BY-LAWS OF CALUSA CRUISE CLUB, INC
ARTICLE I – Purpose and Activities of Club
The purpose and activities of the Calusa Cruise Club, Inc. shall be as follows:
- To promote cruising and social activities of members.
- To promote fishing and conservation.
- To promote boating, safety, and education.
ARTICLE IA – Definitions
Club Fiscal Year: April 1st to March 31st.
Membership Dues and Initiation Fee: Membership Dues are required every fiscal year to maintain membership. Initiation Fee is only required once to purchase name tag, burgee, and membership booklet.
Bridge or Executive Board: The term “Bridge” or “Executive Board” shall refer only to Officers of the Board, i.e. Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each member of the Bridge/Executive Board shall be limited to two (2) consecutive terms.
Board of Directors: The activities of this Club shall be managed and conducted by the Board of Directors (The Board), composed of the Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore, Secretary, Treasurer, immediate past Commodore, and three (3) additional directors nominated and voted for annually by the General Membership in Article IV.
Majority: Shall be 50%+1.
Quorum: Is the minimum number of members necessary to conduct a meeting as further stated in the By-Laws.
C. O. W.: Is the Change of Watch ceremony performed to induct the newly elected Board of Directors.
ARTICLE II – Duties of Officers
Commodore: The Commodore shall preside at all general and special meetings and shall appoint all committees.
Committees to include the Treasurer’s annual audit of records Committee and a Nominating Committee Chairperson.
The Commodore shall assign each additional director (3) one of the three activities set forth in Article I and shall be responsible, under the direction of the Commodore, for developing activities to help promote those purposes of the Club.
He or she shall have the power and duties as are usual for the President of a corporation.
Vice Commodore: The Vice Commodore shall act as Chairman of the Board, and in addition, shall assume the duties of the Commodore in the event of his or her disability or absence.
The Vice Commodore is responsible for planning and overseeing the boating and other activities of the Club.
In addition, he or she shall maintain a record of all banners, dining tarps, tables, and all other items owned by the Club and used from time to time during Club activities.
Rear Commodore: The Rear Commodore shall be the permanent chairman of the Membership Committee in Article V(b), collecting all initiation fees and the first-year membership dues. Such monies will be turned over to the Treasurer.
The Rear Commodore swears in all new members to the Club and presents them with the new member packet described in Article V (b).
The Rear Commodore will be responsible for monitoring and tracking the completion of boating safety courses as discussed in ARTICLE V(a-2).
The Rear Commodore shall implement and maintain a Mentoring program for those members to assist in the performance of club functions.
The Rear Commodore shall maintain an up-to-date master roster of all current members of the Club and distribute copies of that roster to the membership at least once a year.
In addition, the Rear Commodore shall be responsible for obtaining merchandise for the Club’s ‘Store’, selling such merchandise to Club members, maintaining an accurate inventory and turning all funds over to the Treasurer.
In the event of the disability or absence of both the Commodore and Vice Commodore, the Rear Commodore shall assume the duties of Commodore.
Secretary: The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Club. He or she shall handle all correspondence and shall keep such books and records as are necessary to establish that a permanent record of the activities of the Club shall always be available to the members and shall perform such other duties as may reasonably be required of him or her by the Club.
The Secretary shall maintain an up to date and accurate set of BYLAWS of the Club, incorporating all changes and additions that are made in accordance with Article VII.
At the expiration of his or her term, he or she shall turn over to his or her successor or the Board all records, books and correspondence that may be the property of the Club.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive, have in his or her charge, and be responsible for all money, notes, bonds and similar property of the Club. All monies of the Club shall be deposited in some bank in the name of the Calusa Cruise Club, Inc., said bank to be approved by the Board, and said monies shall be withdrawn from said bank with available electronic banking (e.g. Zelle) or checks signed by the Treasurer and approved by the Commodore or the Secretary.
The Treasurer shall keep a complete set of all necessary books and records to always show the financial condition of the Club, and such books and records shall be open to inspection by any member of the Club at any reasonable time.
The Treasurer shall pay the annual Florida Incorporation Fee and any taxes upon the Club by the respective due dates and shall pay all other bills and obligations of the Club promptly avoiding any late payment or penalty fees.
All bills in excess of $200 (two hundred dollars) must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members present at any general or special meetings of the Club. All bills or obligations of the Club shall be presented in writing and upon payment thereof a receipt and/or a cancelled check shall be kept in the permanent records of the Club for at least the past three (3) years and the current year.
The Treasurer shall collect all recurring membership dues as discussed in ARTICLE V(e) and V(e-1).
The records of the Treasurer shall be audited at least once each year by a committee appointed by the Commodore, and a report of said committee made to the next general meeting of the Club. At the expiration of his or her term, the Treasurer shall turn over to his or her successor or the Board all books, records, monies, notes, bonds, and similar properties of the Club which may have been in his or her possession during his or her term of office.
ARTICLE III – Vacancies in Office
All vacancies in office shall be filled by majority selection of the remaining Board, providing, however, in the event of more than two concurrent vacancies, said vacancies shall be filled by a special election by the general membership at their next regular meeting. All persons thus selected or elected to fulfill an unexpired term shall hold office until his or her successor shall be duly elected and qualified at the next general election.
ARTICLE IV – Election of Officers and Directors
(a) At the first general meeting in January the Commodore shall appoint a Nominating Committee Chairperson. That Chairperson will create a Nomination Committee that will solicit members, in good standing, to be nominated to positions of the Board.
(b) At the second General Meeting in February, recommendations of the Nominating Committee, they being excluded, consisting of at least one name for each Officer (5) and Director (3), will be submitted to the Club Membership.
(c) At the first General Meeting in March any member of the Membership, including a Nominating Committee member, may be nominated from the floor. Any nominations from the floor will be open and accepted.
(d) At the second General Meeting in March, voting for All Nominees: those, nominated by the Nominating Committee and those nominated from the floor will be held.
(e) Voting shall be by paper ballot, unless there is only one person nominated for each position, in which case the Secretary will cast one vote to elect all noncompeting positions. There shall be no run-off elections, except in the case of a tie. This procedure shall be followed in all elections of officers and directors. No proxies shall ever be allowed.
(f) The newly elected officers shall commence their term of office immediately after the Change of Watch ceremony, which should take place as near as possible to April 1st.
ARTICLE V – Membership
(a) Application for membership in the Club shall be made in writing on the current New Membership Application form and shall have the recommendation of a member of this Club in good standing.
(a-1) A prospective member must own a boat and make it available to being seen by the membership committee at a time convenient to both parties.
(a-2) Prospective members must have successfully completed or agreed to complete within the first year of membership at least one of the recognized boating safety courses. (Examples of such courses are the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Boating Skills and Seamanship Course, and the U.S. Power Squadron’s USPS Boating Course). The Rear Commodore will be responsible for monitoring and administering this requirement.
Also, present members who may not yet have completed such a boating safety course are strongly urged to do so for their own safety and the safety of others, as soon as possible.
(b) There shall be a membership committee composed of the Rear Commodore as chairman, and any other members chosen by the Rear Commodore, to review all applications for membership and recommend acceptance or rejection to the Board. The Board is empowered to adopt appropriate rules and regulations for membership acceptance as deemed advisable.
Accepted applicants shall be sworn in to the membership at a general meeting and receive their name tag, burgee, and membership booklet.
(c) Membership dues and initiation fees shall be such an amount as established by the general membership upon recommendation by the Board. Voting privileges shall be limited to those names that appear on the master roster. A majority vote at a general or special meeting shall be required to institute any changes in current dues and fees.
(d) Honorary Members: There shall be a class of members known as Honorary Members, and the names of all candidates for Honorary Membership in the Club shall be presented for election to the members of the Club by the Board at a general meeting of the Club.
The candidate for election to Honorary Membership shall not be voted upon until the next general meeting of the Club.
No persons shall ever be elected to Honorary Membership in this Club, except for the reason that said person has rendered to this Club, or to the sport of boating or boating in general, outstanding and meritorious service, local or general, such as would be in the opinion of the members, warrant the awarding of this honor.
Honorary members shall pay no dues, but shall have all privileges of an active member, except that of voting and holding office, and shall be subject to suspension or expulsion in accordance with Article V(f).
(e) All membership recurring dues shall be due and payable by April 1st each year to the Treasurer. Any member who has not paid dues by May 1st shall be removed from the master roster of current members. The Treasurer shall make a reasonable effort to notify all delinquent members of back dues owed.
Applicants for new membership after October 1st shall pay the full initiation fee and half the yearly membership dues.
(e-1) Membership dues collected after January 1st up to March 31st of the current year shall be retained in escrow for use by the Board to be elected for the coming new fiscal year. In addition, the current Board shall pass on to the next Board a sum of money in the amount of $500 (five hundred dollars) to cover any unanticipated expenses.
(f) Any member convicted of a felony or conduct that is or has been improper or greatly unsportsmanlike, or whose membership tends to bring ill repute and disgrace to the Club, may be suspended or expelled by the Board if the facts justify such action after a hearing in his or her own defense. The Board shall prescribe the time and place and rules of procedure of such hearing.
(g) A suspended or expelled member shall forfeit all rights to the property, privileges and assets of the Club.
expelled by the Board if the facts justify such action after a hearing in his or her own defense. The Board shall prescribe the time and place and rules of procedure of such hearing.
(g) A suspended or expelled member shall forfeit all rights to the property, privileges and assets of the Club.
ARTICLE VI – Membership Meetings
(a) General Meetings. There shall be two (2) regular meeting nights of the Club each month, except for November and December with only one (1) meeting each month.
(b) Special Meetings. A special meeting of the Club may be called by the Commodore at any time upon due notice.
(c) Order of Business. The order of business to be followed at meetings shall be:
- Roll call of officers
- Reading of minutes of previous meeting
- Report of Treasurer
- Reports of standing committees
- Reports of special committees
- Communications
- Unfinished business
- New business
(d) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum necessary to transact business at any Membership meeting thereof.
(e) At a general or special meeting of the Club, those members present shall constitute a quorum necessary to transact business. Provided, that Article VI(f) is complied with.
(f) No notice of general meetings shall be required. However, each member shall be given notice seven days in advance of a special meeting or any deviation from the established general meeting schedule.
(g) Unless otherwise required in these Bylaws, a majority vote of those members present and voting shall constitute acceptance or rejection of any and all business presented.
ARTICLE VII – Amendments
Additions, changes or deletions to these By-laws may be accomplished at a general meeting of the Club, provided all members have been notified at least thirty (30) days prior to said meeting. Those members present shall constitute a quorum for a majority vote for acceptance or rejection of said change.
Amended: August 2024