Constitution and Bylaws of the Nebraska State Chess Association

Final draft. (Gambit 33.1, Jan. 1996)

Article 1: Mission Statement - The Nebraska State Chess Association shall promote chess at all age and ability levels throughout the state of Nebraska. Under USCF bylaws, the NSCA will organize or be responsible for carrying out the following policies to accomplish the above mission:

Section 1: The NSCA shall maintain a State Affiliate.

Section 2: The NSCA shall organize and stage a State Championship each year and designate an official State Champion.

Section 3: The NSCA shall organize and stage a State Scholastic Championship and shall designate high school, junior high, and elementary school champions each year.

Section 4: The NSCA shall maintain a tournament clearinghouse in order to coordinate events within the state and adjoining states and communities.

Section 5: The NSCA shall see to the publication and distribution of a newsletter to its members.

Section 6: The NSCA shall select delegates, voting members and alternates to represent the State of Nebraska at annual USCF delegate meetings each year.

Article 2: The governing board - The NSCA shall be governed by a seven member policy board consisting of a President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, three Regional Vice Presidents, representing the Omaha area, the Lincoln area and the western Nebraska area, and an historical archivist. These officers shall be elected by the NSCA membership and shall serve three year terms.

Section 1: The President - The president of the NSCA shall be the chief executive of the NSCA board. He/she shall be responsible for carrying out the day to day activities of the organization. The president shall be elected by the membership and shall serve for a three year term. He/she, shall help to arrange for the publishing and distribution of a newsletter to NSCA members, outlining chess events and activities going on in the state, thus fulfilling the requirements of Section 5 above. He/she shall help to organize tournaments and/or appoint other certified directors within the state to do the same. He/she shall oversee the organizing of Nebraska State Championship events in which state titles will be awarded, thus fulfilling the requirements of Sections 2 and 3 above. He/she shall oversee and administer various chess awards given by the NSCA during the year. The president and the treasurer shall each year determine a plan for the use of funds from the U S Chess Federation and shall report to both the membership and the USCF on how such funds were used. The president shall preside at NSCA membership meetings. Should the president resign or otherwise relinquish the position before his/her term is completed, the Regional Vice president who has served the longest in his/her position shall serve as acting president until the membership can elect a new president.

Section 2: The Treasurer - The treasurer of the NSCA shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining bank accounts and keeping track of finances for the organization. The treasurer shall have access to these funds to make necessary purchases and payments for the NSCA. The treasurer shall inform the president and the membership three times a year at official NSCA meeting of the financial status of the organization. The treasurer shall work closely with the President to determine a plan for the use of funds from the US Chess Federation.

Section 3: The Secretary - While the secretary is responsible for keeping the minutes of official NSCA meetings, his /her main duty shall be to keep and maintain accurate lists of the names and addresses of current NSCA members. Three times a year at official NSCA meetings, (if possible), the secretary shall give a report to the membership detailing the number of active, paid members in the organization.

Section 4: Regional Vice Presidents - The NSCA membership shall choose one regional vice president from each of the three regions in the State. Each of these regional vice presidents shall serve as the representative for their particular section of the state. They shall be responsible for organizing or helping to organize tournaments and handling chess matters in their part of the state. They shall serve three year terms. Each regional Vice President shall serve as a full member on the NSCA Board and shall have one vote in board policy making. Region 1 shall be defined as the Omaha-Metro area and shall not extend west of the Elkhorn River nor south of the Platte River. Region 2 be defined as the Lincoln and surrounding area and shall not extend north of the Platte River, nor west of Nebraska Highway 81. Region 3 shall be defined as the Western Nebraska Region and shall include cities, towns and communities west of Highway 81 (if south of the Platte River), and west of the Elkhorn River (if north of the Platte River). Residents of communities who live in towns on highway 81 shall be considered to be residents of Region 3.

Section 5 NSCA Historical Archivist. The duties of the Archivist would be to collect, organize and maintain historical records relating to chess in our State. This would include but would not be limited to, newsletters of both a local and state wide nature, newspaper clippings related to Nebraska Chess and other memorabilia or items related to chess that might be acquired by the NSCA.

Article 3: NSCA membership.

Section 1: Types of NSCA membership - The NSCA shall offer memberships to both residents and non-residents of the state. Membership type and cost are set by the NSCA Policy Board.

Section 2: Benefits and rights of NSCA members - NSCA membership will entitle a person to play in any or all NSCA sponsored events during the calendar year. It will also allow the person to play in tournaments in other states (in most cases) without having to purchase that state's membership. It will entitle the person a yearlong subscription to the State Newsletter. It will entitle the person to vote in NSCA elections or to hold office as a member of the NSCA policy board. It will make the person eligible for chess awards, scholarships and stipends given by the NSCA throughout the year. In addition, only resident NSCA members may play in State Closed Championships. Non-Residents may purchase memberships in the NSCA and may enjoy all benefits except the right to play in the Nebraska Closed Championship, or to hold Nebraska State Titles, or to be NSCA Policy Board members.

Section 3: Membership meetings - The NSCA shall hold membership meetings during each calendar year. One meeting shall be held during the State Closed Championships, one during the Cornhusker State Games and one during the Midwest Open. All current members are entitled to vote on matters brought before the membership at these meetings. The NSCA President shall be responsible for conducting these meetings, and the secretary if possible should submit the minutes of these meetings so that they may be published in the Gambit.

Section 4: Quorums - No legislation may be passed without a quorum being present as defined here. Should the NSCA paid membership be 200 or fewer as of January 1 of the year in question, a quorum of at least 10 paid members including 2 officers must be present. If NSCA membership is greater than 200, a quorum shall consist of 5% of the total paid membership including two officers. The NSCA secretary shall inform the president at the beginning of each calendar year as to what constitutes a proper membership quorum.

Article 4: Amending this Constitution.

Section 1: Method 1 - This document may be amended by a 3/4 vote of the executive

board and a simple majority vote of those members present at the NSCA membership meeting.

Section 2: Method 2 - Should 51% of the total membership as of January 1st in which the meeting is held, vote either by proxy or in person to amend this document, then such amendments shall be adopted without an NSCA Policy board vote.

Article 5: Compensation - All officers of the NSCA serve voluntarily and are not compensated with salary. The NSCA shall reimburse officers for the following expenditures if they submit receipts or bills to prove such expenses were incurred.

1. Supplies and material used to conduct NSCA business (e.g. paper, printer ribbons, stamps, envelopes, etc.)

2. Phone bills directly related and necessary to conducting NSCA business.

3. Mileage if directly related and necessary to conducting NSCA business.

4. Postage if directly related and necessary to conducting NSCA business.

Article 6: NSCA property.

Section 1: The NSCA claims ownership of its membership lists and information compiled by its officers. Use of such information shall entitle the NSCA to fair compensation.

Section 2: All computer software, supplies and equipment purchased by NSCA funds shall be transferred back to an active NSCA officer should the person using them retire, resign, or relinquish their position.

Article 7: State Championships and State Titles - The NSCA shall hold exclusive rights to award State titles in Nebraska, including both Scholastic and Open or Closed titles. The NSCA may award the right to organize and run tournaments which grant state titles but they retain ultimate control and responsibility for them under Article 1, Section 2 and 3 above