National Sebastopol Geese Association
Constitution and By-Laws
Effective May 12, 2023
(Originally Adopted at the formation of the Association May 1, 2017)
Article I. Name
Section 1.01 The name of the nonprofit Association is: National Sebastopol Geese Association; also, hereinafter referred to as that the Association, Club, or “NSGA”
Article II. Mission and Purpose:
Section 2.01 The Purpose of the club is to advance the Sebastopol Goose breed through education, mentorship, breeding and exhibiting in accordance with the American Poultry Association guidelines as outlined by the Standard of Perfection.
Section 2.02 The NSGA will not be operated for profit, or any monetary profit shall be distributed to members, officers, or other private persons.
By-Laws
Article III. Membership
Section 3.01 Open to any person that is of good character and with a sincere interest in the purpose of the NSGA may become a member upon the appropriate annual dues being received under one of the following classifications.
**Junior members require Date of birth at time of membership.
(a) Standard Individual Annual Adult Member: Over the age of 18 at the time of joining.
(b) Standard Individual Annual Junior Member: any boy or girl not over the age of 18.
(c) Standard Family Annual Member: Any 2 (two) plus in the same household.
(d) Premium Individual Annual Adult Member: Over the age of 18 at the time of joining breeder listing.
(e) Premium Individual Annual Junior Member: Under the age of 18 at the time of joining breeder listing.
(f) Premium Family Annual Member: Any 2 (two) plus in the same household with breeder listing.
Section 3.02 Dues
(a) Annual and or/prorated dues shall be set by the Board of Directors
(i) Effective November 2022, annual dues shall be payable on January 1st for each calendar year. Renewing members will be allowed a 30-day grace period, but accounts must be paid in full by January 30.
Section 3.03 Voting:
a) Voting is restricted to any Individual Adult Member (Standard or Premium).
b) Family member voting shall count as 1 (one) vote per household.
c) Eligible members may vote for proposed changes to the constitution, By-Laws, Officer elections and other member-related measure(s).
Article IV. Code of Conduct and Club Authority
Section 4.01 Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics
(a) Members must be aware of the Code of Conduct and Policies, e.g., bullying and harassment, complaints, grievance procedure, disciplinary procedure as indicated in this document.
(b) Members will use the highest ethical standards and methods in acquiring, handling, breeding, showing, selling, shipping, advertising, care and keeping of hatching eggs and stock.
(c) Officers will resolve promptly, and outstanding debts incurred due to association business.
(d) Club representatives will complete and submit all reports, forms, tax returns in a prompt and timely manner.
Section 4.02 Grounds for Disciplinary Actions
(a) Actions deemed harmful to the club, breed, or members must be submitted in writing to a member of the Board. Submitted charges shall be reviewed by the Officers and the Board of Directors. With a majority vote, the member accused may be suspended for a given time or expelled. All rights of the membership of the Association may be revoked.
(b) All decisions by the Board will be final.
1) Any of the following are grounds for disciplinary actions.
a) Theft of any Club-related business including, but not limited to Club merchandise, display items, Club published/posted content or funds.
b) Any form of defamation (slander or libel) of NSGA officers, board of directors and/or another member(s).
c) Discrimination, harassment, via any method including but not limited to email, phone, in-person, or social media.
d) Acts of violence or verbal threats.
e) Any other additional actions that result in a negative impact of the NSGA.
Article V. Club Management/Leadership
Section 5.01 Board of Directors
(a) The Board of Directors address policy and issues not specified in this document.
(b) The Board of Directors will include the Club Officers, District Directors, and Club Founders.
(c) Immediate past Presidents and Club Founders shall be asked to continue acting on the Board of Directors on a volunteer basis ex-officio as non-voting member.
Section 5.02 Officers
(a) Executive Officers shall consist minimally of a President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
(b) The President shall take the initiative in Association matters, safeguarding its interest at all times. The President plans, organizes and carries out responsibilities associated with the club’s chief executive officer role.
(c) The Treasurer manages all club finances including basic accounting, membership dues, invoices, and reconciliations.
(d) The Secretary will maintain all the records, record meeting minutes, files, and details that are important for the smooth operation of the Club.
(e) Officers may have additional duties as needed to complete Club business.
Section 5.03 District Directors and Districts.
(a) District Directors assist to promote, educate, and be a contact person for that designated area.
(b) Directors will be appointed by the Board of Directors.
(c) The United States will be split into six Districts, as follows:
(a) Northwestern District-
a. Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
(b) Southwestern District-
a. Arizona, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah,
(c) Midwestern District-
a. Kansas Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska North Dakota, South Dakota
(d) Southern District-
a. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
(e) Great Lakes District-
a. Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Virginia
(f) Northeastern District-
a. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington DC, Vermont
(g) Southeastern-
a. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
Section 5.04 Special Committees
(a) Special Committees May be formed to support/replace officer roles as needed as deemed by the Board of Directors or to support club functions as needed.
Section 5.05 Terms of Officers
(a) Officers shall be elected for a two-year term.
(b) The President may only serve two consecutive terms or a total of four consecutive years. A previously elected President may re-run for office after sitting out one election cycle or by filling a different Officer role.
(c) Elected officers shall officially take office on January 1 following the election.
(d) If no interest in an Officer role is expressed by a member during the election cycle, the Board of Director may designate a person to fill the role by majority vote.
Section 5.06 New Officers, Resignations, Vacancies
(a) Officers may be added or removed at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be filled by appointment until an election cycle or special member meeting is held.
(b) Officer roles may be combined or divided in a way to best serve the NSGA.
(c) A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or otherwise, may be filled by majority approval of the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.
(d) Resignation of office requires 30 (thirty) day notice and may disqualify that member from being elected to another Officer position in future elections. Reinstatement of eligibility will be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section 5.07 Elections
(a) Office elections will occur every two years after the club’s inception, in odd numbered years.
(b) An Election (nomination) committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.
i) The Election Committee will solicit (non-Junior) members for interest in Officer positions beginning.
2) July 1 of the election year (odd year) until September 15.
a) Candidates will have from July 1 through September 15 to submit their intent to run for office.
b) If no interest is expressed the committee will draw up a slate of candidates to be approved by the Board of Directors.
c) The Election committee will have 2 weeks to submit a complete slate of candidates to the Board of Directors for approval.
d) The complete slate of candidates will be presented to the members no less than 2 weeks after the close of nominations.
Article VI. Meetings
Section 6.01
(a) The club shall use Roberts’ Rules of Order in the carrying out of all meetings and club business.
(b) Attendees will have the option to participate in any meeting either in person or electronically.
(c) The Club may host the following membership meeting(s) with notification to members at least 30 days in advance of meetings. Times will be determined and announced in advance or as soon as possible.
1) The Annual Meeting will be held at the National Meet.
2) A special meeting may be called at the direction of the Board of Directors.
(d) Should an Officer not be able to attend a meeting, a proxy may be assigned by the Officer to vote on their behalf. A proxy must be an active member of the NSGA. At minimum one Officer must be present at the meeting.
(e) A copy of all meeting minutes must be provided to the Club Secretary.
(f) Five members or 25% of adult membership, whichever is lower shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Meeting. Business items requiring a vote shall be considered passed with majority vote.
Article VII. Association Meets and Awards
Section 7.01 Association Meets
(a) Meets consist of Special, State, District and one National Meet.
(b) Meets are placed throughout the Regions with no more than one in each State. One District/Region meet per District. Special meets can be placed anywhere, and all meets are rotated to allow all to attend.
(c) National Meets will be rotated throughout the U.S. clockwise. However, National Meets will not take place in the same district twice in a row. National Meets will be held either by invitation/bid form or where there is a representative of the Club available (Adopted Dec. 2021). In the event that the host show is canceled, an attempt to place with a different host will be made.
(d) Meets will be announced via social media and the NSGA website.
Section 7.02 Awards
(a) Awards will be selected by the Officers and Board of Directors within the approved budget from the treasurer and may vary from type of meet, and year to year.
(b) Any open class exhibitors that have a paid membership with the NSGA prior to the beginning of judging are eligible for awards. All Junior members are eligible for awards.
(c) In the case where no NSGA Officer is at the assigned meet to distribute awards, a show report must be received by the NSGA within the 60 days of the date of the show for a member to receive awards via mail.
(d) Double shows- The officers will select one or both cards to be awarded and will be published along with show announcements.
(e) Show reports can be filled out by one of the following and require show secretary signature:
a) Officer or Board member of the NSGA
b) Any member of the NSGA
c) Show staff.
(f) Blank show reports are available for printing on the NSGA website.
(g) Winners will be announced on social media and on the NSGA website. This may or may not include a photo of the Winning Sebastopol(s).
Section 7.03 AOV (Any other Variety) besides what is accepted by the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection will receive a certificate for Best of Variety, and Reserve Variety.
(a) Gray and Buff will receive a certificate stating: Best Reserve Gray or Buff.
(b) Any other color AOV will receive a certificate stating: Best or Reserve Best AOV.
(c) Refer to Section 4.02 of the APA Standard of Perfection.
Article VIII. Miscellaneous
Section 8.01 In all cases of dispute arising from interpretation of the Constitution & Bylaws of the NSGA and on all other matters not covered herein, a majority vote of the board of directors shall decide the issue. Such decisions shall be declared final.
Section 8.02 For security reasons the general membership list shall not be made available to the general public, and members’ details shat not be divulged to anyone without authority.
Section 8.03 Member information will not be sold.
Section 8.04 In the event of the dissolution of the Club, all club assets will be turned over to the APA and/or other non-profit organizations of like kind. The exact distribution of assets shall be determined by majority vote of the board.
Article IX. Amendments
Section 9.01
(a) Proposed amendments to the Constitution of By-Laws may be submitted either by mail or electronically to the secretary three months prior to annual meetings. The Board will review said proposal and decide by a majority vote whether to place the proposal before membership for a vote.
(b) These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the members; the amendment shall be made effective immediately upon approval of a Special Meeting Vote.