Saginaw Athletic Officials Association Constitution

Article I     Name

This association shall be know as the Saginaw Athletic Officials Association.

Article II    Objective

The purpose of this association shall be to:

A.                 Work for improvement in quality of officiating for our membership through classes, meetings, clinics, and other programs.

B.                 Provide high caliber officials for interscholastic contests between MHSAA member schools and MHSAA tournament contests to which we may be assigned.

C.                Assist local MHSAA member schools in assigning officials to their contests and provide assistance to these schools’ training programs by supplying officials for their practice scrimmages.

D.                Maintain the status of an “Approved Association” as defined by the MHSAA.

E.                 Promote the MHSAA “Code for Athletic Officials”.

Article III   Membership

A.                 Membership to this association shall be extended to all individuals who understand and support all aspects of this association and its’ constitution.

B.                 Members shall be considered as “Active” by compliance with the following:

1.                  Completion of all MHSAA registration requirements by the MHSAA prescribed deadline or the current school year.

2.                  Submission of name, address, officials ID number, sports registered in, and phone number(s) to the association secretary, or any changes to any of the above mentioned information, immediately.

3.                  Payment of association dues by May 15 for the succeeding school year (established membership).

4.                  New applicant members will become “Active” on the date all of the above mentioned requirements are met, without regard to the prescribed deadlines.

5.                  Maintenance of the associations’ goals, objectives, and membership duties as outlined in this constitution.

C.                A member may be considered as “Honorary” by virtue of his/her support to the goals and objectives of this association.  Honorary members:

1.                  Are nominated for membership at an Association business meeting and confirmed by a majority vote of those present at that meeting.

2.                  Need not be registered with the MHSAA.

3.                  Have no Association dues obligations.

4.                  Shall not vote at Association meetings or hold any Association office.  However, they may serve on appointed committees.

D.                A Member may be considered as “Inactive” by a majority vote of the Executive board.  Inactive members may not vote or hold office and will not be considered for game assignments through the Association.  Only a majority vote be the Executive Board can reinstate an inactive member to “Active”.  Inactive status is the result of any of the following:

1.                  Noncompliance of any of the prescribed requirements for “Active” members.

2.                  Violation of the MHSAA “Code of Conduct for Officials”.

3.                  Each member considered as “Inactive” will receive written notification of the Boards’ decision and will have opportunity for appeal, first to the Association Executive Board, then to the MHSAA.

Article IV  Duties of Members

Members of this Association are subject to the following obligations:

A.                 Maintain current registration with the MHSAA (except honorary members).

B.                 Volunteer to work at least one scrimmage per season in the sports in which they are registered.

C.                Follow the MHSAA “Code of Conduct for Officials”.

D.                Maintain conduct which reflects professionalism as an official, and bring credit to this Association and its’ membership.

E.                 Attend meetings and training programs regularly.

F.                 Develop officiating skills to the highest possible level of competency and strive for continuous improvement.

G.                Assist fellow Association members in their quest for continuous improvement.

H.                 Honor all signed contracts.  Make no substitutions on assignments without the approval of the host schools’ athletic director.  Substitutions should be rare and are only caused by some uncontrollable event.

I.                     Return all unsigned contracts for assignments that can not be met immediately.  A follow-up phone call to the contractors’ originator is recommended.

J.                  Keep the assigning secretary(s) informed of all dates filled, contracts accepted, or dates on non-availability.

Article V   Officers and Elections

A.                 The Executive Board of this Association shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer, an Assigning secretary(s), and four Advisory Board members.

B.                 These officers will be elected by a majority vote for each position by the membership present at the Spring business meeting of each even numbered year.

C.                Voting will be held in this order:  Secretary(s), President, Vice-President, Treasurer, followed by four (4) Advisory Board members.

D.                The elected officers will take office beginning June 1 following their election.

E.                 The length of service for one term of each office shall be two years.

F.                 Should a vacancy occur for any unexpired term, the Executive Board shall appoint an appropriate member to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the term.

Article VI  Duties of Officers

A.                 President

1.                  The President shall preside at all Association meetings and all Executive Board meetings.

2.                  The President shall serve as a liaison within the MHSAA and other school officials.

3.                  The President shall serve as a liaison between the Association, its’ members, and the MHSAA in regards to rules interpretations and other matters pertaining to the Association.

B.                 Vice-President

1.                  The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the event of his/her absence.

C.                Treasurer

1.                  The treasurer shall have charge of all moneys and shall make disbursements as required. 

2.                  The Treasurer shall collect dues from Association members and maintain a roster of such collections.  He/she will report delinquencies to the Executive Board.

3.                  The Treasurer will make a financial report to the Association at each business meeting.

D.                Secretary(s)

1.                  The Association membership may elect as many as two assigning secretaries to address the various sports across the various seasons.

2.                  If the membership elects two secretaries, the split of assigning responsibilities will be determined by the Executive Board with consideration given to each secretaries’ individual expertise.

3.                  The Secretary shall maintain membership records including personal and officiating information of each member.

4.                  The Secretary shall submit the formal Association roster to the MHSAA office each year as required with complete listing of names, sports registered in, and ID numbers.

5.                  The Secretary shall distribute on an annual basis the complete roster of the Association membership to all members.  This roster will include the name, address, phone numbers and sports registered for each official in the Association.

6.                  The Secretary shall be responsible for Association correspondence to and from members, schools, individuals, and groups.  This includes notices of all Association business meetings and rules meetings.

7.                  The Secretary shall make a secretarial report of each business meeting.

8.                  The Secretary shall make and maintain a mailing list of schools and other local sponsors of athletic contests.

9.                  The Secretary shall serve as Association liaison with area newspapers and radio stations, with area athletic directors, conferences, and other responsibilities as delegated by the Executive Board.

10.             In the event that the membership elects two secretaries, the Executive Board shall delegate the responsibilities outlined above, between the two.

11.             The Secretary(s) shall be paid an annual salary as determined by the membership.

E.                 Executive Board

In addition to each board members’ individual duties, the Executive Board as a group has the following responsibilities:

1.                  Determine dates, times, and place of Association meetings.

2.                  Fill vacancies on the Board as required.

3.                  Appoint committees as required.

4.                  Distribute responsibilities of the Secretary function, if more than one is elected.

5.                  Appoint assistants to aid the Secretary(s) in assigning of officials to contests when required.

6.                  Make recommendations to the membership pertaining to annual dues, Association rates, status of committees appointed by the Board, or other applicable items for discussion at the business meeting.

7.                  Serve as a review board for reported cases of violations of the MHSAA “Code of Conduct for Officials”, violations of the terms and conditions of this constitution, or any action not in agreement with the goals and objectives of this Association.  If such reported violations are authenticated, the Board shall:

a)                 Place the offender on “inactive status”.

b)                 Notify the offender of action taken in writing and inform him/her of right to appeal within 14 days of this notification.

c)                  The Board has the power to reverse its’ decision after hearing the appeal.

d)                 The Board has the power to uphold its’ decision after hearing the appeal, or if there is no appeal the Boards’ decision is final.

e)                 The Board will file a report  with the MHSAA in the event of (a) above.

Article VII Meetings

A.                 Association meetings shall be scheduled in accordance with the MHSAA guidelines for Approved Associations.

B.                 The date, time, and location of all meetings (rules & business) shall be determined by the Executive Board and announced annually each March, to the membership, in writing.

C.                Only at business meetings may voting matters relative to the Association be considered.

D.                The annual business meeting shall be held each March on the Monday or Tuesday of the Boys’ Basketball Finals week recommended.

E.                 Additional meetings may be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Board.

F.                 Robert’s’ Rules of Order shall govern the business meetings in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this constitution.

G.                Business matters pertaining to the Association acted on at each business meeting shall be determined by a majority of membership present.

Article VIII            Permanent Committees

A.                 Standing committees may be established as required.

1.                  Membership to these committees will be established by the Executive Board.

2.                  Each committee will bring recommendations to the Executive Board for action or final approval.

ARTICLE IX  Amendments to the Constitution

This Constitution may be amended, following these guidelines:

A.                 The proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing and read at an Association business meeting.

B.                 All active members shall have been notified of the meeting.

C.                A majority vote of the membership present will carry an amendment to the constitution.