ARTICLE
I - NAME
OF
ORGANIZATION
This organization shall be
known as the Wolverine Deaf Golfers of Michigan, or WDGM.
ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVE
The objective of this
organization is to promote good fellowship among deaf and hard of
hearing golfers, provide a program of golf outings and events, and
sponsor an annual open golf event, the Michigan State Open Golf
Tournament for the Deaf.
ARTICLE III -
MEMBERSHIP
A. Active membership
1. An active
member has full voting privileges in
organization meetings. Deaf and hard of hearing men who reside in
the State of Michigan are eligible for active memberships. Active
membership is required for participation in the Season-Opening Scramble
event
held in April.
B. Lifetime membership
1. A lifetime
member must be an active member, must be
at least 60 years of age, and must have been a member for at least 15
years. A lifetime member is exempt from paying dues.
2. There will be
at most two Lifetime members. The
Executive Committee shall determine the selections.
3. A vacancy
created by death shall be filled
immediately, if possible.
C. New membership
1. An active
member must sponsor a new member.
2. A new member
shall not pay his membership dues until
after he has played one 18 hole round. The other golfers in his
playing group and the executive committee shall make the decision to
allow, or not allow, the new member to become an active member.
ARTICLE IV: DUES
A. The organization membership dues shall be
payable
annually before playing in an outing during a calendar year.
1. The membership
assembly shall determine the rate
of dues as listed.
a. New and
Reinstated Members
b. Regular Members
c. Senior Members
(at least 62 years old as of May 31 of
the calendar year)
d. 25 Year Members
2. No refunds
shall be incurred.
3. No membership
applications at the time of State
Tournament shall be accepted.
ARTICLE
V: OFFICERS
The officers are
President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Their terms
are
for two years beginning in January of the calendar year following the
election. These officers shall be elected off the floor only at
the
general election meeting. Only active members shall be candidates
for office.
ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF
OFFICERS
A. The President shall preside over all
organization
meetings, call special meetings after consulting with other officers,
carry out assignments and instructions given by the majority of
membership in the assembly.
B. The Vice President shall be the aide to the
President. In the absence or disability of the President, he shall
perform the duties of the President. He shall audit the financial
report submitted by the Treasurer.
C. The Secretary shall keep a record of all
meeting
minutes, determine the meeting agenda, publish a newsletter each
month from April to September, conduct correspondences on behalf of
the organization and keep these by-laws up-to-date.
D. The Treasurer shall collect all monies,
disburse all
bills of the organization as specified in the financial policy,
report the membership status of all active members to the Secretary
and render a yearly account of all receipts and expenses in the
Financial Report.
ARTICLE VII: EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee
consists of the four elected officers. It is empowered to call
one
or more meetings. The objectives are to set up a program in
advance
for the coming season and review the operations of this
organization. In case when the consequences warrants, this
committee may make a
transaction. This committee shall enforce the etiquette and the
rules of golf of this organization.
ARTICLE VIII: MEETINGS
A. The business meeting shall be held
each year during the May outing. The President may
postpone this meeting if necessary.
B. An election meeting shall be held during the
state
tournament every other year.
C. A special business meeting may be called by the
President at any time when he believes there is an urgent need for
the meeting.
ARTICLE IX: ELECTIONS
A. The President shall select an election chairman.
B. The nominations of candidates for all four
positions are called from the
floor.
C. In the case when more
than two candidates run for one
office, the use of preferential balloting may be used, providing that
one candidate winning shall be elected by the majority vote.
D. When there is an unopposed nomination for any
office,
the election chairman shall declare the candidate as the elected
officer by acclamation.
ARTICLE X: QUORUM
For organization meetings, the quorum shall
consist
of one-fourth (1/4) of the present membership roll in good standing. The present membership roll in good standing consists
of active members during the calendar year of the meeting and active
members of the previous calendar year who have not yet paid their
current year dues.
ARTICLE
XI: FUNDS
This organization shall
maintain the following funds in one Bank Savings Account.
A. The GENERAL FUND shall
be used according to the financial policy of this organization.
1. The officers to
cover the following purchases shall
incur general expenses:
a. Trophies and
engravings (for the state tournament
only)
b. Postages
c. Stationery
supplies
d. Executive
Committee meeting
expenses. The maximum reimbursement shall be $40.
2. Expenses other
than specified above must be approved
by the active membership in either the business meeting or a special
meeting.
3. The assets of
this General fund shall be maintained
above the amount of $125 at all times.
B. The RESERVATION FUND is maintained to advance
monies
for deposits on reservations for outings and State Tournaments.
1. The assets of
the Reservation Fund shall be
maintained at the amount of $750 at all times.
2. Upon the
refunds of deposits, the monies shall be
returned to this fund immediately.
C. The HOLE-IN-ONE FUND is maintained to award
$100 to
a golfer who scores a hole-in-one in WDGM outings or Michigan State
Open Golf Tournaments only.
1. The limited
assets of this fund shall be maintained
at the amount of $100 at all times.
2. Upon the
disbursement of the award, this fund shall
be replenished with the same amount taken from the General Fund.
ARTICLE XII: OUTINGS
AND TOURNAMENTS
A. Outings
1. Outings shall
be held in the months of April, May,
June, July and August.
2. One or more
members shall submit a site for the
outing in the business meeting. The submittal shall be accepted
by
the majority vote of the assembly. If no members have submitted a
site for the outing, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for
securing the site for the outing.
3. The Executive
Committee shall handle the operations
of the outing.
4. The April
outing shall be a 4-man scramble 18-hole
event open only to active members. The May through August outings shall
be 18-hole stroke play
events open to active and new members.
B. State Tournament
1. The State
Tournament shall be held on the first
weekend after Labor Day.
2. One or more
members shall submit a site for the state
tournament in the business meeting. The submittal shall be
accepted
by the majority vote of the assembly. If no members have
submitted a
site for the state tournament, the Executive Committee shall be
responsible for securing the site for the state tournament.
3. The site shall
be secured with places for banquet and
meeting and overnight accommodations.
4. The tournament
shall be a two day 36 hole stroke play
event, 18 holes per day. In the case of bad weather, the tournament
shall be shortened as determined by the Executive Committee.
5. The Executive
Committee shall handle the operations
of the state tournament.
ARTICLE
XIII: HANDICAPPING AND RULES
A. Handicapping
1. All WDGM
handicaps shall be computed under the USGA
Handicap System with some minor modifications as described below.
a. Only those
18-hole rounds completed in the past 24
months are to be used to compute the WDGM handicap.
b. To receive full
handicap, at least four (4) 18-hole
rounds must be completed. If less than four 18-hole rounds are
completed, the handicap is reduced by a percentage based on the
average score of the 18-hole rounds.
2. Only those
18-hole rounds in stroke-play outings and
tournaments sponsored by the Wolverine Deaf Golfers of Michigan are
to be used to compute the WDGM handicap.
3. To maintain a
handicap rating, a golfer must play at
least one (1) 18-hole round in the past 24 months.
B. Rules
1. In all outings
and tournaments, the Rules of Golf as
published by the United States Golf Association shall be observed,
with exceptions as described below.
a. The golfer may
improve his lie with his club within
six (6) inches no closer to the hole. The golfer may do so
anywhere
on the golf course except in water hazards, in sand bunkers, and on
the greens.
b. Out-of-bounds
is a one-stroke penalty. Drop no closer to the hole
within two club lengths of the point where the ball crossed the
out-of-bounds margin.
c. A lost ball is
a one-stroke penalty. Drop the ball
in the general area where the ball was last seen. The other
players
in the playing group shall decide the point where the ball should be
dropped.
d. The maximum number of strokes on any hole is double par. The
maximum score shall be 7 on a par 3, 9 on a par 4, and 11 on a par
5. In all cases, the number of putts entered shall be 3.
ARTICLE XIV: ORDER OF
BUSINESS
This order of business shall apply only to
business
meetings.
1. Call for order
2. Readings of minutes
3. Financial Report
4. Membership report
5. Programming
6. Unfinished business
7. New Business
8. Adjournment
ARTICLE XV: AMENDMENTS
These by-laws may be
amended or adapted at any meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the
present quorum.