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NORTH SHORE
BASEBALL UMPIRES ASSOCIATION, CONSTITUTION
(Most Recently Amended: January 2009)
ARTICLE 1: NAME
North Shore Baseball
Umpires Association (Founded 1960)
ARTICLE 2: PURPOSE
To train and develop umpires
and promote quality umpiring throughout the North Shore.
ARTICLE 3: OFFICERS
The
officers shall-consist of:
1.
President
2.
First Vice-President
3.
Second Vice-President
4.
Secretary
5.
Treasurer
6.
Interpreter
7.
Immediate Past President
8.
Advisory Board: (4) Members,
·
(2) Members elected for Two year
terms
·
(2) Members elected each year.
The above officers will constitute
the Governing Board of the Association. All Governing Board members must
attend at least 70% of the board's meetings. Failure to do so may result in
removal of the member by a vote of the remaining Governing Board members in
good standing.
In case of the resignation,
incapacity, or suspension of any officers which prevents them from serving in
their elected position, the President and the Board shall appoint a temporary
successor who shall serve until the next election. Term of elected officers
shall run from July 1st to June 30th.
The President is empowered to
appoint a "nominating committee" by the May meeting which will, at
the last meeting in June, present nominations to the membership for all
eligible elected offices. It should be the goal of the nominating committee
and the membership to have a contest for each elected office. After the
committee has made its report, nominations from the floor will be in order.
The committee will also be responsible for having the final ballot printed
and ready for the election meeting. The election meeting,
shall be the last meeting of the year, the date for which shall be determined
by the President and the Board.
Only members in good standing,
as of the date of the election meeting, shall be eligible to participate in
the election.
All positions shall be non-salaried
with the following exceptions:
·
The Secretary and the Treasurer each
shall be compensated $ 300.00 per
annum for their services. If these
positions are combined the fee would be $600.00
per year.
·
The Interpreter shall be paid $500.00 per year for his or her
services.
ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP
Active
- A person, who has passed all the entrance requirements of the Association,
is actively engaged in umpiring baseball and is a member in good standing.
(Note - Article 8)
Inactive - One who has temporarily retired from umpiring but plans to
return to active status in the foreseeable future.
There shall be no limit to the time one may remain in this category. However,
after three years as an inactive member, it will be required that a refresher
examination be taken in order to resume active status.
(Inactive members shall have all voting
rights and shall be required to pay full dues. However, attendance at
meetings is not required.)
Honorary Life Member – This honor can be bestowed upon members of our Association
who are in one of the two following categories. Retired
Honorary life member and Active
Honorary life member. Eligibility
for these categories are as follows:
Retired Honorary
life members are elected to this status by a majority vote of the
membership voting at the election meeting. Retired Honorary life
members must have had a minimum of fifteen
years with the Association and must have distinguished themselves by
their activity in the Association.
Active Honorary
life members are elected to this status by a majority vote of the membership
voting at the election meeting. Active Honorary life members must have
had a minimum of twenty years with
the Association and must have distinguished themselves by their activity in
the Association.
Any member may make nominations for honorary
life membership, in either category, in good standing by written notice to
the President at least three weeks before the annual election meeting.
Retired Honorary life members shall have no voting rights nor shall they be
required to pay dues. Active Honorary
life members shall have voting rights and will not be required to pay dues.
Honorary Professional Member - This member would be a member of the Association who is
presently employed by Professional Baseball Leagues and is a member in good
standing. This member will have no voting rights, nor have to pay dues.
However, this member may attend meetings of the Association and continue to
be listed as a member of the Association under this status.
In the event that this member is no longer
employed by a Professional Baseball League, the member may rejoin the
Association without having to take a written examination.
Member in good standing- This would be a
member of the Association who has met all the requirements of Article 4
“Active” and whose due are up to date.
Reinstatement as a member in good standing: The Policy for
reinstatement for the member not in good standing would be as follows:
·
Member would need to petition the
Board through the Secretary requesting reinstatement and the reason for the
problems in the past.
·
Pay all back dues owed from prior
years plus the penalty per year for each one of those years.
·
If the member had an interruption in
services during this period of time greater than one year then he or
she would need to retake the class and meet of the requirements of a “new
member” as stated in Article 8 of this document.
·
If the member feels that there are
extenuating circumstances that should preclude he or she from having to
retake the class and meet of the requirements of a “new member”, as stated in
Article 8 of this document, then he or she may petition the Board through the
Secretary, explaining his or her reason why.
The board will then have the final say on whether or not the
petitioner needs to retake the class. This decision will be levied within 10
days of receipt to the Secretary and the decision will be final.
Junior Member: This category
would be for candidate’s under18 years of age that take the course and pass
the test. Under the Junior Member
status the member would be ineligible to umpire high school baseball until he
or she turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever comes first. Upon
arriving at either one of these life events the Junior member would
automatically be rolled into the “Active Member” status, as long as he or she
has attended all the require meeting and is current with their dues. (Is a member in good standing)
A Junior member will only be required to pay
one half of the dues requirement called out in ARTICLE 5 DUES. A Junior
Member will be afforded All the privileges of membership with the
exception that he or she shall not be allowed to umpire High school baseball until
one of the two condition in the above paragraph are met.
ARTICLE 5: DUES
Dues shall be one JV fee per year payable for the current year before April
1st of that year. This sum shall include the price of the annual banquet. If
dues are not paid by April 1st, there will be an additional sum of Five
Dollars due. If dues are not paid by May 1st, an additional Ten Dollars shall
be due and if not paid by June 1st, the Secretary shall notify the member in
arrears that he or she is summarily expelled from the Association. This will
be done by notice in writing by return receipt mail from the Secretary to the
delinquent member. The member shall have the right to appeal to the Governing
Board of the Association, but under no circumstances shall he or she be
reinstated without a majority vote by the Governing Board present at the hearing
and without paying delinquent dues and all additional payments due.
Note 1: Any member who has not paid his dues
by April 1st is considered to NOT be a “member in good
standing” and therefore forfeits his or her rights to all the privileges of a
member in good standing. (Annual Breakfast, Training materials, books, and
any gifts if presented to the membership that year.)
Note 2: Checks and or money for dues will
not be accepted at the annual business meeting, (lst meeting), to avoid
disruption and to maintain adherence to the agenda in a timely manner. The
first mailing or meeting notice will include the instruction for how to and
where to mail the money for dues.
Note 3: Checks or money orders should be
made out to NSBUA.
Note 4: Exempt from paying dues:
·
Members of the Executive Board are
exempt from paying the annual dues. This does not include members of
the Advisory Board. (Amended 2003)
·
Any member of the NSBUA for 25 years
is exempt from paying annual dues. (Amended 2003)
Any member changing his home address or
e-mail address shall notify the Secretary in writing immediately.
Note: NSBUA may provide a list of members in
good standing to the local
assigning agencies as a courtesy, upon request. This list in no way obligates any of the
agencies to use or not use the names provided on this list. It is for informational purposes only.
ARTICLE 6: MEETINGS
Officers
and Directors shall determine the dates, time and location of all meetings of
the Association. The Secretary shall notify all members “in writing” or via
e-mail two weeks prior to the first meeting of the year. (In writing may and will include notice in
writing via e-mail and/or posting on the NSBUA Web-site.)
All active-members must attend at least three interpretive meetings.
Failure to do shall result in a fine
of one varsity game fee. Failure to pay such fine within 30 days of
written notice and a review by the Governing Board may result in a possible
suspension * and loss of membership in good standing. Note: The election/business meeting can
be counted as an interpretive meeting.
* The suspended member has the
right to appeal such suspension in writing to the Board within 30 days of receipt
of his or her written notice. Note: The suspension notice will be sent via
return receipt mail to each suspended member, within 7 days of the decision
to suspend.
The last meeting shall be in June
of each year, and will be an election/business meeting. However, in case of
emergency, the President may call special business meetings at any time
provided members in good standing have all received two weeks notice in
writing from the secretary.
Main discussions at the meetings
shall be rules, interpretations and techniques of umpiring to obtain
uniformity among membership. This portion of the meeting will take place at
the conclusion of the business meeting. Proposed meeting outline is as
follows:
The business, portion of all
meetings shall include; (Note: The order of execution shall be set by the
Presidents agenda).
·
The reading of
minutes, (read by the Secretary)
·
The Secretary's
report,
·
The Treasurer's
report
·
Committee reports,
·
And any new business
discussions *.
·
Then adjournment to
the interpretation session which will conclude at the end of the Interpreters
presentation.
*All nonessential business will be referred
to the Governing Board and they will be empowered to make decisions on these
matters in the name of the organization.
Note:
Meeting minutes will be kept by the Secretary; they shall be typed and
available for review within 5 business days. These minutes will become the official
record of the meeting and shall be kept on file along with the treasurer’s
report from that meeting.
A quorum, which is required to
conduct the business of the Association, shall be 25% of the active members
in good standing at the time of such meeting. Robert's Rules of order will
prevail during business portions of meetings.
Drinking of alcoholic beverages and
smoking is prohibited at meetings.
At the end of each year, this
Association will host a banquet. New "Honorary Members" and any out
going president shall be honored at this time. The Presidents award will also be presented
to our honored guest and recipient at this annual meeting.
ARTICLE
7: COMMITTEES
President may form any committee that he feels is necessary
for the orderly and efficient operation of the Association. It shall be within his province to appoint
a chairman and the members to all committees.
During the period between the final meeting of the old year and the
first meeting of the new year the President with approval of the Governing
Board, is authorized to make any emergency decisions.
ARTICLE
8: NEW MEMBERS
To
become a member of this association an applicant must pass a written
examination and successfully complete field tests as arranged by the
Interpreter. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age on the date of the
written exam. (Exception: Junior Member, See Article 4 Membership)
Applicants who successfully pass
the written portion of the exam will have a year from that June to complete
the field test requirement for membership.
All new members who successfully
pass the written portion of the exam are also subject to the successful
completion of a CORI check as a qualifying condition for membership.
New members may only work varsity games in emergencies during
the first year of membership. A fee of Fifteen Dollars shall accompany the
written application as a condition precedent to taking the examination. This fee is not refundable. Those
members who choose to take the classes leading up to the test will not be
charged this fee. The tuition cost for
the class includes the test fee.
ARTICLE 9. TRANSFERS AND DUAL
MEMBERSHIP
Transfers
from another recognized board and umpires seeking dual membership shall be
accepted into the Association provided they submit written evidence, through
the Secretary, that they are active members in good standing with another
approved Board of Umpires.
These members will also be subject to
the successful completion of a CORI check as a qualifying condition for
membership.
ARTICLE 10: FEES AND OTHER WORKING
CONDITIONS
No
member shall accept an assignment to umpire a regular season high school game
for less than the amount established by the Massachusetts Baseball Umpires
Association (MBUA), nor shall any umpire of the Association work with another
umpire who is not in good standing with an approved Board of Umpires. Should
an umpire find that his partner does not have board status, he should fulfill
his assignment and immediately thereafter notify the Secretary of the
Association. Members should try to ascertain the identity of the other
umpire. Penalty for violation of either of the above shall result in
immediate suspension with right of appeal to the Governing Board. Original
assignments must be honored unless release is obtained from the assigning
authority.
ARTICLE
11: DRESS
Dress
uniform of the Association will conform to the code set by the Massachusetts
Baseball Umpires Association, MBUA, Effective for the 2009 season, the code
is as follows: charcoal gray slacks, a red turtleneck with a navy blazer (or
the MBUA pullover jacket), or a red tee shirt and navy short sleeved, polo
shirt with red white and blue trim on the sleeves and collar, black socks and
belt, a regulation M.B.U.A. “fitted” umpire's hat and umpiring shoes. A
current M.B.U.A. design patch must be displayed on the shirt or jacket
pocket.
ARTICLE 12: AMENDMENTS
This
Constitution or any of its by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds majority
vote of the members in good standing who are in attendance and voting at the
Annual Meeting or at any special meeting provided that the number of members
in good standing constitutes a quorum.
Amendments may be proposed by any
member in good standing by submitting in writing the proposed amendment to
the President or his representatives at least three weeks before the Annual
Business Meeting at which time the voting will take place. Proposed
amendments must be forwarded in writing or via e-mail to each member in good
standing by the Secretary, at least two weeks prior to the time these
amendments will be proposed to the membership for consideration and possible
adoption.
ARTICLE 13: Policy on Sick or
Deceased Members and their family members.
This policy is being stated as a
guideline by which the board can act upon in the event of sickness or
death of a member or his or her family member. The following statements can be amended by
majority vote of the Board. This will
give the board some leeway to review every extenuating circumstance on a case
by case basis.
·
Member passing:
President should contact the family to extend the Associations deepest
sympathy. At this time the President
should ascertain the details of the forthcoming events and ask the family
members what would be more appropriate, flowers or a contribution to the
charity of their choosing, in the member’s name. Guideline: $100.00 to $150.00, not to
exceed $150.00 without Board approval.
·
Sick or injured member: President contacts the member and extends our best wishes for a
full recovery. Guideline: (If
appropriate), Presidents call… $50.00 to $75.00, for flowers or gift, Not to
exceed $75.00 without Board approval.
·
Members Mother, Father, Wife or Child passes: President should contact the member to extend the Associations
deepest sympathy. At this time the
President should ascertain the details of the forthcoming events and ask the
member what would be more appropriate, flowers or a contribution to the
charity of their choosing, in the family member’s name. Guideline: $75.00 to $100.00, Not to exceed $100.00 without Board approval.
ARTICLE 14: General Board of Director
Guidelines and Privileges
The Governing Board shall be
empowered to make decisions on all nonessential business and issues regarding
the day to day running of this Association in the name of the organization.
(NSBUA). These decisions need to be fiscally responsible and in the best
interest of the membership and the longevity of the Association.
Each year, prior to the first
Executive Board Meeting, the reining President must set and submit a fiscally
sound Budget for the coming year, to his Board for review. This budget does
not require approval but should take into consideration any concerns raised by the reigning Board. The Budget will be available to the
membership upon request.
·
Presidential Authority and spending limit: The President is hereby granted the authority to run the
day to day activity of the organization and is granted the spending power,
not to exceed 250.00 without Board approval, to conduct the required business
and activity of this association.
·
Checkbook coverage: The
organization’s checking account should have two board members that are able
to write checks, just in case the Treasurer for whatever reason becomes
unavailable or is unable to write checks to meet our financial obligations.
·
Board of director’s meetings, General Guidelines: Generally these meetings take place one hour before the
general meetings. Special meetings can be called by the President as the
situation warrants. Each meeting will
have a set agenda and will follow the guidelines of “Robert’s Rules”.
·
President’s Award: This is an award chosen strictly by the Present of the NSBUA for someone
outside our organization that exhibits extraordinary effort, lead by example
qualities, and good sportsmanship skills.
This award can go to a player, Coach, AD, or someone from the
community who contributes to the success or betterment of high school
baseball. (All Recommendations from
the Board or Membership shall be given the proper consideration. The final
decision on this award shall lie completely with the President.)
·
Special recognition for extraordinary efforts and
accomplishments: This privilege allows
the Board the flexibility to recognize someone within our organization for
all they have done for the association and the community over the years. This is not a yearly award. This is an option exercised by the board as
a way of paying “living tribute” to someone in our membership who has charted
the way for all of us. This award from
this point forward will affectionately be called the “Fred Gardner award”. (All Recommendations from the Board or
Membership shall be given the proper consideration. The final decision on
this award shall lie completely on the majority vote of the Board.)
·
Requests to speak in front of the Board: Any member is entitled to speak in front of the
Board. All requests should be made
through the Secretary 2 weeks prior to the general meeting date. No one will be turned away. This action is required to so that the
request can be put in as part of the agenda for the Board meeting and so we
can maintain the governance of Roberts Rules.
·
Presidential exit ceremony, “The Passing of the Gavel”: From 2010 on, all exiting Presidents shall hand the newly
elected President his or her own gavel which he or she will retain when
exiting the office at the conclusion of their period of service.
·
Note: These ceremonial
gavels shall be provided by the Association along with a plate earmarking
their years of service.
ARTICLE: 15 CORI Policy
The NSBUA has chosen to take a
leadership position with respect to CORI checks. Since 2001 we have been performing checks on
all new members.
It will be our policy to
continue performing CORI checks on all new members, as part of the
requirements of membership into the NSBUA.
There are several key
administrative requirements which must be stated in order to successfully continue
this program in accordance with the best practices exhibited in years past
and for protection to the Association and it members, including the new
member.
·
There shall
be one CORI Administrator.
Appointed by the President.
·
We must use
only the approved CORI form on file with the State of Massachusetts for our Association.
·
The CORI
administrator will be the only eyes to views the CORI information and then
render the final decision on membership.
·
All CORI
forms and Court Activity Record information obtained to perform the CORI
checks shall be destroyed once the final decision on membership has been
rendered.
·
As laws and
policy’s change and evolve, the NSBUA Executive Board must plan and budget
for future training and administrative cost to support CORI administration
and execution of this policy.
ARTICLE:
16 Annual MIAA Registration with
regard to the Association
It is an annual requirement that we, as an Association, submit a
representative list of umpires who may be interested in working any MIAA
sanctioned tournaments for that upcoming year.
As of the 2010 season it will be the responsibility of the member in
good standing, to make his or her request to be put on this Association submitted
list, through the Treasurer of our Association.
The Association will pay one dollar of the MIIA required
registration fee and the member will be responsible for the balance. The balance is required to be paid to the
Treasurer at the time of the request.
Any member who chooses to register on his own may do so but will not
be on the Association list submitted to the MIAA for that year. Note: Honorary Life, Active Honorary Life
and Honorary Professional Member exempt from paying dues as outline in
Article 4: Membership, who want there name on the MIAA list, will be exempt
from paying the fee. The NSBUA will
pick up the complete fee for these members only.
ARTICLE:
17 Implementation of proposed Constitutional changes
Articles 1-16 will take effect
upon ratification of the majority of members present at the meeting so
designated by the President.
·
A review of the Constitution and its
relevance to how to run this organization will be conducted every 3
years.
·
During the 3-year period any required
changes will be presented as amendments to the current constitution until
incorporated into the 3-year review.
·
Note: all amendments shall be ratified in
accordance with article 12 “amendments”.
A committee shall be appointed under the guidelines of Article 7
“Committee”.
ARTICLE:
18: The fiscal year of the NSBUA will be July 1st through June 30th on the following year.
A CODE OF ETHICS FOR BASEBALL UMPIRES
- I will honor all
contracts regardless of possible inconvenience or financial loss.
- I will diligently
study the rules of the game, observe the work of other umpires and will,
at all times, attempt to improve myself.
- I will remember
that, while my work as an umpire is important, I must conduct myself in
such a way that spectator’s attention is directed, not to me, but to the
boys playing the game.
- I will dress and
maintain my appearance in a matter befitting the dignity and importance
of the great game of baseball.
- I will conduct
myself so as to be a worthy example to the players under my
jurisdiction.
- I will be fair and
unbiased in my decisions, rendering them without regard to the score or
next year’s contract.
- I will give my complete
cooperation to the schools, which I serve, and to the association that I
represent.
- I will cooperate
and be professional in my association with my fellow umpires and will do
nothing to cause them public embarrassment.
- I will, in my
actions on the field, be firm but not over bearing; courteous but not
ingratiating; positive but never rude; dignified but never “cocky”;
friendly but not companionable; calm, but ever alert.
- I will be prepared,
both physically and mentally, to administer the game.
- I will not smoke on
or in the vicinity of the playing field, nor drink any alcoholic
beverages on the day of the game.
- I will not give any
information, which might be used by a team’s future opponent.
- I will keep in mind
that the game is more important than the wishes of any individual
player, coach, or the ambitions of any individual umpire.
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