NATIONAL HORSESHOE PITCHERS
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

BYLAWS

(JANUARY 2007)

ARTICLE I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America, hereinafter known as NHPA.

ARTICLE II: Purpose
The purpose of the NHPA shall be to develop, foster and promote organized horseshoe pitching at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels; as a recreational pastime and a competitive game, by providing direction, organization, published material and approved equipment, when necessary, to enhance the sport.

ARTICLE III: Membership

SECTION 1. Any reputable person may become a member upon payment of annual dues as designated in these bylaws. Annual dues include NHPA liability insurance.

SECTION 2. Juniors and Junior Cadets may join at a reduced fee designated in these bylaws. Boys and Girls are eligible to compete as Juniors up to the ages specified in Rule 1, Section A, #s 1-3 of the RGS Book.

SECTION 3. The dues for adult members are the National dues of twelve dollars ($12.00) plus the amount set for State dues in their Charter. Three dollars ($3.00) of every adult membership will be set aside for the World Tournament prize fund for the next year.

SECTION 4. Dues for Junior and Junior Cadet members are National dues of five dollars ($5.00) plus the amount set for State dues for juniors in their Charter. These dues entitle the junior member to all normal Sanctioned Tournament and League Program benefits.

SECTION 5. Dues are due and payable January 1, or upon joining, and last until December 31 of the current year.

SECTION 6. An NHPA Membership card is a combined State-National card and is to be issued only through the Charter Secretary upon payment of both Charter and National dues. Charter Secretaries are required to send membership reports and dues to the NHPA Secretary/Treasurer at least once every calendar quarter.

SECTION 7. A membership card must be issued by the Charter in which the member maintains legal residence as determined by the filing of federal and state tax returns, voting and/or driver license laws. Charters collecting NHPA dues for a non-residence member give only a receipt and forward the dues and address information to the NHPA Secretary-Treasurer who will advise the Charter of record. Residents of a State having no charter may become a member by sending their dues directly to the NHPA Secretary-Treasurer.

SECTION 8. Any member may be suspended for:

a. Willfully violating any official playing rule or bylaw of the NHPA.
b. Fixing games, cheating, or any other conduct unbecoming a member.
c. Placing a bet of monetary value on a contestant, or self, when participating in a competition.
d. Using unsanctioned horseshoes in a tournament.
e. Forfeiting in a tournament for an unapproved reason.

SECTION 9. For any of the reasons above, a member may be suspended for one year.

SECTION 10. No member shall be suspended until given a fair hearing before the Executive Council or a Board appointed by same.

SECTION 11. Members who have been suspended for one year may be reinstated after the year has elapsed by a majority vote of the Executive Council.

ARTICLE IV: Executive Council

SECTION 1. Members
The Executive Council shall be made up of the officers of the NHPA.

SECTION 2. Authority
a. The Executive Council shall have full power to conduct the business of the NHPA between annual meetings provided such business is not contrary to the bylaws of the NHPA.
b. The Executive Council shall define and interpret these bylaws and its rulings shall be official unless overturned by the delegates assembled in Convention by a two-thirds vote.

SECTION 3. Meetings
a. The Executive Council shall meet at the Call of the President or any three (3) members of the Council.
b. A quorum for any meeting of the Executive Council shall be four (4) members.
c. The Executive Council may conduct business by mail, e-mail, or telephone when necessary.
d. Official decisions made by the Executive Council that affect the general membership shall
published in the NHPA magazine within 3 months of said decisions.

ARTICLE V: Officers

SECTION 1.  The officers of the NHPA shall be:
a. A President.
b. A First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Vice-President.
c. A Secretary-Treasurer

SECTION 2.  Duties of officers
a.  The President shall:

1. be the chief executive officer of the NHPA.
2. preside at all meetings of the NHPA.
3. approve warrants for payment by being the second required signature on all checks received from the Secretary-Treasurer for payment of all accounts.
4. assign or change specific duties of other officers.
5. appoint any committees, Standing or Special, name its chair; change the make-up of the committee, fill any vacancies or discharge the committee as is deemed necessary for the good of the organization.
6. be ex-officio a member of all committees.
7. develop revise and maintain NHPA contracts, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and travel guidelines. SOPs shall be available for review by any delegate who so requests.
8. appoint, contract for and/or discharge with Executive Council approval, the NHPA Auditor; Attorney, National Buyer; Insurance Company, Horseshoe Pitching Newsline Editor/Publisher or any other professional person or firm deemed necessary.

b. The Vice Presidents shall:

1. in their order, assume the duties of the President in the absence or disability of the President.
2. assist the President, when requested and assume any duties their offices may imply.
3. Vice Presidents shall direct specific NHPA functions assigned them by the President. These functions shall include but are not limited to; Bylaws, Rules, Regional Directors, Sanctioned Leagues, Publicity, Promotions and Website.

c. The Secretary-Treasurer shall:

1. be custodian of all funds, property, records and other NHPA owned assets except those of the game related sales program, which are under the direction of the National Buyer.
2. keep records of all monies received disbursed, provide a monthly written statement of same to the Executive Council and Horseshoe Pitching Newsline editor.
3. pay all bills for routine supplies and all special purchases that have been approved by the Executive Council.
4. annually, by April 15, submit required books and records of the previous April 1 to March 31 fiscal year; to NHPA auditor for the year end report.

SECTION 3.  Time and Expense Reimbursement
Individuals mentioned in the positions below shall receive an annual stipend to defray the expenses of using their home, utilities and equipment in serving certain elected and appointed NHPA positions known to require a great deal of personal time. Extraordinary expenses as outlined in the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) are exempt.

a. The NHPA Secretary-Treasurer shall receive $15,000 plus 50 cents per adult member as determined by year-end membership reports.
b. The NHPA President shall receive 30% of the Secretary-Treasurer total.
c. Each NHPA Vice-President shall receive 10% of the Secretary-Treasurer total.
d. The NatStats Director shall receive 20% of the Secretary-Treasurer total.
e. The Horseshoe Pitching Newsline editor shall receive 12% of the annual subscription revenue.
f. The NHPA President may authorize Associate Directors to assist the Vice-Presidents with specific tasks related to the functions mentioned in paragraph c., above. These Associate Directors shall receive 2-5% of the Secretary-Treasurer total, the percentage to be approved by the Council and determined by the magnitude of the task.

SECTION 4.  NHPA Regional Directors shall annually receive fifty dollars ($50.00) plus 20 cents per adult NHPA member in their region based on the year-end membership report of the Secretary-Treasurer.

SECTION 5.  All NHPA positions listed above in section 3 (a-f), who attend the World Tournament will receive a travel allowance in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) guide of the NHPA. Those with dual responsibilities receive only one travel allowance.

SECTION 6.  Eligibility of officers
  a. All officers shall be NHPA members in good standing (dues paid and not under suspension).
b. At least one officer shall be a woman, and, similarly, at least one officer shall be a man - no junior may be an officer.

SECTION 7.  Candidates for NHPA office must announce their candidacy in writing to be received by the President and the Horseshoe Pitching Newsline Editor no later than March 15.

SECTION 8. Terms of office
a. All officers shall serve a two-year term.
b. The President, the First, Third and Fifth Vice Presidents shall be elected in odd numbered years.
c. The Second and Fourth Vice Presidents and the Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected in even numbered years.
d. The newly elected officers shall take office January 1 of the year following their election.

SECTION 9. Removal from office
a. Any officer may be removed from office upon failure to perform the duties of the office or for any reason that brings discredit to the NHPA.
b. Removal from office shall be by majority vote of the remaining members of the Executive Council.

SECTION 10. Vacancies in office
Any vacancies in office except that of President shall be filled within thirty days by the President with the approval of the Executive Council.

SECTION 11. Records and property held by officers

During the last thirty days of their term, all outgoing officers and committee chairs shall deliver to their successors in office all records and property of the NHPA in their possession.

ARTICLE VI: Standing Committees

SECTION 1. The Standing Committees of the NHPA shall be: ByLaws; Grievance; Hall of Fame; History; Minutes Approval; Promotion; Playing Rules; Publicity; Statistics; and Web Site.

ARTICLE VII: Charters

SECTION 1. Charters shall be organized under the NHPA and shall be known as (name of state, territory
or country) Division of the NHPA. It is the responsibility of Charters to follow NHPA Bylaws and if necessary, to enact separate but non-conflicting Charter Bylaws to be in compliance with their applicable State Governmental codes. Each Charter shall have a functional Executive Council duly elected by the Charter membership for minimum two year terms with the President being recognized as the ranking officer.

SECTION 2. Any of the above entities may apply for their first Charter from the NHPA by sending an application to the Secretary-Treasurer with a list of twenty-five (25) paid NHPA members.

SECTION 3. New Charters can be granted or upon majority approval of the Executive Council. Charter certificates shall be issued by the Secretary-Treasurer and must carry his signature and that of the NHPA President.

SECTION 4. Application for additional Charters within a State must include the proposed area, justified
reasons and fifty (50) new NHPA members.

SECTION 5. Any State with multiple Charters must maintain at least fifty (50) members in each Charter or have that Charter subject to revocation.

SECTION 6. A Charter will be entitled to convention delegates based upon the previous year's adult membership as follows:

Members         Delegates   Members   Delegates
  25-100              1            601-700        7
 101-200             2            701-800        8
 201-300             3            801-900        9
 301-400             4           901-1000      10
 401-500             5         1001-1100      11
 501-600             6         1101-1200      12

Further expansion of the above will continue in increments of 1 per 100.

ARTICLE VIII: Delegate Meetings

SECTION 1. Annual Meeting
The annual NHPA meeting (Convention) is the meeting where the business of the organization is undertaken. The location and time frame of the yearly World Tournament shall be given preference for the meeting. The location shall be recommended by the Executive Council and approved by the delegates at the Convention one year in advance.

SECTION 2. Special Meetings
a. A special meeting may be called by the President when approved by the Executive Council.
b. All Charters must be notified of this Special Meeting in writing at least thirty (30) days before the meeting and be given the reason for the meeting.
c. No business except that specified in the notice may be taken up.

SECTION 3. Quorum
A quorum for any meeting shall be at least 51% (counting delegates present and proxies) of the total number of delegates authorized based upon the previous year's ending membership.

SECTION 4. Voting
a. The President may decide on the method of voting.
b. proxy voting is permitted and the Charter Delegation Chair shall vote any proxy votes from the delegation.
c. the President shall appoint a committee of no more than three (3), two (2) of whom may be Executive Council members, to act as tellers who shall count the votes immediately after the polls are closed and bring the results to the assembly or post the results as soon as possible. When counting votes for Executive Council

candidates, no teller can be related to or from the state of a candidate.

ARTICLE IX: Convention

SECTION 1. The NHPA shall meet in convention annually to transact the business of the Association and to elect officers.

SECTION 2. The delegate body shall be made up as noted in ARTICLE VII, Section 6.

SECTION 3. Delegates are chosen in a manner that the Charter Officers decide. The Charter President must provide to the NHPA President, at least 72 hours prior to the start of the convention, a written and signed list of delegates which names the delegation Chairman.

SECTION 4. Each Charter that has presented an accepted delegation list is allowed to vote its maximum delegate votes based on the previous year's ending membership report, even if the Charter is represented by only a single delegate. Charters with no appointed delegates to the Convention have no vote. States or Countries without a Charter, but with NHPA membership, may be represented in total, by one delegate appointed by the NHPA President. Such a representative can speak at the Convention but can not vote on any matters except the World Tournament site.

SECTION 5. A delegate must be a member in good standing of the NHPA and a resident of the Charter which they represent.

SECTION 6. The Charter Delegation Chairman must be a current subscriber of the Horseshoe Pitching Newsline magazine.

SECTION 7. The NHPA elected Officers shall be allowed to speak on all Convention issues.

SECTION 8. The NHPA President shall appoint a committee of three members to approve, within ninety (90) days, the Minutes of the Convention. A copy of the approved Minutes shall be sent to each NHPA Officer and to each Charter President by the NHPA Secretary-Treasurer within thirty (30) days of their approval.

SECTION 9. All NHPA Bylaws amendments or revisions that are passed at the Convention shall become effective on January 1 of the following year.

SECTION 10. A city or organization desiring to hold a World Tournament shall place its bid in the hands of the NHPA Secretary-Treasurer by the 15th of March, two years in advance. The NHPA President shall designate one or more members of the Executive Council to open bids after he/she has determined that these members shall have no conflict of interest in the matter. No bids will be considered unless all of the following conditions are met and approved by the Executive Council:

a. The facilities available for conducting the tournament are stated.
b. A minimum bid of $15,000 in cash is offered.
c. A minimum payment of one third (33%) of the total cash bid shall accompany the bid. This deposit is refundable, after the Convention, to the unsuccessful bidders.

SECTION 11. The Convention shall award, by a majority vote, the privilege of conducting a World Tournament two years in advance. Absentee voting for the World Tournament site shall be allowed for any Charters unable to send delegates to the NHPA Convention. That voting shall be confidential and the absentee ballots will be opened only after the voting on the floor of the Convention is complete. Absentee ballots for this World Tournament site vote must be received by the NHPA President on or before the Friday prior to the Convention. If three or more sites are bidding and none receives a majority vote, the two sites receiving the most votes will have a runoff in a second ballot. In case no World Tournament bid is received by the NHPA deadline, the Executive Council has the authority to award the Tournament for that next open year only.

SECTION 12. Bidders who are awarded the World Tournament must sign a contract that, among other things, requires the total bid to be paid at least one year prior to the tournament.

ARTICLE X: Parliamentary Authority
The Rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the proceeding of the NHPA in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws.

ARTICLE XI: Amendments

SECTION 1. These Bylaws may be amended as follows:
a. At any Convention held in even numbered years, by a two-thirds vote, provided previous notice was given in the Call to Convention.
b. An Emergency Amendment may be considered at any Convention if consent is given by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Convention delegates, for its consideration, and provided that it arises out of the business of the Convention.

SECTION 2.
These Bylaws may be revised at any Convention provided a revision has been ordered at the previous Convention by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.

SECTION 3.
If a revision is authorized, there shall be no other amendments proposed to the existing Bylaws.

Last complete revision adopted July 16, 2006
Bylaws last amended July 16, 2006