Proposal to change Bylaws

 

 

ARTICLE 3- MEMBERS

section 1.

Any person shall be eligible to membership. Membership grades shall be: REGULAR, NOVICE, FAMILY LIFE, HONORARY

a) REGULAR membership shall consist of amateur radio operators holding a valid Federal Communications commission license in grade of TECHNICIAN or higher.

b) NOVICE membership shall consist of amateur radio operators holding a valid Federal Communications commission license in the grade of NOVICE. Dues for such members shall be the same as for regular members, and such members shall be entitled to all privileges accorded to regular members except the right to hold the office as repeater trustee.

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Proposed Change:

 

Since there is no longer such thing as a new Novice license, and Technician is now considered the entry level amateur license there is no longer a point in having a novice and regular membership. Also since Novice license holders are not allowed to operate on any VHF, UHF, or SHF band (except 220 mhz) there is no point in restricting those who still hold a Novice license from being a repeater trustee. If someone can not legally operate on 10 meters FM, 6 meters, 2 meters, 440 mhz, or 1.2 ghz they obviously can not be a trustee for a repeater on these bands.

 

There is currently no provision for reduced dues membership. The SFFMA recently formed a membership committee, chaired by Steve KO4E. The purpose of the membership committee is to increase membership in the SFFMA. It has come to my attention that there is a growing number of people under 18 (minors) who are the only licensed ham at their address. Some sort of special provision should be made to  get them to join the club.

 

Therefore I propose the following:

 

A)    Membership classifications shall be as follows: STUDENT, FULL, FAMILY, HONORARY, and LIFE.

 

B)     STUDENT members must be under the age of 18 at the time they pay dues. Yearly dues shall be $15. STUDENT members shall have full voting privileges, but shall not be able to hold office or be a repeater trustee. If a STUDENT member reaches the age of 18 during a year they have already paid dues for, they will have the option of upgrading to FULL for an amount not to exceed $15. Actual amount owed will depend on the number of months left in the year, at the rate of $2.50 per month ($30 per year). Minors will still be able to obtain a FAMILY membership for $5 per year, as long as a parent or guardian joins the club as a FULL member.  

 

C)    FULL members shall have all privileges of club membership, including voting rights, the ability to hold office, and the ability to be a club repeater trustee according to their license class (eg a Technician could not be a trustee for a 10 meter repeater, assuming the club ever has one)

 

D)    All other membership categories (HONORARY, FAMILY, and LIFE) shall remain as they are now.

 

 

Section 2. APPLICATION AND APPROVAL

a) Each applicant for membership in the association shall fill out a New Member application form in full. Omissions shall be deemed non-responsive and shall cause the application to be returned without further action) b) a)

b) Application must be accompanied by the first year prorated dues plus any assessments.

c) Applicants shall be listed in the association newsletter prior to presentation for vote at a regular meeting.

d) Approval of two thirds of the members present shall be required for election to membership. The applicant shall be asked to leave the room during the voting process. Applicant shall be notified by mail of the outcome regardless of any immediate oral information

 

 

I feel this is unnecessary. The application process should have the appearance of being as open and friendly as possible. I propose the following changes

 

A)    Any persons desiring to join the SFFMA shall fill out a membership application.

 

B)     Dues shall be due upon submission of the application.

 

C)    All new members must have a sponsor who is at least a FULL member. HONORARY members can not be a sponsor for new members.

 

D)    If there is a reason to consider the possibility of removing a member, it shall be referred to the discipline and grievance committee as per SECTION 5 of the club Bylaws.

 

E)     New members shall be eligible for all membership privileges immediately after submitting an application and dues, except for voting rights, which shall take effect at the next meeting.

 

 

These proposals shall take place immediately if 2/3 of meeting attendees vote in favor of them. The vote on these changes shall take place NO SOONER than the MAY general meeting. The proposed changes shall be distributed on hardcopy at the APRIL meeting, as well as electronically on the SFFMA.NET web site and on the SFFMA yahoogroups web page.

 

Submitted By:

 

James Carlin    KF4OUI, Club Treasurer 2004

Steve Kovacs   KO4E, Membership Committee Chairman