CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE GRIFFITH PARK GOLF CLUB
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE GRIFFITH PARK GOLF CLUB
[Amended January 2020]
Article I - Name
Article II - Definitions
Article III - Objectives and Purposes
Article IV - Members & Guests
Section 1 - Applications and Agreement
Section 2 - Dues
Section 3 - Discipline
Section 4 - Good Standing
Section 5 - Membership Meetings
Section 6 - Total Number of Members
Section 7 - Guests
Article V - Board of Directors
Section 1 - Control & Management
Section 2 - Term
Section 3 - Compensation
Section 4 - Bonds & Insurance
Section 5 - Required Signatures
Section 6 - Meetings & Quorums
Section 7 - Voting
Article VI - Officers
Section 1 - Officers
Section 2 - Term Limits
Article VII - Elections of Officers & Directors at Large
Section 1 - Nomination & Election Committees
Section 2 - Nomination of Candidates
Section 3 - Nomination by Members
Section 4 - Election of Elected Officials
Article VIII - Committees
Article IX - Amendment, Construction & Interpretation
Section 1 - Amendment
Section 2 - Construction or Interpretation
Article X - Effective Date
Article I - Name
The name of this organization shall be the “Griffith Park Golf Club” as constituted from time to time. It is an unincorporated, non-profit, non-political, voluntary organization governed by its Board of Directors and formed for the benefit of the golf activities carried on at Griffith Park Golf Courses located in Los Angeles, California.
Article II – Definitions
|
Term |
Definition |
|
Board |
Board of Directors of the Club |
|
Club |
Griffith Park Golf Club |
|
Chair |
Chair of Committee |
|
Committee |
Committee of the Club |
|
Elected Positions |
Officers and Directors-at-Large |
|
Department |
Department of Recreation and Parks of the City of Los Angeles |
|
Member |
Member of the Club |
|
Officers |
President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Club |
|
Standing Committee |
Elections, Nominating, Finance, Handicap, Membership, and Tournament Committees of the Club |
|
SCGA |
Southern California Golf Association |
|
USGA |
United States Golf Association |
Article III - Objectives and Purposes
The objectives and purposes of this Club are:
- To promote, foster, regulate, develop, and conduct golf and related activities for Members and their guests
- Establish a method to maintain standard handicaps for all Members
- Maintain liaison with USGA, SCGA, PLGA and other golf associations
- Cooperate with the Department in the conduct and betterment of public golf.
Article IV - Members & Guests
Section 1 – Application and Agreement
Any person, upon application and payment of fees, shall be eligible to become a Member. Each person who submits an application agrees, upon becoming a Member, to abide by these bylaws and to accept and strictly and honorably comply with the decisions, rules and regulations of the Club and the Department. Applications shall be processed on a form and under uniform terms and conditions, established from time to time by the Board and applied in a uniform nondiscriminatory manner. Membership shall be evidenced by such means as determined from time to time by the Board.
Section 2 – Dues
The Board shall set the annual dues by category, any late payment charges, and the dates of payment. The Board shall also communicate in a timely manner that information to the Members. Any Member in arrears is suspended automatically from being a Member until the dues, and any applicable late payment charges, have been fully paid.
Section 3 – Discipline
By a two-thirds vote of the Board a Member may be placed on probation, suspended or expelled for refusing or neglecting to abide by these bylaws or accept and strictly and honorably comply with the decisions, rules and regulations of the Club or the Department. Except for the automatic suspension for nonpayment of dues, no Member shall they be suspended or expelled without formal written charges having been made and filed with the Secretary of the Club, and an opportunity having been given to defend against the charges before the Board at a meeting duly held for such purpose.
Section 4 – Good Standing
A Member is deemed to be in good standing if, and only if, the Member timely submits an Application and pays the dues, and any applicable late payment charges, and has not resigned or been suspended or expelled. Only Members in good standing may enjoy any of the rights and privileges of the Club.
Section 5 – Membership Meeting
The Members’ annual meeting shall be held in December each year on a date selected by the Board and notice of the annual meeting shall be provided to the Members at least fifteen (15) days but not more than forty (40) days prior to the date of the annual meeting. Special meetings of the Members may be called by the Board and shall be called by the President upon the written request by at least thirty (30) Members. There shall be no fixed quorum for any annual or special meeting of the Members.
Section 6 – Total Number of Members
The Board, by a two-thirds vote, may limit the total number of members in the Club subject to any restriction imposed by the Department on the right to do so.
Section 7 – Guests
Guests of Members may participate in activities of the Club, provided however, that no person shall participate in the Club tournaments as a guest more than three times in any calendar year, unless, at the time of such participation, an application for Membership has been submitted by such person and the dues for such application have been paid.
Article V - Board of Directors
Section 1 – Control & Management
The control and management of the Club’s affairs, funds and property shall be vested in the Board. It shall have 11 voting directors consisting of the following persons: (Nos. 1-4) the four persons who serve as the Officers, (No. 5) the Club’s immediate past President, (Nos. 6-8) the three persons who serve as Chairs of the Membership, Handicap, and Tournament Committees, and (Nos. 9-11) three Directors-at-Large. Any of these directorships declared vacant by the Board shall be filled by an appointment by the President and ratification by majority vote of the remaining Board. The Board shall also have ex-officio (non-voting) directors which shall include Griffith Park Golf Concessionaire, the Department’s designated representative, and all past Presidents other than the Club’s immediate past President and such additional ex-officio (non-voting) directors as may be designated by the Board. The Board may limit attendance at any particular Board meeting, or portion thereof, to the voting directors and such other persons as the Board may designate.
Section 2 – Term
Each of the Directors-at-Large shall serve a term commencing on the January 1 immediately following the Director’s election and continuing for twenty-four (24) months until December 31 of the following year. The terms of the Officers and the Chairs of the Handicap, Membership, and Tournament Committees are provided elsewhere in these bylaws.
Section 3 – Compensation
During their term, Directors shall serve without pay or other compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred and shall be excused from dues and fees (other than the prize money portion of any tournament fees).
Section 4 – Bonds and Insurance
Each person with authority to sign or endorse checks and other negotiable instruments shall be bonded in the sum of no less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) each. Further, the Board may purchase Directors and Officers insurance as the Board may deem necessary or appropriate. The Club shall pay the cost of such bond and insurance.
Section 5 – Required Signatures
All checks and other negotiable instruments shall be signed by the President or Treasurer. All such items in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), other than checks for the payment of tournament green fees and cart cost, shall require the signatures of the President and either the Secretary or the Treasurer.
Section 6 – Meetings and Quorums
Regular meetings of the Board shall be held once a month at such date, time, & place as may be determined by the President. Special meetings of Board shall he called at any time by the Secretary on the order of the President, or on the written request of five Directors. A majority of the voting Directors then in office shall constitute a quorum of the Board. Directors may participate in a meeting through use of conference telephone or similar communications equipment, so long as all Directors participating in such meeting can hear one another. Such participation shall constitute personal presence at the meeting. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the Board may be taken without a meeting, if all Directors entitled to vote consent in writing to such action. Such written consent shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board and shall have the same force and effect as the unanimous vote of such Directors.
Section 7 – Voting
Voting will commence after a motion is brought forth by any voting Director during a meeting with quorum, a second motion is made immediately thereafter, and discussions are heard. Any motion shall be presented with an effective start date. The Secretary shall be in charge of conducting the vote and recording the Votes cast of all voting Directors in attendance. Votes cast, in favor of or against a motion, after being recorded may not be changed after the fact. If not explicitly mentioned anywhere else in the bylaws, the ratification of a motion will be passed by a simple majority and be put into effect on the proposed start date. In the event of a tie after Voting, the motion shall not be passed and no further discussion shall be had during the same meeting.
Article VI – Officers
Section 1 – Officers
The Club shall have four Officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
- President - The President shall be the general manager and chief executive officer of the Club; preside at all meetings of the Board and the Members; and appoint, subject to the ratification by the Board, the Chairs of the committees as provided in these bylaws.
- Vice-President - The Vice President shall assist the President in the performance of the President’s duties and, in the absence or the inability of the President to act, perform all the duties of the President.
- Secretary - The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept minutes of all proceedings and meetings of the Board or the Members; give such notice to the Board and the Members as these bylaws require; conduct the official correspondence of the Club; and, if the President and the Vice-President both shall be absent from any meeting of the Board or the Members, call the meeting to order and act as Chair until a temporary Chair of the meeting has been chosen.
- Treasurer - The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of the Club and shall keep and maintain, or cause to be kept and maintained, adequate and correct books and records of the Club’s finances; collect all funds and deposit them in a depository selected by the Board; disburse funds only upon checks or other negotiable instruments signed by the proper Officers and for purposes authorized specifically or by class by the Board; report on the Club’s financial affairs both to the Board at each of its regular meetings and to the Members at their annual meeting; and, from time to time, submit the Treasurer’s books and accounts to audit in accordance with procedures approved by the Board.
Section 2 – Term Limits
The Officers shall serve for a period of two years commencing on January 1 immediately following their election and continuing twenty-four (24) months through December 31 of the following year. No person shall serve in the same office for more than two consecutive terms.
Article VII - Elections of Officers & Directors-at-Large
Section 1 – Nomination and Election Committees
On or before the last Friday immediately preceding July 31 of each odd numbered year, the President shall appoint, and the Board shall ratify, the Chair and other Members of both the Nominating Committee and the Elections Committee. The appointment and ratification shall be subject to the following restrictions: Each Committee must have at least three Members, including the Chair; no Member may serve on both committees in the same year; and no Member may be a candidate for any Elected Position in the same year that the Member serves on either Committee. Promptly after the appointment of the Chair and the Members of the Nominating Committee, the Secretary shall cause to be posted on the Club’s website a notice of how and when any Member may propose other Members to be considered for nomination by the Nominating Committee.
Section 2 – Nomination of Candidates
On the last Friday immediately preceding August 31 of each odd numbered year, the Nominating Committee shall submit to the Secretary a written candidates list, signed by the Chair, designating the candidates for the Elected Positions nominated by the Nominating Committee. Upon receipt of the written signed candidates list, the Secretary shall cause to be published on the Club’s website and e-mailed to the Members (whose e-mail addresses are then on the Club’s Computer Members List) both the candidates list and the procedure by which Members may nominate other candidates.
Section 3 – Nomination by Members
On or before the Friday immediately preceding September 30 of each odd numbered year, any Member may submit to the Secretary a written list, signed by no less than thirty (30) Members, identifying candidates the signing Members nominate for any of the Elected Positions. Upon receipt of that list, the Secretary shall cause the candidates list posted on the Club’s Web page to be amended to include the candidates nominated by the Members.
Section 4 – Election
Election for the above shall be conducted by vote of the members present at the scheduled fall/winter general membership meeting of each odd numbered year. The results of the election shall be posted on the club's website.
Article VIII – Committees
The Committees of the Club shall be the Standing Committees and such other special committees as may be appointed by the President and ratified by the Board. The Board shall act as the Finance Committee and the President shall act as its Chair. The Chair and the Members of all other committees shall be appointed, and may be discharged, by the President and ratified by the Board.
Article IX - Amendment, Construction & Interpretation
Section 1 – Amendment
These bylaws may be amended or repealed and replaced by new bylaws adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Board at any regular or special meeting of the Board called for that purpose, subject to ratification of a majority of the Members present at the next meeting of the Club.
Section 2 – Construction or Interpretation
On all questions of construction or interpretation of these bylaws, the decision of the Board shall be final.
Article X - Effective Date
These amended by laws are effective as of December 11th, 2020 if by that date they have been approved by the Board and the Members.
CERTIFICATION
Dec 11, 2020
The undersigned hereby certifies that the forgoing Constitution and Bylaws of the Griffith Park Golf Club, consisting of 11 pages, were adopted by its Board of Directors at its meeting on July 21st, 2020 and approved by its Members at a meeting their Annual Meeting on December 11th, 2020.
________________________________
Gregory Bertens, President
Griffith Park Golf Club
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Tim Jolliffe, Secretary
Griffith Park Golf Club