Organization 

Article 1: Name

Section 1: The Club shall be called “The Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club.”

Section 2: The address of the Club shall be that of the Secretary-Treasurer.

Article 2: Object

Section 1: The object of the Club shall be to promote the breeding and showing of the Plymouth Rock Breed, both Large and Bantam; to urge the adoption of the true type and color by breeders, exhibitors, and judges; to advance the true interests of the breed and to bring their unequaled good qualities to the attention of the world.

Article 3: Code of Ethics

The Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club stands for the following principles and expects its members to be governed by them:

Section 1: To believe implicitly in the future of Plymouth Rocks and to consider them one of the best all-purpose breeds.

Section 2: To protect the public through truthful advertising, honest, upright business methods, through the sales of hatching eggs, chicks, and stock.

Section 3: To advertise only true and accurate records of winnings in the showroom. To avoid exaggerated and misleading claims in connection with all advertising.

Section 4: To advertise any office or honorary position of the Club for the purpose of personal gain is not in keeping with the spirit of the Code of Ethics.

Section 5:  The Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club looks upon its officers as honorary and does not regard it as either necessary or dignified on the part of any candidate to carry on a campaign along ordinary political lines.

Section 6: To accept any office in the Club is an acknowledgment on the part of the incumbent that he or she is willing to carry out the duties of such office.

Section 7: To become a member of the club is to accept the duties of voting for officers and to promote the Club interest and goodwill.

Article 4: Membership

Section 1: All members of the Club shall be active members to the best of their ability.

Section 2:  Any person of good character and reputation, who fancies, breeds, shows or judges Plymouth Rocks shall be eligible to become a member.

Section 3: Applications for membership may be made through the Secretary, and must be accompanied by the appropriate membership fees.

Section 4: Membership shall be acknowledged by a Club membership card and shall date from the time such acknowledgment, terminating on December 31. Any member who has not paid his or her dues by December 31 shall receive a warning notice and if his or her dues are not paid within 30 days, the Secretary shall drop his or her name from the membership rolls.

Section 5: Annual dues shall be $20.00 for an individual, $10.00 for Juniors under 18 per calendar year.******

Section 6: Misconduct: Charges of misconduct of a member must be made in writing, either to the Secretary-Treasurer or the President; no other method shall be acted on. They shall be considered, with the defense of the accused, by the Executive Committee, together with the Secretary-Treasurer. The said committee may, on a majority vote, suspend for a stated time or expel the member.

Article 5: Officers

Section 1: The officer of the Club shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and eight District Directors.

Section 2: All officers, except the Secretary-Treasurer, shall be elected by a vote of the membership by ballot, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared the winner. District Directors shall be elected by a majority vote of members in their District.

Section 3: The Secretary-Treasurer shall be appointed by the President within 14 calendar days after the election and shall be subject to dismissal by the Executive Committee at any time his or her conduct is such as to warrant his or her removal from office, he or she could come from other offices. The Secretary-Treasurer shall not act as Election Judge.

Section 4: The general supervision and conduct of the Club shall be vested in the Executive Committee, which shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and eight District Directors. In case of a tie on any voting matter, the President shall cast an additional vote.

Section 5: The Executive Committee shall carry out the instructions of the Club, shall make such rules as may be deemed necessary during the year, award prizes, etc. and shall perform such other duties as are delegated by the Constitution and By-Laws.

Section 6: The President, at such meetings as he or she may attend, shall carry out the instructions of the Executive Committee, shall approve and authorize claims against the club (but no expenditures shall be authorized beyond the assets of the Club) and shall perform such other duties as are customary to the office and not herein otherwise delegated.

Section 7: The Vice President shall conduct all meetings in the absence of the President and perform such duties as are customary to the office and perform such other duties as may be delegated to that office. He or she shall receive all bids for all regional and national meets from the Secretary-Treasurer and shall be in charge of selecting the best three for voting on by the membership. He or she shall be responsible for coordinating all regional and national meets.

Section 8: The Secretary-Treasurer shall, as secretary, conduct all general correspondence and keep the record of the club. He or she shall, as Treasurer, collect all money due and shall pay from the funds of the Club such claims as are authorized and approved. He or she shall receive all bids for regional and national meets and relay them on to the Vice-President. He or she shall be responsible for sending show reports and prizes to host clubs of all Regional and National Meets. He or she shall send a current copy of the Constitution and By-Laws to all new members and to new officers. ******

Section 9: There shall be eight districts with each containing the following states and countries.****

District 1 – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

District 2 – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, and New York.

District 3 – Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

District 4 – Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana.

District 5 – Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Missouri.

District 6 – Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Iowa.

District 7 – Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and Hawaii.

District 8 – Canada and Alaska

Section 10: District Directors shall place District and State meets and help members in their district in any way they can. They shall relay information on and requests from members to the Secretary-Treasurer if necessary. They shall send information about their placements of meets to the Secretary-Treasurer as soon as their decision is made.

Section 11: If vacancies occur, the vacancy shall be filled by Presidential appointment, said appointee to hold office until the next election.

Article 6: Nominations and Elections

Section 1: The Club shall hold an election every two years. No officer shall hold an elected office for more than two consecutive terms.

Section 2: The Election Commissioner shall be appointed by the President and shall not be a candidate for office.

Section 3: Nomination ballots for officers shall be mailed to all members by the Election Commissioner on or before October 15.

Section 4: Nomination ballots must be returned to the Election Commissioner before November 1.

Section 5: The election by ballot shall be on December 1 and ballots must be in the office of the Election Commissioner no later than December 15 to be valid.

Section 6: The Election Commissioner will count the ballots and shall send a notarized statement as to its correctness to the Secretary-Treasurer within ten days and he or she must retain the ballots for at least 90 days.

Section 7: The Official Ballot shall be mailed to each member in the following manner: The ballot to have printed on it the names and addresses to be voted for and opposite each name shall be a square printed. The ballots shall contain the date they must be mailed to be valid.

Article 7: Meetings

Section 1: Annual meetings of the club must be held, and as many subsequent meetings as the President deems necessary. The annual meeting will be held at the site of the National Show.

Article 8: Financing

Section 1: The Club may be financed, other than dues and contributions, by raffles, bingo, bake sales, or any other way within the bounds of our State and Government Laws.

Article 9: Club Meets and Prizes

An established set of Club Meet rules shall be set up by the Executive Committee, and all meets shall be under the direction of a designate of the President, and shall be authorized to offer prizes, purchased from club funds, subject to the approval of the President or by the vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 1: The Executive Committee shall establish a set of rules for all Club meets (Special, State, District, Regional, and National)

Section 2: The Executive Committee shall decide upon a list of prizes for the five types of club meets.

Article 10: Publications

Section 1: The Club may, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, issue such monthly, quarterly, or annual publications as they deem advisable.

Article 11: Amendments

Section 1: The Constitution and By-laws may be altered or amended by a majority vote of the votes received from members in good standing.

Section 2: Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall become part thereof after having received a majority of those voting.

Article 12: National Meets

Section 1: The Country shall be divided into three sections, the East (Eastern Time Zone), The West (Mountain and Pacific Time Zone) and Central (Central Time Zone). There shall be one National Meet each year and it shall be rotated to a different section each year.****

Section 2: The National Meet sites will be voted upon by the club members based on the three best proposals submitted by the areas of the country where the meets are to be held.

Section 3: Those areas of the country not being considered for a National Meet will each have one Regional Meet in any given year. The Vice-President shall solicit bids and place these Regional Meets.**

Article 13: Hall of Fame******

A standing committee may present members meeting the following criteria as potential inductees to the Plymouth Rock Hall of Fame. This prestigious group of breeders are to be remembered always for their efforts and accomplishments in breeding and showing Plymouth Rocks.

Section 1: Nominees must be paid up members of the Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club with at least 15 years experience raising and showing Plymouth Rocks.

Section 2: A Hall of Fame candidate should be active in Club functions such as committee work, serving in an office or as a Director, or writing articles for the newsletter.

Section 3: A Hall of Fame candidate needs to show his/her birds and earn points towards Master Breeder/Exhibitor status.

Section 4: Consistency is also part of the criteria for consideration, such as showing Plymouth Rocks, helping new breeders and junior members, and sharing either by selling or donating stock, chicks or eggs.

Section 5: Nominees will be voted upon by the entire membership by special ballot and if approved, may receive an appropriate award.

Adopted 11/73
Amended 11/76
*Amended 01/86
**Amended 09/89
***Amended 12/92
****Amended 01/03
*****Amended 11/09
*****Amended 9/18
******Amended 9/20