The Constitution of The Society of Hickory Golfers 1. Name The organization will be called The Society of Hickory Golfers. 2. Mission Statement The mission of the Society of Hickory Golfers is to promote and encourage the experience of playing golf to the conditions of the historical, hickory era play by replicating the conditions prevalent at that time 3. Aims and objectives The aims and objectives of the organization will be: i. To carry out the mission of the Society of Hickory Golfers ii.To establish a permanent reference for organizing hickory golf tournaments, for the enjoyment of all players concerned; iii. To discover through competition the playing characteristics of wood shafted golf clubs manufactured prior to 1935; iv. To represent the point of view of golfers who enjoy competition in hickory play while observing the rules advanced by the USGA and R&A, with special consideration for rules variances which necessarily result from the modern use of the equipment involved; v. To establish a fixture card for worldwide hickory golf competitions of significance; vi. To advance rules and equipment standards for hickory play; vii. To establish a worldwide society of like-minded ladies and gentlemen. 4. Membership i. Eligibility for membership All persons in sympathy with the mission, aims and objectives of the Society are eligible for membership ii. Selection Process The selection process will be decided by the Executive Committee of the SoHG in consultation with the Board. The process together with current application forms will be made available by posting on the SoHG web site or by such other means as will be decided from time to time by the Executive committee in consultation with the Board iii. Membership Membership will consist of officers and members of the organization. iv. Classes of Membership Currently there are two classes of membership - full membership and life membership. Other classes may be introduced by the Executive Committee. Life membership is reserved for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Hickory Golf and will be appointed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Board v. Membership right and duties All members will be subject to the regulations of this constitution and by joining the organization will be deemed to accept these regulations and codes of practice that the organization deems appropriate. vi. All paid up members are entitled to vote for the Board and on other matters as shall occur from time to time 5. Membership and Initiation fees i. Membership fees will be set annually and agreed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the full Board ii. Fees will be paid: annually. Failure to pay fees for two consecutive years will deemed to be tantamount to resignation from the organization 6. Meetings. Due to the geographical dispersion of the membership, meetings will occur via. telephone conference or via the Internet. Face-to-face Meetings of the Executive Committee or Board may occur when ever there is a quorum present at events. The likely hood of a face to face meeting must be recognized in advance, and all Board or EC members be notified by e-mail or other means so that absent members may establish their proxies. 7. Officers of the organization The officers of the organization will be: President. Past Presidents Vice President or President Elect. Secretary. Treasurer. Executive Secretary. Membership Secretary Officers will be appointed annually by the executive committee but are subject to approval by the full Board. All officers will retire each year but will be eligible for re-appointment. 8. Executive Committee i. The organization will be managed through the Executive Committee consisting of: The President President elect Treasurer Membership Secretary Equipment Committee Chairman Secretary and such other members as may be co-opted by the Executive Committee or appointed by the Board. ii. The number of the EC should will not exceed nine and should be preferably seven. In the event of a tie vote the president will have the casting vote. iii. The Executive Committee will meet by teleconference, or such other means as may become available in the future, at least once a month and Minutes will be kept of all formal meetings. iv. The quorum required for business to be agreed at Executive Committee meetings will be 50% + of the Executive Committee members. v. The Executive Committee will be responsible for adopting new policy, codes of practice and rules that affect the organization of the SoHG. vi. The Executive Committee will have powers to appoint sub-committees as necessary and appoint advisers to the Executive Committee as necessary to fulfill its business. vii. The Executive Committee will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe the organization rules/regulations/constitution. The Management Committee will be responsible for taking any action of suspension or discipline following such hearings. Appeal may be made by the affected individuals to the full Board viii. The approved minutes of the Executive Committee will be made available to the membership ix. The Executive Committee will prepare an annual report for the membership. x. The Executive Committee has the right to call Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs), requesting a vote of the entire membership. xi. Failure to attend or send apologies for two or more consecutive meetings will be considered to be resignation from the Executive Committee 9. Other Committees i. Standing Committees Equipment Committee Membership Committee Tournament Advisory Committee National Tournament Committee Publications, Communications and Web Finance Committee Development Committee Rules and Byelaws And such other committees and sub-committees as the Executive Committee shall from time-to-time deem appropriate. ii. An audit committee will be established each year to audit the books of the SoHG. Members of the audit committee will be separate from the Finance committee. iii. The relationship of these committees to the Executive committee will be detailed in the charges to the committee. iv. The decisions of the individual committees are subject to ratification by the Executive committee. In the event that a compromise cannot be reached, the matter will be decided by a vote of the full Board. v. The duties of each committee and its relationship to the Executive committee will be spelt out by a charge to the committee. 10. Board i. The Board of the SoHG will oversee the operations of the SoHG but will not be involved in the day today activities of the organization. ii. The Board will be chaired by the current president of the SoHG. iii. Membership of the Board will comprise the current president, (the immediate two) past presidents and elected members. Executive committee members may not serve as elected members of the Board. Appointment to the Executive Committee will terminate Board membership. Note presidents and past presidents are not elected members. iv. Elected members will serve three years. One third of the elected members will rotate off each year. Members are eligible for reelection. Broken terms will be filled by the president. v. There will be at least fifteen Board members. There should be at least one Board member from each of the following geographical locations: United States; Canada; Great Britain and Ireland; Continental Europe. These ratios may be changed from time-to-time, and other geographical locations added by a vote of the entire Board. vi. A slate of officers will be put forward by the executive committee. The Board must approve all appointments of officers and committee chairs. vii. The Board shall meet at least twice a year either by teleconference or web-conference. The SoHG will maintain a bolg-sphere for Board members. All formal votes will take place via the SoHG web site, which will maintain a form for such purposes. 11. Finance i. All organization monies will be banked in an account held in the name of the organization. ii. The organization Treasurer will be responsible for the finances of the organization. iii. The financial year of the organization will end on: DATE. iii. An audited statement of annual accounts will be presented by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting. iv. Any cheques drawn against organization funds exceeding $300 should hold the signatures of the Treasurer plus up to two other officers. 12. Annual General Meeting, Elections, and voting procedures i. Notice of Annual Board Elections and General voting matters will be given by the organization Secretary to members via their registered e-mail addresses . Not less than 28 clear days notice to be given to all members. ii. Elections will be conducted via the web site, or by such other means as may be deemed appropriate from time to time. Any change in voting procedures will be circularized to the membership. iii. All members may place items on the agenda for voting. Notice of such agenda items together with supporting statements must be received at least 14 days before the Annual general meeting. iv. The SoHG will maintain a blog-sphere for general discussion prior to the meeting. v. Voting will be conducted in such a manner that voted remain anonymous 13. Petitions. i. All members may formally petition the Board and the Executive Committee, or may call for a formal vote on any matter. A request for a formal vote, which is tantamount to an EGM must be approved by 50% of the Board. ii. Such petitions must be directed to the Secretary of the Society who must notify the Executive Committee. iii. If requested by the petitioner the petition must be communicated to the board within 30 days of receipt. iii. If requested by the petitioner the petition must be communicated to all members within 30 days of receipt. 14. Discipline and appeals i. All complaints regarding the behaviour of members should be presented and submitted in writing to the Secretary. ii. The Executive Committee will meet to hear complaints within 30 days of a complaint being lodged. The committee has the power to take appropriate disciplinary action including the termination of membership. iii. The outcome of a disciplinary hearing should be notified in writing to the person who lodged the complaint and the member against whom the complaint was made within 30 days of the hearing. iv. There will be the right of appeal to the Full Board following disciplinary action being announced. The committee should consider the appeal within 30 days of the Secretary receiving the appeal. 15. Dissolution A resolution to dissolve the organization can only be passed at the AGM EGM through a majority vote of the membership. In the event of dissolution, any assets of the organization that remain will be divided between the USGA and the R & A. (? organizations WITH SIMILAR OBJECTIVES TO THOSE OF THE SoHG). 16. Amendments to the constitution The constitution will only be changed through agreement by majority vote at an AGM or EGM. 17. Declaration NAME OF organization hereby adopts and accepts this constitution as a current operating guide regulating the actions of members. SIGNED: DATE: NAME: POSITION: organization Chair SIGNED: DATE: NAME: POSITION: organization Secretary