Bylaws

BY-LAWS OF THE CARIBBEAN CONTESTING CONSORTIUM

I. DEDICATION STATEMENT:

The Caribbean Contesting Consortium (CCC) shall be dedicated to fun, international friendship, and advancement of the contesting art through superior operating technique and maximum application of technology.

II. OBJECTIVES:

CCC Shall:

Join together individuals of common interest in international amateur radio contesting.

Establish a world-class amateur station at Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles for the benefit of the members to use in international contesting. This location has been named "Signal Point."

III. MEMBERSHIP:

Members who were either in the original group of 11 (who are designated as "Founding Members") or subsequently became members by invitation, and who pay the annual Facility Fee, shall be designated as "Full Members."

Full Members have voting rights.

All "Full Members" shall pay an annual "Facility Fee" of $300. Effective June 1, 2001, membership shall be on a 12 month basis beginning June 1. Payments may be made as a lump sum at the beginning of a membership year, or in quarterly installments. The amount of the annual Facility Fee may be adjusted by the Board of Directors.

Applicants for CCC membership must be sponsored by a Founding Member. That Founding Member will arrange for the applicant to receive an information packet. Membership applications will be reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. Approved membership becomes effective with the payment of the initial Facility Fee.

Membership will automatically terminate in the event that fees are unpaid 60 days after any payment due date, unless other arrangements have been approved by the CCC Secretary/Treasurer. In this event, no refunds will be made. Facility fees must be current in order to rent Signal Point.

CCC Full Membership confers the following privileges:

1. Perpetual invitation to operate at Signal Point any time a CCC contest operation has been organized for one of the six annual major contests (ARRL DX, CQWW, CQ WPX, both modes), or the ability to organize your own operation for any non-booked contest.

2. Rebate of all annual Facility Fees, in the form of a rent reduction, if you participate in rental of Signal Point at any time in the future. A maximum of one year’s fees can be applied to each rental. All unused fees will remain on account without expiration.

3. First priority on booking rental of Signal Point for any contest week or any other week of the year.

4. Immunity to rent increases – weekly rental will remain at US$1,000 for CCC members for the foreseeable future, unless modified by the Board of Directors. (Rental for non-members shall increase as improvements to the property and station warrant.)

The number of members may be capped by the Board of Directors.

No memberships will be automatically renewed. Each member must be re-invited by the Board of Directors at the beginning of each membership year. The Board of Directors may terminate the membership of any member at any time. If this occurs, Facility Fees will be refunded on a pro rated basis.

Members may resign from CCC at any time, but CCC will retain that resigned member’s Facility Fees balance.

IV. OFFICERS:

CCC shall have the following officers: President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer. These positions shall have a term of two years, with elections to be held in May of odd-numbered years, beginning in 2001. There are no term limits.

All officers shall be elected by a simple majority vote of the voting members. Nominations may be made by Full members to the Secretary/Treasurer. Voting may be conducted at the annual meeting or in any other method approved by the Board of Directors. Votes are permitted to be cast by e-mail. The number of votes cast must equal or exceed 75% of the members eligible to vote.

If the election is not held for lack of quorum or any other reason, the officers in current office shall retain their offices until such time that CCC is able to hold election of replacement officers.

V. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

The President shall preside at the meetings of the club, decide all questions of order, sign official documents adopted by the club, and perform all other duties pertaining to the office of President.

The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the president in his/her absence, shall provide advice and counsel to the President, and shall serve as CCC activities director, arranging several fun stateside activities each year, such as contest operations, Field Day, and parties.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep a record of the proceedings of club meetings and Board of Directors meetings, keep a roll of members, handle club correspondence as required, receive all monies paid to the club, keep an accurate account of monies received and paid, and prepare annual financial statements as required.

VI. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers plus four additional Directors.

W9EFL and W0CG are appointed as permanent Directors, in recognition of the very large financial support provided by each of them to the establishment of CCC and of Signal Point. The additional Directors shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as the officers, except that they serve six year terms. There are no term limits.

If either of the permanent Directors resigns from the Directorship or dies, the surviving Director shall appoint a CCC member to serve as a new permanent Director.

The Board shall have a Chairman, who shall be selected by the board members by simple majority vote.

In the event that one person serves both as an Officer and as a Director, that person will have one vote for each position.

The Board of Directors shall audit the books of the organization annually, or arrange such audit by outside independent auditors, and prepare annual reports and statements as required.

VII. REMOVAL

A club member may petition the Board for removal of an Officer or a Director. The Board of Directors will then investigate and bring the matter with all evidence before the full membership for a vote. A 75% majority vote of the members will be required for removal. If the person removed is serving both as an Officer and as a Director, both seats are forfeited.

If an Officer or Director resigns or is removed, the Chairman of the Board of Directors will appoint a replacement until nominations and elections can be held in May. If the person who departed held two seats, then the replacement will hold the same two seats.

VIII. COMMITTEES

Station Committee: CCC shall have a Station Committee, headed by an Operations Manager appointed by the Board of Directors. The Station Committee shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining equipment for use at PJ2T, and will establish policies and procedures for funding the maintenance and improvement of PJ2T. The Station Committee shall also lead the design and engineering of PJ2T, while concurrently seeking inputs and advice from the CCC membership. Additional responsibilities include maintaining an accurate inventory of station items, managing security and insurance for the station, leading the safety program, and creating an emergency plan. PJ2T fund drives will be initiated and managed by the Station Committee. The Station Committee shall have the power to spend up to $250 for a single item (a product or a service) without prior approval of the members. All expenditures shall be submitted to the Secretary/Treasurer to be included in the books of the corporation.

Communication Committee: CCC shall have a Communication Committee, headed by a Communications Manager, who is responsible for producing a monthly CCC newsletter and for achieving as much visibility as possible for CCC in the amateur radio community through the use of the Internet, presentations at club meetings and hamfests, production and dissemination of videos, and authoring of articles for print-based amateur radio publications.

The Board of Directors may appoint other standing or ad-hoc committees as required.

IV. BOOKS AND RECORDS

The Secretary/Treasurer shall maintain minutes of membership meetings, Board of Directors meetings, and committees, and will maintain correct books of account for all CCC funds and assets. All these records will be available to all CCC Full Members.

X. LOANS

Loans to any CCC member, or non-members, are prohibited.

XI. GENERAL

CCC is not a chartered corporation.

The annual meeting of the organization will occur in May at a site determined by the Board of Directors. Other meetings may be called by the President, the Board of Directors, or by petition signed by half or more of the Full Members.

XII. FINANCIAL CONCEPTS OF OPERATION

CCC consists of two separate entities: Signal Point, and the PJ2T Station. These entities are managed separately and funded separately.

A. Signal Point

"Signal Point" is the real estate used by CCC for contesting, consisting of the land and the buildings constructed thereon. Signal Point is owned by W0CG and his XYL and is managed by them for the good of the club. The Signal Point management and ownership entity is called "CG/Curacao Group," which has a business checking account by that name. All CCC facility fees are deposited to this account, and are applied to the annual variable costs of operating Signal Point, including taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, oversight, and rental administration. All rent revenues are also deposited to this account. Capital costs (the loan payments) are the responsibility of the owners. All improvements will be funded from this account, supplemented by the owners at their discretion. No profit will be taken out of Signal Point.

The owners have discretion to set Signal Point rental rates for CCC members and non-members, but agree not to change rates without approval of the Board of Directors.

In the event that the QTH must be sold because of a future unforeseen financial emergency, the owners will afford the CCC group right of first refusal to purchase the property.

B. The PJ2T Station

1. Concepts

The PJ2T station, consisting of the equipment, towers, antennas, and feedlines, is funded, administered, and controlled by the CCC Station Committee, subject to voting approval of the Board of Directors on items exceeding $250. The Station Committee has a business checking account called the "PJ2T Building Fund." Funds will never be intermingled between the CG/Curacao Group account and the PJ2T Building Fund account. The Station Committee will clearly define what station assets are owned and what station assets are on loan. All aspects of operating and maintaining the station are the responsibility of the CCC group, as represented by the Station Committee, and not of the owners of Signal Point.

2. Funding

Revenue sources for the Station Committee include an annual Station Support dues assessment of $100/Full Member, all Station Support fees collected in connection with rentals of the station by members and non-members, and donations and proceeds of station fund drives. Station Support fees for members and non-members are set by the Station Committee, with the approval of the Board of Directors.

XIII. SCHEDULING

Rental management and scheduling will be managed by the owners. Each calendar year’s contest schedule will be posted on the web site for the current year and the following calendar year. Each succeeding year will be added in January. CCC members may book unreserved weeks on that schedule at any time, first come, first served. Whenever requests are received from non-CCC members, the owners will first poll the entire CCC membership by E-mail and allow one week for a member to opt to rent before committing that week to the non-member.

XIV. ORGANIZATION OF CONTEST OPERATIONS

For each CCC contest, a "Team Leader" will be designated. This person assumes full responsibility and has full authority for all logistical aspects of that contest, including rental cars, overflow lodging, operator scheduling, financial arrangements within the operator team, food, QSLing, configuration of the station, operating strategy, and other details. The Team Leader has the liability to remit the appropriate rental and station support payments to CCC on behalf of his or her entire team.

XV. HONOR ROLL

All donations of equipment, cash, and other assets, whether to the house or to the station, will be shown on the CCC Honor Roll, which will be posted on the web site, in appreciation for that support.

XVI. AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS

Full members may propose revisions to the bylaws at any time. The proposed revisions are to be submitted to the Secretary/Treasurer, who then places them before the membership for discussion. Following discussion, a vote is called by the Secretary/Treasurer. A 75% majority is required for passage.

XVII. ADOPTION

These By-Laws have been passed and approved this 22^nd day of May, 2001.

Signed: Noel Kindt, W9EFL, President

Doug Klein, K4LT, Vice President

Geoff Howard, W0CG, Secretary/Treasurer