BYLAWS

of the Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization
Amended 2/7/2008

ARTICLE I - Name

Section 1.
The name of the organization is; The Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization.

ARTICLE II - Address

Section 1:
28 Charleston Avenue, Londonderry NH 03053

ARTICLE III - Objectives and Implementation

Section 1: Objectives
The objectives shall be to promote the ideals of good sportsmanship, personal integrity, and team cooperation through participation and instruction in the sport of cheerleading and community activities. An additional, yet equally important objective is the involvement of the participant’s family in the organization as well as community activities.

Section 2: Implementation
This objective shall be obtained by providing supervised competition with primary emphasis of development of good citizens and the encouragement of good sportsmanship and secondary emphasis upon winning.

ARTICLE IV - Membership/Meetings

Section 1: Membership
Membership in the organization will be open to the following:

  • Parents of registered team members.
  • Coaches.
  • Adult Volunteers with Board of Directors approval.
  • Members of the Board of Directors of the Blue Lions.
  • Participants of established teams of the organization.

Any board member, volunteer or parent/guardian of a registered child, will be eligible to vote at the annual meeting

Section 2: Meetings

  1. The organization will meet monthly on a day to be determined by the organization. Meetings canceled due to schedule conflicts, vacations, snow days, holidays, etc. will be rescheduled at the discretion of the President and at least three members of the Board of Directors.
  2. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President and with consent of at least three members of the Board of Directors. If at all possible, at least one week’s written/email notice shall be provided to the members.
  3. The Annual Business Meeting will be conducted in May. The purpose of the Annual Business Meeting is to distribute, read and accept, annual reports from the Officers and Committee Chairpersons.
  4. For any meeting of the membership, a quorum shall be met by at least 10% of the Voting Membership and voting shall constitute a decision of the organization.
  5. All meetings will be conducted using “The New Roberts Rule of Order” as a guide. The organization will provide the President with a copy of Roberts Rules of Order to have at all meetings for reference.
  6. All members will be notified of meetings and such notice will specify purpose, location and time of meeting.
  7. All meetings other than Board of Director Meetings shall be open to any member who wishes to attend.
ARTICLE V - Governing Body

All Board Members, Officers and Coaching Staff shall submit to a criminal background check. Any records displaying crimes against minors will be declined. In addition, all Board Members, Officers and Coaching Staff will be required to sign and adhere to a code of conduct. Violations to the code of conduct may result in dismissal and will be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 1: Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall be the governing body of the Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization and are elected by the general membership. If a board member or officer resigns prior to the end of their term, the current board shall appoint a replacement to complete the term. The Board of Directors term shall be staggered two (2) years terms, there are no term limits. Board members shall be staggered by electing two (2) or three positions at the April meeting.

Section 2: Board Authority
The Board of Directors shall transact all business and enforce all rules for the organization. It shall have full authority to enforce the Bylaws and Rules and Regulations of the Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization, and shall have the power to settle all disputes and protests. All decisions of the board are final.

Section 3: Procedures
Robert Rules of Order newly Revised shall be the prime entry authority for all matters of procedure not specifically covered by these By-laws.

Section 4: Meetings
All meetings, whether they be Board of Director meetings, general membership or specially called meetings, shall be conducted following a previously prepared agenda. The President or Chair of the Board of Directors shall have the responsibility of conducting the meeting according to the prepared agenda. The Board shall hold meetings when called by the President or when requested by three directors or by written request from at least five voting members. Approval of items/issues outside of planned business may be conducted via email with a minimum of 24 hours notice and request for approval.

Section 5: Quorum
A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of a majority of the directors.

Section 6: Polling
In order to hold the number of Board meetings to a minimum, the President or Chair of the Board of Directors may poll members in order to reach decisions regarding specific questions.

Section 7: By Laws
These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed by the membership of the Organization. Such changes to the Bylaws will require that a quorum (10%) of the voting members are present at a specially called meeting to consider the changes to the Bylaws. Further, such changes would require 2/3 affirmative vote on the part of the members present.

Section 8: Directors
From time to time, the number of Directors may be increased or decreased. No decrease shall have the effect of shortening the term of any incoming Director. Directors in positions eliminated by changes in the Bylaws shall complete the term for which they were elected. Any contract or other transaction between the organization and any of its Directors or any corporation or firm in which any of its Directors is directly or indirectly interested, will be considered appropriate and shall be recognized as valid, provided that the Director abstains from voting when the decision regarding the contract is made.

Section 9: Officers
Officer terms have no limits and their cycles will be staggered. Term duration for each position is included in the descriptions below. The elected and presiding officers shall consist of the following:

PRESIDENT - The President shall preside at ALL meetings and is the chief executive officer charged with the overall administrative functions of the organization. The President shall appoint committees as set out herein and as deems necessary, assign duties to directors and members as required, and take prudent and reasonable action in circumstances not covered within the bylaws. The President shall serve as one of the Londonderry Blue Lions representatives to the parent organization and/ or appoint other organization members to serve as required. The President’s term shall be two (2) years.

VICE PRESIDENT - The Vice President shall conduct the President’s duties in his/her absence and will perform any duties as called upon by the Board of Directors. In the absence of the secretary, he/she shall keep the minutes of any General, Annual or Board of Directors Meetings. The Vice President’s term shall be two (2) years.

TREASURER - The Treasurer shall receive, hold and pay out all monies as directed by the voting membership and/or the board of directors. He/she shall act as a custodian of all financial records of the organization and shall offer at each General Meeting, a formal financial statement containing a breakdown of all monies paid and received, as well as the financial standings of the organization, to include the most current monthly bank statement. This report shall be tabled until the Annual meeting. The Treasurer’s term shall be three (3) years with the last year mentoring a protégée.

SECRETARY - The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all General, Annual and Board of Directors Meetings. He/she will preserve all records and communications. At each General meeting, he/she shall present a report of the minutes from the previous meeting at which time the voting members shall accept, modify or reject minutes as written. He/she shall provide and maintain a guest/attendance record for all regular and special meetings. He/she shall conduct all organization correspondence as deemed necessary by the Board of Directors. The Secretary’s term shall be two (2) years.

CHEERLEADING COORDINATOR - The Cheerleading Coordinator shall have the responsibility of coordinating and developing the cheerleaders for the organization. The Cheerleading Coordinator is also responsible for fitting and ordering uniforms and for all communications (unless otherwise appointed) to the cheerleading parents and participants. The Cheerleading Coordinator may appoint an assistant as necessary. He/she (or an appointed assistant) is also responsible for all fund raising for the organization. The Cheerleading Coordinator’s term shall be three (3) years with the last year mentoring a protégée.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR - The Volunteer Coordinator shall have the responsibility of coordinating volunteers for all scheduled events and fundraising efforts.

Section 10: Removal from Office
Officers and Board members will be subject to removal from office if four (4) consecutive regularly scheduled meetings are not attended or a total of six (6) meetings are missed during one season. The Board of Directors shall nominate and elect a replacement to serve the remaining portion of the term for any removed position.

Section 11: Control of Funds
All funds belonging to the organization, which are collected by Board Members, Officer, Coaches, or designee of the organization, shall be logged in the financial ledger signed off by two (2) people; one of them must be a member of the Board or an Officer. All monies must be deposited within two business days from collection if funds exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00). The Treasurer is authorized to establish and maintain both a checking and savings accounts in the name of the organization. The monies paid out from the organization shall have (2) signatures for each transaction. The following may sign for transactions*:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Cheerleading Coordinator

*The payee may not endorse the check.

All spending that is not budgeted or planned requires a 2/3 Board of Directors approval. All payments must be made by the organization checking account. NO CASH TRANSACTIONS unless the transaction is under one hundred dollars ($100.00) and a receipt is signed off by one of the following listed above. Receipts for Blue Lions purchases shall be kept separate from personal purchases when possible. A request for reimbursement must be submitted to the Treasurer within two (2) weeks of purchase. Requests for reimbursement beyond 2 weeks of the purchase will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All monies collected for fundraising and registration will be collected by one of the following:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Cheerleading Coordinator
  • Board of Directors
  • Designated Individual (s)

A duplicate receipt will be given to all payees detailing amount received, dated and signed for amounts over $100.

ARTICLE VI - COACHES

Section 1: Board of Directors Responsibilities
The Board of Directors recognizes that the coaches are the nucleus of the organization and without their dedication to serve as The Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization coaches, the Organization would not exist. The Board further recognizes that individuals who coach in the Organization will have the opportunity to instill certain values and disciplines of the young individuals who make up the teams. These values and disciplines include but not limited to; respect, sportsmanship, community involvement, and teamwork. Because of the importance of the position of head coach and assistant coach, the Board of Directors recognizes that it has an obligation to the membership and the teams to carefully screen individuals applying for these positions.

Section 2: Coaches Evaluation
In order to meet its obligation, the board of directors shall evaluate each returning as well as each new coach. The coaches will be evaluated in the following areas:

  • References provided by the coach.
  • Past behavior as a coach.
  • Dedication by the coach to ideals of The Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization.

Section 3: Approval of Coaches and Assistants
The Board of Directors will approve a final list of all Head and Assistant Coaches. All coaching applicants must fill out a coaching form. No person will be approved by the Board of Directors to coach for the Londonderry Blue Lions Cheerleading Organization without signing this form. Following a 30-day probationary period, current Head Coaches and Board Members will provide final approval of all new applicants.

Section 4: Coaches Responsibilities
All Head Coaches are responsible for seeing that their assistant coaches, participants and participant’s parents conduct themselves in such a way as to obtain the objective and purpose of this organization. All coaches will work together (as a team) for continuous support and growth of themselves and participants. All head coaches will have weekly communications with each other to discuss improvements for participants/teams.

Section 5: Squad/Team
Membership permitting, teams will consist of Silver, Blue, Black and White. Teams will have “placements” to establish their roster. The final roster will determine the number and size of teams.

Section 6: Final Roster
No person who is eligible for the team will be a member of the team until his or her name is placed on the final roster. All required paperwork must be completed and submitted before any person is placed on the final roster. The final roster will be established at the discretion of the coaching staff.

ARTICLE VII - Standing Committees

The standing committee(s) should consist of the following: Membership, Publicity, Chaperone, Fundraising, Banquets, Refreshments, and such other committees for special activities as may be voted by the members. The Vice President, Cheer Coordinator, or appointed assistant shall serve as the Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee. The President shall appoint the Chairperson of each committee and the Chairperson shall appoint members to his/her own committee. A majority of the committee members shall constitute a quorum for all standing committees.

ARTICLE VIII - Elections

Annually in March, the Board of Directors shall appoint a Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall report those interested in holding a position on the Board of Directors and Officers for the following fiscal year at the April meeting. Immediately after the Nominating Committee report, the floor shall be opened for further nominations. When nominations are closed, if there is only one nomination for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and five Directors positions, those nominated shall be declared elected; otherwise a secret ballot shall be taken only for those positions with multiple nominees. If the nominating committee does not present a slate of nominees, the President shall ask for nominations from the floor. The Officers and Directors elected at the April meeting will take office at the close of the June meeting. Any committee appointed for special activities shall continue to function until the completion of such activities.

ARTICLE IX - Amendments

The by-laws of the organization will be reviewed on an annual basis. The by-laws may be amended by a 2/3-majority vote of the membership present after 25 days written notice to each Voting Member of record (all dues paid by the time of notification of the proposed amendment) at the last known address provided to the organization. Voting on amendments may be done either in person at the next monthly meeting or by proxy vote prior to the next monthly meeting.

ARTICLE X - Conflict of Interest

Any possible conflict of interests on the part of any member of the Board, officer or employee of the organization, shall be disclosed in writing to the Board and made a matter of record through an annual procedure and also when the interest involves a specific issue before the Board. Where the transaction involving a board member, trustee or officer exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) but is less then five thousand dollars ($5,000) in a fiscal year, a two thirds vote of the disinterested directors and publication in a local newspaper is required. The minutes of the meeting shall reflect that a disclosure was made, the abstention from voting, and the actual vote itself. Every new member of the Board will be advised of this policy upon entering the duties of his or her office, and shall sign a statement acknowledging, understanding of and agreement to this policy. The Board will comply with all requirements of the New Hampshire law in this area and the New Hampshire requirements are incorporated into and made a part of this policy statement.

ARTICLE XI - Member Compensation

No monies from the Londonderry Blue Lions Organization or from an outside member may be paid to a Londonderry Blue Lions Organization member for their associated services. For the record, all services must be completely free from payment/compensation and are of volunteer in nature.

ARTICLE XII - Dissolution

In the event of the dissolution of the organization and after payment of just debts and liabilities, the assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government for a public purpose.