Columbia Hot Stove League, Inc. By-Laws and Policies (Revised July 7, 2017)
I. Name The name of the organization shall be the Columbia Hot Stove League, Inc. (CHSL), a charter member of the Lorain County Hot Stove League, Inc. (LCHSL) for baseball and Lorain-Medina Ohio Girls Softball Organization, Inc. (LMOGSO) for softball. II. Purpose/Objective A. The purpose of CHSL is to build character, citizenship, sportsmanship, and to teach fundamentals & general knowledge of the game of baseball for boys and softball for girls. B. The objective shall be achieved by providing competitive supervised games. III. Governing Body A. CHSL shall be governed by the following positions: 1. Executive Committee a. President b. First Vice-President/Boys Travel Personnel Director c. Second Vice-President/Girls Travel Personnel Director d. Secretary e. Treasurer 2. Board Members a. Uniform/Sponsorship Coordinator b. Equipment Manager c. Head Umpire /Field Scheduler d. Concession Stand Director IV. Duties of Governing Body 1
A. President 1. Shall preside at CHSL meetings & provide an agenda of the meeting to the secretary and both vice presidents. 2. Shall appoint committees for the conducting of CHSL business and is responsible for the representation of the CHSL in meetings of government or business where CHSL should be represented. 3. Shall have the power to call special meetings, when and where deemed necessary. 4. Shall supervise the operation of CHSL and enforce its rules and regulations. 5. Shall at no time, set aside any rule or regulation to benefit any individual or team and shall render no decisions that are related to matters that shall be acted upon by the Governing Body without their approval or knowledge. 6. Shall appoint person or persons to fill any board position that has not been filled at election time, with Executive Committee approval. 7. Shall notify Governing Body of meetings. 8. Shall be tiebreaker on votes and for that reason, will not vote on any motions unless a tiebreaker is needed. 9. Shall be responsible for appointing a committee by October 1st to audit the financials each year. 10. Shall be elected to a two (2) year term. B. First Vice President/Boys’ Travel Personnel Director 1. Shall carry out the duties pertaining to the office of the President whenever the President is absent or unable to perform such duties as outlined herein. 2. Shall become Interim President in the event the current President should resign or become incapacitated during his/her term in office, until a new President can be appointed. 3. Shall call special meetings when or where deemed necessary with the approval of two other elected officers. 4. Shall preside over the Boys’ Travel League by assembling team rosters according to Lorain County Hot Stove rules. 5. Shall provide the CHSL Secretary copies of rosters submitted to the LCHSL. 2
6. Shall be responsible for conveying policies of CHSL and LCHSL to managers. 7. Shall represent CHSL at monthly LCHSL meetings. 8. Shall make themselves available for any suggestions and/or complaints pertaining to Boys’ Travel baseball. 9. Shall be elected to a two (2) year term. C. Second Vice President/Girls’ Travel Personnel Director 1. Shall carry out the duties pertaining to the office of First Vice President whenever the First Vice President is absent or unable to perform such duties as outlined herein. 2. Shall call special meetings when or where deemed necessary with the approval of two other elected officers. 3. Shall preside over the Girls’ Travel League by assembling team rosters according to LMOGSO rules. 4. Shall provide the CHSL Secretary copies of rosters submitted to LMOGSO. 5. Shall be responsible for conveying the policies of CHSL and LMOGSO to managers. 6. Shall represent CHSL at monthly LMOGSO meetings. 7. Shall make themselves available for any suggestions and/or complaints pertaining to Girls’ Travel softball. 8. Shall be elected to a two (2) year term.
D. Secretary 1. Shall record minutes of CHSL meetings and make available those minutes to the Governing Body and have a copy of such minutes on hand for reference. 2. Shall provide and collect a sign-in sheet at all meetings. 3. Shall have custody of the CHSL By-Laws and Policies. 4. Shall be responsible for any publicity or correspondence related to CHSL and its operations. 3
5. Shall keep contact information on file for the CHSL board members. 6. Shall have on file rosters for each team in CHSL that will be provided by each league’s respective Director. 7. Shall be elected to a two (2) year term. E. Treasurer 1. Shall handle financial matters of CHSL during the current year. 2. Shall record income and expenses of CHSL during the current year and shall pay expenses as they occur, subject to approval of the Governing Body. 3. Shall give a complete financial report at each regular meeting. 4. By the October CHSL meeting, the Treasurer shall provide the year end (October 1 through September 30) income statement, balance sheet, detailed transaction report and the reconciled bank statement (September) to the Secretary. These reports will also be delivered to the accountant of CHSL so the appropriate IRS tax form can be prepared and filed with the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Ohio. 5. All CHSL accounts shall require a minimum of two (2) signatures on file for all transactions. Authorized signatures shall include at least two members of the Governing Body. 6. Shall be elected to a two (2) year term.
F. Uniforms/Sponsorship 1. Shall secure a vendor for CHSL’s uniforms by obtaining AT LEAST two different quotations. 2. Shall submit all the quotations to the Governing Body to vote to select a vendor to supply the league uniforms. 3. Shall submit copies of the “winning” quotation to the Secretary and Treasurer. 4. Shall work with the uniform vendor and provide a standard uniform for CHSL. 5. Shall secure sponsorships for each team in the CHSL. a. In January, provide the previous years’ sponsors the opportunity to sponsor a team. 4
b. Fill in remaining sponsorships with those who signed up to sponsor at registration and then, if needed, via solicitations. 6. Shall secure payment from each sponsor in a timely manner and present payment to the CHSL Treasurer. 7. Maintain a database/record of all sponsorships including contact information and give a copy of the information to the CHSL Secretary after the sponsorships are filled. G. Equipment Manager 1. Shall maintain, purchase, and be knowledgeable of current safety regulations regarding the playing equipment of CHSL. 2. Shall make the Governing Body aware of significant requirements for equipment. 3. Shall take an annual inventory of the equipment of CHSL. 4. Shall take a pre-season and post-season inventory from each manager to make sure that each team is provided with safe and functional equipment. H. Head Umpire/Field Scheduler 1. Shall schedule umpire crew for all games in the Boys’ & Girls’ travel leagues. 2. Shall preside over any protests that may be filed during the season. 3. Shall ensure that umpire crews arrive at their scheduled games at least 15 minutes prior to game time. 4. Shall provide the Governing Body a contact list of carded umpires. 5. Shall ensure that umpires understand and follow the procedures for compensation the CHSL has set. 6. Shall work with the Treasurer to make sure that umpires are compensated on a weekly basis. 7. Shall have the ability to cancel any game(s) due to weather and/or field conditions. 8. Shall schedule fields for home games and post and update a field schedule on a weekly basis. 9. Shall communicate with the Field Maintenance Director so that fields are playable. 5
I. Concession Stand Director 1. Shall manage the operation of the concession stand during the season up to and including any post-season tournaments. 2. Shall make sure that the concession stand is in compliance with all local & state health codes and those are followed throughout the season. 3. Shall organize a work schedule for each night that games are scheduled. 4. Shall have the ability to appoint any individual(s) to help in the stocking of the concession stand including a shopper/stocker and/or any other position(s) deemed necessary. 5. Shall be able to set prices in the concession stand that will be profitable, yet affordable. 6. Shall submit to the CHSL Treasurer a monthly report recording expenses and profits. V. Team Representative 1. Shall be a current rostered manager in good standing (not on probation or banned from managing). Managers are current from April 1st to March 31st. 2. Shall have the right to cast a vote in September elections for Governing Body members only if attended at least two (2) monthly meetings during CHSL fiscal year. 3. Shall be in physical attendance to be able to vote. VI. Members A. Shall be a parent/guardian who has paid for the current calendar year for their child to play in Columbia Hot Stove League. B. Shall have the right to cast a vote in the September elections for Governing Body positions only if attended at least two (2) monthly meetings during CHSL fiscal year. C. Shall be in physical attendance to be able to vote. D. ONE VOTE PER FAMILY for Board elections.
6
VII.
Election of the Governing Body A. The election of the Governing Body of CHSL shall be filled in a general election held by paper ballot in September. B. The election of open positions must be advertised publicly for at least two (2) weeks prior to elections. C. Nominations will start to be accepted at the August meeting of CHSL and will continue to be received up until the meeting in September. D. All officers shall be eligible for re-election. E. Each board position will have a two-year term. F. To be a candidate for President, the person must be current Governing Body member and have served at least one (1) full year in Governing Body in any capacity. G. During odd-numbered years, the following positions will be up for election: 1. President 2. Second Vice President/Girls’ Travel Director 3. Treasurer 4. Uniforms/Sponsorship 5. Head Umpire/Field Scheduler H. During even-numbered years the following positions will be up for election: 1. First Vice President/Boys’ Travel Director 2. Secretary 3. Equipment Manager 4. Concession Stand Director I. The Governing Body has the right to cast separate votes in any election. The other parent of a Governing Body member’s child may cast a vote as a “member” provided that both parents are not Governing Body members. In which case, each parent votes once per their respective Governing Body positions.
7
VIII. Removal, Suspension, or Resignation of Governing Body Members A. Any member of the Governing Body may resign by delivering a signed resignation to the President, or Secretary of CHSL. Such resignation shall be effective upon receipt or any specified date. Resignation shall be accepted without prejudice. The vacancy shall be filled as provided for elsewhere in these By-Laws and Policies. B. ANY member can have a complaint filed upon them at any time in office. A formal signed complaint shall be filed with CHSL. C. Depending on the nature of any complaint brought forth, the Executive Committee shall form a quorum and recommend further proceedings on the matter. If the complainant is a member of the Executive Committee, the President shall appoint a Board Member to become a part of such quorum. D. Complaints against a Governing Body member must allege serious misconduct in office or repeat failure to perform substantive duties of their office as described in the By-Laws and Policies of CHSL, Inc. The charges must be specific as to the alleged act(s) of the serious misconduct and/or duties such member is alleged to have failed to perform. E. Such Governing Body member that is the subject of removal or suspension shall be notified by the President or Secretary within 10 days of a formal complaint filed with the Governing Body. F. Such member must be given opportunity to be heard on the matter at a special meeting of the Executive Committee called by the President within 14 days of receiving notice of the complaint. G. The Governing Body, at its discretion, may remove or suspend any Board member upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Governing Body sitting at time such issue is brought before the Governing Body for a vote either at a special meeting called by the President or at regular monthly meeting. H. If the Governing Body member that is the subject of any complaint is the President, the First Vice President shall execute any actions that the President would normally do as listed previous. I. Any individual that has been voted removed from the Governing Body per these procedures is not eligible to hold a Governing Body position for the remainder of the term from which they were removed.
8
IX. Meetings A. Shall be held monthly (except during December) at a time and place determined by the current Governing Body members put in place at the September elections. Notification of time and place to all members should be done by September 31st via the organization’s website. B. Shall follow the following format: 1. Called to order by the President. 2. Roll call by the Secretary. 3. Minutes read by the Secretary, if not submitted to the Governing Body previously and/or if by request by members in attendance. 4. Financial report by the Treasurer. 5. Reports by each Governing Body member. 6. Old business to be discussed if necessary. 7. New business discussed. 8. Open Discussion. a. For time purposes, Open Discussion may be limited, per discretion of the President. 9. Meeting will be adjourned by the President. C. Shall be open to the public unless an Executive Committee Meeting is called. D. For the purpose of addressing issues of an emergency or of time-critical nature, the President may convene a virtual meeting of the Executive Committee. Such virtual meetings may be conducted via telephone, email, or similar communication methods. X. Fundraising and Sponsor Relations A. Any fundraising effort conducted in addition to annual fundraiser by an individual(s) must be approved by Governing Body. B. If approved, any funds raised must be given back to CHSL to be deposited in general fund. C. Members are not to contact sponsors requesting favors or additional donations/sponsorships affiliated to CHSL teams. 9
XI. Fiscal Year The fiscal year of the Columbia Hot Stove League shall be a period of twelve (12) months that ends on September 30th. XII. Amendments A. These By-Laws and Policies or any section thereof may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the Governing Body. B. The Secretary shall provide a copy of the proposed change(s) to the Governing Body at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the decision or vote is to be made.
10
11
