— The Council of American Master Mariners, Inc. —

2010 Annual General Meeting

Proposed Amendments

CAMM AGM Main Page Agenda Speakers Amendments Registration Form

By-Laws Proposed Amendments

*Note: Black text is existing text. Red strikethrough text is existing text proposed to be deleted.
Blue text is text to be added., and green text are notations.

Issue 1: Proxy Card Protocol

ARTICLE V: NATIONAL MEETINGS
Section 10.C. Proxy votes

  1. Each chapter will designate at least one delegate who is a member in good standing to represent such chapter and vote all proxies which have been authorized by individual members. The Treasurer and Secretary of each Chapter shall certify to the appointment of each delegate from their chapter. The proxy for the Chapter Delegate will be issued in the name of the Chapter not in the name of an individual member.
    2. (amended 1976, 2010)

  2. A member in good standing, holding proxies for individual members will be allowed to vote for those members who have so authorized and were in good standing at the time the voting instrument was mailed. The number of ballots distributed to members in good standing shall equal the number of members in good standing calculated on the day of the mailing. (amended 1976, 1991)

Add paragraph f

  1. In order for the proxy vote to be valid and thereby be counted in the election, certain criteria must be met:
    1. The proxy card must be issued by a member in good standing.
    2. Proxy cards, if validated, can be used for both posted ballots and for items that are presented from the floor of the National Meeting.
    3. There must be no doubt as to the proxy giver’s intention. If a Proxy Card is in any way ambiguous so that the intent of which cannot be ascertained, this intent will be discussed by The Credential Committee established at the National Meeting. If the intent cannot be determined by this committee after reasonable consideration, the proxy will not be valid.
    4. A Proxy Vote card given to a member who is not present at the National Meeting will not be valid.
    5. A Proxy Card that shows a vote for more than one candidate in each position will not be valid.

Issue 2: Duties of Secretary / Treasurer

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
Section 1.e. Office of Secretary/Treasurer

1.ii. He shall receive all moneys paid in and shall report deposits the same in such bank or banks as shall be approved by the Board of Governors and shall disburse same by the order of said committee. He shall make a periodic report to the Board of Governors as required, and a report to the National Meeting. He shall be required to give bond for the faithful discharge of his duties in a sum with sureties required by the Board of Governors. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be the Financial Officer of the Council of American Master Mariners, Inc. (CAMM), and shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities. The Secretary/Treasurer shall deposit such funds in the name of the corporation in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Governors. The Secretary/Treasurer shall distribute the funds of the corporation as directed by the Board of Governors, shall keep records of account showing, accurately at all times, the financial condition of the corporation, and shall perform such other duties as the By-Laws require or the Board of Governors may prescribe. (amended 1997, 1998, 2008, 2010)

Recommended Change – Addition of Sub-Section 3

  1. A description of how the finances of the corporation shall be conducted is as follows:
    1. CAMM’s fiscal year shall extend from January first to December thirty-first as designated in the bylaws, Art IX, Sec I. All records of finances shall be kept on a fiscal year basis.
    2. The Secretary/Treasurer is the co-signer, with the President, of any audits done for the corporation by a hired independent auditing firm.
    3. The Secretary/Treasurer is co-signer, with the President, of all invested funds and negotiable instrument accounts.
    4. The Secretary/Treasurer, along with the President, shall liaise with any investment advisor and/or firm engaged to manage and invest CAMM funds and he/she shall report the results of these meetings to the President and Board of Governors.
    5. The Secretary/Treasurer shall report to the Board of Governors the financial health and well being of CAMM during the interval from the immediate past meeting and shall recap the entire year. This report shall be done monthly no later than 10 days after the end of the month. A First Quarter report shall be made at the Annual BOG meeting. This shall also include, but not be limited to, a Statement of Cash Flow and a Statement of current Fixed Assets/Liabilities (Balance Sheet). The President may require other reports at his discretion. The report made at the annual meeting shall also include the reports for the preceding year.
    6. The Secretary/Treasurer shall review and develop, with the President, operations budgets. These budgets shall be presented to the Finance Committee for review/approval no later than 45 days prior to the next budget year. On approval the budget shall be presented to the Board of Governors for comment.
    7. Once the budget is approved the President is authorized to spend or not spend fund amounts as listed by category in the budget. If any category will be exceeded by $500 the President shall submit this item to the Board of Governors for approval to increase the limits for this category. The President shall have the authority to spend $500 on other items he deems necessary for the operation of the office of President.
    8. The Secretary/Treasurer shall pay routine bills covered by the budget. Non-routine or bills that exceed the budget must be presented to the president for approval.
    9. The Secretary/Treasurer shall review, with the President and Finance Committee, the Insurance policies that the corporation may have in force and recommend their continuance or modification to the Board of Governors.
    10. The Secretary/Treasurer shall review, with the President and Finance Committee, the investments that the corporation may have and recommend their continuance or modification to the Board of Governors.
    11. The Secretary/Treasurer shall work with the President, and Finance Committee to prepare and present all items of a financial nature to the Board of Governors and, if needed, shall introduce these items for a vote of membership at each annual meeting.
    12. The Secretary/Treasurer shall not be held responsible for the fiduciary health of CAMM’s assets as invested by direction of the Board of Governors.
    (added 2010)

Recommended Change to By-Law Article IX: Revenue – Addition of Sub-Section 4

Article IX: Revenue

4. The Finance Committee shall recommend to the President any dues increase as a result of the budget approval process. The President will present the recommendation to the BOG at least 60 days prior to the AGM for approval at the AGM. (added 2010)

CORRECTION- discrepancy with mailing: Article IX, Revenue Section 4 (annual audits by third party CPA) was removed after a vote at the 2008 AGM in Reno. Due to webmaster error, it was not removed from the website and was not noticed until after the dues invoice mailing went out. CAMM apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.