CONSTITUTION
FOR THE RAGDOLLS OF AMERICA GROUP
ARTICLE 1: NAME:
THIS ORGANIZATION SHALL BE KNOWN AS RAGDOLLS OF AMERICA GROUP (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS “RAG”)
ARTICLE 2: AFFILIATION:
RAG SHALL BE A NONPROFIT CLUB AFFILIATED WITH THE CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (“CFA”). NO PART OF ANY PROFIT, DUES OR DONATIONS TO THE ORGANIZATION SHALL BE USED TO THE BENEFIT OF ANY MEMBER OR INDIVIDUAL.
ARTICLE 3: OBJECTIVES:
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS ORGANIZATION SHALL BE TO: PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF THE RAGDOLL CAT: PROMOTE THE BREEDING OF PEDIGREED RAGDOLLS TO THE STANDARDS AS ACCEPTED BY CFA; PROMOTE INTEREST IN AND EXHIBITION OF THE RAGDOLL CAT; PROVIDE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE RAGDOLL CAT AND THE RAGDOLL BREED STANDARDS; AND TO PROMOTE SPORTSMANSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP AMONG RAGDOLL FANCIERS.
ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP:
PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ABOVE OBJECTIVES OF THIS ORGANIZATION SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP.
ARTICLE 5: OFFICERS:
THE OFFICERS SHALL BE PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY & TREASURER. THESE INDIVIDUALS SHALL BE ELECTED BY THE MEMBERSHIP AND SERVE AS THE EXECUTIVE BOARD.
ARTICLE 6: MEETINGS:
MEETINGS SHALL BE AS NOTED IN THE BY-LAWS.
ARTICLE 7: DUES:
ANNUAL DUES SHALL BE PAYABLE ON MAY 1ST OF EACH YEAR. THE AMOUNT OF DUES SHALL BE PROVIDED FOR IN THE BY-LAWS.
ARTICLE 8: AMENDMENTS:
THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BY-LAWS OF RAG WILL BE AMENDED BY A SIMPLE MAJORITY VOTE OF THE OFFICERS. MEMBERS OF RAG MAY PROPOSE AND BE HEARD ON ANY AMENDMENT.
ARTICLE 9: DISBANDMENT:
SHOULD RAG DISBAND, ALL ASSETS REMAINING AFTER THE CLUB’S OBLIGATIONS HAVE BEEN MET SHALL BE DONATED TO THE WINN FOUNDATION, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION AFFILIATED WITH CFA. THE MOVE TO DISBAND WILL BE CONSIDERED BY AND VOTED ON BY THE MEMBERS AND A SIMPLE MAJORITY WILL CARRY THE RESOLUTION.
BY-LAWS
FOR THE RAGDOLLS OF AMERICA GROUP
ARTICLE 1: MEMBERSHIP:
Any person interested in the welfare of Ragdoll cats may qualify as a member of the Ragdolls of America Group (hereinafter “RAG”). All members are to subscribe to the objectives of RAG as listed in the Constitution. All members have the privileges of membership, including the right to vote and hold office.
Each member is strongly encouraged to participate fully in the RAG activities, including, but not limited to, showing, registering catteries, cats and litters and obtaining certified Cattery of Excellence ratings from The Cat Fanciers Association (“CFA”).
ARTICLE 2: MEETINGS:
Because RAG is formed from members who live in all parts of the world, there are no formal, physically scheduled meetings. The Officers, however, may call meetings as deemed appropriate.
Because there are no formal, physically scheduled meetings, all membership voting is by email ballot.
The Officers may use electronic and/or telephone voting to meet specific time restraints. If this procedure is approved, by a simple majority vote of the Officers, the Secretary shall email the results of the vote to the Officers
RAG Members are encouraged to contact other Members in their region, and other regions, and may hold informal meetings as they desire; however, no binding votes may be cast at such an informal meeting.
ARTICLE 3: ELECTIONS:
Elections for Officers are held in June of each year as follows: President and Assistant Secretary will be elected in even numbered years and the Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary will be elected in odd numbered years. Officers begin their term on July 15. The term of office is two years. A declaration of intention to run for an office must be on file with the current RAG Secretary, no later than May 15 of the election year, unless this date is extended by a simple majority vote of the Officers.
The vote is by secret ballot via electronic mail. The ballot, along with copies of the declaration of intentions, will be distributed to all Members in good standing by the RAG Secretary by June 1 through the RAG group list (via email). The Secretary is responsible for having the declarations of intentions posted to the group list prior to the election (June 20) and the votes shall be counted no later than June 27th. To insure fairness, a Counter, who is not involved with the election, will be elected by the Officers to count the votes and send the findings and the ballots to the current RAG Secretary.
ARTICLE 4: GOVERNMENT:
RAG is governed by elected Officers, which include a President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer.
All Officers must be classified as Members in good standing at the time of their declaration of intention of running for office. Vacancies in any office, except that of President, are to be filled by a simple majority vote of the Officers for the balance of the un-expired term. Should the office of the President become vacant for any reason, the Vice President shall automatically succeed to that office, and the Officers will elect a new Vice President.
A Member may only hold one office at a time, and no two Members of the same household may serve as Officers during the same term.
Since physical meetings will not normally be held, meetings will be held by telephone, mail and/or electronic mail.
Committees may be appointed by the Officers as deemed appropriate. The RAG Members may volunteer to be part of a Committee, and they may also be appointed by a vote of the Officers. Each Committee will have a Chairperson and it is the duty of the Chairperson to present a written report of progress made to the Secretary, at intervals set by the Officers.
ARTICLE 5: OFFICERS:
All Officers are elected as stated in “Article 3: ELECTIONS”, of each odd-numbered year for a two-year term.
President:
• Shall be the Chief Executive Officer.
• Preside at all meetings of Members and of the Executive Board.
• Be responsible for communicating with Officers and Members via telephone, electronic mail or regular mail, as required.
• Distribute Annual Awards/Rosettes to RAG Members from scores calculated by CFA.
Vice President:
• Shall preside in the absence of the President.
• Assists the other Officers, as delegated by the President.
• Initiates activities with the approval of the Officers.
• Helps maintain the RAG website.
Secretary:
• The RAG Secretary shall be the Secretary of Record and the point of all official communications between the CFA Central Office and the RAG Officers and Members.
• Accepts membership requests from the Treasurer and notifies new Members of their acceptance.
• Maintains a current membership list that includes names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
• Handles all Club correspondence sent and/or received from CFA Central Office, and provides copies to all Officers within five (5) working days of receipt.
• Provides Club information to CFA, as well as to individuals seeking information about RAG.
• Files copies of all formal Club correspondence sent or received by the Club.
• Prepares and emails election ballots.
• Keeps an accurate record of all meetings using information provided by the Officers.
• Maintain and keep current Constitution and the By-Laws on the website.
Assistant Secretary:
• Maintains a backup Membership List
• Is in charge of the Yahoo group list. Invites new members, deletes annually members that did not renew
• Help the secretary in any way that is deemed necessary
Treasurer:
• Receives and banks all Club monies.
• Pays all Club obligations after being provided with receipts. Keeps all receipts for three years.
• Receives membership applications and dues and forwards membership application to the Secretary within five (5) days of receipt.
• Prepares a financial report to be emailed to all the Officers each year.
• Is able to report to the Officers, at any given time, the status of the Club’s finances.
• Submits the books for audit at any given time at the discretion of the Officers.
• Within 90 days after the close of the fiscal year of association, which is April 30 of each year, the Executive Board can audit or cause to be audited the books of the Treasurer of the Club.
ARTICLE 6: DUES:
The membership year is from May 1 of one year to April 30 of the following year. Annual dues are $20/Individual membership and $30/Family membership. Dues are to be paid to the RAG Treasurer. New Members who join after January 1st will not owe dues again until May of the following year.