VOTED AND PASSED BY GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

OF

INTERNATIONAL NORFOLK

AND

NORWICH TERRIER CLUB

REVISED 1/15/99

 

ARTICLE I Name

The Name of the organization is International Norfolk and Norwich Terrier Club (hereafter INNTC).

ARTICLE II Purpose

INNTC is organized exclusively for non-profit, social, and educational purposes, which include:

A. Promoting interest in and the enjoyment of Norfolk and Norwich terriers.

B. Assembling and making available information on Norfolk and Norwich terriers.

C. Promoting and protecting Norfolk and Norwich terriers.

D. Acquainting lovers of Norfolk and Norwich terriers with each other.

E. ABOVE ALL OTHER PURPOSES, to promote the comfort and enjoyment of life by Norfolk and Norwich terriers and all dogs byn requiring all members to abide by and promote the following Club's CREED, to wit:

1. Members neither wholesale dogs nor will they buy from anyone who does wholesale dogs.

2. ALL (this includes every member, not just breeders) members will provide with any dog they should sell, give away, or transfer ownership in a signed guarantee in writing which says (at a minimum):

"From the day you receive your dog and for the entire life of your dog, you may return your dog to us. If you cannot afford to prepay the shipping costs, we will prepay these costs for you. You will receive a refund as follows: When and if we are able to sell your dog to a new owner, we will forward the proceeds from that sale to you less only the prepaid shipping costs we paid to get the dog back. In all cases where the dog is returned we promise to not have the dog destroyed as a matter of convenience, but to locate another home where we believe the dog will permanently live as a happy family member or will keep the dog as a member of our own family for as long as it is capable of enjoying a happy life. Also, if it should occur that within the first 30 days after you've received the dog you are dissatisfied with it for any reason, and you return the dog and all properly endorsed registration papers and we will immediately refund you the price of the dog less only the prepaid shipping costs we paid to get the dog back."

3. Members dogs will be allowed the choice to live as family members and not kenneled. This is not meant to exclude those who would crate or kennel their dogs while they are not home. It means as a general rule when family members are at home, dogs are not excluded from but are allowed to be in the quarters and company of the family, as any other family member would be. A dog which needs to also go outside or into a non-family area should be provided a dog door or other means to enter the family quarters and enjoy the family's company when it wants to.

4. Members support the efforts to reduce genetic health defects and willingly collaborate in collecting information so as much as is possible is known about the genetic status quo in all breeds. Members participate in the Health Surveys, and on the email list, and report all health problems which occur in any dogs they produce or own. This information may be available for public examination on web pages maintained by the email listowners. INNTC's email lists provide a place for candor and cooperation in dog breeding. The purpose of INNTC's thrust for candor in breeding is perhaps said better by a quotation:

"Every breeder will produce defects if he breeds long enough. Those who tell you that they do not produce defects have either stopped breeding, breed hardly at all or are being economical with the truth. Defects are going to occur in any species and many of them will appear quite out of the blue with no warnings or previous clues to the fact that this defect was 'in the line'. There is no crime in producing a defect. Crime, if any, lies in what you do about a defect. If you bury yours quickly and keep quiet about it and I do the same with mine then, sooner or later ... the penalty for not having been honest ... [will be paid by] the bred we probably profess to love. We must collaborate .... in collecting information so that we can all know as much as is possible about the status quo in the breed. " --Practical Genetics for Dog Breeders, Malcolm B. Willis, page 216 [our addition in braces]

5. Members will not recommend as prospective owners to any breeder, or as breeders to any prospective owner, any person who is known to violate the spirit of the CREED.

ARTICLE III Membership

Section 1. Membership.

Membership in INNTC shall be open to all individuals age 18 and over and organizations (business and non-profit) interested in our stated purposes. Membership is achieved by making application to INNTC, by agreeing to follow the Creed, and particicipating via email. A new member shall be qualified to vote and/or receive all the privileges and benefits of INNTC associated with membership.

Section 2. Term of Membership.

Term of Membership is for as long as members remain active, interested, and abide by the Creed.

Section 3. Acceptance of Applications.

Names of all new applicants for membership shall be brought before the general membership before they are accepted. Any comments concerning these applicants shall be directed privately to the Membership Secretry. Should there be negative comment, the Board of Directors will make the decision whether to accept or reject the applicant.

ARTICLE IV Board of Directors

Section 1. Officers.

Officers shall consist of President, Vice-President, Club Secretary and Membership Secretary. No two offices may be held by the same person. Any voting Member may be elected to office.

It shall be the duty of the Vice-President, in addition to other duties assigned by the board, to function as rescue liaison.

It shall be the duty of the Club Secretary to acknowledge receipt of private email votes, to keep a tally of email votes, and to report the results of such votes to the membership via the mail list within 48 hours of the end of voting. Election reporting will announce the names of winners, but not the number of votes received by any individual. The secretary shall maintain a file of club minutes in whatever format is agreed upon by the board.

It shall be the duty of the Membership Secretary to reply to all queries about the club, to maintain and update a roster of members, and to reply to all queries about locating breeders.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office.

Ballots for the election of officers will be counted by a Vote Counting Committee, composed of three members from the club, who shall be nominated and elected by the membership before February 1 of each year. The top three vote-getters will serve on the Vote Counting Committee for the election that follows in February. The current Club President will declare nominations open for this committee no later than Jan. 15 of each year, with nominations to close Jan. 20, and voting to continue through Jan. 25. Votes will be sent via private e-mail to the current secretaries, who will count the votes and announce the winners within 48 hours after the close of voting.

All Club Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the membership. Each will serve one year and may not serve more than two consecutive terms of office. Nominations may be made via e-mail on the official Club e-mail list, or by e-mailing privately to any present club officer. The period for nominations of new officers begins February 1 and continues through February 10 each year. Any member may nominate any other member. By February 15 the present Officers will present the slate of all received nominations. Members' votes must then be received by February 25. Members will vote by private e-mail to the club Vote Counting Committee members. By February 27 the Vote Counting Committee will announce the slate of all newly elected officers. Each newly elected officer will begin serving his/her term of office on March 1.

Section 3. Resignation.

Any officer may resign by tendering his/her written resignation to the President. The resignation shall become effective immediately. The Presiding Officers may appoint a member of INNTC to serve the remainder of the erm of the member resigning.

Section. 4. Compensation.

Officers shall not receive compensation for their services as Officers.

ARTICLE V Meetings of Officers

Section 1. Place of meetings.

All meetings will be open forums held via email on the "Official Club Email List".

Section 2. Meetings of Officers.

Regular meetings of the Officers will be held a minimum of the first month of each quarter or more often if determined necessary and scheduled by notice to the membership by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Open Meetings.

All regular meetings and special meetings (designated as open) will be open to any member wishing to attend.

Section 4. Quorum.

A quorum shall consist of a minimum of two out of three officers voting via email. Officers will have five days to post their votes on any issue called to a vote.

ARTICLE VI Committees

Section 1. Appointment.

The President shall appoint members of committees established by the Board of Directors. These committees shall perform such functions and make such reports as the President or Board of Directors shall determine.

Section 2. Chairman.

One member of each committee shall be appointed chairman by the President.

Section 3. Rules.

Each committee shall use the same rules as the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII General Provisions

Section 1. Membership Voting.

A decision on any election or vote coming before the membership at a regularly scheduled meeting shall be carried by a simple majority of the members attending the meeting. The same holds true for special meetings of the membership if proper notice of the meeting has been given. Members have five days to vote via email on any item called to a vote.

Part A

Any officer or member may make a motion via e-mail for a vote on any matter appropriate to the business of the club. Motion shall state if the vote is to be taken by private e-mail to the Club Secretary or by a public e-mail vote. Motions must be seconded, upon which the Club Secretary shall then call for a vote on the motion by posting a ballot on the mail list and specifying the deadline for voting. Members will have no less than five days to cast ballots and the results will be reported by the Club Secretary within 48 hours thereafter. A simple majority is sufficient to carry a vote, except for expulsion of members, for which special procedures are set forth in Article VII, Section 3.

Section 2. Dues.

There are no dues at this time and dues can only be added by a 75 percent affirmative vote of the membership.

Section 3. Procedures for removing and reinstating removed members

Procedures for removing and reinstating removed members will occur publicly on the club e-mail list as follows: If a member is believed to be in violation the club's Creed and/or mail list policies and rules, any member may move to have that member removed from the club and mail list.

If the motion is seconded, a motion for removal will be open for discussion for five days before being put to a vote. During this 5 day discussion period, the member who is the subject of the motion to remove may post at will any statements, arguments and rebuttals on his/her own behalf and may ask other members to post such statements, arguments and rebuttals. After the 5 days have lapsed since the motion was seconded, the Club Secretary shall call for a vote by the members; however, if the Secretary is the person subject to the vote for removal, the President shall call for a vote by the members. A 2/3 majority of votes cast is required in favor of removal to remove any member. All votes must be cast via public email to the club email list. If the member subjected to the vote is an officer (i.e., President, Vice-President, or either Secretary), then the two other club officers are responsible to agree on a tally of the votes and announce the decision publicly on the club email list within 48 hours following the 5 day voting period.

If the member subjected to the vote is not an officer, all three club officers are responsible to agree on a tally of the votes and announce the decision publicly on the club email list within 48 hours following the 5 day voting period. If an officer is removed from the club under this procedure, the remaining two officers shall as soon as possible agree upon and appoint any member as a replacement to serve the remainder of the removed officer's term. However, if the removed officer is reinstated within 30 days following removal the officer shall again resume their office for the remainder of their term.

Any member may at any time, even immediately after a member has been removed, move to reinstate any removed member. If the motion is seconded, members may then have 5 days to vote to reinstate the removed member. A simple majority of votes cast is sufficient to reinstate the removed member. All votes must be cast public via email to the club email list. All current club officers (i.e. President, Vice-President, or either Secretary) are responsible to agree on a tally of the votes and announce the decision publicly on the club email list within 48 hours following the 5 day voting period. If the motion is passed, the member shall be reinstated immediately to the club and mail list.

Article VIII Amendments to the By-laws

The by-laws of INNTC may be amended by a majority vote of the membership and, passed, shall become effective 48 hours after the deadline for voting, upon the announcement by the club secretary/treasurer.

THIS SET OF BY-LAWS REVISES AND REPLACES ALL PREVIOUS BY-LAWS OF THIS ORGANIZATION (JAN. 15, 1999)

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