The policy and procedure manual is a compilation of decisions of the Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as the Board) for the Irish Wolfhound Club of Canada (hereinafter known as the Club) on matters of policy and practical procedure including accounting, personnel, duties, meetings, and application processing.

The intent of the manual is to provide a single, unified, current and comprehensive resource document to better inform the members of the Board and Club’s operations, responsibilities and function. The Board can review, update, and, if necessary, consolidate its Policy and Procedure Manual at any time.

The manual has a number of chapters, each dealing with a particular aspect of Club operation. The individual chapters may deal with subjects such as, but not limited to, the National Specialty, Club operations, the Bulletin, Branch relations, finances et al.

IWCC Policy and Procedure Manual – revised 2024

Chapter I: Policy and Procedure Manual Specifications

1.1

Policy may be created, amended or deleted by a simple majority vote of the Board, voting either in person, during an on-line meeting or conference call, or by any other voting method permitted in the Bylaws. Policy decisions, once approved, shall be recorded in this manual in the appropriate chapter and sub-section; amendments to existing policy will replace the outdated policy, which will be removed. Each page shall be dated, and the dates of the most recent amendments to any item shall be included. All sections that are amended, removed or replaced will be archived with the Secretary’s records.

1.2

An electronic copy of the policy and procedure manual shall be provided to each Member of the Board and on request, a hard copy can be supplied at no cost. The P&P manual will also be published on the members-only area of the website. A member may request a hard copy of the policy and procedure manual, which will be sent by mail, subject to a reasonable charge for printing and delivery. Such charges and fees shall be determined from time to time by the Board.

1.3

All members have the right to bring any concerns and questions about the activities of the Club or the Board, the Code of Ethics, conflicts of interest, or any other matter of policy, procedure or Bylaw to the Board to be addressed. In all cases, answers to questions raised by the membership of the Club or the Board shall be determined by the contents of the Policy and Procedure manual. Where a question is not answered in the manual, the Board will consult the Bylaws for determination of appropriate policy or procedure. New policy created in this fashion shall be recorded as per Chapter 7 of this manual.

Chapter 2: Membership, Dues and Termination

2.1

An automatic grace period for payment of dues is in place, allowing payment by March 31st. The bylaws permit the Board to extend a further 3 months grace period at its discretion. The Board will consider such a request where:

1. The member has requested this extension in writing before March 31st of the membership year in question
2. The member has demonstrated severe financial hardship and
3. The Board has voted to allow the extension by a simple majority.

2.2

Any member whose dues are not paid for the current year, even where granted an extended grace period by the Board, may not cast a ballot on any votes called during the time that dues are not paid in full. Full voting rights are reinstated only when dues are paid up-to-date before the end of any grace period given. If dues are not received before the end of the grace period, membership will lapse.

2.3

Qualifying for Class A membership, with full membership rights including voting, requires 3 consecutive years of Associate membership to be completed. When a membership lapses or is terminated, for whatever reason, the process to rejoin the Club is the same: a 3-year Associate membership must be completed before Class A membership is attained again.

Chapter 3: Duties of Directors & Officers

3.1

The Board may, at its discretion, support projects, within or outside the Club, that will advance the interests of the Irish Wolfhound breed. Such projects might include health studies of the Irish Wolfhound, Rescue related donations, or support of new or ongoing specialties and performance events. Treasurer.

3.2.1

To enhance continuity and lessen confusion, the Board may request that an outgoing Treasurer stay on to complete the fiscal year and produce the annual report, before handing over to the newly-elected Treasurer in January.

3.2.2

The Treasurer will ensure that financial records, current to the last day of the month before, are available at all meetings.

3.2.3

As per Bylaw and Act requirement, the Treasurer will provide a year-to-date report and the bank balance, to be circulated to all members, at the AGM.

3.2.4

If for any reason the Treasurer is unable to perform the duties of the office in a timely manner, or for an extended period of time, he or she will notify the President and Secretary immediately so that alternate arrangements can be made to ensure that financial duties are carried out and records are maintained.

3.3: Secretary

The Secretary will publish the annual report of the previous year in the Bulletin and on the members-only page of the official website, as soon as it is received.

3.4: Remuneration

Remuneration for expenses, to members of the Board, may only be made where: specific remuneration is pre-approved by simple majority vote of the Board where expenditure was not pre-approved, but was made in consultation with the President and at least one other officer in an emergency situation to protect the interests of the Club.

3.5.1: Signing Authority

As required in the Bylaws, the President, first Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer will have signing authority for the Club.

3.5.2

Section 8 of the Bylaws of the IWCC states: “…The Board of Directors shall have power to appoint an officer or officers to sign specific contracts, documents and instruments in writing on behalf of the IWCC-CCLI…”

Where the Board appoints such an additional officer or Board member to sign specific contracts, documents and/or instruments in writing on behalf of the Club, a second signature of an authorized officer, as specified in the Bylaws, is still required.

3.6.1: Conflict of Interest

Members of the Board shall identify any and all potential conflicts of interest to the Board as a whole, whenever such conflicts arise. A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity. This can also extend to benefits to friends, relatives or colleagues.

3.6.2

If they are aware of a potential conflict of interest that is undeclared, any Board member can, and should, notify the President. The President may ask (or, with a simple majority vote of the other Board members, insist), that a Board member recuse him/herself where a conflict of interest appears to exist.

3.7: Removal of Officers

The criteria for removal of an officer may include, but are not limited to:

• proven failure to perform required duties accurately or within reasonable timeframes
• behaviour that is prejudicial or potentially damaging to the IWCC or to one or more of its members
• failure to identify major conflicts of interest that might provide financial or other benefits to the officer or to his or her friends or colleagues.

Chapter 4: Committees

4.1

The Board may create a Club committee at any time, and to address any matter raised by a board member that pertains to the Club. Committees may also be created at the suggestion of a voting member with the Board’s approval. The Board shall specify the purpose of each committee, and how each committee chairperson and/or committee member will be selected.

4.2

Committee members will consist of Club members in good standing. The committee may draw on help from persons outside the Club, but official committee membership requires membership in the Club.

4.3

Committees may include Board members but are not required to, unless specified in the Club Bylaws, the Not For Profit Act, or by the Board when striking the committee.

4.4

Each committee shall have its own committee Chair. The Chair will be responsible for duties such as -but not limited to-: overseeing meetings, keeping the committee focussed on its mandate, and reporting to the Board.

4.5

To ensure that the Board is kept aware of committee progress, committees will provide written updates to the Club Secretary for each Board meeting. The Secretary will notify committee Chairs of the next BOD meeting once the date has been established.

4.6

Committees are to keep minutes of their meetings. Minutes are to be presented to the Board for review, but will not be published for the general membership.

4.7

Committees are to present their final work- information, recommendations, report or whatever the specified work of the committee included – to the Board for approval.

Chapter 5: Meetings

5.1

Board meetings will be held at intervals agreed upon by the Board members.

5.2

Board meetings will be conducted in such a way as to include all Board members. In person, Skype, teleconferencing, phone-in or other video/audio methods may be used.

5.3

Annual General meetings will be held every year at the IWCC National Specialty, on whichever night is agreed upon between the Board and the Show Committee. Board members who are not present may join via Skype, teleconferencing, phone-in or other video/audio methods but will not be allowed to vote on motions.

Chapter 6: Discipline

6.1

Any Board member/s that have a potential conflict of interest related to charges of misconduct filed with the Board, or are involved in any way with the charges brought or the situations or actions leading to them being brought, shall state that there is a conflict of interest and recuse himself or herself from discussion, unless asked to provide information by the President. Any member of the Board who has stated a conflict of interest will also recuse herself or himself from deliberations and voting.

6.2

The President, or other Board members may point out potential conflicts of interest that have not been volunteered, as stated in Chapter 3, section 3.6.2.

6.3

Hearings may use the same technology as Board meetings, to allow all involved parties to participate. Where the member registering the complaint, or their representative, fails to participate in a hearing, the complaint will be dismissed. Where one answering to a complaint fails or refuses to attend a hearing, the hearing will be held in their absence.

Chapter 7: Amendments

7.1

Once voted on and accepted, Policies and Procedures are to be followed, until such time as they are changed by further vote of the Board.

7.2

All new policies, procedures, amendments or removals, once approved and added to this manual, will be reported to the membership of the Club via the Secretary’s page in the Club’s quarterly Bulletin, and in the members-only area of the website.

7.3

All amendments to Bylaws, Policies or Procedures shall be dated.

7.4

When amendments are made to Bylaws, policies or procedures, a record of the previous wording will be archived in the Secretary’s records.

Chapter 8: Elections, Voting, Nominations

8.1

Elections will be held every second year to determine the Executive for the following two year period.

8.2

Nominations committee will request a short biography from nominees for publication on the website and inclusion with ballots sent by postal mail.

8.3.1: Voting

Voting will be conducted as specified in the Bylaws. Where voting is conducted electronically, the Opavote site will be used.

8.3.2

The login information for the Opavote site will be kept by the Secretary and will be shared with at least two other Directors.

8.3.3

The Secretary may authorize an assistant to access the voting website and act as the Election Manager for a specific vote or election.

8.3.4

An online voting site other than Opavote may be used after appropriate research, testing and a super-majority vote (75%) by the Board to accept the replacement site.

Chapter 9: Fiscal Review and Records

9.1

The fiscal year runs from January 1 to December 31.

9.2

The Treasurer shall submit a year-end financial report to the Board or the Audit Committee, if one has been created, by March 31 of the following year. The report should include a full accounting of finances for the club, including an income statement from the National show chairs, LGRA activities, any pertinent financial information regarding upcoming Nationals and Regionals, an accounting from the Rescue committee, and any other financial information of relevance to the membership.

9.3

Once accepted by the Board, the year-end financial report will be published in the Bulletin and in the members-only area of the website.

9.4

The exact amount remaining of the Moody bequest shall be re-invested as it matures, in order to demonstrate to the membership that the original endowment remains intact. The interest accrued is paid into the Club’s general account and is to be used for Club operations and any donations deemed suitable by the members through its Board. Records.

9.5.1

Accurate records and archives ensure that the Club complies with law, provides information to the members, and offers guidance to the board. The following records shall be saved on a USB stick, card and/or disk, by the Secretary and shall be published in the members-only area of the website:

• finances, (e.g. banking records, accounting for all Nationals)
• AGM minutes Rescue report
• LGRA statement for each year
• list of active members and their standing to establish their voting rights
• disciplinary actions (only shown on website while the discipline is in place)
• results of voting carried out by the membership
• any other information or documents the Board identifies for recording.

9.5.2

Board minutes will be kept on a separate USB stick, card or disk for reference for future Boards. The secretary shall ensure that a backup of this information is also created and kept current to ensure no loss of information.

9.5.3

All USB storage disks, cards or sticks holding these records will be kept by the Secretary and will be given to a new Secretary when elected. Once each year, as soon as the annual financial report has been accepted and added, a new backup USB stick, card or disk will be created and held by the President.

Chapter 10: Archives

10.1

The archives are a valuable record of the history of the IWCC and are maintained by a volunteer Archivist, appointed by the Board.

10.2

In the event that the Archivist does not perform his or her duties, the Board will identify their concerns and if no resolution is found, a simple majority vote of the Board will remove the Archivist.

10.3

Each new Archivist will check the archival content against the current inventory records; he or she will submit an updated inventory record to the Board within three months of taking possession of the archive material.

10.4

The Archivist will maintain inventory records as content is added and will submit a current inventory list to the Board by August 31 each year.

10.5

The Archivist will ensure the archives are maintained by adding current materials of interest, items submitted by members and other items as directed by the Board.

10.6

The Archivist will submit items of interest to the Bulletin.

10.7

The Archivist will notify the Board of any concerns regarding the condition of stored archives.

10.8

When an Archivist resigns they will arrange prompt transfer of all archive material to the Board, or to the new Archivist where one has been appointed.

Chapter 11: IWCC Annual National Specialty

11.1

The Club shall hold a National Specialty Show each year. The National Specialty Show is an outdoor conformation show held under CKC rules. Performance events are strongly encouraged and may include, but are not limited to, lure coursing, straight racing, canine good neighbour, obedience et al.

11.2

The National Specialty will be held on the 3rd weekend in September.

11.3

Members of the Club may present the Board with a proposed National Specialty venue and program. The Board may accept or reject any proposal presented. From the proposals presented, the Board may accept one proposal and appoint its presenter to the post of Show Chair. Ideally a Show Chair is appointed one year in advance, but must be in place no later than eight months before the show.

11.4

The choice of judge for the National Specialty is the responsibility of the Board: however, it has been customary to consult the Membership of the Club to gather potential judge’s names through a Judges Selection committee. Any judge’s name may be rejected by the Selection committee or Board. Reasons for rejection may include, but are not limited to:

• has judged our Specialty in the past
• has judged a major Specialty nearby recently
• travel and health concerns

The Judges Selection committee recommends a list of judges to the Board, and the Board then invites the membership to vote to identify their preferred judges. This process is completed at least two years in advance, and three years of assignments are arranged at a time.

11.5

The Show Committee, in consultation with the Board, shall select the puppy sweepstakes judge. Consideration of experienced breeder or owner Members, or licensed Group 2 judges with a strong interest in Irish Wolfhounds, is expected.

11.6

The Show Chair shall be responsible for all aspects of the Specialty from time of appointment to completion of the Specialty; however, The Board shall maintain reasonable oversight over the Show Chair and Committee’s activities.

11.7

An IWCC National Specialty Handbook shall be provided to the Show Chair; the handbook will identify required duties of the Show Chair, Show Committee, Show Secretary and will also include recommendations and best practises for all aspects of presenting a National Specialty. The final report of the Show Chair will be added to the handbook each year. The Board will review the handbook regularly to ensure it is updated.

11.8

The Show Chair shall keep accurate and complete financial records of the Specialty and shall make reports to the Club Treasurer. The Treasurer will identify information required in these reports and the frequency of such reports.

11.9

The Show Chair will submit a final report to the Board, including an income statement, no later than 120 days after the completion of the Specialty.

11.10

The Board may approve a paid, professional Secretary Service to perform all or portions of the Secretary’s duties.

11.11

Entry fees for National Specialties shall be set from time to time by the Board.

11.12

The Board will approve the form of receipt used by the Trophy Chairperson, who will collect a signed receipt from each winner before he/she takes possession of the trophy.

11.13

The Ring Steward(s) shall be selected by the Show Committee. The Ring Steward(s) shall have prior experience at Specialty Shows

Chapter 12: Website

12.1

The official website shall represent the Club in a professional and respectful manner. No material of a nature that is political, mature or adult will be included on the site.

12.2

The Board shall appoint a Webmaster chosen from those members in good standing who volunteer for the position. Where more than one candidate is interested in serving as Webmaster, a simple majority vote will choose which candidate.

12.3

In the event that a Webmaster is not performing the duties of the position at a suitable level, the Board will try to find assistance to help ensure the duties are completed. If necessary, to ensure communication and publication of material required by the bylaws and needed by the membership, the board may vote, by a super majority (75%), to remove and replace the webmaster.

12.4

A handbook with general information on the Webmaster’s duties will be maintained and given to potential and new webmasters.

12.5

The website is intended to provide information relevant to the ownership, breeding, showing and love of Irish wolfhounds. In addition to required content it should contain all manner of historical and interesting items, stories and other information that inform the public and encourage membership in the Club.

12.6

The Webmaster is responsible for publishing all information received for the website in a timely manner. All official actions of the Board and the Club shall be published on the website, in either the public or members-only sections, whichever is appropriate.

Chapter 13: Bulletin

13.1

The official magazine of the Club is called “The Bulletin”

13.2

The Bulletin Editor is a volunteer position, and will be appointed by the Board. Where more than one candidate is interested in serving as Editor, a simple majority vote will select the Editor.

13.3

The Editor is asked to give the Board a minimum of three months notice, should he/she need to resign.

13.4

In the event that an Editor is not performing the duties of the position at a suitable level, the Board will try to find assistance to help ensure the duties are completed. If necessary to ensure the timely publication of The Bulletin, the board may vote, by a super majority, to remove and replace the Editor.

13.5

A handbook containing general information on production of the Bulletin will be maintained and provided to prospective and new Bulletin Editors. Where possible a new Bulletin Editor should also confer with the previous Editor to ensure continuity and that all submitted or required content has been published or is passed on for upcoming publication.

13.6

The Bulletin Editor will produce four editions of the Bulletin each year, and include all information specified in the Bylaws or elsewhere in these P&Ps. Each edition will include a deadline for submissions to the next edition, and each edition shall be published in a timely manner.

13.7

The Editor will choose his/her own committee.

13.8

The Editor will submit a financial report to the Board for each edition and a yearly financial report by August 31.

13.9

The Bulletin is intended to provide the members with information relevant to Club membership and the ownership, breeding, showing and love of Irish wolfhounds. In addition to required content it can contain all manner of historical articles,stories and other information pertaining to the breed, as well as letters to the Editor, show results and critiques from the various Club Specialties that are held each year, reports from the President, Secretary and Treasurer and any other articles the Editor and his/her committee feel may be of interest.

13.10

Where a submission or article may be seen as highly controversial, the Editor will confer with the Board regarding appropriate publication.

Chapter 14: Rescue

14.1

The IWCC Rescue Committee,with members in areas throughout Canada, will assist owners who no longer are able to care for their Irish Wolfhound. It will apply an adoption policy that ensures any rescued Irish Wolfhound will find a loving, permanent and safe home.

14.2

The IWCC Rescue Committee will use standardized forms for Adoption, Fostering and Surrendering and will carry out premises and reference checks of adoptive homes.

14.3

The IWCC Rescue Committee will assure that a health assessment is done for surrendered hounds which may include, but is not restricted to, a spay/neuter if the hound is age and health appropriate.

14.4

The IWCC Rescue Committee will request any and all health records, along with a signed surrender form in the case of a owner-surrendered hound.

14.5

The IWCC Rescue Committee’s first point of contact is through the Club Secretary. He/she will notify the National Coordinator when a IW in need comes to the Clubs attention, notify the membership and the Friends of Rescue as required and maintain a list of approved homes waiting to adopt.

14.6

The IWCC Rescue Committee will fund its own activities via fundraisers, private donations, sales booth, and any other appropriate method that the Committee deems necessary.

14.7

The IWCC Rescue funds will be held by the Club, but such funds will be restricted from the IWCC day-to-day expenses, and will be noted separately on the Financial Statements.

14.8

All IWCC Rescue expenses will be paid via the restricted Rescue funds held by the Club. The IWCC will forward any payment for Rescue expenses directly to the vendor(s), or upon receipt of all invoices, will reimburse the IWCC Rescue Committee for any approved disbursements. This includes transport costs (.70/km) while in foster care. Transport costs from foster care to the new owner’s home is the new owner’s responsibility.

14.9

The Club has agreed to provide reciprocal cooperation, through our IWCC Rescue Chair, with the USA & UK Irish Wolfhound Clubs in assessing homes for dogs that may be sent internationally.