KINGS COUNTY REPEATER ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. BOX 288
BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11228-0288

ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY 15,1972

BY- LAWS

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Kings County Repeater Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization, hereinafter referred to as the KCRA.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

The purpose of the KCRA shall be to build, operate and/or maintain one or more amateur radio repeaters as decided by the voting body of the membership, and to call meetings to plan and conduct the business of the KCRA. The KCRA will seek to promote and/or sponsor such activities, which may improve the technical expertise of, and the fellowship amongst its members and the amateur radio community. The KCRA will seek to provide, or assist in any activities, which render a public service to the community, as opportunity permits, and subject to the approval of the voting body.
The KCRA will sponsor and/or assist in the activities it chooses which advance the amateur radio service and/ or provide benefits to amateur radio operators. It is the overriding intent of these bylaws that the control, direction, and policy decisions of the KCRA rest with its voting members and be exercised by the elected officers who, being the representatives of the members, are obligated to act in the best interest of the association.

ARTICLE III

Section I: Classes of Members

The KCRA shall have three classes of members. These are full, associate and family members as outlined hereafter. All members shall be duly licensed by the FCC to operate an amateur radio. All members must be members in good standing as described within these bylaws and must abide by all pertinent FCC rules and regulations (as described by the FCC) and the KCRA Repeater Operator's Guidelines, which are attached and are part of the KCRA bylaws (see Attachment A). The term "member" when used herein shall mean member in good standing.

Full Members

Full members shall bear the responsibility for the direction and operations of the KCRA by their right to vote on any motions brought before them by any other member of the KCRA. Such motions shall be brought by the methods described in the applicable Articles of these bylaws. Only full members may sponsor a candidate for new membership by making a sponsorship motion at any regularly scheduled KCRA meeting

Associate Members

Any new member shall enter the KCRA as an associate member. These associate members shall have all rights and privileges of other classes of membership with the exception of voting rights. After six (6) months of membership in good standing, these associate members will be eligible to be voted in as full members by the voting membership. Associate members may retain associate membership for one additional six-month period if not voted in as a full member after the first six months. After the second six months of associate membership, if not voted into the club membership, this associate member shall be dismissed from the club.

Family Members

Any licensed amateur radio Operator who resides with any full or associate member and is the spouse, unmarried child or parent of that member may apply for and become a family member. They shall have the same rights as the associate member at a reduced rate of dues as outlined by the applicable articles of these bylaws with the exception of becoming a full member at reduced rates. A family member who wishes to become a full member does not have to be sponsored. A family member applying for full member shall be subject to a vote in the same manner as described within the associate
member class. Once a full member, the family member will pay full dues and have all rates and privileges of a full member.

Section 2: Privileges of Members

All members are entitled to participate in and attend all KCRA sponsored events and functions. Full members and full members only will have voting privileges.

Section 3: Suspension of Privileges of Membership

The KCRA Board of Directors, hereafter called the board, may suspend membership and/or voting privileges of any member for:
     A) Violation of any pertinent FCC rules and regulations associated with their amateur radio license.
     B) Any period during which a debt to the KCRA remains unpaid.
     C) The period of any continuing violation of any of the bylaws, rules and regulations of the FCC and/or KCRA Repeater Operator's Guidelines (see Attachment A).

Section 4: Members in Violation

Members in violation must be notified by mail of said violation at the address on record. They shall be entitled to request, in writing, by mail, or by hand delivery to any board member within ten (10) days of notification, a hearing before the board. If by mail, such request should be sent to the then current KCRA P.O. address.

Section 5: Expulsion

Any member in violation as described within may be expelled from the KCRA by a majority vote of the KCRA board.

ARTICLE IV

Dues

Any necessary change in the dues schedule for any class of membership shall be determined by ratification of a 2/3 majority of the voting body of the membership in attendance. The vote shall be held no later than the last meeting of the calendar year preceding the year in question. In the event that the proposed change is not ratified, the existing dues scheduled shall remain in effect.
Dues shall be payable to the KCRA on or before the first meeting of the calendar year in which they are in effect or January 31 of that year, whichever occurs first. Any member(s) whose dues are outstanding by April 1 of that year shall be removed from the membership rolls and forfeit all membership privileges. Dues for membership shall be prorated on a quarterly basis.

ARTICLE V

Voting

Voting privileges shall be reserved for full members exclusively. Ratification of any proposal, unless otherwise specified, shall be made by not less than a 2/3 majority vote of the voting members in attendance at the time of the vote, provided a quorum of 12 full members are present. Voting for the appointment of officers and the upgrade of eligible members shall be made by closed ballot. Voting for all other matters shall be made by similar closed ballot unless otherwise agreed to by full members at the time of voting, by open consensus. Unless otherwise specified in this document, proposals may be presented and voted upon at any general membership meeting as per this article.

ARTICLE VI

Amendments to the by-laws

Amendments to these by-laws shall be made in accordance with the following procedures: Any proposed amendment must be dated and submitted to the board of the KCRA and endorsed by at least one (1) full member. The proposal must be submitted in writing to the Secretary for clarification, grammatical, and syntax review. Upon satisfactory acceptance by the board, the proposed amendment must be submitted to the membership for review and discussion no later than thirty (30) days before it is to be voted upon. It may be presented to the membership at the next membership meeting or by mail Ratification of the amendment shall be made by the affirmative vote of not less than 2/3 of the full voting membership.

ARTICLE VII

Governing Officers

Governing officers for the KCRA shall form the body of the Executive Board. Such officers shall be:

PRESIDENT

RECORDING SECRETARY

TECHNICAL CHAIRPERSON

NEWSLETTER CHAIRPERSON

TRUSTEE (s)

VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON

EDUCATIONAL CHAIRPERSON

These officers shall comprise the governing body of the KCRA, the executive board. The board shall hold a board meeting within thirty days prior to the general membership meeting and as necessary to plan the meetings agenda. The duties of the board shall include but are not limited to the following:
     • Dispensation of funds greater than $200
     • Establishing the agenda of the regular membership meeting
     • Overall guidance and assistance to the chairperson(s) of committees within the KCRA

VOTING

Any decisions made by the board shall require a 2/3-majority vote of the board members. The vote may be taken by any means acceptable to the members of the board including proxy votes.

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESIDENT

The president of the KCRA shall preside at the membership and board meetings, shall sign official documents, and coordinate the activities of the other officers, as well as perform any other duties as is customary to this office.

VICE PRESIDENT

In the absence of the president or in the event of his inability or refusal to act, the vice president is empowered to act, and shall thereupon be vested with the powers and duties of the president and is ex officio on all committees within the KCRA.

RECORDING SECRETARY

The recording secretary shall maintain all official records and documents of the KCRA, and keep minutes of the board and general membership meeting. The secretary shall accept any motions or proposals from the membership for presentation to the membership before voting as outlined in Article VI of this document. The secretary shall also be responsible for providing assistance to the membership, for coordination of internal correspondence of the KCRA, and shall keep records of same. The secretary shall maintain records of committee members and chairpersons of any committee formed within the KCRA, and shall report their activities to the board and the membership as applicable. The secretary shall also act as parliamentarian for the KCRA general membership and board meetings.

TREASURER

The treasurer shall collect and deposit dues, contributions, and any other remuneration payable to the KCRA, and keep records of all KCRA finances, transactions, and accruals of all tangible assets of the KCRA. The treasurer shall report these transactions to the members at the general and executive board meeting on a regular basis. The treasurer shall perform any other duties customary with this office.

TECHNICAL CHAIRPERSON

The technical chairperson shall be responsible for the operation, maintenance, construction, installation, and or repair of any communications equipment belonging to or used by the KCRA while in the KCRA's possession, and preside over the activities of any person(s) empowered to perform any of the aforementioned functions.
The technical chairperson shall preside over any committees established to provide technical assistance to the membership, and act as representative to any governmental or amateur regulatory agencies regarding matters of a technical or engineering nature.

MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON

The membership chairperson shall keep records of member's status in terms of member's tenure; shall recommend members eligible for full membership at the general membership meetings for voting as per Article V. The membership chairperson shall coordinate the recruitment of new members, and shall collect and record dues from the members, as well as any other remuneration or tangible contributions made by any member on behalf of the KCRA and in conjunction with the treasurer.

NEWSLETTER CHAIRPERSON

The newsletter chairperson is responsible for the execution, content, and distribution of the KCRA newsletter, THE SQUELCH TALE, and at his/her option may appoint person(s) to act as editors and/or writers to assemble said newsletter.

TRUSTEE

The trustee(s) is/are the licensee(s) of any amateur radio repeater stations and amateur radio club stations of the KCRA (WA2ZWP or KC2RA). It is the trustee's responsibility to see that any repeater or stations of the KCRA are operated in compliance with the applicable FCC rules and regulations. The trustee will be guided by the majority vote of the board and/or membership as applicable in determining repeater and station operating policy, except where super ceded by law.

EDUCATIONAL CHAIRPERSON

The educational chairperson shall be responsible for coordinating code, theory and other amateur related classes. The educational chairperson shall at his/her option appoint person(s) to act as teachers or assistants to help prepare and teach each class.

ARTICLE VIII

Committee Chairperson(s)

The board of the membership may appoint chairpersons to recruit and preside over any committee established within the KCRA. Such committees should include any activities, which may include education and guest speakers, Field Day, fundraiser, benefits, dances, radio contesting, public relations, etc.

Any activities requiring the dispensation of club funds shall require the affirmative vote of the membership as outlined in Article V.

ARTICLE IX

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND TERMS OF OFFICE

Elections for the aforementioned officers shall take place annually, with the exception of the trustee who may serve indefinitely unless removed by the board. The officers may succeed themselves if so elected. The trustees are not elected, but chosen by the board. The new officers assume office on January 1 of the year they were elected. The elections shall be held at the November membership meeting,

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility for officers of the executive board shall be opened to full members only.

NOMINATIONS

All nominations shall be opened at the September membership meeting and shall close with the October membership meeting, Two weeks before the November meeting a list of candidates will be mailed to all voting members. Such a list may be incorporated into the newsletter.

VOTING

The voting shall be conducted as outlined in Article V.

VACANCIES

If vacancies exist on the board, such vacancies may be filled or chosen by the remaining board members and ratified by the voting body even though those remaining board members might be less than a quorum, not sooner than thirty (30) days nor later than sixty (60) days from the effective date of any vacancy.
For administrative purposes the effective date of any vacancy shall be the date of the next board meeting following notification of the vacancy. No member from the previous board who was not reelected or was ineligible to run for the board may be appointed except by a unanimous vote of all the elected board members. Any person so appointed a board member shall serve out the unexpired term of board member he/she has replaced. The board may, when necessary, appoint full members or in the event no full members are available, nonfull members may fill the vacancies.

IMPEACHMENT

Any officer may be brought up on charges by any two full members, in writing and presented to the secretary for review and presentation and voted upon as are amendment proposals described within. Should the secretary be brought up on charges, these charges should be given to any other officer as agreed to by the board.

ARTICLE X

CONTROL OPERATORS

All elected officers are to be control operators. The board or trustee may appoint such other control operators, as they deem necessary.

DUTIES OF THE CONTROL OPERATORS

The primary responsibility of the control operator is the protection of the station license and that of the trustee by actions permissible and dictated by the applicable rules and regulations of the FCC and specifically those of Part 97 and the Communications Act of 1934 and any other National or International agreements of which the United States is party to. In addition, the control operators assume responsibility of the enforcement of such other rules of Amateur and Repeater Radio Operations as adopted by the KCRA

ARTICLE XI

MEETINGS

General membership meetings shall be held each calendar month unless otherwise determined by the board. Meetings shall be open to members only unless the board shall decide otherwise.

July, 2003