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ACC Constitution and Bylaws (Updated February 2001) ARTICLE I - Name a. This organization shall be known as the AMERICAN CRIBBAGE CONGRESS, INC. (hereinafter called the Congress.)b. If required by the law in the State in which the Congress is incorporated, the Congress shall maintain an office of record in that State, but the principal business office and other necessary offices shall be located wherever the Board of Directors deems it appropriate. ARTICLE II - Objective a. To foster the spirit of good-fellowship and interest in the game of Cribbage, and to establish rules and regulations governing sanctioned play in all organizations officially affiliated with the Congress.b. To establish a system for advance sanctioning of all organized play for which rating points are awarded, and to publish procedural guidelines for conducting sanctioned competition. c. To manage the income and expenditures of the Congress through the budget process at the national level, and to ensure that income and expenditures related to sanctioned tournaments are in compliance with guidelines published in ACC Regulations. d. To establish a schedule of membership dues and other fees required to operate the Congress on a non-profit basis. e. To develop and publish ethical standards governing the behavior and play of all Congress members, to outline the method for documenting and reporting alleged breaches of published ethical standards, and to establish procedures to be followed by the Board of Directors in dealing with reported breaches of ethical standards. ARTICLE III - Members a. Any individual not officially barred from membership in the Congress is eligible for membership upon submission of an Application for Membership, together with the fee established for his/her class of membership.b. Memberships shall be classified as (1) Regular, (2) Junior - under 18 years of age, (3) Life - over 59 years of age, and (4) Any others established from time to time by the Board of Directors. c. Voting rights of the general membership of the Congress is limited to its election of individuals to serve on the Board of Directors of the Congress. ACC members can individually influence the operation of the Congress only through its elected representatives on the Board of Directors. ARTICLE IV - Board of Directors a. The management of the Congress shall be vested in its Board of Directors, which shall consist of twenty-five (25) members in good standing elected by mail ballot of all members of the Congress. The terms of service of all Directors shall expire August 31st of odd-numbered years. New terms of office commence September 1st of odd-numbered years.b. Any member of the Congress is eligible to be a member of its Board of Directors. All that is required for that member's name to be placed on the ballot is for that member to be nominated in writing to the Nominations Committee, either by another bona fide member of the Congress, or by himself/herself. The nomination must be accompanied by a statement signed by the nominee that he/she is willing to serve as a Director, if elected, and to be appointed to at least two standing or ad hoc committees during his/her term of service. c. No more than ten (10) members of the Board shall be elected from one Region. d. No less than six (6) members of the Board shall be elected from one Region. e. No more than four (4) members of the Board shall be elected from one State. f. When more than the nominees specified in Sections c and e (above) are among the top twenty-five (25) finishers in the election, those with the least votes who exceed the ceilings specified in Sections c and e (above) will be passed by in the election process. g. Board vacancies that occur between elections shall be filled for the un-expired term by the individuals - in order - who were not elected and received the most votes in the last election. This appointment must be consistent with the stipulations listed in Article IVc, d, and e. If none of the candidates meets those criteria, the vacancy is filled by Presidential appointment, if approved by a majority of the Executive Committee. h. A Director who misses 50% or more of the Board meetings scheduled during his/her term (unless excused by the Executive Committee) shall be removed from the Board by the President and replaced by an appointee as soon as practicable. A person so removed from the Board of Directors shall be barred from running again or serving as a Director. ARTICLE V - Officers a. The Officers of the Congress shall consist of the President, Executive Vice President, Vice President-Policy, Vice President-Operations and Executive-Member-at-Large selected for a one-year term by majority vote of the Board at the Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the Grand National Tournament.b. In the event that the Office of the Presidency is vacated, due to death, resignation, or removal action by the Board, the Executive Vice President automatically becomes the Acting President during the period that remains before the next Annual Election of Officers. The Acting President is authorized to appoint Acting Officers to fill other vacancies that occur during the same period. ARTICLE VI - Executive Committee a. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Congress.b. No more than two (2) members of the Executive Committee shall be elected from one Region. c. Executive Committee members shall be elected in the sequence listed in Article V-a. d. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act for the Board between meetings. A written report of any actions must be submitted to the BoD at the next scheduled board meeting. e. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once, either face-to-face or by conference call, between each scheduled Board meeting. f. A limitation on the dollar amount that the Executive Committee can approve for expenditure shall be established in ACC Regulations. ARTICLE VII - Other Committees a. Six standing committees will operate on a continuing basis. The officers of the Executive Committee shall appoint a member of the Board of Directors to be in charge of each of these committees as follows:(1) Tournament Rules/Guidelines Committee (National Tournament Commissioner) (2) Rules Committee (Chairperson) (3) Public Relations/Publicity Committee (Chairperson) (4) Judges Program Committee (Commissioner) (5) Grass Roots Program Committee (Grass Roots National Commissioner) (6) Ethics Committee (Chairperson) b. All members of the Ethics Committee must be members of the Board of Directors and all shall be appointed by the officers of the Executive Committee, and each region shall be represented in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors. c. All terms of members of the committees expire at the Board of Directors annual meeting, and new appointments will be effective upon adjournment of the annual meeting. d. Special (ad hoc) committees operating under guidelines contained in ACC regulations shall be appointed by the officers of the Executive Committee. Members of these committees need not be members of the Board of Directors. When the projects for which these committees were created are completed, these committees shall cease to exist. e. The Ethics Committee has the authority to suspend individuals, but all other recommendations of all committees must eventually be presented to the Board of Directors for action. f. All appointments are revocable and replaceable by the appropriate individuals(s). ARTICLE VIII - Meetings a. Two meetings of the Board of Directors shall be scheduled each year, in conjunction with the two ACC-sponsored major tournaments, the Tournament of Champions during the period of January-February, and the Grand National Tournament during the period of September-October. The latter shall be known as the Annual Meeting. The only difference between the Annual Meeting and the other scheduled Board meeting is that the annual report of Officers and Standing Committees and the annual election of Officers for the ensuing term shall be on the agenda for that meeting.b. Board members shall be informed of the date and time of a Board meeting sufficiently in advance to make plans to attend. An agenda for the meeting and any available advance materials shall be provided for their review before the meeting. c. A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of thirteen (13) members. d. No Proxies shall be allowed in voting on questions presented to the Board. e. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by majority vote of the Executive Committee, giving at least 30 days notice to the Board of Directors. Telephone conference calls may be arranged by the Executive Committee to expedite the matter. f. Special meetings may be called by petition, signed by at least 17 members of the Board of Directors and filed with the Executive Vice-President, giving at least 30 days notice to the entire Board of Directors. ARTICLE IX - Amendment of Constitution and ByLaws a. Any provision of this document may be amended or repealed by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Directors present, provided that any such proposed action is forwarded to all members of the Board of Directors at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered.b. The effective date of any such action shall be the following September 1st, unless a different date is specified at the time that action is taken. ARTICLE X - Ethics a. Documented violations of ethical standards in sanctioned Cribbage competition shall not go unpunished. Examples of actions considered unethical shall be publicized, and a continuing effort shall be made to advise players to watch for such actions and to report them to tournament officials when they occur. Tournament officials shall be advised to document the reported violations, regardless of how insignificant they seem, and to submit them to the Ethics Committee for possible action, or future reference in the case of repeat offenders.b. The Ethics Committee (hereafter referred to as Committee) shall receive all reports of alleged ethical standards violations. The Committee shall not act on a complaint until it is received in written form. The Committee shall investigate and review all available information on the alleged offender (both current and prior) and determine if he/she did violate any of the ethical standards. If the Committee finds that he/she is guilty, but does not feel that the violation is serious enough to warrant expulsion, the Committee may immediately impose a lesser punishment and inform the offender of the punishment imposed. The Committee shall inform the alleged offender of the nature of the written complaint(s), and ask if he/she wishes to submit a defense within thirty (30) days. c. The Ethics Committee must have sworn affidavits from at least two (2) members of the Congress before it can initiate expulsion proceedings against a fellow member for violating the ethical standards of the Congress. The affidavit should describe the violation in detail, giving dates, circumstances, facts, actions, witnesses, and other pertinent information. If the Ethics Committee feels that the breach is serious enough to warrant expulsion, the complaint is referred to the Executive Committee for review. The offender is informed of the referral and that he/she is barred from further sanctioned play until the matter is resolved. If the Executive Committee of the Board agrees that expulsion is warranted, the offender is informed that the matter is being referred to the Board for action. A date for the hearing by the Board is set, and the offender is offered a reasonable opportunity to appear before the Board if he/she desires, and/or to file counter-affidavits concerning the circumstances. He/she shall be furnished copies of the complaining affidavits not less than thirty (30) days prior to consideration by the Board. d. If the Board concludes that the complaint is not serious enough to warrant expulsion, it may impose a lesser punishment, or refer the case back to the Ethics Committee for imposition of a lesser punishment. e. If any member is suspended or expelled, that fact (only) shall be included in the next regular publication of the Congress. ARTICLE XI - Conduct a. Persons accepting a position in the ACC Organization whether elected, appointed or certified shall agree to abide by the ACC Constitution and Bylaws, ACC policies, BOD directives, and any other documents or directives approved by the ACC BOD (hereafter referred to as "official documents"). The official documents will be taken at face value. Infractions of this section may result in disciplinary action.b. Members shall promote the goals and positive image of the organization. Any member whose actions directly or indirectly reflect negatively on the ACC or its goals may be disciplined. c. Violations must be reported to the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee may take any of the following actions (normal Ethics Committee procedures apply, as appropriate): (1) Inadvertent or minor violations may result in an official warning or reprimand; (2) Repeated offenses and/or willful infractions may result in removal from all positions held in the ACC, suspension and/or revocation of membership. Violators will not be allowed to hold a position in the ACC for a minimum period of five years. The Ethics Committee may impose a longer time period; (3) Members, who exhibit wanton disregard for the official documents, disrupt ACC functions and/or tarnish the image of the ACC may be subject to expulsion from the ACC. d. Members expelled from the ACC will lose all privileges, honors, and any ranking they may have earned. |
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