Bylaws

THE ST. MARY’S RYKEN ATHLETIC BOOSTERS BYLAWS

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this organization is “St. Mary’s Ryken Athletic Boosters (SMRAB).”  This organization may also be referred to as “Boosters”.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSES

Mission - The SMRAB is an organization created to support the mission of St. Mary's Ryken -- commitment to academic excellence and individualized student growth -- by helping to provide for the athletic needs of all St. Mary's Ryken students.  The purposes of the SMRAB are:

Section 1 – To provide financial support directly to the athletic department and athletic teams primarily through the coordination of team volunteers for concession staffing in exchange for a share of profits made at sporting event concession sales throughout the year.

Section 2 – To provide spirit centered activities in an effort to bolster morale, and increase attendance at sporting events.  These events are directed toward the entire student body of St. Mary’s Ryken.

Section 3 – To support the athletic department through large purchase of items aimed to benefit multiple athletic programs (teams) as a whole.

Section 4 – To promote academic excellence through recognition programs aimed towards teams with the highest percentage of athletes on the honor roll.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

Anyone with an interest in supporting St. Mary’s Ryken High School through the SMRAB is eligible for membership. Membership shall be divided into two categories.

Section 1 - Associate members –An associate member can be any adult, student, alumni, parent or community member with an interest in St. Mary’s Ryken athletics.  Individuals who have purchased Seasonal Sports Passes for (admissions charged) athletic contests held at St. Mary’s Ryken High School for that particular scholastic year, automatically receive an associate membership to the SMRAB.  The President, Principal and Athletic Director of St. Mary’s Ryken High School shall be honorary associate members of the SMRAB.

Section 2 - Voting members – A voting member is restricted to the members who comprise the Executive Committee.   (Refer to Article VI)

Section 3 - There shall be no discrimination as to membership because of sex, race, color, ethnic background or religious affiliation (or lack of religious affiliation).

ARTICLE IV – MEETING OF MEMBERS

Section 1 - Regular meetings – The members of the SMRAB shall meet regularly at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month of the calendar year, with proper notification to all members. Meeting dates may be adjusted due to school/Holiday schedule.

Section 2 - Special meetings – The President of the SMRAB or the Athletic Director may call a Special Meeting of the Members at any time by directing the Secretary to mail, or email a Notice not less than ten (10) days prior to the meeting, which Notice shall set forth the purpose of such meeting. A Special Meeting shall also be held upon the written request of at least five (5) voting members addressed and delivered to the Secretary.

Section 3 - Quorum – The attendance of five (5) voting members shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of voting on any official action of the SMRAB.

Section 4 - Voting and Procedure – Voting members, as defined in Section 2 of ARTICLE III hereof, are the only persons who are eligible to make motions, second motions and vote on any motions, and are the only members eligible to be an officer, to serve on the nominating committee and vote for nominees for office.

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS

Section 1 - The Executive Officers of the Boosters shall be the President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer (Finance).

Section 2 - Officers – All officers selected should be voted on by the members of the SMRAB and shall commence performing their duties IAW the Bylaws. Officers should be inducted during the first meeting prior to the school year upon adequate turnover.

A.  If, at any time, an officer is unable to continue or elects to terminate their position in his/her post, that officer should to the best of their ability provide 60 days notice to the President in order to assist in providing a relief.

Section 3 - Duties of the Executive Officers

A. President – The President should be a parent of a student currently attending St. Mary’s Ryken High School with a vested interest in furthering the progress of the SMRAB.  The President, when present, shall preside at all Meetings of the SMRAB. The President shall call Special Meetings when he or she deems same to be necessary. The President shall, with the assistance of the Secretary, preserve decorum, conduct all meetings in accordance with the Bylaws, and shall see that all officers perform their duties; is eligible to make or second any motion, and he or she is entitled to vote, particularly in the event of a tie vote of the voting members present. The President shall be an ex-officio member of every Committee. The President shall do and perform any and all other duties that properly belong to the office under usual parliamentary procedure.

B. Vice-President The Vice-President should be a parent of a student currently attending St. Mary’s Ryken High School with a vested interest in furthering the progress of the SMRAB.  The VP shall perform the duties of the President in his or her absence. The Vice President reports directly to the President and will oversee and otherwise perform the duties assigned as directed by the President. The Vice-President shall also be an ex-officio member of every Committee and may be required to attend other committee meetings for the President.  The VP will also serve as the Awards and Recognition Chair.

C. Secretary – The Secretary should be a parent of a student currently attending St. Mary’s Ryken High School with a vested interest in furthering the progress of the SMRAB.  The Secretary reports directly to the President. The Secretary shall maintain the email distribution list of the members of the SMRAB. The Secretary shall be responsible for notifying the Board and members of meetings and other business, as required. The Secretary shall take the minutes for all meetings and maintain a copy of all minutes. Draft minutes will be sent to the Executive Committee for their review and comment. At the next Board meeting, after the minutes are accepted, the secretary will forward the approved minutes to all members and to the Ryken webmaster to be placed on the website. The Secretary will assist the President with maintaining a list of interested individuals to serve on the SMRAB. 

D. Treasurer / Finance – The Treasurer should be a parent of a student currently attending St. Mary’s Ryken High School with a vested interest in furthering the progress of the SMRAB.  The treasurer shall be responsible for tracking all monies collected and disbursements made by the SMRAB, and reporting such activity at each regular meeting and at the Annual Meeting.  The Treasurer shall prepare and submit Check Requests and Transfer Requests to the SMR Business Office as required.  The Treasurer shall also audit the SMR Business office bookkeeping entries for all SMRAB accounts and report any errors to the Business Office.

 

ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The SMRAB Officers shall be composed of:

President

Vice President

Treasurer/Finance

Secretary

Season Pass Committee Chair

Social Media Committee Chair

Awards and Recognition Chair

Concessions/Maintenance Committee Chair

Pick Night Committee Chair

Spirit Committee Chair

Athletic Director Rep

The SMRAB Officers shall appoint members to particular committees, shall organize fund-raising activities in support of all approved Athletic Programs of St. Mary’s Ryken High School and shall assist the President in setting the agenda for meetings.

ARTICLE VII – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIRS

In addition to the Executive Officers, the following committee chairs have the following duties:

Section 1 – Season Pass Chair - Is responsible for selling season passes and building membership of the SMRAB.  This can be done through membership drives, and the coordination, sale and distribution of annually-issued Season Passes, which may/may not always include various promotional items. The purpose of this activity is to raise money for the SMRAB in support of the St. Mary’s Ryken Athletic Department.

The Season Pass chair provides manpower to work the SMRAB season pass table at a variety of targeted school events throughout the year such as Freshman Orientation, Back to School (Parent-Teacher) nights, home football games, and other home athletic events as needed or required.  The Season Pass  Chair, who reports directly to the President, should recruit and oversee an adequate number of committee members to facilitate the successful accomplishment of these activities.

Section 2 – Social Media Chair - reports directly to the President and he or she will work closely with SMR webmaster for updating the SMRAB link to the St Mary’s Ryken athletic website and managing the SMRAB Facebook page.   He or she will post as necessary  marketing or advertising efforts to promote any SMRAB activities or efforts.  

Section 3 - The Awards & Recognition Chair – also may fall under the duties of the Vice President.  Responsible for determining the team to be awarded the seasonal (Fall, Winter & Spring) athletic scholar team award for the highest percentage of athletes to make the honor roll.   Two weeks prior to the season awards night, he or she will coordinate with the Assistant AD to determine the selection of the scholar team for that season.  He or she will then notify the team’s Coach in order to determine which charity (with address) the team desires to support.  Once the charity is selected the Treasurer will be notified to prepare a check in time to be presented at the awards banquet.  It is important to ensure the charity conforms to the principles of St Mary’s Ryken.  If there is any concern, the President will be notified and will contact the school’s administration.  This duty normally resides with the Vice President.

Section 4 – Concessions/Maintenance Chair – reports directly to the President and shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of the programs and policies concerning handling of concessions at home events.  Concession Chair will oversee 3 main areas of concessions fundraising including sales, adequate supply of food and materials, and maintenance of all areas of concessions.  Sub-committees may be formed as needed to delegate workload into these areas.  In exchange for the individual sports teams providing volunteer staff for concession events, teams will receive a designated percentage of the gross sales for each concession event that they staff.    

Section 5 – Pick Night Coordinator – reports directly to the President and shall be responsible for scheduling and coordinating pick night prior to each season.  He or she will ensure athletic calendar spreadsheets are available to the team reps on pick night.  Once pick night is complete, he or she will ensure a smooth spreadsheet is sent to all of the reps and available on the website.  The pick night coordinator will also be responsible for maintaining a database of the reps to be able to communicate any changes to the athletic schedule that may have an effect on team concessions events.  He or she will also work coordinate any necessary concessions training that the team reps may request.

Section 6 – Spirit Chair – reports directly to the President and shall be responsible for the development of sub committees which support activities to raise school spirit and community involvement for the student athletes through a variety of activities.  With the assistance of student leadership and faculty members, this committee will use various methods of advertising to generate an increase in attendance and involvement in order to best support all sporting events.

Section 7 – Athletic Director Rep – stands as a liaison between the school administration and the SMRAB, to best direct the efforts of the SMRAB in a manner which would generally be acceptable by the school administration.  He or she is under contract and will perform those duties IAW that contract.

ARTICLE VIII – FUNDS

Section 1 - The Athletic Director/Staff Concessions Coordinator and Treasurer shall be responsible for tracking and approval of receipts and disbursements of funds for the SMRAB.

Section 2 - The Treasurer shall maintain a bookkeeping spreadsheet derived from inputs from the SMR Business Office.  All monies received by the SMRAB, from whatever source, shall be deposited with the Business Office as soon as practical.

Section 3 - At each regular meeting, the Treasurer shall be prepared to, and shall report on, the SMRAB’s financial condition. If the Treasurer knows that he cannot attend a meeting, he shall submit a written financial report to the President, and the Officer who presides at the meeting shall review said report at the meeting.

Section 4 - Any request for expenditure of funds shall be submitted in writing and reported to the SMRAB at a regular or Special Meeting. The expenditures request shall also be reported in the Minutes and distributed to the SMRAB membership before the next regular meeting.

Section 5 – Annual Budget.  The Treasurer will present, on an annual basis to the SMRAB Board, the upcoming year's budget.  This shall be done prior at the first meeting prior to the start of the school year (August).

Section 6 - SMRAB Project Reserve.  At least 5% of the SMRAB revenue will be set aside each month for future projects.  The Board may set aside additional lump sums at any time during the year.

Examples of said projects might include, but are not limited to “large ticket” items that would benefit the school.  A list will be developed by the executive committee with the assistance of the Athletic Director and this list will be prioritized in order of largest benefit, and return on investment.  Use of these funds would require executive committee approval.

Section 7 – Operational and Emergency Expenditures.  Upon approval of the budget, at least 5% of the SMRAB revenue will be set aside for operational and emergency expenditures.  The Board may set aside additional lump sums at any time during the year.

Examples of Operational expenses would be items and/or maintenance to improve the efficiency of the concession sales booths. 

In the event of an emergency that would require the immediate consideration of the expenditure of the funds, the SMRAB may undertake to virtual vote for the immediate expenditure of funds for the emergency. Prior to any such vote, there must be a finding of:

A. An emergency exists;

B. The normal procedure for referral of the expenditure request of the Concessions Maintenance Chair would cause undue hardship to St. Mary’s Ryken High School or its facilities or athletic programs; and

C. The use of the emergency expenditure is the only practical means to prevent the emergency.

ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENTS

This Constitution and Bylaws may be amended as follows: Any proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing at any regular or duly called Special Meeting. Such proposed amendment or amendments shall then be mailed to all members at least two (2) weeks, fourteen (14) days prior to the next meeting held. After a two (2) week period, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be voted upon if a quorum exists and if any one (1) or more proposed amendments be adopted by two-thirds of the voting members present, such proposed amendment or amendments shall immediately become effective and if any provision of the Bylaws is in conflict with such amendment or amendments, said Bylaw provision or provisions shall ipso facto be amended to comply.