NABF By-laws
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SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY
There shall be two types of membership open to all persons 18 years of age or older, who subscribe to the same agenda as the NABF, the Code of Ethics, and who are not issues of any disciplinary measures by any other association, or who have criminal records concerning animals or who have been involved with or brought up on formal charges for animal abuse, neglect or inapproPriate actions concerning animals.
membership is as follows:
1. Individual. Allows all club privileges including the right to vote, as everyone in the NABF may vote on every important issue that will impact the forward progression of the club.
2. Household. Open to two persons 18 years of age and older who reside in the same household, each allowed all the privileges of the club, including each having one vote.
The club membership can refuse or deny any applying member to the club for any reason it sees fit. This helps to safeguard the club from having members who have shown to conduct themselves in a less than admirable way at show events, other dog related events, at public fuctions and etc, and who could bring undue criticism or scandal to the club or the breed.
SECTION 2. DUES
The amount of the dues of each membership category has already been pre-determined by a majority decision by the founding members of the NABF. The dues as of the founding date are $20 individual and $25 family yearly.
Dues are payable per year on or before January 1st of each year. No member whose dues are unpaid for the current year may vote, nor will any show points be counted or awards be presented during times when dues are late, unpaid or any outstanding balance is owned to the NABF. The club Secretary will email or send by regular mail (regular mail mailings will be made only to the members without computer access) a statement to each member of dues for the upcoming year during the month of October.
SECTION 3. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Each applicant for membership shall apply on a form pre-approved by the founding members of the club, which shall provide that the applicant agrees to abide by the Constitution, By-Laws, Code of Ethics, and the Rules of the NABF, AKC and UKC.
The application shall state the name, address, and phone number of the applicant and shall be submitted to the club via regular mail to the club Secretary. The secretary will submit the application to the membership for approval. The membership will then approve or deny the applicant via the club mailing list and the applicant will then be notified by email or regular mail of the approval or denial of their application. This approval process  is required to be done only once, at the time of the initial application to become a new member. If any information on initial member application ever changes, notification of these changes needs to be made via regular mail or email to the club email address or club PO Box. Accompanying the membership application and signed Code of Ethics, the prospective member shall submit dues payable for the current year. If the applicant is denied membership, payment of dues will be returned promptly.
Affirmative votes of 51% of the club membership voting by public mailing list, shall be required to approve an applicant. A file will be permanently placed on the club mailing list that will reflect the vote tallies and outcome of the vote of members for each year. Applicants for membership who have been rejected by the club may not re-apply again within that calendar year.
The NABF reserves the right to place all new members on a temporary probationary period that may last from 30 to 90 days (length of time is left up to the discretion of the NABF membership) and may vary from person to person.
Probationary status, and length, will be determined by members at time of voting to approve membership status. At time of membership and approval, the NABF will be considering that all information submitted by the individual seeking membership, to be complete, accurate and forthcoming. The NABF reserves the right to refuse, and additionally revoke membership to anyone who has been untruthful with the NABF, has witheld pertinent information or has in any way, shape or form, mis-represented themselves in order to gain membership status to the club.
The club does not look favorably on those individuals who broker animals for a living, or take part in selling or distributing animals (for profit) who are not the breeders of the animals they are distributing, nor is it looked on favorably where any member engages in actions that may be found to be of questionable ethics. The club may deny or revoke the membership of any member who is found to be in violation of such clauses. During the probationary period, should any new member be found to be in violation, their membership may be pulled without a club vote, as this such clause would superceed such by being voted in as a by-law that the club majority is in agreement with.
If such action is taken and a members club status is pulled during the probationary period, a member vote to either suspend or reinstate the individual will be officially posted to the mailing list within 48 hours. The 51% majority vote will determine the fate of the individual. If the vote is in favor to reinstate, the member will be reinstated within 10 days without incidence. If the vote is in favor to suspend, the length and type of action will be voted on additionally by the membership, to determine the final fate of the member.
SECTION 4. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
Members may be terminated:
A. By Resignation. Any member in good standing may resign from the club upon written notice to the club by mailing list or by submitting a private email or private letter by regular mail to the club Secretary; but no member may resign when in debt to the club. Resignation as a members does not allow any portion of dues paid for the year to be returned. Dues or balances owed to the club are considered a debt to the club and they become incurred on the first day of each fiscal year.
B. By Lapsing. A member shall be considered as lapsed and automatically terminated if such member’s dues remain unpaid 30 days and beyond; however the club may grant an additional 30 day grace period in extenuating circumstances. In no case may a person whose dues are unpaid have voting rights or be able to incur show points or awards.
C. By Expulsion:  Members who have been expelled from the privileges of any registry or club during any point in their membership to the NABF, will also have such measures carried over and upheld by the NABF, but the NABF itself will not hand down discipline on it's own. The NABF shall give no term that is any longer nor of greater value than that handed down by the registry or club entities.
SECTION 5. MEETINGS
 PART 1. CLUB MEETINGS
Since the club has an active mailing list, a yearly NABF meeting is not required. All issues involving the club, issues of discipline and etc, can and will be done on the mailing list primarily.
 PART 2. SPECIAL CLUB MEETINGS
Special meetings may be called by a majority vote of the club members. Such meetings shall be at a time, date, and place designated by a majority vote as well. Written notice of such meetings shall be mailed or emailed by the NABF Secretary at least 14 days prior to, but not more than 30 days prior to the meeting. The notice of the meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting.
 PART 3. CONFIRMATION OF OUTCOMES OF MEETINGS
Upon the commencement and completion of a special meeting, the club secretary will post meeting notes in a special file on the mailing list within 30 days of the date the meeting was held.
 PART 4.
In special cases, the club members may opt to do club business by telephone provided it does not conflict with any other provisions of the By-Laws. Items voted upon by telephone conference call, will be confirmed by the club Secretary, via club file upload in writing, within 30 days.
SECTION 6.
Meetings: Meetings are defined as gatherings where club members are in attendance and participate in club decisions.
Voting: Voting will be conducted via the club mailing list, unless a member does not have access to a computer, where then the member will be called by the club secretary, and their vote will be recorded that way. Members lacking access to a computer must notify the club secretary of such, and must specifically ask the club secretary to make contact by phone during each voting session. Secretary cannot be responsible if member is not able to be reached by phone or if member fails to officially notify secretary that they wish to be contacted by phone for each voting issue.
1. Every club member must be provided with the means to participate, but, issues voted upon are given only 48 hours to be voted on. After 48 hours, no additional votes will be counted, tabulated or accepted.
2. A procedure must be in place to verify the identity of the individuals participating to ensure that they are all eligible club members. All member votes must be the true vote of each actual member. No one may act on the behalf of another member without their explicit permission regarding voting issues.
3. To ensure that all club members have read and understood all club proposals being voted on, it is required that all members respond, and give an answer to all questions presented in a vote. If the vote consists of 2, 3 or more part questions, please address each question clearly and completely before submitting your vote to the mailing list, or you risk your vote not being counted.
4. All club members, upon membership approval, agree to participate in this manner.
SECTION 7.
YAHOO LIST: At any time, if anything from the club mailing list is deliberately cross posted in any manner without the explicit permission from the group, the offender will be automatically unsubscribed from the list, their membership pulled for the remainder of the calender year, and they must then apply again to the club for approval of membership the following year, just like a first time member is required to do.
SECTION 8. DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
SECTION 1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The club shall NOT have a board of directors. This club will have basic titles for the members who must act on the clubs behalf in order to achieve the clubs goals. Such titles will be Secretary,  Healthy Dogue Foundation Representative, Conformation Records Official, Treasurer, Co-Treasurer, NABF Personal Relations Officer as well as other positions deemed necessary as the club progresses. All persons holding positions within the club must be members in good standing and residents of the United States or Canada.
A person shall hold a title and position within the club free of charge and for as long as they are able, and for as long as the membership feels they are adequate to hold such position.
The NABF is a club of choice where every person gets a vote every time regarding major issues that impact the club. At no time will a Board of Directors be enacted, nor will there be a single person who holds a position where they make all the decisions solely for this club without the input and approval of the club majority.
It is also a non-negotiable rule in the NABF that there will never be a Board of Directors. To protect the rights of full democracy of this club, it cannot be brought to a vote to enact a small group or a specific person to reign over the club. The club is to be dissolved before such a take over was ever to occur.
Members who have been voted in or volunteered for jobs of different committees are not considered members with jobs of power or any influence for voting or decision making. Anyone holding a volunteer or voted in job, is NOT a person of power to contact, is NOT a board person, and the group/club as a whole, should be contacted/informed on information regarding the club.
Every 2 years the club secretary will post a note to the club list, asking the members if they feel the people currently serving in working positions have served satisfactorily or not in their opinion.  It will be asked if the membership has any objections to these same people continuing their current job positions. If 3 or less objections are stated, the individual will continue on with their current position for another 2 years time.  If there are more than 3 objections to the individual continuing to serve in their position, it will then go to a vote to detemine a majority vote as to whether this individual will continue holding this position. Anyone wishing to step down from a position may do so, but as a courtesy to the club it is asked that a 30 day notice is given to the club so sufficient time may be provided for the club to find someone else to fill this position.
SECTION 9. ELIGIBILITY
No person may be elected to any position without their approval in advance. Any person considered for any type of club position must be honest, forthright, trustworthy and a member of the NABF in good standing. One person, if qualified, may hold multiple titles if the club membership agrees this is for the best benefit of the club.
SECTION 10. OFFICERS
A) The club secretary shall preside over all meetings of the NABF, in person or on line. It is the secretary's duty to keep things moving in a cohesive pattern during times of voting and/or disagreements within the club, and to remind members of rules and guidelines for the NABF. It is also the Secretary's duty to compile all information from club votes (formal & non-formal) and important club issues, and record them within the files of the club mailing list. The Secretary will also make sure hard copies are made, so should something happen and the mailing list is lost for some unknown reason, all the important information is secure.
B) Should the Secretary be unable to perform his/her duties at any point, the Treasurer shall take command and have the same responsibilties as the secretary. The succession beyond the Treasurer will be Co-Treasurer and from there to the Personal Relations Officer. Any sucession beyond that will have to be determined by a majority club vote.
C) The Secretary shall act as the corresponding and recording secretary, and will be the cornerstone of the club, keeping a record of everything the club does, says or enacts. The Secretary shall also keep a roll of the members of the NABF and their addresses and carry out other duties as are specified in these By-Laws.
By being a member of the club, you may have access to the members listing information, but this information is at no point to be shared with any people outside of the NABF membership.
D) The Secretary shall have charge of club correspondence as well as notifying members of new voting issues and notifying new members of their election to membership. Some issues of club correspondence may be deligated from the Secretary to the Personal Relations Officer.
E) The Treasurer shall collect and receive all monies due or belonging to the NABF. She/He shall deposit all club monies in a bank account that will be under the name of the NABF. Her/His books shall at all times be open to the inspection of the club, and will be posted in the FILES portion of the club mailing list. He/she shall report to the membership, once yearly, the NABF's finances and every item of receipt or payment not before reported. At the annual on-line club finances meeting, he/she shall render an account of all monies received and expended during the previous year. His/Her report of the previous year shall also be published in the newsletter yearly.
The Co-Treasuer of the club must also keep hard copies of yearly club expense reports and must be willing to act on behalf of the club in the event the Treasurer is unable to do so.
SECTION 11. VACANCIES
Any vacancy in positions within the club will be put to a vote in regard to a new candidate (unless there is a volunteer), and from there will be voted on by a club majority.
SECTION 12. CLUB YEAR. VOTING, NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS
PART 1. CLUB YEAR
The club’s fiscal year shall begin January 1st and end December 31st. Each retiring/resigning Officer shall turn over to his successor in office, all properties and records relating to that office within 30 days of his/her official retirement/resignation. All information, on paper, disc or etc that pertains to the club, is considered club property and must be handed over when the club requests such.
SECTION 13. VOTING
Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. All votes must be cast by mailing list or by personal telephone call to the Secretary.
Should any vote come to an even FOR and AGAINST standstill (50% for and 50% against), the proposal will either be denied completely or refused for the time being until further revisions have been made, and then presented to the membership once again for a second vote. Should there be no majority agreement (of 51 % of the membership FOR it), the issue will be considered excused, and things will stand as they were.
A denied proposal or proposal lacking enough support for the same issue, cannot be presented more than 3 times in one calendar year, and a re-vote for an issue that has already been voted on and has passed cannot be presented more than once per calendar year, except to clarify or improve the wording. There must be at least 5 members supporting this re-submission in order for a new vote to be entertained.
Any proposed vote must have a minimum of 5 voters casting their votes in order for it to be considered valid. A proposal lacking 5 voters can be immediately proposed again for an additional 48 hours after the first 48 hours of voting has closed, to give additional voters the opportunity to cast their vote. Previous votes already cast will be automatically rolled over to the second submission. A 3rd submission, for an additional 48 hours will be allowed as well. Any other submissions beyond that would have to wait until the next calendar year. This will only apply to voting issues with less than 5 minimum vote tallies. All votes receiving 5 or more votes, will permanently close after 48 hours and no additional votes will be allowed again for that calendar year.
SECTION 14. NOMINATIONS AND BALLOTS
No person may be a candidate in the club election who is not in good standing, is in debt to the club or is not current on dues, or who has not been nominated in accordance with these By-Laws. There will be no nominating committee in the NABF, as nominations will be approved via an agreement of the majority of the club members via the club mailing list.
A. If one or more nominations are requested by the club members, a vote will commence to decide who is most qualified. If the club membership feels that the position would be best suited to include both nominees, it is within the rights of the members to vote both parties in, and both nominees can assume duties of the position, working together harmoniously in an effort to best represent the club.
B. Members can volunteer for positions. A note will be posted to the mailing list, asking if any members have any objections to the volunteering member taking this position. If no objections are noted with 48 hours, the volunteering member is awarded the position.
C. Nominations cannot be made in any other manner than provided above.
SECTION 15 - APPOINTEES.
PART 1.
Any nomination or office appointment may be terminated by a majority vote of the club members upon written notice (via email or via regular mail - whichever the club secretary prefers) to the appointee; and the club may appoint successors to those persons whose service has been terminated.
SECTION 16. DISCIPLINE
The NABF functions as a free rights club, and therefore will not accept, entertain or get involved in any formal complaints presented to the club regarding their members. The NABF Public ReLations Officer(s) will make attempts to help feuding parties come to an amicable agreement in order to resolve the issue. If this cannot be done, the P.R.Officers will therefore refer the parties to file their complaints to either the authorites, registry entities, other clubs, with courts of law, state attorney generals or through the Better Business Bureau. The NABF is a fanciers club whose goal is to help foster friendships and ties within the Dogue de Bordeaux community, and will not participate in issues that may cause controversy or division between breeders and fanciers.
SECTION 17. SUSPENSION
Any member who is suspended from the privileges of the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, The Dogue De Bordeaux Society of America or has been disciplined by any other authoratative entity regarding animals, automatically shall be suspended or banned from the privileges of this club. The severity and type of discipline will be no more severe than that imposed by the above stated entities.
Any member witholding such information in order to obtain membership status will be given the maximum punishment of lifetime expulsion from the NABF.
SECTION 18. CHARGES
The NABF club is not a club in which paultry or trivial issues will be considered of concern. Upholding good ethics within NABF membership is the responsibility of each individial breeder/member to uphold. Each member is required to regulate/police themselves and present an ethical basis for their breeding kennel. The NABF will not act to police breeders, nor force them to subscribe to any specific issues. Each person is expected to be of such ethical fiber that The club's proposed COE and all by-laws come naturally to them as upstanding representatives of this fine breed.
 The club will have a Public Relations person(s) who will help parties resolve disputes between one another in an amicable way, and will further refer them to other entities in which to make any complaints from that point on.
SECTION 19. HEARINGS
No hearings regarding complaints will be allowed, as complaints are not filed or accepted through the NABF. However, the clubs public relations officer(s) may organize a meeting, by phone, by web or in person, to try to help parties resolve issues through mediation.
SECTION 20. EXPULSION
Expulsion or suspension of a member from the club may be accomplished only by following suit from disciplinary action taken by AKC, UKC, courts of law or any animal club or entity. The type of action taken will be no more severe that the decision handed down by such authorities. This does not apply to a new member who is under a probationary status, as their membership may be pulled for any reason the club membership see fit.
SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS
PART 1.
Amendments to the Constitution, By-Laws, and breed standard may be proposed by the club members or by written petition addressed to the Secretary signed by 51% or more of the membership in good standing. Amendments proposed by such petition shall be promptly considered by the club and must be submitted to the membership with recommendations by the Secretary for a vote within 3 months of the date when the petition was received by the Secretary.
If approved, the club will work together in making these changes, and all inconsistencies will come down to a majority club vote.
SECTION 22.
No Amendments to the Constitution, By-Laws and the standard for the breed by the Association shall become effective until it has been approved by a club majority.
SECTION 23. DISSOLUTION
PART 1.
The club may be dissolved at any time by written consent of not less than 75% of the total members in good standing. In the event of dissolution, other than for purposes of re-organization, whether voluntary or involuntary or by operation of law, none of the property, nor any proceeds, nor assets of the club shall be distributed to any members of the club, but after payment of the debts of the club owes, shall be given to a charitable organization for the benefit of dogs, selected by the club majority.
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