Touchdown Club

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF
THE NEW HOPE TOUCHDOWN CLUB

ARTICLE I.  NAME

The name of this organization shall be “The New Hope Touchdown Club.”

ARTICLE II.  PURPOSE

It shall be the purpose of this organization to support the New Hope School District in its endeavor to provide opportunities for students to participate in the football program by working with and through the Principal/Athletic Director, coaches, and other school administrators to assist in seeing that the needs are met in the areas of equipment, travel needs, awards, facilities, and booster support.

ARTICLE III.  MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1.  Membership in the club shall not be denied any adult person.  Any citizen of Lowndes County, City of Columbus, including any faculty member, shall be eligible for membership.  All football coaches shall become members and are exempt from paying dues.

Section 2.  Dues  The annual dues shall be $25.00 per family.

Section 3.  Members will be notified in August each year that their dues are due and payable by the date of the first meeting in September.  Members who do not pay their dues by the first of October will forfeit their voting rights in the club until their dues are paid up to date.

Section 4.  Any membership in the New Hope Touchdown Club may be revoked for just cause by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IV.  OFFICERS

Section 1.  The Executive Board of the club shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and the Treasurer.  These officers and grade representatives (grades 7-12) elected at large are considered Board members.  The Head coach will be an  ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 2.  All officers and Grade Representatives shall be elected by ballot at the regular May meeting of each school year and continue in office for one year.

Section 3.  Vacancies in the Executive Board shall be filled by appointment from the remaining members of the Executive Board.

Section 4.  Any officer or board member of The New Hope Touchdown Club must resign his or her position if they miss 3 scheduled meetings in a row.

ARTICLE V.  DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Section 1.  President—The President shall be the chief executive officer of the organization and shall preside at all general, special, and board meetings of the club.  The President will appoint all committee chairmen.  The president will insure that each meeting is conducted according to the “Roberts Rules of Order.”  The President shall exercise and perform all the powers and the duties usual and incidental to the office of the President.  

Section 2.  Vice-President—The Vice-President shall act as President and perform all the duties of the President during the President’s absence.

Section 3.  Secretary—The Secretary shall be the custodian of the records of the organization and shall take and transcribe the minutes of all meetings of the organization.  The Secretary shall keep the official list of members by name, address, and telephone number.  The Secretary shall send or cause to be sent all communications, reports, and announcements to the membership.  The Secretary will prepare the agenda for every meeting.  The Secretary shall act in close harmony with all officers of the organization.

Section 4.  Treasurer—The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all funds and financial transactions.  The Treasurer will make disbursements or money only with the approval by a majority vote of members attending a regular or special called meeting of the club.  Also the Treasurer is to maintain a minimum of $200.00 balance.  In order to have a balance lower than this would require the approval of the executive committee.  The Treasurer shall make a report as to the financial status of the organization at each regular meeting.  The financial records shall be audited annually by a committee of three (3), appointed by the President prior to the election of officers.  All transactions by check will require two approved signatures.

Section 5.  Class Representatives Members—The Class Representatives Members shall assist in the overall operation of the Club.  The Class Representatives members will be considered board members.  They shall vote and conduct the business of the Club.  They shall work with the other officers for the betterment of the athletes.  The Class Representatives may serve as committee chairmen.  Class Representatives have the responsibility to notify parents of boys playing football in the class they represent of any meetings of the board,or the Head Coach deems necessary for the team’s best interest.

Section 6.  The Head Coach will have the authority to disburse up to a sum of $500.00 on any item he deems necessary with two approved signatures. Any amount over $500.00 will have to be approved by the club members on a night of a scheduled meeting.

ARTICLE VI.  DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive board shall meet regularly and/or as needed to plan and implement programs and services that are deemed related to the purpose by the majority of the Executive Board membership present at the meetings.  It will be the duty of this board to see that a balanced budget be maintained at all times.

ARTICLE VII.  ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

The Nominating committee shall submit to the membership at the May monthly meeting nominations for all officers and board members.  Nominations shall be accepted from the April monthly meeting to the Friday before the May monthly meeting.  A written ballot will be presented at the regular May meeting for election of officers and board members to serve the following year.  Newly elected officers will take office at the end of the May meeting.

ARTICLE VIII.  COMMITTEES

Fundamental to the success of this organization are the tasks performed by the standing committees which shall be set up as follows:

1.        The President shall appoint the chairman of each committee.

2.        The chairman of each committee shall appoint committee members as needed.  The chairman shall present all projects to the Executive board for approval prior to implementation.

3.        The Executive Board shall have the authority to set up additional committees as deemed necessary.

4.        Standing committees and their duties are as follows:

A.        MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for coordination of an annual membership drive with
information distributed through newspaper, schools, radio, personal solicitation, etc.

B.        FUNDRAISER COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for activities to raise funds to support The New Hope
Touchdown Club other than membership.  The Fundraiser Committee shall report to the Executive Board all plans for approval.

C.        PUBLICITY COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for all club publicity.

D.        NOMINATING COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for submitting to the membership at the May monthly meeting, nominations for all officers and board members.  The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for conducting the election and ensuring that all ballots are accounted for.

E.        AUDIT COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for reviewing and presenting a report to the Executive Board by the first meeting after the election.

F.        CONCESSION COMMITTEE—shall be responsible for ensuring the Football concession is stocked and properly staffed for events. Any concession stand bill  over $500.00 does not need to be approved by board, but still has to have two approved signatures.

ARTICLE IX.  MEETINGS

Section 1.  The New Hope Touchdown Club will meet at 7:30 P.M. on the 3rd Monday of each month throughout the year.  Except during the season we will have a meeting each week for a review of the previous football game.

Section 2.  The regular Executive Board meetings will be held at 7:00 P.M. on the 3rd Monday of each month and scheduled Executive board meetings will be called at the discretion of the President or the Vice-President.

Section 3.  Each meeting will be conducted according to an agenda prepared by the Secretary.  Any business to be conducted at the next regular meeting must be submitted to the Secretary no later than the Friday prior to the next regular meeting.  Emergency additions to the agenda may be added if deemed necessary by the President.

Section 4.  Special meetings of the membership may be called by the President or by any three members.  The call for the special meeting must state the business to be transacted and no business shall be transacted except that specified in the call.

Section 5.  Meetings will be open to all.

ARTICLE X.  QUORUM

Section 1.  A majority of the members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.

ARTICLE XI.  AMENDMENTS

These laws may be amended at any regular meeting by a TWO-THIRDS vote of the members present.  An amendment to these laws will be voted on at the first regular meeting following its reading.