BREMERTON BASE
UNITED STATES SUBMARINE VETERANS, INCORPORATED
-Established November 5,
1981-
BYLAWS
(Revised November 19, 2002)
(Article II Amended
May 17, 2005)
The Bremerton
Base of United States Submarine Veterans Inc (USSVI) adopts in whole as
it's own, the Constitution of the national organization of United States
Submarine Veterans Inc. Should these bylaws conflict with the USSVI
national constitution or bylaws, the later shall have precedence. The
accepted informal name for the Bremerton Base is Bremerton Subvets.
Within the USSVI national organization the Bremerton Base will be
referred to as the Bremerton Base. In the interest of clarity in press
releases and other communications with outside entities and the media,
the Base may be referred to as the Bremerton Chapter of USSVI.
Article I. RULES OF
ORDER
The general
procedure on meetings for the Bremerton Base shall be in keeping with
the normal parliamentary procedures set down by Roberts Rules of Order
Newly Revised.
ARTICLE II.
DUES
Section 1.
The annual dues will be established by the Board of Directors (E-Board).
(Amd 5-17-05)
Section 2. Dues are due and payable on January 1st
each year and remain effective until
December 31st of the same year.
Section 3. Members whose dues are in arrears on April 1st
of a current year will be dropped
from the
roster.
Article III. BASE
MEETINGS
Section 1.
The Bremerton Base shall conduct regular business meetings. The date,
time and
place shal1 be designated by the
Base Commander.
Section 2. Five percent of the regular members in good
standing, at least two of which will
be elected officers, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
all business at
the Base meetings. Once a quorum has been established, no member
absenting
himself shall destroy the quorum.
Section 3. Special meetings or E-Board meetings may be
called when warranted by the
Base Commander.
Section 4. Each member in good standing, whose name
has been on the membership roll for
15 days, shall be entitled to vote in person at any
meeting of the organization.
ARTICLE
IV. BASE MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.
Regular membership is restricted to all U.S. personnel having been
designated
“Qualified in Submarines," by the U.S. Navy. Proof of qualification and
of Navy.
Proof of qualification and of honorable service must be provided to the
Base
Secretary through the Membership Committee in accordance with National
Bylaws.
Section 2.
Founding members are those members who participated in the original
establishment
of the Bremerton Base in
March, 1981. They are identified as
Tudor Davis,
Thomas
Fiacco, Richard Litscher, William Dean,
Kenneth Kerns
and Charles Whitlock.
Section 3.
All members on or before July 17, 1982, in good standing, shall be known
as
Charter Members of The
Bremerton
Base (119 members).
Section 4. Associate
membership - A person who does not meet the requirements for Regular
membership may join as an associate member if sponsored by a Regular
Member
in good standing. Associate members are not eligible to vote in National
Elections. They may vote
in all other Base election activities and can serve in
Base elected and appointed positions
with the
exception of Base Commander
and Vice Commander.
Section 5.
Honorary members are people who, based on their knowledge and or
contributions
to the submarine community, would be valuable members to the
Bremerton Base USSVI. Honorary
Members may be elected as members of
Bremerton Base. USSVI Honorary
Members shall
not be eligible to vote or hold
any office in
the organization, elected or
appointed, and
are exempt from dues
assessment. Honorary Members may
participate in
all
other Bremerton
Base
activities,
including regular meetings and special events, and may input
for the
good of the order.
Section 6. Life members - a
member, regular or associate, may in addition become a Base
life
member
by paying the
Base Life Membership dues, which shall be to
the
National
Organization
dues structure provided that the
member is also, or
simultaneously
becomes,
a National Life
Member.
ARTICLE V. ELECTED OFFICERS
Section 1.
The E-Board shall have the control and general management of the affairs
and
business of the
organization. The immediate past base commander and the
Bremerton Base
elected officers, which include the Base Commander, Vice
Commander,
Secretary, Treasurer and the
Chief of the Boat shall make up the E-
board.
Appointed
Committee Chairmen and
Project Managers may attend E-
Board
meetings to give input, but may not vote. Three members
of the E-Board
shall constitute a quorum. Once a quorum has been established, it cannot
be
removed by a member absenting
himself.
Section 2.
The E-Board is responsible for long range planning for recruiting,
membership
activities,
finances,
ceremonies and other organizational goals.
Section 3. The term of office for all elected
officials will be for one year, or until successors
have been elected. The Base Commander and Vice Commander may not hold
the
same office
for more than two consecutive years.
Section 4.
Regular meetings of the E-Board will be held prior business meetings.
Section 5. Any vacancies occurring on the E-Board
shall be filled for the unexpired portion
of the term
by majority vote of the remaining board members.
Section 6. A member of the E-Board may be
removed from the E-Board, for cause, by a
two-thirds vote of the E-board.
Section 8. Base Commander Duties
- The Duties of the Bremerton Base Commander shall
include, but not be limited to:
A.
Act
as the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of Base E-Board.
B.
Cause to be called all regular and
special meetings of the Bremerton Base.
C.
Preside over all regular and special
meetings of the Bremerton Base.
D.
Enforce the Constitution and Bylaws.
E.
Direct and supervise the operation of
the Bremerton Base.
F.
Represent the Bremerton Base at
official functions.
G.
Submit, in writing to the Base E-Board
for confirmation, all appointed
officers and committee chairmanships.
H. Sign
all certificates notes, drafts, or bills of exchange, warrants or other
orders for the payment of moneys duly drawn
by the Bremerton Base
Treasurer, except as provided elsewhere in
the Constitution and Bylaws,
subject to the approval of the Base E-Board.
I.
Be responsible for the promulgation of all pertinent information
to the
membership of the Bremerton Base.
J.
Work up, keep current and pass on, immediately to his relief a
“Turn Over”
folder, including all official
correspondence, records, and official
materials assigned to his care.
K. Be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the
“Nominations
Committee” and the “Resolution
Committee”.
Section 9.
Base Vice Commander Duties - The Duties of the Bremerton Vice Base
Commander shall
include, but not be limited to:
A. Assist the Bremerton Base Commander in the
discharge of his duties.
B. Assume
the duties of the Bremerton Base Commander in the event of his
absence, illness, or call to
eternal patrol.
C.
Execute the powers and authority of the Bremerton Base Commander,
when required,
in the absence of the Bremerton Base Commander.
D. Serve as a member of the Base E-Board.
E. Act as Chairman for the Ways and Means Committee.
F.
Serve as a member of the Base Membership Committee.
G. Work
up, keep current and pass on, immediately to his relief a “Turn
Over” folder, including all office correspondence, records, and
official
materials assigned to his
care.
Section 10.
Base Secretary Duties - The Duties of the Base Secretary shall
include, but not
be limited to:
A.
Officiate when required in Bremerton Base matters in the absence of the
Commander
or Vice
Commander.
B. Serve as a member of the Base E-Board.
C. Serve as a member of the Base Membership
Committee.
D. Act as
Chairman of the Public Relations Committee.
E. Be the
clerk of the Bremerton Base and:
(1)
Be the custodian of all non-financial records and materials, which
shall remain Bremerton Base property.
(2)
Keep permanent records as required by the Articles of
Corporation,
the
National and Base
Constitution, and these Bylaws.
(3)
Keep permanent records of the proceedings of all meetings of the
Bremerton Base.
(4)
Shall collect and retain all historical records for the base and
its
membership.
(5)
Prepare and distribute the Base Ballot.
(6)
Insure that only Base members in good standing vote on
organizational business.
(7)
Serve as the official organization correspondent, forwarding to
officers and committee chairman
such correspondence as may be
appropriate to the performance of
their
duties.
(8)
Work up, keep current and pass on, immediately to his relief a
‘Turn Over”
folder, including all office correspondence, records,
and official
materials assigned to his care.
Section 11. Base Treasurer Duties
- The Duties of the Base Treasurer shall include, but not
be limited to:
A. Serve as a member of the Base E-Board.
B. Serve as a member
of the Base Membership Committee.
C. Serve
as a member of the Base Ways and Means Committee.
D.
Be the Chief Financial Officer of the Bremerton Base.
E.
Be the custodian of all financial records of the Bremerton Base.
F.
Receive and be responsible for the collection of all moneys due and
payable to the organization.
G.
Have custody of all organization funds, and shall provide for their
safekeeping retention, disbursement, and investment in a manner
acceptable to the Base E-Board.
H.
Shall complete the annual summary financial report and forward it the
National
Treasurer.
I.
Make such reports and returns as are required by Federal, State, and
Local governments the Articles of Incorporation, The Constitution, and
these Bylaws,
including the
disbursement of
appropriate taxes and fees.
J.
Maintain accounts appropriate to the structure and activities of the
organization and in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles.
K.
Upon election to the position as Base Treasurer, the Treasurer-Elect
within 15 days
and prior to becoming
custodian of the organizations
funds shall
apply for a personal
bond in the
amount to be determined at
the newly
elected Base E-Board meeting held subsequent to the Annual
Business Meeting
unless waived by the Base E-Board. All
costs
involved
in securing the required personal bond shall be borne by the
organization.
The outgoing Treasurer shall be responsible to ensure that
the present
bond has been
executed and that the organization is fully
protected prior
to transferring any funds to the new Treasurer. An
incumbent
Treasurer shall be required to
comply with this requirement.
L.
Work up, keep current and pass on, immediately to his relief a “Turn
Over” folder,
including all official correspondence, records, and
official material assigned to his
care.
Section
12. Chief of the Boat - The Duties of the Chief of
the Boat shall include, but not be
limited to:
A.
Shall act as Master At Arms/Parliamentarian at all meetings. He
shall be
responsible to the Base Commander for
ensuring that only members in
good standing and bona fide guests are
admitted to all meetings.
B. Shall symbolically toll the bell for
Lost Boats at all meetings.
ARTICLE VI.
APPOINTED BASE OFFICERS OR POSITIONS
Section 1.
The appointed officers are the Chaplain, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster
and
Storekeeper.
Their term of office will begin immediately after confirmation
and
notification by the
Base
E-Board.
These appointed officers serve at
the
pleasure of the Base Commander
and may
be removed/replaced at his
discretion.
Section 2. The Base Chaplain
is appointed by the Base Commander. The Base Chaplain
shall be consulted on all Base
matters pertaining and relative to the
Spiritual
Life of the
Bremerton Base.
He recommends to the Base Commander persons
to be considered
for this office upon
his relief.
Section 3. The Base Newsletter Editor
is appointed by the Base Commander. He is
responsible for
gathering and organizing of information to be published in a
bi-monthly
newsletter. He shall edit, print and distribute the newsletters to
all
paid up
Bremerton Base members and those persons denoted in the National
Policy and
Procedures Manual (PPM) (National
officers,
committee
chairmen, district nine bases and local veterans organizations).
Section 4.
The Base Webmaster is appointed by the Base Commander.
His duties are to
maintain
the Base Website and serve as a member of the Base
Membership/Publicity Committee.
Section 5. The Base Storekeeper
is appointed by the Base Commander. If possible the
Base Storekeeper
will obtain submarine memorabilia from qualified . The
Base Storekeeper
will solicit
sales from the Base members for the purposes
of adding
revenue to the Base to meet Base financial obligations. He will
make a
written annual report (due June
30th) of
sales,
expenses, total profits
and
unsold inventory to the Chairman of the Ways
and Means Committee. He
will keep a record
of sales,
expenses and profits by
date of acquisition and
date of sale. He will maintain a product
sales
brochure book for
members’
review at the meetings. He
shall offer a
display of products at each
meeting.
ARTICLE VII.
COMMITTEES
Section 1. Definitions:
A. Standing Committees are permanent committees.
B. Annual Committees are disbanded at the end of
the year.
C. Special Committees are appointed as necessary for the Base
Commander for a
specific purpose and are disestablished when that purpose has been
fulfilled
or
deemed no
longer necessary by the E-Board.
Section 2. The
Base Commander shall select a Chairman for each committee that he may
appoint,
and for all
Standing committees and shall serve as ex- officio chairman of
all
committees. The
standing committees shall be as follow:
B.
Membership/publicity Committee
-The Membership/Publicity Chairman is
appointed by the Base Commander. He, with other committee members,
is
responsible for recruiting new members
and retaining current members. He
maintains accurate membership status,
and shall report the status of Bremerton
Base
membership at each business meeting. He is responsible for
publicizing
Bremerton Base events by all available means.
C.
Ways and Means
Committee
- Establish an annual budget and determine the
methods for
acquiring the funds required to meet the expenses of the budget.
Section 3. The following are Annual
Committees:
Nominations Committee
- The Nominations Committee will expire at the end of
the
calendar year. It shall
be chaired by a member appointed by the Base
Commander no
later than February
1 and shall consist of three
current
members appointed by the Base Commander.
ARTICLE
VIII. ANNUAL ELECTIONS
Section 1. The Chairman of the Nominating Committee
shall conduct the nominations for the
five elected Offices.
Section 2.
The chairman of the Nominating Committee shall call for nominations of
eligible
candidates for the five
elected offices to all members on or before
April 1.
Nominations shall be submitted by any
member in good standing on or before May
1, to the
Chairman of the Nominating Committee, but only if such
nominations
are accompanied by a
written consent of the nominee that he will accept the
nomination and serve if elected must be a member of good standing.
Upon receipt
of all nominations, the Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall have
published the names, in alphabetical order, of all candidates
properly nominated,
at least thirty days prior tot he date of elections. Additional
nominations, when
called for, shall be made from the floor, on the day of the election,
and shall be
accepted upon the oral or
written consent of the nominee that he accepts the
nomination and will serve if elected. Elections will normally be
held at the
business meeting in June. The new officers shall be installed during the
month of
July.
Section 3. All elections shall be by secret ballot vote of the members in good
standing.
ARTICLE IX.
ORDER OF BUSINESS AT BASE MEETINGS
1.
Salute to the Flag.
2.
The USSVI Creed.
3.
Moment of silence for our departed
shipmates.
4.
Tolling of the Bells for the current
month.
5.
Introduction of National, Regional, District and other visiting
Base Officers
in attendance stating name and office. (Shall
include Bremerton Base
members that may hold an upper echelon office).
6. Introduction of new members,
potential new members and guests.
7. Secretary’s reading of
the minutes of the last meeting.
8.
Treasurer’s financial report.
9. Reports of standing
committees.
10. Reports of annual committees
11. Reports of special
committees.
12. Unfinished Business
13. New business:
(a) Resolutions
(b) Other business
14. Special Orders:
(a) Nominations from the floor for election
of officers
(b) Validation and counting of ballots for
officers
(c) Introduction of new officers
15. For the good of the Order.
16. Closing of monthly business meeting.
ARTICLE X.
FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of the organization shall commence on the first day of
January and end on the
last day of December.
ARTICLE XI.
BY-LAW AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Any member in good standing may submit
recommendations to amend these
Bylaws to
the E-Board
Section 2. All recommendations to amend these Bylaws
shall be placed on the Base
Commanders docket to be read to the membership.
Section 3. All amendments to these Bylaws must be read
at three consecutive regular
meetings. The third reading a Vote will be taken and a two-thirds majority vote
'yes'
shall be required to
pass the amendment.
Section 4.
All amendments certified as being passed shall become effective
immediately.
Section 5. The secretary shall record in the minutes’ book
the vote count pertaining to the
balloting
under this Article.
