NYSOHOF Bylaws

'ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this organization shall be the "New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame, Inc."

ARTICLE II – MISSION STATEMENT
“IT’S NOT WHAT YOU TAKE, BUT WHAT YOU GIVE”
Organized in 1983 as the Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame, this association was formed to seek out and honor those individuals who not only have exhibited genuine excellence in hunting, fishing, trapping, and related outdoor sports, but have demonstrated sincere and continuing dedication to natural resources conservation. These individuals are honored “not for what they have taken, but for what they have given”.
Further, the NYSOHOF shall promote, organize and participate in activities which are directed toward youth, their education, and the education of others with the belief that through a better understanding of man’s relationship with his environment comes a better understanding of one's place and purpose therein.
This organization shall also promote, above all, the philosophy that it is the responsibility of all sportsmen to consistently give to their respective sport as well as receive. It is our belief that general acceptance of this philosophy is the only assurance that future generation may also appreciate the beauty of our lakes, streams, fields and forests. Therefore, the measure of our success shall be the example we set for others.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Any person interested in perpetuating a mechanism to honor sportsmen-conservationists possessing the qualities described above; willing to honor a Code of Ethics requiring members to adhere to the highest professional standards as established by the members of the association; and dedicated to promoting the philosophy that it is the responsibility of all sportsmen and women to consistently give to their respective sport as well as receive may become a member of this organization by payment of the stipulated annual dues. Members are strongly urged and encouraged to actively take part in NYSOHOF-sponsored events, and to financially support its fundraising efforts.
Individual Members shall be kept informed of the progress, activities, and endeavors of this association by means of a quarterly newsletter. This shall be the official publication of the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame. All annual individual memberships shall be in effect for one calendar year, beginning January 1st.                                                                               Any member in good standing shall have one vote in person.  All members shall be kept informed of Corporation activities via printed media in the form of a quarterly newsletter, website and/or timely mailings.  No member shall have any right to, or interest in, the property or assets of the Corporation.

ARTICLE IV - DUES AND FEES
The amount of individual membership dues shall be established by the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Additional membership brackets may be established by the Board of Directors. The association fiscal year shall run from January 1st till December 31st.

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND ELECTIONS
SECTION ONE - The government and direction of the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame shall be vested in a Board of Directors which shall consist of a President; First Vice President; Second Vice President; Secretary; Treasurer; (“Officers”) elected annually to a one-year term, and four (4) “Directors”, each of whom shall be elected to a two-year term to a rotating basis (two elected one year, the remaining two elected the next year, etc., for the sake of continuity)). In the event that a candidate cannot be found for one of the Directorships, a Director-at-large will be elected. Five (5) Board members shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have the power to, and must:

A) Fill all vacancies on the Board
B) Adopt rules for conducting the business of the association
C) Insure and maintain an Associate relationship between this association and the N.Y.S. Conservation Council, Inc.
D) Replace any Officer, for the balance of the association year, who is unable or unwilling to perform his or her duties as described herein.
E) Revoke the membership of any individual who may misrepresent, or bring discredit upon, this organization

SECTION TWO- The Board of Directors shall be elected by the adult general membership at the Annual Meeting, held each October.

SECTION THREE - No person may serve in the same “Officer” position/title, with the exception of Secretary and Treasurer (exempt from limits for purposes of continuity), for more than five (5) consecutive one-year terms. No person may serve as a “Director” for more than three (3) consecutive two-year terms. No person may hold more than one elected office at a time.

SECTION FOUR - Board of Directors meetings shall be held when needed for the good of the organization. Written minutes shall be recorded of all Board Meetings, and copies of said minutes shall be distributed to all Board Members following these meetings, and also, upon written request, to any Member in good standing. At the discretion of the president he or she may ask the Board of Directors for a special vote on matters at times other than Board Meetings.  Notice of such a vote shall be by written notice or electronic media and shall allow time for members to reply or offer opinions.  Record of voting shall be kept by the president or secretary and a majority vote of the Board of Directors and officers shall be considered official approval.

SECTION FIVE - A Nominating Committee consisting of five (5) members in good standing shall be appointed by the President at the November meeting, whose duty it shall be to research and develop a recommended slate of Board of Directors nominees from the paid-up membership for the next association year. Among other criteria, this Committee shall, to the best of its ability, equalize said slate by considering the geographic location of proposed nominees, in order to provide a truly diversified, balanced and representative slate. The Chairperson of this Committee shall report the Committee's recommendations, both verbally to the general membership and in writing to the Secretary, just prior to the election at the October Annual Meeting. Nominations from the floor may then be made by any adult member in good standing. The elections shall be conducted by the Chair of the Nominating Committee, by office, starting with the Presidency. Voting shall be by ballot when necessary. Officers elected at the Annual meeting will take over the Office they are elected to on January 1st of the upcoming year.

ARTICLE VI - GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
A minimum of three (3) General Membership Meetings shall be held during each association year. Published notice must be given of all General Membership Meetings. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Five (5) percent of the general membership in good standing shall constitute a quorum at all General Membership Meetings.

ARTICLE VII - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
The President shall preside at all General Membership and Board of Director's Meetings. He shall appoint all committees, and appoint Delegate/Representatives to any local, state, or national organizations with whom the Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame is affiliated. He shall be one of the officers who must co-sign the checks or drafts of the Association. He shall have such powers as may be reasonably construed as belonging to the chief executive of any organization. He shall and must appoint an audit committee, in September, of three (3) bona-fide members of the association, other than Board Members, and such committee shall report at the October Annual Meeting, or upon the Treasurer vacating his/her position before the end of his/her term. The President must turn over all documents and properties belonging to the organization to the NYSOHOF Board of Directors within ten (10) days of his/her departure or removal from that office.

The First Vice President shall, in the event of the absence or inability of the President to exercise his office, become acting President of the organization with all the rights, privileges, responsibilities and powers as if he had been duly elected President. He/She shall also perform such other duties as are assigned to them by the President.

The Second Vice President shall progress and be responsible accordingly, and shall perform such other duties as are assigned to them by the President.

The Secretary shall receive and process all memberships, and keep an accurate record thereof. Further, at the appropriate time, the Secretary shall and must notify each individual member that the renewal of their N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame membership is due, and solicit said renewals. The Secretary shall keep the minutes and records of the association in appropriate books, and shall be sent a copy, for the official records, of any correspondence instituted by an Officer as a part of their official duties and a copy of any replies to said correspondence. Any records, supplies, or equipment purchased or compiled by the association for it's use, and any article given or awarded to the association, shall be kept in the possession of the Secretary via a designated locked and secure cabinet, and shall, upon determination of a successor to that office transfer these items in total to said successor within ten (10) days.

The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all monies belonging to the association and shall be solely responsible for such monies or securities of the association. He/She shall cause to be deposited in a regular Business Bank, Trust Company, or Savings Bank, the funds of the association. He/She must be one of the officers who shall co-sign checks or drafts of the association. No special funds may be set aside that shall make it unnecessary for the Treasurer to sign the checks issued upon it. He/She shall not make purchases without an approval vote of the Board of Directors. He/She shall be required to submit at each Board and general meeting a written account of the finances of the association, and such reports shall then be transferred to the Secretary for inclusion in the official records. He/She shall exercise all duties incident to the office of Treasurer. He/She shall keep a full and complete record of all money received and paid out, and render an annual financial account at the end of the fiscal year. The Treasurer shall cause to be transferred to his successor all association financial records and property in his/her possession within ten (10) days of the determination of said successor, and shall assist in the transfer of any and all association banking accounts and legal papers to his/her successor.

No Officer, Director, or Presidential Appointee, by reason of his/her office in the association, shall be entitled to receive any salary of compensation. However, nothing herein shall be contained to prevent any of the above from receiving reimbursement for duties performed as legally prescribed, and approved by affirmative vote of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VIII - INDUCTION PROCEDURES
During the month of September of each year, the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame shall send out a press release to the publication of the N.Y.S. Conservation Council, Inc.; and as many other media outlets, statewide, as is possible, announcing that a nomination period for the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame will be entertained between the dates of October 1st and January 31st. Any individual or organization may obtain and submit a Hall of Fame nomination form, as designed by the Board of Directors, during that specified period. A nomination form may be obtained, among other methods, by sending a stamped, self-addressed legal size envelope to the Hall of Fame's specified mailing address with a request for same.

The nomination form must be completed and returned to the Hall of Fame within the specified time period, and must include:

A) The name, address, and phone number of the nominee, who must be a N.Y
State resident

B) A brief history of the nominee's accomplishments, documenting a minimum of ten (10) years of dedicated, verifiable service to the sportsmen’s-conservation movement and/or natural resources conservation. Additional attached documentation, affidavits, or references will be permitted. Not more than two (2) nominations may be submitted by any county or statewide organization, in any given year.

C) The name, address, phone number, and signature of the individual or organizational representative submitting the nomination.

The N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame Board of Directors shall meet in February of each year as the panel of judges for the purpose of determining successful Hall of Fame inductees for that year. Each Officer and Director shall be given copies of all submitted nomination forms at the start of this meeting in order to consider each nominee prior to any vote on same. The sole criteria in judging nominations shall be the documented contributions of the nominees toward the betterment of the sportsmen’s-conservation movement and/or natural resources conservation.

Following the selection of inductees for the year by the Board of Directors, the successful inductees and the media shall be so notified; the inductees Hall of Fame plaques shall be commissioned; and arrangements shall be made for the annual Induction Banquet, to be held in April of each year, at which time the successful candidates shall be formally inducted into the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame; presented with their plaque; a copy of these Bylaws; a complimentary one-year NYSOHOF membership, and notice of the availability of a NYSOHOF ring.

ARTICLE IX - INDEBTEDNESS
No indebtedness shall be incurred beyond the amount in the association Treasury.

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS
This Constitution and By-Laws of the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame shall take effect upon receipt by the Secretary of its original printing containing the signatures of the N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame current Officers.

Any adult individual member in good standing may propose amendments to this N.Y.S. Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame Constitution and By-Laws by submitting same, in writing, to the association Secretary, and said amendments shall take effect and become a part of this document following: A) an affirmative vote on the amendment by the Board of Directors; B) its publication and distribution to the general membership, and C) its affirmative approval vote at two consecutive General meetings.

A copy of this document shall be available to any member in good standing, upon written request to the Secretary.

ARTICLE XI - PROCEDURES
In all matters not covered by this Constitution and By-Laws, Robert's Rules of Order shall prevail and shall be the parliamentary authority of the Association.

Article XII-Property and Assets

All property and assets of the Corporation shall be subject to the control of the Board of Directors.  Should the Corporation cease to exist, its property and assets shall be distributed at the direction of the Board of Directors in accordance with a members vote subject only to the approval of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.  In no event shall any member of the organization benefit from such dissolution.

- Wm. Lloyd

Proposed 1993

Revised October 2005

Adopted November 17, 2005

Scott L. Faulkner

Revised October 2011

Adopted November 17, 2011

Mark Hettler

Revised October 2023

Adopted October 25, 2023