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Birmingham Rocket Boys Bylaws (Revised Jan 11, 2009) 

INTRODUCTION The Birmingham Rocket Boys, hereafter referred to as Rocket Boys, is a non-profit organization comprised of children and adults who enjoy the hobby of model rocketry and who wish to learn and excel in the sport. 

ARTICLE I: NAME The name of this organization shall be the Birmingham Rocket Boys. 

ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES The objectives of the Birmingham Rocket Boys are: 

(a) To introduce area youth to the exciting and rewarding hobby of model rocketry. 

(b) To teach youth members how to build model rockets and to safely launch and successfully recover them. 

(c) To provide an outlet for adult members who have an interest in building and flying rockets to showcase their talents and to maximize their skills. 

(d) To provide an avenue where both youth and adult members may have the opportunity to learn the science, math and physics associated with building, launching and recovering of model rockets. 

(e) To thoughtfully generate activities that will promote model rocketry, unity and cooperation among members and the community. 

(f) To create an atmosphere where all members can have fellowship and fun in a safe environment and enjoy the exciting and rewarding hobby of model rocketry. 

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Eligibility 

All persons shall be eligible for membership and shall agree to abide by the Rocket Boys club bylaws. 

Youth membership - under 12 years old. No dues required. However, Youth members must respond annually at dues collection time that they still want to be part of the club. 

Junior Member - 12 to 18 years old, who is currently paid up on dues. 

Senior Member - Over 18, who is currently paid up on dues. 

Family members - A family that is currently paid up on dues. 

Life members - Individuals given a lifetime membership (Lifetime membership to be approved by at least 3/4 of the BRB board). 

Honorary members - Honoring a person who is not a member as defined above. 

Voting eligibility -  Members who are age 16 or older are eligible to vote. Honorary members are not eligible.

Section 2 : Exclusion A member or officer may be summarily dismissed from the Rocket Boys Club by a 3/4 majority recommendation of the BRB board and 2/3 majority vote of all remaining vote-eligible membership (not including officers who already voted). Should the BRB officers vote to remove a member, the following must occur: The officers notify the entire vote-eligible membership via electronic and/or postal mail means and the person whose membership is in jeopardy will be given fair opportunities to defend himself/herself, over a 14 day period. Only at the end of the 7 day period will voting begin, the voting period lasting for 14 days. Exclusion of a member will be the only condition where votes by the members are not conducted at a meeting. 

Other than the above removal procedure, or for non-payment of dues, no person may be denied membership for any reason. 

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS 

Section 1: Officers 

The officers of the Rocket Boy shall consist of a President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer and Advisor. The five officer positions will make up the BRB Board. The positions of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined, held by one person who has one BRB Board vote. In that case, a ÒMember at LargeÓ can be elected to be the 5th person to take part in the BRB Board.

Section 2: Elections 

The officers of the Rocket Boys shall be elected from and by vote-eligible members who are in attendance (no proxy votes). Candidates will be nominated during the first regular meeting in January. After being elected by a majority vote, officers shall serve for a term of one year. 

Section 3: Vacancies 

Any officer vacancies which may occur shall be filled by a nomination and two-thirds vote at a regular or special meeting

ARTICLE V: 

OFFICERS DUTIES President: 

The president shall preside over the regular Rocket Boy  Club meetings and shall act as spokesperson in all matters pertaining to the club. 

Vice-president: The vice-president shall act for the president when he or she is unable to serve and shall serve as a secondary contact to all of the functions mentioned under president. 

Secretary: The secretary shall record minutes of each club meeting and handle all correspondence pertaining to club activities. The secretary shall be responsible for maintaining the membership list as well as the mailing list, and other duties as assigned. 

Treasurer: The treasurer shall collect all moneys due and shall keep a record of moneys disbursed by the club. He shall be responsible for maintaining the records of the Rocket Boy bank account and provide a statement of account at the end of the year. The Treasurer shall also make monthly reports available to the club officers, preferably before each club meeting. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by one person. In that case, the person only has one vote, not two. 

Advisor: The Rocket Boy advisor shall keep club members abreast of all matters of importance in regards to model rocketry such as: 

1. city, state and national model rocketry events 

2. model rocketry educational programs 

3. model rocketry community outreach opportunities 

4. club equipment and purchases 

5. membership recruitment 

6. club launch site locations 

7. current FAA,NAR regulations 

Member at Large: During the occasions when the offices of Secretary and Treasurer are held by one person, the fifth person on the BRB board will be a Member at Large. The Member at Large's duties will be to participate in club leadership, help fellow officers, and take part in helping with club activities. 

The BRB Officers shall operate as a Board of Directors in the routine running the club. The BRB Board shall communicate frequently with each other on pending club business and vote as-needed on approval of routine matters and expenditures after adequate discussion of the issues (Approval requiring at least three of the five officers for the issue to pass). Votes on major expenditures and major commitments of the club shall not be made by the BRB Board alone, but made at a club meeting where vote-eligible members can participate. 

ARTICLE VI: CLUB DUES AND FINANCES 

The annual dues to be paid to the club will be set, as necessary, by the BRB Officers. The existing by-laws specify the exact due fees. The above change is needed to prevent having to go thru an official by-laws change process every time the dues need to be changed. Dues and finances shall serve to provide the necessary funds for club equipment and expenses. Dues are for a membership of one year. Dues to be collected annually. 

ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES 

Committees may be formed as deemed necessary to perform a special function. Each committee shall be headed by a chairman who reports to the Rocket Boy president.

ARTICLE VIII: MEETINGS 

Regular club meetings shall be held at least four times a year:
January, April, July, and October. Additional meetings may be called for by the BRB officers when such additional meetings seem warranted. Time and place for each meeting is to be specified early in advance to give  all members an opportunity to attend. Meetings shall be conducted with proper decorum.  Launches are not eligible to serve as official meeting locations.

ARTICLE IX: QUORUMS 

At meetings, at least 3 BRB officers and 6 vote-eligible members overall (including officers) must be in attendance to conduct official binding club business. 

ARTICLE X: BY-LAW AMENDMENTS 

Amendments may be proposed by a vote-eligible member who has two other vote-eligible members who support the amendments introduction. The amendment will be put up for a 10 day commentary period by the membership for review. After the review and commentary, the amendment may undergo changes to reflect the input, or the member who proposed the amendment may choose to withdraw it. If there have been significant changes to the amendment, it should undergo another 10 day review/comment period. After the process of review and possible changes have been completed, the proposed amendment will be eligible to be voted on at the next BRB meeting which occurs after the membership is given 14 daysnotice. All BRB members should be given a least 14 days notice of the by-law amendment vote at the upcoming meeting. 

Amendments must be voted on in person at a meeting. There must be a minimum of 10 vote eligible members at the meeting, who include at least three BRB officers. Amendments must pass by a 2/3 majority of votes. 

ARTICLE XI: BY-LAW INTERPRETATIONS 

In the case of disagreement over the intent of the By-Laws, the 5 member BRB Board will vote to determine the interpretation to be used. In this case, the BRB Board may discuss the issues by any means and after a 5 day discussion period may call a vote among the BRB board to decide the interpretation. Each interpretation, what it is supposed to cover and what it is not supposed to cover, must be defined properly so that it can be voted on. The interpretation vote may be done electronically, via phone, and/or in person, to accommodate the whole BRB board voting and deciding the issue, it does not have to be done at a meeting. In the case that there are more than two possible interpretations, the two interpretations with the most votes will be used for a run-off vote. In the case that the BRB board voting is unable to determine an interpretation then the vote-eligible members will be allowed to vote on an interpretation at a club meeting. Majority vote determines the outcome of the interpretation, 

ARTICLE XII: NAR CHARTER 

The Birmingham Rocket Boys shall be chartered by the National Association of Rocketry. The provisions of this charter requires the safe operation of all rocketry related activities by all members. 

ARTICLE XIII: LAUNCHES 

The NAR safety code is to be followed for all launches involving model rockets and HPR rockets. The only exception to this is when launches are held on dates separate from BRB hosted model rocket and HPR launches. No Alcoholic beverages are allowed at launches. Persons whose judgment seems to be impaired for any reason will not be allowed to fly, prep models, or run range operations. Persons who are disruptive to the launch will be asked to leave the field.