Recommendations for Sponsoring a New Member
Do not submit the application until you feel that the candidate has been properly introduced. It is your responsibility to see that everyone normally attending rides knows the man.
Secure an application from the Secretary and secure the signatures of your co-sponsors. Submit the application, with a small passport type photo of the candidate, directly to the Secretary.
The application will be submitted to the Membership Chairman by the Secretary. After proper investigation and approval of the Membership Committee, the name will be presented to the Membership. The Membership Committee will allow sufficient time for members to register any objections. At the end of the allotted times, the Membership Committee will review all negative letters received and submit to the Secretary their final recommendation. The Secretary will then advise the sponsor in writing as to the decision of the Membership and the Membership committee.
If the application is approved you will secure an application from the Secretary and advise the candidate of his approval. Should he agree to accept the membership, collect the initiation fee and the annual dues.
Keep in mind; the most important part of the entire procedure is your ability to properly introduce the candidate to the Membership.
Guests Under the Age of 18
Our insurance policy requires that anyone under the age of 18 must wear a helmet.
By-laws — Los Senderos
Operative July 1, 1992
ARTICLE I
Name
The Name of this corporation shall be
“LOS SENDEROS de SAN DIEGO”
ARTICLE II
Objectives
The objectives of this organization shall be those stated in the Articles of Incorporation and, in particular, to promote good fellowship among its members. To enjoy the benefits to be derived from working, training and riding good horses. To enjoy the camaraderie of good friends who also like horses, and appreciate the beauty and majesty of the great out of doors.
To encourage the enjoyment of trail riding and to aid in protecting the country in which we ride so future generations will have it to enjoy.
To arrange frequent trail or riding events on members ranches and the other riding areas to further these objectives.
ARTICLE III
Memberships
Section 1. QUALIFICATIONS: Memberships in Los Senderos shall be limited to adult gentlemen horsemen who are congenial and of good moral and ethical character. A member must own his own horse and tack and have transporting vehicle at his disposal. Other members of his family should be congenial and compatible in relations with the membership.
Section 2. CLASSIFICATION: There shall be three classifications of membership: Active, Inactive and Honorary.
Section 2.A. ACTIVE
Section 2.A.l. An active member is one who takes an active part in the affairs of the organization. He shall participate in a minimum of four group activities each year including the Annual Meeting. He shall be required to pay the required initiation fee and dues and shall be entitled to all of the privileges of the corporation (including the right to vote, to hold office and to property rights). There shall be no more than sixty active members.
Section 2.A.2. A member shall lose his status as an active member if he fails to meet the activity standards described in Article III. Section 2.A.l., above for a period of two calendar years. If he is otherwise in good standing he becomes an inactive member with the Board of Directors approval.
Section 2.B. INACTIVE
Section 2.B.l. An inactive member is a member, who because of his inability or failure to participate, as required, no longer qualifies as an active member, or one who may elect to become inactive.
Section 2.B.2. An inactive member shall pay dues prescribed by the Board of Directors for inactive members and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges of membership except the right to vote, hold office, or to property rights. He may not sponsor new members.
Section 2.B.3. No member may become an inactive member until he has been an active member for three consecutive years.
Section 2.B.4. An inactive member may become active if he qualifies by taking part in four group activities a
year for a period of two-calendar years. He shall submit a request, in writing, to the Board of Directors, and upon approval by the Board of Directors, shall become active when there is an opening in the Club. Such member shall have precedence over newly proposed members.
Section 2.C. Honorary: An honorary member may be elected by the Board of Directors because of outstanding civic accomplishments or contributions to horse activities, horsemanship, or trail preservations, or other good and honorable reason. A member so elected shall not be required to pay an initiation fee nor dues. an honorary member shall not be eligible to vote, hold office nor participate in the property rights of the corporation.
Section 2.D. HONORED GUESTS: Shall be a special classification for widowed spouses of deceased active or inactive members. A spouse so elected will lose this status upon remarriage. Honored guests shall pay no dues.
Section 3. ELECTION TO MEMBERSHIP
Section 3.A. A person may be elected to membership provided he has met the requirements for membership as stated in Article III. Section 1. and has attended at least 3 monthly rides and one annual ride of 3 days or more in the past 18 months, and the membership is less than sixty.
Section 3.A.l. This election shall be accomplished according to the procedures set forth under the duties of the Membership Committee contained in Article VI. Section 2.B.
Section 3.B. Provided the membership is less than sixty, new members may be sponsored as follows: A membership form shall be filled out and signed by two active members without the knowledge or signature of the proposed candidate. This application shall be delivered to the Secretary, who shall record
on the application form the date and time received. The Secretary shall then present the application to the Membership Committee for action as set forth in Article VI. Section 2.
ARTICLE IV
Board of Directors
Section 1. The control and management of the affairs of the Los Senderos is vested in the Board of Directors, consisting of seven (7) members.
Section 2. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors shall be composed of seven active members. Six Directors, three of whom shall be elected each alternate year, and the immediate past President. The President and Vice President shall be selected from and be members of the Board of Directors.
Section 3. DUTIES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 3.A. The Board of Directors shall hold an organizational meeting as soon as elected at the Annual Meeting and select a Secretary-Treasurer who may, but need not be a member of the Board of Directors.
Section 3.B. It shall be responsible for the management of the affairs of the organization as well as management of any property of Los Senderos.
Section 3.C. It may enter into contracts in the name of the organization.
Section 3.D. The Board shall appoint such other officers, agents and employees as it may deem proper and shall fix their compensation and prescribe and direct their duties and activities.
Section 3.E. The Board shall hold meetings at such time and place as deemed necessary by the President. A Board meeting may be called by any four Directors for specific reasons.
Section 3.F. Four Directors shall constitute a quorum and a majority of the Directors present and voting shall control.
Section 3.G. Any vacancy on the Board of Directors shall be filled for the unexpired term by the remaining Directors appointing a replacement Director from the active membership list.
ARTICLE V
Officers
Section 1. PRESIDENT
The President of Los Senderos shall be elected at the Annual Meeting by a secret ballot of the newly elected and constituted Board of Directors. The President may serve as President no more than two consecutive terms.
Section 1.A. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT
Section 1.A.l. He shall preside at all functions conducted in the name of Los Senderos.
Section 1.A.2. He shall see that the mandates of the Board of Directors are carried out.
Section 1.A.3. He shall appoint all standing committees, to be ratified by the Board of Directors.
Section 1.A.4. He shall select a committee of three (3) members to count ballots at the Annual Meeting.
Section 1.A.5. He shall act as an ex-officio member of all committees without the right to vote.
Section 2. VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President of the Los Senderos shall be elected at the Annual Meeting by a secret ballot of the newly elected and constituted Board of Directors. The Vice President may serve as Vice President no more than two consecutive terms.
Section 2.A. DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President shall replace the President and act as the representative of the Los Senderos when the President, for whatever reason, is unable to carry out the duties of his office.
Section 3. SECRETARY-TREASURER
Section 3.A. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY-TREASURER
Section 3.A.1. He shall record the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors and see that such minutes are kept in archive.
Section 3.A.2. He shall bill, receive and disburse all moneys due to organization.
Section 3.A.3. He shall keep an accurate account of both income and expenses except those for the Annual Ride.
Section 3.A.4. He shall report to the Board of Directors at their meetings to indicate the financial position of the organization.
Section 3.A.5. He shall audit the records of the Annual Ride Committee and receive the funds the Annual Ride generates.
Section 3.A.6. He shall receive applications to membership from candidate’s sponsors and notify the Membership Committee Chairman by forwarding these nominations to him within two weeks.
Section 3.A.7. He shall keep an accurate account of the attendance at all events.
Section 3.A.8. He shall send statements each month to those attending the monthly ride or other activity.
ARTICLE VI
Standing Committees
The President shall appoint the following committees, subject to ratification by the Board of Directors.
Section 1. NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Section 1.A. COMPOSITION: Shall consist of three (3) members appointed by the President on or before November 1, of each year.
Section 1.B. DUTIES
Section 1.B.l. Nominate three candidates for Directors of the Board of Directors. The term of Directors shall be for two years, or until a successor is elected. A Director is eligible to be reelected only once at the expiration of his term of office. After an absence from the office for one year he is again eligible for election as a new Director.
Section 1.C. The Nomination Committee shall meet and make its selection of candidates. It shall file its report with the Secretary not less than twenty days before the time set for the Annual Meeting. The report of the Nomination Committee shall be sent to the membership together with the notice of the Annual Meeting as stated in Article VII, Section I.
Section 1.D. Additional nominations for the Directors may be made by written petition signed by five members and filed with the Secretary at least forty-eight hours before the time of the Annual Meeting.
Section 1.E. ELECTIONS
Section 1.E.l. The New Board of Directors shall be elected at the Annual Meeting from the list of names submitted by the Nomination Committee and from those properly nominated by petition. The Directors
shall be elected by the majority of the members present casting voice votes. The President may call for election of directors by secret ballot if a request is made and approved by a majority of the members present.
Section 2. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Section 2.A. COMPOSITION
The committee shall consist of five members as follows:
Section 2.A.l. The Chairman shall be the immediate past President.
Section 2.A.2. Four members appointed by the President from the active membership, only one of whom may be a member of the Board of Directors.
Section 2.A.3. The Membership Committee shall meet as often as necessary to fulfill its mission, at the call of the Chairman. A quorum of the Committee shall be three members. A majority vote will prevail
Section 2.B. DUTIES: To receive applications for membership from the Secretary and process them as follows:
Section 2.B.l. The membership Committee must consider the available information regarding the candidate’s moral and ethical standards and his standing and reputation in the community in determining his acceptability for membership in the Los Senderos.
Section 2.B.2. Within sixty days of receiving the application for membership the Committee shall approve or reject said application. If approved by the Membership Committee it shall be handled as follows:
Section 2.B.3. The membership shall receive a letter from the Secretary giving the name, address, occupation, age and wife’s name and occupation, of any proposed new member. If more than one candidate is to be considered they shall be listed in the order of their receipt by the Secretary. The membership shall have not less than two
weeks in which to object in writing to any candidate stating the reason for the objection (This letter need not be signed, but a signed letter will assist the membership committee in verifying the validity of any stated objection). The letter of objection shall be sent to the Chairman of the Membership Committee. All information regarding candidates shall be privileged and extremely confidential.
If no objections are received 21 days after the initial mailing to the membership the candidate is elected to membership.
Section 2.B.4. If the applicant has been accepted the sponsors shall notify the proposed member. They shall obtain a signed application and collect the initiation fee and dues from him. It shall be the duty of the Membership Chairman to determine that the initiate has received a copy of these By-laws and that the sponsors have properly oriented him into the Los Senderos.
Section 2.B.5. If objections have been received the Membership Committee must meet and determine if the objections are valid. If the objections are sustained the candidate is declared rejected and the candidate can not be brought up for nomination to membership for one year from the date of rejection, unless the reasons are simply that the candidate is not well enough known to be fairly judged by the membership. In this event the sponsor will be notified that no action is possible until further exposure of the candidate is accomplished.
Section 2.B.6. If the objections to a candidate are found to be without good reason or unfounded, the candidate will be accepted by the Membership Committee and declared elected.
Section 2.B. 7. If there is an opening for new members, but more applications are received than the number of openings available, the applications shall be
acted upon in the order they are received by the Secretary. Candidates who are rejected because the membership is full, will be acted upon as future openings appear. The list of those awaiting action shall never exceed ten nominees.
Section 2.B.8. The Secretary shall inform the membership of the final disposition of all nominations within one month of such disposition.
Section 3. ANNUAL RIDE COMMITTEE
Section 3.A. COMPOSITION
Section 3.A.l. This committee shall consist of a Chairman and two Vice Chairmen.
Section 3.A.2. The Chairmen shall jointly select as many additional members for this committee as they deem necessary and appropriate.
Section 3.A.3. The Chairman shall select a Secretary-Treasurer to handle the finances of the Annual Ride.
Subsection A. This committee or its Secretary-Treasurer may not obligate the club for moneys after the end of the month in which the ride is held, in the year of their service
Section 3.B. DUTIES
Section 3.B.l. It shall be the duty of the Committee to select the site for the Annual Ride.
Section 3.B.2. It shall be the duty of the Committee to select the dates for the ride in consultation with, and agreement of, the Board of Directors.
Section 3.B.3. It shall arrange daily activities for the members and give leadership to these events.
Section 3.B.4. It shall arrange for the caterers.
Section 3.B.5. It shall arrange for such other details as it finds necessary (horse feed, water, tether space, etc. ) also for entertainment.
Section 3.C. This committee shall be responsible to the Board of Directors, but shall have considerable latitude and freedom in making the necessary decisions for putting on the Annual Ride.
Section 4. MONTHLY RIDE COMMITTEE
Section 4.A. COMPOSITION
Section 4.A.l. This committee shall be composed of a Chairman, Co-chairman and Recorder all appointed by the President and ratified by the Board of Directors.
Section 4.B. DUTIES
Section 4.B.l. To plan and arrange places for a group ride each month for members and their guests.
Section 4.B.2. To set up rules and procedures for the rides as needed, with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.
Section 4.B.3. To arrange for the bar trailer and bartender to be present when required.
Section 4.B.4. To arrange for caterers or catering service for the ride each month if required.
Section 4.B.5. To record the members and guests present each month and supply this information to the Secretary.
Section 5. ADDITIONAL, AD HOC COMMITTEES may be appointed by the President with the ratification by the Board of directors to meet any extraordinary circumstances.
ARTICLE VII
Section 1. Membership Meetings Section 1.A. ANNUAL MEETING: The annual member’s meeting and election of Directors and officers shall be held in December of each year. The time and place shall be designated by the Board of Directors. At
least ten days notice shall be given to all members, and such notice shall include a list of candidates nominated for the Board of Directors for the coming year by the Nomination Committee. Those candidates who may be nominated by petition may be announced to the membership separately.
Section 1.B. SPECIAL MEETING: Special meetings of the membership may be called at any time by the Board of Directors or by the President, and must be called upon petition of ten members. At least two weeks written notice shall be given, stating the time and place and purpose of the meeting. No business shall be transacted except that stated in the Call for the Special Meeting.
Section 2. QUORUM : The attendance of twenty active members shall constitute a quorum for the legal transaction of business at any regular annual or special meeting of the membership.
ARTICLE VIII
Effect of Membership
The effect of membership is to bind the member to abide by and conform to the By-laws and Rules of the Corporation in effect at the time of his admission, and all subsequent additions or amendments thereto.
ARTICLE IX
Expulsion
Any member may be disciplined, suspended or expelled for any cause deemed good and sufficient by the Board of Directors. The Board shall conduct a hearing at which the member shall have the right to be heard without benefit of outside counsel. The vote of four Directors shall be necessary to discipline or suspend. It shall require a unanimous vote of all directors, present and voting, to expel a member.
ARTICLE X
Fees and Assessments
The initiation fee shall be set annually by the Board of Directors. Membership is not effective until the initiation fee and the prescribed dues have been paid. The yearly dues of this organization shall be set annually by the Board of Directors for active members and for inactive members and shall be due and payable on the first day of February each year. Any member whose dues are in arrears for two months shall be so notified by the Secretary-Treasurer, and the notice shall call attention to this provision of the By-laws. If such member’s dues are not paid within thirty (30) days thereafter, his membership shall be forfeited automatically and his name stricken from the membership roll. The Board of Directors, by the unanimous vote of those present and voting, can, for good cause, waive the dues in any case.
No assessments shall be levied against the members, except for the purpose of carrying out the objectives of this Corporation. This Corporation shall not make any donations or contributions other than for the purpose of carrying out the objectives as set forth in Article II.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments of the By-laws
These By-laws, may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the active members present and voting at any members’ meeting called for that purpose. The Board of Directors may, by the consent in writing of all its members, amend these By-laws.
ARTICLE XII
Termination
In the event that Los Senderos de San Diego ceases to exist, or is terminated and disbanded as an organization, the Secretary-Treasurer shall pay all outstanding debts of the organization, and then donate or dispense the remaining proceeds, if any, to the San Diego Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
These By-laws replace the original By-laws, which were drafted and approved by the Board of Directors and adopted by the membership on the 24th day of June 1951.
Revised edition for publication 02/01/2015