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METRO RICHMOND OFFICIATING SERVICE

 

BYLAWS

 

ARTICLE I: THE SOFTBALL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of MROS, herein referred to as the Board, shall consist of duly elected Active Members of the Softball Division, herein referred to as the Division, whose duties are to conduct the managerial, legislative, financial, and operational activities of the Division.  The Officers shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  Other members of the Board include two At-Large members.

 

ARTICLE II: DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1.     Duties of the President: The President shall preside at all meetings and shall appoint, and be an ex-officio member of, all Division committees, to be subsequently ratified by the active membership.

2.     Duties of the Vice-President: The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in his/her absence. The Vice-President shall also be responsible for the evaluation of all Transfer Members.

3.     Duties of the Secretary: The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings and record all decisions made by the Membership and the Board and send out any correspondence necessary as a result of these meetings. He/she shall also send out notification to all Members regarding the time and place of all meetings. Electronic mail will be the primary means of communication. It is the responsibility of the Secretary to send copies of minutes to members, upon request, and to keep all records of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all Members. The Secretary shall submit Membership Meeting Minutes to the President within 10 days and Board Meeting Minutes to the other Board Members within 7 days.

4.     Duties of the Treasurer: The Treasurer shall discharge all financial obligations upon being so authorized by the Association and give a Treasurer's Report annually, or upon request. His/her other duties include:

a.     Have the care and custody of all dues and moneys of the Division and shall keep an accurate record of all financial transactions.

b.     To maintain the Division’s bank account where the President and/or Vice-President and Treasurer shall have signature authority over the account, but only the Treasurer shall make disbursements from this account;

c.     To receive and deposit in the Division’s bank account all funds (including dues, insurance, fines, game/booking fees, etc.) and to make all disbursements in a timely manner;

d.     To keep adequate and accurate books and records of all receipts and disbursements of the Softball Division and to submit these records to an Audit Committee (appointed by the President and approved by the Board) within thirty days after the Association's fiscal year has ended on December 31st;

e.     To prepare an Annual Financial Statement and to deliver it to the Board;

f.     To deliver to his/her successor all records of the Softball Division at the expiration of his/her term of office, or at his/her resignation.

5.     Duties of the Members-At-Large: The Members-At-Large shall be voting Members of the Board whose goal is to bring new ideas to the Board and to represent the general Membership in all Board decisions. Members-At-Large may be required to perform other duties as directed by the President.

 

ARTICLE III: AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board shall conduct the managerial, legislative, judicial, financial, and operational duties of the Softball Division of the Association.  These duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

a)         To discipline Members as provided in the Bylaws;

b)         To approve all budgets;

c)         To approve the compensation for the Commissioner and any other paid elected or committee position(s) at the final business meeting of the year, which will be ratified by the Membership at that meeting, except as noted in the following sentence.  The rate of compensation will run for the two-year term unless the compensated individual is removed from the position or for any reason is unable to perform their duties.  If the compensated individual does not complete his/her term, compensation will be pro-rated based on the amount of months worked. For the purpose of pro-rating the compensation, the compensation time shall be defined as the five-month period from February through June of each year;

d)         To review the reports of all committees and take such action, consistent with these Bylaws, as is deemed in the best interest of the Division;

e)         To appoint persons to serve as Parliamentarian, Sergeant-At-Arms, Observers, and any other position as deemed necessary by the Board.  Any action of the Board may be voided or modified by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of a quorum of the Members of the Division at a general meeting.  Board Members shall attend all Board Meetings.  Any Board Member who misses more than one (1) Board Meeting in one year may be fined at the discretion of the Board, except when the absence is due to illness or death in the family or duties related to the individual’s primary profession.  Any Board Member who is unable to attend a Board meeting must provide notification to the President prior to the beginning of the meeting.

 

ARTICLE IV: TERMS OF OFFICE

The term of all offices and other elected positions is two years.  All terms shall commence immediately after the meeting where the election to office or position took place.  No member shall occupy more than one elected office or position at the same time.

 

ARTICLE V: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

1.     The President will appoint a Member to act as Election Chairman.  The Election Chairman will conduct all elections and will supervise the counting of ballots.

2.     Any Active Member of the Softball Division, in good standing, may hold any office or elected position.  All nominations for an elected position will come from the floor by any Active Member. Any Member so nominated must be present to accept the nomination or must have stated in writing to the Member making the nomination that he/she accepts the said nomination.

3.     A majority vote of those voting shall be required to decide all elections for officers and other elected positions.  A runoff election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes if no majority vote is obtained.

4.     Timing of Elections: An election shall be held every year at the Annual Business meeting. One-half (1/2) of the Board of Director positions will be up for election in any given year. The election rotation shall be: Odd Years: President, Secretary, one At-Large Member; Even Years: Vice-President, Treasurer, one At-Large Member. All members of the Board of Directors may be re-elected without limit.

5.     Replacement of Board Members: In the event that a current Board Member desires, and is elected to, another Board position, or a Board member resigns or is removed from office, a replacement Member will be elected either at the current election meeting or at the next scheduled Division general membership meeting.

6.     Nepotism: No two or more members of the same immediate family shall serve on the Softball Board of Directors simultaneously.

 

ARTICLE VI: THE COMMISSIONER

1.     Term and Election of the Commissioner:

a.     The position of Commissioner shall be an elected position.

b.     The term of the Commissioner shall be for a period of two (2) years.

c.     There is no restriction on the number of terms the Commissioner may serve.

d.     Unless otherwise scheduled the Commissioner shall be elected at the annual business meeting every even year.

e.     The position of Commissioner may be filled by any MROS active member in good standing. An individual from outside MROS may also fill the position. Any outside applicant shall be held to the same high standards that MROS sets for potential members.

f.     The Commissioner may appoint a Deputy Commissioner to assist with his/her duties. This appointment shall be approved by a majority vote of the Membership.

g.     The Commissioner may, on an emergency basis, fill in for any umpire that needs to be replaced. If the Commissioner fills in for any umpire he/she must report such action, in writing, to the President within twenty-four hours of the covered assignment. The Commissioner is encouraged to attempt to fill any and all emergency assignments with qualified umpires that may not be assigned on the date in question. 

h.     The Commissioner will be subject to an annual review to be scheduled by the President. This review will be scheduled prior to July 1st of each year. A three-person committee, appointed by the President, will conduct the review. At least one member of this committee shall be a representative of the general membership.

2.    Election process for the position of Commissioner:

Each candidate for the position of Commissioner shall be allowed twenty (20) minutes to address the general membership prior to the election. This time period shall be scheduled as follows:

            Fifteen (15) minutes, or less, for remarks.

            Five (5) minutes (or remaining time) for questions.

3.     Duties of the Commissioner: The Commissioner shall be responsible for making all game assignments, supervising the performance of the officials, and managing the schedules with the affected schools and officials. The Commissioner's other duties include:

a)     To contact all schools under contract and obtain schedules for the officiating of their games;

b)     To prepare the registration cards to register all members with the VHSL and to issue all rulebooks and membership cards to the Members;

c)     To maintain a service record of each Member for the entire season;

d)     To attend all Board and regular membership meetings;

e)     To provide to the President, or his/her designee, the current master schedule;

f)     To keep all correspondence of his/her position on file for inspection by the Board;

g)     To maintain the officials schedules on the web-based system or other software system as prescribed by the Board;

h)     To be the immediate contact whenever a player or coach is ejected;

i)     To only work assignments in emergencies and never work tournament assignments;

j)     To prepare bills for the schools that use the services of the Softball Division;

k)     To prepare for payment by the Treasurer all pay sheets of all Members;

l)     To investigate all complaints against Members and to report to the Board all information concerning said complaints;

m)     To prepare an annual Commissioner’s report and to present same to the general Membership at the Annual Business meeting;

n)     To deliver to his/her successor all records of the Association at the expiration of his/her term of office or immediately at his/her resignation or dismissal.

 

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS AND QUORUM

1.     Membership Meetings:

a)     Regular Meetings - The President shall schedule meetings as may be required by the business of the Softball Division.  Such meetings shall include an Annual Meeting in late spring or early summer, which shall also be the election meeting.  The President shall allow Members fourteen (14) days notice for all regular meetings.

b)     Special Meetings - Twenty-five percent (25%) or more of all Active Members may petition the President to call a meeting by delivering to the President a written petition signed by them calling for the meeting.  The President shall schedule the meeting within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the petition and shall allow all Members seven (7) days’ notice for any petitioned meeting.

c)     A Quorum for conducting business at a Membership meeting shall be one-half (1/2) of all Active Members.

d)     A Quorum for amending these Bylaws shall be one-half (1/2) of all Active Members of the Division.

2.     Board Meetings:

a)     Meetings of the Board shall be held as business demands.  The dates, times, and locations of the meetings will be scheduled by the President.  Any Member may attend an open Board meeting with the prior permission of the President.

b)     A Quorum for conducting business at any Board meeting shall be one-half (1/2) of all Board Members.

3.     Parliamentary Guide: Robert's Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary Guide for all meetings.

 

ARTICLE VIII: REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OR POSITION

The Association, under the following procedure, may remove Board Members or any elected or appointed persons from an office or position:

a)     A petition requesting removal shall be signed by a majority of the Active Members of the Softball Division of the Association;

b)     The petition shall be delivered to the President, or Vice-President if the petition is for the removal of the President;

c)     Upon receipt of the petition, the President (Vice-President) shall call a special meeting of the Association to act upon the petition.  Said meeting shall be held within fourteen (14) days after the receipt of the petition.  All Members shall be given at least seven (7) days verbal or written notice of the special meeting;

d)     At the special meeting, the person named in the petition shall have the right to be heard in person or by written statement.  The person shall also be allowed to call any persons to testify on his/her behalf;

e)     At any time before a motion is heard from the floor and recognized by the President (Vice-President) for a vote of removal, the person named in the petition may resign and this resignation shall end the meeting.  No vote shall be taken until all persons who desire to speak on the matter have been heard;

f)     If a motion for removal is made and seconded, voting shall take place by secret ballot.  Only Active Members shall be allowed to vote, including the person named in the petition;

g)     Removal shall require the approval of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of all Active Members.

 

ARTICLE IX: MEMBER EXPECTATIONS

1.                 If any Member, after accepting a game assignment, finds him/her unable to fulfill the assignment, then he/she must turn the assignment back to the Commissioner at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled game time unless there are extenuating circumstances. Returning an assignment within 24-48 hours of its scheduled start time will result in a fine equal to one-half (1/2) of the game fee. Returning an assignment within 24 hours of its scheduled start time will result in a fine equal to one full game fee.

2.                 Members who fail to appear for a scheduled assigned game accepted by them shall be fined the amount of the game fee, unless they provide an acceptable excuse to the Judiciary Committee.  If an official works a game alone because another official is fined for failure to fulfill an assignment, he/she shall receive one and one-half (1-1/2) times the assigned game fee.

3.                 Officials should arrive at the game site no later than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and should arrive on the field at the time prescribed by the appropriate rulebook for inspection of equipment and the pre-game conference. Failure to comply may result in a fine of not more than one-half (1/2) of the assigned game fee based upon the discretion of the Board.

4.                 The complete uniform shall be clean, neat, and pressed. Shoes shall be clean and polished. The official MROS uniform, including the VHSL patch, must be worn at all VHSL games. If any Member is reported to have worked a contest while not attired in the official uniform, he/she may be assessed a fine of not more than one-half (1/2) of the assigned game fee at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

5.                 If any Member is detected with the odor of, or is under the influence of, alcohol or any illegal drug at a game site, said Member shall be fined $100.00 and suspended for a minimum period of one (1) year before being reinstated.  The suspension shall begin with the date of the offense.  Verification of the offense and the length of the suspension shall be the responsibility of the Judiciary Committee.

6.                 Per VHSL and School Board policy, Members shall not use any tobacco products while on school premises. Violations will result in a fine of not more than one-half (1/2) of the assigned game fee based upon the discretion of the Board.

7.                 Attendance at all clinics, general membership meetings, and the Annual meeting is mandatory.  A Member's regular and postseason assignment schedule may reflect his/her attendance record. Each Member will be allowed to be absent from one meeting per calendar year without penalty. For a second missed meeting, a $20.00 fine will be imposed. For a third missed meeting, a $30.00 fine will be imposed and the Member will be ineligible to officiate any Playoff assignment during the current season. For a fourth missed meeting, a $50.00 fine will be imposed and the Member will be placed on probation until he/she attends any three consecutive meetings and/or clinics.

8.                 No individual or group of individuals within the Division shall have the right or decision-making power to spend more than $250 of the general funds of the division for any non-budgeted item without the approval of a majority of the voting members, subject to the quorum requirement set forth in article VII 1(c).

 

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS

1.                 These Bylaws of the Softball Division may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Active Membership of the Division present and voting at any scheduled membership meeting, subject to the quorum requirement set forth in article VII 1(d).

2.                 Proposed amendments must be made in writing or by motion from the floor.  The motion will be read at one regularly scheduled Division meeting without discussion.  At the next regularly scheduled Division meeting, the motion will be discussed and, if not withdrawn, voted upon.

 

 

Approved as amended by the General Membership during the Business Meeting held on February 15, 2009 at the Deep Run Community Center.

 

 

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