and Removal or Impeachment A. Elections and Appointments. All officers shall be elected by members in good standing during the last fall meeting, or no later than the first spring meeting, through an in- person vote.
B. Term. The term of all officer positions shall be one year, January 1 - to the Monday after the 1st spring show. Transition of all leadership role materials and documents should be given to the new officer by February 1st. C. Removal. An officer may be removed for failure to fulfill their duties or for conduct not in keeping with Belmont policy. Removal requires a 51% majority vote of leadership at a leadership meeting. All leaders is good standing are required to be present at an impeachment hearing and are required to vote, with the expectation of the impeached leader. If the impeached leader is voted to be removed by leadership, the leadership have the option of: (a) allowing the removed leader to retain club membership status (b) allowing the removed leader to rerun for future officer positions ARTICLE V: MEETINGS. Section 1: Organization-Wide Meetings Organization-wide meetings shall be held once per month, with the exception of finals months. Leadership should all agree and confirm a meeting timetable for the fall semester meeting times during the end of the spring semester. Members are expected to attend 2 meetings per semester. Section 2: Leadership Meetings Leadership meetings shall be held twice monthly. Leadership should all agree and confirm a meeting timetable for the fall semester meeting times during the end of the spring semester. President has the right to hold emergency meetings on a short-term basis, but if an officer cannot attend the meeting, it will not be held against their attendance. A leadership meeting is considered valid and binding if a quorum of 3 officers are present and faculty advisor. The President is responsible for calling meetings. President or acting president must approve of leadership meetings taking place. For a meeting to be valid, all officers must be given the opportunity to be present, with the exception of emergency meetings. Section 3: Financial and Critical Decisionmaking - Treasurer is responsible for creating a budget at the end of the previous semester in preparation for the next. Budgets should be detailed and itemized. Once finished, treasurer is to upload the budget to DropBox and make it available for the other officers. Then, if quorum is met, leadership has the right to amend the budget as they see fit. Then leadership is to vote, and the budget can pass with a 51% majority. - Treasurer is responsible for handling all money relating to competitions. There may be cases that due to fundraising monies or SGA funding monies that may cover some costs, the budget needs to be adjusted. Prior to shows, the treasurer is therefore required to update the budget, and adjust the costs that the competitors are responsible as needed.
Leadership votes on this with 51% majority. - If there are any critical decisions needing to be made apart from a leadership meeting (ex. at a show) leaders at the event (3 and faculty advisor) need to make a timely vote. No money can be exchanged until that vote is done. ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS. Any member of this organization may submit a proposed amendment to these bylaws in writing to the President for a vote at the next leadership meeting. A two-thirds vote by leaders present at that meeting is required for the proposed amendment to pass. ARTICLE VII: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Members may not vote on matters where they have a clear conflict of interest, as determined by the majority of the leadership. ARTICLE VIII: RATIFICATION. These bylaws are ratified by a two-thirds approval of the officers of this organization. ARTICLE IX: COMPETITIONS Section 1. To compete, must follow and abide by the following: - Must ride in 2 lessons prior to each show - Must pay dues during the designated club meeting all dues are required to be paid - Must read the IHSA rulebook - Must pay IHSA individual show fee - Must pay all competition dues to the treasurer by the deadline set by the officers, usually well in advance of show date - No Refunds - Competing members are required to pay all fees associated with competition after the given deadline despite withdrawal from competition - Conduct - - As a Belmont Student you are required to abide by Belmont s code of conduct despite being off campus - This includes demonstrating courtesy and good sportsmanship - Additional requirements may be set by leaders and coaches