Bylaws of the Prairie Riders Snowmobile Club
Revised April 2023
Article I: Purpose and Name
Section 1: The name of the Club shall be Prairie Riders, Inc. also known as “The Club” throughout this document.
The purpose of the Prairie Riders are to stimulate and advance the general welfare and safety of snowmobiling; to serve the interests of snowmobile owners; to defend such owners against discriminatory legislation, regulations and burdensome taxation; to develop a fraternal spirit among local snowmobile and other winter sport enthusiasts and to provide a medium for the exchange of snowmobiling information; to own or lease property for Club uses; to protect farmers and other land owners’ property by investigating complaints; and to perform all desirable and lawful functions for the successful operation of the Club and in general public interest abide by state and local laws.
Article II: Membership
Section 1: Membership in the Club shall consist of two classes:
- Active Members
b. Honorary Members
Section 2: Family Membership consists of a person and his/her spouse and all unmarried immediate family dependents under the age of 19 living in the same household. Single Membership consists of a single (one) person.
Section 3: Each active adult member over age 19 shall be entitled to one vote.
Section 4: The Board of Directors may establish qualifications and rights of Honorary Members and such action will be brought to the attention of the membership at the next regular meeting.
Section 5: Applications for membership shall be made on the appropriate form containing an agreement by the applicant to abide by the Bylaws of the Club. The applicant becomes a member upon payment of the required dues. Prairie Riders Snowmobile Club does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, etc. in any of the club activities or operations
Section 6: Membership in Club may be terminated by action of the Board of Directors. Termination of the membership will not result in the refund of dues already paid.
Article III: Management
Section 1: The management of the Club shall be vested in the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the club Officers and four Directors. Three directors will be from the at large membership and one director will be the Trail Director/Boss. The immediate past President shall serve on the Board of Directors in an advisory capacity until his/her successor relegates position of President.
Section 2: Each Officer and Director shall be elected to serve for two years and until his/her successor shall be elected and shall qualify.
Section 3: In case vacancies occur on the Board of Directors by reason of death, resignation or otherwise, the active Club Members will, by majority vote, elect a successor or successors for the unexpired term or terms.
Section 4: A majority of the members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of Club business. In the event of a tie, past President shall cast the deciding vote if the past president is available. If the past president is not available, the membership will decide the issue by majority vote at the next general meeting.
Section 5: Upon the request of the President or any two Directors, the Secretary shall call a special meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will meet at least once per year.
Section 6: The Board of Directors may employ whatever personnel they deem necessary and for which funds are available, to aid in the management of the Club and may authorize the expenditure of Club funds in any other manner in the proper furtherance of the purposes of the Clubs.
Section 7: The Board of Directors will obtain approval from the general membership when spending is greater than $500. This will be approved by a majority vote at the meeting prior to spending. When spending is less than $500, the Board of Directors will have discretion to spend with a majority vote of the BOD. Board of Director approval may be done via email. If the board member does not respond to the first email, a follow up email will be sent. If no response after the second email within one week, the vote will be assumed to be affirmative.
Section 8: Business Continuity
In order to assure Prairie Riders Snowmobile Club can continue to operate in the event of someone leaving the club who has critical access to the following, we will have contingencies in place. A list of business contingency plans will be kept in the club’s Google Drive.
- Banking account numbers and passwords: Treasurer and President will hold these.
- AWSC account name and passwords: Treasurer, Membership Chair or Secretary
- Social Media and Website administrator access: Webmaster and Secretary
- Google Drive access: President, Treasurer, and Secretary
- Land Owner/Trail Information: Trail Director and President (kept in Google Drive)
- Minutes: Kept in Google Drive
- Treasurer Reports: Kept in Google Drive
This list is not final. Any other accounts or passwords that are developed within the scope of business should have at least two officers with knowledge of the access requirements including the ability to administer the site, account names, and passwords. Additions to this list will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
Article V: Dues
Section 1: Annual dues are renewed annually.
Section 2: The officers of the Club will not be required to pay annual dues while in office.
Section 3: The trail director/boss and webmaster will not be required to pay annual dues while serving in that role.
Section 4: The membership year will be July 1 through June 30 to align with the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs membership year.
Article VI: Officers
Section 1: The officers of the club shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Membership Chair, and Treasurer. The same person may hold the office of Secretary, Membership Chair and Treasurer.
Section 2: The officers shall be elected from the active members of the Club by plurality vote of the active members present at the March meeting. Any officer may be removed from office by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Board of Directors.
Section 3: Nomination of Officers shall be done in February and the election shall be held in March. All officers shall take office immediately upon election and hold office for a period of two years and until their successor shall have been elected and qualified.
Section 4: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and of its Board of Directors; shall appoint committees as authorized by the Board of Directors; shall be a member of ex-officio of all committees and shall carry on those other responsibilities assigned to him/her by the bylaws and by the Board of Directors.
Section 5: The Vice President during the absence or temporary incapacity of the powers of the President shall perform the duties and have the powers of the President. The Vice President or designee will oversee all raffle ticket sales.
Section 6: The Secretary will keep all club records, other than financial. They will oversee communication to membership such as notification of meetings and club information including emails, newsletters, social media postings and the club website.
Section 7: The Treasurer shall keep all accounts of the Club and have charge of the funds. The Treasurer shall keep all of the Club’s funds in a bank approved by the Board of Directors and in the name of the Club, subject to withdrawals as may be from time to time approved by the Board of Directors and shall disburse the funds of the Club under the direction of the Board of Directors. A Treasurer’s report shall be prepared for each General Meeting and an annual audit shall be prepared and submitted at the March Meeting.
Section 8: The Membership Chair shall accept dues, keep an up-to-date roster of paid members, receive applications for membership, contact inactive or past members to determine status, and recruit new members and maintain all membership correspondence with the AWSC.
Section 9: All officers and committee chairs must submit all newsworthy information to be included in the monthly newsletter to the Secretary or designee by the 1st week of the month or as requested.
Article VII: Fiscal Year
Section 1: The fiscal year of the Club shall begin on the first day of September and end on the thirty-first day of August.
Article VIII: Meetings
Section 1: The meetings of the members of the Club shall be held at the time and place designated by the Officers.
Section 2: Regular meetings of the members of the Club shall be held at least monthly, September through April. Meetings may be canceled as necessary for the safety of members by consensus of the club officers.
Section 3: Written notice of the time and place of the meetings of the membership shall be prepared and distributed to the membership by the Secretary.
Section 4: Special meetings of the Club may be called by the Board of Directors or by the President or by any group of fifteen (15) active members by giving five (5) days written notice of the time, place and purpose of such special meeting.
Section 5: Any formal action taken at any meeting of the membership shall require a majority vote of those active members present.
Article IX: Election Procedure
Section 1: Club members will be notified of the upcoming vacant positions available for Directors and Club Officer positions prior to the February meeting. Members may notify the President of their intent to run for any open position. Nominations will also be taken from the floor at the February meeting. A list of nominees will be submitted to the general membership via email or in the club newsletter prior to the March meeting.
Section 2: The vote will take place at the March meeting. If there is more than one candidate for the office, a ballot will be distributed to each active member over age 19 at the annual March meeting. Votes will be tallied by a committee of 3 active members. The new Directors and Officers will be announced prior to the end of the meeting. Ties will be settled by a coin toss.
Article X: Rules
Section 1: All members of the Club must comply with the laws of the state they are riding in and should use common sense while using the trails.
Section 2: Social Media
Many Prairie Riders choose to use a wide variety of Social Media channels personally. Your use of Personal/Non-sponsored Social Media is your decision, and you are personally responsible for YOUR views and for the content you publish and share in these channels. You should take care with what you share, publish, post or otherwise disclose, and remember that anything you post may be public for an indefinite period of time, even if you attempt to delete or modify it later. If you choose to mention Prairie Riders or your involvement with Prairie Riders in any of your Social Media channels, please refrain from posting views that do not reflect those of the Prairie Riders and AWSC.
Your Prairie Rider dues includes your dues to the AWSC. The AWSC is dedicated to the preservation of snowmobiling in Wisconsin and is continually advocating for new trails as well as maintaining and enhancing existing trails. In addition, the AWSC monitors regulations and proposed legislation that could affect snowmobiling. Without the watchful eye of the AWSC, Wisconsin would not have a network of 25,000 miles of snowmobile trail which is ranked in the top three trail systems in the nation.
We ask that all Social Media posts that mention either the Prairie Riders or AWSC reflect snowmobiling in a positive light.
Section 3: Operational Policies
To ensure continuity in operational procedures, a policy may be developed and approved. Approval will require a motion to accept the policy as written, second and a majority of the membership present at the meeting voting to approve. Policies will be maintained by the Secretary and will be reviewed by the Board of Directors along with the by-laws annually.
Article XI: Amendments
Section 1: These by-laws must be amended in the following manner:
- Discussion and presentation of a motion for the amendment at a meeting.
- Ratification requires the affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the active members of the club who are present at the following meeting.
