Officers, Directors, and Committee Chairs

These are the 2004 Officers/Directors.

Constitution and By-Laws
HOUSTON TENNIS UMPIRES ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION


ARTICLE I. Name

This organization shall be known as the Houston Tennis Umpires Association Incorporated, hereinafter
referred to as HTUA.


ARTICLE II. Purpose

The HTUA is devoted to the proper officiating of tennis tournaments, thereby helping to develop high
standards of fair play and sportsmanship in the game of tennis. The HTUA undertakes to train members as
qualified tennis officials.


ARTICLE III. Affiliation

The HTUA is an independent organization of tennis officials whose services are available to any bona fide
tennis event.

The HTUA acknowledges with gratitude the good offices of the Houston Tennis Association in originally
organizing the HTUA.


ARTICLE IV. Members

All members of this organization shall be classified in accordance with the United States Tennis
Association classification for umpires and officials.

This Association shall have no employees. The Officers and Directors shall serve in their respective
functions on a voluntary basis without monetary remuneration. All officials working in officiating
assignments received through this Association shall work as independent contractors. As such, they shall
be free to work as they choose for other officiating organizations in tennis or any other sport.


ARTICLE V. General Regulations

SECTION 1: All members of this association shall be governed by the Official's Code of Conduct of
the USTA.

SECTION 2: Participation in officiating any match or tournament by membership of this association
shall, with the exceptions noted below, be compensated by a fee or fees to be paid by the tournament
organizers. Acceptable fees are to be negotiated by the President of the HTUA, or his approved
representative, prior to HTUA's commitment to participate.

However, fees for officiating may be waived in tournaments (1) for youth tennis programs, (2) for
promoting tennis among beginners, (3) for which no entry fees are collected, or (4) in other circumstances
deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee of the HTUA.

SECTION 3: For the sole purpose of administrative convenience all fees paid by tournament organizers
for officiating services shall be paid into the Association's treasury, from which such fees shall be
distributed to the individual officials who performed the service. This in no way implies an employer-
employee relationship between this Association and the individual officials, who are working as
independent contractors. As an independent contractor, each individual official shall be responsible for the
reporting and payment of all federal, state, and local income taxes and self-employment taxes as required
by law on all funds received for officiating services. This Association shall assemble information on the
amount of funds distributed to each individual official and shall provide documentation of this information
to the appropriate taxing authorities as required by law. Copies of such documentation shall also be
supplied to the individual officials to assist them in filing complete and accurate tax returns.

SECTION 4: This Association shall not provide any uniforms or other gear to individual officials. The
individual officials will be expected to purchase their uniforms and other gear from a national mail order
house or from local stores.


ARTICLE VI. Amendments

Amendments to the Constitution may be made at any Annual Meeting, or at any special meeting, by a
majority of all votes cast, provided that a notice of the proposed amendment be sent to each member of the
HTUA by the Secretary in the notice of the meeting, and further provided that a quorum be present.




HOUSTON TENNIS UMPIRES ASSOCIATION

BY-LAWS


ARTICLE I. Order of Business

SECTION 1: The Order of Business at any meeting of this Association shall be as follows:

1. Call to Order
2. Establish a quorum is present
3. Reading and Approval of Previous Minutes
4. Treasurer's Report
5. Report of Committees
6. Elections (If Any)
7. Miscellaneous Old and New Business
8. Adjournment

SECTION 2: Authority for all parliamentary rules shall be "Roberts Rules of Order".

SECTION 3: Appointment of Committees
From time to time as deemed necessary, the President may appoint committees and their Chairs for the
purpose of performing and administering delegated functions. In particular the President shall periodically
appoint an ad hoc Committee to review the financial affairs of the Association and audit the records of the
Treasurer. The Executive Committee shall make these appointments if the President fails to do so within a
reasonable length of time.


ARTICLE II. Dues and Voting Power

SECTION 1: Dues
All members of HTUA shall be members of the USTA and will pay membership dues as required by the
USTA. Dues to the HTUA shall be ten dollars (.00) per year, due January 1 of each year.

SECTION 2: Vote
All members in good standing, as certified by the Executive Committee, may vote.


ARTICLE III. Officers, Directors and Duties

SECTION 1: Officers and Executive Committee:

A. The HTUA shall have as officers a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. They
shall all serve for a term of twelve (12) months.

The nominees for the directors shall be presented to the membership at the Annual Meeting by the
Nominating Committee, as stipulated in Article IV, Section Seven (7) of these by-laws. Nominations from
the floor will be added to the slate provided the nominee has expressed willingness to serve. Elections shall
be by majority vote, and term shall begin on January 1.
C. There shall be seven (7) Directors of HTUA. The Directors shall be elected at the Annual
Meeting.

The affairs of HTUA shall be conducted by an Executive Committee, consisting of the President, Vice-
President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three (3) Directors, all of whom shall have one vote each, and
Immediate Past President in a non-voting status for a period of one year following departure from office.

E. At the first Executive Meeting of each year, the Executive Committee shall elect its own officers
for that year.

SECTION 2: Duties of the President
It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and of the
HTUA, to preserve order, to appoint Committees, and to see that the Officers and Committees perform
their respective duties. The President shall negotiate, accept, or reject HTUA's participation in any
tournament, except that acceptance of any sanctioned and/or prize-money tournament, acceptance of all
agreements for officiating fees, and rejection of any tournament shall be ratified by the Executive
Committee prior to being final.

The President may, with the approval of two (2) other members of the Executive Committee, delegate to
any member of HTUA his powers to negotiate participation in a tournament.

SECTION 3: Duties of the Vice-President
The Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of his duties and shall exercise all power of
the President in his absence or in case of his death or resignation.

SECTION 4: Duties of the Secretary
The Secretary shall keep an up-to-date roll of all the members. He shall give notice of all meetings of the
Executive Committee. He shall assist the Executive Committee with all correspondence. He shall keep the
minutes of the proceedings of the HTUA and Executive Committee, and a record of such matters of interest
as may occur. He shall present the minutes of previous meetings for approval at subsequent meetings.

SECTION 5: Duties of the Treasurer
The Treasurer shall keep proper accounting records of all funds and financial transactions of the
association. He shall pay all properly authorized bills against the HTUA, and shall report orally or in
writing the state of the finances when required by the Executive Committee. At the Annual Meeting he
shall present a written report showing the receipts and expenditures during the past year. He shall send
notices that dues are payable by January 1 of the ensuing year. He shall submit all reports and documents
to the United States Internal Revenue Service and other appropriate taxing authorities, as required by law.

SECTION 6: Succession and Replacement
In the event that the President becomes unable to serve because of death, disability, resignation, or any
other reason the Vice President will succeed the President for the remainder of the current term. The
Executive Committee will then appoint a member to fill the vacant Vice President office for the remainder
of the current term. In the event that any other Officer becomes unable to serve because of death,
disability, resignation, or any other reason the Executive Committee will appoint a member to fill the
vacant office for the remainder of the current term. If any Director becomes unable to serve because of
death, disability, resignation, or any other reason the Executive Committee will appoint a member to fill the
vacancy for the remainder of the current term.

ARTICLE IV. Standing Committees

SECTION 1: The HTUA will have the following standing Committees: Rules Committee,
Membership Committee, Operations Committee, Training Committee, and Nominating Committee.

SECTION 2: Rules Committee
The Rules Committee shall study and propose to the Executive Committee any modifications to the
Constitution and to the by-laws of the HTUA. All proposals will be submitted to the Executive Committee
no later than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the Annual Meeting, or thirty (30) days prior to any special
meeting at which such modifications are to be considered.

SECTION 3: Membership Committee
The Membership Committee, the Chair of which shall be other than the Secretary, shall: (1) recruit for
membership individuals interested in officiating in matches and tournaments in the immediate vicinity of
Houston, Texas, and (2) process all applications for membership and recommend consideration or non-
consideration of the application to the Executive Committee. (3) maintain on an annual basis the
certification of all officials.

SECTION 4: Operations Committee
The Operations Committee shall: (1) select and appoint the roster of officials who will officiate in any
tournament in which HTUA will participate with the proviso that the Chief Umpire shall be approved by
the Executive Committee, (2) manage, supervise, and evaluate through the Chief Umpire the actions of
working officials during tournaments. (3) Shall maintain on an annul basis the officiating records of all
individuals for the tournament in which HTUA participates.

SECTION 5: Training Committee
The Training Committee shall periodically conduct training sessions to develop and improve the officiating
skills of the Membership.

SECTION 6: Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee shall make nominations for the Officers and Directors and secure the approval
of such nominees. It shall file such nominations with the Secretary prior to the mailing of the written
notice of the Annual Meeting.


ARTICLE V. Meetings

SECTION 1: Meetings of the HTUA:

A. There shall be an Annual Meeting of the HTUA, held on a date during the last quarter of each year
selected by the President at a place designated by the President. At least two (2) weeks and not more than
four (4) weeks before the meeting a written notice thereof shall be mailed to each member of the HTUA by
the Secretary.

B. A special meeting of the HTUA may be called at any time by the President or Executive
Committee, or by the Secretary upon written request of ten (10) or more members. At least ten (10) days
before the meeting, a written notice shall be mailed to each member of the HTUA by the Secretary stating
the time, place and object of the meeting.

C. At all meetings of the HTUA, twenty percent (20%) of the Voting Membership present either in
person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum.

D. Each member voting as a proxy must present to the Secretary at the meeting the written credentials
from the member he represents.

SECTION 2: Executive Committee Meetings
The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the President or any member of the Executive
Committee.


ARTICLE VI. Gender
Whenever used herein, the masculine gender shall be construed to include the feminine gender.


ARTICLE VII. Amendments
Amendments to the by-laws may be made at any Annual Meeting or at any special meeting by a majority of
all the votes cast, provided that a notice of the proposed amendment to be sent to each member of the
HTUA by the Secretary in the notice of the meeting, and further provided that a quorum be present.


As Approved December 4, 1987
As Amended February 25, 1989
As Amended December 6, 1991
As Amended January 8, 1993
As Amended November 13, 1994
As Amended December 1, 1995
As Amended December 6, 1996
As Amended August 9, 1998
As Amended June 25, 2000

Email Link
Under development

Links to Other Sites
Under development