Article I - Membership

Section 1. Eligibility
There shall be four levels of membership that will be open to all people in good standing with either the AKC and/or the UKC. As part of membership, they must agree to all terms listed in the constitution and by-laws.

Fancier - Those who support the advancement of the Hamiltonstovare but do not necessarily own a Hamiltonstovare at this time.
Owner - Those who own a Hamiltonstovare and support the advancement of the Hamiltonstovare by competing in dog events with their Hamiltonstovare
Breeder - Those who own and breed Hamiltonstovare, meet the requirements set forth by the breeders code of ethics, and actively compete with their dogs in dog sports
Founder - Those limited few who have been responsible for the breed's advancement in America (will be approved by both club founders prior to recognition as a Founding Member of the HCA).

There shall not be a separate level for international members at this time. All international members shall be held to the same standard as domestic members.

Section 2. Dues
At this time there will not be membership dues. The Hamiltonstovare Club of America reserves the right to amend this decision at any time. Once a membership due has been decided, all members will be notified and given a prescribed amount of time to make payment. If payment of membership dues is not received within that time then they will be removed from the list of members without prejudice.

Section 3. Election of Founders
The election of the founders will be voted on with established founders. To be eligible for the founder membership, the breeder/owner must show a record of advancement in the breed within America. This membership level is open to both domestic and international members. At a minimum, domestic members should show devotion to the breed with ownership, judging, breeding and/or public relations. International members should also show devotion to the breed with importing breeding stock to America, offering judges seminars, and being able to ease the lines of communication between fellow international breeders around the world.

Section 4. Termination of membership
Membership may be terminated at any time.

By resignation. Any member may resign their membership at any time. The resignation must be written and given to a founding member or officer. If the resignation is after membership dues are in place, the member may lose their dues for that year.
By lapsing. Any member that does not pay their membership dues after dues are in place will have their membership terminated if payment is not received after a written notice.
By expulsion. Any member may be terminated by the officers of the HCA provided there is written, photographic, or legal evidence of a violation to any terms of the constitution/by-laws and/or breeders code of ethics.

Article II - Meetings

Section 1. Meetings in conjunctions with specialties
There shall be a meeting of the Hamiltonstovare Club of America at every specialty, following the awarding of the Best of Breed award. Only members in good standing are permitted at these meetings and approved guests.

Section 2. Additional meetings
There may be additional meetings at special gatherings within certain regions of the country.

Section 3. Minutes
Minutes will be kept at every meeting by the appointed secretary or a representative acting in the absence of a secretary. These minutes must be able to be viewed by any member in good standing of the HCA at all times. It will the responsibility of the secretary or acting secretary to provide those minutes upon request.

Article III - Officers and AKC Representative

Section 1. Officers
At the first meeting held in conjunctions with a specialty, there shall be an election of officers. All members may hold an officer position as long as they have majority of the votes. The term shall be one year unless expressly nominated for re-election. The president shall not have no more than two consecutive terms. The officers duties shall in include but may not be limited to:

The president shall preside at all HCA specialty meetings and shall have the duties and powers normally appointed to the office of president.
The vice-president shall have the duties and responsibilities of the president in the case of the president's death, absence or incapacity.
The secretary shall keep a record of all meeting and official business of the HCA. This includes all minutes of meetings of the HCA and conversations with the officers of the HCA.
The treasurer shall collect all membership dues and maintain the clubs finances. The treasurer shall be bonded up to the prescribed amount designated by the officers.

Section 2. AKC Representative
The HCA shall have a representative with the AKC. They will be elected by the officers and founders of the HCA. They may be an officer should the member approve to be responsible for both duties. The AKC representative will be responsible for all correspondence to the AKC regarding registration, FSS (Foundation Stock Service), advancement to full AKC recognition, events and others to be determined by the AKC. They shall also be responsible for attending appropriate AKC delegates meetings.

Section 3. Vacancies
Any vacancies occurring during the term of any officer or representative shall be filled by a member in good standing with the HCA who receives a majority of votes of the other officers. The exception is if there is a vacancy of the President which shall immediately be filled by the vice-president.

Section 4. Compensation
No HCA officer or representative shall receive any compensation for services rendered to the HCA. However, HCA officers or representatives shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred on behalf of the HCA, in such expenses were pre-approved by the HCA officers.

Article IV - Committees

Section 1. Committees

There shall be standing committees to advance the breed in health-related areas. Each committee shall make reports to the membership on an annual basis, with interim reports to the officers of the HCA on an as-needed basis.
The officers may at any time appoint a committee to deal with breed conformation and performance events such as dog shows, agility, obedience/rally trials, hunting trials, tracking events and other areas which may be served by a committee.
Special committees may be created by the officers of the HCA for any activity such as publications, budget or other administrative work that benefits the HCA.
All committees shall always be created by the officers.

Section 2. Termination
Any committee may be terminated given the majority vote of the officers and founding members.

Section 3. Evaluation
Committees shall be evaluated by the officers and founding members at least every two years and be voted on re-approval by a majority of the officers and founding members.

Section 4. Resignation
Committee members who resign or unable to perform the duties for any reason may be replaced by the officers and founding members.

Article V - Discipline

Section 1. AKC or UKC Suspension
Any member of the HCA who has had their AKC or UKC privileges suspended or revoke for any reason shall have their membership with the HCA suspended or revoked for the same period of time as the AKC or UKC.

Section 2. Expulsion
Any member of the HCA may be expelled at any time should they violate any of the terms and conditions of the constitution/by-laws and/or breeders code of ethics. The expulsion of members applies to both domestic and international members. Evidence for expulsion may be presented to an HCA officer or founding member at any time. Evidence should be written, photographic or legal in nature. Hearsay evidence will not be tolerated. Expulsion will be voted upon by the officers and founding members. Any member that has been expelled from the HCA will have to re-apply for membership and must be approved by the officers and founding members with at least a two-thirds majority.

Section 3. Liability
Neither the officers or founding members shall be liable for the decision rendered, put into effect or published as provided for in this article, nor for any action or related costs incurred pertaining to the same.

Section 4. Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying is not tolerated at any time. Cyber-bullying is defined as any online communication, social media posts, photos, and any other online means of observing another individual with the intent of harm, stalking and/or bullying. Any evidence of cyber-bullying is taken very seriously and if one member cyber-bullies another member or non-member, they will be expelled from the HCA and reported to their local authorities and their local kennel club if necessary. Any false report of cyber-bullying constitutes as cyber-bullying and the member that made the false report will face expulsion from the HCA and reported to their local authorities and their local kennel club if necessary.

Article VI - Dissolution

Section 1.
The HCA may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of all of the membership of the HCA. In any dissolution other than for reorganization, the HCA must pay all debts and return funds to all members in good standing.

Article VII - Order of Business

Section 1.
At meetings held in conjunction with specialties the order of business is as follows:

Roll Call
Reading minutes of lat meeting
Report of the President
Report of the Vice-president
Report of the Secretary
Report of the Treasurer
Report of the AKC Delegate
Report of the committee(s)
Old Business
New Business
Adjournment

Section 2.
At any meetings for officers and founding members the order of business shall be as follows:

Reading minutes of lat meeting
Report of the President
Report of the Vice-president
Report of the Secretary
Report of the Treasurer
Report of the AKC Delegate
Report of the committee(s)
Election of Founding Members
Old Business
New Business
Adjournment

Article VII - E-mail Notification

Where as permissible under the AKC rules, e-mail notification shall be permitted.