CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS: (for a printable PDF version, click here)
Disclaimer: Please note that the changes to the constitution have not been approved, but that they are recommended and that a 30-day notice of these changes be up for a vote to approve them at the July, 2007 annual meeting.
Disclaimer: "Please note that the changes to the constitution were not approved at the last annual meeting but that they are recommended and that a 30-day notice of these changes were given at the July, 2003 annual meeting and that they will up for a vote

Constitution for the Oregon Hockey Officials Association

Article I: Name

The name of this association shall be Oregon Hockey Officials Association. The official abbreviation shall be OHOA.

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of this association is:

1.      To encourage and improve the standards of ice hockey officiating.

2.      To develop competence and uniformity throughout the membership.

3.      To officiate league, tournament and play-off ice hockey games.

4.      To do any and all things desirable in furthering the foregoing purposes.

Article III: Non-profit

The association shall have no capital stock and shall not be conducted for capital or financial gain. In the event of the dissolution of this association, any capital assets on hand shall be dispersed equally to other amateur hockey organizations for the furtherance of their goals.

Article IV: Succession

The OHOA shall have perpetual succession by duly electing officers for the following hockey season during the annual meeting which shall be held on or before July 31st of each year.

Article V: Dues

Annual dues for members of this association shall be set by the board of Directors for each current year, and shall be payable in advance. The said date for which shall also be prescribed by the Board of Directors. Voting privileges of any member shall be limited to those whose dues are current. Members acquired during any part of the season shall pay full membership dues. Any member whose dues are in arrears for a period of thirty (30) days shall be suspended from further assignments; any member whose dues are in arrears for a period of ninety (90) days shall cease to be a member. Notice of members owing dues shall be given by the registrar at least thirty (30) days prior to the due date.

Article VI: Membership

Membership in the association shall be as follows:

1.      All OHOA members must be members in good standing with USA Hockey.

2.      All member officials will be classified in the appropriate level as prescribed by regulations of USA Hockey.

3.      No official shall travel out of the jurisdiction of this association to officiate in any hockey game without the express permission of the state Referee In Chief.

4.      No official shall officiate any hockey game without prior permission of the scheduling staff of OHOA.

5.      As a condition of membership, each official must individually complete and pass the examination prescribed annually by USA Hockey, as well as, meet/fulfill any mandates prescribed by USA Hockey

6.      No official shall receive any monetary reimbursement unless that
official has registered and submitted a completed examination through USA Hockey for the current hockey season.

Article VII: Government

The government of this association shall be vested in the Board of Directors who shall be elected by the members. The Board of Directors shall have control and management of the property and functions of the association. Any vacancy on the Board of Directors shall be filled by vote of the Board of Directors and such appointees shall fulfill the remainder of the term.

Article VIII: Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall consist of: President, Vice-president, Treasurer, Secretary, Registrar, Risk Manager and Scheduler.

All directors of the association shall serve a term of one (1) year, August 1st through July 31st, and may be re-elected. All Directors of this association must be a registered USA Hockey referee in good standing of this association.


The duties of the President shall include:

1.      Preside over all meetings of the association.

2.      Perform such duties usual to the office of president including but not limited to:
- Calling of special meetings of the association at his discretion.
- Power to preside at any Board of Review dealing with any official protest.
- Power to resolve situations arising from emergencies not provided for in the Constitution and By-Laws until such time as they may be acted upon by the membership at a special or regularly held meeting.
- Required to represent the local association at other ice hockey meetings or to appoint a delegate in his/her stead.
- The responsibility for dispersing, with the treasurer, all funds of the association.
- Power to negotiate financial contracts on behalf of the membership.
Contracts must be approved by the board of directors.

3.      Attend as many hockey games as possible during the season and work
with the appropriate officials.

4.      Work with the local membership to appoint personnel to fulfill duties and responsibilities of the association.

The duties of the Vice-president shall include:

1.      Fulfill any and all duties of the president in his/her absence.

2.      Coordinate the annual seminars.

3.      Be responsible for standing committees.

4.      Render any assistance possible to the president in the performance if his/her duties.

The duties of the Treasurer shall include:

1.      The responsibility for receiving and disbursing, together with the President, all funds of the association.

2.      Keep accurate records of all income and expenditures.

3.      Keep all funds in a chartered bank.

4.      Render an annual report.

5.      Render any assistance possible to the president in the performance of his/her duties.

 

The duties of the Secretary shall include:

1.      Keep records of all meetings.

2.      Give notice of all regular and special meetings.

3.      Provide written agenda for all meetings.

4.      Custodian of ballots and elections.

5.      Render any assistance possible to the president in the performance of his/her duties.

The duties of the Scheduler shall include:

1.      To schedule ice hockey officials within the OHOA jurisdictions.

The duties of the Registrar shall include:

1.      Be the custodian of the membership.

2.      Compile member information

3.      Create and maintain a current member list. Distribute to all board members.

4.      Ensure all members are currently registered USA Hockey officials.

The duties of the Risk Manager shall include:

1.      Ensure all adult members have completed required background checks.

2.      Assist in preparation and negotiation of financial contracts.

3.      Attend league association contract meetings.

4.      Assist treasurer in performance of his duties.

 

The powers and duties of the Board of Directors shall include:

1.      To fill any vacancy that might occur on the Board of Directors until the next annual meeting.

2.      To study and report to the membership at the annual meeting on any
proposals to amend or revise the Constitution, By-laws, rules or regulations of this association.

3.      To determine and sanction the games for which OHOA shall be
responsible to supply officials.

4.      To hear and rule on any and all protests and/or appeals.

5.      To conduct routine business of the association.

6.      Perform an internal audit semi-annually.

Article IX: Meetings

An annual meeting of the association for the purpose of holding elections and the hearing of reports shall be accomplished each year on or before July 31st. Recommendations to and by the Board of Directors may be made at this time.

Quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors of the association shall be held at a regularly scheduled place and time determined by the Board of Directors. An agenda shall be prepared for each meeting. A quorum shall consist of four (4) Directors.

 

 

Special meetings may be required. Recall of a member of the Board of Directors must be by special meeting. A meeting may be called by the membership by written request to the Board of Directors with the signature of five (5) members of the general membership two (2) weeks in advance of the proposed meeting date.

A quorum of nine (9) members shall constitute the minimum required to conduct a meeting of the membership.

In addition to the annual meeting, general membership meetings will be held on an as necessary basis and when called by the Board two (2) weeks in advance of the proposed meeting date.
 .

Article X: Amendments

The Constitution and By-laws of the OHOA may be amended by a majority vote of the members present at the annual meeting, provided that written notice of the proposed action has been given to each member at least thirty (30) days prior.

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BY-LAWS of the

BY-LAWS of the
OREGON HOCKEY OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION

 Article I: Reimbursements

Members of this association serving the duties of either referee or linesman shall be considered independent contractors. Members may decline to accept any offered assignment. Any act of reimbursement for travel expenses incurred, if any, in the performance of such duties shall in no way be construed by any member to be payment for the performance of said duties. In order to qualify for any reimbursement of travel expenses, any member must be willing to submit to the requirements of the Treasurer when requested to do so within the jurisdiction of this association.

Article II: Jurisdiction and Responsibility

The responsibility of this association shall be to fulfill requests for referees and/or linesmen of any hockey association sanctioned by USA Hockey, OSHA and its affiliates or any OHOA board approved contracts.

Article III: Protests

Recognizing that it is the responsibility of leagues and associations to police the actions of their own players, coaches and fans when the need is brought to their attention, so too must this association submit itself to scrutiny in the activities of its members in the performance of their duties.

All protests in regard to a given official or serious consequences occurring as a result of any official in the performance of his/her duties when forwarded, in writing, to the President of OHOA and also to the President of the league or association whose responsibility it was to conduct the game, shall be reviewed in the following manner.

In the event of a protest concerning an official who is a member of this association, the following are recommendations endorsed by this association, to be used as guidelines for league and association Presidents.

1.      Contact immediately the President of OHOA or his/her designee.

2.      All protests must be in writing.

3.      Protests are made on procedural calls not judgment calls made by the official.

4.      Reject any protest wherein any conflict of personalities between the protesting coach and official is detected.

5.      Calls for a board of review of an official shall be forwarded to the Development Committee for further review.

The following are actions for which this association immediately considers protests to be valid causes.

1.      Drunkenness or consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or illegal substances prior to or during the game(s) so as to be recognizable by the players and other officials, including minor officials.

2.      Repeated failure to appear for games.

3.      Failure to appear on time and be present on ice pursuant to rule 502A.

4.      The use of profane, obscene or abusive language or gestures toward anyone while in the performance of his/her duties, which shall include any time the official is in the area of the ice rink preceding and/or following a game.

5.      Gross incompetence.

6.      Physical abuse of players extraordinary to the requirements necessary to prevent or break up an altercation.

7.      Any action deemed detrimental to USA Hockey, OSHA and/or OHOA.

Article IV: Scholarship Fund Requirements 

It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Directors to select annually at least one (1) candidate for an advanced clinic or school. The tuition for which shall be borne as much as possible out of the scholarship fund. Such fund designated by the Board of Directors shall be held separately.

Article V: Disclaimer of Responsibility Towards Claims

Each Director or Officer now or hereafter serving OHOA and each person who at the request of or on behalf of OHOA is now serving or hereafter serves and the respective heirs, executors and administrators of each of them shall be indemnified and held harmless to the fullest extent provided by law against all costs, expenses, judgments and liabilities, including attorney’s fees, reasonably incurred by or imposed upon him/her arising from or in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit or proceeding, civil or criminal, in which he/she is or may be made a party by reason of his/her being or having been such Director or Officer at the time of incurring such cost, expenses, judgments and liabilities, provided that in his/her connection in his/her official capacity with OHOA he/she acted in good faith in a manner he/she reasonably believed not opposed to the best inverses of OHOA and the case of any criminal proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he/she reasonably believed his/her conduct was unlawful. The Board of Directors may obtain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a Director, Officer, Employee or Agent against any and all liability arising from their status as such, whether or not OHOA would have the power to indemnify him/her against such liability. Such indemnification shall be governed by and consistent with RCW 24.03.035 (14) and RCW 23A.08.025, as amended.