ABATE of Michigan Inc. By-Laws
By-laws as
Instituted 1976, Amended 2008
Article I. Name
This organization shall be known as ABATE of Michigan,
Inc.
Article II. Form of Organization
This organization shall be a Michigan Non-Profit,
Non-Stock, Corporation.
Article III. Purpose
To protect, defend and assert the rights and freedoms of
motorcycle riders and organizations through peaceful,
non-violent democratic means. It is the intent of the
organization to qualify for tax exempt status under the
appropriate section of Title 501(C) 4 of the Internal
Revenue Code. If the Organization should dissolve, the
remaining members of the Board of Directors at the time
of dissolution shall distribute all assets, real and
personal property of the Organization to an organization
that holds Title 501 (C) 4 non-profit status of the
Internal Revenue Code and that also conforms with the
original purpose of the Organization as stated in the
By-laws.
Article IV. Membership
A. The membership shall be open upon
application to anyone of the age of 18 years or more who
shall subscribe to the purposes of this organization.
B. All membership rights, obligations and
liabilities shall be equal. There shall be no separate
classes of membership except as provided herein.
C. Each incoming member shall pay the yearly
membership dues upon application before being admitted
to the organization.
D. The yearly membership fee shall be $20 for a
single person and $35 for a couple, living at the same
address. Only one newsletter shall be mailed to a single
address. Dues shall be non-refundable.
E. Life membership shall be 15 times the
annual
membership dues of a full paying member.
F. Life Membership Award: A member is
awarded life membership for outstanding contribution to
the organization. It also entitles the recipient to a
free entry to all ABATE activities with the option of
working the event. The criteria needed to qualify for
such a membership is as follows:
1. The member shall have been a member for ten years.
2. The member must have made an outstanding contribution
to the organization.
3. The member must be nominated by a majority of the
Board and approved at the Annual Meeting.
4. Board members that serve five years or more shall be
given five years free membership.
G. Voting Rights. Each
member shall be entitled to one vote upon any matter dly
grought up for a vote t the membership of the
organization. No proxy votes or absentee votes
allowed. All new members voting rights shall take
effect 30 days after their application has been received
and recorded by the Secretary of the organization.
In order to verify voting eligibility, 30 day prior to
the annual meeting and elections, the Secretary will run
a current membership roster. This roster will be
the official voting verification list.
H. Expulsion: Any member shall be expelled
for the following reasons:
1. Non payment of dues
2. The conviction of a felony committed during the
course of the organizations'
activities.
3. Failure to follow any reasonable rules and
regulations promulgated by the
organization for any of the
activities promoted by the organization.
4. The commission of any act that does not uphold the
purposes of the organization.
5. Any member accused of violating sub-sections 2, 3, or
4 above shall be notified by certified mail and
shall be entitled to a hearing before the Board of
Directors within 30 days of notification upon, request.
A majority vote of a quorum at the Board of Directors
meeting shall be necessary to confirm the expulsion.
Article V. Board of Directors
A. The Board of Directors shall be the chief
governing body of the organization.
1. The Board of Directors of the organization shall
consist of not more than 30 members nor less than 3
members, to be elected by the organization.
2. Committee chairman shall be a member of the Board of
Directors.
3. A vacancy on the Board of Directors may be filled by
a Trustee appointed by a quorum of the existing Board of
Directors. The Trustee shall act as a member of the
Board until his/her appointment is ratified or he/she is
replaced by an election, by the full membership, at the
Annual Meeting.
A. The officers of the organization shall
consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Operations
Officer and Legislative Officer.
B. The function and duties of these officers
shall consist of:
1. President
a. To preside over all Board and general
membership meetings
b. To enter into all business contracts and
negotiations concerning the
organization subject to the
approval of the Board of Directors.
c. To appoint necessary committee chairman,
subject to the approval
of the Board of Directors.
d. Tie-breaker, no vote except in the case of a
tie vote.
e. To help develop a budget for the succeeding
year which will be
presented to the Board for
approval.
2. Vice President
a. To assume the duties of the President in
his/her absence.
b. To be a non voting member of each committee and
to insure the
functioning and performance of
each committee.
c. To help develop a budget for the succeeding
year which will be
presented to the Board for
approval.
3. Secretary
a. To maintain all of the organizations' business
and records.
b. To collect and disperse all correspondence to
the proper channels.
c. To process all applications for membership
within 60 days of
Secretaries' receipt of the
application.
d. To record minutes of Board Meetings and send to
the Board of
Director members and Regional
Coordinators before the next meeting.
e. A secretary report shall be required and given
at each regularly
scheduled meeting of the Board
of Directors and the annual meeting.
4. Treasurer
a. Signatures of any two of the following officers
to appear on all
checks: President, Vice
President or Treasurer.
b. The Treasurer shall maintain and update all
financial records of the
organization.
c. A financial report shall be required to be
given at each regular
scheduled meeting of the Board
of Directors and at the annual
meeting.
d. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the
collection of all dues and other
moneys received by the
organization.
e. To help develop a budget for the succeeding
year which will be presented
to the Board for approval.
f. The Treasurer shall be responsible for
the compiling and publicizing of a
quarterly financial report.
5. Operations Officer
a. To act as a go-between for the Board and
Regions.
b. To use the Regional Coordinators to
disseminate information and
coordinate legislative actions
(including lobbying) and state events and
to develop and maintain a
Regional Coordinator Handbook.
c. To be responsible for security at all
state sponsored events.
d. To appoint yearly, subject to the
approval of the Board, an individual to
serve as Sergeant at Arms
for ABATE of Michigan, whose responsibilities
will include the
following, under the supervision and direction of the
Operations Officer.
1. Security operations at all State-wide,
Region-wide activities
sponsored by ABATE of Michigan,
including the Annual Field Meet,
Helmet Protest, etc.
2. Direction and assistance to a per region
appointed Sergeant at
Arms or such designated
individual responsible for security, when
said region sponsors an event
where there will be attendance by a
substantial number of persons,
which may include non ABATE
members, such as "parties",
"runs", "toy runs", etc.
3. To provide escort and security on an as needed
basis for the
Treasurer, other executive
officer or designated individual when
situations may require
such escort or security.
6. Legislative Officer
a. To chair over the legislative committee.
b. To assist and work with operations in
region RC, AC and LO meetings.
c. To monitor motorcycle related
legislation.
d. To present proposed laws and amendments,
pertaining to motorcycles, to
the board for a vote.
C. Election of Officers.
1. The officers shall be nominated and elected by a
majority vote of those Board
members present and voting at
the first scheduled meeting of the Board of
Directors following it's election each year.
2. In order to be nominated for office, the
officer first shall be a duly elected member
of the Board of Directors.
D. Term of Office
1. The term of office shall run concurrently with the
term of the Board of Directors
that elected them.
E. Newsletter Editor
1. The Board of Directors may appoint any member
in good standing to the position
of Newsletter Editor.
2. The function and duties of this position
shall be as follows:
a. To publish a minimum of eight newsletters per year.
b. The Newsletter Editor shall ultimately be responsible
for the typesetting,
assembly and distribution of
the newsletter.
c. The Newsletter Editor shall be subject to a
quarterly review by the Board of
Directors.
d. Payment of further compensation and
continuation of appointed position
shall be based on this review.
e. The Newsletter Editor shall be required to
attend at least 1 (one) Board
Meeting per year.
F. Purchasing Agent
1. The board may appoint any member in good
standing to the position of
Purchasing Agent.
2. The function and duties of this position shall
be as follows:
a. To supervise the acquisition of all the
organization's materials and supplies
for resale and
distribution
b. Maintain an accurate inventory of the
state organization products for
resale
c. A state products inventory report shall be
given annually.
Article VII. Election (Board Members)
A. Nomination Procedures
1. All members are eligible for nomination
2. Incumbent Board Members shall be automatically
placed in nomination unless
declination is stated in writing and submitted by postal
mail to the state
Secretary at the state post office box, postmarked no
later than October 1st of
the current year. Incumbent officers shall be automatic
members of the
succeeding Board of Directors.
3. All other members of the organization wishing
their name to be placed in
nomination for election to the Board of Directors, shall
submit their request for
same, by postal mail to the state Secretary, at the
state post office box, along
with the written endorsement of one other member of the
organization
postmarked no later than October 1st
of the current year.
B. Election Procedures
1. At least thirty days prior to the annual membership
meeting of the organization,
notices of the annual election of the Board of Directors
and of the annual meeting
and nomination procedures as set forth in these by-laws
shall be published in the
newsletter.
2. Election will be by ballot at the annual meeting.
3. Candidates must receive a simple majority to be
elected to the board of directors.
A simple majority is defined as more
than 50% of the total votes cast.
Article VIII. Expulsion of Officers and Directors
A. Any Director missing three consecutive Board
meetings can be suspended from the
Board of Directors by a majority vote of the Boards'
other members at a duly scheduled
meeting of the Board. Proposed suspended member shall be
notified by registered letter
30 days prior to the meeting.
B. Any Board member displaying flagrant,
contradictory interest towards the official purpose
of the organization under Article III, shall be subject
to suspension by a majority vote of the
attending Board members, and will be notified by
registered letter.
Article IX. Meetings
A. General
1. General meetings will be held at the discretion of
the Board of Directors.
2. The general membership meetings shall be conducted as
follows:
a. Meeting brought to order: The president explains the
format of the meeting.
b. Reading of the previous meetings minutes.
c. Treasury report
d. Presentation by the President of the current
interests of the organization.
e. Reports by committee chairman
f. Summarization by the President
g. Elections by Ballots
h. Member comments and/or concerns
3. The annual meeting and elections shall be held at the
beginning of each and every
year.
B. Board of Directors
1. The Board of Directors meetings shall be held a
minimum of every two months.
2. Directors shall be notified at least two
weeks prior to the meeting date.
3. A quorum shall consist of one third of the
Board members if there are seven or
more Directors and shall consist of a majority of the
Board members if there are
less than seven Directors.
4. A voice vote of the Board shall be conducted as
follows.
a. Must be initiated by President
b. 2/3 of the officers must vote to have a voice
vote
c. The secretary must read a written script to all
board members and that
script will be added to the following board meeting
minutes.
d. No more than $1,000.00 may be approved or any
amount that would
deplete the organization below a minimum of $6,000.00
Article X. Provisions and Revisions
A. Any and all proposed amendments shall be made
in writing and submitted by postal mail
to the state secretary at the
state post office box address postmarked no later than
October 1st.
B. All proposed amendments shall be referred to a
By-law Committee which makes its
recommendation to the Board of
Directors.
C. If approved by a majority of the Board of
Directors, the amendment shall be submitted to
the general membership at the
annual meeting for a vote by ballot.
D. If the amendment passes by a majority vote of
the membership present, it shall become
effective on that date.
E. The above not withstanding, the Board of
Directors may, at a duly constituted Board
meeting, approve
changes to the by-laws required by the Internal Revenue
Service in order for
the Organization to achieve
tax-exempt status i.e.: in the appropriate section of
Title 501 (C).
Article XI. Finance
A. Reimbursement
1. Any member of the organization, in good standing with
the organization, is eligible
for reimbursement for expenses
incurred while performing any activity that has
been adopted by the organization
provided
a. The member was specifically requested by the
Board of Directors to
perform an activity in the interest of the organization.
b. The request for reimbursement is made in
writing, with supporting
documents and is presented to
the Board of Directors for approval.
c. The request for reimbursement is made within 60
days from the time the
expense occurred.
d. The request for reimbursement does not deplete
the funds of the
organization below a minimum of
$6,000.00.
B. Compensation
1. The President may request up to $50.00 compensation
for Board members, officers and
members for work done for the organization. The Board of
Directors must approve the
request
2. The request for compensation does not deplete the
funds of the organization below a
minimum of $6,000.00.
3. The members holding the offices of President, Vice
President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Operations Officer,
Legislative Officer and Newsletter Editor shall
receive monthly compensation
according to the following:
a. The President shall receive $300.00 per month.
b. The Secretary shall receive $300.00 per month.
c. The Treasurer shall receive $300.00 per month.
d. The member appointed by the Board of Directors
to the position of
Newsletter shall receive
compensation according to the following:
1. The Newsletter Editor shall receive $300.00 per
published issue of
the Newsletter.
e. The Vice President shall receive $200.00 per
month.
f. The Operations Officer shall receive
$200.00 per month
g. The Legislative Officer shall receive $200.00
per month.
4. Purchasing Agent shall receive compensation
from ABATE of Michigan equal to
10% of the gross profits of
ABATE products sold.
Article XII. State Security
A. The State
Sergeant-at-Arms and his appointed Security Staff, while
working at a State-
sponsored event, shall be recognized as the authority
in matters concerning safety, order,
or security of the State Organizational Event. They
shall be empowered to expel any
person from the event and to keep order during such
event. Instructions and requests by
the State Sergeant-at-Arms and his staff are to be
followed by all members and invited
guests. All Security personnel, while on duty, shall in
turn be responsible to the State
Sergeant-at-Arms.
 
A.B.A.T.E. of Michigan Inc.
P.O.Box 309
Milford, Michigan
48381-0309 |
