BY-LAWS OF THE UXBRIDGE ROD & GUN CLUB, INC.
Uxbridge Rod & Gun Club
512 West Street PO Box 412
Uxbridge, MA 01569-0412
By-Laws
Of
THE UXBRIDGE ROD & GUN CLUB, INC.
Updated October 2024
ARTICLE 1
The name of this organization shall be:
The Uxbridge Rod & Gun Club, Inc.
ARTICLE 2
Purpose:
This organization is formed to promote and carry out the following purposes:
Section 1 To foster, encourage and engage in rifle, pistol, shotgun and archery shooting practice and related competitions and social activities; and to provide opportunities for club members to engage in the sports of hunting, fishing and trapping.
Section 2 To promote hunter safety education in the safe handling and responsible use of archery equipment and firearms for the purposes of hunting, gun collecting, target shooting, competitions and related activities.
Section 3 To encourage the practice of good sportsmanship. in compliance with federal and state firearms and game laws.
Section 4 To support wildlife conservation programs and to assist wildlife management programs.
Section 5 To strengthen landowner-hunter cooperation and understanding and to cooperate with other organizations which share the objectives stated in sections 1through 4 of article 2.3 section 6. To own, manage and operate target shooting ranges and related property and improvements for use in foregoing purposes
ARTICLE 3
Membership:
Section 1 Membership Eligibility:
Any citizen of the United States of America; upon making proper application, paying dues, initiation fees, assessments, etc., as set forth by club vote, may become a member of this organization.
By-Law changed to eliminate the requirement for new applicants to have a sponsor. (April 2021)
Section 2 Code of Ethics
Violation of state, federal and club rules, regulations, and by-laws and improper or unlawful social behavior on club grounds:
Any member of this club who fails to comply with, or abide by the rules, regulations and by-laws of the club shall be subject to an immediate suspension or revocation of his or her membership by any duly elected official of the club. Said suspension or revocation to be confirmed or denied by a vote at the next meeting (regular or special), and if confirmed, the suspension or revocation shall remain. Any member who has been suspended shall have the right to appear in his or her own defense at the meeting where action is to be taken on his or her suspension or revocation.
Required – for all new incoming members and those advancing to full membership from Junior or Auxiliary memberships to become full members must provide:
An LTC, FID or CORI document when applying for full membership. No exceptions. If anyone applying for full membership has a CORI it must be reviewed by a committee consisting of officers of the club and the Board of Advisors before being accepted for membership or full membership. Applicant can be denied membership if so deemed by the committee.
Also, any members membership, can be reviewed by a committee consisting of officers of the club and the Board of Advisors or any committee appointed by them, for infractions of club rules or by-law rules and be expelled temporarily or permanently, by a majority vote of the membership after the offending member is notified by registered mail and given the opportunity to defend themselves at the next meeting after receiving said notice. (Members must agree to this when accepted for membership.)
Section 3 Membership Duration:
Club membership shall run from March 1st to the last day of the following February. Any adult wishing to become a member of this club is put on a waiting list. When an opening is available, the first one on the list is picked and notified by the membership chairman.
Section 4 Rights and Liabilities of Members:
The members of this corporation shall have no right, title or interest whatsoever in its income, property or assets, nor shall any portion of such income, property or assets be distributed to any member(s) on the dissolution or winding up of this corporation. Members of this corporation shall not be personally liable for the debts, liabilities or obligations of the corporation, and shall not be subject to any assessments.
Types of Membership
Adult Member
Adult Member must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have full voting rights at all monthly and special meetings designated for the full membership.
- Have use of all club grounds, pond, facilities in accordance with published club bylaws, club and committee rules.
Probationary Members:
Are new adult members that must meet the following additional requirements in their probationary year to be able to renew as an adult member. - Work 20 hours for the improvement of the club.
- These hours are to be supervised and signed off by club officers or committee chairpersons.
- These hours must be fulfilled by January 31 of the probationary year.
- Attend at least three (3) regular club meetings during the probationary year.
Note: See appeal process below. Probationary members may:
Sponsor auxiliary and junior members.
May not sponsor individuals to be on the waiting list for membership
Do not have voting rights during their probationary year.
A probationary member may appeal to the membership chairperson to have attendance requirements waived.
Inability to attend 3 meetings due to work requirements such as:
Second shift, extensive work-related travel, or extended illnesses are to be considered valid grounds for a waiver of this requirement. All grounds for a waiver will be presented to the membership chairperson and dispatched to the board of advisors for a ruling. All waiver applications should be made in writing to the membership chairperson no later than the December regular club meeting of each year. All waiver applications will contain supporting documentation of claims that prevented a probationary member from attending 3 meetings during the probationary period. Acceptable forms of documentation are letters from employer stating reasons for inability to attend 3 meetings such as second shift or extended travel. This should be on company letterhead and a contact provided so verification can be made. Proof of extended illness will require a note from the probationary member’s doctor.
Auxiliary Members:
An auxiliary member must convert to adult member status after 3 years unless the membership is full. i.e. 300 members. In which case they may remain an auxiliary member for an additional year. - Be at least 18 years of age.
- May be a spouse, significant other/partner, and remain an auxiliary member indefinitely. Any others including; daughter, son, niece, nephew, stepchild, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, son- in-law, daughter-in-law, of the member or probationary member but must convert to Full Probationary membership within three years unless auxiliary member cannot have use of the club. i.e. school, military or relocation.
- Abide by club and committee rules and bylaws. Full members may not rollback to auxiliary member.
Auxiliary members may be a junior member who has not elected to become a probationary adult member upon reaching the age of 18. They will be allowed to convert their membership to a probationary membership during the next membership renewal period unless auxiliary member cannot have use of the club. i.e. School, military or relocation. Auxiliary members may have unaccompanied access to club grounds and facilities in accordance with club bylaws and rules, including possession of a current club key. Auxiliary members are not allowed to bring guests to the club.
Auxiliary members will be given preference over the waiting list for consideration to convert to probationary adult members. All of the duties of probationary membership are required. - The adult sponsoring member fails to renew or has their membership revoked.
- Spouse, significant other/partner relationship becomes invalid along with any other auxiliary member. The adult member is responsible for returning the keys in possession of sponsored auxiliary members.
Adult members are responsible for the conduct of any sponsored auxiliary members. Penalties can include loss of membership.
Junior Members
Adult and probationary members may sponsor junior members. A Junior member must: - Be between 6 – 18 years of age, 5 and under are free.
- Be a daughter, son, niece, nephew, stepchild or grandchild or any non- related child under the age of 18.
- Not have access to club keys.
- Abide by club and committee rules and bylaws.
Junior members lose their standing if:
The adult sponsoring member fails to renew or has their membership revoked. Junior members must be accompanied by an adult member, probationary member or auxiliary member while on club grounds.
Adult members are responsible for the conduct of any sponsored junior members. Junior members are eligible to become adult members at the first renewal period after their 18th birthday. They may choose to decline this opportunity and become an Auxiliary member unless auxiliary member cannot have use of the club. i.e. School, military or relocation.
to perform all probationary membership requirements.
Life Member & Honorary Member
Life Membership requirements: - Life Membership begins at age 65 or older.
- At least ten (10) consecutive years of membership in good standing.
*The Life Membership privilege is a free membership honoring dedication and service to the Club. Life members are not required to pay the yearly membership dues.
*By vote of the floor, and review of the Board of Advisors, an Honorary Life
Membership may be bestowed upon that individual. Life Members and Honorary Members must: - Pay for keys and other assessed member costs such as fees.
- Abide by club and committee rules and bylaws.
- An Auxiliary Member being the spouse or significant other of a full member who attains Life Member status under our requirements also is afforded the privilege of Honorary Life Membership as long as that person also meets the requirement of the club for life membership criteria.
ARTICLE 4
Dues:
Annual dues, assessments, fees, etc. shall be determined and voted upon at the December meeting, to go into effect for the following fiscal year.
ARTICLE 5
Meetings:
Section 1 The Club shall meet on the first Monday of each month at 7:00 pm for the regular Club meeting. {Unless that Monday is a holiday and the meeting is on the following day, Tuesday}
Section 2 A passed motion by a quorum of the voting membership may call a special meeting. A special meeting may also be called by a (50%) or greater vote of the elected officers to include: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.
Section 3 A quorum at any regular or special meeting for the purposes of conducting Club business shall consist of a minimum of fifteen (15) voting Club members. A special meeting shall require two (2) or more Club officers to be presiding.
Section 4 The limit of a dollar ($) amount to be appropriated at a regular monthly meeting shall be set at ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). The maximum dollar ($) amount of appropriations during a regular club monthly meeting shall be defined as; The sum of all individual appropriations during the regular club meeting.
Single expenditures exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), must be approved at a special meeting called in accordance with section 2 of article 5.
Section 5 In a crisis (Such as when Covid 19 hit) and such, Officers along with the Board of Advisors can make monetary decisions for the clubs’ best interests.
Section 6 The establishment or change of a club rule: The establishment or change of a club rule will be as follows – If a member wishes that the club adopt a new rule or amend an existing rule; a motion needs to be brought to the floor at a club meeting. If the motion is successful, the wording will be published in the meeting minutes in the next newsletter and or website (required) as a proposed rule. If the proposal is passed unaltered at the next meeting, the rule will come into effect with a final vote. If significant changes are voted, the final vote will be at the following meeting. If significant changes are again voted, the final vote will take place at the following meeting and so on.
ARTICLE 6
Officers of the Club:
Section 1 The officers of the club shall consist of: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary.
Section 2 These officers shall be elected annually by secret ballot. Nominations will be accepted starting with the January regular Club meeting and close at the February regular club meeting. Election of these officers will be the first order of business at the following March regular meeting. The 15 newly elected officers will immediately assume their responsibilities after the close of elections.
Section 3
Duties of officers:
(a) President: Shall be Executive Officer of the Club and shall preside, when present, at club meetings.
(b) Vice President: In the absence of the president, the vice president will assume all responsibilities of the president’s office.
(c) Treasurer: To collect all funds of the club from the proper officers or agents, to issue receipt thereof and to keep a true account of such funds using modern methods when available. To deposit funds in a bank of his or her choice with the prior approval of the membership and to disburse funds only in payment of duly approved expenses. A treasurer’s report is to be given at each monthly meeting. In the event the treasurer is unable to attend the next scheduled meeting, a written treasurers report will be submitted to a club officer and read at said meeting. The treasurer shall also provide copies of current bank statements to the president at each monthly meeting. The treasurer shall maintain custody of all valuable documents of the club. After yearly election of club officers, the treasurer will conduct an inventory of all valuable club documents with (1) or more club officers present.
(d) Secretary: The secretary shall give such notices of meetings of members and club officers as are required by these bylaws and shall keep a record of all the meetings of members and club officers. The Secretary shall have such other powers and duties as are usually inherent to that office. The secretary shall have charge of all correspondence and to keep on file all documents not entrusted to other officers. In the absence of the secretary from any meeting of members or club officers, a temporary secretary designated by the person presiding at the meeting shall perform the duties of the secretary.
Section 4 The president shall appoint the following committee chair-persons from members of the club to serve until the following March meeting; said appointments to be made within 30 days of election of the President:
Fish Committee
Game
Trap
Archery
Kitchen
Pistol Rifle
Field Day
History
Work Hours
Club House
Membership
Website
Maintenance & Grounds
Forestry
Audit
Best Management Practice
Section 5 All committee chairpersons are to report at each monthly meeting.
Section 6 Vacancies arising in the office of President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary shall be filled by nominations from the floor at a regular monthly meeting and an election will be held at the next regular monthly meeting.
Section 7 No club officer may hold more than one (1) office with the exception of an emergency. Requiring a temporary assignment to an additional club office. In the event of requiring a temporary assignment to an additional club office, the assignment will terminate in ninety (90) days or on the evening of the fourth club meeting since the assignment was made. This will require further action by the club membership to elect or assign a different individual to this office.
ARTICLE 7
Board of Advisors:
Section 1 Nominations for the Board of Advisors will be accepted beginning at the January regular monthly meeting and closing at the end of the February regular monthly meeting.
Section 2 An eight (8) member Board of Advisors shall be elected at the March regular meeting. The President shall be the ninth (9) member of this board. Should eight (8) candidates not be available to fill the positions on the board, the president may appoint any member in good standing to fill said vacancy. Also, should a vacancy for any reason occur during the year, the president shall appoint a member in good standing to fill said vacancy.
Section 3 Board of advisors terms shall last one (1) year, expiring at the March regular meeting.
Section 4 The board of advisors shall meet in a timely manner when they receive notice vote of the club membership regarding business that needs to be addressed. Any five (5) members of the board of advisors shall constitute a quorum.
Section 5 Duties of the board of advisors: To review all issues referred to it by the floor and to have a recommendation to present at the next regular monthly or special meeting. The club will post an updated list of names of membership candidates in a conspicuous location in the clubhouse. It will be the responsibility of the membership to notify the club officers of any and all names of candidates that they believe should be denied membership to the Uxbridge Rod & Gun Club Inc. and the reasons thereof. This information is to be taken to the next regularly scheduled club meeting for deliberation from the floor.
The board of advisors will review any candidate or candidates for membership that the body charges them with by majority vote from the floor at a regular monthly club meeting, and with at least a thirty (30) day advance notice prior to membership installment. The board of advisors will then make its recommendation to the body at the next regular monthly club meeting.
ARTICLE 8
Finances:
Section 1 Fund Establishment
The following funds shall be established and maintained:
Fund allotments will be made at the beginning of every fiscal year after
Membership has been closed and all dues are available for distribution.
A. General Checking Account: - Purpose: This fund will be used for the general ledger, i.e. all operational costs shall be paid from this account. All additional appropriations for other club activities will be issued out of this fund. 100% of the auxiliary annual membership dues will be distributed to this account, unless otherwise designated to any other fund by the associated adult member.
- Allocation: 65 % of the adult annual membership dues collected annually will be distributed to this account.
- Operational Budget Reserve Allocation:
- An allocation shall be made from the general operating fund at the beginning of every membership year. the purpose of this allocation is to set aside sufficient funds to insure the ability of the club to pay the monthly and annual bills to operate the club. The treasurer shall create, maintain and review a list of known expenses prior to the beginning of the membership year. This list should include such bills as utilities (telephone, electric, oil), waste disposal, alarm monitor charges, annual insurance, annual taxes and any other recurring bills that can be estimated. An additional 5% shall be added to the current estimated operating costs for a cost of living adjustment.
- The operational budget reserve allocation shall not be eligible to be used for any other purposes during the membership year. Any remaining funds in the operating budget reserve allocation shall be returned to the general operating fund at the end of the membership year.
- Fish Account: 12.5% of membership dues go into this account yearly. All fishing related expenses are paid through this account. Fish chair decides allocation of expenses.
- Game Account: 12.5% of membership dues go into this account yearly. All Game related expenses are paid through this account. Game chair decides allocation of expenses.
- Building Account: 10% of membership dues go into this account yearly. All expenses for building maintenance and upgrades come from this account.
- Debit Account: President and VP have debit cards to use for general purposes. The account has a $XXXX availability limit.
- Jr Activities Account: All money raised via Jr members go into this account and pays for Jr activity events.
- Membership Account: All membership money is put into this account before it is divided into the proper accounts.
- Stabilization Account: 60% of work hour fees go into this account as a reserve for unexpected expenses. (Voting is required to spend money from this account.)
- Land Acquisition Account: 40% of work hour fees go into this account to purchase available land. (Voting is required to spend money from this account.)
- Reserve Account: This account was created to hold money raised for the below divisions.
- R1: Pistol, $XXXX deposited yearly from the General account.
- R2: Rifle, $XXXX deposited yearly from the General account.
- R3: Archery, $XXXX deposited yearly from the General account.
- R4: Pigeon, Self-funded
- R5: Kitchen, $XXXX deposited yearly from the General account.
- R6: Forestry, $XXXX deposited yearly from the General account.
- R7: Security, Self-funded
- R8: Trap, Self-funded
Note: All money in Reserve accounts is for each division and has no limitations on what the money is spent on.
B. Building Fund
Purpose: The building fund will be used for capital improvements.
Moneys of the building fund may be expended for capital club improvement only. i.e. Major repairs, remodeling, new construction or property improvements.
Allocation: 10% of the adult membership annual dues to be placed in the fund each year. All new member initiation fees collected shall be placed in the building fund.
ARTICLE 9
Order of Business:
The order of business at all regular and special club meetings shall adhere to Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure; and shall be conducted as follows:
Meeting called to order by the President or Vice President.
Reading and approval of minutes of previous meeting. Treasurer’s report.
Report of the Board of Advisors. Officer’s reports.
Reports of all standing committees.
Old or unfinished Business.
Introduction of new Business.
Adjournment.
ARTICLE 10
Amendments:
Section 1 By-laws may be amended at any regular monthly club meeting by a two-thirds majority (2/3) vote. The proposed amendment must be presented in writing and read aloud at a previous regular monthly meeting. Written notice of the proposed amendment and regular monthly or special meeting date shall be sent to all voting members.
Section 2 These by-laws will not prohibit the club from making rules in regard to fishing, hunting, use of club grounds and facilities, or to the conduct of members and guests while on club property.
Section 3 Members must agree to accept disciplinary measures for not following club rules.