Division Information - Ozark Division - Train Collectors Association

The Ozark Division was established in 1967.

CONSTITUTION
OZARK DIVISION
TRAIN COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION

Issued  3/15/1970
Revised  1/1/1977
Revised  1/1/1982
Revised  1/1/2007

ARTICLE 1.  NAME, PURPOSE AND BOUNDARIES

Section 1.  This association shall be know as the Ozark Division of the Train Collectors Association.

Section 2.  The purpose if this organization is:

          A.  To bring together persons interested in collecting and operating toy trains and related items.                    
             Trains may be of any scale or gauge, made of any material, propelled by any means, or any
                make, domestic or foreign.
 
To promote fellowship among members by holding meetings and to conduct any and all
activities and programs that will promote the above stated ends.

Section 3.   Boundaries off the Ozark Division include the entire states of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma,
                  Missouri and the seven counties in southern Illinois adjacent to St. Louis beginning with the
                  portions of Jersey and Macoupin counties south of Illinois highway 16 and the entire counties of
                  Calhoun, Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, and Randolph.
          
ARTICLE 2.  MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  Membership is open to any person of good character who collects or operates toy trains or
                 professes a serious interest therein.  Membership in the National Train Collectors Association is
                 a requirement for membership in the Ozark Division and can be achieved simultaneously.

Section 2.  New members probationary period and rights.

A new member of the Ozark Division will be on probation until accepted as a full member in
the National Organization.

Probationary members shall have the right to vote on all matters including election of officers.

Section 3.  Duties and rights of members.

Members shall be current in fees and dues.  Members whose dues have not been paid as of the                 
March meeting shall not be considered in good standing and will be dropped from the Division.  A previous member of the Ozark Division may be reinstated upon payment of current dues.

            B.   Members shall use the National T.C.A. description standards on items offered for sale or trade.  
    All transactions will be promptly completed to the satisfaction of the concerned parties.

C.   The records of this Division of the T.C.A. shall be available for inspection by any regular     
       business  meeting.

 D.   The powers not delegated by this Constitution to the officers or the committees, nor prohibited by  
 it to the members, are reserved to the members

Section 4,  Severances

To initiate action towards expulsion of any member a written complaint must be submitted to the
Ozark Division Board of Directors.  If the complaint is justified in the opinion of the Board,
the accused shall be notified by registered letter of the charges against his and of the place and date of the hearing.  Non acceptance or failure to reply shall be deemed sufficient cause for expulsion from the Ozark Division.   

The accused my present his defense in person or in writing.

The votes cast at the hearing conducted by the Board must be unanimous in order to expel except
for a probationary member, where a simple majority of the Board will prevail.

Expelled members will forfeit all fees and dues previously made.

The National Association shall be informed of the action taken.

The decision of the Board of Directors of the Ozark Division shall be final and conclusive.

ARTICLE 3, OFFICERS, DUTIES, TERM OF OFFICE

Section 1,   Qualifications

The officers of this Division shall be of legal age, be in good standing with at least six months
      membership in the Ozark Division and will consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary/
      Treasurer, and two directors.

The Board of Directors of this Division shall be comprised of the five named officers.

Section 2,    Duties

The President shall be chief executive officer of this Division, shall preside at all meetings of the
       Division, except as otherwise provided herein, shall have the power, duties, and responsibility           
       usually vested in the office of the President, shall execute all bonds, mortgages and contracts of
       this Division, and shall have general superintendence of all committees except as may be
       provided otherwise.  In the event of a tie vote, the President may exercise an extra tie-breaking
       vote.

The Vice President shall be vested with all the powers and perform all duties of the President   
during his absence or incapacity, or as direct by a simple majority of the Board.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall attend and be responsible for keeping of minutes of Division
meetings and Board of Directors meetings, and shall send notices of membership meetings; and
shall keep the financial records, receive all monies, and pay bills and issue financial reports.

The Board of Directors shall govern the Division and shall meet at the call of the President.  A
Minimum of three officers, including the President and Secretary is required to transact Division business.  Minutes of all Board meetings shall be maintained by the Secretary, and will be available at all regularly scheduled business meetings.

Any member may attend a directors meeting upon approval of the President.

Specific duties of the above named officers and directors and the Board of Directors shall be
Prescribed by the by-laws and shall conform to all standards set out by the National Organization.

Section 3,   Terms of Office

The terms of office for the President, vice President, Secretary/Treasurer shall be two years from
January 1 through December 31, of the second year.

Each director shall serve a four-year term.

Should the President be unable to complete his term of office, he shall be succeeded by the Vice
President.  In the case the Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer in unable to complete his term, a new officer shall be elected to fill the unexpired term.  If a director shall fail to complete his term of office, a director shall be appointed by the President to complete the unexpired term.

The President, upon completing his term of office, will automatically become a director.

The Vice President, upon completing his term of office will automatically become the President.

ARTICLE 4,  NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

The President shall appoint a nominating committee of three prior to the September meeting.  
The nominating committee shall present the names of the nominees to the Secretary at the September meeting.  Each member of the nominating committee shall have the permission from his nominee before the September meeting.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall prepare a ballot after the September meeting and send to all
members in good standing.

Ballots shall be taken to the November meeting where they will be opened and counted.  A
majority of those voting is required to elect.  The Secretary/Treasurer shall notify immediately the newly elected officers.

ARTICLE 5,  DIVISION MEETINGS

Section 1.    A minimum of four, but not more than six meetings shall be held the third Sunday of January,
                   March, May, July, September, or November.  The regular meeting shall be held in a community
                   within the Ozark Division at a time and place set forth in the by-laws.

Section 2.    The President shall submit the following year’s recommended meet calendar at the September
                   meet for membership approval.

Section 3.     The business meeting shall be for the purpose of:

Installing new officers

Receiving reports, including the reports from the Secretary/Treasurer.

Discussing and acting upon matters as are brought before it,

Constitutional changes, changes in amount of dues and excessive expenses shall be referred to the entire membership for vote,

Amendments to this constitution shall proposed at ant official business meeting.  Upon
favorable action, the amendment shall be submitted by mail to the entire membership.  A two-thirds (2/3) affirmative majority of the ballots cast shall approve an amendment.

A business meeting is not to be construed as official unless attended by at least 10 members.

Written notice of any social or business meeting shall be sent to each member of record
entitled to vote at such meeting no less than ten days prior to such meeting.

        
Section 4,   Visitors

A visitor is defined as any non-member of the Train Collectors Association.

A visitor must be sponsored by an active member of the Division in attendance at the meeting
where the visitor is present.

A visitor may be excluded from attending a business meeting by majority vote of those in attendance.

A visitor cannot participate in the selling or auctioning at any Division meeting.

Any minor or other visitor attending meetings will be the full responsibility of the parent or sponsor who assumes both moral and financial responsibility for the minor’s or visitor’s actions.

ARTICLE 6,  FINANCIAL

Section 1.   Fiscal year shall be a calendar year.

Section 2.   Dues shall be payable annually and are due January 1 for the following fiscal year.  (Past dues as
                  per Article 2, Section 3A)

Section 3.   Normal operating expense need no vote, but will be sanctioned by the Board of Directors.  Special
                  expenditures and assessments must be approved by a 90% affirmative vote of the votes cast by
                  the attending members in good standing at any regularly scheduled meeting.

ARTICLE 7.  COMMITTEES

Section 1.   The President shall appoint such standing or special committees as he deems necessary, with the
                  advice and consent of the officers.

Section 2.  Committees shall be vacated by action of the President.

ARTICLE 8,  ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION

Section 1.   This constitution shall become effective upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of active
                  membership of the Division, but not before Januiary 1, 1982.  Each member shall receive by mail
                  a copy of this constitution and a written ballot upon which to vote "yes" to affirm and "no" to
                  disaffirm this constitution.  The ballot must be returned to the present Secretary/Treasurer to be
                 counted.

Section 2.   The present officers shall serve out their terms of their office as now prescribed in the Division
                  constitution adopted March 15, 1970 and revised January 1, 1982.

Section 3.   This constitution may be amended or reviewed by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of active members of
                  the Division.  Each member shall receive by mail a copy of this amendment or revision and a
                  written ballot upon which to vote "yes" to affirm or "no" to disaffirm this amendment or revision.
                  The ballots must be returned to the Secretary/Treasurer to be counted.

Section 4.   This constitution shall in no way be construed to alter or deviate from the Constitution of the
                  National Organization and in any and all matters in which a conflict may arise, the National
                  Constitution shall be superior.

ARTICLE 9,  BY-LAWS

Section 1.   By-Laws may be adopted by an affirmative vote of the majority of the active members of the
                  Division.

Section 2.   Each proposed by-law shall be presented by the Board of Directors to the Secretary/Treasurer in
                  writing; and a copy shall be submitted to each active member by mail with a ballot upon which
                  to vote "yes" to affirm and "no" to disaffirm the proposed by-law.

Section 3.   A by-law shall be deemed to be in effect at the next regular meeting after a majority of the active
                  members of the Division have voted to affirm it, upon the report to the members in attendance at
                  the meeting by Secretary/Treasurer.

Section 4.   The time and place of regular meetings of the Division shall remain as presently established and
                  usage until otherwise prescribed in the by-law.

ARTICLE 10,  CHAPTERS AND PURPOSE

Section 1.   Chapters may be formed by members for the purpose as set fourth in Article 1, Section 2, A
                  B of this constitution and within the boundaries of the Ozark Division.  Those boundaries include
                  the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and the following counties in Illinois
                

Section 2.   A start-up Chapter will require a minimum of 10 members who are in good standing with the
                  Ozark Division and the T.C.A. national organization.   Membership in the Chapter also requires
                  membership in the Division.

Section 3.   A start-up Chapter will submit to the Board of Directors and Secretary/Treasurer of the Ozark
                  Division Chapter By-Laws prior to approval.  A list of Chapter Officers and Charter Members will
                  be submitted with the Chapter By-Laws.

Section 4.   Any start-up expenses will the sole responsibility of the Chapter.

Section 5.   It will be the responsibility of the Chapter to provide the Division with an annual report by March
                  30 of each year.

Section 6.   All Chapters must be within the boundaries of the Ozark Division as described in Article 1,
                  Section 3.
     

Bylaws
Revised 1/1/1982
Revised 1/1/2007

OZARK DIVISION-TCA
BY-LAWS

DUES:

The annual dues of the Ozark Division will be $10.  The annual dues will entitle each member
Of the Ozark Division, who are in good standing with the Ozark Division and TCA National, free admission to all Ozark Division sponsored train shows and each member who is in good standing will be allowed one vendor table at no cost.  Additional tables will be available at the vendor price.
Events that are co-hosted or when the Ozark Division doesn’t control admission or when tables have to be rented from a vendor would be excluded from this by-law.
      
MEET ADMISSION:

Meet admission will be three dollars ($3.00) for a member or guest.  The member’s spouse and children will be free, as well as those of a guest.

MEET PLACES:

Meeting places will be chosen by the majority vote of the officers of the Ozark Division, and the membership shall be notified in writing of the locations annually at least 15 days prior to the first meeting of the calendar year.

MEETING PROTOCOL:

All regular meetings shall officially commence at 9:00 a.m. for trading and selling of trains.  Members may be allowed access to the meeting area prior to 9:00 a.m. only for the purpose to be specifically authorized and supervised by the officers.

Te business meeting shall be called in order by the President, and shall be in session until
such time as a majority of those present shall call for adjournment.  All matters of parliamentary procedure shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
       
All complaints of members or guests during a meeting, and all matters of procedure or
protocol that occur during a meeting shall be decided upon by a majority vote of the Board of Directors present at the meeting.  Any matter may be submitted by the Board of Directors to discussion and majority decision of the members present at the business meeting.