of

Maine Search And rescue Dogs

Article I - Membership

Section 1.

Membership is open to anyone eighteen years of age or older who has a serious interest in furthering the purpose of MESARD and a willingness to participate in its functions. Application shall be made to the secretary / treasurer and presented to the membership for approval. Applicants must attend at least four of the organizations functions before the application can be acted upon. Acceptance of the applicant requires a majority vote of the members present and voting at a business meeting.

Section 2.

Fines , Suspension or Expulsion of Members.

A. Grounds for disciplinary action shall include violation of the Articles of

Incorporation, Bylaws, written policies, procedures, rules or regulations of MESARD, and/or conduct detrimental to the objectives or interests of the organization.

B. Procedures for disciplinary action shall begin with a written notice made to the officers of MESARD stating the name of the accused member, the date, time, place and nature of the alleged infraction. The President or Secretary shall then notify the accused and other MESARD members of the charges and schedule a business meeting to consider the charges. Such notice shall be made not less than fourteen ( 14 ) nor more than fifty ( 50 ) days prior to the meeting. At least two thirds ( 2/3 ) of the total membership must be present at the meeting and a majority of those present and voting must vote for one of the following actions:

1. No action to be taken on the issue.

2. A verbal warning will be issued to the accused concerning the violation.

3. A written warning or letter of reprimand will be issued to the accused and placed in the MESARD records.

4. The operational status of the accused may be suspended with the period of suspension and / or conditions for reinstatement given by the membership at the time of suspension.

5. The membership of the accused may be suspended with the period of suspension and/or conditions for reinstatement given by the membership at the time of suspension.

6. The member may be permanently expelled from the group.

7. Fines may be levied against the accused, but only to the extent necessary to make restitution or to replace equipment or funds misappropriated.

Section 3.

Resignation.

Any member may resign by filing with the Secretary a written declaration of intent. Such resignation shall not relieve the resigning member of assesments or other charges theretofore accrued and unpaid and will not entitle them to reimbursement of dues.

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Section 4.

Reinstatement

Reinstatement shall be made only upon re-application to the Sectretary, accompanied by the required fees if any are required. Waiver of dues is provided if the re-application is made within six ( 6 ) months of the date of the end of the last membership period.

Section 5.

Termination of Membership.

Membership shall terminate upon death of the member, expulsion by the organization or nonpayment of dues in accordance with other provisions of the bylaws.

The membership shall determine once a year, at the annual business meeting, the amount for annual dues. Other fees to be assessed members or applicants may be established at other business meetings. Dues and fees shall be due and payable at the business meeting they are set and must be payed within sixty ( 60 ) days of the meeting or membership will terminate. The Secretary will give written notice to all members who fail to pay their dues or fees within ten ( 10 ) days of the meeting.

Article III - Meetings

There shall be an annual business meeting each year to set and collect dues and conduct business. The President may call other business meetings as needed. Notice of business meetings must be given to members not less than fourteen ( 14 ) days in advance of the meeting. Emergency meetings may be called at any time and on short notice by the officers of MESARD. The presence of fifty percent ( 50% ) of the members at a business meeting shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of regular business. Written proxies shall be allowed at all meetings. All other business not otherwise provided for in the bylaws shall be governed by the proceedings set forth in Roberts Rules of Order.

Article IV - Officers

Section 1.

Election

The officers shall consist of a president, vice-president, Secretary/ Treasurer and Training director. Nominations shall be made from the floor at the annual business meeting, and election shall be by the majority vote of those members present and voting. The elected officials shall hold office for

one year and until succeeded.

Section 2.

President.

The duties of the President shall be to preside over the meetings, represent MESARD to the public, serve as liaison to law enforcement, public service and other search and rescue organizations, and perform the functions commonly incident to the office.

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Section 3.

Vice-President.

The duties of the Vice-president shall be to fulfill the functions of the president in his/her absence, serve as chief publicity officer and historian, and perform the functions commonly incident to the office.

Section 4.

Sectretary / Treasurer.

The duties of the Secretary / Treasurer shall be to record and keep minutes of the business meetings, collect monies from dues, donations and grants, disburse monies as directed by the members, notify members of forth- coming meetings, preside at meetings in the absence of the President and

Vice-president, and perform the functions commonly incident to the office.

Section 5.

Training Director.

The duties of the Training Director shall be to recommend to the general membership, for approval, a standard of training to be required of all MESARD operational dog teams, instruct and train MESARD's dog teams, maintain records of dog team training, keep the members informed of the training status

of all dog teams, make recommendations to the membership of those MESARD dog teams ready for promotion to operational status, organize group training operations, recruit guest training advisors, and maintain records of search operations.

Section 6.

Operational Search and Rescue Dog Teams.

A handler / dog team that meets and maintains MESARD's standards of performance, as adopted by the members, and fulfills its ongoing training requirement, may be designated a MESARD Operational Dog Team. Such designation shall result upon recommendation of the Training Director and majority vote of

the members present and voting. Such designation shall allow the team to be called to searches when MESARD teams are requested by a user agency. A handler who is part of an Operational Dog Team must be a member of MESARD. A handler may cease to be part of an Operational Dog Team by his/her choice or by the

decision of the members. Grounds for withdrawing operational status shall be limited to the following:

1. Failure to maintain active membership in MESARD.

2. Failure to maintain performance standards and fulfill training requirements.

3. Repeated inability to respond to search calls.

4. Gross misconduct.

Withdrawal of operational status requires the same procedures as those imposed under Article I Section 2 B . Teams who have acquired operational status may request to be used on a limited basis, as conditions permit, provided that they continue to attend training on a regular basis.

Article V - Modification of the Bylaws

The Bylaws may be modified by a majority vote of all MESARD members, provided there has been notification in writing at least fourteen ( 14 ) days prior to the meeting at which the change is to be considered.

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Revised 21 April 1993.

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Designed by a member of