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I. ORGANIZATION Section 1: The Midwest Region of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. is established in accordance with Article VI of the by-laws of the North-South Skirmish Association, Incorporated. II. MEMBERSHIP Section 1: Members shall be those Member Organizations of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. which have been assigned to the Midwest Region. Section 2: Each member organization of the Midwest Region shall have one (1) vote in all matters of business brought before the membership of the region. III. OFFICERS Section 1: The officers of the Midwest Region shall be a Commander, a Deputy Commander, an Adjutant, and an Inspector. Section 2: The Commander, Deputy Commander, and Inspector shall be elected to two-year terms by vote of the member organizations in odd numbered years, and shall take office on January 1 following their election. Section 3: The duties of the Commander and the Inspector shall be as stated in the by-laws of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. Section 4: The Adjutant shall be appointed by the Commander, and shall serve until replaced by the Commander, or until the Commander's term expires. Section 5: The Deputy Commander shall assist the Commander in any way he may be assigned by the Commander. He shall act as Commander during the Commander's absence, within the limits of the by-laws of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. Section 6: The Adjutant shall collect, hold, and disburse all Midwest Region funds, and shall perform clerical duties as assigned by the Commander. He shall keep minutes of regional Meetings, and shall distribute copies to the member organizations. Section 7: The Commander shall present a financial statement each year at the first Annual Meeting. This statement shall include categorized income and expenditures for the year ending November 30, and the treasury balance as or that date. Section 8: Any Midwest Region officer, elected or appointed, may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the member organizations present at a regular or called meeting, provided notice of the motion to remove has been given to all member organizations no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting. Cause(s) for removal must be stated in the notice. IV. ELECTIONS Section 1: An Election Committee shall be elected by the region at the first Regional Skirmish each odd-numbered year. The Election Committee shall solicit nominations for the elective offices. Section 2: The Election Committee shall mail a list of candidates to all member organizations by August 1. Section 3: The election shall be conducted by the Election Committee at the Fall Regional Skirmish. Nominations from the floor shall be permitted. Section 4: Election to office shall require a majority vote of the member organizations of the region. Section 5: No member of the Election Committee may be a candidate for office in that election year. Section 6: Vacancies in elective offices must be filled by special election within one (1) month. Section 7: Proxy votes may be cast at regular or special election meetings, provided written or telephonic notice of authority to cast a proxy vote has been conveyed by the absent unit to the region Commander, or the Deputy Commander if the commanders position is vacant. V. MEETINGS Section 1: A meeting under these by-laws shall be one which has been properly advertised and at which a quorum is present. Section 2: A quorum to conduct business at any regional meeting shall be no less than one-half the member organizations. Section 3: Proxy Votes shall not be allowed, except for the election of officers (see ARTICLE IV, Section 7). Section 4: Motions and seconds to motions must be made by representatives of member organizations. The names of organizations making and seconding motions shall be entered into the minutes of the meeting. Section 5: There shall be two (2) annual meetings each year. The first shall be held between January 1 and February 28, and the second between October 10 and November 30. Dates and locations shall be selected by the Commander. Notice must be mailed to each unit no later than fourteen (14) days prior to each meeting. Section 6: Business meetings shall be held at each official skirmish held in the Midwest Region. The establishment of the skirmish schedule at the January /February meeting shall constitute notification of those meetings. Section 7: Special meetings may be called by the Commander or by one-half of the member organizations. Time, place, and notification shall be as in Section 5. Section 8: In an emergency, the fourteen-day notification requirement may be waived by consent of not less than two-thirds of the member organizations. Names of the organizations consenting to the waiver shall be entered into the minutes of the meeting. VI. DUES Section 1: Dues, in the amount of $3.00 per man for each member organization shall be payable no later than December 1 for the following year. A copy of the organization's N-SSA roster must accompany the dues payment. Section 2: Member organizations whose dues are not paid and whose rosters have not been received by December 1 shall be considered in suspension. They may participate in no region activities, including meetings or skirmishes, until the rosters and dues are received by the region Adjutant. They shall receive no correspondence except a notice of suspension. Section 3 (September, 2000): The penalty for late registration, either of an organization or of a member, shall be $1.00 per member. Section 4: Region dues must be paid for each man added to an organization's roster at the time his N-SSA dues are paid. Section 5: (September, 2000): A copy of the N-SSA update form must accompany the dues payment. VII. SKIRMISHES Section 1: The schedule of Midwest Regional Skirmishes shall be established at the January/February meeting. Dates may be submitted and a tentative schedule established at the October/November Meeting. Firm dates submitted in October /November may not be superseded in January/February by proposals submitted by other organizations. Section 2: Only official skirmishes, as defined in the Skirmish Rules of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. may be Midwest Regional Skirmishes. Section 3: Invitations for participation in Midwest Regional Skirmishes shall be sent to each member organization of the region. They may also be sent to other member organizations of the N-SSA. Section 4: Before invitations are sent out the host organization must submit its proposed schedule of events, program, and list of awards to the Region Commander at least EIGHT WEEKS in advance of the skirmish date. The Commander will determine that all aspects of the skirmish comply with the Skirmish Rules of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc., and with Midwest Region rules. The Commander shall disapprove any parts of the proposal which are not in compliance with the rules. Section 5: Upon approval of the skirmish proposal the Commander shall authorize the host organization to send out invitations. He shall also forward the insurance application to the North-South Skirmish Association Insurance Chairman. Section 6: The commander has the power to veto any part of a skirmish program which is obviously contrary to the Skirmish Rules or other rules or policies of the North-South Skirmish Association or the Midwest Region. (see ARTICLE VIII, Section 5 of the by-laws of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc.) Section 7: In the Midwest Region a competing organization is expected to use its own members whenever possible. Organizations shall not set aside or farm out their own members in order to use pick-ups from other organizations. Section 8: Participants in Midwest Region skirmishes must wear their organization's approved uniform. Section 9: Stakes, pickets, or any other "wood" targets excepting wood blocks shall be made of single-thickness particle board. Section 10: The Midwest Region may adopt, by a majority vote of the member organizations present at a meeting, such rules as may be desired for the regulation of regional skirmishes, provided such rules are not contrary to the Skirmish Rules or the by-laws of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. VIII. SKIRMISH AWARDS Section 1: Skirmishes The type and number of annual regional awards shall be established before the beginning of each skirmish season. Section 2: Eligibility To be eligible for regional awards a member organization or individual competitor must participate in all Midwest Regional Skirmishes. Section 3: Regional Team Awards
The Midwest Region gives non-shooting awards to individuals or member organizations whose contributions to the Region warrant them. Section 1. MIDWEST REGION SERVICE AWARD Award: A bronze medallion with the Midwest Region logo; ribbon with military clasp. Ribbon bars, as appropriate: "COMMANDER", "DEPUTY COMMANDER", "INSPECTOR", "ADJUTANT". Presented for: Completion of at least one two-year term in the office named. Presented when: Medal with appropriate ribbon bar would be awarded when the recipient leaves the office for which it is awarded. Ribbon bars would be given for subsequent offices, upon leaving each subsequent office. Presented to: Officers who complete full two-year terms, and to previous officers who completed full two-year terms and who are still members in good standing of N-SSA member organizations. Past officers who are deceased or who are no longer skirmishing will have their names entered of the rolls of past region officers in the N-SSA museum. Section 2: MIDWEST REGION DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Award: A gold medallion with the Midwest Region logo, ribbon with military clasp, gold ribbon bar imprinted: "DISTINGUISHED SERVICE". Presented for: Contribution of time, talent or resources to the Midwest Region and/or to the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. which has resulted in substantial benefit to the Midwest Region. These contributions may be through outstanding service in offices held, freely undertaken volunteer tasks, good and faithful service on regional or national committee and/or staff positions, or other contributions of major benefit to the region which the Awards Committee deems worthy of this recognition. This award should be made for contributions made over a period of time, and not for a single act. It should be made to skirmishers who have demonstrated patterns of service to the Midwest Region and/or the N-SSA. Presented when: Medals will be awarded at a Midwest Region skirmish following the required affirmative vote of the Awards Committee. Presented to: Members of Midwest Region member organizations, or to members of non-Midwest Region organizations whose actions have substantially benefited the Midwest Region. Deceased or inactive skirmishers shall receive no medal, but shall have their names entered on a roll of honor in the museum. Section 3: AWARDS COMMITTEE Membership: A three person committee will be appointed by the Region Commander with the approval of a majority vote of the Commanders of the Midwest Region organizations. Chairman: The Committee Chairman will be elected from among the committee members by the committee members. Meetings: Committee meetings will be held at regional skirmishes, as needed to consider nominations. Quorum: A quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the committee members. Section 4: NOMINATIONS FOR THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD NOMINATIONS: Nominations for the Distinguished Service Medal may be made to the chairman of the Awards Committee by any member of any Midwest Region member organization. FORMAT: Nominations must include the nominee's name and unit, the time frame in which the nominee's distinguished service was performed, the specifics of the nominee's acts of distinguished service, and the benefits derived by the Midwest Region from those acts of distinguished service. Section 5: APPROVAL
X. AMENDMENTS Section 1: Proposed amendments to these by-laws must be distributed to each member organization no less than fourteen (14) days prior to a regional meeting. Section 2: Amendments may be made by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the member organizations present at a regional meeting. XI. LIMITATIONS Section 1: These by-laws are binding on all member organizations of the Midwest Region, and upon all members of those member organizations. Section 2: Midwest Region may adopt no by-laws or rules which conflict with the by-laws or the Skirmish Rules of the North-South Skirmish Association, Inc. Section 3: Any changes made by the N-SSA in its by-laws or Skirmish Rules which creates a conflict with any of these by-laws shall automatically supersede the conflicting portion(s) of these by-laws. These by-laws became effective on January 1, 1998 by unanimous vote of the member organizations of this Region. |