Clairemont Repeater Association ham radio club

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Clairemont Repeater Association Operating Procedures

Established per CLARA Bylaws Article XIII; adopted January 2001; updated May 2024.

Procedure 1: CLARA Repeater User’s Manual

The Clairemont Repeater Assocation (CLARA) User’s Manual shall be binding on all authorized users of the CLARA repeater systems as to use of, and on-air conduct on, the CLARA repeater systems. Amendments to the CLARA Repeater User’s Manual shall follow the process as set forth in Article XIII of the CLARA Bylaws.

Procedure 2: Control Operators and Tech Committee

The Trustee shall nominate members as necessary to serve as Control Operators and Technical Committee members. Nominees shall be confirmed by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Control Operators and the Technical Committee shall operate under the supervision of the Trustee. Control Operators shall be issued repeater control codes and be responsible for the operation of the repeater systems. Technical Committee members shall be responsible for the maintenance of the repeater systems.

Procedure 3: CLARA Monitors

The First Vice President shall nominate as necessary, with the concurrence of the Trustee, members as CLARA Monitors. Appointments shall be by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Under the direction of the First Vice President, CLARA Monitors shall be responsible for the handling of emergency and priority traffic, on-air information QST’s, and on-air guest relations. CLARA Monitors shall be required to maintain a monitoring schedule and routinely file reports to the First Vice President. CLARA Monitor appointments shall be subject the review every six months. If a CLARA Monitor fails to perform, that Monitor may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors at any time.

Procedure 4: Interagency Coordinators, Club Event Coordinators, Committee Chairs

The President shall nominate as necessary members to the following positions. Appointment shall be by majority vote of the Board of Directors.

An Interagency Coordinator shall be responsible for maintaining relations with ARES, RACES, American Red Cross, and other such authorized organizations that may utilize the CLARA systems.
A VE Contact Chairman shall be responsible for recruiting and maintaining an active VE testing program within the CLARA organization. The VE Contact Chairman shall also coordinate an Elmering program whose goal will be to foster and provide for the continued growth of all amateurs operating on the CLARA systems.
A Social Events Chairman shall be responsible for scheduling and recruiting assistance for club social activities.
An Events Chairman shall be responsible for organizing and recruiting assistance for annual Field Day and other special events.
A Public Information Officer shall be appointed to be the official point of contact for club information and media relations at any CLARA event.
An Audit Committee Chairman shall be responsible for oversight of and selection of no more than three members to assist with an independent annual financial audit of the organization.
A Benevolent Committee Chairman shall be responsible for reporting to the membership any Silent Key, and Health and Welfare issues. The Benevolent Committee Chairman shall be responsible for applications for Waiver of Dues and shall be responsible for selecting no more than three committee members to assist with review of any such applications.
An Interference Committee Chairman shall be responsible for recruiting qualified members to operate as a Direction-Finding team.
A Property Master shall be responsible for maintaining an inventory of all club property.
An Election Chairman shall be appointed to lead the Election Committee, as further specified under Procedure 13.

Procedure 5: Election to Membership

Membership in CLARA shall be by Application. Membership in CLARA will be granted only after fulfillment of the following requirements, and the prospective member’s financial obligation have been met. The requirements and Application process is as follows:

A six-month review period is required from the date an applicant became an Associate to the date of the vote for membership. The Associate must attend at least two CLARA meetings or social functions during this period. (The review does not apply to prior members.)
Any CLARA Associate or prior member requesting membership must complete the Board-approved Membership Application Form.
The Associate fees must be current and the completed application must be submitted to the club secretary electronically or by US mail to the CLARA P.O. Box, or by hand to a board member at any club meeting or social event.
The application shall include the following:

The properly completed Membership Application Form.
A copy of the applicant’s valid current FCC Amateur License, as well as copies of FCC Amateur Licenses of other qualified Amateurs in the household who will be included in the membership. (reference Procedures 12)

The applicant must respond favorably to a Board-appointed Committee interview if requested. The Board will give pertinent application information, and its recommendation, to the members present at the next regular meeting of the organization.
The members present will vote by written ballot. A two-thirds yes vote is required. After an affirmative vote by the Membership, the applicant will be offered membership in CLARA.
The applicant will have a period not to exceed thirty days from the day of the vote to fulfill the required financial obligations for membership or make acceptable arrangements for payment. After thirty days, if there has been no response, a new application and vote will be required.
Membership will begin on the day that all initiation, assessment, and dues have been paid. Unexpired Associate fees will be applied toward the Membership dues on a pro-rated basis.
Prior members who have not been in good standing within the last six months, or who had requested removal from the roster, must reapply. New initiation and assessment fees are not required if they have been previously paid. A new membership date will begin after a membership-approved vote and the financial obligations have been met.

Procedure 6: Membership Limits

The total membership in CLARA is limited to 150 dues-paying members. This membership cap may be increased/decreased by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership at any regular or special meeting.

Procedure 7: Waiting List

When the membership limit is reached, a waiting list will be established. The waiting list will be a FIFO list (first-in, first-out). Memberships will be offered as they become available. Applicants dropping from the list voluntarily or removed for non-payment of fees must re-apply and start the process from the bottom of the list.

Procedure 8: Dues, Fees, and Assessments

Dues, fees, and assessments can be paid by check, money order, Paypal, U.S. legal tender, or any method of payment the Board of Directors finds acceptable by a majority vote of the Board. All dues, fees, and assessments are non-refundable. Membership dues, fees, and assessments are as follows.

Annual membership dues are $75.00 per year payable annually, or in six-month increments of $40.00.
A one-time initiation fee of $60.00 is required before admittance to membership.
The Associate Fee will be $35.00 per year and will entitle the applicant to a spot on the waiting list.

Procedure 9: Waiver of Dues

Dues may be waived for individual members by majority vote of the Board of Directors under the guidelines and recommendation of the Benevolent Committee. Waiver of dues shall be subject to a review every six months and is renewable for a period not to exceed eighteen months. Initiation fees and assessments cannot be waived.

Procedure 10: Budget

The Board of Directors shall approve an annual budget to be presented to the membership for ratification by a majority vote of the membership present at any regular meeting. The budget shall be maintained by the Treasurer. No CLARA funds may be expended until a budget has been approved by the membership.

Procedure 11: Member in Good Standing

A Member in Good Standing shall be defined as: having all dues, fees, and assessments paid in full; not currently under any investigation or sanction by the FCC for violations of FCC rules and regulations; holding a current FCC Amateur Radio License; and not under sanction for violation of CLARA Bylaws or Procedures.

Procedure 12: Extended Privileges of Membership

The spouse, dependent children, dependent grandchildren, and dependent parents (if member is caregiver) of a Member in Good Standing, residing in that member’s household, shall have the same privileges of membership with these exceptions: They may not vote in any CLARA election. They may not serve as a chairman of any CLARA Committee; they may however serve as a member of any CLARA committee.

Procedure 13: Election to Office

In compliance with the CLARA Bylaws Article VII (Elected Officers) and Article VIII (Members-at-Large), the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Members-at-Large are to be elected by vote of the membership at the Annual Election meeting, held at the May breakfast meeting each year. The term of office for each elected board member is from the meeting at which the board member is elected until the next yearly election meeting, or until a successor is elected.

An Election Committee will be formed for the election of officers, as follows.

An Election Chairman will be appointed by the President at or before the breakfast meeting approximately two months before the Annual Election meeting, which shall be hereafter referred to as the Nominations meeting.
The Election Chairman will appoint the remainder of the Election Committee within 2 calendar weeks after he/she was appointed. There will be a minimum of three people on the election committee.

The duties of the Election Committee are as follows.

Choose a slate of candidates.
1. The Election Committee shall choose a slate of candidates with at least one person recommended for each elected office. Minimum qualification for candidacy is CLARA voting membership in good standing and a stated willingness to serve in the office for which he/she is nominated. A member may hold only one office per term. Each person running for any Board position must be a full member in good standing for a minimum of two years.
2. Nominations, including the election committee’s recommendations, will be made by the membership at the Nominations meeting. The order of nominations will be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, First Member-at-Large, Second Member-at-Large, Third Member-at-Large.
3. Nominations will be closed at the conclusion of the nominations meeting. All nominees must indicate their willingness to accept the nomination to the Election Committee Chair prior to the end of the month of the nominations meeting. Failure of a nominee to indicate acceptance of the nomination will be taken as a refusal of the nomination, and will be so indicated to the members present at the election meeting prior to the vote.
4. No member may be a candidate for more than one office per election year. If nominated for more than one office, the member must indicate to the Election Committee Chair which nomination will be accepted, and all other nominations for that member will be automatically withdrawn. If an absent member is nominated, he/she will only be accepted as a nominee for the first office to which they are nominated. Nomination and acceptance speeches totaling five minutes maximum may be made on behalf of each nominee. Printed material prepared at the expense of the nominee or his/her supporters may be handed out.
Prepare and mail or electronically deliver election materials.
1. The Election Committee will prepare election materials and sample ballots.
2. Sample ballots will include all nominees, with candidates for each office grouped together and arranged in alphabetical order of name. Sample ballots shall be identical in formation to the ballots to be used in the election, except that they shall be clearly identified as sample ballots.
3. Candidates’ statements of qualifications will be mailed or delivered electronically with the election materials if requested by the nominee. Statements must not exceed one-half page in length, and must include a signed statement of the candidate requesting inclusion in the election material distribution. The material will be copied directly for the distribution; responsibility for format and legibility are the responsibility of the candidate.
4. All election materials will be mailed or delivered electronically to the membership a minimum of two weeks prior to the election.
Conduct the election and present the results.
1. The Election Committee will conduct the election by issuing one ballot to each member in good standing in attendance at the election, collecting and tallying the votes, and submitting the results to the president with voting totals clearly identified.
VOTE COUNT
1. A list of qualified voting members will be presented to the Election Committee by the Secretary at least three days prior to the election day. The list shall be in a format which will allow each member to sign off when he/she receives the ballot.
2. The ballot will clearly indicate the vote cast for each elective position.
3. If a member makes an error while filling out the ballot, he/she can completely line out the error and mark the desired vote; if there is any chance that the vote may be misinterpreted, he/she can ask for a substitute ballot. The substitute ballot will be issued when the old ballot is surrendered to the Election Committee. The decision of the Election Committee shall be final for interpretation of the votes on any ballot.
4. Votes will be totaled, with the winner being the person with a majority of the total votes cast for that office.
5. If no candidate receives a majority vote for President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, First Member-at-Large, Second Member-at-Large, or Third Member-at-Large, a run-off shall be held between the two candidates having the highest vote totals for that office.
RUN-OFF VOTES
1. Each member present at the annual Election meeting will receive one ballot based on the qualified voting membership list. Votes only for candidates in the run-off will be counted.
2. In the event of a tie vote, the decision shall be by coin toss. The outgoing President shall toss the coin. The candidates shall pull slips of paper on which HEADS is written on one and TAILS on the other.
RESULTS
1. All results, with winners of each office clearly indicated, will be announced by the President, who will turn over all responsibility to the newly-elected President.
2. A joint meeting of the outgoing and newly-elected Board of Directors shall be held immediately following the election meeting, during which all association property and/or records pertaining to each office shall be turned over by each departing officer to his successor, along with whatever information is needed to properly use that material.
3. All ballots and results will be sealed in an envelope with a certification by the election committee that the election has been conducted according to the specifications in this document. Election results shall be retained by the Secretary for the term of the newly-elected board.
4. Challenges of the election shall be registered and resolved prior to adjourning the election meeting. The election committee will evaluate all challenges and will order a revote if, in their opinion, the election did not confirm to the election rules.

End of Document

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