Administration and Board

SSSS Board Meetings

The Board meets the first Tuesday of the month, one week after the General Meeting, at the View Point Room at West Bay. Meetings start at 1830. We do not meet in July, August, or December.

The Board discusses Society business: the budget, Club relations with others like OYC, problems any officer might have, and the like. For a better idea of what is discussed see the minutes of the meetings below.

Any member is welcome to attend. If you have an issue you want to bring to the Boards attention, contact the Commodore and get on the schedule. We will then hear your issue first so that you do not have to sit through more routine business than you want to.
Note that if you are concerned with race issues, like courses, class breaks, or other changes to the sailing instructions, this is not the place to bring them. These should be taken up with the RC Chair or at an RC meeting. Toliva Shoal Race issues should be addressed to the Toliva RC.

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the South Sound Sailing Society, hereinafter called the Society.


Article II: Purpose
The purpose of the Society shall be to foster the art, skill and camaraderie of sailing for sailors in Southern Puget Sound through education, racing and cruising programs.


Article III: Membership
Section 1. There shall be the following classes of members:
A. Annual: Entitles the member and his/her spouse, or domestic partner, and their children under age 21 who reside with the member, to all membership privileges. Each annual membership is entitled to one vote.

B. Life: a life member is one who has made extraordinary, unselfish contributions to the society. Six members of the Board of Directors must approve the nomination for recommendation to the membership. A two-thirds, 2/3, affirmative vote of the members present at a regular or special meeting is required for approval. A life member shall be entitled to all privileges of membership except voting, and shall be exempt from dues and assessments.

Section 2. Dues: Annual dues shall be assessed according to the budget recommendations of the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Special Assessments: An assessment may be approved by a two-thirds, 2/3, majority of the voting members present at a regular or special meeting provided, however at least ten, 10, days written notice is given stating the object of the proposed assessment.

Section 4. Standing: To be in good standing a member shall make timely payment of dues and assessments and shall concur with the purpose of the Society.

Section 5: Loss of Membership: The Board of Directors, by an affirmative vote of six, 6, members of the Board may drop a member from membership because of poor stewardship to the Society or other good cause. The former member has full right of appeal to the Board of Directors and the Membership.

The decision to drop a member from the membership will stand unless overturned by a vote of two-thirds, 2/3, of the Board of Directors or two-thirds, 2/3, of the members present at a general meeting of the Society.

Section 6: Term of Membership: Membership for all annual members shall run from the date when their dues are received until the general meeting in the following September. The term for life members shall automatically renew each year unless the member notifies the Secretary that he or she no longer desires to be a life member. Neither annual, nor life memberships are transferable.

Article IV. Board of Directors
Section 1. Officers: The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers and the Past Commodore. In addition, the House Chair and the Ship-to-Shore editor shall serve as ex officio members.

Section 2.
Duties: The control and conduct of the business of the Society shall be vested in its Board of Directors who shall:
A. Set and publish the dates of general meetings and call all special meetings.
B. Approve all expenditures made by the Treasurer on behalf of the Society.
C. Act on a request of the membership to recall a member of the Board of Directors. The request shall be made by petition to the Board signed by no less than twenty percent, 20%, of the membership in good standing at the time the petition is submitted. The Board will consider the petition at its next meeting. The request will be considered denied unless six, 6, or more members of the Board vote to approve the petition. If six, 6, or more Directors approve the petition, it shall be a recommendation to the membership for removal and the petition will then be submitted to the membership at the next general meeting after no less than ten,10, days notice. A two-thirds, 2/3, affirmative vote of the current membership present at the general meeting is required to recall a Director.

Article V: Officers
Section 1. The elected officers shall be Commodore, Vice-Commodore, Secretary, Treasurer, Race Chair, Program Chair/Member-at-large, and Cruise Chair.
Each officer must be a member of the Society in good standing throughout his or her term of office.

Section 2. The term of office for each elected officer shall be from July 1 after their election through the following June 30.

Section 3. Duties:
A. Commodore: Shall preside at all meetings of the organization, casting a vote only in case of a tie; shall be responsible for the efficient operation and good order of the organization; and shall be an ex officio member of all standing and special committees. During the year following his/her regular term of office s/he shall continue as a member of the Board and be known as Past Commodore.

B. Vice-Commodore: Shall assist the Commodore in carrying out his/her duties and preside in the Commodore’s absence.
C. Treasurer: Shall keep all financial and property records; shall account for, receive and dispense all monies; shall submit a quarterly financial statement and the annual budget; and shall be Chair of the Finance Committee, if that committee is formed.

D. Secretary: Shall keep minutes of all membership, Board and special meetings and shall maintain and preserve all records, reports and documents of the organization.

E. Program Chair/Member-at-Large: Shall be in charge of special programs; shall represent the general interest of the membership; shall perform such other functions as prescribed by the Board; and shall preside in the absence of the Commodore and Vice-Commodore.

F. Race Chair: Shall be responsible for organizing and conducting the annual racing program of the organization.

G. Cruise Chair: Shall be responsible for organizing and conducting the annual cruising program of the organization.

H. Past Commodore: Shall be the immediate past Commodore except as in Article VIII, Section 6; shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors; and shall be Chair of the nominating Committee.


Article VI: Committees
Section 1. The Commodore shall appoint the Chair of the House Committee and any special committees with the advice and consent of a majority of the Board of Directors.


Article VII: Meetings
Section 1. Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the conduct of all general and special meetings.

Section 2. There shall be at least six general meetings annually of which prior notice will be given to all members.

Section 3. A special meeting may be called by the Board of Directors provided that no less than ten, 10, days written notice of the purpose and date of such meeting is given to the members.

Section 4. The annual membership meeting shall be held on the second Tuesday of June, notice of which shall be sent at least ten, 10, days prior thereto.

Section 5. A petition to the Board of Directors of no less than twenty percent, 20% of the membership at the time the petition is submitted to hold a special meeting shall be recognized by the Board of Directors and a special meeting shall be called in a timely manner.

Section 6. Quorum:
A. The members present at a regular meeting shall constitute a quorum.
B. A quorum at a special meeting shall be as in Article VII, Section 6A except that in addition the presence of fifty percent, 50%, of the Board of Directors shall be required.


Article VIII: Nominations and Elections
Section 1. Elections shall be held at the annual membership meeting in June.

Section 2. Nominations for office shall be made at the general meeting prior to the June meeting from a slate presented by the Nominating Committee and from the floor.

Section 3. No person may be nominated without his/her consent.

Section 4. Voting shall be by secret ballot for any contested position and by acclamation for all uncontested positions. The person receiving a simple majority of the votes of the members present at the annual meeting shall be elected.

Section 5. In the event that there is no nominee for an office, a majority of the Board of Directors may appoint a member to serve in that position, provided, however, that the member has given his/her consent.

Section 6. If the immediate Past Commodore is unable to serve on the Board of Directors, a previous Past Commodore may be selected to serve by a majority of the Board of Directors.

Section 7. If an officer is unable to fulfill his/her term, a majority of the Board of Directors may appoint a successor to complete his/her term.


Article IX: Amendments
These bylaws shall be adopted and may be amended by two thirds, 2/3, affirmative vote of the members present at any general or special meeting, provided that proposed amendments hereto have been mailed, together with notice of the meeting, to each member no less than ten, 10, days prior to the meeting.


Article X: Dissolution
Section 1. The Society may be dissolved by an affirmative vote of two-thirds, 2/3, of the membership by written ballot following no less than thirty, 30, days written notice of such action.

Section 2. Upon dissolution all assets shall be distributed equally among members in good standing, according to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Each year in the spring the board creates a budget for the following fiscal year. In May, the draft budget for Fiscal Year (Sept to Oct) as proposed by the board was posted on the SSSS web page for members to review and comment.

There are a few things to note in this budget:

• There is an allowance for federal tax of $1000. Since we are new to estimating taxes as an organization, this is our best (conservative) guess. It may take us a few years to get a good feel for how to minimize our tax liability, but for now we think we are estimating a bit on the high side
• The board has decided to hire a bookkeeper to keep our accounts in QuickBooks and to support us in filing annual state and local taxes. The bookkeeper will also reconcile our accounts, prepare reports for the board, and take care of much of the back office work. This will reduce the accounting workload for the Treasurer.
• There is a fuel allowance for the dinghy fleet, if they want to use it, so that they do not need to support the cost of the runabout out of their own pockets.
• Any excess donations from the house chair will be allocated to soldier sailing. This will eliminate the need for additional fundraising, as members.
• There is a donation to the Junior Sailing program based on Toliva profits.
• We are estimating membership at 240, a bit of a bump over the past few years. We think the club may grow faster, but, again, we feel better with a conservative estimate.
• The board discussed several options for allocating the costs of back taxes and accountant fees among the various revenue sources and bank accounts, including the STARS, Toliva, WBS and the club as a whole. In the end, we decided to absorb all of these costs in the general club administration account. Once we see how things shake out in future years, we may decide to do something different, but we will hope we will all be able to plan for those expenses in the future.
• The Dues are $55 for annual membership, while race dues will remain the same. The dues increase will help us defray the cost of the bookkeeper and taxes, while permitting us to continue to provide services and fun events for members.
  
  

Please send any questions or comments to . We will look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions.