May 2005 RA GUN CLUB BY-LAWS ARTICLE I Section 1 This Club shall be known as the RA Gun Club, hereinafter referred to as the Club. Section 2 The Club is organized and constituted under part IV of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Recreation Association of the Public Service of Canada, hereinafter referred to as the Association, and shall be governed by the Constitution, Club guidelines and operating procedures and other rules and regulations of the Association. Section 3 The Headquarters of the Club shall be situated in the RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 7X7. ARTICLE II AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Section 1 To promote, organize and regulate safe recreational sport shooting activities. Section 2 To exchange ideas and experiences and, through informed speakers and films, to provide an opportunity for Club members to obtain expert advice (for example, through coaching) on matters of interest. Section 3 To cooperate with other clubs or associations to resolve problems of mutual interest affecting the club and recreational firearms community. Section 4 To organize and conduct Safety Training Courses. Section 5 To prepare and publish information of interest to the Club members. Section 6 To promote, organize, and conduct competitions. Section 7 To promote coaching and marksmanship. ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP Section 1 Membership in the Club shall be open to all members of the Association, and to such other persons as the RA Board of Directors may from time to time determine upon the recommendation of the Club Executive. Section 2 The membership shall consist of the following categories: a) Regular Members: Regular Members shall be persons who.../2
-2- are members of the Association and whose application for membership in the Club and membership fees have been accepted. b) General Members: General Members shall be persons who are not eligible to become Regular Members of the Association but who wish to participate in Club activities, whose application has been approved, and whose annual General Membership fee has been paid. General Memberships shall be restricted in accordance with Part II, Section 4 (6) of the Association s By-Laws. c) Club Life Members: Club Life Members shall be persons to whom Club Life Membership has been awarded by the Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Club, for meritorious service in the development of Club activities. The following criteria i) to v) must be followed in each Club Life Membership Nomination. i)nominees for Club Life Membership must have been a Member of the Club for 10 full years and must have served at one time on the Club Executive. ii) No Club shall exceed 5% of its membership or a total of 10 persons (whichever is the lesser) as Life Members at any time. iii) Nominations for Club Life Memberships shall be forwarded to the Recreation Committee for consideration and subsequent approval by the Board of Directors. iv) Consideration shall be given to persons who have contributed to the Club on Special Committees, ex. National events, exhibits, tournaments, etc. v) That Club fees be structured to include the administration and program costs of each Club Life Member. d) Junior Members: Junior memberships shall be granted to persons 18 years of age and under in accordance with the By-Laws and rules of the Association. ARTICLE IV EXECUTIVE Section 1 The Club Executive shall consist of eleven Officer positions. Section 2 The Officers of the Club shall include a Chair, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a Vice-Chair/Senior Range Officer, a Program and Publicity Coordinator, a Training Officer, a Rifle Section Officer, a Bullseye/General Handgun Section Officer, an IPSC/Action Section Officer, an Equipment Maintenance Officer and a Junior Section Officer..../3
-3- Section 3 The Executive shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club. Section 4 Five members of the Executive shall constitute a quorum for meetings of the Club Executive. ARTICLE V POWERS AND DUTIES Section 1 The Executive of the Club shall be responsible for the administration, general management and safe operation of the Club, and shall report to the Board of Directors of the Association. Section 2 Should a vacancy or vacancies occur on the Executive of the Club, those members remaining on the Executive shall convene a meeting of the said Executive, for the purpose of filling such vacancy or vacancies, and the member or members so appointed shall serve on the Executive until the next Annual General Meeting of the Club. Section 3 The Executive of the Club shall submit to the Recreation Department, for approval by the Board of Directors of the Association, a budget for the Club for the ensuing fiscal year. Section 4 The Executive of the Club shall be empowered to appoint both Standing and ad hoc committees, and shall define their terms of reference, consistent with the aims and objectives of the Club. Section 5 If a member of the Club Executive absents himself from three consecutive meetings, his office shall be declared vacant unless he has been granted leave of absence by the Club Executive. Section 6 If a member of the Club Executive participates in activities conflicting with the interests of the Club, his office may be declared vacant by a majority vote at a General Meeting duly called for that purpose. Section 7 Duties of Officers a) Chair: Shall preside at all General Club and Executive Meetings, shall not vote except in the case of a tie when he may cast the deciding vote, and shall be Ex-Officio Member of all Standing and ad hoc Committees. b) Vice-Chair/Senior Range Officer: Shall be responsible for: all range activities, including safety of the range proper, safety standards/procedures and safety compliance, official contact with government authorities regarding documentation such as range accreditation and transportation of firearms, oversight of Junior member activities and the performance and duties of the Chair in the latter's absence.
-4-.../4 c) Treasurer: Shall have general supervision over all financial activities of the Club, shall maintain adequate ledgers when applicable and shall submit a financial report at the Annual General Meeting of the Club. d) Secretary: Shall issue notices of all meetings, maintain records of proceedings and meetings, have custody of all documents and records pertaining to the affairs of the Club, with exception of financial records, and forward to the Association copies of the minutes of all Annual, General and Executive Meetings. e) Program and Publicity Coordinator: Shall be responsible for planning and organizing programs and other special activities, shall ensure the Club and it s activities, are publicized so as to encourage new membership and shall submit articles for publication, for example in the RA News, a Club newsletter or on a website. f) Training Officer: Shall be responsible to the Senior Range Officer for the conduct of all training and coaching activities, development/updating of training curricula/manuals. g) Rifle Section Officer: Shall be responsible for the conduct of rifle shooting activities, for the enforcement of rules during rifle shooting sessions; for the conduct of Junior rifle shooting activities and the enforcement of the rules during Junior shooting sessions; arranging for shooting competitions, trophies and awards; selection, assignment and performance monitoring of Range Officers; and for monitoring/correcting safety issues that arise during the operation of the range. h) Bullseye/General Handgun Section Officer: Shall be responsible for the conduct of the bullseye/general handgun shooting activities and the enforcement of rules during handgun shooting sessions (other than IPSC/Action); arranging for shooting competitions, trophies and awards; for the selection, assignment and performance monitoring of Range Officers; and for monitoring/correcting safety issues that arise during the operation of the range. i) IPSC/Action Section Officer: Shall be responsible for the conduct of IPSC/Action shooting activities and the enforcement of rules during IPSC/Action shooting sessions; arranging for shooting competitions, trophies and awards; for the selection, assignment and performance monitoring of Range Officers; and for monitoring/correcting safety issues that arise during the operation of the range. j) Equipment Maintenance Officer: Shall be responsible for the overall maintenance of club firearms and other related equipment in consultation with the respective section officers.
-5-.../5 k.) Junior Section Officer: This position may be filled as determined by the Executive in order to fulfil the requirements of a Junior shooting program. When this position is not filled, the Senior Range Officer will have oversight and the Rifle Section Officer will be responsible for the conduct of Junior rifle shooting activities. When the situation warrants, this position may be filled on a temporary basis and later confirmed per Article V, Section 2. ARTICLE VI MEETINGS Section 1 The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held at the RA Centre on such date and at such hour as the Executive of the Club shall determine each year, provided that such Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than the end of May. Section 2 A notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be given to each member, at least ten (10) clear days before the meeting, the notice being given in a manner authorized by the Board of Directors of the Association. Section 3 A Special General Meeting of the members may be called at any time by the Club Chair, or three members of the Club Executive or ten (10) percent of the members of the Club, upon notice stating the objectives of the meeting given at least ten (10) Clear days in advance, in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 2 of this Article. Section 4 The presence of ten (10) percent of the Club Members, or 25 Members, whichever is the lesser number, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business at an Annual or General Meeting. Section 5 The order of business at the Annual General Meeting shall be as follows:(1) Call to order (2) Check for quorum (3) Adoption of Minutes of previous Annual Meeting and General Meetings held since the previous Annual General Meeting. (4) Business arising out of the minutes (5) Reports from the Executive (6) Report of Nominating Committee (7) Election of Officers (8) New business (9) Adjournment Section 6 Regular Executive Meetings shall be held periodically but not less than three times during the year..../6
-6- Section 7 The Executive shall, one month prior to the Annual General Meeting, appoint a committee to examine and inventory all Club records and properties and assets, and make available an itemized report to the Association. Section 8 At the Annual General Meeting, the Chair shall submit to the membership a report containing an inventory of all properties and assets. ARTICLE VII ELECTION OF OFFICERS Section 1 The Chair shall, at least one month prior to the Annual General Meeting, appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three members, none of whom shall be seeking election or re-election, to nominate members for the Executive of the Club for the ensuing year. A list of the nominees shall be made available to all members with the Annual General Meeting notice. Section 2 Additional nominations, signed by two Members of the Club and the nominee, shall be accepted if forwarded to the Secretary or presented from the floor at the meeting. Section 3 The Nominating Committee shall obtain the consent of each nominee before presenting its list of nominees. Section 4 All members of the Club Executive shall be elected for a term of two years, six of whom, namely the Chair, the Rifle Section Officer, the Bullseye/General Hangun Section Officer, the Junior Section Officer, the Equipment Maintenance Officer and the Program/Publicity Coordinator, shall be elected at one Annual General Meeting and the remaining five, namely the Vice-Chair/Senior Range Officer, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Training Officer and the IPSC/Action Section Officer, shall be elected at the subsequent Annual General Meeting; the term of office of each elected member to commence not more than 30 days after the Annual General Meeting. ARTICLE VIII FEES Section 1 The Executive of the Club shall recommend to the Association, fees and dues to be charged to members of the Club. Section 2 A member of the Club who is unable, due to circumstances beyond his/her control, to continue to participate in the Club's activities after payment of his fees for that season, may have all or part refunded by the Association as determined by the Executive of the Club, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Association.
-7-.../7 Section 3 The Club membership year shall be from September l to August 3l of the following year. ARTICLE IX SUSPENSION, EXPULSION, OR LOSS OF MEMBERSHIP Section 1 Any Officer may be removed from office for cause by a majority vote of the members in good standing, present at a Special Meeting called for this purpose, at which meeting the Officer shall be given an opportunity of being heard. Section 2 Any member of the Club whose membership has been repealed by the Club may appeal to the Board of Directors of the Association for a final decision. Section 3 The membership of any member may be revoked when the member is or becomes prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. ARTICLE X AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS Section 1 Subject to the provisions of all sections of these By-Laws, the Executive of the Club may recommend for approval of the Board of Directors of the Association, regulations pertaining to the operation and administration of the Club, and may, from time to time, amend, vary or repeal the same, subject always to confirmation at the Annual General Meeting or a Special Meeting of the Club called for that purpose and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Association. Section 2 These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote at the Annual General Meeting, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Association, provided a Notice of Motion to so amend has been given to the Secretary at least one month prior to the meeting. Section 3 The Secretary shall make available to the members, at least ten days prior to the Annual General Meeting, copies of any Notice of Motion to amend the By-Laws of the Club, in accordance with the procedures set out in Article VI, Section 2 of these By-Laws.