Article I Name
The name of this organization shall be:
Western Pennsylvania Repeater Council. Herein also know as the
WPRC
or the Council.
Article II Purposes
This Council has been formed for the following purposes:
a. To foster interest in Amateur Repeater Communications
and to improve the state of the art
b. To collect and disseminate technical and
operational information among the member
organizations and the amateur community.
c. To achieve solutions to our problems through
the collective talents within the Council.
d. To determine and recommend technical and
operational standards, policies, and coordination
through the facilities of a technical committee.
e. To establish a representative voice in the
determination of rules, regulations, and legislation
affecting Amateur Repeater operations.
f. To operate in the public interest by
encouraging participation and cooperation with public
service agencies of any community, town, or village; and the United
States Government and
its agencies.
g. To provide other assistance and services
as may be within the scope of the Council.
Article III Membership
Application for membership in the Council shall be open to all
organizations or individuals
(hereafter referred to as member organizations) who operate a
licensed repeater installation or
who have in interest in the same, and are in accord with the purpose
of the organization as set forth in
ARTICLE II of this constitution.
Section 1 Categories
a. Regular
membership: Any individual or organization having a coordinated
and operating
repeater qualifies for regular membership.
b. Associate
membership: Any individual or organization displaying an interest
in amateur
repeater operation.
Section 2 Application
a. Application
for membership shall be made through the Secretary of the Council.
Such
shall be accompanied by remittance of one year's dues.
b. Application
for membership shall be presented to the Council at the next regular
meeting
following receipt of application and shall be approved by a simple
majority of the Council.
Upon Council approval the new member shall be seated on the Council
as a member in
good standing. Applications rejected by the Council shall be so
notified and dues returned.
Section 3 Rights of Membership
a. An amateur
radio club, association, society, individual, or group applying
for membership
shall first have adopted a resolution of affiliation with the
Council. Such resolution shall
include an agreement to abide by the Constitution of the Council.
b. Regular
membership entitles the member organization to a voice in the
structure, policies,
actions, and recommendations of the Council and to vote on such
actions that may come
before the Council through delegated representation appointed
by the member organization.
c. Associate
membership shall be limited only by deletion of voting privileges
and ineligibility
to hold an elected office in the Council.
Section 4 Council Structure
a. Each
member organization may appoint two (2) representatives or delegates
to attend
meetings of the Council to act on behalf of the member organization.
b. One representative
shall carry the voice and vote of the member organization to the
Council and shall be responsible for the communications between
the Council and the
member organization.
c. One alternate
representative shall carry all the privileges of the representative
with the
exception of a vote in the Council, shall assist the representative
with his duties and shall
act on behalf of the representative in his absence.
d.
Any organization or individual operating more than one licensed
repeater may, at their
option, apply for the seating and recognition of representative
and alternate representative
with full voting privileges for each licensed repeater. Determination
of eligibility shall be
made by a written majority vote of the membership.
e.
Guest representatives from member organizations may attend Council
meetings and be
recognized by the Chairman upon request of the representative
of the member organization.
f.
Member organizations are responsible for the proper instruction
of their representatives on
issues coming before the Council, and shall assure themselves
that the actions of their
representatives fulfill the opinions and desires of their membership.
Any voice or vote by
the representatives to the Council shall be construed as a reflection
of the desires of the
member organization.
g. The member
organization shall forward to the Secretary the names and addresses
of the
representative and alternate representative for the purpose of
precluding any
unauthorized representation and to establish addresses for the
purpose of communication.
h. Representatives
may be recalled by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members
present if in their opinion the actions of the representative
are detrimental to the best
interest of the Council of the member organization. In such cases
the Council shall
request that the representative be replaced by another representative
of the member
organization.
i . Should
the representative or the alternate be unable to attend a meeting
of the Council, the
member organization may elect to send a temporary representative
who shall, upon the
presentation of letter or authorization to the Secretary, be recognized
by the Chairman and
seated as a representative of the member organization.
j.
Each representative or alternate representative can represent
one and only one
membership when voting.
k. Should
no representative be able to attend a meeting of the Council,
the member
organization may elect to send a proxy vote to the Council reflecting
their desire on the
issues on the agenda of the meeting. Such proxies shall be presented
to the Secretary of
the Council.
l.
A member organization may be unseated by a three-fourths (3/4)
majority
vote of all regular members.
m. Should
any representative find himself to be in a conflict of interest
on an issue before
the Council, he shall so state and abstain from voting.
Article IV Officers
Section 1 Elected Officers
a.
The officers of the Council shall be:
CHAIRMAN
VICE CHAIRMAN
SECRETARY
TREASURER
b.
The officers of the Council shall be elected from within the regular
membership and shall
be responsible to the membership for the faithful performance
of the duties of the office.
c.
The Western Pennsylvania Frequency Coordinator shall be an appointment
of the Board of
Directors and recommended to the ARRL.
d. The
election of officers will follow this schedule. The Chairman and
Treasurer on the odd
numbered
years. The Vice Chairman and Secretary on the even numbered
years.
Section 2 Election of Officers
a.
Nominations for officers of the Council shall be presented to
the Secretary in writing prior
to the annual meeting or may be made from the floor at the annual
meeting.
b.
Election of officers shall be by secret ballot with one (1) vote
being allowed each member
organization. Proxy votes are not valid for selection of officers.
c.
Nominating of the CHAIRMAN shall be first and no nominations and
balloting shall have
been completed and announced before nomination for the next office
are in order.
Section 3 Eligibility
a.
The nominee must be a representative or alternate representative
of a regular member
organization and must be the holder of a valid amateur license,
technician class or higher.
b. The
nominee must be a member in good standing for a year or longer.
Section 4 Term of Office
The term of the office of elected officials of the Council shall
be two (2) years.
Section 5 Duties of the Chairman
a. The Chairman
of the Council shall administer the affairs of the Council and
shall be
responsible to the Council for the execution of its actions.
b. He shall
appoint all committees of the Council, subject to the review of
the Board of
Directors, and shall be responsible for maintaining the activity
and function of the
committees toward their goals.
c. He shall
be an ex-officio member of all committees.
d. He shall
preside at all meetings of the Council.
e. He shall
be responsible to the Council for the adherence to the Constitution
and Bylaws by
the member organizations and activities of the Council.
f . It the elected
Chairman is a representative, the vote of his member organization
shall be
carried by the alternate representative.
Section 6 Duties of the Vice-Chairman
a.
The Vice-Chairman of the Council shall assist the Chairman in
the discharge of his duties,
and shall assume the duties of the Chairman in his absence.
b.
He shall be the Chairman of the Public Relation Committee.
Section
7.1 Duties of the Secretary
a. The Secretary
shall maintain the records of the Council, including the minutes
of the
Council meetings.
b. He shall
maintain a file of all official correspondence of the Council,
including all
committee reports.
c. He shall
prepare the necessary notices of membership meetings in accordance
with
the Bylaws.
Section 7.2 Duties of the Treasurer
a. He shall
maintain the financial and real property records of the Council
and surrender
financial and real property to the Council upon request.
b. He shall
collect all initiation fees, dues and assessments of the Council.
c. He shall
have his signature and that of the Chairman registered in banks
or other
institutions which are depositories of the Council's funds.
d. The Treasurer
notifies and mails out dues reminders at the beginning of the
calendar year.
Section
8 Duties of the Frequency Coordinator
a.
All requests for repeater frequency coordination or control link
coordination shall be made
in writing to the current Council address. Frequency Coordinator.
The Frequency
Coordinator will coordinate all frequencies based on the information
supplied by the
applicant, current activity in a given area and consistent with
current or future techniques.
Section
9 Vacancies
Vacancies occurring between elections must be filled by special
election at the first regular
meeting following the vacancy.
Section 10 Board of Directors
a.
A Board of Directors for the Council shall consist of the four
elected officers, frequency
coordinator, and standing committee chairpersons.
b.
The Board of Directors shall act in emergencies for the Council.
Article V Committees
a. Committees necessary to the administration
of the affairs of the organization shall be
appointed by the Chairman, subject to the approval by the Board
of Directors and shall be
directly responsible to the Chairman.
b. Term of activity of committees shall expire
with the term of the office of the Chairman.
Section 1
a. The Chairman of the Council shall assign
all committees and appoint a Chairman of such
committees from the members, and may, if he so desires, appoint
the members of the
committees; otherwise, such committee members shall be chosen
by the committee
Chairman.
Section 2 Committees
a. The Standing Committees shall be:
1. Technical Committee
2. Public Relations Committee
b. The Chairman may appoint additional committees
subject to the approval of the Board of
Directors
Section 3 Technical Committee
a. The Technical
Committee shall be responsible for studies, surveys, research,
and findings
on the technical and engineering aspects of proposed and existing
repeater operations.
Such subjects shall include equipment design, antenna studies,
control functions., deviation
levels and related repeater system design.
b. The committee Chairman of the technical committee
may appoint SUB-COMMITTEES
on specific subjects as deemed necessary or as directed by the
Chairman of the Council.
The sub-committee Chairman and members may be drawn from any available
sources.
c. The committee Chairman shall be responsible
for the guidance and activities of his
committee and sub-committee action an recommendations to the Council.
Section 4 Public Relations Committee
a. The Chairman of the public relations committee
shall be the Vice-Chairman of the
Council.
b. This committee shall be responsible for studies,
surveys, and findings on the aspects of
repeater operation which affect the amateur radio public image
or the relationship with the
amateur radio community.
c. The public relations committee shall be responsible
for the review of the content of all
informational releases external to and in the name of the Council.
Section 5 Other Special Committees
Other special committees may be appointed
by the Council Chairman as are necessary in the
performance of the activities of the Council.
Article VI Meetings
a. Annual Meeting
One annual meeting of the Council shall be held during each fiscal
year for the purpose of
Election of Officers and the presentation of fiscal audits to
the Council. Such annual
meetings may include the activities of a regular meeting. The
meeting shall be held the
third Sunday in October.
b. Regular Meetings
At least three (3) regular meetings not less than three (3) months
apart shall be held by the
Council; meetings will be held on the third Sunday of January,
April, and July. A site will
be chosen and related to the membership.
c. Special Meetings
1. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Chairman
to conduct special
business that cannot be deferred until a regular meeting.
2. Special meetings may be called by the Board of Directors.
3. Special meetings may be called by one-third (1/3) of the member
organizations.
Section 1 Agenda
a. Regular
meetings of the Council shall contain on the agenda those subjects
which are the
normal business of the Council.
b. The annual
meeting of the Council, in addition to normal business, shall
include the
Election of Officers and presentation of the treasurer's statement
and budget.
c. Special meetings
must be limited to a specific subject (or subjects) for which
the special
meeting was called.
Section 2 Notification of Meetings
a. All member organizations
and their representatives shall be notified of the regular
meetings and special meetings of the Council.
b. For special meetings,
all member organizations and their representatives shall be notified
at least one (1) week in advance of the meeting's date. Representative
of member
organizations should make every effort to determine the desires
of their membership
concerning the subject to be considered and if they cannot attend
the meeting should
prepare a proxy stating these desires to be presented at the special
Council meeting
c. Notification
of meeting forwarded to member organizations shall contain a minimum
of
the following information:
Location of Meeting
Date and Time
Type of Meeting
Major Subjects on the Agenda
d. Location. In the
determination of the location of the meetings by the association
every
effort should be made to rotate the location so as to equalize
the travel distance and
convenience of the Representatives of member organizations.
Section 3 Rules of Order
a. The following
shall be the order of business at regular and annual meetings
of the Council:
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call of Member Organizations
3. Welcome Visitors
4. Approval of New Members
5. Seating of New Members
6. Reading of the Minutes
7. Treasurer's Report
8. Council Approval of Treasurer's Report and Proposed Budget
9. Correspondence
10. Committee Reports
11. Old Business
12. New Business
13. Good of the Council
14. Nomination and Election of Officers (Annual)
15. Installation of Officers (Annual)
16. Establishment of Location and Time of Next Meeting
17. Adjournment
b. All meetings of the Council shall be conducted in accordance
with the Constitution of the
Council and unless otherwise specified shall be conducted under
"Robert's Rules of
Order."
c. Special meetings may follow any agenda deemed proper by the
Chairman.
Section 4 Balloting
All balloting at meetings of the Council, unless otherwise specified,
shall be by roll call
ballot. The Chairman of the Council may elect, on non-controversial
subjects, to call for any
"nay" votes and "abstentions" in lieu of a
roll call ballot and may assume all other votes to be
"aye".
Article VII Initiation Fees and Dues
Initiation fees and dues for membership in the organization shall
be as established by the
Council.
Section 1 Dues
a.
The dues for membership in the Council shall be set at the annual
meeting and shall be due
and payable upon application for membership or at the beginning
of the calendar year.
b.
Member organizations who fail to remit dues within thirty (30)
days after the expiration
date shall be notified that they are no longer members in good
standing in the Council.
Failure to remit dues within thirty (30) days after the expiration
date shall result in the
member organization being dropped from the roll of the Council.
Article VIII Assessments
a. An assessment, upon approval
by two-thirds (2/3) majority of votes cast by the total
membership in good standing shall constitute a lawful charge against
each member of the
organization.
b. Assessments which have
been approved by the Council are due and payable within thirty
(30) days after the assessment action by the Council. Failure
to remit such assessments
shall jeopardize the standing of the member organization as may
be determined by the
Council.
Article IX Disbursements
The Treasurer of the organization is authorized to disburse funds
of the Council as follows:
a. Regular disbursement of funds to defray the expenses of the
Council which are in accord
with the current budget of the Council may be made without special
authorization.
b. Special disbursement of funds to defray the expenses of the
Council which exceed or are
not included in the current budget shall require approval by a
simple majority at a Council
meeting.
Article X Financial Statements
An annual treasurer's report of all receipts and expenditures
shall be presented to the
membership at the annual meeting.
Article XI Real Property
The Council may NOT acquire real property by purchase or donation
without the approval of
a simple majority at the Council meeting. Real property thus acquired
must be listed and an
accountability maintained. A listing of such property shall be
incorporated into the annual
treasurer's report. Disposition of such real property shall be
by the approval of a simple
majority at a Council meeting.
Article XII Communications
Section 1
Communication from the Council, such as notice of meetings, minutes
of meetings, and
bulletins shall be mailed as follows, one copy to each:
1. Regular Representatives
2. Section Communications Manager
3. Eastern Pennsylvania Coordinator
4. Western New York Coordinator
5. Ohio Coordinator
6. West Virginia Coordinator
7. Western Pennsylvania Coordinator
8. WPRC Chairman
9. WPRC Vice-Chairman
10. WPRC Secretary
11. WPRC Treasurer
12. Associate Members
Section 2
Correspondence or information considered confidential by member
organizations may be
withheld or indicated as such and handled accordingly by the Council.
Article XIII Amendments to the Constitution
a. Amendments to the Constitution
shall require the approval of two-thirds (2/3) majority of
votes, cast by the total membership in good standing at a Council
meeting.
b. Each member organization
must be notified that a specific Article and paragraph of the
Constitution is under consideration before such actions may become
an order of business
at a Council meeting.
c. All changes must be made
in writing and mailed to all members before the constitution can
be changed. First mailing to be read at first meeting, second
mailing, read at second meeting
and then voted upon.
Article XIV Autonomy
Any action or recommendations made by the Council shall be considered
binding on the
member organizations and shall be considered as being representative
of repeater operations
within the scope of the Council.
Article XV Quorum
For conducting business associated with the Council, three (3)
officers and six (6) members
shall constitute a quorum.