BY-LAWS

BY-LAWS OF THE SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL WINE GUILD

REVISED BY THE MEMBERSHIP, OCTOBER 16TH, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLE I NAME
ARTICLE II PURPOSE
ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE IV DUES
ARTICLE V OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI DUTIES OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE VII NON-ELECTED OFFICERS
ARTICLE VIII ELECTIONS
ARTICLE IX MEETINGS
ARTICLE X EXECUTIVE BOARD
ARTICLE XI COMMITTEES
ARTICLE XII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENTS
ARTICLE XIV COMPETITIONS

ARTICLE I. NAME

These bylaws establish a social organization, whose name shall be San Antonio Regional Wine Guild, referred to herein as the “Guild” or “SARWG”.  This is a social club.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The purpose of this organization will be to:

1. Perpetuate and cultivate the art of winemaking and wine appreciation in the United States of America.

2. Draw people together who want to improve their skills in winemaking through education, contests, sharing of information, and social interaction.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.

Membership will be open to everyone, regardless of race, creed, or previous origin, interested in the art of winemaking and who are of legal Texas drinking age.

Section 2.

The active membership of The Guild shall consist of persons who have paid their dues.

Section 3.

Members of SARWG acknowledge that consumption of alcoholic beverages is an individual responsibility. Accepting membership status automatically means that the member agrees to abide by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission rules and regulations; the member acknowledges and takes responsibility for his/her own actions, and the member will never hold another member, or meeting host, responsible for his/her own actions.

Section 4.

Two classes of membership are established:

ARTICLE IV. DUES

Section 1.

Dues are payable on July 1st of each year. Dues may be prorated for new members for those who join after January 1st.

Section 2.

Anyone joining at or after the date of any Competition will be paid through the following dues year.

Section 3.

The amount of dues are set by the recommendation of the Executive Committee subject to the approval of the membership majority vote. Dues may be changed only at the end of the Guild year in June.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

Section 1.

The following elected offices are established:

Section 2.

The term of office for all officers will be one year.

Section 3.

The normal succession of officers will prevail for the offices of Vice President to President. This means that the Vice President is automatically elevated to President without any further action. The only exceptions are when the individual announces that he/she does not desire to serve as president, or if there is another candidate seeking the office. Then filling this office will proceed as with the filling of the other elected offices. The Nominating Committee will attempt to fill all vacant positions. Being nominated to an office does not guarantee election to that office. Nominations can be made from the floor provided that the nominee has agreed to accept the position if elected.

Section 4.

Nothing in these By-laws will be construed to prevent one person from being elected to fill two offices if it is the will of the active membership, with the exception of the office of The President.

Section 5.

Officers are subject to removal from office by 2/3rd vote of the membership for failure to abide by the By-laws.

ARTICLE VI. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

ARTICLE VII. NON-ELECTED OFFICERS

Newsletter Editor: The newsletter editor is a non-elected office. The editor is recruited by the President. He/she publishes The SARWG Newsletter including any articles submitted by any of the elected officers, the membership at large, information from other wine making clubs, and/or information about national events that may seem appropriate. Newsletter distribution will be decided by the Executive Board.

Webmaster: The webmaster is a non-elected office. The webmaster is appointed by the President. He/she maintains the SARWG web site and serves as content editor, subject to guidance from the Executive Board.

Competition Committee:  Established as needed for competitions as set Forth below.

ARTICLE VIII. ELECTIONS

The annual election of officers will be held by the members present at the June meeting. The Election Official will be the Chairman of the Nominating Committee. The election may be by written ballot, show of hands, or voice vote at the discretion of the Election Official. A member who is unable to attend the Annual General Meeting may assign his/her proxy to any other member of record at any time prior to the actual vote. His/Her Proxy will be cast in accordance with his/her instructions to the Proxy Holder and have the same effect as if the absent member were actually present and cast their vote in person. Proxies may be conveyed by printed form or electronic media (email or fax) and must contain the name of the assigning member, the name of the Proxy Holder (member to whom the proxy is assigned), the desired votes of the assigning member or the release of the votes to the Proxy Holder, and the time and date of assignment. Written assignments must be signed by the assigning member. Electronic proxies must originate from an email address or fax number associated with the assigning member. Newly elected officers will begin their term with the July meeting.

ARTICLE IX. MEETINGS

Section 1.

Meetings will be held once each month, except November, generally on the third Sunday, unless the host for that month determines that another date is more appropriate because of a holiday, conflict or other extenuating circumstance.

Section 2.

The annual meeting is the June meeting. The Guild Year begins in July.

Section 3.

Members are expected to bring a dish, a bottle of wine, and individual drinking glass.

Section 4.

The active members attending a regular meeting will constitute a quorum. In the event that any member feels there are an insufficient number of attendees to assure a fair opinion, he/she may move to table the business until the next meeting.

ARTICLE X. EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board will consist of all of the present officers plus the immediate past president and the Newsletter Editor.

ARTICLE XI. COMMITTEES

Section 1. Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee chairman will be the current president or his/her appointee. The chairman will appoint two members at the March meeting and the committee members’ names will be published in the April SARWG Newsletter. This will allow any member adequate time to inform the committee that they wish to run for office. The committee will also canvas the membership. This canvas should be thorough enough to allow any member the opportunity to run for office. It is not the committee’s duty to elect office holders. That is reserved to the general membership. Therefore, if more than one member desires to run for a specific office the committee will submit all of their names to the General Membership Meeting for their consideration. The Committee’s recommended slate of officers will be published in the May Newsletter.

Section 2. All other committees

All committees are appointed by the President, to serve for a limited time and for a specific purpose.

ARTICLE XII. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Parliamentary authority for The Guild will be Robert’s Rules of Order.

ARTICLE XIII. AMENDMENTS

Proposed amendments to the by-laws will be presented to the membership at one meeting, published in the next Newsletter, and voted on at the next meeting. Enactment of any changes will require an affirmative vote of a majority of the active members present at that meeting. Revised versions of the by-laws will distributed to the active membership by the Newsletter Editor. Tie votes will be considered an affirmative vote.

ARTICLE XIV. COMPETITIONS

The Guild may sponsor competitions at any time, based on approval of the members, and availability of competition location.  The time of year, date and location to be determined by the Executive Committee.  All members in good standing will be eligible to compete.

Section 1. Competition Committee Personnel

Competition Chairperson:

 The Chairperson of the Competition and members of the Competition Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Board, provided the appointee agrees to the position. The competition chairperson has full authority to administer all duties required for the competition including: selection of wine categories to be judged, decision on the number of Best of Show awards [e.g. Grape and Non-Grape], recruiting members to chair the competition positions listed below, and has the final say on all administrative issues. He/she is also responsible for getting competition information to the Newsletter Editor for publication in the SARWG Newsletter.

Assistant Competition Chairperson:

 Assists the Competition Chairperson and arranges for all outside judges.

Competition Registrar:

Members are responsible for appropriately identifying their wine, placing it in the correct category and certifying no entry has previously placed first or second in a SARWG competition before offering it for registration. The Registrar accept entries, assigns bottle numbers and registers wines for judging. Competition

Head Judge:

 Recruits qualified member-assistants to judge the entries in the competition in conjunction with the outside judges recruited by the Competition Assistant Chairperson. Assigns all judges to their categories and supervises all aspects of the judging procedure including the determination of “Best of Show” in consultation with the Head Steward. Is the final decision authority on all wine judging issues for the Competition

Head Steward:

 Assures that entries are in appropriate bottles and that they are placed in the correct category. If incorrectly categorized, the Head Steward, with the concurrence of the Head Judge, will move the entry to the correct category and notify the Registrar of the move. Recruits assistants to facilitate an orderly judging process, arranges for water, glasses, bread trays, coolers, opening of bottles, arranging signs, cleaning up, and assisting the judges as necessary. Competition

Head Auditor:

 Recruits qualified auditors and supervises the competition of scores from the judging forms, arranges for the return of all scoring sheets to the contestants, and completes the information required on each contest ribbon.

Competition Snack, Tasting, & Sweepstakes Table Coordinator:

 Arranges and coordinates the snack, tasting, and Sweepstakes tables.

Section 2. Competition Rules:

A Rules Committee, appointed by the President, will establish and maintain a document entitled Rules for Competition. Proposed rules and changes thereto may be approved by a majority at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Guild following a first reading of the proposal, without the necessity for amendments to these By-Laws. Publication in the Guild’s newsletter will be considered to be a first reading.


ADOPTED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL WINE GUILD ACTIVE MEMBERS AT THE GENERAL MEETING OF MARCH 16th, 2003 AND AMENDED ON MAY 16th, 2004, JANUARY 9th, 2005, JULY 19th, 2009, FEBRUARY 16th, 2020, and October 16, 2022

CERTIFIED:

D NAMDAR
SARWG PRESIDENT