Top
USS CORAL SEA
CVA-43 ASSOCIATION

 Association By-Laws 

By-Laws adopted October 6, 1982, revised: October 6, 1984; October 7, 1989; October 1999, October 2005, October 2007 & October 2011.


Article I NAME:

The name of the Association is the U.S.S. Coral Sea CVA-43 Association.

Article II STATUS:

This Association is a non-profit, volunteer, membership organization, incorporated in the state of South Carolina, and as described in IRS Code 503 (C) 19.

Article III PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Association shall be to perpetuate the memory of U.S.S. Coral Sea CVB, CVA, CV-43, commissioned 1 October, 1947; decommissioned 24 April 1957; re-commissioned 25 January 1960; decommissioned 30 April 1990.

Article IV MEMBERSHIP:

Sec. 1 Membership is open to all U.S.S. Coral Sea CVB, CVA, CV-43 personnel, of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps or U.S. Air Force having served aboard this Ship for a period of at least 90 days. Any person, who was assigned to the commissioning crew, even if they spent less than 90 days aboard, shall be eligible for membership.

Sec. 2 The Association President, on recommendation of other members and approval of the Executive Board, may grant honorary memberships in exceptional cases where that honor is warranted. Honorary members shall not be required to pay dues and they shall have no vote in the business of the Association.

Sec. 3 Association memberships shall be open to relatives and friends of current members who wish to participate in the Association activities. In addition, other military personnel or civilians who were aboard U.S.S. Coral Sea while underway, not mentioned in Sec. 1, may also be associate members. An associate member shall pay annual dues, as set forth by the Executive Board and have all the rights of a member, except they shall have no vote in Association business.

Article V MEETINGS:

Sec. I An annual business meeting of the Association shall be held in October as close as possible to the weekend when Columbus Day is observed. Location of the annual meeting shall be as designated by a membership vote and is selected 2 (two) years hence.

Sec. 2 The Association President shall call an Executive Board meeting on the Thursday preceding the annual business meeting.

Sec. 3 In the year of Presidential election, the newly-elected Association President shall call a meeting of the Executive Board immediately after the business meeting.

Sec. 4 Meetings of the Association shall be conducted by the President, or in his absence by the Vice President, or in the absence of both of these Officers, by first the Secretary, then the treasurer.

Sec. 5 Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with these By-Laws. The membership shall transact such other business as may properly come before them. (See Article XVI)

Sec. 6 The Association Secretary is to record minutes of the business conducted. Copies of the minutes are to be distributed to paid-up members in the following quarter.

Sec. 7 The Association treasurer shall give a financial report at the annual Executive Board meeting and at the annual business meeting. The content of this report must be previously audited by the Auditing Committee.

Sec. 8 If the appointed parliamentarian is absent at a business meeting, the President shall appoint a pro-tem Parliamentarian.

Article VI DIRECTORS:

Sec. 1 The Board of Directors shall consist of three members, each serving a 3 (three) year term. Therefore, a new member of the Board of Directors is elected by the Association membership each year at the annual reunion business meeting.

Sec. 2 The Executive Board shall consist of: the Board of Directors, the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and the immediate Past Association President whom is capable of serving as a Board Member.

The Executive Board shall be the senior governing body of the Association.

A majority of the Executive Board members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Executive Board.

Sec. 3 Any Association matter may be submitted for consideration by a member in good standing to the Executive Board at their annual meetings, held before or after the annual business meeting. The request should be in writing, addressed to the President and submitted in time for it to be included in the agenda for the appropriate Executive Board meeting.

Should it become necessary between annual business meetings of the Executive Board to conduct a vote on any issue that cannot wait until the next scheduled Executive Board meeting, a written request to the President or Vice-President for such a vote must be made.

Article VII OFFICERS:

Sec. 1 Proposed Officers shall be nominated by voting members in attendance at the Association’s annual business meting. After the nominees are selected, the election vote by the voting members in attendance shall take place. Voting may be by open or closed ballot at the discretion of the President or Executive Board or as directed by the voting members of the Association at the business meeting. All Officers, both elected and appointed shall take office immediately upon election at the annual Association business meeting.

a) For a 2 (two) year term:

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

b) For a 3 (three) year term:

One member of the Board of Directors

Sec. 2 Duties and responsibilities of Officers shall be as follows:

The President shall:

The Vice-President shall:

The Secretary shall:

These quarterly financial reports must be sent to the Treasurer so that they are received by the 15 th. day of the reporting month, i.e. January, April, July and October.

The Treasurer shall:

Sec. 3 The Officers, Directors and members of committees of the Association shall receive no compensation for services benefiting the Association.

Sec. 4 Any Officer may be removed from office at the discretion of the Executive Board for conduct not in the best interest of the Association, after having had an opportunity to present his case for retention.

Article VIII ELIGIBILITY OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN:

All Officers and Committee Chairmen must be members in good standing, with current paid-up dues.

Article IX: VOTING:

Voting privileges for members of the Association shall be extended to those paid-up members, except associate and honorary members, in attendance at the annual business meeting. A majority vote of those voting shall prevail, except on votes pertaining to proposed changes to the By-Laws, where a two-thirds majority vote is required. (See Article XV)

Article X DUES:

Sec. 1 The dues of the U.S.S. Coral Sea CVA-43 shall be $15.00 per year for the period of October 1 st. to September 30 th. Any dues increase must be recommended by the Executive Board and voted on by the members present at the annual business meeting. Any increase would be retroactive to October 1 st. of the year in which the increase is approved. All plank owners i.e. all those on the Ship’s original commissioning crew shall pay no membership fee. All those in excess of 80 years of age shall pay no dues.

Sec. 2 Any delinquent members may be reinstated by the payment of current dues.

Article XI ASSOCIATION PROPERTY:

Sec. 1 All material donated to or purchased with Association funds including: pictures, display material, files, artifacts, printed material, etc. shall become the sole property of the Association and shall be actively in the custody of a member, or members designated for this responsibility by the President.

Sec. 2 Custodians of these materials are to provide the Secretary with an itemized listing of these materials, also showing the whereabouts of the property entrusted to them.

Article XII COMMITTEES:

Sec. 1 The President shall have supervisory responsibility for all committees, but shall exercise such responsibility only through the designated elected Officer, if any is assigned to oversee or supervise that committee.

Sec. 2 Any member participating on any committee shall be responsible for his activity to the committee chairman, appointed by the President or elected by the membership. The committee chairman shall be responsible to the President.

Sec. 3 Committees shall be of two types:

Sec. 4 Each appointed committee chairman shall select his own committee members, with the assistance of the President, if desired with the exception of the Scholarship committee Chairman.

Sec. 5 Special purpose committees and their duties:

Audit Committee: This committee shall audit the records of the Treasurer annually prior to the annual business meeting. The Audit Committee shall consist of 3 (three) members who shall be elected by the Association membership as follows: one 3 (three) year member, one 2 (two) year member and 1 (one) year member.

Sub-audit Committee: this committee shall audit the Reunion Committee records and give their report to the regular Audit Committee as a supplemental report.

By-Laws Committee: Members of this committee shall communicate and consult by mail, telephone and/or other electronic means, or if possible meet together, no later than early May of each year in order to prepare any suggestions or amendments to the By-Laws. Copies of these proposed amendments are to be sent to the Secretary so that he receives them no later than May 20 th. each year, for publication in the June issue of the Association newsletter “Sea Breeze”.

The chairman of the By-Laws Committee or his appointee will submit the proposed By-Laws changes to the membership at the Association’s annual business meeting for their vote. (See Article XV)

Reunion Committee: The Chairman shall be responsible for getting contracts signed by the entities participating in the reunion: hotels, suppliers, caterers, etc. and forwarding them to the President for his approval and validating signature. (The Reunion Chairman has no authority to sign any contracts or other documents obligating the Association.)

He shall make arrangements with the hotel to provide:

Sec. 6 Standing Committees and their duties:

Reunion Time & Place Committee:

Newsletter Publication Committee:

Under supervision of the President guidelines for the “Sea Breeze” are:

Membership Recruiting Committee:

All Association members are automatically members of this committee and shall endeavor to interest eligible persons to become active members of the Association. The Vice-President shall serve as Chairman.

Public Relations Committee:

Under the supervision of the Vice-President, this committee shall be responsible for recommending appropriate action in support of memorial programs already adopted by the Association and to recommend or propose such suitable new memorials as are within Association funding limits to honor veterans of the U.S.S. Coral Sea.

Greeting committee:

Under the supervision of the Vice-President, this committee shall be responsible for initiating a reception program to greet all members and prospective members at the annual reunion site.

Scholarship Committee

Article XIII APPOINTMENTS:

As soon as possible after the annual business meeting, the President may appoint members to serve the association as:

Chaplain

Parliamentarian

Historian

Master-at –Arms

Museum Custodian

Liaison to any ship that may be named U.S.S. Coral Sea.

Article XIV SMALL STORES:

A listing of all income received, including sources and amounts.

All expenditures, including copies of receipts for amounts paid out. These quarterly financial reports must be sent to the Treasurer so that they are received by the 15 th. day of the reporting month, i.e. January, April, July and October.

Treasurer. This report shall show the totals of income and expenditures that were listed on the quarterly reports. The annual financial report must be received by the treasurer by July 15 th.

Any item with the Coral Sea Association name or logo or other Coral Sea representation on it, or in it, may only be sold thru the Coral Sea Small Stores. No one but the Small Stores Storekeeper or his appointee may purchase items for sale through the Coral Sea Small Stores.


Article XV AMENDMENTS:

Any part of these By-Laws may be repealed, amended or added to by submitting the proposition in writing with the member’s signature to the By-Laws Committee for their Consideration per Article XII, Sec. 5.

Amendments submitted for repeal, change or addition will be considered each year. Such proposals, if deemed valid by the By-Laws Committee shall be published in the June issue of the Association newsletter, “Sea Breeze”, so the committee must send them to the Secretary by May 20 th. each year.

These proposed changes will be brought before the membership at the Association’s annual business meeting each year for a vote on their approval or rejection. Adoption of the proposition will require passage by a two-thirds majority vote of the members voting. If the proposed change is adopted, it will take effect immediately. No more than two amendments to a proposed By-Laws change or addition may be submitted from the floor.

Article XVI PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE:

The latest revision of “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall govern the conduct of Association business in all cases where they are applicable and where they are not in conflict with these By-Laws.

Article XVII DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION:

In the event of dissolution of the Association, all monies of the Association shall be turned over to the museum and memorials of the Association to be used for the expenses of preserving these entities for as long as the funds shall last.