Constitution

Northwest Missouri State University Equestrian Team & Club

Article I – Name

The name of the organization shall be: “Northwest Missouri State University Equestrian Team & Club”

Article II – Purpose

• The purpose of this organization shall be to promote equestrian sports at Northwest.
• To compete for NWMSU at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association sponsored shows.
• To build a strong and viable Equine organization and team and give students a place to share a common interest.

Article III - Membership

• Membership is open to all interested students enrolled at Northwest Missouri State University.
• All interested students should be of good academic standing (above 2.00 G.P.A.).
• Any member on academic probation shall be excused from active participation till at which time they are off academic probation.
• All team members shall be expected to be in good standing (dues paid, regular attendance at meetings, regular attendance at practices) to be considered a member of the organization.

Article IV - Officers

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasury
• Historian
• Committee Head
• Sponsor
• Team Manager/Coach

Duties of Officers

President: Will work with sponsors and Team Manager to determine finical need, shows to attend, practice and meeting times, etc…

Vice President: Will work with president to do above. Will be in charge of setting up committees as needed. Will take presidents place at meetings if the president cannot be there.

Secretary: Will keep track of show and the member placing in those shows. Will take minutes at the meetings.

Treasury: Will keep track of money in accounts. Will make a report of account balance each meeting.

Historian: Will make a book of events and shows at the end of each year. Will place any needed contact with newspapers and radio stations.

Committee Head: Will be in charge of the committee that they are appointed to by the vice President. Their job will be to handle the issue set before the committee by the Vice President.

Sponsor: Will handle overall management of the team and will also handle all financial and legal issues. Member of the NWMSU staff must hold position.

Team Manager/Coach: Will help students get read for shows and the paperwork required for the shows. It will be their responsibility to make sure that such things as entry forms are set in with fees on time.

Election of Officers:

President, Vice President Secretary, Treasury, Historian: Shall be elected in the fall of each year during the second meeting and shall take office for the term of one year. A clear majority vote shall be required for any officer to be elected. Re-election of elected member cannot be done to the same office, however they may hold any other office.

Committee Head: Will be in charge of the committee that they are appointed to by the Vice President. Anyone can hold this position for as long as needed. They person can be a committee head as many times as needed.

Sponsor: This person or persons must be a NWMSU Staff members.

Team Manager/Coach: A volunteer position. May be held by NWMSU staff member, person from the community, or other qualified person. This person must have horse show knowledge.

Article V - Meetings

Regular meetings are held during the semesters either on campus or at the arena.

Article VI - Amendments

Constitutional amendments can be made by a two-thirds affirmative vote by all members of the organization, which includes the Team Manager and Sponsor.

Article VII – By-Laws

1. All members are required to attend all practices the week prior to the scheduled show.
2. Fighting, bad manners, unpartisan-like conduct and uncooperative attitude shall be grounds for being asked to leave the organization by the President, Vice President, Team Manager or Sponsor.
3. Willful destruction of the organization’s property or others private property shall be grounds for termination of membership and action may be brought against such person(s) for the restitution of the damaged property.
4. All rules in the IHSA rulebook will be followed at all times. (Copy enclosed)
5. The assessed dues for each member shall be $25.00 for a full year-Spring and Fall semesters.

Team Sponsors: Max Ruhl

                          Lynn Ruhl

Team Manager: Michelle Allen

Amendment I

Article IV

Section 1. In addition to the Offices of Vice President, President, Historian, Committee Head, Sponsor and Team Manager/Coach. There shall be the appointed office of Webmaster.

Section 2. Duties of the Webmaster include the maintenance, decision-making and complete control of the NWMSU Team & Club website.  

Section 3. The website will maintain the purpose of informing the members of upcoming events/news and providing easy access to important organizational documents/forms. The website will also maintain the purpose to enhance organizational awareness within the community and university.

Section 4. The President, Vice President and current Webmaster will decide upon the appointment of the Webmaster position.

Section 5.   The appointed Webmaster may serve as many terms as needed and can terminated from office with a two-thirds vote of organization members. Webmaster may be either a volunteer or member and does not have to be currently enrolled at Northwest Missouri State University.    

Amendment II

Article VII

Section 1. There shall be no alcohol consumed or present at organization-recognized events.

Section 2. Violations of this shall result in the automatic termination of membership. The member(s) in violation will be banned from all future organizational events. Action may be brought against such person(s) for the restitution for damaged property.    

Amendment III

Article VII

All team members are required to have two documented practices on file between shows unless otherwise approved by the Team Manager/Coach or Sponsor.

Amendment IV

Article IV

The offices of Webmaster, President, and Vice President must be elected in the Spring Tri-Semester for the upcoming Fall Tri-Semester.