DBARA By-Laws

 

By-Laws (7-11-24 version)

By-Laws of the Daytona Beach Amateur Radio Association, Incorporated
As Amended and Approved by a General Membership Vote on October 6th, 2023

Section I: Membership.

Membership in the Daytona Beach Amateur Radio Association shall be limited to those persons of good moral character with a bona fide interest in the art and science of amateur radio. Persons convicted of, or who have pleaded nolo contendere to a crime involving moral turpitude or lewd and lascivious acts, regardless of adjudication, shall not be eligible for membership in this Association.

There shall be eight classes of membership as follows:

A: Full: persons who hold a valid amateur radio license, meet financial obligations and participation requirements, who are otherwise eligible, may be elected to full membership with all of the benefits, rights and privileges afforded members.

  1. Associate: Persons who do not hold a valid amateur radio license, meet financial obligations, and participation requirements, who are otherwise eligible, may be elected to associate membership. Associate members shall have no voice in the decisions of the Association and shall have no vote.
  2. Family: Family membership may be extended to the spouse or partner member of a family of a full member residing in the same household as the full member. Family members are accorded the same privileges as full members, but will not receive a personal copy of Association written communications.

D: Student: Persons who hold a valid amateur radio license, who are otherwise eligible, are full-time students, are 21 years of age or younger, and meet the participation requirements of this Association may be elected to a student membership. Student members are accorded the same privileges as full members, but carry no membership fees and may not hold elected office or Vote.

  1. First-Year Licensed: Any person who is otherwise eligible who obtains their first valid amateur radio license and meets the participation requirements of the Association may be elected to a complimentary first-year licensed membership within 12 months of the license issue date. First-year licensed members are accorded the same privileges as full members but carry no membership fee and cannot vote. First-year membership status expires at the end of the calendar year the member is elected to membership.
  2. Honorary Membership: Honorary membership may be granted for life to a person who is otherwise eligible, and who, in the opinion of the membership, has rendered outstanding service to the Association. Grant of such membership requires a two-thirds affirmative vote of the eligible members present at the meeting at which the nomination is presented. Honorary members are accorded the same privileges as full members, may vote, but carry no membership fee. There shall be no more than five honorary members of the Association at any given time.
  3. Life membership: Life membership may be granted to an otherwise eligible individual at a membership fee equal to 20 times the annual membership rate for a full membership. Life membership requires a written application and payment of 50% of the life membership fee at the time of the application, with the remaining balance to be paid within two years, (25% of the remainder in each of the following two years after initial application). Life members are elected at a regular meeting by a two-thirds majority of the members present. Advance notice of this application is not required. Life members hold full membership for the remainder of their natural lives, a life member applicant who fails to fulfill the payment requirements by the third year shall be converted to a full member and funds received applied to full membership from the date of the application, with any remainder retained for future full membership payment until said funds are depleted.
  4. Life Family Membership: Life Family Membership may be granted at a rate equal to 20 times the annual membership rate for a full family member. Life family membership requires a written application and payment of 50% of the membership fees at the time of the application with the remaining fee paid within two years (25% of the remainder in each of the following two years, after initial application). Life family members are elected at a regular meeting by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members present. Advance notice of this application is not required. Life family members hold full family membership for the remainder of their natural lives. A life member applicant who fails to fulfill the payment requirements by the third year shall convert to a family-member status and funds received will be applied to family membership from the date of the application with any remainder retained for future family-membership payment until said funds are depleted.

Section I.A: Association Executive Board communication with members.

 The Executive Board may communicate with the Association membership by any reasonable means available, including voice, electronic, social media, or any other media now available or which may become available in the future. The Executive Board will attempt to communicate important matters by a variety of means, whenever possible. In special circumstances, such as health emergencies precluding in-person meetings, electronic communications, such as emails and website notices, will also be acceptable for both nominations and elections of Executive Board Members. Official bulletins, announcement or notices posted on the Association webpage, http://www.DBARA.org, shall constitute specific notice as required by these bylaws.

Section II: Elections.

Only Association members in good standing, holding full, honorary or life membership shall have the right to vote.

II.A. Election of members:

  1. Persons seeking membership in the Daytona Beach Amateur Radio Association Incorporated shall submit an application in writing signed by the applicant, with appropriate dues, if applicable, to a member of the Executive Board.
  2. Upon proper motion, the Executive Board shall review and act upon each application individually during a regularly scheduled or special meeting of the Executive Board. The Executive Board may, 1) Accept the application; 2) Reject the application; or, 3) Table the application for a maximum of four (4) meetings. Applications rejected by the Executive Board shall not be presented to the general membership for a vote.
  3. The Executive Board may consult the publicly available Sex Offender’s database to protect the rights of individual members and the Association as a whole.
  4. Applicants found to be ineligible for membership in this Association shall have any membership fees submitted with the application returned to that applicant as soon as practicable by such means as to be determined by the Executive Board.

  II.B. Election of Officers and Directors.

The Association President shall appoint a nominating committee at any time prior to the month preceding that designated as the election or annual meeting of the Association. It shall consist of at least two full members who shall prepare a slate of Officers and Directors willing to so serve. Notice of the nominations shall be provided to members in writing, electronically, mailed, or e-mailed to all members entitled to vote in the election. Additional nominations of qualified members to any office may be accepted from the floor during the annual meeting in November, prior to the vote.

The list of candidates from the nominating committee will be presented at the October meeting, or via email if no meeting is held that month.  Persons who want to self-nominate must have their application (verbal or written) submitted by the time of the October meeting.

All voting shall be by ballot or roll call and only eligible members in good standing may vote. Proxy or Absentee ballots shall be provided to voting members by request, provided said request is received no less than ten (10) calendar days prior to the scheduled vote. Absentee ballots must be returned to the Association via U.S. mail and received by the Association no later than ten (10) days following  at or before the scheduled vote. The Association, its officers and directors shall not be responsible for lost or misdirected email ballots.

  1. Officers and directors must be currently licensed amateur radio operators at least 21 years of age, and full members of the Association, in good standing. ARRL membership is encouraged.
  2. Officers and directors are required to attend at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the regularly scheduled Executive Board meetings each year, unless excused for good reason. Officers and Directors unable to attend a scheduled meeting are requested to notify the President in advance of the meeting.
  3. Vacancies occurring between elections shall be filled by a special ballot at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Association after the vacancy occurs, if practicable. The elected candidate shall fill the unexpired term of the Officer or Director. Elected officers and directors may succeed themselves indefinitely.

Section III: Duties of the Executive Board.

  1. The Executive Board shall review each application for membership to determine if the applicant meets eligibility requirements for membership in the Association, and may check such public records as the Sexual Predator list for the protection of the membership at large and the Association as a whole;
  2. The Executive Board shall have the authority to submit proposals for grants, solicit donations or seek other sources of funding to the benefit of the Association.
  3. The Executive Board may make and accept for review, preliminary plans and proposals to be submitted to the Association membership for discussion and or approval, that pertain to policy and expenditures; discuss and suggest activities submitted, and receive committee action reports and proposals.

Section III.A: Duties of Association officers.

  1. The President: the President, or his or her designee, shall preside at all meetings of the Association and shall conduct the same according to the rules adopted and shall enforce due observance of the Constitution and By-Laws; decide all questions of the order; sign all official documents that are adopted by the Association, and none other; and perform all duties customary and pertaining to the office of the President. The President shall be the Chairperson of the Executive Board and ex-officio member of all committees; and shall appoint or solicit the chairman of all committees.
  2. The Vice President: The Vice President shall assume all duties of the president in the event the president is unable to perform the duties of the presidency. In the event of the temporary absence of the president, the vice president shall perform the duties of the president as specified in the bylaws. In the event of the absence of both of these officers at a meeting. The secretary, treasurer, or a director will preside in that order.
  3. The Treasurer: the Treasurer shall share of the responsibility for the upkeep of the Association roster with the Secretary, be responsible for all monies received and expended, and shall pay no bills without proper authorization by the Executive Board based upon presentation of vouchers, bills or receipts. At the expiration of the elected term, the Treasurer shall turn over to the elected successor, everything in their possession belonging to the Association. An audit shall be made at the end of his or her term of office by the Executive Board or by the Executive Board appointees.
  4. The Secretary: the Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings, keep a roster of the membership, call the roll for any vote when a roll call vote is requested or required, carry on all correspondence, read communications as appropriate and communicate with the membership as required. At the expiration of elected terms, the Secretary shall turn over to the elected successor everything in his or her possession belonging to the Association.

Section IV: Removal of Officers and/or Directors.

 Removal of Officers or Directors shall require a written petition by one third of the voting members submitted to the Secretary of the Association. The Secretary shall notify the Executive Board of the receipt of the petition. A two-thirds vote of the members present at the next regularly scheduled meeting is required for removal. If it is not practical to bring the issue to that meeting, the issue will be called at the meeting immediately following the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Secretary shall provide, upon the request of any member eligible to vote, the number of valid signatures that are required to meet the one-third requirement to validate the petition for removal.

Section V: Committees and Appointments.

 The President shall appoint such committees of the membership as are, in his judgment indicated to assist in the conduct of the affairs of the Association. These committees may include, but are not limited to: programs, activities, field day, social events, and Ham Bone College, Association station, repeater, publications, banquet or other committees as seen fit to meet the primary purpose of the Association. The President may also appoint individual positions such as committee chairs, a webmaster, field day chair, and other positions as necessary to provide for the effective and efficient operation of the Association.

Committees and/or individual appointments made by the president may be ongoing, time-limited or project-limited at the discretion of the president. In addition, the President may discontinue, disband or eliminate any committees or individual appointments as he or she finds in the best interest of the Association, provided that such committee or appointment is not required by the Constitution or the By-Laws.

Section VI: Association License Trustee.

 The President shall appoint a trustee for the Association’s FCC license, K4BV. This appointee must be a full member in good standing, holding a valid FCC extra class license, who is familiar with the responsibilities of maintaining an Association license and a full-time resident of Volusia County. This appointment must be validated by the Executive Board. Once appointed, the Association license trustee shall remain in this position until the trustee withdraws from the position, is unable to continue, or is removed by a supermajority vote of the Executive Board (75% of the members of the Executive Board), and shall administer the incoming and outgoing QSL service for the Association’s call sign to which they are appointed. The Association license trustee may appoint repeater control operators and QSL managers; and designate control operators, whenever an Association call is used, as necessary. The Association license trustee shall promulgate consistent rules and procedures for the use of all of the association’s repeaters and operations of and any use of the Association call sign.

 Section VII: Quorums.

  1. A quorum for conducting meetings shall be the members present that are eligible to vote.
  2. A quorum for the election of officers and directors shall be the members present. Officers and directors are elected by a majority vote of the eligible members present at a regular or special meeting, specific notice of which has been provided in advance thereof to voting members. Proxy or Absentee ballots shall be provided to voting members by request.
  3. A quorum for amending the By-Laws shall be the eligible voting members present. The By-Laws may be amended and revised by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the eligible members present at a regular or special meeting, specific notice of which has been given in advance thereof to all voting members. Proxy or Absentee ballots shall be provided to voting members by request.
  4. A quorum for amending the Articles of Constitution shall be the eligible voting members present. The Articles of the Constitution may be amended and revised by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the eligible members present at a regular or special meeting, specific notice of which has been given in advance thereof to all voting members. Proxy or Absentee ballots shall be provided to voting members by request.

 Section VIII: Membership Dues.

 Membership dues paid for any category of membership are not refundable, except as provided in Section II.A.4 above.

Membership dues may be increased or decreased no more often than annually. Recommended changes in membership dues shall be submitted to the membership for approval by a simple majority of those eligible members present at the annual Association meeting. Changes to dues take effect on January 1 of the upcoming calendar year. A schedule of the current membership dues shall be attached to these By-Laws as Appendix A.

All membership dues are due and payable on January 1 of each year, to be remitted in US funds. If any member dues remain unpaid as of March 1, the Executive Board shall instruct the Secretary to notify the delinquent member that they have been identified as inactive and no longer have the right to vote on matters brought before the membership. At the end of the calendar year, any member whose dues remain delinquent will be automatically dropped from the membership roster. Any member dropped for failure to pay dues applicable to their membership category must submit a new application and all dues for that membership category prior to be being considered for reappointment.

Individuals or families applying for membership in the Association who are otherwise eligible for membership for the first time may have their annual dues prorated at the discretion of the President, if the application is tendered after March 1. Thereafter dues shall be payable January 1 of each year as above.

Section IX: Removal of Members.

 Any member may be removed from membership in the Association for cause. Any member who is found to have been convicted of any criminal offense or pleaded nolo contendere to any criminal offense involving moral turpitude or lewd or lascivious acts, regardless of adjudication, while a member of this Association may be removed from membership by action of the Executive Board, without the approval of the general membership. The process for removal of a member for any other reason shall be as follows:

  1. An Association member who recommends the removal of another member must be a full member of the Association in good standing and must submit the request in writing to the Association Secretary. The above letter must clearly state the reason or reasons for the proposed action; the letter must be signed by the member of the Association proposing the action; and the letter must be endorsed and signed by at least two other full members of the Association in good standing.
  2. The Executive Board shall review and summarize the contents of the letter requesting removal of a member and present the summary at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Association, if possible.
  3. A member of the Association may be removed from membership, for cause, by a majority vote of the members present at the above referenced duly constituted meeting of the Association.
  4. A member under consideration for removal must be notified of the time and place and given notice that the subject of the members removal will be presented at the meeting. The subject member must be allowed a reasonable time to present an appeal to the members present prior to the vote.
  5. A removed member of the Association may, within 30 days of removal submit a written request for an appeal hearing to the Executive Board. The Executive Board will vote, during its next regularly scheduled meeting, upon proper motion to hear or reject the request for appeal. The Executive Board is not obligated to hear the appeal.
  6. Following one year of the date of removal, the removed member may apply, by letter, to the Executive Board for reinstatement. The reinstatement must also be approved by a majority vote of all of the members present at a duly constituted meeting of the Association. Any reappointment granted will be treated as a new membership application.

Section X: Conflict.

 Nothing in these By-Laws shall conflict in any way with the purpose of the Association or operation of the Daytona Beach Amateur Radio Association Incorporated as set forth in the Articles of Incorporation as originally adopted and later revised and restated.

Section XI: Paragraphs, Sections and Numbering.

 The paragraphs, sections and numbering scheme in this document are for ease of reading only and carry no other significance.

Revision history

 

By-Laws of the Daytona Beach Amateur Radio Association, Incorporated

 

Membership dues paid (for any category of membership) ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.

  1. FULL members shall pay $25.00 dues per year.
  2. ASSOCIATE members shall pay annual dues of $15.00.
  3. FAMILY members shall pay annual dues of $15.00.
  4. STUDENT members shall pay no dues.
  5. FIRST-YEAR LICENSED members shall pay no dues.
  6. HONORARY members shall pay no dues for life.
  7. LIFE MEMBER fee is $500.00; $250 on application; $125 in the two consecutive years following application.
  8. LIFE FAMILY fee is $300.00; $150 on application; $75 in the two consecutive years following application.

 

Revision History

June 20, 1977

September 1982

October 1989

June 15, 1992

April 16, 2018

October 6, 2020

November 18th, 2024