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SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY

There shall be two types of membership open to all persons 18 years of age who subscribe to the same agenda as the NABF, the Code of Ethics, and who are not issues of any disciplinary measures by any other association, or who have criminal records concerning animals or who have been involved with or brought up on charges for animal abuse, neglect or inapproriate actions concerning animals.

The memberships are as follows:

1. Individual. Allowed all club privileges including the right to vote, as everyone in the NABF votes on every important issue that will impact the forward progression of the club.

2. Household. Open to two persons 18 years of age and older who reside in the same household, each allowed all the privileges of the club, including each having one vote.

The club membership can refuse or deny any applying member to the club for any reason it sees fit. This would help safeguard us from having members who have shown to conduct themselves less than admirable at show events or other dog related events, and who could bring undue criticism or scandal to the club or the breed.

SECTION 2. DUES

The amount of the dues of each membership category has already been pre- determined by a majority decision by the founding members of this club. The dues as of the founding date are $20 individual and $25 family yearly.

Dues are payable per year on or before January 1st of each year. No member whose dues are unpaid for the current year may vote. The club Secretary will email or send by regular mail (for those folks without computer access) a statement to each member of dues for the upcoming year during the month of October.

SECTION 3. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Each applicant for membership shall apply on a form pre-approved by the founding members of the club, which shall provide that the applicant agrees to abide by the Constitution, By-Laws, Code of Ethics, and the Rules of the NABF, AKC and UKC.

The application shall state the name, address, and phone number of the applicant and shall be submitted to the club via email or regular mail to the club Secretary. The secretary will submit the application to the membership for approval. The membership will then approve or deny the applicant via the club mailing list and the applicant will then be notified by email or regular mail of the approval or denial of their application. This approval process needs only be done once, at the time of the initial application to become a new member. Accompanying the membership application and signed Code of Ethics, the prospective member shall submit dues payable for the current year. If the applicant is denied membership, payment of dues will be returned promptly.

Affirmative votes of 51% of the club membership voting by public mailing list, shall be required to approve an applicant. A file will be permanently placed on the club mailing list that will reflect the vote tallies and outcome of the vote of members for each year. Applicants for membership who have been rejected by the club may not re-apply again within that calendar year.

SECTION 4. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

Members may be terminated:

A. By Resignation. Any member in good standing may resign from the club upon written notice to the club by mailing list or by submitting a private email or private letter by regular mail to the club Secretary; but no member may resign when in debt to the club. Dues obligations are considered a debt to the club and they become incurred on the first day of each fiscal year.

B. By Lapsing. A member shall be considered as lapsed and automatically terminated if such member’s dues remain unpaid 30 days and beyond; however the club may grant an additional 30 day grace period in extenuating circumstances. In no case may a person whose dues are unpaid have voting rights.

C. By Expulsion. A member may be terminated by expulsion, if such expulsion is granted by a public majority vote by the club members.

ARTICLE II - MEETINGS

SECTION 1. CLUB MEETINGS

Since the club has an active mailing list, a yearly Club meeting is not required. All issues involving the club, issues of discipline and etc, can and will be done on the mailing list primarily.

SECTION 2. SPECIAL CLUB MEETINGS

Special meetings may be called by a majority vote of the club members. Such meetings shall be at a time, date, and place designated by a majority vote as well. Written notice of such meetings shall be mailed or emailed by the NABF Secretary at least 14 days prior to, but not more than 30 days prior to the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting.

SECTION 3. CONFIRMATION OF OUTCOMES OF MEETINGS

Upon the commencement and completion of a special meeting, the club secretary will post meeting notes in a special file on the mailing list within 30 days of the date the meeting was held.

SECTION 4.

In special cases, the club members may opt to do club business by telephone provided it does not conflict with any other provisions of the By-Laws. Items voted upon by telephone conference call, will be confirmed by the club Secretary, via club file upload in writing, within 30 days.

SECTION 5.

Meetings: Meetings are defined as gatherings where club members are in attendance and participate in club decisions.

Voting: Voting will be conducted via the club mailing list, unless a member does not have access to a computer, where then the member will be called by the club secretary, and their vote will be recorded that way.

1. Every club member must be provided with the means to participate, but, issues voted upon are given only 48 hours to be voted on. After 48 hours, no additional votes will be counted, tabulated or accepted.

2. A procedure must be in place to verify the identity of the individuals participating to ensure that they are all eligible club members.

3. To ensure that all club members have read and understood all club proposals being voted on, it is required that all member respond, and give an answer to all questions presented in a vote. If the vote consists of 2, 3 or more part questions, please address each question clearly and completely before submitting yuor vote to the mailing list, or you risk your vote not being counted.

4. All club members, upon membership approval, agree to participate in this manner.

SECTION 6: YAHOO LIST: At any time, if anything from the club mailing list is cross posted in any manner without the explicit permission from the group, the offender will be automatically unsubscribed from the list, their membership pulled for the remainder of the calender year, and they must then apply again to the club for approval of membership the following year, just like a first time member is required to do.

ARTICLE III - DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

SECTION 1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The club shall NOT have a board of directors. This club will have basic titles for the members who must act on the clubs behalf in order to achieve the clubs goals. Such titles will be secretary, UKC liason, Healthy Dogue Foundation representative, Treasurer as well as Championship Points Official. All of whom shall be members in good standing and who are residents of the United States or Canada.

A person shall hold a title and position within the club free of charge and for as long as they are able, and for as long as the membership feels they are adequate to hold such position.

****Addition # 1:"The NABF is a club of choice where every person gets a vote every time regarding major issues that impact the club. At no time will a Board of Directors be enacted, nor will there be a single person who holds a position where they make the decisions solely for this club.

It is also a non-negotiable rule in the NABF that there can never be a Board of Directors. To protect the rights of full democracy of this club, it cannot be brought to a vote to enact a small group or a specific person to reign over the club. The club is to be dissolved before such a take over was ever to occur".

****Addition # 2: "Members who have been voted in or volunteered for jobs of different committees are not considered members with jobs of power or any influence for voting or decision making. Anyone holding a volunteer or voted in job, is NOT a person of power to contact, is NOT a board person, and the group/club as a whole, should be contacted/informed on information regarding the club".

****Addition # 3: "Every 2 years the club secretary will post a note to the club list, asking the members if they feel the people currently serving in working positions have served satisfactorily or not in their opinion.

It will be asked if the membership would like these same people to continue their current job positions or if it should go to a vote to find new people for the job(s)".

SECTION 2. ELIGIBILITY

No person may be elected to any position without their approval in advance. Any person considered for any type of club position must be honest, forthright, trustworthy and a member of the NABF in good standing. One person, if qualified, may hold multiple titles if the club membership agrees this is for the best benefit of the club.

SECTION 3. OFFICERS

a) The club secretary shall preside over all meetings of the NABF. It is the secretary's duty to compile all information from club votes and important club issues, and record it within the files of the club mailing list. The Secretary will also make sure hard copies are made, so should something happen and the mailing list is lost for some unknown reason, all the important information is secure.

b) Should the Secretary be unable to perform his/her duties at any point, the Treasurer shall take command and have the same responsibilties as the secretary. The succession beyond the Treasurer will be determined by a majority club vote.

c) The SECRETARY shall act as the corresponding and recording secretary, and will be the cornerstone of the club, keeping a record of everything the club does, says or enacts. The Secretary shall also keep a roll of the members of the NABF and their addresses and carry out other duties as are specified in these By-Laws.

By being a member of the club, you may have access to the members list (names and emails only for privacy concerns). For additional information, such as addresses and phone numbers, you will have to email the member directly to see if they will provide you with that information.

d) The SECRETARY shall have charge of the correspondence, notifying members of new voting issues and notifying new members of their election to membership.

e) The TREASURER shall collect and receive all monies due or belonging to the NABF. She/He shall deposit all club monies in a bank account that will be under the name of the NABF. Her/His books shall at all times be open to the inspection of the club, and will be posted in the FILES portion of the club mailing list. He/she shall report to the membership, once yearly, the NABF's finances and every item of receipt or payment not before reported. At the annual on-line club finances meeting, he/she shall render an account of all monies received and expended during the previous year. His/Her report of the previous year shall also be published in the newsletter yearly.

SECTION 4. VACANCIES

Any vacancy in positions within the club will be put to a vote in regard to a new candidate, and from there, voted on by a club majority.

ARTICLE IV - CLUB YEAR. VOTING, NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS

SECTION 1. CLUB YEAR

The club’s fiscal year shall begin January 1st and end December 31st. Each retiring/resigning Officer shall turn over to his successor in office, all properties and records relating to that office within 30 days of his/her official retirement/resignation. All information, on paper, disc or etc that pertains to the club, is considered club property and must be handed over when the club requests such.

SECTION 2. VOTING

Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. All votes must be cast by mailing list or by personal telephone call to the secretary.

Should any vote come to an even FOR and AGAINST standstill (50% for and 50% against), the proposal will either be denied completely or refused for the time being until further revisions have been made, and then presented to the membership once again for a second vote. Should there be no majority agreement (of 51 % of the membership FOR it), the issue will be considered excused, and things will stand as they were.

One proposal for the same issue cannot be presented more than 3 times in one calendar year.

Any proposed vote must have a minimum of 5 voters casting their votes in order for it to be considered valid. A proposal lacking 5 voters can be immediately proposed again for an additional 48 hours after the first 48 hours of voting has closed, to give additional voters the opportunity to cast their vote. Previous votes already cast will be automatically rolled over to the second submission. A 3rd submission, for an additional 48 hours will be allowed as well. Any other submissions beyond that would have to wait until the next calendar year. This will only apply to voting issues with less than 5 minimum vote tallies. All votes receiving 5 or more votes, will peramently close after 48 hours and no additional votes will be allowed.

SECTION 3. NOMINATIONS AND BALLOTS

No person may be a candidate in the club election who is not in good standing, is in debt to the club, or who has not been nominated in accordance with these By-Laws. There will be no nominating committee in the NABF, as nominations will be approved via an agreement of the majority of the club members via the club mailing list.

A: If one or more nominations are requested by the club members, a vote will commence to decide who is most qualified. If the club membership feels that the position would be best suited to include both nominees, it is within the rights of the members to vote both parties in, and both nominees can assume duties of the position, working together harmoniously in an effort to best represent the club.

B. Nominations cannot be made in any other manner than provided above.

ARTICLE V - APPOINTEES.

SECTION 1.

Any nomination or office appointment may be terminated by a majority vote of the club members upon written notice (via email or via regular mail - whichever the club secretary prefers) to the appointee; and the club may appoint successors to those persons whose service has been terminated.

ARTICLE VI - DISCIPLINE

SECTION 1. SUSPENSION

Any member who is suspended from the privileges of the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, The Dogue De Bordeaux Society of America or has been disciplined by any other authoratative entity regarding animals, automatically shall be suspended or banned from the privileges of this club. The severity and type of discipline will be decided by the club members.

Any member witholding such information in order to obtain membership status will be given the maximum punishment of lifetime expulsion from the NABF.

SECTION 2. CHARGES

Any member in good standing may refer charges against another member for alleged misconduct prejudicial to the best interests of this club or the breed. Written charges, sent via regular mail, with specifications, must be filed in duplicate with the Secretary, together with an administration fee of $25 that is non-refundable.

Impending charges will be brought to the membership via the mailing list to be heard. The club will first consider whether the actions alleged in the charges, if proven, might constitute conduct prejudicial to the best interests of the club or the breed. If the club considers that the charges do not allege conduct which would be prejudicial to the best interests of the club or of the breed, it may refuse to entertain jurisdiction and will notify the member who filed the complaint, that the issue has been denied by the club majority.

If the club does entertain jurisdiction of the charges, it shall open an investigation, look over all facts, and will make a decision within 15 days of the date the issues is presented to the membership via the club secretary. The club Secretary shall promptly send one copy of the charges to the accused member by certified mail together with a notice of the hearing and an assurance that the accused may have a say in regard to the clubs decision. The accused may refute the charges in writing to the club secretary within 10 days of receiving notice in the mail of the charges. The accused may offer their own defense (not legal councel) and may present witnesses or provide notarized witness statements if he/she so wishes.

SECTION 3. HEARINGS

Should the charges be sustained after hearing all the evidence and testimony presented by all parties concerned, the club may, by a majority vote, reprimand, expel or suspend the defendant from all club privileges. And if the club deems that punishment insufficient, it may also recommend to the membership that the penalty be lifetime expulsion.

SECTION 4. EXPULSION

Expulsion of a member from the club may be accomplished only by a majority vote of 51% or more. Once the issue of expulsion has been brought to the club via the mailing list for determination, those members replying within 48 hours will have a say in the decision. The secretary will count the votes, and make an official announcement on the list, and will make hard copies of all information pertaining to the issue. If expulsion is not so voted, the suspension shall stand until the time, determined by the club, is served.

ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS

SECTION 1.

Amendments to the Constitution, By-Laws, and breed standard may be proposed by the club members or by written petition addressed to the Secretary signed by 51% or more of the membership in good standing. Amendments proposed by such petition shall be promptly considered by the club and must be submitted to the membership with recommendations by the Secretary for a vote within 3 months of the date when the petition was received by the Secretary.

If approved, the club will work together in making these changes, and all inconsistencies will come down to a majority club vote.

SECTION 2.

No Amendments to the Constitution, By-Laws and the standard for the breed by the Association shall become effective until it has been approved.

ARTICLE VIII - DISSOLUTION

SECTION 1.

The club may be dissolved at any time by written consent of not less than 75% of the members in good standing. In the event of dissolution, other than for purposes of re-organization, whether voluntary or involuntary or by operation of law, none of the property, nor any proceeds, nor assets of the club shall be distributed to any members of the club, but after payment of the debts of the club owes, shall be given to a charitable organization for the benefit of dogs, selected by the club majority.

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