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BY-LAWS OF THE GRIDIRON MEMBERS CLUB

BY-LAWS

 

OF

 

THE GRIDIRON MEMBERS CLUB

 

ARTICLE I. NAME OF ORGANIZATION

The name of the organization is the Gridiron Members Club, commonly referred to as simply the GMC.

 

ARTICLE II. ORGANIZATION PURPOSE

The Gridiron Members Club is an independently-run football organization comprised of 12 teams that will annually compete for the league championship, commonly referred to as The Money Penny Trophy.

 

The GMC prides itself on being a top-tier competitive football league meant only for the most serious of competitors.

 

The GMC, in no way, shall at any time be referred to as a “fantasy” league, nor should the word “fantasy” be used in describing any GMC-related activities. The GMC is a professional football organization, and not a so-called fantasy football league in which most typically participate.

 

The GMC is run exclusively via Yahoo! Sports and the GMC’s official website, GMClub.org.

 

ARTICLE III. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Section 1. Layout of teams

The GMC is comprised of 12 teams, split evenly (six teams each) into two separate conferences: The GMC North Conference and the GMC South Conference.

 

Section 2. Upper Management

The GMC shall have an upper management comprised of the following roles: The Commissioner, the Vice President (VP), the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Director of Standards (DOS), and the Architect.

 

All upper management persons will be voting members.

 

The broad definition of the role of the GMC upper management is to regularly convene at all times of the year to discuss current and future matters of the GMC, enforce high standards of conduct from the GMC members, and to adopt new or improved changes to the organization.

 

 

Section 3. Role of the Commissioner

The Commissioner of the GMC is the presiding member of the organization, and is ultimately responsible for the success and growth of the league. The Commissioner holds three votes, or 33% of possible votes, on all matters pertaining to upper management decisions. The Commissioner may also make minor decisions independently from the rest of the upper management.

 

The Commissioner also holds power to make changes to another General Manager’s lineup if deemed appropriate (due to a lack of interest, participation, or if the GM simply is unable to make the change in a timely fashion). The Commissioner will always select the best available player from that team’s bench, based on Yahoo! point projections.

 

Other areas of emphasis that the Commissioner is responsible for include but are not limited to:

        Creation, or delegation, of subsequent season themes, tee shirts, gifts, etc.

        Determination of the monetary payout at the end of the season.

        Calling upper management meetings when deemed appropriate.

        Issuing welcome letters to new GMC members.

        Determining a date and time where each GMC member may make the live draft, as well as the pre-draft and post-draft festivities.        

        Determining a date and time where each GMC member may make the post-season party.

 

The Commissioner is considered a lifetime role. A motion to remove, or impeach, the Commissioner must be made to the Vice President. If the motion is approved by the VP, a unanimous vote (7 of 7) from the non-voting members of the GMC must then be secured, followed by a unanimous vote from the VP, CEO, DOS and the Architect in order to remove the Commissioner.

 

The current Commissioner of the GMC is Brian J. Corrigan, since July 2015.

 

Section 4. Role of the Vice President

The Vice President of the GMC is considered one of two sub-presiding members of the organization, and will act as the Commissioner in his absence. The VP holds two votes, or 22% of possible votes, on all matters pertaining to upper management decisions.

 

The VP’s main role within the GMC pertains to each individual member of the GMC; that is, he is responsible for the conduct of each GM and enforcing standards. As it relates to the by-laws and official publications from the desk of the Commissioner, the VP shall have total and full authority to issue fines to any GMC member who may breach these standards, although the DOS is established as the GMC’s main point of contact pertaining to fines. The VP will also have total and full authority to determine the monetary amount of the fine, but does not have the power to issue a fine that is considered excessive.  

 

Other areas of emphasis that the VP is responsible for include but are not limited to:

        Archiving past GMC season statistics and data.

        Recommending to the Commissioner a call for an upper management meeting when appropriate.

        Issuing official GMC correspondence in lieu of, or with permission from, the Commissioner.  

        Running all aspects of draft day and the live draft.

        Recommending any future changes to the GMC scoring structure.

        Working closely with the office of the GMC Director of Standards.

 

The VP is considered a lifetime role. A motion to remove, or impeach, the VP must be made to the CEO. If the motion is approved by the CEO, a vote of at least 5 of 7 from the non-voting members of the GMC must then be secured, followed by a unanimous vote from the Commissioner, CEO, DOS and the Architect in order to remove the VP.

 

The acting Vice President of the GMC is Nick Formica, since July 2023.

 

Section 5. Role of the Chief Executive Officer

The Chief Executive Officer of the GMC is considered one of two sub-presiding members of the organization, and will act as the Commissioner in the absence of both the Commissioner and the VP. The CEO holds two votes, or 22% of possible votes, on all matters pertaining to upper management decisions.

 

The CEO’s main role within the GMC pertains to the operation of the organization as a whole; that is, he is responsible for ensuring the league continuously grows and moves forward, and making recommendations to the Commissioner.

 

Other areas of emphasis that the CEO is responsible for include but are not limited to:

        Creating and updating the GMC By-Laws.

        Recommending to the Commissioner a call for an upper management meeting when appropriate.

        Issuing official GMC correspondence in lieu of, or with permission from, the Commissioner.  

        Fielding recommendations from other GMC members pertaining to new ideas, sustains and improves. 

        Recording minutes from each GMC upper management meeting.

        Running the agenda for the GMC pre-season meeting, scheduled annually for March 17th at 12:00am.

 

The CEO is considered a lifetime role. A motion to remove, or impeach, the CEO must be made to the VP. If the motion is approved by the VP, a vote of at least 5 of 7 from the non-voting members of the GMC must then be secured, followed by a unanimous vote from the Commissioner, VP, DOS and the Architect in order to remove the CEO.

 

The current Chief Executive Officer of the GMC is Ian F. Miscoe, since July 2016.

 

Section 6. Role of the Director of Standards

The Director of Standards of the GMC is considered to be an island-member of the Vice President’s branch, and will act as the VP in his absence. That is; the DOS does not directly report to the office of the VP and, in-turn, holds his own office, but works directly with the VP on matters relating to their realm of the GMC. The DOS holds one vote, or 11% of possible votes, on all matters pertaining to upper management decisions.

 

The DOS works independently from the VP, but much of his main role will ultimately be in communicating directly with that office. Broadly, he will work to enforce all decisions made by the upper management as a whole. The DOS, like the VP, also shall have total and full authority to issue fines to any GMC member who may breach standards, and is entrusted with making recommendations to the VP.

 

Additionally, the DOS will be responsible, as the main point of contact for fines, to issue written fine notifications and subsequently post fines on the GMC official website, per Article IV, Section 7 and Article V, Section 1.

 

The DOS is considered a lifetime role. A motion to remove, or impeach, the DOS must be made to the CEO. If the motion is approved by the CEO, a majority vote (at least 4 of 7) from the non-voting members of the GMC must then be secured, followed by unanimous vote from the Commissioner, VP, CEO and Architect in order to remove the DOS.

 

The current Director of Standards of the GMC is Kyle Patton, since March 2018.

 

Section 7. Role of the Architect

The Architect of the GMC is considered to be an island-member of the Chief Executive Officer’s branch, and will act as the CEO in his absence. That is; the Architect does not directly report to the office of the CEO and, in-turn, holds his own office, but works directly with the CEO on matters relating to their realm of the GMC. The Architect holds one vote, or 11% of possible votes, on all matters pertaining to upper management decisions.

 

The Architect works independently from the CEO, but much of his main role will ultimately be in communicating directly with that office. Broadly, he will work to serve as the main point of contact for any matters related to the GMC’s official website, will be entrusted in experimenting with and potentially creating new projects for the future, and helping to enforce all decisions made by the upper management as a whole.

 

Additionally, the Architect will be responsible for each member gaining and maintaining a thorough understanding of the GMC official website, and any other projects this office implements in the future. In terms of oversight, the Architect is considered to have little restrictions, as the organization desires this office to have the freedom to build and create for future seasons.

 

The Architect is considered a lifetime role. A motion to remove, or impeach, the Architect must be made to the VP. If the motion is approved by the VP, a majority vote (at least 4 of 7) from the non-voting members of the GMC must then be secured, followed by unanimous vote from the Commissioner, VP, CEO and DOS in order to remove the Architect.

 

The current Architect of the GMC is Raymond A. Chessa, since March 2019.

 

ARTICLE IV. SPIRIT OF THE ORGANIZATION

Section 1. Draft Day

The GMC will always be a football organization that conducts a live draft. Each member must show up to the draft location as pre-determined by the upper management.

 

The GMC will accommodate one “satellite” position for a member that cannot make the draft. This does not mean accommodating a member that does not want to “make an effort” to attend the draft. The satellite position will be pre-determined by the upper management and the member granted the position must make himself available for the entirety of the draft via video conference call. A member may not ever be in the satellite position in consecutive years, and may only use the satellite position twice non-consecutively throughout a decade; ten years starting the first time said GM uses the satellite. The satellite member will be engaged and will not at any time slow the progress of the live draft. 

 

Any member wishing to use the satellite position outside of the aforementioned rules may petition the GMC upper management for a waiver, to be submitted directly to the office of the VP no later than two months prior to draft day. Determination will be considered in accordance with the situation and/or unusual circumstances that may be occurring.

 

If a GMC member has a conflict with the determined draft date, he must notify the Commissioner immediately. If a member notifies the Commissioner and a solution cannot be determined, that member may apply for the satellite position, or resign his franchise for that season. If a member simply does not show up for the draft, or does not effectively communicate to the Commissioner a conflict where, otherwise, the upper management believed that member would be in attendance (except for emergency matters), that member will receive an immediate lifetime ban from the GMC.

 

Each member will have 60 seconds to make his selection in each round before receiving a verbal warning from the VP.

 

Each member will be responsible for drafting their own team. There will be no option to “auto-draft,” or otherwise state to the VP to simply “draft the best available player.” If a member is, for whatever reason, unable to make a selection at the appropriate time, that round selection will be forfeited (an empty slot on the draft board/roster.)

 

Additionally, the GMC in attendance will participate in a group photo, followed by a photo of the members of each of the two conferences. There will absolutely be no outsiders, defined as those not currently a GMC member, infringing on the GMC photo(s).

 

Section 2. Determining Draft Order

Positioning for the draft order will be determined by a double-elimination beer pong tournament prior to the execution of the draft. Teams (partners) will be determined by the upper management during the preseason.

 

If a member is unable to make the beer pong tournament (for example, the satellite member), then his partner will shoot on his behalf.

 

The winning team members will have the luxury of selecting any draft position they choose, from position #1 to #12, followed by the subsequent runner-up teams. Team partners will determine among themselves how they would like to settle who gets first priority among the two (for example, a coin flip.)

 

Section 3. Last Place Finisher / Last Place Conference / Biggest Blowout Loser

The GMC member finishing in last place from the previous season – determined by the member who finishes last in the consolation bracket during the Money Penny Playoffs – will have the following punishments imposed on him:

        The last place member must wear a brown paper bag over his head for the duration of the live draft. 

        The last place finisher will endure a pie to the face from the previous year’s last place finisher.

        If the same member finishes last in consecutive years, or if the previous year’s last place finisher is not in attendance for draft day, the GMC upper management will determine an alternative member to administer the pie to the face.

        Should the last place member resign/be removed from the GMC but is, in the future, welcomed back into the Club, he must participate in the bag/pie ceremonies on Draft Day of whatever year that may be.

 

The losing GMC conference will be responsible for purchasing the pre-and-post draft cases of beer; one case (defined as 30 twelve-ounce cans of beer) per losing member.

 

Each week during the regular season, the member enduring the largest margin of defeat – referred to as the Biggest Blowout Loser (BBL) will be fined, made payable to the GMC Mint.

        The fine amount will begin at $1 with week 1; with each passing week, the penalty will increase by $1 from the previous week until the conclusion of the regular season.

        As an example: the week 1 BBL will incur a $1 fine; the week 2 BBL will incur a $2 fine; and so on.

 

Section 4. Snapchat Chatter

The GMC prides itself on how much the league Snapchat Chatter brings us all together. Each member must make an effort to participate in the Chatter – most commonly referred to as Zee Chatter of Doom (ZCOD) – when possible. Long periods of time without participation, as defined by the DOS in the preseason, are possible finable offenses.

 

Each week, a different designated member of the GMC will be responsible for administering The Buzzies, defined as forbidden words/actions in ZCOD. The rules for the Buzzies will be clearly stated by the Buzzie Master of the Week by Thursday at 12:00pm. The Buzzie Master of the Week will be responsible for tracking all infractions and reporting fine money to the GMC Brass by Tuesday, 12:00pm of the following week.

 

Each GMC member must create a Bitmoji of himself to use in the Snapchat application prior to the start-up of the Chatter, otherwise that member will not be allowed to participate.

 

The Chatter will begin exactly one week prior to draft day, and will end precisely at midnight of the New Year (January 1.)

 

There shall be no unofficial group chats in which the vast majority of GMC members participate mimicking the Chatter during the off-season (defined as the period of time between January 1 and draft day.)

 

Section 5. Team Names, Logos, and Management

All GMC teams will have a unique team name and logo visible on the league Yahoo! page prior to draft day.

 

Each GMC member will take particular care of their roster to ensure the most competitive team possible is playing on a week-to-week basis. Failure to do so will result in the Commissioner exercising his power as outlined in Article III, Section 3, and that members’ future in the GMC will be considered to include a possible lifetime ban.

 

Section 6. Trophies and Payouts

The GMC is proud to offer the following trophies based on performance:

        The Money Penny Trophy: Awarded to the GMC champion.

        The Managers’ Trophy: Awarded to the regular season champion.

        The Ol’ Yankee-Rebel Helmet: Awarded to the winningest conference of the regular season. The champion of said champion conference will be invited, on Draft Day, to place a sticker on the helmet to signify the previous season’s overall victory. 

 

The buy-in for the 2023 GMC season is as follows:

        $250 membership dues.

        $30 for the GMC tee-shirt.

 

The payouts at the end of the 2023 GMC season will be as follows:

        $1,800 to the Money Penny champion.

        $700 to the second-place finisher (loser of the Money Penny Bowl.)

        $250 to the Managers’ Trophy champion.

        $150 to the GM with the highest-scoring regular season.

        $100 to the GM that posted the highest-scoring week.

 

Each member must make his tee-shirt payment to the Commissioner (via Venmo, check, cash) prior to the date/time he establishes. The league membership payment must be made to the Commissioner no later than one week prior to the conclusion of the Money Penny Bowl.

 

Section 7. The GMC Bowl Series

Throughout the regular season, the GMC will offer unique individual match-up games based on intrigue and performance. These games will be referred to as “bowl games” as part of the GMC Bowl Series.

 

The following bowl games have been approved and sanctioned by the GMC upper management:

        The Ghoul Bowl: to be played each season on the weekend nearest Halloween (October 31.)

        The Pungence Bowl Presented by OnlyFans: to be played each season starting in 2023.

        Brindy’s Siberian Fiesta Bowl: to be played each season starting in 2023.

 

Section 8. The GMC Official Website

The GMC’s official website, at the URL www.GMClub.org, shall serve as the organization’s main hub to receive correspondence, league updates, and all other relevant information pertaining to the GMC. Members cannot count on other avenues of communication for official GMC correspondence as of the launch date of the organization’s website.

 

All GMC members must create and maintain a profile/account within the website, to include having their profile appropriately filled out by the start of week 1.

 

Section 9. The GMC Post-Season Party

The GMC will conduct an in-person celebration to conclude each season, known as the GMC Post-Season Party (PSP.) Each member must show up to the PSP location as pre-determined by the upper management. This date will be determined and announced prior to the conclusion of in-season GMC week 7.

 

All awards as outlined in Article IV, Section 6 will be presented during the PSP. Current owners of all trophies as outlined in this section will be responsible for bringing them to the PSP.

 

If a GMC member has a conflict with the determined PSP date, he must notify the PSP planner and the Commissioner immediately. If a member simply does not show up for the PSP, or does not effectively communicate to the Commissioner a conflict where, otherwise, the upper management believed that member would be in attendance (except for emergency matters), that member will have his membership reviewed by the upper management during the subsequent preseason, regardless of contract stipulations.

 

ARTICLE V. RIGHTS OF THE MEMBERS

Section 1. Fines by the Director of Standards / Vice President

As stated in Article III, Section 4 and in Article III, Section 6, the Director of Standards and the Vice President shall have total and full authority to issue fines to any GMC member who may breach the standards established by these by-laws, or by any official publication originating from the upper management. Additionally, in a more lighthearted manner, a fine shall be imposed to the first individual that breaches any given week’s “fine provoking word/action.”

 

Should the DOS/VP issue a fine to a member, that member will receive written communication outlining the nature of the infraction, and how to rectify it. The finable offense will also be posted, after the written communication has been issued, to the GMC’s official website. The DOS/VP is solely in charge of imposing a deadline for as to when the fine must be satisfied.

 

Fine monies collected will be used toward the following year’s Draft Day destination gathering, GMC post-season party (Article IV, Section 9), trophy refurbishing, and other Club-related activities.

 

Fine monies will be paid to the GMC Mint, currently managed by the DOS.

 

Section 2. Appealing a Fine

Should a member wish to appeal a fine, he must immediately notify the VP. The VP will then form a random, independent three-member hearing board (no upper management members may be present on this board) to hear the appeal. The appealing member will then have 24 hours from notification to file a written appeal to the VP, who will then pass along to the board. Once this action occurs, the board will have a maximum of 24 hours to submit their vote – to uphold the fine or not, or to impose a smaller penalty – to the VP.

 

A majority vote of the three-member board will determine the fate of the fine. If the time standard to file a written appeal as outlined above is not met, the appeal will be disregarded without further consideration. An appeals board may not vote to increase the penalty.

 

Section 3. Membership Rights

Assuming a member has not received a lifetime ban from the GMC, each former member, or potential new member, may reapply to be a part of the organization during the offseason. Nominees will be carefully selected by the upper management after a process that includes but is not limited to: reviewing submitted resumes and cover letters, and an interview process.

 

If a current member of the GMC is being considered for removal due to a consistent lack of care or breach of the organizational by-laws, that member will be directly notified by the Commissioner.

 

Each GMC member will play every subsequent football season under contract. During the preseason, contracts to GMC members will be reviewed and determined by the upper management based on value to the organization. Alternatively, the upper management may refuse to renew a members’ contract, effectively terminating them from the GMC. Contract renewals will only be considered upon the conclusion of the football season which marks the final year of a contract.

ARTICLE VI. REVISION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL BY-LAWS

The GMC by-laws will be reconsidered and republished prior to the beginning of each season in order to incorporate all appropriate modifications. Each GMC member will receive a copy of the by-laws prior to the start of the regular season.

 

ADOPTION OF BY-LAWS

We, the undersigned, are all of the initial directors or incorporators of this corporation, and we consent to, and hereby do, adopt the foregoing by-laws, consisting of the seven preceding pages, as the by-laws of this corporation.

 

ADOPTED AND APPROVED unanimously by the voting members of the GMC upper management on this 5th day of September, 2023.

 

 

 

___//e-signed //___
Brian J. Corrigan

Commissioner – The Gridiron Members Club

 

 

 

___//e-signed //___
Nicholas Formica

Acting Vice President – The Gridiron Members Club

 

 

 

___//e-signed //___
Ian F. Miscoe

Chief Executive Officer – The Gridiron Members Club

 

 

 

___//e-signed //___
Kyle G. Patton

Director of Standards – The Gridiron Members Club

 

 

 

___//e-signed //___
Raymond A. Chessa

 

Architect – The Gridiron Members Club