The

CONSTITUTION

of the

CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS BASEBALL UMPIRES ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE TITLE PAGE

I NAME; MISSION; OBJECTIVE 2

II MEMBERSHIP 3 III DUES 5

IV OFFICERS; DUTIES 6 V COMMITTEES 9

VI MEETINGS; QUORUM; AMENDMENTS 10

VII UNIFORMS 11

VIII SPECIAL AWARDS 12

Document History:

Originally Approved by the Constitution Committee and Adopted by the Membership on March 23, 2009.

Amended by the Membership on February 17, 2011.

Amended by the Membership on March 18, 2012.

Amended by the Membership on February 27, 2013.

Amended by the Membership on January 27, 2019.

Amended and Restated by the Membership on February 4, 2025.

ARTICLE I:

NAME; MISSION; OBJECTIVE

Section 1:	Name This organization is legally chartered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as “Milford CMBUA, Inc.” and professionally known as the Central Massachusetts Baseball Umpires Association (CMBUA).
Section 2:	Mission The mission of the CMBUA is to maintain the highest standards of baseball umpiring as an active chapter of the Massachusetts Baseball Umpires Association (MBUA). The CMBUA embraces the importance of each individual Member maintaining a high level of professionalism in appearance, skill and decorum.
Section 3:	Objective The objective of the CMBUA is to supply high-quality professional umpires for (a) member High Schools of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA); (b) American Legion baseball; and (c) all other sanctioned organizations at any level of baseball.

ARTICLE II:

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:

General Membership Requirements

There are five classes of membership in the CMBUA (as described in Article II, Section 2).

Regardless of membership class, at all times every Member (except Junior Members) must be in full compliance with all background check requirements prescribed by the MIAA. A Member who is required to be but is not in full compliance with MIAA background check requirements may not (a) represent themselves to be a Member in good standing or (b) accept an umpiring assignment from any assignor (whether inside or outside the CMBUA).

Any Member who at any time fails to be in full compliance with MIAA background check requirements shall take immediate action to achieve compliance, or else be subject to removal from the CMBUA.

Section 2:

Membership Classes

Depending on the specific membership class, a Member may be required and/or permitted to do any of the following each year:

(a) pay dues as established by the Executive Board;

(b) attend the number of meetings required by the

Executive Board;

(e) receive a year of service credit.

(See the summary table at the end of this Section.)

Active – the main class of membership, with full participation in the CMBUA.

Inactive – a temporary status for umpires who cannot

officiate games in the current year. A Member must formally apply to the Membership Committee and be approved for Inactive status and must re-apply and be approved each subsequent year.

An Inactive Member shall pay 50% of the then-applicable annual dues. Upon return to Active status, the Member may be required to retake the Candidates’ Class if so determined by the Membership Committee.

An Inactive Member shall not be eligible to vote on any matter before the membership.

Any Member that officiates baseball games while on

Inactive status shall be subject to removal from the CMBUA.

Life – this status applies to any Member who has received

the Honorary Award (see Article VIII, Section 2). It is identical to Active status except that Life Members do not pay dues.

Junior – this status applies to those Members under the age of 18 who have completed the Candidate’s Class and passed the qualifying requirements to become a “patched” umpire.

Retired – an optional status for any Member who wishes to permanently stop umpiring games but remain involved with the CMBUA. Retired Members remain on the membership roster (email, etc.) and may attend meetings. A Retired Member shall not be eligible to vote on any matter before the membership.

The following table summarizes the requirements of each membership class:

MEMBER-

SHIP

CLASS

MUST

ATTEND

MEETINGS

TAKE

EXAM

PAY

DUES

MAY

WORK

GAMES

RECEIVE SERVICE

CREDIT

Active

Yes

Inactive

Yes (50%)

Life

Yes

Junior

Yes

Retired

Section 3:

College

Members that are in college will remain Active if they: (a) formally apply to the Membership Committee before

the first meeting of the season;

(b) pay full dues;

(d) take the refresher exam; and

(e) comply with MIAA background check requirements.

ARTICLE III:

DUES; TREASURY

Section 1: Dues

Dues for Active Members for the upcoming year shall be set by the Executive Board and announced to the membership simultaneously with the meeting schedule.

All dues shall be paid in full at or prior to the first meeting of the year.

Section 2: Treasury

The balance in the CMBUA Treasury may not exceed $8,000 at the end of any calendar year.

If the balance exceeds $8,000 as of December 31 (as shown on the year-end financial statement prepared by the Treasurer), then by majority vote at the first meeting of the year the membership shall decide whether to (a) waive the limit for that year; or (b) return the excess amount to the membership in the form of (i) goods and services; or (ii) a pro rata reduction in dues for that year.

ARTICLE IV:

OFFICERS; DUTIES

Section 1:

Executive Board

The officers of the CMBUA shall together constitute a

5-member Executive Board comprised of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Interpreter.

Only Active Members may hold a CMBUA office, and no

Member may hold more than one office at the same time.

Section 2:

Elections

Officers shall be elected each year for a 1-year term by a majority vote of a quorum of the membership at the last meeting of the year, and each officer shall assume their duties immediately and serve until another Member is elected in their place.

No office shall be term limited, and there shall be no automatic annual succession from any office to any other office.

If a vacancy arises during the year, the President shall appoint any Active Member to hold the office on an interim basis until the next election, with such appointment subject to the approval of the Executive Board; provided, however, that if the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice President shall succeed to that office and shall appoint a successor Vice President until the next election.

Nominations of officers for the next election may be made to the Secretary at any time throughout the year.

Section 3: Officer Duties

Officers shall have the following duties, and any other duties as the President may assign:

President

– set the agenda and preside over all meetings of the

Executive Board and meetings of the full membership – appoint all CMBUA representatives and ad hoc committees deemed advisable to advance the objectives of the CMBUA

– act as ex-officio non-voting member of all committees – have co-signature authority (with the Treasurer) on all CMBUA bank accounts.

Vice President

– in the absence of the President, preside at all meetings and exercise the powers and duties of the President until such absence is ended

– be responsible (with the assistance of the Interpreter) for all education and training of the membership, including (a) the educational content of each membership meeting and (b) the annual Candidates’ Class.

Secretary

– notify the membership (via email and CMBUA website)

of the date and time of each membership meeting, and regarding any other CMBUA business

– maintain the CMBUA web site

– maintain secure and accurate records of the membership (including each Member’s membership class, contact information, background check compliance status, active service credit, and service award eligibility) – track attendance at each membership meeting and record any votes taken

– maintain the CMBUA’s status as a chapter of the MBUA.

Treasurer

– have co-signature authority (with the President) on all

CMBUA bank accounts

– receive all dues and fines and pay all bills, and keep detailed records of all funds received and expended – at the first meeting of the year, present a written financial statement to the membership of the receipts and expenditures of the CMBUA as of December 31 of the calendar year just ended

– procure meeting space, food and beverages for each

membership meeting

– procure service award hardware for presentation each year

– maintain the CMBUA’s incorporation status with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Secretary of State, i.e., by completing all necessary corporate filings, etc.

Interpreter

– be the final authority on interpretation and application of baseball rules at all levels (MLB, NFHS, American Legion, etc.), and obtain rulings thereon as necessary

– provide assistance as requested by the Vice President relative to the education and training of the membership, including (a) the educational content of each membership meeting and (b) the annual Candidates’ Class – be responsible for composing, administering and scoring the annual refresher exam, and report all missing or failing scores to the Membership Committee.

ARTICLE V:

COMMITTEES

Section 1:

Qualifying Committee

This Committee shall consist of the Vice President and the Interpreter, and any other additional Active Members that the Vice President shall appoint each year (with the President as an ex-officio non-voting member).

The Committee shall determine who shall instruct the new Candidate’s Class, set the Class schedule and attendance requirements, and administer the Class according to the qualifying standards that the Committee sets. Upon recommendation of the Committee attesting to the Candidate’s qualifications, a Candidate will be granted CMBUA Membership and shall pay annual dues.

Section 2:

Membership Committee

This Committee will consist of up to five Active Members who shall be appointed by the President each year (with the President as an ex-officio non-voting member). No Member of the Committee may hold any CMBUA office or any other CMBUA appointment.

The Committee shall exclusively review and act upon all matters relative to the status of Members, including imposing fines or other corrective action up to removal from CMBUA.

The Committee will meet as often as necessary to review Member compliance with membership requirements and shall have the final authority to take any action or no action regarding the status of any individual Member.

Through the Committee, the CMBUA levies fines for unexpected actions by a Member, in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) Failure to pay dues on time $25.00 (b) Missing any mandatory meeting $25.00 (c) Not attending required # of meetings $40.00 (d) Failure to take/submit a refresher exam $75.00 (e) Earning a failing exam score (< 80%) $25.00

Failure to pay any of the above fines by the due date (established by the Committee at the time the fine is imposed) shall carry an additional $25.00 fine, as well as possible removal from the CMBUA.

Any final action taken by the Committee shall not be subject to appeal by the Member.

ARTICLE VI:

MEETINGS; QUORUM; AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Membership Meetings

Unless otherwise determined by the Executive Board in advance of a given year, there shall be 5 membership meetings scheduled each season, of which each Member must attend a minimum of 3 meetings.

All membership meetings for the season shall be held no earlier than the last Sunday in January and no later than the first Sunday in June. The Executive Board will schedule meetings to avoid conflicts with school vacation dates and holidays as much as possible, and the Secretary shall notify the membership of the meeting schedule by January 1.

The Executive Board in its discretion may designate one meeting as mandatory for the entire membership.

Section 2:

Quorum

Except for purposes of amending this Constitution, twenty-five (25) Active Members shall constitute a quorum at any membership meeting, and the majority vote of the total Members at a meeting shall govern all questions.

For amendments to this Constitution (in accordance with Section 3 below), a quorum shall consist of at least 50% of the total Active membership of the CMBUA.

Section 3:

ARTICLE VII:

Amendments

This Constitution may only be amended at any membership meeting by a majority vote of the Members present when (a) the required Quorum is present and (b) the Executive Board has received the proposed amendment in writing (email sufficient) and has notified the membership at least 2 weeks prior.

UNIFORMS

When officiating any MIAA-sanctioned high school game, all Members shall comply with the uniform requirements published by the MBUA. In all other contexts, Members shall comply with the uniform code of the league/location in which they work. Any color shirt is acceptable as long as the entire crew wears the same color.

ARTICLE VIII:

SPECIAL AWARDS

Section 1:

President’s Award

Presented automatically to any Member who has achieved at least 25 total years of service with CMBUA.

This award consists of a customized 25-year ring.

Section 2:

Honorary Award

Presented automatically to any Member that (a) is a current or past CMBUA President with at least 20 total years of service to CMBUA; or (b) has at least 28 total years of service to CMBUA. This award consists of Lifetime membership status.

Section 3:

Emilio Diotalevi Memorial “Extra Innings” Award

Presented any time the President deems a Member deserving of special recognition and nominates them for this honor, subject to the approval of the Executive Board. The award consists of an appropriate gift determined by the President (e.g., Norman Rockwell print, wristwatch, desk watch, plaque, gift certificate, etc.).