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This is to certify that Lone Star Rotorcraft Club Incorporated has met the necessary standards for chapter status in the Popular Rotorcraft Association (PRA) and is entitled to all rights, privileges and cooperation afforded by the PRA.

Granted PRA chapter status June 1981 as PRA Chapter 62.

PRA Chapter 62 was incorporated under the state of Texas rules and regulations on September 24, 2010.

 

PRA Chapter 62 Bylaws –December 20, 2010

 

ARTICLE I - Chapter Name:

The name of this Chapter of the Popular Rotorcraft Association shall be: "Lone Star Rotorcraft Club Inc., PRA Chapter Number 62"

 

ARTICLE II - Location of Chapter Office:

The office of the Chapter for the transaction of business shall be located at Sports Flyer field in Brookshire Texas. The mailing address for PRA Chapter 62 is the address of the current chapter president.

 

ARTICLE III - Chapter Purpose:

The principle purpose of the Chapter is to provide an educational venue for the public to learn about gyroplanes, and to serve as an instrument of unification of people with the common interest of advancing the progress of rotorcraft for personal flying.

This Chapter shall be a voluntary, non-profit, non-partisan organization whose members are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, public education and safety of privately owned non-commercial rotorcraft.

 

ARTICLE IV - Membership Eligibility:

Membership is open to any person of good moral character subject to approval by the Chapter board of directors. No person shall be refused membership solely because of nationality, race, color, sex, age or religious belief.

A “member in good standing” will be current with their dues

All members will renew their membership each year at the January meeting by signing a new membership application. This will help assure that all personal information is up to date.

Any reference in the by-laws, or other Chapter documents, to “member” will specifically mean a “member in good standing” as specified above.

If the Chapter board of directors determines that a member has willingly violated any bylaws, or other Chapter rules, that jeopardize the Chapter, then the board will present the Chapter membership with a recommendation that said member’s membership be terminated without any right of appeal or possibility of reinstatement.

If two thirds of the members in attendance at a legal meeting accept the board’s recommendation then the action to terminate the membership will be taken and will be recorded in that meeting’s minutes. The terminated member will permanently forfeit ownership of all monies, materials or property donated to the club for any purpose.

 

ARTICLE V - Chapter Membership Classification:

There are two classes of members; active and non-dues paying honorary.

An active member is one who pays Chapter dues and is eligible for all Chapter benefits. A non-dues paying honorary member is one who has been granted non voting limited membership by the board of directors.

 

ARTICLE VI. – Membership Dues

The Chapter dues are $25. 00 for a calendar year and are to be paid on January 1 of each year.  Dues are delinquent after January 31 and membership privileges are terminated on March 31 if dues haven’t been paid.

New members who join after January will have their dues prorated the year after they join. The prorated dues are $2. 25/month.

Example: Member A joins the chapter in May and pays the required one calendar year’s dues of $25.  The following calendar year, Member A pays dues only for months June through December at $2. 25/month for a total of $15. 75 before resuming calendar year dues of $25 on January 1.  

Members that are renewing late, or previous members who had dropped affiliation and are renewing, will be required to pay a full years dues regardless of when they renew.

 

ARTICLE VII. - Member Benefits

An active member, in good standing, has full voting and meeting participation rights.  A member is given the expectation of being provided mentoring, safety guidance from non-expert peers and access to the Chapter’s web site forum.

 

ARTICLE VIII.  Election of Officers:

Officer Qualifications: All officers, and officer nominees, must be members in good standing of the Popular Rotorcraft Association and PRA Chapter 62.   

1. Nominations for officers will take place annually at the September meeting.  Self-nominations are allowed.  Nominations may be submitted by regular mail or e-mail to the Secretary.  The Chapter Secretary will be responsible for verifying that all nominations are valid.

2. The election of officers will be by secret ballot at the regularly scheduled October meeting unless meeting attendees vote to hold a vote by show of hands.

3.     An absentee ballot may be cast by sending it to the Chapter Secretary by regular mail or e-mail.  It must be received no later than five (5) days prior to the date the election meeting is held.  

The regular mail cancellation date or e-mail time stamp will determine the validity of the ballot.  The Chapter board of directors will make the final decision on the validity of absentee ballots.

4. The Secretary will be responsible for casting votes from the absentee ballots and will not reveal who cast the votes.

5. The President, Vice President and Secretary will count the votes cast. The Secretary will record the results of the vote count in the minutes of the October meeting.

6. A simple majority (50% + 1) of votes cast will elect an officer.

7. If an office is vacated for any reason then the board of directors will fill the vacancy.  The new officer will serve until the next election.

8. Newly elected officers will be installed on January 1 of each year.

 

ARTICLE IX. Officers:

The officers shall be:

 

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Member-at-Large

Safety Officer

Publicity Officer

 

An individual member may hold up to two offices with the exception of the President and Vice President who may only hold their singular office.

 

ARTICLE XI. Officers Duties:

President:  

The President will preside at regular and special meetings and will be responsible for all planned activities of the group. He/she will plan and supervise, either personally or through delegation of authority, all activities necessary for the advancement and welfare of the Chapter and its members. He/she will represent the Chapter and coordinate matters with the headquarters of the Popular Rotorcraft Association and other organizations.  The President will maintain liaison with PRA headquarters and handle correspondence or delegate these duties to the Secretary- Treasurer.

 

Vice-President:  

The Vice-President will assist the president in all ways possible. He will preside in the absence of the President and will keep himself informed on all matters and activities pertinent to the group's best interests. He will delegate authority, in the presidents absence, as necessary to achieve orderly function of Chapter operations.

 

Secretary:   

The Secretary will keep minutes of all meetings and send to the Chapter. He/She, if delegated by the President, will maintain liaison with PRA headquarters. And handle correspondence. He/She will maintain an up-to-date membership roster. He/She will maintain and manage the Chapter video, book and magazine libraries.

 

Treasurer:

The Treasurer will submit a financial report at all regular meetings, maintain competent financial records, and make financial records available to any member upon request.  All money that is submitted to the Chapter will be given to the Treasurer.  He/She will setup and maintain a simple accounting system that tracks all money in/out of the treasury.

 

Member-at-Large:

The member-at-large represents the Chapter membership as a whole.  He/she will be the Chapter member's representative on the Board of Directors.

 

Safety Officers:  

The Chapter board of directors will appoint three Safety Officers. It is desirable that at least one of the Safety Officers has built and flown his own rotorcraft successfully.   It is the safety officer’s duty to assist all members in any way possible to assure a high level of safety in both the construction and flying of rotorcraft.

The safety officers are also responsible for member and public safety on the ground.

The safety officers will have the final say on all safety matters at any outing or fly-in under Chapter jurisdiction.

 

Publicity Officer:

The Chapter board of directors will appoint a Publicity Officer to advertise and publish information about any outing or fly-in under Chapter jurisdiction.

 

Webmaster:

The Chapter board of directors will select a webmaster to setup and maintain a Chapter web site to further advance the goals of the Chapter.  The Secretary will work with the Webmaster to upload the minutes and other information to the chapter web site.

 

ARTICLE XII.  Chapter Board of Directors:

A Board of Directors will be maintained to govern the chapter for the purpose of keeping the monthly general membership meetings as short as possible.  

The Board of Directors will serve as the interpreter of these bylaws with interpretations being recorded as part of the bylaw history, along with bylaw amendments and modifications, as they occur.

The five (5) member board will consist of the Chapter President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and a Member at Large.  

A retiring president will serve on the board for a maximum of two (2) months as a consultant.  He will not have a vote on the Board of Directors.

The board will meet once a month or as otherwise deemed necessary.

The board meeting will take place before the Chapter monthly meeting for the purpose of reviewing proposals, status of projects and creating the agenda for the next meeting.

The board meeting place and time will be determined by the chapter president. He, or the secretary, will send all board members a notice of the meeting.

The board of directors meeting is open to all interested chapter members. However, Chapter members will not be allowed to participate in discussions unless the board requests their input. The Chapter members will also not be allowed to participate in board votes. This is in keeping with the original purpose of the board to keep all meetings as short as possible.

A quorum of three (3) of the directors, not including a retiring president, will be required to hold a legal board of directors meeting.

The Chapter president will present the board of director’s activities at the monthly general membership meeting.

The Chapter secretary, or designate, will keep minutes of the board meetings.

 

ARTICLE XIII - Meeting Quorum:

A minimum of 33% of the members in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of Chapter business at regular or special meetings.

 

ARTICLE XIV. - Meetings:  

The Chapter must hold a monthly business meeting unless a simple majority, of the board of directors determine there is a good reason not to conduct one.  The President will be responsible for communicating any cancellation of a meeting with the reason given.

The Chapter will hold the monthly meetings on the third Saturday of the month starting at a time set at the previous meeting.

The meetings will usually be held at an airport.  

The President will determine the location of the meeting.

The Secretary will send out detailed meeting information that includes date, time, place and agenda by e-mail and also post this information on the Chapter’s web site forum.

 

ARTICLE XV. - Conduct of Meetings:

The Chapter shall adhere to the following standard agenda for the conduct of meetings. Additional agenda categories can be added as needed.

 1.     Appropriate opening ceremony and announcements.

 2.     Reading and/or acceptance of minutes from previous meeting.

 3.     Treasurer's report.

 4.     Safety Reports

 5.     Board of Directors Report

 6.     Old business.

 7.     New business.

 8.     Miscellaneous

 9.     Projects.

10.   Plans for next meeting

11.    Adjournment

A motion will be considered approved if a simple majority (50%+1) of members present at a legal meeting, votes for the motion.

 

Article XVI. - Chapter Communications:

1. The Chapter Secretary, or delegate, will send the minutes, of any meeting, to the Chapter members within ten (10) days after the meeting.  They will be sent by e-mail. They will also be posted in the members only section of the chapter web site.  

2.  The chapter members and officers will use e-mail as the principle means of documented Chapter business communication.  Phone communication is permitted but it is understood that this type of communication is subject to challenge and any substantive communication is to be summarized and sent, via email to all officers within 24 hours of the communication.

 

ARTICLE XVII. -  Chapter Budget:

A yearly budget will be submitted, in October to the Board of Directors. A Board of Directors approved budget will be presented to the Chapter membership in November for approval.

It will identify Chapter projects that require expenditures in excess of $250 (two-hundred and fifty dollars).  

New projects will be presented to the board of directors for consideration at their monthly meeting. The new project will require a written description, timeline and projected cost.

A project manager will be assigned to see that the project is executed according to timeline and budget.  

Project status reports will be sent to the President for presentation at the monthly Board of Directors meeting. The Board of Directors will determine if project reports will be placed on the general meeting agenda for presentation to the membership.

The budget and projects will be reviewed quarterly.

 

ARTICLE XVIII. - Expenditures:

Chapter expenditures will be authorized by of the members present at a legal meeting with the following exceptions:

1. Expenditures up to and including $100 (one-hundred dollars) may be authorized by two of the four officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer) without a vote of the membership.

2. Expenditures of more than $100 (0ne-hundred dollars) up to and including $250 (two-hundred and fifty dollars) may be authorized by three of the officers without a vote of the membership.

3. Such expenditures shall be announced to the membership at the next legal Chapter meeting.

4. Expenditures are not allowed to be broken into segments that are smaller than the total, on any particular     item in an attempt to circumvent approval by the membership.

5. Expenditures in the excess of $250 (two-hundred and fifty dollars) will be presented to the Chapter membership a minimum of seven days before the monthly meeting where it will be brought to a vote.

    If the nature of the expenditure is such that it needs to be expedited then the Chapter officers could conduct a poll of the membership by phone or e-mail and the results presented at the next meeting.  A vote by polling requires a simple majority (50% +1) of the membership to approve the expenditure. The polling can be stopped once the simple majority is achieved.

6. Absentee voting will be allowed on expenditures exceeding $250 (two -hundred and fifty dollars).  

      The rules for absentee voting are the same as for officers.

 

ARTICLE XIX. Membership Application

The “membership application” is a legal document, to be signed by all members, stating that the signing club member will agree that the club is a legal entity, subject to the laws of Texas, that the club has the right to collect and use membership funds and donations, and that the club can own and possess material items and property.

By signing the application, the member also agrees that all monies, material items or property given to the club. either for annual dues or any other payments, donations, contributions for projects or other reasons are provided to the club with NO EXPECTATION that the monies, material items or property will ever be returned to the giver, for any reason, regardless of any current, past or future verbal or written agreement.

By signing the application, the member also states that they have read the Chapter by-laws and agrees to follow them. The member will hold harmless the Chapter, the officers of the Chapter, and all other Chapter members for any injury or cost, related to club activities or business, that may occur while they are a member. The member agrees to personal responsibility for their own safety while at Chapter meetings and activities.

 

ARTICLE XX. – Amendments and Ratification

1.  These bylaws shall be ratified by a two thirds vote of the members present at a legal meeting.

2.  Amendments to these bylaws must be approved by a minimum of three of the club officers and two thirds vote of the entire membership, to be validated by the club Secretary and the vote entered into the minutes.

A request to approve, or deny, bylaw amendments will be sent to the membership with a stated required response date. All non responses by the stated date will be considered as approvals.

3.  These by-laws are subject to review and modification by all members.

4.  The by-laws are to be reviewed, in January, of odd number years by a committee assigned by 3 of the officers.

 

ARTICLE XXI. - Dissolution of PRA Chapter 62.

In the event that the Chapter is dissolved, for any reason, then all monies in the Chapter treasury are to be donated to the international PRA association. Also, any chapter owned materials and/or property are to be sold within 60 days and the resulting funds are to be donated to the international PRA association.

At no time after the dissolution of the club will any funds be given to anyone for any reason, except as stated above.

No member is to have any expectation of receiving any refunds, reimbursements, or other monies, or take possession of any club-owned material or property, after the club is dissolved. Dissolution is to be guided by the laws of Texas and the IRS code for not-for-profit organizations.

 

ARTICLE XXII. - Miscellaneous:

1.  A vote on any issue may be by secret ballot if a simple majority of meeting attendees agrees.

2.  If 2/3 of the members present at any legal meeting request it, a review, of these bylaws, will be made for possible modification.

3.  These By-laws, automatically get reviewed in odd number years, in the month of January, by the membership.

4.  A special meeting can be called by any member, at any time, if that member can secure approval from a simple majority (50%+1) of active Chapter 62 members in good standing.

The meeting will be valid if the quorum is as stated in these by-laws.