Constitution & By-Laws

Name

The name of this association is RETIREES INVITATIONAL GOLF GROUP (RIGG), a non-profit association located in Santa Clara County, State of California.

Purpose and Profile

1. To organize, promote and provide for senior golfers to join for golf, fellowship and recreation while furthering the best interests of the game of golf.
2. To encourage conformance to the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA), rules of golf.
3. To maintain a uniform system of handicapping scores as set forth in the NCGA/USGA Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN); where official handicap indexes shall be issued for all members.
4. RIGG is overseen by a board of directors (Board, or Officers) who govern RIGG and organize club outings and competition at various courses.
5. Membership in RIGG is aligned with the NCGA where Associate Clubs are formed by golfers who are “associated by common interest” and play at varied courses. Common interests include Age, Occupation, Company, Alumni associations, Ethnicity, Religion, Locations, etc., as noted in NCGA documents. An example of an Associate Club is the “Fore Women Golf Association (FWGA) which provides opportunities for women to play golf with other women….” RIGG’s associate NCGA club membership is that of retired men.

Membership, Dues and Meetings

1. New Applicants must be recommended by a current member of RIGG, or they learn of RIGG via the NCGA or other means.
2. Applicants must complete the online application and submit it to the Vice President of membership and recruitment (VP).
3. Applicants must then play with two Officers over the course of one or more rounds to demonstrate their understanding of the rules of golf, an appreciation of the game and their ability to play in a manner that is becoming of RIGG membership.
4. After the applicant plays with Officers who find them suitable for RIGG, the VP recommends the applicant to the board and provides their profile for evaluation. Upon acceptance by simple majority vote the VP will coordinate with the Treasurer, Roster and Handicap, Prize Coordinator/Webmaster and Master Scheduler Officers to ensure requirements of onboarding the new member are met. The new member is informed of their membership acceptance and simultaneously sends their dues to the Treasurer. They will then gain access to RIGG informational tools. Those applicants who do not meet RIGG’s requirements will be notified by the VP.
5. Yearly dues include required membership in the NCGA and RIGG. Dues shall be paid annually in November for a year beginning January 1. Membership is automatically cancelled for failure to pay dues.
6. The Board reserves the right to revoke membership of any member whose conduct discredits the club, or who has repeatedly violated either the USGA and / or NCGA rules of golf, the common courtesies of golf, or who has failed to play regularly with the group. Any such revocation requires a written notice including the right to have a hearing with the Board within 30 days. Within 30 days of the scheduled hearing, a 2/3 vote of the Board shall be required to revoke the membership.
7. The Board may confer honorary memberships for longtime contributions by a member if proposed by a Board member and upon unanimous vote of the Board.
8. The Annual Meeting of the association shall be held in the fourth quarter for the purpose of election of officers if necessary and other business as deemed necessary by the Board. Special general meetings can also be called upon a petition signed by a minimum of 25 members. A minimum of 33 1/3% of the members shall constitute a quorum for general meetings.
9. Board Meetings take place in January and again in July or August. The Board shall call other meetings as needed. Presence of seven (7) board members constitutes a quorum for such meetings.

Elections

1. Elections for board positions shall be held every second year at the fourth quarter Annual Meeting and the elected Officers shall assume their duties immediately: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Roster Oversight / Handicap Chairman, Prize Coordinator/Webmaster, Contracts Manager, Master Scheduler, Collector Manager, and up to three (3) Directors at Large.
2. The President and incumbent officer will select that officer’s replacement candidates and/or the President shall appoint a nominating committee of three (3) by October of each election year. The slate of candidates shall be posted to members 30 days before the Annual Meeting. Up to 15 days prior to the Annual Meeting, any member may add a nominee for any position by a written request to the committee. Such request must include a written agreement by the nominee to serve, signed by the nominee. The candidate receiving the most votes for each position based on those present at the regularly called meeting shall be elected. All votes, whether by majority or 2/3 majority shall be based on those present at the regularly called meeting.
3. Any vacancies during the year shall be filled by a) the Vice-President taking over for the President; b) all other vacancies shall be filled by the President with approval by board majority.

Officers and Committees

1. The President shall call and preside at all meetings or designate an alternate, arrange for an annual audit of the Treasurer's records to be reported to the Board and membership, and appoint replacements for any Officers who cannot or do not serve. Such appointments must be ratified by a majority of Officers.
2. The Vice-President shall assist the President and assume his duties in his absence, function as Membership/Recruitment Chairman and serve as Club Representative interface to the NCGA.
3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all funds, pay all bills, sign or authorize the signing of all checks, and report the finances at all Board and General meetings. A separate audit shall be conducted once per year.
4. The Roster and Handicap Chair shall calculate or oversee the calculation and distribution of handicaps for members in accordance with the NCGA. He shall collect scores, post weekly results to members and adjust as necessary or as directed by the Board.
5. The Webmaster and Prize Coordinator shall oversee and record the prizes from weekly awards, scheduled team events that they oversee, and other awards presented at the annual meeting or periodically throughout the year. As Webmaster, they maintain the RIGG online presence, website updates including online signup sheets for tournaments.
6. The Contracts Coordinator shall schedule courses for each year, negotiate the contracts, and have the resulting schedule and contracts approved by the Board. Content of final contracts, course contacts, schedule dates and time of play, fees and course requirements of RIGG are to be assembled in a single document for use by schedulers, collectors and made available to RIGG by the Coordinator.
7. The Master Scheduler shall recruit and organize schedulers, back-up schedulers, and oversee the preparation of sign-up sheets.
8. The Collector Coordinator shall recruit and organize and schedule the collectors for all tournaments, where the course will not take direct payment from players.
9. The Secretary shall record the minutes of all Board meetings and General meetings, conduct routine correspondence as directed by the Board.
10. Except as modified by the Board, any committees shall function as recommended by the NCGA Golf Committee Manual.

Board of Directors

1. The Board shall consist of the nine (9) elected officers plus the past president for the purpose of exercising all management powers of the association. Officers include President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Roster and Handicap Chair, Contracts Coordinator, Master Scheduler, Collector Coordinator & Prize Coordinator/Webmaster.
2. The President or his designee shall call meetings of the Board from time to time, and seven (7) members shall constitute a quorum for conducting business. Up to three (3) At Large members may support the Board for purposes of exercising management of the association.

Amendments and By-Laws

The Board shall have the power to amend, repeal, or add to this document as needed during the year, subject to ratification at the December General meeting or at a special purpose meeting held to address implementation of amendments, repeals, etc.

Interpretation

The Constitution and By-Laws shall be interpreted by the Board subject to appeal by the membership at a general meeting of the association.

Liability

1. The association and its Board assume no liability for any member of any action in connection with an association function. Each member is liable and responsible for all injury, behavior and damages caused by that member. Each member agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the association, its officers and directors of all liability and damages caused by that member.
2. The association assumes no liability for debts owed by members resulting from any function sponsored by the association.