Policy and Procedures: Membership Management and Entitlement

Introduction

HKVCA is defined as a Corporation and membership is subject to the By-Laws of the Corporation (see Reference, above for details).

A membership in the Corporation must meet the qualifications specified in Articles 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Bylaws and individuals must be of 12 years of age or older.

Membership fees are set by the Corporation and are paid in advance.  All memberships are renewable on January 1 of the year concerned.

Membership in the Corporation includes the entitlement to vote during elections and/or any major business change that calls for a vote.

Membership is held at the National level, with each member associated with a specific region. Dues are paid directly to the National account and are verified by the Treasurer.

Membership Types

"R" - Regular Members

Membership in the HKVCA allows a Regular member the privilege of contributing to major decisions and elections by exercising a vote. Because HKVCA is designated as a "Corporation", each member has one share and is allowed one, and only one, vote.

Memberships are due for renewal on Jan 1 of each year. While the By-Law states that members in arrears by one month cease to be members, the Board of Directors will set a specific date on which a member is considered in arrears.

"H" - Honourary Members

The “Honourary Membership” classification may be granted to individuals under the following conditions: 

• After due Notice of Motion has been served to the Regional Membership and a ballot taken – justification shall be submitted to the Board of Directors outlining the attributes of the individual in relation to one or more of the following:
  • outstanding contribution in the service of the HK veterans in Canada
  • outstanding contribution to the Region proposing the honour
  • outstanding contribution to the HKVCA in particular.
• This membership classification is considered a courtesy or an award, therefore no fees shall be assessed, nor does this membership type include voting privileges, eligibility or entitlement to hold office in the HKVCA.
• Certificates and member cards shall be on forms prescribed by the Corporation and issued by the Region concerned.

This category will not be tracked at National level for membership statistics but members will be on our Email list.

Life Time Members

This member type includes V) and Widows (W). Life Time Members shall have the same privileges as shareholders (Regular Members). No fees or dues are charged

Responsibilities

Regional Membership Representatives

1. Through reports from the National database, monitor those members who have selected your region as the primary region for affiliation, and contact them as appropriate for local event notifications, etc.
2. Coordinate with the Treasurer and National Membeship rep to ensure that membership stats for your region are accurate.
3. Ensure that details on member type "W" (widow) are updated with the National Membership rep

National Membership Representative

1. Maintain the National Membership database in conjunction with the Treasurer.
2. Communicate with members as needed regarding status and dues payments.
3. Keep membership records, past and present, for audit purposes.
4. Cross-check member lists to ensure that no one holds a dual membership.
5. Provide membership details to the National newsletter editor as required for newsletter distribution.
6. Ensure widows listing in the National database is accurate, based on information forwarded by the Regions.
7. Coordinate changes to the National database architecture with the database developer.

Correspondence and Newsletters

Correspondence with members on membership matters is the responsibility of the National membership rep as stated above.

The Primary Region is responsible for corresponding with its region members including correspondence related to Region events.

Notwithstanding what is stated above, if a member wishes to also receive correspondence and newsletters from a second region, this should be arranged directly with the second region. Fees for this service may be charged at the discretion of the region involved.