CONSTITUTION

HEARTLAND COURSING ASSOCIATION, INC.

CHAPTER I           GENERAL

Section 1:         The name of this organization shall be the HEARTLAND COURSING ASSOCIATION, INC.

Section 2:        The objects of the Association shall be:

1. To unite sighthound fanciers in the common goal of preserving and enhancing the natural attributes of beauty, grace and speed in purebred sighthounds.

CHAPTER II       MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1:         Membership in this organization shall be open to those individuals interested in the promotion of lure coursing, and in good standing with The American Sighthound Field Association.

Section 2:        The membership of the Association shall be composed of Active, Family and Honorary Members.

1. Active Individual members: having all Association privileges and full voting rights.
2. Active Family members: each adult member of which shall have all Association privileges and full voting rights.  
3. Honorary members: may be elected by majority vote of the general membership for having rendered valuable service to the Association or causes it promotes.  They shall be exempt from payment of dues and be entitled to all Association privileges, except the right to vote and hold office, unless they are also active paid members.

Section 3:        The dues shall be as set by vote of the general membership, upon advice of the board.  Dues shall be assessed on a fiscal year basis from January 1 to December 31; provided that the dues of members accepted during the month of November and December shall commence with the January 1 dues of the coming year.

Section 4:        Each applicant for membership shall apply on a form as approved by the Board of Directors.  The application shall carry the endorsement of two members in good standing of the Association.   The applicant(s) shall submit payment of dues for the current year with the application.  All applications are to be filed with the association’s treasurer, read and voted on at the first meeting following receipt.  The Association may, at its discretion, delay voting until the next general meeting.  An affirmative vote of ¾ of the membership present and voting at the meeting shall be required to accept an applicant. At the discretion and by the notice of the President, membership applicants may also be voted on by the general membership by email.  In such case, all information contained on the membership application shall be circulated to the membership by email at least two weeks in advance of the vote.  Notice of the time of the vote shall be sent by the President.  All members shall be given 72 hours to send their vote to the President by email.  An affirmative vote of ¾ of the members returning email ballots shall be required to accept an applicant.

Section 5:        Membership may be terminated by:

1. Resignation: any member in good standing may resign from the Association upon written notice to the Board of Directors.
2. Lapsing: a membership shall be considered as lapsed and automatically terminated if such members’ dues remain unpaid thirty days after the first day of the fiscal year.
3. Expulsion: a membership may be terminated by expulsion as provided in Chapter III, Section 2 of the Constitution.

CHAPTER III     MEMBERSHIP SUSPENSION

Section 1:         Any member who is suspended from the privileges of the American Sighthound Field Association automatically shall be suspended from the privileges of this Association until such time as the member is reinstated by the American Sighthound Field Association.

Section 2:        The Board of Directors may suspend or expel any member for conduct prejudicial to the Association or its stated purposes.  Any member considered for such disciplinary action must be notified of this intent, and have a chance to speak in his own behalf at the Board hearing.  Any disciplinary action must have the unanimous approval of the Board of Directors.

CHAPTER IV      BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1:         The Heartland Coursing Association shall be governed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members in good standing of the Association.

Section 2:        The Board of Directors shall hold office for a period of two years, from January 1 to December 31, beginning in odd numbered years.

Section 3:        The Board of Directors shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and three directors; each directly elected by the general membership.

Section 4:        The Board of Directors shall, at its first meeting each year, in years where a new Board has been selected, appoint from the membership of the Association the following positions; Field Trial Chairman, Field Trial Secretary, Coursing Director, Equipment Manager, and ASFA Delegate.

CHAPTER V        ELECTIONS

Section 1:         The Officers and Directors shall be selected by written ballot at the Association’s Fall/Winter business meeting (see Ch. VII, Sec. 2) of the general membership in each even numbered year.

Section 2:        On or before September 30 of each even numbered year the Board of Directors shall appoint three members (at least one shall be a Board member, and at least one shall not be a Board member) in good standing of HCA to serve as a nominating committee.  Prior to November 1 of each even-numbered year, this nominating committee shall submit to the Board at least one and not more than two names each as nominee for President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and at least three and not more than six names as nominees for the position of Directors.

Section 3:        The list of nominees shall be presented to the general membership at the Association’s Fall/Winter business meeting of each even numbered year.  At this time any member of the Association may add the name of another member to the list of nominees, provided that the person is in attendance at the meeting and consents to his nomination or has given written consent to the person making the nomination.

Section 4:        The general membership will cast written ballots for President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and for three members in good standing to serve as Directors.

Section 5:        The incumbent Vice-President of the Board will supervise the collection and tally of votes by the nominating committee, and will report the results to the general membership before the end of the meeting at which the votes were cast.  In the event of a tie, the Board of Directors currently in office shall determine the method by which the tie shall be broken.

Section 6:        In the event of an unexpected vacancy on the Board of Directors, the President, with the majority consent of the Board, will appoint a member of the Association to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.  A vacancy in the office of President shall be automatically filled by the Vice-President and the resulting vacancy in the office of Vice-President shall be filled as above.

CHAPTER VI      DUTIES

Section 1:         The duties of the Board of Directors are as follows:

1. To administer Heartland Coursing Association in a manner consistent with the rules and regulations set down by the American Sighthound Field Association.
2. To schedule coursing meets for the coming season and to advise the membership of this schedule.
3. To appoint coursing committees from the general membership.
4. To take charge of all properties that may come to be acquired by the Heartland Coursing Association, and to hold same in trust for the benefit of the membership of said Association.
5. To employ counsel, to prosecute, defend and settle suits at law or in equity in the name of or on behalf of the Association.
6. To appoint such committees as may be needed to serve the purposes of the Association.
7. To approve all Association expenditures over the sum of $100
8. To set entry and incidental fees for coming events.
9. To determine the location of the principal office of this Association.

Section 2:        The duties of the individual officers of the Board of Directors are as follows:

1. President: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and at all meeting of the general membership.  The President shall also set the time and place for all meetings.  He shall have access to the Treasury in the event that the Treasurer is unable to serve in his appointed capacity.  He shall determine the order of business at all meetings of the Board and general membership.
2. Vice-President: The Vice-President shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the President and shall preside over collection and tally of all written ballots.
3. Secretary: The Secretary shall assist in writing all official correspondence and in keeping files of same.  He shall record and transcribe all minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors and the general membership, ensure circulation and keep files of same. 
4. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be custodian of all funds belonging to Heartland Coursing Association and pay all approved expenditures of the Association.  He shall make a complete financial report at all regular business meetings of the Association and its Board and shall see to the publication of an annual financial status. The Treasurer shall have authority to sign the Association’s checks, up to and including $100 without Board approval.  The Treasurer shall also have the responsibility of opening checking and savings accounts on behalf of the Association. The Treasurer shall, at the request of the Board, prepare the accounts of the Association for an audit, this audit to take place one month prior to the Association’s Fall/Winter business meeting, and to be conducted by three non-board members in good standing appointed by the Board of Directors and to be presented to the Board not less than one week prior to the Fall/Winter meeting.  The Board shall report their findings independently at that meeting.  The Treasurer shall maintain a listing of all active members.

CHAPTER VII       MEETINGS/VOTING
 
Section 1:         The Board of Directors shall meet no less than two times per year.  At least five members of the Board must be present to constitute an official meeting of the Board.  Written, printed or emailed notices of meetings stating location, date, and time of the meeting shall be delivered to each member not less than one week prior to the date of the meeting.  (Every effort should be made to send written notices to members known not to have email access.)

Section 2:        Regular business meetings of the general membership shall be held no less than two times per year.  One meeting shall be conducted between November 1 and January 1 for annual reports, and for elections in even numbered years. At least seven Active members in good standing of the Association must be present to constitute an official meeting. 

Section 3:        Business meetings may be called by the Board of Directors or by written request of at least ten percent of the general membership.

Section 4:        Written, printed or emailed notice of meetings stating location, date, and time of meetings, (and in the case of special meetings, the purpose for which the meeting is called,) shall be delivered to each member not less than two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.  (Every effort shall be made to send written notices to members known not to have email access.)  The failure of any member to receive notice of any meeting shall not invalidate action which may be taken by the members at such meeting.  This does not apply to meetings of the Board.

Section 5:        A simple majority shall be necessary for the transaction of all business at all meetings unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution.

Section 6:        The Board or General Membership may also vote by email, in any circumstances that the President shall determine to be urgent or time-sensitive.  Notice of any business to be transacted by email must then be emailed to all members not less than two  weeks prior to the vote for general membership, and not less than one week for votes of the Board of Directors. Notice of the time of the vote shall be sent by the  President.  All members shall be given 72 hours to send their vote to the President by        email.  Any action taken under such circumstances may be overturned by majority vote of the members present and voting at the next meeting of the body that took such action by email.

Section 7:        Each active and family member shall be entitled to vote in all matters submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members.

Section 8:        The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order, Revised Edition, shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable, except in cases where they conflict with the Constitution or special rules of order of the Association.

CHAPTER VIII    AMENDMENTS

Section 1:         The Constitution of the Association can be amended by 2/3 majority of the membership in attendance at any regular business meeting or any special meeting called for that purpose.

Section 2:        All proposed amendments must be submitted to, and approved by, a majority of the Board of Directors before they may be submitted to a vote of the general membership.

Section 3:        All proposed amendments, after approval by the Board of Directors, must be submitted in written form to the general membership present at any meeting at which the proposals are to be voted on.  The proposals must be submitted in written form to the members before any vote can be called for on the proposed amendments.

CHAPTER IX      DISSOLVANCY

Section 1:         This Association may be dissolved at any time by the written consent of not less than 2/3 of the members.  In the event of the dissolution of the Association, whether voluntary or involuntary by operation of law, none of the property of the Association nor any proceeds thereof nor any assets of the Association shall be distributed to any members of the Association, but after payments of the debt of the Association, its property and assets shall be given to a charitable organization for the benefit of dogs, selected by the Board of Directors.

General Meeting Approved Original Version 9/17/06
Amendments to Ch II Sec 4 and Ch VII Sec 6 approved  1/8/2012
Amendments to Ch 1, Ch IV, Ch V, Ch VI and Ch VII approved October 2017.