THE BYLAWS OF THE MIDWEST DEAF GOLFERS ASSOCIATION
Revised August 2020
ARTICLE I - NAME OF ASSOCIATION
This association shall be known as the MIDWEST DEAF GOLFERS ASSOCIATION (MDGA).
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
Section 1: Purpose
The purpose of this association shall be to encourage participation in the sport of golf, climaxed with an annual invitational golf tournament for deaf golfers held by a Midwestern state specified as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Section 2: Tournament Hosts
No state other than the ones named in Article II, Section 1 is eligible to host the annual tournament.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Membership
Membership in this association shall be open to deaf men. The minimum age of membership shall be 18 years.
NOTE: The word "deaf" as used herein, shall mean either total loss of hearing or hearing so severely impaired as to constitute a handicap in the normal world. The level of hearing loss shall be at least 55dB.
Section 2: Suspension/Expulsion
Any member may be suspended or expelled from the rights and privileges of his membership if such action(s) are proven to be a detriment to this association and its members.
a. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Council is a sufficient cause for suspension or expulsion.
b. Such members shall have the right to appeal such decision before the membership assembly.
ARTICLE IV - DUES
Section 1: Rate of dues
The assembly shall determine the rate of annual dues.
Section 2: Payment due
The membership dues shall be payable annually before or on the determined deadline when the entry fees must be paid.
Section 3: State Affiliation Fee
Each state shall pay an annual affiliation fee. This fee is required for discussion and voting privileges at Council meetings.
ARTICLE V - OFFICERS, DELEGATES AND TERMS OF OFFICE
Section 1: Officers
The officers of this association shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, each of whom shall be elected for a term of two (2) years. The term of office of the above officers shall commence on January 1 of the following year.
Section 2: Trustees
Three (3) trustees, whose terms of office shall be one (1), two (2) and three (3) years respectively, shall be elected by the membership.
Section 3: Elections
The election for the President and the Secretary shall be held in even-numbered years while the Vice-President and the Treasurer shall be elected in odd-numbered years. Annually, an election shall be held to fill a vacancy created by the departing trustee at end of his term. Candidates for the above offices must be present to be nominated from the floor at the membership meeting. Each candidate must be a resident of a Midwestern state as specified in Article II, Section 1.
Section 4: Council
All of the above elected individuals shall comprise the Council along with the host chairman of the current tournament, the Hall of Fame chairpersons, the Historian, the Handicapper, two (2) most recent past Presidents and at most two (2) delegates from each Midwestern state as specified in Article II, Section 1 and Article IV, Section 3.
Section 5: Delegates
A delegate shall be elected by his people from any golf-affiliated organization in his state and shall serve three (3) years.
ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1: President
The President shall preside over all meetings of this association and enforce due observance to the bylaws. He shall see that appeals being made to the Council whose rulings shall be made as promptly as possible. Such rulings shall be final until the next annual meeting of this association. He shall approve all invoices and co-sign checks issued by this association. Upon the approval of the Council, he shall establish any committee and appoint members in good standing to serve on such committee(s). He shall appoint a qualified member of the Hall of Fame to be the chairperson of the Hall of Fame committee. He shall appoint a qualified member of the Hall of Fame to be the historian. He shall appoint a qualified member of this association to be the handicapper.
Section 2: Vice-President
The Vice-President shall work in close cooperation with the President and assume as many duties as the President assigns. He shall be assigned to chair the Law Committee consisting of members in good standing appointed by the President. He shall ascend to the Presidency when the office should be declared vacant prior to the annual meeting. He shall perform all duties of the President in his absence.
Section 3: Secretary
The Secretary shall maintain an updated five-year membership mail list, mail out announcements and approve the entry forms. He shall answer all mail within seven (7) days and keep the President fully informed on all official correspondence by sending him copies of all communications. He shall record the minutes of all official council, general and special meetings of this association. He shall refer all historical data of this association since the inception to the historian.
Section 4: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall pay all invoices and bills only upon warrants signed by the President. He shall keep an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements and submit financial reports at all council and general meetings. He shall collect all membership fees, registration fees, entry fees and any other monies payable to the association. All financial reports prepared by the Treasurer are subject to an audit by the trustees at least one day before the annual meeting. He shall also devise means to raise funds for the purpose of improving tournament prizes.
Section 5: Trustees
The trustees shall consider it their duty to see to it that the administrations of this association are faithfully and accurately kept. They shall be responsible to arrange foursomes for all three days of the tournament. They shall audit the financial reports before the annual meeting. They shall be assigned by the President to any duties whichever to ease the workload of the treasurer during the tournament.
ARTICLE VII - REMUNERATION OF OFFICERS
Section 1: Elected Officers
The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Trustees shall receive a salary determined by this association.
Section 2: Delegates
Each State Deaf Golf organization shall assume the responsibility of reimbursing expenses incurred by their delegates.
Section 3: Webmaster
The webmaster shall receive a salary determined by this association.
Section 4: State Organizations
Under no circumstances shall a State Deaf organization incur indebtedness in the name of this association.
ARTICLE VIII - MEETINGS
Section 1: Council
The Council shall hold its annual meeting no later than three (3) o'clock in the afternoon on the day before the first round of the tournament.
Section 2: General Membership
The general membership meeting shall be held the evening before the first round for business and elections.
Section 3: Special Membership
The President may call a special meeting at any time, if he deems it necessary, during the tournament week.
Section 4: Rules Meeting
A briefing session shall be held after the general membership meeting concentrating on the explanation of local golf rules, pairings for first round and announcements about the tournament.
ARTICLE IX - QUORUM
Section 1: Council
Eight (8) members, including at least three (3) officers and at least (5) delegates, of the Council shall constitute a quorum for any official meeting of the Council.
Section 2: Membership
One-third (1/3) of the current membership of this association shall constitute a quorum for the general and special membership meetings.
ARTICLE X - ANNUAL TOURNAMENT AND HOST
Section 1: Date and Bidding Procedure
The annual golf tournament of this association shall be held during the week of the first Wednesday in August. Bids for the tournament shall be made four (4) years in advance. In order for the membership to consider a site, three (3) or more members from the bidding area must be present at the meeting when a bid is made.
Section 2: Deposit
The host shall be required to make a deposit of $100.00 for the right to bid as host for the tournament. If successful with a bid, the deposit shall be placed in escrow and shall be returned to the host upon receipt and approval of the tournament financial report after the successful completion of the tournament.
Section 3: Registration
The Treasurer shall collect entry fees, including registration fees. He shall turn over monies excluding membership and registration fees to the host prior to the beginning of the tournament.
Section 4: Accounting
The chairman of the tournament shall provide a full accounting of all monies collected and spent for the tournament and for any affair held in the name of this association. The tournament financial report is to be reviewed and approved by the elected officers and trustees.
Section 5: Guidelines
The host shall follow the guidelines for making the tournament possible and successful. A copy of guidelines shall be attached to the bylaws upon the request of the host.
Section 6: Rights of the Association
The association reserves the right to conduct any activity on any one day during the tournament for the purpose of fund-raising.
ARTICLE XI - HALL OF FAME
Section 1: Purpose
The purpose of the association's Hall of Fame is to honor outstanding deaf golfers and deaf golf leaders who have contributed exceptional service to the sport of golf in the regional area of this association.
Section 2: Committee
The Hall of Fame Committee shall consist of the Vice-President, the Historian and at least five (5) Hall of Fame members, including at least one (1) past officer. The Vice-President shall be the Chairperson and shall select at least five Hall of Fame members with the approval of the President. The term of the Committee members shall be unlimited. However, it shall be up to the discretion of the Chairperson to dismiss any Committee member, if deemed necessary, and replace him. The Chairperson shall fill vacancies, if any.
Section 3: Remuneration
This association shall reimburse Committee members for reasonable expenses incurred in the selection of candidates.
Section 4: Contributions
The chairperson shall welcome contributions from other sources to benefit the Hall of Fame and shall make a report at each Council meeting of this association.
Section 5: Nominations and Procedures
The chairperson shall mail out nomination forms to members of the committee three months prior to each tournament. Balloting will be finalized one month prior to the tournament. The voting by the committee shall be on a five-three-one (5-3-1) basis, with the first preference receiving five (5) votes, second preference three (3) votes and third preference one (1) vote. Those candidates receiving a majority of votes shall be declared elected into the Hall of Fame. No more than three (3) persons shall be inducted every year.
Section 6: Requirements for candidates
A candidate must have participated in at least ten (10) MDGA tournaments and have accumulated sixty (60) points in order to be eligible for nomination to the Hall of Fame. However, exceptional candidates with less than the minimum awarded points may be placed on the ballot by a vote of two-thirds of the Hall of Fame committee.
The number of points shall be awarded as follows:
10 Points
Division Champion
Tournament Chairperson
5 Points
Flight Champion
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
3 Points
Tournament Committee
Trustee
Delegate
Handicapper
Webmaster
2 Points
Tournament Participant
Section 7: Recognition
Each person duly inducted into the Hall of Fame of this association shall receive a plaque in recognition of the honor. A recent photo of the newly inducted member shall be requested.
Section 8: Special Awards
Special awards and considerations of Old Timers shall be left to the discretion of the Hall of Fame committee.
ARTICLE XII - HISTORIAN
The Historian shall keep a record of all historical data of this association since the inception, arranged in chronological order. He shall also keep any printed materials in relation to this association. He shall bring all the historical data to tournaments for members and guests to browse through. He shall be a current member of the Hall of Fame and shall serve on the Hall of Fame Committee.
ARTICLE XIII - HANDICAPPER
Section 1: Purpose
The Handicapper shall maintain tournament handicaps for all MDGA 18-hole tournament participants. He shall receive a salary as determined by this association.
Section 2: Handicap System
The previous three years of MDGA tournament scores shall be used up to a maximum of nine rounds. Other deaf golf tournament scores shall be used to complete the nine rounds if the golfer does not have nine MDGA tournament scores in the past three years.
The best three scores are selected from the nine rounds to calculate the handicap. If a golfer does not have nine deaf golf tournament rounds in the last three years, then if the golfer has at least six rounds, the best two scores are selected to calculate the handicap. If the golfer does not have at least six rounds, then if the golfer has at least three rounds, the best score is selected to calculate the handicap. If the golfer does not have at least three rounds prior to the current tournament, then the scores from the current tournament will be used until the golfer has three tournament rounds, and the best score shall be selected with a 10% reduction of the calculated handicap.
ARTICLE XIV - AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote by the membership at this association's general meeting.
ARTICLE XV - DISSOLUTION
A 501c3 organization shall receive the MDGA treasury and use it for the purpose of supporting Deaf Youth golf activities. The MDGA elected officers shall determine which organization is to receive the monies.