Constitution & Bylaws
Developed July 1989 - Revised September 1991, March 2001, June 2001, and February 2006
Article 1
This Federation shall be known as the Northeast Beagle Gundog Federation, herein after referred to as the Federation. The principle office of the Federation shall be at the home address of the current Federation President.
Article 2
It is the goal of this Federation to promote and sustain the beagle as a hound that conforms with the American Kennel Club breed standard, "capable of serving as a field trial hound, a gundog, or a member of a pack while pursuing either rabbit or hare".
Article 3
It is the purpose of this Federation to:
- Promote the sport of beagling, including hunting, competition, and breeding of beagles.
- Promote and maintain through comment and action the sport of beagling in legislation, and the rules and procedures of the American Kennel Club; and to provide competent representation to the AKC Beagle Advisory Committee.
- Represent the Federation's members and clubs to the AKC SPO National Committee.
- Support our individual members, member clubs, and Associations through enhanced competition, communication, and coordination at a regional level.
Article 4: Membership
- The Federation is primarily comprised of three Associations: The Iroquois Beagle Gundog Association; the New England Hunting Beagle Association; and the Pennsylvania Beagle Gundog Association. Any club that is a member in good standing of one of these Associations is a member of the Federation.
- I. Each member Association supports the Federation with $75.00 annual dues.
- II. Individual member clubs of an Association are not required to pay dues.
- III. Each member Association is accorded one representative on the Federation's Board of Directors.
- IV. Each member club is accorded one vote on any ballot issue and one representative to any Federation meeting, except as noted in Article 6, Section H.
- V. New Associations may petition the Federation for membership at the Annual Meeting. Acceptance of New Associations shall require a majority of the member clubs eligible to vote.
- VI. Individual clubs may join the Federation under the following conditions:
- Such club is not geographically located within a region or state currently served by a member Association or eligible for membership in a member Association due to format or schedule differences.
- Such club membership is approved by a majority of eligible voting member clubs at an annual meeting.
- Individual club membership is accorded one representative and one vote at any Federation meeting or ballot issue.
- Individual club membership requires $50.00 annual dues payable to the Federation.
1. Individuals must be in good standing with the American Kennel Club to participate in Federation events or business.
2. Individuals must be in good standing with their respective regional Association to participate in Federation events or business.
Article 5: The fiscal year for the Federation shall run concurrent with the calendar year, from January 1 through December 31.
Article 6: Meetings
A. The Federation shall meet annually for the transaction of business. This meeting shall be held at a location within the Federation (regionally New England, New York, or Pennsylvania). The annual meeting will generally coincide with the Federation's Annual Championship Trial.
B. The order of business for the annual meeting shall be as follows:
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
2. Reading of the Minutes of the previous meeting
3. Officers' Reports
4. Committee Reports
5. Old Business
6. New Business
7. Nominations for Beagle Advisory Committee
8. Motions for Beagle Advisory Committee
9. Delegation and Judges for AKC SPO National Championship
10. Nominations of Judges and Host Clubs
11. Election of Officers
12. For the good of the Federation
13. Adjournment
C. Quorum: A quorum for the annual meeting shall consist of three officers of the Federation and no less than five club delegates.
D. The Board of Directors may conduct Federation business throughout the year. The Board of Directors will consist of all Federation Officers and a representative, usually the president, of each member Association.
E. The Federation president may call for a special meeting of the Board of Directors or the general membership at any time. Such meeting must be announced to the member clubs or Board members at least 30 days in advance of the meeting date either through correspondence or in at least two monthly periodicals recognized to publish beagle information.
F. Any three members of the Board of Directors may call a special meeting of the general membership or the Board of Directors at any time provided notification and an agenda are provided to all officers and the general membership, either through correspondence or publication in at least two monthly periodicals recognized to publish beagle information.
G. Ballot voting on Federation business may occur outside of scheduled meetings. Member clubs may cast votes on published ballots provided by the Board of Directors. Such ballot issues shall be forwarded by mail or electronic mail to each member club, allowing at least 30 days for a response from each club. Ballots shall be mailed to the club representative registered by the respective Associations on their mailing lists. All ballot results shall be certified by the Federation President and the Federation Secretary.
H. Voting Privileges: Only clubs that have held a qualifying trial, submitted trial results and per capita fees in the current or preceding calendar year may vote on Federation business. The Federation vice president shall certify the eligibility of all voting members prior to the annual meeting. Each Federation Officer and member of the Board of Directors is accorded a vote on ballot issues, except the Federation President who shall only cast a vote in case of a tie.
I. Except as specifically stated in this section, all meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order and Parliamentary Procedures.
Article 7: Officers:
A. General: The Federation Officers shall consist of a President, Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Director, and Field Trial Secretary. Elections for each office shall be held at the annual meeting. Each office is limited to a one year term, but officers are eligible for re-election. The Federation President shall serve no more than four (4) consecutive one-year terms. Any persons attending the annual meeting, in good standing with their member club and association, and in good standing with the American Kennel Club, may be nominated to hold an office. Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the eligible member clubs attending the annual meeting.
B. Vacancies: Whenever an office becomes vacant by death, resignation, or dereliction of duty, the Board of Directors shall appoint an eligible person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. If an office remains vacant due to lack of nominations, the Board of Directors may appoint an eligible person to fill the vacancy.
C. Replacement of Officers: The Board of Directors may at any time, and by a 2/3 majority vote, remove any officer determined to have become ineligible to hold office for such reasons as dereliction of duty, suspension or expulsion from AKC or a member Association or club, or for any other reason that may cause harm to the office or the Federation. In such case the Board of Directors may appoint a replacement an eligible person to fill the vacancy for the period of the unexpired term.
D. Term of Office: For all officers the term of office begins at midnight on the date of the last day of the Championship Trial, and ends at midnight on the date of the last day of the following Championship trial.
E. Duties of Officers:
1. President: The president shall preside over all Federation meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees with full voting privileges; except at regular meetings the President shall only cast a vote in the event of a tie. The President shall oversee and guide the business of the Federation and represent the Federation as appropriate in correspondence or attendance. Any contracts or agreements binding upon the Federation require the signature of the President.
2. Vice President: The vice president shall perform the duties of the president upon the absence or inability of the president. The vice president shall serve as Field Trial Chair for all Federation trials. As Field Trial Chair, the vice president shall oversee the operation of Federation trials, coordinate with host clubs, acquire nominated judges, and publish appropriate advertising of Federation trials. The vice president shall maintain a log of all hounds qualified to compete at the Annual Championship Trial to be published at least 30 days prior to the Annual Championship Trial, and receive and calculate the results of Consistency Awards.
3. General Secretary: The general secretary shall keep accurate records of all Federation and Board of Director's meetings, and any generated correspondence. The general secretary shall have charge over all Federation correspondence as directed by the president and shall maintain records of such correspondence including newsletters, e-mails, etc… The General Secretary shall certify all voting and ballots, including mailed ballots along with the Federation president. The general secretary shall perform an annual audit of the Treasurer's records at the conclusion of the annual championship trial.
4. Treasurer: It shall be the duty of the treasurer to collect and receive all monies due the Federation and to keep accurate records of the same. The treasurer shall receive all per capita fees and qualifying trial results and forward the qualifying trial results to the Vice President. At each annual meeting the treasurer will provide an accounting of all revenues and fees collected, all expenses, and any monies due and distribute such accounting to the member clubs present.
5. Communications Director: The Communications Director shall assist the vice president in maintaining a list of all member clubs and all members clubs eligible to vote, including each club's designated representative, his address and phone number. The communications director shall assist the president in publishing and distributing correspondence and shall oversee establishment, maintenance, and updating the Federation web-page. The communications director shall be responsible for any publication of information, results, or advertising in approved periodicals.
6. Field Trial Secretary: The Federation field trial secretary shall oversee the operation of each Federation trial including acquisition of AKC sanction, advertising, sponsorship, acquisition of trophies, prizes and awards. The field trial secretary shall receive entries and entry fees on the day of Federation events, and assure compliance with AKC Rules and Procedures. The field trial secretary shall maintain accurate records of each event including the list of winning and placing hounds from each event.
7. The Board of Directors shall consist of the Federation officers listed above and the president of each member Association. The Board of Directors shall also include the chair of any standing committee. Each Association is responsible for their Director in terms of participation and attendance. Association presidents serving on the Board of Directors serve at the pleasure of their respective association.
Article 8: Committees may be formed by the membership, the Board of Directors, or the President to carry out Federation business. The Federation president has discretion to select Committee chairs and members with approval from the Board of Directors. For conducting business, a majority of the committee members will constitute a quorum.
Article 9: Beagle Advisory Committee (BAC) is sponsored by the American Kennel Club to advise the voting delegates of AKC on matters pertaining to beagling. The Federation is accorded a seat on the BAC. The Federation nominates three persons to serve on the BAC and AKC selects one of those three persons. The BAC nominees shall be selected each year at the annual meeting by the Federation delegates and those names forwarded to the Performance Events Division of AKC by the Federation President. The selected BAC delegate shall represent the Federation's position on relevant issues and follow the direction of the Federation in casting votes or proposing rule changes.
Article 10: AKC SPO National Championship accords the Federation one or two judging positions each year depending on the rotation of judging allotments among participating Federations and Associations. Judges to represent the Federation will be selected by ballot by the delegates at the annual meeting. In case of refusal or failure to attend, the Federation president shall coordinate replacement(s) with the Board of Directors. The AKC National Championship Committee oversees the event and accords the Federation three (3) delegates. The Federation president, with approval from the Board of Directors, is responsible to select the three delegates to the AKC SPO National Championship Trial Committee.
Article 11: Qualifying Trials
A. Qualifying trials are events held in conjunction with sanctioned and or licensed trials, where winning and placing hounds earn qualification to participate in the Federation Championship Trial and earn points toward the Federation Consistency Awards.
B. Qualifying trials must be held under AKC Rules and Procedures and may be run in gundog brace, SPO, Small Pack, or Large Pack format.
C. A club may hold up to three all-age Federation qualifying trials in a calendar year, including up to two sanctioned trials and one licensed trial. A club may also hold one derby qualifying trial in a calendar year.
D. A qualifying trial must be advertised as such in at least one monthly beagle periodical.
E. For all Federation qualifying trials the per capita processing fee is $0.50 per all age hound entered, whether the trial is a sanctioned or licensed event, and $1.00 for derby hounds entered. The per capita fee will be forwarded along with the field trial results to the Federation treasurer. The Federation treasurer will forward the results to the Federation vice-president who will record the results and publish a list of the qualified hounds and calculate consistency points.
F. Qualifying trials may be run in four sized and sexed classes or two combined sex classes.
G. For all age trials, results must be received by the Federation Treasurer prior to the end of the calendar year or within 60 days of the date of the trial to qualify hounds for the subsequent Championship Trial.
H. All-Age hounds qualified in one calendar year are eligible to compete at the Federation Championship Trial scheduled for the following May or June.
I. All hounds placing first through NBQ at a qualifying all-age or derby trial are qualified to compete at the Federation Championship the following May or June.
J. Derby hounds that qualify during a calendar year are eligible to compete in the Federation Derby Championship that same calendar year. Per capita fees and results for derby qualifying trials must be received by the Federation Treasurer at least 24 hours prior to the start of the Championship Trial.
Article 12: Championship All-Age and Derby Trial
A. The Federation shall sponsor an all-age and derby championship trial in May or June of each calendar year. That trial shall be named "The NEBGF National All-Age and Derby Beagle Gundog Championship Trial".
B. No Federation member club shall hold any type of licensed trial event on the corresponding dates of the Championship Trial.
C. The Championship Trial will be run in four (4) all-age classes and four (4) derby classes. Each all-age class will have separate judges. One set of judges will officiate over two derby classes (eg. One set of judges will officiate over both the 13-inch and 15-inch male derby classes).
D. Each association shall submit a list of at least eight judges to the Federation Vice President or Field Trial Secretary by January 31 each year. The Vice President shall contact judges from the three lists in the order they are submitted until the judging slate is completed. If, due to refusal or cancellation, sufficient judges are not retained using the submitted lists, the Vice President and Field Trial Secretary may fill out the judging slate with available judges. It shall be the goal of the Vice President and Field Trial Secretary to obtain a roughly equal number of judges from each Association. Associations may nominate judges from other Associations or non-member judges.
E. The expense of hiring judges shall be the responsibility of the Federation.
F. Entries: Any all-age hound placing first through NBQ at a Federation Qualifying trial (sanctioned or licensed) for which the per capita and the results have been received by the Federation, in the previous calendar year, may compete in the Championship Trial by completing an entry form and paying the entry fee. All AKC Field Champions are eligible to compete in the Championship Trial by completing an entry form and payment of the regular entry fee. Derby hounds are qualified by placing first through NBQ during the same calendar year as the Championship Trial, except that unqualified derbies may be entered by paying twice the announced entry fee.
1. The Federation shall abide by the AKC definition of a derby.
2. All unqualified derbies must be premeasured
3. Unless otherwise qualified, Field Champions will run in the class in which they received their final AKC licensed win.
G. Host Club: The host club for the Championship Trial shall be selected from self-nominated clubs at the annual meeting by a majority vote. If no club self-nominates, the Board of Directors shall coordinate the Championship Trial location. The host club shall furnish marshals for each class, all materials needed to run the trial, and appropriate meals. The host club will be paid a $2.00 per capita on each hound run at the trial, or $200.00 whichever is greater. The host club is also entitled to all monies collected in the kitchen or from club-sponsored raffles.
Article 13: Field Champion Only Trial
A. The Federation shall hold a Field Trial annually for Field Champion Beagles and entitle it "The Northeast Beagle Gundog Federation National Field Champion Trial".
B. The purpose of the Field Champion Trial shall be to showcase the best beagles in public competition for the advancement of the breed. This event should be viewed as a most prestigious competition of hunting beagles.
C. Any beagle that has been awarded the title of Field Champion by the American Kennel Club is eligible for entry.
D. Judges shall be selected from the list submitted by each Association (Article 12, Section D).
E. The host club shall be selected as described in Article 12, Section G, except that no per capita or base fee shall be paid to the host club.
F. The Field Champion Trial may be held on a date suitable to the Board of Directors, and may be held in conjunction with other club, Association, or Federation events.
Article 14: Consistency Awards
A. The Federation shall recognize those all-age and derby hounds which compile the most points in NEBGF qualifying trials (both licensed and sanctioned) in a calendar year, for each size and sex class. Scoring shall be based on results submitted to the Federation Vice President. No results may be accepted for a calendar year after February 1 of the following calendar year, except Derby results which will not be accepted after the Championship trial has started.
B. Scoring shall follow this schedule: In a qualifying trial the 1st Place hound shall receive points equal to the number of entries in the trial multiplied by five; the 2nd place hound shall receive points equal to the number of entries in the trial multiplied by 4; the third place hound shall receive points equal to the number of entries multiplied by 3; the fourth place hound shall receive points equal to the number of entries multiplied by 2; and the NBQ hounds shall receive points equal to the number of entries multiplied by 1.
C. For all-age hounds, placing in the Federation Championship trial, double points will be awarded toward the consistency for that year.
Article 15: Judges Seminars. Occasionally clubs express a desire to hold an AKC Judges Seminar. AKC has determined that clubs must acquire permission from the Federation prior to scheduling a seminar. The Federation shall inquire of the membership which clubs intend to hold a Judges Seminar in the proceeding calendar year, then coordinate a schedule and issue a letter of permission. The Federation may limit the number and location of judging seminars, but shall in all instances promote the availability and frequency of such certification to the greatest practicable extent.
Article 16: Discipline
A. Persons under suspension or barred from American Kennel Club privileges are not eligible to participate in Federation events.
B. Persons not in good standing with any of the three Associations shall be considered not in good standing with the Federation and may not participate in Federation events.
C. The Board of Directors may suspend an Association, club, or person from participation in Federation events or proceedings based on dereliction of duty, failure to follow the Federation's Constitution and By-Laws, unsportsmanlike conduct, abuse or mistreatment of animals, or actions that are detrimental to the sport of beagling. Such suspension must be upheld by a 3/4 vote of the Board of Directors. Suspensions may be appealed to the voting delegates of the Federation at the next annual meeting, but shall be in effect from the date of Board notification through the date of the next annual meeting. Appellants must notify the President of their intent to appeal no less than 10 days prior to the annual meeting. In the event that the delegates reverse the Board's decision, the reversal shall become effective immediately. Any notice of suspension must be sent certified mail.
D. Clubs or Associations that do not forward results, or fail to forward results in a timely manner may be prohibited from holding any NEBGF qualifying trials the remainder of the calendar year and the following calendar year. Clubs or Associations that advertise a trial as a Federation qualifying trial must submit the trial results to the Federation Vice President within 30 days of the date of the trial. The Vice President may assess a late fee of $25.00 for any results received more than 30 days following the last day of the trial. In no instance will results from one calendar year be accepted after February 1 of the following calendar year, except for Derby Qualifying Trial results. For Derby results, no results will be accepted after the Championship Trial has started.
Article 17: Dissolution
A. The Federation may be dissolved by a ¾ majority vote of the eligible voting member clubs, or a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors.
B. Upon dissolution, all remaining assets of the Federation shall be evenly divided among the member Associations.
C. Privileges of the Federation with the American Kennel Club, such as nominating BAC delegation and judges and representation to the AKC SPO National shall not revert to one Association without prejudice, but shall be awarded by the American Kennel Club or the AKC SPO National Committee as appropriate.
Article 18: Effective Dates
A. The Northeast Beagle Gundog Federation was officially formed on November 14th, 1992. The first officers of the Federation were President, Don Rankins; Vice-President, Rob Lincoln; Secretary, Ed Hart; Treasurer, Bob Lincoln; Board of Directors, Gary Keller, Gary Sampson, and Dave Rexford.
B. This revision of the Constitution and By Laws of the Northeast Beagle Gundog Federation have been duly reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors and the membership, and are certified effective on this date:
Signed: John Gibble, President
