StAR – the St Augustine Rocketeers
by·laws \`bi-,loz\ n [ME bilawe, prob. fr. (assumed) ON bylög, fr. ON byr town + lög law] : rules adopted by an organization chiefly for the government of its members and the regulation of its affairs
Bylaws (first draft) last amended: August 21, 2020
Article 1. Name
The name of this organization shall be the St Augustine Rocketeers, a chartered Section (StAR #876) of the National Association of Rocketry.
Article 2. Purpose
It shall be the purpose of this Section to:
(a) to aid and encourage the safe pursuit of amateur rocketry through the practical application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(b) aid and abet the aims and purpose of the NAR in Saint Augustine, Florida and surrounding areas,
(c) to supply a safe, educational and legal means of furthering the hobby of model rocketry in accordance with the NAR Standards and Regulations,
(d) to aid and encourage the development of all club members’ knowledge and expertise in the area of model rocketry, from basic to advanced technical skills, through educational meetings including guest lecturers, supervised construction meetings and launches and
(e) to engage in other scientific, educational, or related activities as the NAR, the Section, or the Section Board of Directors may from time to time deem necessary or desirable in connection with the foregoing.
Article 3. Membership
Individual NAR membership is strongly encouraged but not required. A minimum of two persons with individual senior NAR membership and NAR member insurance are required in order for the club to become a sanctioned NAR Section.
Membership categories shall be:
(a) StAR membership shall be available as follows:
- Senior Membership ($25) – Individuals 18 and older who are not part of a family membership.
- Junior Membership ($20) – Individuals ages 14-17 who are not part of a family membership.
- Family Membership ($40) – Immediate family members (flyer, spouse / domestic partner and children ages 14 -17).
- Educational Team Membership ($40) – For high school/college/university team built rocket launches (10 members / team max, excluding the team advisor when that person is not part of the team, as in a TARC team). Team members seeking HPR certification must join StAR at the junior or senior membership level prior to their certification attempt.
(b) Children under 14 years old fly free (A-D impulse class motors only) provided that a parent / legal guardian is a StAR member and present at the launch directly supervising their activities.
(c) All StAR members must have completed a Membership Application, AND a Launch Liability Acceptance form prior to launching any rocket.
(d) The annual membership term extends from January 1st to December 31st.
Membership in category (a) above requires that an adult parent or legal guardian also be an active Section member and sign a parental permission form. All Youth members must be accompanied by an Adult member at all meetings and launches.
Article 4. Dues
Dues shall be paid on a yearly basis, payable in advance. The membership year shall run from January 1 through December 31. These section dues are separate and distinct from any national dues paid to NAR. Individual NAR membership is strongly encouraged but not required.
Membership dues will be set by vote of the Board of Directors at a Section Meeting.
Funds collected under this article shall only be used for StAR materials, supplies, equipment, and launch site needs. All such monies are non-refundable. Club membership dues defined in Article 3, and are due annually at the first meeting each January. As a condition of membership, each club member:
(a) Shall pay the following yearly membership fee identified in Article 3 before launching a rocket in a new membership year.
(b) Members joining between September1st and November 30th shall pay a pro-rated fee of 50% of the associated membership fee on the date of their membership application submission. After November 30th the fee paid shall be the full fee that shall extend their membership through December 31st of the following year.
(c) May be subject to launch fees or club equipment assessment fees as approved by a simple majority vote of the club officers to support the needs of the club.
(d) Who has not paid their dues, fees, or assessments within 30 days of the date charged to them shall be considered delinquent, not in good standing, and may not participate in club activities.
(e) Who has unpaid dues, fees, or assessments after 60 days is subject to dismissal from the club as approved by a simple majority vote of the club officers.
Article 5. Meetings
An annual Section meeting (open to all Section business) shall be held during the first quarter of the calendar year. Additional Section meetings shall be held throughout the year as needs and interest require.
All Section meetings at which officers or members of the Board of Directors will be elected, the Bylaws amended, membership dues or flight card fees changed, or any special assessment levied, require a five day notice to the membership in a form deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.
Section launches will be held on dates determined at an annual planning meeting held towards the end of the preceding year. The planning meeting shall be held early enough to allow for the timely processing of documents with the launch site landowner and the FAA so as to not delay the start of the following year’s launches. A Section launch is not considered a Section meeting.
A quorum of the Section membership must be present in order to hold an official meeting of the Section. A quorum shall consist of five members of the Section.
Article 6. Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of this section shall consist of the five officers and two members at large all of whom shall be members of the Section and the NAR.
Article 7. Officers
The officers of this section shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Senior Advisor, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Webmaster and a Past President, all of whom shall be members of the Section and the NAR. The post of Senior Advisor will be combined with that of the President unless the elected President is not a Senior member [not 21] of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). In such a case, a Senior Advisor shall be elected or appointed by the Executive Board.
Article 8. Elections
Elections of officers (except Past President) and members of the Board of Directors shall take place at the annual Section meeting. All officers and members of the Board of Directors shall serve a term of one year. Vacancies in offices and on the Board of Directors shall be filled by nomination and election of a Section member to serve the remaining term of office and shall take place at the Section meeting at which the vacancy is announced. Nominations for all elections shall be made from the floor, and the candidate having the largest number of votes shall be elected.
When a President is succeeded, he assumes the office of Past President. If the office of Past President becomes vacant, only former Presidents or Vice Presidents are eligible to fill the office.
Article 9. Committees
There shall be three standing committees of the Section, plus such additional committees as the Board of Directors may from time to time deem necessary or desirable.
The Standing Committees are as follows:
(a) The Operations Committee shall be in charge of the Section’s model rocket range and launch equipment, shall monitor the experimental technical activities of the Section members, and shall act as Safety Inspectors. This Committee shall also be in charge of all arrangements for contests and shall monitor all national record attempts by Section members. The Chairman of this committee shall be a Senior Member of the NAR in good standing and shall act as Range Safety and Control Officer under the NAR Official Standards and Regulations.
(b) The Activities Committee shall be in charge of making all arrangements for all Section meetings, for conducting membership campaigns, and carrying on public relations.
(c) The Education Committee shall be in charge of educating all Section members in the safe and proper procedures of the hobby of model rocketry. This Committee shall be in charge of making all arrangements for presentations or demonstrations at Section meetings by guest lecturers.
(d) The Section President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Article 10. Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those youth and adult Section members present and voting at any official meeting of the Section, providing notice of the pending amendment has been given to the membership at least five days in advance of the meeting in a form deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. Youth members (age eleven and under) may not vote to amend these Bylaws.
Article 11. Launches
Club launches shall be held on a monthly basis, weather permitting. The time and date of all launches and rain dates shall be made known to the membership via E-mail and the StAR web page.
(a) Persons desiring to fly at these launches need not be members of StAR but they will be asked to join if present on a regular basis.
(b) Users of engines higher than C must be both a StAR and a NAR member.
(c) A launch fee may be requested which includes funds for equipment updates and contributions to the farm or land owner for use of the field.
(d) All rocket motors used at StAR launches must appear on the most recent certified motor lists published by the National Association of Rocketry (NAR).
(e) Launches will be under the ultimate authority of the Range Safety Officer (RSO), if appointed, the Launch Control Officer (LCO), or the highest ranking club officer present.
(f) No person may serve as RSO or LCO unless that person is a current StAR member and insured by NAR. In other words, only insured flyers may “push the button” to initiate a launch.
(g) Launches shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable NAR Safety Codes, and in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
(h) A copy of Range Rules must be available at launches to detail all launch requirements.