By-Laws

1. PURPOSE. These By-Laws are to establish an organization and describe how Coast Guard Swim Team (CGST) matters shall be handled in an orderly manner. Top of Page

2. ORGANIZATION. The organization shall have two governing bodies as established by this by-law. One shall be the Parent Advisory Organization (PAO) and the other shall be the Board of Directors (BOD). Top of Page

a. PARENT ADVISORY ORGANIZATION (PAO). Shall consist of the parents of all swimmers, the Board of Directors and any Associate Member of the CGST. Top of Page

(1) This organization shall come together to select the members of the BOD and discuss any other matter that the President of the PAO feels requires support of this group. The PAO may override any BOD decision by a two-thirds majority vote of those present to vote.

(a) Parents of the swimmers. These are parents, guardians or sponsors of children that are a member of the CGST and have paid their dues. They will vote as a family unit: one family, one vote. Top of Page

(b) Board of Directors (BOD). This is an elected body whose only responsibility within the PAO is that of conducting meetings. They do not have a separate vote within the PAO, except as that of Parent or Associate Member. Top of Page

(c) Associate Member. To develop a method for consistency and to recognize the importance of adult volunteers that seek the continued success of the CGST, a status of Associate Member is established. This Member shall have the same privileges as a parent of a swimmer, as long as they meet the following guidelines: Top of Page

1 Have been approved by the BOD as a member; AND

2 Have had a child participate on the CGST and wish to continue to provide support to the CGST; OR

3 Have provided assistance for the benefit of the CGST.

4 To remain as an Associate Member this person will be required to continue to provide active support each year until they no longer wish to be a member. Once they are no longer active their membership will be honorary only and not a voting member, but they will still be welcome to attend any PAO meeting. Active means to participate as an assistant, volunteer, committee member, etc. Attendance at PAO meetings alone DOES NOT constitute an active membership.

(2) Shall delegate the responsibility of all day to day issues to the BOD.

(3) Voting will follow the rules established under paragraph 4 and be a one family, one vote procedure. The BOD members will vote as a family member only. This is to prevent any one family from having more than one vote.

b. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The members of this organization are listed as follows and are delegated the responsibility of all day to day issues that may arise. Members of the same household may not hold more than one position on the BOD. All elected positions are for a duration of one year and require either an election or a reaffirmation (see paragraph 5) by the PAO each year. No member can hold a position if they cannot stay through the swim season. Top of Page

(1) To qualify for nomination, one must have been associated with the CGST for at least one season, as defined in paragraph 2.a.; OR

(2) Be nominated by a two-thirds majority vote by the PAO.

(3) PRESIDENT: is a BOD voting member and; Top of Page

(a) Shall preside over all PAO and BOD meetings;

(b) Shall commission committees required by paragraph 3;

(d) Shall appoint all Chairpersons to those committees from the parent volunteers;

(e) Shall have the authority to call any meeting of the PAO or BOD;

(f) Shall countersign all checks/withdrawals from the CGST checking/savings account only on amounts over $100.00;

(g) Shall make contact with all Mobile area military commands by letter inviting them to participate with the CGST;

(h) Shall act as the liaison between the CG Aviation Training Center Command and the CGST;

(i) Shall call a special election if a position is found to not be held throughout the swim season.

(4) VICE PRESIDENT: is a BOD voting member and; Top of Page

(a) Shall preside over all BOD meetings in the absence of the President;

(b) Shall audit, with the Secretary, the Treasurer's books in April and August of each year or just before a new Treasurer assumes that position;

(c) If the elected President is found not to be able to hold that office throughout the swim season, the Vice President shall call a special election for that position only;

(d) Shall be the representative of the PAO and shall demand a PAO meeting only when the PAO has a grievance against the President;

(e) Shall take role at all BOD meetings;

(f) Shall handle all voting and election matters as described in paragraphs 4 and 5;

(g) Shall count, with the Secretary, all votes and report those results to the President.

(5) SECRETARY: is a BOD voting member and; Top of Page

(a) Shall take the minutes of all PAO and BOD meetings;

(b) Shall handle general correspondence for the CGST;

(d) Shall audit, with the Vice President, the Treasurer's books in April and August of each year or just before a new Treasurer assumes that position;

(e) Shall, with the Vice President, count all votes.

(6) TREASURER: is a BOD voting member and; Top of Page

(a) Shall establish a savings/checking account at a local Mobile bank/credit union and have checks or withdrawals countersigned by the President only for amounts over $100.00;

(b) Shall collect all dues, donations and collections from fund raisers and then deposit them in the CGST's account;

(c) Shall provide to the Vice President and Secretary the books for an audit in April and August and before relief by a new Treasurer;

(d) Shall oversee all fund-raising activities approved by the BOD.

(7) SWIM TEAM COORDINATOR: is a BOD voting member and; Top of Page

(a) Shall be the representative of the CGST at all Greater Mobile Swimming and Diving League (GMSDL) meetings as a voting member;

(b) Shall be responsible for organizing all CGST home meets;

(c) Shall see that the completion of all meet forms for all meets is accomplished and contact the other team(s) coach at least 24 hours before home meets to obtain their forms and at least 24 hours before away meets to deliver the CGST forms.

c. OTHER REQUIRED CGST POSITIONS. Top of Page

(1) HEAD COACH: is not a BOD voting member, but; Top of Page

(a) Shall be a volunteer selected by application/resume to the BOD, not later than March 1, and announced to the PAO no later than March 15;

1 The Head Coach shall be a paid position only if there are no volunteers;

2 Applicant should indicate swimming proficiency and prior swimming experience;

3 Applicant should indicate organizational and managerial experiences;

4 Applicant should indicate experience working with children;

(b) Shall represent the CGST at all GMSDL meetings as a voting member;

(c) Shall be reliable and/or available from May 1 to August 10, coach at least 3 practices per week and attend all meets;

(d) Shall coordinate all practice activities with the Assistant Coaches and oversee the swimmers techniques;

(e) Shall organize the swimmers at all meets and get the swimmers to warm-ups and other designated areas;

(f) Must be informative to swimmers and to parents;

(g) Shall provide to the Swim Team Coordinator (STC) all necessary information for the completion of the meet forms;

(h) Shall provide to the Awards Committee all necessary information for end-of-season awards recipients;

(i) Shall be accountable to the BOD for all job descriptions.

(2) ASSISTANT COACHES: (minimum of 6, one for each age group/lane) are not BOD voting members, but; Top of Page

(a) Shall be selected, via resume as with the Head Coach, by joint effort between the Head Coach and the BOD, with the BOD having the final decision;

(b) Shall assist the Head Coach in carrying out the responsibilities as stated in paragraphs 2.c.(1)(b) through 2.c.(1)(i).

(3) EQUIPMENT MANAGER: is not a BOD voting member, but; Top of Page

(a) Shall inventory and inspect all CGST equipment during April and August of each year;

(b) Shall, for any needed equipment/repairs, collect name(s) of stock point(s), ordering information and total cost and submit this information to the STC;

(d) Shall ensure all necessary equipment is "set up/torn down" for home meets: chairs, backstroke flags, lane markers, scorers table and canopy, Clerk of Course table/mic, etc.

(4) OTHER SWIM MEET HELPERS: are not BOD voting members, but shall assist the STC in conducting home swim meets and any assistance needed for away meets that may be required. All helpers will address all problems to the STC, who acts as Referee at all home meets. These positions are defined in detail in the Coast Guard Swim Team Procedures Handout.
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3. COMMITTEES. The following committees are required by the CGST. The members will be appointed by the President from parent volunteers. The committee will be headed by a Chairperson with two to four members. Parent volunteers can only be a member of no more than two committees. Additionally, no two committees can have the same personnel makeup. The Chairperson will report the conclusions formed by the committee, within the prescribed time frame established, to the President. They are organized only as an advisory role and have no vote in the BOD. The President can establish any other committee(s) not listed, as is felt necessary, to provide guidance, selections, etc. to the BOD. When established, this committee will be a formal group only until its findings are reported to the President. Top of Page

a. AWARDS COMMITTEE. Top of Page

(1) Shall order and maintain proper amount of ribbons, with labels, for home meets, as stipulated in the Coast Guard Swim Team Procedures Handout;

(2) Shall obtain cost and ordering information on awards for the end-of-season banquet and provide that information to the Treasurer for approval by the BOD;

(3) Shall purchase all awards after approval by the BOD; checks will be provided by the Treasurer;

b. BANQUET COMMITTEE. Top of Page

(1) Shall organize the end-of-season awards banquet;

(2) Shall provide cost information to the Treasurer for approval by the BOD;

(3) Shall purchase all items after approval by the BOD; checks will be provided by the Treasurer.

c. FUND RAISING COMMITTEE. Top of Page

(1) Shall be Chaired by the Treasurer;

(2) Shall develop fund raising activities and report these ideas to the President for approval by the BOD;

(3) Shall conduct all fund raising activities approved by the BOD;

(4) Shall deposit all collected funds into the CGST account.

4. VOTING. Voting shall be conducted in two formats: one for the PAO and one for the BOD.
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a. PARENT ADVISORY ORGANIZATION (PAO). All voting will be conducted by secret ballot and will be supervised by the Vice President. For meeting expediency, except for BOD elections, the President (or Vice President) may elect to have voting by voice or a show of hands, in lieu of by secret ballot. Top of Page

(1) Procedures. One parent from each household shall sign in with the Vice President and then will be provided with a ballot to cast their vote.

(a) Proxy votes will not be accepted.

(b) Absentee votes will be accepted if they are provided to the Vice President in a sealed envelope before the actual vote is taken and provide the necessary information. For example, voter's name, subject being on and the vote. These votes will only be counted once it is determined that their child is a member of the CGST and that neither parent is present at the voting.

(c) The Vice President and the Secretary will count the ballots, including the absentee ballots. Once they have been reviewed and no duplication has occurred, the Vice President shall report the results to the President. This report must be made within 24 hours of the vote. The Secretary shall also publish the results, once approved by the President, in the CGST newsletter.

b. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. All voting will be by voice vote and will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Top of Page

(1) Procedures. For a vote to be taken, a minimum of 3 of the 5 voting members must be present.

(a) Proxy votes will not be accepted.

(b) Absentee voting shall follow the same procedures as in paragraph 4.a.(1)(b) above.

(c) Once a vote is called for, a voice vote will be taken. The vote will then be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. For members not present, they will be recorded as absent unless an absentee vote was received before the vote.

5. ELECTIONS. Nominations for the BOD are to be gathered and voting completed not later than one week prior to the end-of-season banquet. The results are to be announced at the end-of-season banquet, when the official "installation" will take place. Special elections shall be held in accordance with paragraphs 2.b.(3)(i) and 2.b(4)(c). Top of Page

6. AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS. Amendments to these By-Laws may only be accomplished by a majority vote of the BOD. The PAO may override the BOD's vote as stipulated in paragraph 2.a.(1). Top of Page

submitted: /s/ 1 June 1998 approved: /s/ 1 June 1998 KATHY GARRITY CRAIG BROWN
(Secretary) (President)

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