Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen
by-laws
Written January 26, 1985
Amended January 19, 1986
Amended January 18, 1987
Amended January 17, 1988
Amended January 29, 1989
Amended January 18, 1992
Amended January 16, 1993
Amended April 19, 2004
Amended January 20, 2008
Amended February 11, 2015
Article I- Name
The name of this club shall be the OLDE VIRGINIA PRIMITIVE RIFLEMEN.
Article II- Object
The object of this club shall be to create and promote fellowship, brotherhood and interest in the art of primitive muzzle loading shooting, pre-1840 life and encampment through organized rendezvous.
Article III- Membership
Section 1. The membership of the club shall not be limited to any set number of active members.
Section 2. Any adult shall be eligible for membership, provided that such adult shall be nominated by one member and seconded by another. A vote will be cast and anyone receiving no more than two (2) negative votes will become an associate member. At the end of a 12-month probation period the associate member must own or have access to:
B. Pre-1840 clothing and be able to explain what period his/her outfit depicts.
C. A pre-1840 shelter or lodge.
D. Attend a minimum of two (2) club functions per year and at least one (1) work party per Rendezvous. Any deviation from this must have approval from an executive officer.
Section 3. If there are more than two (2) descending votes, the nominee will be eligible for re-nomination at the next club meeting.
Section 4. Membership status: Any member that does not fulfill requirements in Article III, Section 2, item D without just cause can be served with written notice and will have 15 days to reply to the Executive Officers with his/her explanation. At an executive meeting, the case will be reviewed and the officers, deciding if the member should be put on probation, will cast a vote or not. The member in question will be given a written notice of the outcome and if the decision is probation, he/she will remain so for (4) four more club functions. At the end of this time a vote will be taken by the members at the next club meeting, deciding upon the member’s termination, remaining an active member, or reverting to an inactive member.
Any member may be suspended or expelled from membership by a ¾ negative vote of the active members present, for any cause deemed sufficient, provided that such member and all active members shall have been served with written notice of the accusations against him/her and of the time and place of the meeting. At this time said member shall have the opportunity to produce his/her witness, if any, to be heard. Said notice will be served at least 30 days prior to the time of the meeting. Upon receiving an “inactive membership status”, said member will be notified, will relinquish all voting rights and will be dropped from monthly club mailings. Inactive club members will be mailed annual rendezvous flyers.
Section 5. Reinstatement from inactive status: From the date that the inactive member request active status by informing a club officer, they become a probationary member and the same rules as in section 2 applies. Upon completion of the stated requirements, they revert to active status with all rights of the active membership.
Section 6. Any member that resigns from the club forfeits all membership rights and is to return all club properties immediately. In order to be reinstated, said person is nominated by one member and seconded by another. A vote will be cast and no more than two (2) negative votes will be allowed to elect as a probationary member.
Section 7. Honorary membership status: Any member in good standing that cannot meet club requirements as deemed justified by the Executive Board, will become an honorary member at the discretion of the Executive Board. Said member may become active upon their request to do so at any time.
Section 8. No persons shall spend club monies and expect to be reimbursed unless approved by an officer.
Article IV- Meetings
Section 1. The regular meeting will be held on the 3rd Sunday of each January, unless ordered so by the President.
Section 2. The regular meeting on the 3rd Sunday in January shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers if needed, receiving reports of the officers from the past year and deciding the clubs objectives for the upcoming year.
Section 3. Special meetings can be called by the President with the purpose of the meeting being stated in the call. In the case of emergencies, the President can make a club decision with a 100% vote from the club officers. The membership at large will be notified at the next club meeting.
Section 4. Quorum: Presence of ¾ of the active club members shall constitute a quorum. In lieu of ¾ of active members present, a quorum can be declared by the Executive Board.
Article V- Officers
Section 1. Executive Officers: Executive Officers of the club shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Gate Purser. Officers of the club shall be Range Officer, Captain of the Blades, and Captain of the Dog Soldiers. No member shall hold more than one office at a time.
Section 2. The officers of the club shall remain in office for a term of three years or until the following happens:
Section 3. The original founding officers shall be honored guests at any executive meeting with equal say at such meeting, even if not active, but with no voting privileges.
Section 4. Any vacancy in any office due to death, resignation, removal, or otherwise, will be filled by the executive officers by appointment for the remaining term of the year. At the annual meeting an election of the new officer will be taken. Active club members will be nominated; a vote will be cast by the quorum, with the person receiving the most votes winning the position. The new officer will upon election, receive all the rights mentioned in Article V, Section 2, for the remainder of the term.
Section 5. The President: The President shall be the principal executive officer of the club and shall in general supervise and control all business affairs of the club. He shall preside over all meetings of the members, the executive officers, and insure that a quorum is present before any voting is recognized.
Section 6. The Vice President: In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform the duties of the President and when so acting shall have all the powers and restrictions of the President. The Vice President shall perform such duties that may be assigned to him/her by the President or by the executive officers.
Section 7. The Secretary: The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the members and the executive committee and preserve in books of the club, true minutes of the proceedings, of all such meetings. He/she shall give all notices required by statute, by-laws, or resolutions. He/she shall keep a correct and true roll of all members, taking such at all club functions, keeping a list of affiliated organizations, with their addresses, attend to the proper publication of all reports and send official club correspondence. He/she shall collect annual member dues and give detailed account to the Treasurer and Executive Board. The Secretary shall sign all certified copies of acts of the club, unless specified in the by-laws. He/she shall make the minutes and records available upon request.
Section 8. The Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have custody of all club funds and shall keep in books, belonging to the club, full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. He/she may disburse the funds of the club only by check, signed by him/her only for the payment of routine bills. He/she will be responsible for disbursing dues money to the Booshway staff to purchase prizes. The Treasurer shall make the balance available to any active club member upon request. He/she shall give a complete report at any meeting to cover any transaction made since the last official club meeting. The Treasurer shall balance the legal ledger and present it to the other executive officers at the regular meeting prior to the annual meeting for audit purposes. The ledger will be returned to the Treasurer prior to the annual meeting. The Treasurer will be in charge of all gate monies, entry monies, sale of club properties, etc. and shall be responsible for said monies.
Section 9. The Gate Purser: He/she shall be in charge of collecting all pre -registration monies, keeping accurate registration address books, disclaimer forms, and medallions. Monies collected will be deposited in the clubs account and an accurate accounting of monies will be delivered to the Treasurer for accounting. Names and addresses will be delivered to the Secretary.
Section 10. The Range Officer: The Range officer shall be responsible for all club muzzle loading competition. He/she will oversee the appointment of members for any club shooting affair and make sure they are safe and successful events. He/she will be in charge of all target materials and tools involved in running a competitive range, which include club score books and club score boards. At major rendezvous, the Range Officer will appoint coordinators to help him run the various ranges. He/she will be responsible for clean up of all target materials for all ranges at the conclusion of the rendezvous.
Section 11. The Captain of the Blades: He/she shall be in charge of running and scoring all Knife and Hawk competitions at all club functions. He/she will be responsible for all targets, throwing blocks, score books, and tools needed to run a safe range. The Captain of the Blades will be responsible for the clean up of his/her range at the conclusion of any major club rendezvous.
Section 12. The Captain of the Dog Soldiers: The Captain of the Dog Soldiers shall oversee all of the Dog Soldiers, including assigning and scheduling their duties. He/she shall maintain the enforcement of all rules/regulations of the club during events. In addition, he/she will be responsible for monitoring gate entry from 5:00 p.m. until gate closing during Rendezvous and will insure the gate is closed.
Section 13. Booshway Staff and Responsibilities
A. Booshway: It shall be the responsibility of the Booshway(s) to oversee and assemble all major shoots, rendezvous flyers and return to the secretary for mailing. The Booshway will assign duties and in general run all major shoots, work parties, pre-event planning and rendezvous.
B. Segundo: In the absence of the Booshway(s), the Segundo shall perform the duties of the Booshway and when so acting, have all the powers and responsibilities of the Booshway. The Segundo shall perform such duties that may be assigned to him/her by the Booshway and/or Executive Officers.
Segundo will be responsible for all prizes being present at an events closing ceremony.
C. Scribe: Will support the Booshway and Segundo as needed. He/she will also plan and run the Scribes Match for both the Spring and Fall events.
Each of these positions is a 2 year rotating commitment to the club or until the following happens:
Article VI - Amendments
The executive committee may amend these by-laws after a review and a vote. Their decision will be presented to the club for a final deciding vote with a majority vote of the quorum ruling.