Review of By-Laws

The current By-Laws of Methuen Youth Hockey Association, Inc. requires a review be conducted at least every three years. Once the review is completed, any proposed updates to the bylaws are submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. After Board approval, the bylaws are then presented to the membership for a vote before being formally adopted by the Association.

On Tuesday, March 10, the Board approved an updated draft of the bylaws. The next step is for the membership to review and vote on the proposed changes; a copy of the draft bylaws can be downloaded at the link below for your review.

This document will be presented to members at the Annual Meeting, scheduled for April 1, 2026 at 7:45 PM in the Methuen High School cafeteria. Following the meeting, a ballot will be emailed to association members to can cast their vote to accept the proposed bylaws.

The Board wants to ensure members have sufficient time to review the proposed bylaws and have any questions addressed. Board members will be available to answer questions in person at tryouts, and at the Annual Meeting.

Additionally, questions may be directed to the three Executive Board members: President Bill Mulvanity, Clerk Jamie Clermont, and Treasurer Kimberly McKenna. 

A high level summary of the bylaw edits are detailed below.

• Role names:
• President → President of Operations
• Vice-President → Vice-president of Hockey
• Clerk/Secretary → Clerk
• Age Level Coordinator → Age-level coordinator
• Purchasing Manager → Head of Purchasing
• Director of Fundraising → Head of Fundraising
• Coaches → Head coaches
• USA Hockey & Mass Hockey Rep → Massachusetts Hockey Representative
• Section names - All sections now have titles
• Article I - Organization - Added “the Association” to this section and use that terminology throughout.
• Numbers - example: two or 2 became “two (2)”
• Time periods - specified calendar or business days 
• Other:
• By-Laws → Bylaws
• USA Hockey → USA Hockey Inc.
• MA Hockey/Mass Hockey → Massachusetts Hockey Inc.

Combined content from Article V - Board of Directors Section 6.A: Elections and Appointments about definition of members was added to Article IV Membership Section 1 - Member Definitions

• Combined tables from: Article V - Board of Directors Section 6.A: Elections and Appointments to the Board of Directors and Section 6.B: Appointments of the Board with existing tables and organized it in a way that–I felt– made it easier to read.
• President of Operations will be elected on even years, Vice-president of Hockey on odd years.
• Removed roles of “Ice Manager”, “Communication & Publicity Manager”, “Marketing and Fundraising Coordinator(s) - up to 3” and “Concession Stand Manager”

A. Election Eligibility

• Aligned eligibility requirements with definition of a member in “Article IV - Membership Section 1 - Member Definition”.
• Added “Those who have previously been removed from the board in accordance with Section F “Director Removal” are not eligible to hold Executive Director positions.”
• Combined eligibility for Age-level coordinators from “Article VI - Duties of Officers Age Level Coordinators” to eligibility section. Also added that all Age-level coordinators need to have been in the program for at least one year instead of just Mites → Midgets.

B. Board Election Process

• Rewrite of section “Article V - Board of Directors Section 6.A: Elections and Appointments to the Board of Directors” in an attempt to clarify the section. It is currently broken up by months
• Added “Nominations must be submitted by email to the email address indicated. Verbal nomination requests will not be accepted.” to clarify previous confusion.
• Created a section about what to do if there is only one candidate for any role.
• Added wording about what the Board does if a position is not filled by election. This was not formally documented before. 
• Moved election process described in “Article VI - Duties of Officers Head of Coaches” to the Board Election section. Edited text slightly for clarity and to include email voting.

C. Board Appointment Process

• The “Board Appointment Process" was referred to, but was not actually defined. Inserted documentation of the process previously used for board appointments.

G. Director Replacement

• Created a process for the President & Vice-president to serve in an acting role if the other needs to be replaced, and created a process to backfill these roles.
• There were different interpretations of the “Director Replacement” section when filling the Clerk position. Edited this text to help clarify this process. Aligned remaining text with election process from “B. Board Election Process”

• Each positions now starts the same way:

The :officer name: is responsible for :insert role summary:.

The :officer name: shall be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

A. General

• Moved “The Board of Directors shall keep a record of its meetings and make a report at the regular meetings of the Association.” to Article VI - Meetings

B. President of Operations

• Changed to President of Operations
• Added:

1. “Submit the Annual Report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts within thirty (30) days after the Annual Meeting of the General Membership.” to ensure the organization meets requirements to stay in good standing.
2. Document any instances of behavior by coaches, players, and/or parents that do not align with the Association’s Code of Conduct; report such instances to the Executive Board; and oversee the disciplinary process as necessary.
3. Organize the tryout process to include the following:
4. Player number assignment and distribution
5. Communicate with evaluators on expectations and ensure their requirements are met throughout the tryout process.
6. Create required documentation and packets for the placement meeting.
7. Ensure collection of placement materials at the conclusion of the placement meeting.
8. Create communications related to player placement and season registration.
9. Work with the designated representative of the Methuen High School Rink in regards to rink availability, questions, and scheduling throughout the year.

C. Chief Hockey Officer

• Changed “Vice-President” to “Chief Hockey Officer”
• Replaced “President” with “Chief Operations Officer"
• Updated description to match role.
• Added:

1. Coordinate prices, format, and schedule for skills sessions that occur throughout the year.
2. Support the tryout process including identification of a Skills Assessor and coordinate prices, dates, and format of tryouts with the assessor and President of Operations.
3. Register teams that want to compete in District Playdowns
4. Liaise with representatives from the Valley Hockey League (VHL) to register teams, assist with division placement, and coordinate roster submission.
5. Ensure Head of Coaches communicates with Head Coaches for the start of the season about expectations, rule changes etc.
6. Support the organization and startup of the Learn to Skate (LTS) and Development program to include checking in skaters, distributing jerseys and socks, providing on ice assistance when required, and providing information about continued participation in the organization. 
7. Publish the Coaching Application for each season and distribute nominees to the Head of Coaches

• Deleted:
• “Receive and present all applications for membership.” as that was relevant prior to Crossbar being implemented.