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Southern Maryland Search & Rescue Dogs, Inc.
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By-Laws

Article I - Name and Purpose

Section A - Name:  Southern Maryland Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc.

Section B - Purpose:  As a non-profit organization we shall provide volunteer search and rescue using canines and emergency medical care as indicated.

Article II - Membership

Section A:  Active Duty Membership

  1. The active membership shall not exceed 25 persons;

    1. 10 members assigned to K-9 Division.
    2. 15 members assigned to Operations Division.

  2. Application Process;

    1. Prospective members shall pay a $5.00 application fee. The fee is non-refundable. This will cover the cost of copying the packet and paying the postage. Prospective members shall submit an application for Probationary status. The application must be in possession of the Director at least 2 weeks prior to the next regular business meeting, or the applicant will have to wait until the next regular business meeting. The applicant must be present at the regular business meeting that his/her application is being submitted. If the applicant is accepted by the membership, with a simple majority vote, the said person is then placed on probationary status for 6 months, not to exceed 1 year.
    2. After the 6 months probationary status is up, the said person's activities will be discussed in private by the membership. The membership has the option to place the person on 6 more months probation or vote the said person in as an Active Member.

      1. At the end of the second 6 month probation period the membership has the option to vote the said person in as an Active Member, or terminate him/her from the organization.
      2. Once the said person is terminated from SMSARD, he/she must wait one year from the date of termination before reapplying.

  3. Probationary Persons can not:

    1. Vote or hold office
    2. Be on probation for more that one year
    3. Respond to search call-outs with out the written consent of the Director and/or passing SMSARD's Operational Test.

  4. Active Members:

    1. Can vote and hold office
    2. May not respond to Search Call-outs with out the written consent of the Director and/or passing SMSARD's Operational Test.
    3. Must pay annual dues of $25.00 each year due by October 31st. Members failing to pay will be placed on suspension until dues are paid.
    4. Must attend ½ of the business meetings in a year to be eligible to vote during election of officers. Members who can not attend the meeting must notify the Director or Assistant Director to be excused.
    5. Members that are Operational are required to remove themselves from Operational Status if they are placed on Medication that would interfere with the performance of their search & rescue duties.
    6. Members that are under medical care must provide written permission from there physician to continue functioning in an Operational status.
    7. Who will be absent from SMSARD for more than 60 days, may request a leave of absence, herein referred to as LOA. The request must be made in writing and may not exceed 6 months. If the person is absent for 60 days or more, they must retest their canine.

      1. Members entering the military or college may be granted up to 4 years LOA provided they remain in the military or school during that time. Upon returning the said person must retest there canine.

Article III - Officers and Duties

Section A - Administrative Officers:  Includes Director, Assistant Director, And Secretary/Treasurer

1.   Director - Presides at all meetings, appoints with the Assistant Director, Lieutenants to head the K-9 Section, Medical Section, and Operations Section. Serves as ex-officio member of all committees, and is responsible for all administrative activities of SMSARD's business affairs. Co-signs all checks drawn against the treasury. The director reserves the right to delegate any and all of his/her duties as he/she sees fit. The Director can also place any member on administrative suspension until an Emergency meeting can be called. An emergency meeting can be called no longer than 3 days from the time of suspension. The person being placed on administrative suspension will be notified in writing and verbally by the Director. The Director maintains yearly search status, training hours by each member, and will compile a year end report for same. Keeps and maintains personnel records.
2.   Assistant Director - Assists Director in his/her functions. Maintains the teams inventory on the SAR Trailer, Maintains the SAR Attendance Log, and forwards the records to the Director for statistical purposes. Acts as the Director if he/she is not available.
3.   Secretary/Treasurer - Keeps minutes at all SMSARD Meetings, performs secretarial duties as needed. Maintains financial records of SMSARD, co-signs all checks drawn against the treasury. Pays SMSARD's bills, and creates a yearly budget.

Article IV - Lieutenants

Section A - Lieutenant, K-9 Section:

1.  Qualifications - Must have an Operational K-9 and be an active member for 1 year before being eligible for this appointment.
2.  Responsibilities
 
  1. Schedule K-9 Training
  2. Maintains the SMSARD K-9 Training Levels
  3. Advises the Director when a K-9 and handler are ready for their Operational Test
  4. Explains the training levels to the new K-9 Handlers, (this can also be done by the Director or Assistant Director)
  5. Sits on any board level meetings
  6. Coordinates training with Medical & Operations Section

Section B - Lieutenant, Medical Section:

1.  Qualifications - Must be a Maryland Emergency Medical Technician-B, or higher, an active member of a St. Mary's County Rescue Squad, and be an active member with SMSARD for 1 year before being eligible for this appointment.
2. : Responsibilities
 
  1. Maintains Medical Certifications and records on SMSARD members
  2. Establishes & maintains Standard Operating Procedures for the EVAC Medics
  3. Accepts applications for prospective medics, and coordinates a meeting with Board Level members for an interview
  4. Maintains no more than 4 active EVAC Medics on SMSARD's roster
  5. Sits on all board level meetings
  6. Coordinates training with the K-9 & Operations Section

Section C - Lieutenant, Operations Section:

1.  Qualifications - Serves as Incident Commander on no less than 10 active searches, and must be an active member for 1 year before being eligible for this appointment.
2.  Operations Personnel Include
 
  1. Incident Commander
  2. Planning Section
  3. Documentation
  4. Logistics
  5. Communications
3.  Responsibilities
  1. Establishes & Maintains Standard Operating Procedures for Operations Personnel
  2. Accepts applications for prospective Operations Personnel and coordinates a meeting with the board level personnel & applicant for an interview
  3. Advises the Director when the member is ready to be activated for SMSARD Search Missions
  4. Sits on all board level meetings.
  5. Coordinates training with K-9 & Medical Section.

Article V - Elections

Section A:  Nominations can only be made by active members of SMSARD.

Section B:  The nominations and elections will be held in the October business meeting.

Section C:  Voting will be by secret ballot, unless the office is uncontested. The majority of the eligible members present and voting shall constitute an election to office.

  1. Vacancies shall be filled by election at the next regular business meeting. The newly elected officer shall complete the remainder of the expired term.
  2. Any member who does not attend ½ of the regular business meetings will not be eligible to vote.

Article VI - Disciplinary Procedures

Section A:  Any breach of discipline or grievance or altercation must be brought to the attention of the Director with in 2 days of the incident, and in writing. The Director and Assistant Director may take the following action:

  1. Dismiss the charges.
  2. Place the blame on the guilty party or parties, and take one or more of the following actions:

    1. Issue a verbal warning
    2. Issue a written reprimand to be placed in the members file.

Section B:  If the infraction is deemed serious enough the Director and Assistant Director must forward the incident to the membership to take the following action:

  1. Follow Section A; 1 or 2 (a or b)
  2. Suspend the member from the organization for a specified amount of time, not to exceed 3 months.
  3. Charge for the actual amount of physical damage
  4. Terminate the member from the Organization

Section C:  Any member of SMSARD who is charged by due process of the law with a FELONY, or any controlled dangerous substance laws shall be immediately suspended from SMSARD pending final action from the courts. If found guilty they will be terminated from SMSARD. In the event the member takes a plea for a lesser charge (misdemeanor), the member will still be terminated. If the member is found not-guilty of the charges, he/she will be reinstated to full active status.

Section D - Removal of an Officer:

  1. A petition for removal must be made and presented in writing to the Director, and signed by ¾ of the active membership.
  2. A special meeting of SMSARD will be called within 5 working days and the charges presented.
  3. A secret ballot vote will be taken. A removal will require the ¾ vote of the eligible members present and voting.

Article VII - Amendments

Section A:  Amendment proposals must be made in writing and presented to the membership at a regular business meeting. The proposal will be read and tabled until the next business meeting, at which time a vote will be taken. A ¾ vote by the membership shall be necessary to adopt any amendment.

Article VIII - Effective Date of By-Laws

Section A:  These Constitution & By-Laws become effective upon the date of adoption.

Latest Revision (December, 1998)

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