Who We Are And What We Do

Thank you for visiting us, and learning about the activities and events that we offer to the Bethany community.  We are committed to supporting, providing and promoting sports, athletics and community events amongst ourselves and our community members.  Everything we do here is accomplished by dedicated volunteers and generous sponsors and donors.  Without the help of these people, the Bethany Park would not be the great place to play that it is today!

Mission Statement:

"Providing Bethany and surrounding communities with family fun for all ages, by supporting sporting activities, active living and community events."

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Although it may not be widely known, the Bethany Athletic Society that runs the Bethany Community Park is a Not-for-Profit Corporation consisting of a volunteer Board of Directors. We were incorporated as an Ontario Corporation in October of 1992 and at that time our organizational objects of incorporation and by-laws were set out in legal documentation. These objects and by-laws govern how the Board of Directors must conduct the business of the Bethany Park.

Here we will provide an overview of those documents to allow members of the Bethany community to better understand how the Board functions and the rules by which we must operate.

Objects of Incorporation
(These objects essentially detail the overall focus of the Bethany Athletic Society.)

a)   to establish, maintain and conduct an athletic association and to promote among the members of the corporation and others, an interest in athletic games, recreation and sports;
b)   to promote sports of all kinds, including tennis, bowling, badminton, skating, swimming, curling, and other games or sports, and to arrange matches and competitions of every nature, and to offer or grant and contribute towards prizes, awards and distinctions.

In June of 2004 the following objects of incorporation were added to the letters patent to extend the functionality of the Bethany Athletic Society and allow for further growth within the Park.

c)   to own land for the purpose of maintaining a public park or parks and for holding athletic events and games and to maintain and improve the land by constructing facilities thereon necessary for the holding of sporting events and games; and
d)   to hold fundraising events including lotteries, raffles and bingos for the purpose of raising funds for the obtainment of its objects.

The Corporation is also empowered to:

i)    further to the objects of the Corporation to accept donations, gifts, legacies and bequests;
ii)   further to the objects of the Corporation to invest and deal with the monies of the Corporation not immediately required for its objects in such manner as may be determined.

 

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By-Laws of the Bethany Athletic Society

Directors

Board of Directors: The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a board of directors (herein referred to as the “Board”) consisting of at least ten (10) directors.

Qualification of Directors: Directors shall be individuals, eighteen or more years of age and shall, at the time of their election or within ten days thereafter and throughout the term of their office, be members of the Corporation.

Election of Directors and Term of Office: The directors term of office shall be from the date of the meeting at which they are elected or appointed until the annual meeting next following or until their successors shall have been duly elected or appointed whichever comes first. Directors shall be elected by the members in a general meeting on a show of hands unless a poll is demanded and if a poll is demanded such election shall be by ballot. Subject to the provisions of the by-law, directors shall be eligible for re-election. From time to time in the event of any vacancy in the Board, such vacancy may, as long as there is a quorum (two-fifths) of directors then in office, be filled by the directors from among the members of the Corporation. Otherwise such vacancy may be filled at the next meeting of members, and any directors appointed or elected to fill any such vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired term of the director who caused such vacancy.

Vacation of Office: A person ceases to be a director of the Corporation –

 

• if he or she becomes bankrupt;
• if he or she is found by a court to be mentally incompetent or of unsound mind;
• if by notice in writing to the Secretary of the Corporation he or she resigns his or her office; or
• if he or she ceases to be a member of the Corporation.

Removal of Directors: The members of the Corporation may, by resolution passed by at least two-thirds of the votes cast at a general meeting, of which notice specifying the intention to pass such resolution has been given, remove any directors before the expiration of his or her term of office and may, by majority of the votes cast at such meeting, elect any member in his or her stead for the remainder of his or her term.

Chairman: The President is ex-officio the Chairman of the Board and shall preside at all meetings of the Board and of the members. In the absence of the President at a meeting of the Board, the directors present shall choose one of their number to be Chairman of the meeting.

Voting: Questions arising at any meeting of the Board shall be decided by a majority of votes. In case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting, in addition to his or her original vote, shall have a second or casting vote.

Officers: The Board shall annually or as often as many be required, appoint a President, one or more Vice-Presidents and a Secretary and if deemed advisable may appoint annually or as often as may be required a Treasurer.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Officers

President: The President shall sign such contracts, documents or instruments in writing as require his or her signature. The President shall be responsible to the Board for the co-ordination of all affairs of the Corporation. In all matters affecting the Corporation, the President shall be deemed to be an agent of the Corporation acting under the authority and at the express intention and express direction of the Board or any committee thereof, as the case may be. The President shall also exercise general and active supervision over:

• the selection, employment, supervision and discharge of all employees, subject to ratification of same by the Board;
• the preparation and submission of such reports and statements as the Board may from time to time direct be prepared and submitted to the Board, to any director or officer of the Corporation or to any meeting of the members of the Corporation;
• the preparation of the annual budget for the Corporation, showing expected revenues and expenditures; and
• the safe keeping and good state of repair of all physical properties of the Corporation.

Vice-President(s): The Vice-President(s) in order of seniority, shall be vested with all the powers and shall perform all the duties of the President in the absence or inability or refusal to act of the President.

Secretary: The Secretary shall, when present, act as secretary of all meetings of directors and members, shall have charge of the minute books of the Corporation and the documents and registers referred to in S. 300 of the Corporations Act, R.S.O 1990, c. C.38. The Secretary shall sign such contracts, documents or instruments in writing as require his or her signature.

Treasurer: Subject to the provisions of any resolution of the Board, the Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all the funds and securities of the Corporation and shall deposit the same in the name of the Corporation in such bank or banks or with such depositary or depositaries as the Board may direct. The Treasurer shall sign such contracts, documents or instruments in writing as require his or her signature.

Committees

The Board may from time to time constitute such committees as it deems necessary to assist the directors in carrying on the affairs of the Corporation and shall prescribe the duties of any such committees.

Indemnities to Directors, Officers and Others

Every director of officer of the Corporation or any other person who has undertaken or is about to undertake any liability on behalf of the Corporation and his or her heirs, executors and administrators, and estate and effects, respectively, shall from time to time and at all times, be indemnified and saved harmless out of the funds of the Corporation, from and against,

• all costs, charges and expenses whatsoever which such director, officer or other person sustains or incurs in or about any action, suit or proceeding that is brought, commenced or prosecuted against him, for or in respect of any act, deed, matter or thing whatsoever made, done or permitted by him or her, in or about the execution of the duties of his or her office; and
• all other costs, charges and expenses that he or she sustains or incurs in or about or in relation to the affairs thereof, except such costs, charges or expenses as are occasioned by his own willful neglect or default.

Meetings of Members

Annual Meetings: The Corporation shall hold an annual meeting of its members not later than eighteen months after its incorporation and subsequently not more than fifteen months after the holding of the last preceding annual meeting. The annual meeting of the members shall be held at the head office of the Corporation, or such other place within Ontario, on such day in each year and at such time as the Board may by resolution determine. At annual meetings there shall be presented a report of the directors of the affairs of the Corporation for the previous year, a financial statement of the Corporation, the auditor's report and such other information ore reports relating to theCorporation's affairs as the directors may determine.

General Meetings: Other meetings of the members (to be known as “general meetings”) may be convened by order of the President or by the Board to be held at any date and time and at any place within Ontario. In addition, the President shall call a general meeting of the members upon receipt of a written requisition to do so of not less than 5% of the members entitled to vote at such meeting.

Proxies: At any meeting of members, a proxy duly and sufficiently appointed by a member shall be entitled to exercise, subject to any restrictions expressed in the instrument appointing such proxy, the same voting rights that the member appointing him or her would be entitled to exercise if present at the meeting. A proxy need not be a member of the Corporation.

Chairman: In the absence of the President, the members present at any meeting of members shall choose another director to act as Chairman of the meeting and if no director is present or if all the directors present decline to act as Chairman, the members present shall choose one of their number to be Chairman of the meeting.

Voting: Every question submitted to any meeting of members shall be decided by a majority of votes given on a show of hands unless otherwise specifically provided by statue or by these by-laws. In case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting, in addition to his or her original vote, shall have a second or casting vote. Each member shall be entitled to one vote if present at a meeting in person or by proxy.

Polls: If any any meeting a poll is demanded on the election of a Chairman or on the question of adjournment, it shall be taken forthwith without adjournment. If a poll is demanded on any other question it shall be taken in such manner and either at once or later in the meeting or after adjournment as the Chairman directs. The result of a poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll as demanded. A demand for a poll may be withdrawn.

Adjournments: The Chairman may with the consent of any meeting adjourn the same from time to time and no notice of such adjournment need be given to the members. Any business may be brought before or dealt with at any adjourned meeting which might have been brought before or dealt with at the original meeting in accordance with the notice calling the same.

Quorum: A quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of members shall consist of not less than six members present in person or represented by proxy; provided that in no case can any meeting be held unless there are four members present in person.

Enactment, Repeal and Amendment of Bylaws: By-laws of the Corporation may be enacted, and the by-laws of the Corporation repealed or amended, by y-law enacted by a majority of the Board at a meeting of the Board and sanctioned by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members at a meeting of members duly called for the purpose of considering such by-law.  A copy of any by-law to be sanctioned at an annual or general meeting of members (including a by-law which amends or repeals an existing by-law) shall be sent to every member of the Corporation with the notice of such meeting.

Auditors: The members shall at each annual meeting appoint an auditor to audit the accounts of the Corporation to hold office until the next annual meeting provided that the directors may fill any casual vacancy in the office of the auditor. The renumeration of the auditor shall be fixed from time to time by the Board.