These bylaws amendments were voted upon by the members at the Annual
Members Meeting, 8AM on 27 June at the 59th
The prior OCA bylaws were substandard in many areas, resulting in much of
the controversy since the prior OCA election. Therefore, a comprehensive review
was conducted in relation to the bylaws of other state chess associations
around the country. Several critical elements were identified as missing or
lacking and addressed in the proposed OCA Bylaws below that the Policy Board reviewed
for many months, along with interested members. The Proposed Bylaws reflect
input from all that participated in the process.
This revision was intended to address many issues, including the
following:
Changes below are indicated with additions in red
and deletions struck.
Bylaws
of the
Proposed
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of the organization shall be the Oklahoma Chess
Association, commonly known as the OCA.
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The
purpose of the OCA is to operate for educational,
recreational, and social benefits and not for profit shall be to educate, instruct, encourage its members, and to
promote and extend the social benefits of chess in
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
III.1 Membership:
· Regular Membership: Any person may become a
Regular Member of the OCA upon payment of $10.00 dues
for one year.
· Patron
Membership: Any person may become a Patron Member of the OCA upon payment of
$25.00 dues for one year.
· Youth Membership: Any youth under 20 years of age may
become a Youth Member of the OCA upon payment of $5.00 dues for one
year.
III.2 Rights and Privileges:
Each Member of the
OCA shall be entitled to receive a copy of
the official state publication, to participate in the Annual Meeting, to hold
office, and to enjoy all other rights and privileges of membership, with the following exceptions:
a) any OCA member shall be entitled to vote in the Annual
Meeting only if he/she is also a current and verifiable USCF member; and
b) any new or renewing OCA member shall be entitled to vote in the Annual
Meeting only if either
(i) he/she has registered for and played in at least one
round on the first day of the current Oklahoma State Championship tournament;
or
(ii) his/her OCA membership dues are received by the OCA
Secretary, Treasurer or State Championship contact person at least ten (10)
business days prior to the first day of the current State Championship
tournament.
c) No Member of the OCA under age 18 may hold office.
New memberships and renewals shall extend the term of membership
from the date of payment or prior membership expiration, whichever is latest.
Each Member of the OCA, if their email is kept current with
the Secretary or Webmaster, shall be included in an email distribution list for
III.3 Removal from Office:
The Policy Board
may suspend or remove from office any OCA officer or official for good cause, if approved by three fourths of all the Policy Board
Members eligible to vote as provided for in these Bylaws. The Policy Board shall, prior to taking such action, give to
the individual 30 days written notice of the proposed action. Within said time,
that individual may submit in writing to the Policy Board reasons why such
action should not be taken. The Board may thereafter, if it sees fit, act upon
written suggestions or set a date for a hearing to be held concerning the
proposed action. The actions taken shall be final and without recourse.
III.4 Annual Membership Meeting:
The President
shall call and preside at an annual meeting of the membership, held in
conjunction with the Oklahoma Open, for the purpose of hearing reports, making
suggestions to the Policy Board, and conducting the
Annual Election electing officers. Twelve
members present in person shall constitute a
quorum. The Secretary shall publish at least 30 days
advance notice of the annual membership meeting in the "Oklahoma
Chess Bulletin". The membership meeting
will have a minimum of 90 minutes allowed to conduct business. The agenda will
be posted on the OCA website at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
III.5 Annual Election:
The Annual Election shall be used to amend the Bylaws and
fill Policy Board positions that are vacant. The call for Policy Board
nominations and bylaws amendment proposals shall be published and available to
all members no less than 30 days prior to the Annual Members Meeting. The
ballots will only be provided to all voting members per section III.2 at the
Annual Election. Proxy voting is not allowed. The
ballots will be tallied by the Secretary or other person(s) assigned by the
Policy Board, and results tallied for reporting of results at the Annual
Members Meeting. The original ballots shall be kept as backup for recount and
auditing purposes.
ARTICLE IV: POLICY BOARD
IV.1 Responsibility:
Ultimate authority in the Association shall rest in the
membership; such authority is exercised at the Annual Membership Meeting.
Between Annual Membership Meetings the business and
activities of the OCA shall be governed by the Policy Board, in accordance with
these Bylaws. The Policy Board is responsible for the management of
the affairs of the OCA and shall perform other duties as specified in these
Bylaws.
IV.2 Composition:
The Policy Board
shall be composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, and three Members at Large elected by the membership of the
OCA, and the Immediate Past President.
IV.3 Meetings:
The Policy Board shall meet at least twice annually at
reasonable intervals to conduct the business of the OCA. These meetings shall
be open to all interested observers. Meetings may be held at the request
of any member the
President or a majority of the members of the Policy Board provided that
all Policy Board Members have been given 7 days advance notice of the meeting. The minutes of
the Policy Board Meetings shall be published in the "Oklahoma Chess Bulletin". A quorum shall
consist of four members of the Board being present in person or through electronic conference means,
wherein all participants can be heard by, and speak to, all other
participants at all times. Proxy voting is
not allowed.
IV.4 Nomination and Bylaws
Amendment Proposals:
a) Any voting OCA member age 18 or
over shall be eligible for any elected OCA office upon nomination by a
fellow member at the Annual Meeting. If there are no
nominations for a Policy Board position to be filled, then the person currently
in that position will appear on the ballot.
b) Proposed bylaws amendments must be submitted in writing to the
Secretary or President by the Nominating Committee, or voting members per
section III.2, no less than 30 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting.
Amendments by voting members not on the Policy Board must be submitted in
writing by at least three voting members.
IV.5 Elections:
OCA elections shall occur at the Annual Meeting
Election. Positions to be filled shall be included
in the annual membership meeting notice. A plurality of the ballots shall elect the nominee and any tie will be decided by a vote at the Annual Members
Meeting. No individual on the Policy Board shall
hold more than one office nor be entitled to more than one vote on the Policy
Board. If a vacancy occurs in any elected office, a successor to serve until the next annual election
shall be nominated and elected by the Policy Board, except that a
vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the Vice President.
IV.6 Terms:
The terms of the elected Policy Board
shall begin upon completion of the annual membership
meeting each of their elections. The
President shall take over the Annual Meeting immediately upon election to
office. The Members at Large shall have terms of approximately one
year. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer
shall have terms of approximately two years. The Immediate Past President shall
remain a member of the Policy Board so long as he/she remains Immediate Past
President.
IV.7 Duties:
· Policy
Board:
a) The Policy Board
shall appoint the Editor of the Oklahoma Chess Bulletin.
b) The Policy Board
shall be responsible for choosing the organizer of the “Oklahoma Open” and any
other state championship deemed necessary.
c) The Policy Board shall appoint the Webmaster to maintain
the official OCA web site, www.ochess.org, which is the property of the OCA.
The Policy Board may approve changes or deletions of any content at any time,
which must be immediately adhered to by the Webmaster. OCA meeting minutes and
bylaws revisions or proposals must be approved in advance by the policy board
before being published.
d) The President
Policy Board may appoint committees that are
deemed necessary to advance OCA’s purpose. In
particular, he/she the Policy Board may shall appoint a search
Nominating Committee to find candidates for open Policy Board positions to be filled nominations
at by the Annual Election
Meeting. The term of office of each committee
shall terminate at the next election, or before as is provided at the time of
appointment.
e) The President
Policy Board is responsible for ensuring
f) The Policy Board shall appoint the Oklahoma Clearinghouse
Designate to maintain a calendar of tournaments and attempt to resolve
potential schedule conflicts.
· President: The President shall preside at
all meetings of the membership and the Policy Board, carry out all requirements
of these Bylaws, represent the OCA on occasion, be the
official spokesman for all business and correspondence, and report to the membership at the Annual Meeting.
· Vice President: The Vice President shall be
responsible for encouraging, promoting, and advising OCA Tournament Directors.
He/she shall execute the duties of the President when the President is unable
to serve.
· Secretary: This officer shall keep the
minutes of all meetings of the membership and the Policy Board; carry out all
duties prescribed by these Bylaws; distribute to
all Policy Board Members and publish in the "Oklahoma Chess
Bulletin" the minutes of all meetings; keep mailing lists of current OCA members; and conduct
correspondence under the direction of the Policy Board.
· Treasurer:
This officer shall carry out all duties prescribed by these Bylaws; keep
records of the property
and financial affairs and manage the funds of the OCA; provide a financial
report at Policy Board and Membership meetings; promote, encourage, and
coordinate additional sources of income; and ensure that OCA memberships are
checked and dues collected at all OCA tournaments.
· Immediate Past
President: This officer shall be the OCA Archivist and Historian. an
advisor to the President and the rest of Policy Board.
· Members at Large: These officers will
report to the Secretary and Treasurer the
successful checking of OCA memberships and collection of dues at all events requiring
OCA membership.
IV.8 Resignations:
Policy Board resignations shall be
submitted in writing to the President or Secretary, who shall then immediately
notify the other Policy Board members. Any member of the Policy Board shall be regarded as having
resigned as an officer or member-at-large upon missing three consecutive duly
scheduled meetings of the Policy Board during the same twelve months, with
exception to be made by the Policy Board. Resignations will become effective
upon passing of an associated motion by the Policy Board at a Policy Board
meeting. Resignations may only be published in
their entirety and after becoming effective. If the President resigns,
succession to the Immediate Past President position is forfeited.
IV.9 Motions Conducted by
Correspondence:
The Policy Board may raise and vote on motions using
correspondence under the following conditions:
a) All Policy Board Members have confirmed receipt of the
motion or have been notified by a phone call about the proposed motion.
b) Approvals requiring a majority of a Policy Board Meeting
quorum will require a majority of all Policy Board Members for correspondence
approval.
c) Policy Board motions conducted using correspondence shall
be published in the official state publication.
IV.10 OCA Records:
All OCA
financial, membership, tournament and publication records are the property of
the OCA.
Any such records in the possession of an officer, policy board member, or
regular member at the conclusion of their term, expiration of their membership,
or resignation from same, shall be turned over to the current President or Secretary within
10 days of such event. No records shall be shared with, or used by,
individuals or organizations other than the current OCA Policy Board. Some
excerpts of those records may appear in the official publication and official
web site, as authorized by the Policy Board. Member information shall only be
used for official business of the OCA, and any other use is expressly
prohibited.
ARTICLE V: STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The format and location of
the state championships shall be approved by the Policy
Board up to the organizer. The
location of the Oklahoma Open shall rotate among the Oklahoma
City, Tulsa,
and Stillwater areas.
The Oklahoma Open shall carry the name “Jerry Spann Memorial”. The State
Class Championship shall carry the name “Dr. Bela Rozsa Memorial”. Only OCA members residing in the State
of
ARTICLE VI: SUNDRY BYLAWS
VI.1. Office: The registered office of the OCA shall be
the mailing address of the Secretary.
VI.2. Publications: The “Oklahoma Chess Bulletin” is
designated an as
the official state publication of the
OCA. All material submitted or created for the official
state publication and/or the official web site immediately becomes the
copyrighted property of the OCA and the author, and will require approval of
the Policy Board for any other publication, aside from that of the author. OCA
copyright statements shall appear in the official state publication and web
site to protect the interests of the OCA. The Policy Board will have access to
a draft of the official state publication one week before publishing and may
edit or remove material by a majority vote.
VI.3. Fiscal Period: The fiscal period shall end on March December 31.
VI.4. National Affairs: The OCA is the official Oklahoma State Affiliate Chapter unit
of the USCF. The OCA
Policy Board shall fulfill all functions designated by Article VIII, Section 2
of the USCF Bylaws.
VI.5. Procedure: “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised” shall be used at all meetings whenever they are not in conflict with these Bylaws.
VI.6. Authority: These Bylaws have been adopted by the
membership under the authority of the United States Chess Federation (USCF),
subject to all State and Federal laws.
VI.7. Amendment: The Bylaws may
be amended by a majority vote of the membership at the annual meeting or by
the Policy Board a 2/3 majority vote of ballots
containing a vote for that item in the Annual Election per section III.5. The
Bylaws may also be amended by a 3/4 vote of the entire Policy Board, with
ratification of the amendment at the next Annual Election by a 2/3 majority
vote to remain in effect.
VI.8. Review: These Bylaws
should be reviewed by 20056 or earlier.
VI.9. Scholastics: The Oklahoma
Scholastic Chess Organization is the official State scholastic chess
organization responsible for the oversight of scholastic chess issues and State
scholastic chess championship tournaments.
VI.10 Funds: All general funds
shall be designated in one or more federally insured depositories in the OCA's name, disbursable only by check signed by the
Treasurer or by others designated by the Policy Board.
VI.11 Interpretation: At Policy
Board or General Membership Meetings a majority vote shall determine the
interpretation of these Bylaws with the understanding that the ambiguous
expression be amended as soon as practicable.
VI.12 Reimbursement: No member
shall receive compensation from the Association except for reimbursement of
reasonable approved expenses.
VI.13 Dissolution: In the event of
the dissolution of this corporation, all assets remaining after all liabilities
and obligations of the corporation have been paid, satisfied, and discharged,
or adequate provisions made therefore, shall be distributed to United States
Chess Trust, a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.