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Constitution and By-Laws

Amended October 2020

ARTICLE I - NAME & LOCATION

Section 1. This organization shall be known as the Utah Fancy Poultry Association.

  1. Organized as the Utah Fancy Poultry Association in 1951.
  2. The address of the Treasurer shall be the place of business.
  3. Official Association email shall be utahfancypoultry@gmail.com.
  4. Official website of the Association shall be utahfancypoultry.com.​

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

Section 1.  The objectives shall be: 

  1. To increase the interest and demand for high quality poultry.
  2. To encourage youth in raising and showing standardized poultry.
  3. To disseminate information on reliable and successful methods of poultry breeding, raising, and management.
  4. To strive for good fellowship, harmony, and integrity among the club members.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Any person interested in the objectives of this organization shall be entitled to membership upon payment of dues, so long as they comply with the requirements of said membership.

  1. Online application for membership is encouraged.
  2. Record of membership must be documented by the Treasurer.  Application may be received by any officer of the Association, but shall be recorded by the Treasurer.
  3. All membership shall be acknowledged by email when possible.
  4. If requested, memberships shall be issued the Association membership card.
  5. If annual membership payment is not received by January 10th, Treasurer will issue a reminder.
  6. All memberships shall be valid until December 31st of the calendar year. A grace period for renewal is permitted until February 1st. 
  7. First time members initiated during the three months prior to December 31st of the calendar year will not have to renew dues until December 31st of the following calendar year.


Section 2. Description of Membership Types:

  1. Individual – One individual age 18 years and older.
  2. Junior – One individual age 17 and younger.
  3. Family – Single family household consisting of member and their spouse/significant other and their children 17 years old and younger. Extenuating circumstances will be considered by the board.


Section 3. Annual membership dues shall be as follows:
    Junior        $15
    Individual    $20
    Family        $25

Section 4.  Charges of misconduct

  1. Charges of misconduct of a member, or an officer, by another member or members shall be in writing and addressed to the board, signed by the members making the charge. 
  2. Said charges shall be sent to the Secretary. 
  3. The Secretary shall forward copy to the President, copy by registered mail to the accused member, and retain digital copy for the Association records.  
  4. The accused member shall have thirty (30) days in which to prepare and submit to the President a written and signed defense against the charges.  
  5. The President shall appoint a Grievance Committee composed of five disinterested members to consider both charges and the defense and they shall vote to acquit, suspend or expel the accused member.  
  6. A vote of four of the five members on the Grievance Committee shall be necessary to suspend or expel a member.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

Section 1. The elected officers of the Association shall consist of one President and five Directors. Included shall be the Election Commission.

Section 2. The appointed officers shall consist of one Vice President, one Secretary, and one Treasurer.

Section 3. The President-elect, immediately following known results of each year’s election, shall select from the board of five directors, a Vice-President which in turn shall be approved by majority vote of all other directors.

Section 4. The Secretary and Treasurer, who must be Association members, shall be appointed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee (President, Vice-President, and Directors). Secretary and Treasurer may be removed from office at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. The term of office for President may be a two (2) consecutive two-year term, equivalent to four (4) years. This applies only if a responsible person is willing to run for office..

Section 6. The term for Election Commission shall be one (1) year.

Section 7. The term for Directors shall be two (2) years with two (2) directorship terms and President term expiring on one year and three (3) directorships expiring on an alternate year.

Section 8. The Elected Officers of the Association shall assume the responsibilities of their duties at the first Directors Meeting following their election.

ARTICLE V - ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Elected Officers shall be elected from and by the membership through mail ballot or, if a suitable online election program is approved by the board, elections may take place online. Those on the mailing list will continue to receive theirs by mail.

Section 2.  Nomination for Elective Officers shall be a matter of business at the fall meeting.

​Section 3. Nominations shall be received as follows:

  1. Any member of the Association in good standing, wishing to nominate another member in good standing, may do so, providing that said member agrees to accept the nomination (to be verbally indicated at the time of nomination or in writing/email) and that nomination is seconded by one additional member, in good standing.
  2. A member of the Association, in good standing, wishing to become a candidate for any Elected Office of the Association shall submit a petition to the Secretary.  The nominating petition shall be completed by the member and state the member’s name and the office for which they desire to be a candidate, and shall, in addition, be signed by two (2) members of this Association in good standing.  The petition shall be filed, after completing, with the Secretary of the Association prior to the Association fall meeting.
  3. The Secretary shall acknowledge receipt of nominating petition verbally or by email and will announce nomination at the fall meeting.


Section 4. Election Procedures

  1. The Secretary shall place the name of the member appearing on the written, emailed, or verbal petition, and the office for which they are a candidate, on the election ballot.
  2. The Election ballots shall be numbered consecutively and mailed to each membership of the Association in good standing on that date.
  3. If a suitable election program is determined, access to ballots will be made through email to each member in good standing.
  4. Individual membership shall be entitled to one (1) vote, family membership two (2) votes, and a junior membership one (1) vote.
  5. If conducting election by mail, a self-addressed envelope shall accompany each ballot with the Election Commissioner’s name and address thereon. 
  6. The voting Members shall seal ballot in the envelope and mail directly to the Commissioner; ballots must be postmarked, not later than date established, to be acceptable.
  7. The Election Commissioner and one neutral member, as appointed to create Election Commision, shall count all acceptable ballots and send a statement of the results to the President and the Secretary within seven days.
  8. The ballots shall be placed in a sealed envelope and forwarded to the Secretary, to be retained by the Secretary for one year, to be opened only in the event there should be any question concerning the ballots.


Section 5. No member on an election committee can be nominated for office.

Section 6. Whenever a vacancy in office occurs, for any cause whatsoever, said vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the President, approved by the Board of Directors.

Section 7. If during an election or vote, a stalemate of Officers should occur, the Election Commisioner’s vote will be thrown out to break the stalemate.

ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The management of the affairs of the Association shall be vested in the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The President is the chief executive officer and shall preside at all meetings and appoint all special committees subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The President shall see that officers and committees perform their duties and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees; and perform other duties as usually pertain to his office.

Section 3. The Vice-President shall be the annual Spring Show Supervisor. The Vice-President will also assume the same duties of the President in the event of the absence or disability of the President.

Section 4. The Secretary shall notify members of club meetings; they shall act promptly on all correspondence directed to their office; they shall be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors and act as Secretary thereof. Meet requests shall be directed to the secretary who will retain copies of official meet reports submitted by requesting members to their club. The Secretary shall organize and disseminate communication through show catalogs and post show reports to Association members in good standing through email. If email communication is not reasonable for a member, communication shall be sent via snail mail upon approval. Rules for requesting specialty club meets, in addition to Association shows, shall be published by the Secretary in the premium/catalog. Secretary shall ensure communication through official Association email is brought to the attention of the appropriate Officer. Secretary shall maintain website and social media accounts unless otherwise assigned.

​Section 5. Treasurer shall be custodian of all Association funds, shall maintain a bank account in the name of the Association, and shall keep a set of books and records suitable for review by the Board of Directors. They shall payout of any funds from the Association bank account for expenses incurred in connection with the Association management, which have been authorized by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall receive and act upon all applications for membership. They shall furnish the Board of Directors monthly reports showing the general condition of the Association including financial standing as poor, fair, good or excellent and an annual report, and audit by the Board of Directors for each fiscal year ending December 31st, to be published in the Association newsletter. The Treasurer shall be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors and act as Treasurer thereof.

Section 6. The Board of Directors shall have power to transact all business of the Association between meetings, shall authorize expenditure of funds; shall act upon charges brought before them; shall devise ways and means to carry out the objectives of the Association and will consider the wishes of the membership and shall decide all questions of policy as may be deemed necessary for the conduct of business of the Association.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS

Section 1.  Parliamentary authority procedure comprised in the Roberts Rule of Order shall govern the proceedings of the Association.

Section 2.  All voting shall be by secret ballot if requested by two or more members in attendance.

Section 3. The order of business shall be:

  1. Call to order
  2. Approval of minutes
  3. Reports of Officers and Board Members
  4. Reading of communications
  5. Unfinished or old business
  6. New business
  7. Discussions
  8. Adjournment
  9. Demonstrations, special reports, etc.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

​Section 1. The Constitution and/or By-laws may be altered or amended in whole or in part by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of voting members. Upon receipt by the Secretary of a petition setting out the proposed alterations, additions, or amendments and signed by five (5) members in good standing, the Secretary shall submit same to a mail/email/election program vote within fifteen (15) days and will announce the results within the same length of time.

Section 2. Ballot procedure set out in Article IV, with exception of dates, shall be observed. Ballots to be returned to the Election Commissioner within fifteen (15) days.

Outstanding Service Award

Section 1. An Outstanding Service Award in the Utah Fancy Poultry Association shall be established as a means to honor distinguished members and promote the growth of the organization.

Section 2. Any member is eligible for consideration of an Outstanding Service nominee provided they have served the Association in a sustained and outstanding manner over a period of not less than 10 years. Contributions in the field of breeding, exhibiting, and work supporting the growth of the Association, shall constitute the principal criteria for consideration for this honor, which is the highest the Club has to offer.

Section 3. The Selection Committee for said Award/Honor shall consist of the eight (8) members (1 President, 1 Vice President, 1 Secretary, 1 Treasurer, and 4 Directors) of the Board of Directors of the Association.

Section 4. Nominations for names to be considered for Outstanding Service Award status will be received from the membership at large and the board. Nominations are to be emailed or snail mailed to the acting Election Commissioner. The Election Commissioner will turn over all nominations over to the Selection Committee.

Section 5. One member may receive the Outstanding Service Award every one (1) year.

Section 6. In the event that the nominations cannot be made, due to no eligible candidates, the nomination process will be extended until the following year.

Section 7. The name of the member, selected by the Selection Committee (Board of Directors), will be announced to the membership as an honoree of the Utah Fancy Poultry Association Outstanding Service Award.

Section 8. The name and bio of the member honored with the Outstanding Service Award will be printed in the following Association email and on the Association website.

​Section 9. The name of the member honored with the Outstanding Service Award and the year the Honor was bestowed will be placed on a personal plaque.

Section 10. In the event that the Selection Committee feels that more than one person (example: husband and wife) should be nominated they can make recommendations to the membership for their vote of appeal.