By-laws

ARIZONA B.A.S.S. NATION BY-LAWS

Introduction:

The Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation was established to provide an association between anglers for the advancement of the sport of fishing, the enjoyment of competition between friends, and the appreciation of our natural environment. As a group, the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation is dedicated to the good fellowship of our members, the sport of bass fishing, youth events, conservation, and the goodwill of our community.

Membership Requirements:

• Membership in the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation is open to persons over sixteen (16) years of age or older with a valid driver’s license.
• All members of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation are required to be members in good standing of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.)
• All clubs need to be in good standing to vote on any issues/potential by-law changes as they arise through the calendar year presented by the Governing Board or the Membership. It is the sole responsibility of the Club Presidents to make sure their respective club is in good standing at all times.
• All clubs must have a minimum of (6) members and be in good standing by August 15 of each calendar year to be eligible for the AZBN Election of officers. To be in good standing, both National B.A.S.S. and AZBN state dues must be paid in full and recorded. Allow 7 days for the recording of dues.
• AZBN members can be members of multiple clubs, however members can only consider (1) club to be primary for their voting purposes.
• National B.A.S.S. dues are $30/person AZBN dues are $30/person.
• All dues must be paid in full for tournament eligibility to occur. Club Presidents are responsible for submitting a roster to the AZBN Treasurer and maintaining that roster throughout the calendar year.
• Clubs must pay their National B.A.S.S. dues directly to B.A.S.S. via the Club Presidents.
• AZBN state dues will be paid to the AZBN Treasurer via the Club Presidents. It is the responsibility of the Club Presidents to make sure that all dues are paid, and all members are in good standing. Names, complete address, and e-mail address must be submitted for each member with the payment of AZBN state dues.

No part of the membership fee is refundable if a member voluntarily leaves the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation during the tournament season (January 1st – December 31st).

Requirements for Member/Club to be in good standings:

• Clubs are recommended to have a representative at scheduled AZBN meetings so they can forward information on to their club membership.
• Members are required to participate in two community service projects per year. At least one community service project must be completed before June 30th. All community service projects must be completed prior to the last qualifier to be eligible for the State Team. All projects must be approved by the Vice President. Board members are exempt from participating in two community service projects per year. Board members will be eligible for the Arizona State Team without community service participation.
• Members will not be allowed last minute membership payments just prior to a tournament. National and State membership must be verified before membership is validated.
• All anglers MUST be a registered B.A.S.S. Nation Members to be eligible to participate in any B.A.S.S sponsored events.

Membership Benefits:

• Members in good standing of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation:

1. a) Are eligible to fish in Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation Tournamen
2. b) Are eligible to receive any yearly awards and prizes for which they qualify.
3. c) Are eligible for any privileges or discounts negotiated for our membe
4. d) Members will receive a Bassmaster magazine subscription for being active B.A.S.S. members.
5. e) Members will receive a BASS TIMES subscription for being active AZBN members.

Loss of Membership Benefits:

Members of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation are considered not in good standing will lose all membership benefits if they fail to meet the membership requirements as listed. Members who are not in good standing will be reinstated without prejudice once they have met the membership requirements. Members who fail to meet the membership requirements by midyear for that tournament season, for which they have paid fees, will lose all membership benefits for that year, and will forfeit their membership dues and benefits.

Members Expelled for Cause:

A member in good standing in the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation may be expelled for the following:

• Gross negligence or conduct that result in death or injury to any person or persons or destruction of property.
• Violation of law or statute during any Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation sponsored event.
• Flagrant violation (cheating, gross misconduct, operating under the influence, etc.) of any tournament rule(s) as determined by the governing board of Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation.

The following procedure must be followed in order to expel a member in good standing of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation.

• The governing board of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation will review any motion to expel a person and vote on the motion and state the verdict at the next meeting.

Reinstatement of Members Expelled For Cause:

Reinstatement of a member expelled for cause can be accomplished by following the same procedure as required for expulsion. However, reinstatement requests will not be accepted during the same tournament year as original expulsion.

Governing Board:

• A Board of officers shall govern the AZBN as follows: President, Vice President, Tournament Director, Treasurer, Secretary, and past President (non-voting member). These board members are elected officers.
• Committee Chairs are as follows: Assistant Tournament Director, Tournament Committee, Youth Director, Conservation Director, Web Master and Local sponsorship Director. These positions are appointed.
• Committee chairs are appointed positions and are considered non-voting members of the Governing Board.

Eligibility:

A person must be a member in good standing of the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation for one (1) year prior to be eligible for any position on the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation governing board.

Election and Election Eligibility:

The elected officers for the AZBN will be elected by the Clubs every other year. The President, Secretary and Tournament Director will be nominated in the fall of even years and take office January 1 of odd years. The Vice President and Treasurer will be nominated in the fall of odd years and take office January 1 of even years. The nominations for officers will be accepted in writing by September 15 each year. Nominations will be sent via email to all club presidents by October 1. Any member can make nominations for State officers.

Officers hold their elected offices for the term of two (2) years unless they resign sooner. If a vacancy should occur after the scheduled election, an appointee approved by the Board will fill the vacant position. The person appointed by the Board to fill any vacancy must be by majority vote of the Board. Elections for a position on the AZBN Board will be held in November. Each Club must submit their ballot to the existing Board one day prior to the regularly scheduled November meeting. At the November meeting the Club votes will be calculated and the results read aloud.

• All clubs in good standing as of August 15 of each calendar year will be eligible to vote
  In fall elections for upcoming vacancies of the governing board.
• Each club will have (1) vote for governing board vacancies regardless of membership size.
• Club votes will be submitted via the club President with the input from the club members.
• In the event of a tie during an election for a governing board position the following procedure will be followed.
• A special election meeting will occur, date/time/location will be sent out to all Club Presidents via e-mail and it will be posted on the AZBN website at least 30 days prior to the meeting.
• After the meeting is called to order, all AZBN members in good standing will have the ability to vote on the positions in which the tie occurred. After voting is complete, the governing board will count the votes.
• After the votes are counted the results will be read to all those in attendance who voted at that meeting.
• Results will be recorded and included in the minutes of that meeting so that they can be posted on the AZBN website.
• Voting deadline dates will be determined by the AZBN governing board, as necessary.

Emergency Election:

In the event that the entire AZBN board of directors has been vacated, an emergency meeting and election will be held with the National B.A.S.S. Nation Director overseeing said meeting and election.

Meetings:

The board of directors shall meet quarterly. The board of Directors may call, from time to time, special meetings for AZBN purposes, committee meetings, etc. Directors and Officers that are required to attend shall be given at least two weeks’ prior notice, in writing, of the special meeting.

An emergency meeting may be called by the President or acting President. An emergency meeting shall constitute a true emergency and every effort will be made to notify all AZBN members of said meeting, place, and time to afford all Directors and/or members an opportunity to attend.

Board Responsibilities:

All board members (both elected and appointed) must attend ½ of all meetings to be in good standing with the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation.

President:

• Presides over all issues concerning the Organization including but not limited to State meetings, agenda for State meetings maintain order at all times, control debates, and oversee all elections.
• Maintains National Sponsorship and State Team Sponsorships which includes informing the membership of all and any merchandise discounts available through B.A.S.S.
• With approval of the Board, appoints committee chairs, assigns their duties, monitors their progress and receives their reports.
• With the approval of the Board, makes appointments to fill vacant Board positions.
• Approval of the Board is to be determined as a simple majority vote.

Vice President:

• The Vice President takes the President’s place and fulfills his duties when the President is not present. If the President resigns, the V.P. will take his place permanently with a simple majority vote of the Board.
• The V.P. is the State membership chairman and is responsible for the annual membership drive.
• The V.P. presides over all local sponsorships and appoints a chair to assist him with these duties. The assistant must be approved by a simple majority vote of the Board.
• The V.P. is in charge of approving and monitoring all community service projects. This includes maintaining all records of events and passing this info on to the President and Tournament Director to verify eligibility of qualifying for the State Team.

Tournament Director:

• Presides over all aspects of the AZ Bass Nation Qualifiers, which includes the posting of the yearly Qualifier schedule, launch times, weigh-in times and designated off-limit areas.
• Interprets and rules on all observed or reported violations of the AZ Bass Nation tournament rules. Acts as Weighmaster for all qualifiers, procures all necessary permits and documents for events, handles tournament registration, and maintains all payout records.
• Maintains B.A.S.S. roster & membership numbers of all tournament participants and provides updated membership info to B.A.S.S. and the AZ Bass Nation. This includes verifying that all boaters have the minimum
• $300,000 boat liability insurance coverage.
• Appoints an assistant tournament director to assist him and assembles a tournament committee to help with running the yearly qualifiers. This includes verifying that all State Team qualifiers have completed their 2 community service projects prior to the last qualifier of the year.

Treasurer:

• Manages financial records, issues checks and maintains the checking account which includes the filing of year- end tax returns.
• Submits balance reports to members and the Board at monthly meetings.
• Works with the V.P. to maintain and verify that members have paid their State dues.
• Assists the Tournament director with the following: tournament registration, member payment and pay-outs at qualifiers.
• Any expenditure over $100 other than tournament pay outs must be approved by the governing board (either by phone or email).

Secretary:

• Maintains the meeting minutes for the AZ Bass Nation which includes meeting attendance, posting meeting minutes on the website and forwarding all correspondence to the club presidents and their members.
• Works with the V.P. to keep track of and post all community service projects including who the project coordinator was, the date it occurred, what the event was and who participated. This info will be posted on the main website for all members to review.

Past President:

• Advise the President of his current duties, Assist with National and State Team sponsorships if requested.
• Will remain a Board member until replaced by the next past President or simply a one-year term.
• Non-voting member.

Committee Chairs:

Assist Tournament Director:

• This position is appointed by the Tournament Director and the main objective is to handle all tournament registration, qualifier payments, pre-tournament pairings, monitoring of pay-pal payments, transferring funds from pay-pal to main account, posting of draw pairings on website, recording of all qualifiers results and posting on the website as well as posting of all year-to-date results. Assists with maintaining club roosters to assure all members have paid their state and national dues and are registered with a local club.

Tournament Committee:

• Appointed by the Tournament Director, the main objective of this committee is to maintain the Bass trailer and bring to and from all Qualifiers. Prepare coffee and donuts prior to tournament blast-off and prepare BBQ food and drinks after Qualifiers. Assist Tournament Director with checking in boaters and non-boaters prior to blast-off, live well checks, morning blast-off, after tournament check-in, weigh-in and the safe release of fish back to the lake.
• Each registered club will be required to submit two volunteers to assist the Tournament committee for a prescheduled qualifier.

Youth Director:

• Oversees the operation of the Jr. Bass events. Appoints 2 members to assist, one for the Jr. Bass events maintains all paperwork associated for both group events which include putting together rules and regulations, posting of all information on the youth website and holding fundraising events to help off-set the operating expenses.
• Reports all events and results from tournaments to the state secretary to maintain records for youth group.
• Verifies that all boater volunteers are registered B.A.S.S. Nation Members.

Conservation Director:

• Responsible for overseeing all of the Arizona Bass Nation conservation programs and working with the National B.A.S.S. Conservation Director, along with local and state fishing organizations.

Web Master:

• Maintains the website of the AZ Bass Nation which includes working with all board members and committee chairs to post all info in a timely manner and monitor and make revisions as needed weekly.

Local Sponsorship:

• Maintain local sponsorships and recruit new sponsors which include writing contracts to assure what our sponsors will be doing for us and what we are expected to do for them. This will include gathering merchandise for qualifier raffles, hosting the raffles at our qualifiers, posting sponsor info on our website and gathering info so we can advertise for our sponsor on the Bass trailer. The Vice President will assist you if needed.

Removal of Board Member:

• Upon a 30-day prior notice in writing, any Board Member can be removed from their position by a simple majority vote of the Board.

Procedure to revise By-Laws:

Proposed revisions to this document must be made by the following procedures:

• Submit in writing to the Board via Club presidents and can be at any time during the year.
• Proposed revision will then be reviewed by the Board and read aloud at the next AZBN meeting.
• This information must then be reviewed by the club membership and approved or disapproved. The clubs final results must be forwarded to the Board no later than 1 day prior to the next AZBN meeting. (One vote per Club)
• At the next meeting the results will be read aloud and a majority of club votes will either approve or disapprove the proposed revision. If approved, the revision will become effective 30 days after approval.
• All AZBN clubs must be in good standing to be included in the voting process of any new/changes to the current or existing by-laws.
• Any member in good standing of the AZBN is eligible to submit a proposed by-law change, following the process in place.

When submitting a By-law change the following information must be included to be eligible for submission.  Identify the section of the by-laws that the potential revision is affecting. Provide the exact wording of the current by-law that is being addressed. Provide the exact wording of the potential change that is being submitted for change consideration/voting. Once this information is provided a by-law revision is considered complete and ready for submission to the Governing Board.

In the event for an unforeseen reason the Arizona B.A.S.S Nation disbands and no longer runs as an organization; all of its assets will be sold and all monetary balances will be donated to a local youth charity.

• Final authority for the interpretation of all Arizona B.S.S. Federation Nation by Laws shall rest with the governing board.
• All AZBN clubs must be in good standing to be included in the voting process of any new/changes to the current or existing by-laws.
• Any member in good standing of the AZBN is eligible to submit a proposed by-law change, following the process in place.

When submitting a By-law change the following information must be included to be eligible for submission.  Identify the section of the by-laws that the potential revision is affecting. Provide the exact wording of the current by-law that is being addressed. Provide the exact wording of the potential change that is being submitted for change consideration/voting. Once this information is provided a by-law revision is considered complete and ready for submission to the Governing Board.

By Laws Approved By:

B.A.S.S.              Jon Stewart, Director, B.A.S.S. Nation

Date:                  05/31/2023

Ratified by Votes of the AZBN Clubs – 05/31/2023

Version: 05312023

These were updated 3/24/2021