2004 REVISED By-Laws AWSSC:

Amendments below:

(With additional line entered for Code Amber)

Dear Members:

  The following are the finalized copy of the rules, regulations and operations guidelines ( subject to change in the future). They are now effective as of today. Please print a copy and be sure to sign the signature page and mail back to me. Thanks. If you do not have a printer, please let me know so I can snail mail you a copy of these...Thanks.

Patrick

United States Advanced Warning Storm Spotters/ Chasers
Advanced Warning Storm Centers
10094 Stewartsville Road
Vinton,VA 24179
Skywarnspotter5@aol.com
540-890-8908
Patrick O. Gannon, President

    Rules,Regulations & Standard Operations Guidelines


Article 1: Introduction

1. We, members, member body, and agency all refer to USAWSSC as a whole.

2. Individual members: means the individual member(s) named

3. TOS/ TOM: Terms of Service / Terms of Membership

4. Board of Directors: The governing body of USAWSSC

5. Comms: Communications

6. Incident Command – See Standard Operations Guidelines

You may see these terms on a regular basis, so the above is for your information.









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Our Mission Statement:

    " To protect life and property through early warning, the Skywarn Program, and through public weather safety education.”


The goals of these bylaws are to provide a national standard operations guideline for the agency, its divisional offices, and its members in general, and for the bylaws themselves to be easy to read and understand.


Article 2: Rules and Regulations

    1. All applicants for senior membership must be 18 years of age, and skywarn certified to become a full member unless executive staff waives the requirements. Any applicant granted membership that is not skywarn certified will be placed on probationary membership until they do become skywarn certified or placed on full membership by executive staff, whichever comes first.

    1a. A copy of each member's skywarn training certificate must be obtained within 90 days of approving membership. A copy must be kept on file at the home office as well.

    1b. All members must obtain skywarn training within 1 year of their membership being approved.

    2. Any federal, state, or local laws prohibiting any portion of these bylaws will render that portion null and void.

3. The minimum age to apply for junior membership will be 16 years of age with written parental consent to be verified by the executive staff.



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4. Any information that is falsified on the membership application or other official paperwork will be grounds for an applicant being denied and banned from reapplying for a period of 6 months, and it is also grounds for immediate termination of a member's membership with USAWSSC.

5. USAWSSC, its executive staff, directors, affiliates and individual members of the agency give no warranty not written, expressed, nor implied, for any deaths, injuries, or damages caused while performing any official duty of USAWSSC. Member assumes all risks.

6. At no time shall any member(s) be paid or compensated while performing any duty of USAWSSC.

7. There is no membership fee.

8. All applications are subject to review at initial receipt, and at any time deemed necessary by the Executive Staff or Membership Committee.

9. Executive Staff shall have the right to review all member files of the agency, provided that file is not sealed or classified. The Executive Staff member must justify this request to the President. An example of such a request would be for corrective action.

10. Directors shall have the right to review any member files of the members in the area he or she is in charge of. A justification must be made to do so to the President.

11. The USAWSSC Executive Staff shall have the right to request or obtain copies of any member’s criminal history or driving record at any time deemed necessary.

12. At no time shall a probationary member be authorized for " solo " chases, they must be accompanied by another skywarn certified member.


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    13. All members are to follow the orders of the member in charge, as long as they are lawful and do not impose any danger in following them.

    14. Incident Commanders will be in charge of all operations in the field.
    15. At no time shall any member act, behave, or commit any actions whatsoever to damage the reputation or endanger USAWSSC, it members, affiliates, and the public.

    16. At no time shall any member act or behave in a manner disrespectful to the agency, its members, its directors, affiliates, or public while serving as a representative of our agency.

    17. Any member who commits any type of harassment will immediately be suspended, pending a disciplinary hearing.

    18. Abusive behavior will not be tolerated, nor will abuse of authority be any member in charge. Any member in violation of this will be reprimanded. If the member is a member in charge, they will be removed of their position, prior to a disciplinary hearing.

    19. Any member who acts as a representative of the agency shall keep a neat appearance, and act in a professional and friendly manner.

    20. A probationary member shall be allowed to chase with another member if they are Skywarn certified and if the chase is authorized.

    21. In addition to a member being Skywarn certified, their director has the right to require additional training before making them an unrestricted member, or full member.


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          22. All members must recertify with Skywarn every year.

    23. All chase drivers must have a valid state driver's license, and have their state's minimum liability insurance in effect on the vehicle driven.
    24. The USAWSSC name, its logo, images and all likenesses are sole property of Patrick Gannon, and USAWSSC, and may not be use in any way without written expressed consent of the Executive Staff.

    25. Any problems, unless they are emergencies/ urgent, should be addressed using the following chain of command: unit command - Zone Director - Regional Zone Director - State Director - Regional States Director-
Operations Command Director (EX: Eastern US, Central US, Western US, etc.) - US Director of Operations - Chief of Staff - Jr. Assist. Vice President - Sr. Assist. Vice President - Vice President - President.

    26. The bylaws are subject to changes, deletions, additions, and revisions at any time by the Board of Directors or Executive Staff.

    27. Any matters that are not addressed by these bylaws will be addressed / decided by the Board of Directors on a case-by-case basis.











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Article 3: SOG (Standard Operations Guidelines)

    The following members are the Executive Staff:
Patrick O. Gannon, President
Richard A. Widmark, Jr., Vice President
Kathy Hurt, Assistant Vice President
Keith Thews, Chief of Staff
Daniel Dry, Chief Executive Legal Advisor
Ron Moore, Jr. Chief Executive Meteorologist

    A. Duties: They will oversee all operations of the agency, oversee all Board of Directors meetings / business meetings, and attend all disciplinary hearings when available to attend.

    The following members comprise the Board of Directors:
Patrick O Gannon, President / US Director of Operations
Christine Shaffer, PA State Director of Operations
James Creighton, Eastern US Director of Operations
Erin Sutliffe, VA State Director
Richard A Widmark, Jr., Vice President / Mid Atlantic Regional State Director
Jesse Bass III, Wakefield Regional Zone Director
Keith Thews, Great Lakes Regional States Director/ Chief of Staff
Ron Pittman, Assistant Indiana State Director
Mary Petelin, OH State Director of Operations.
Fred Koenig, TN State Director of Operations.
Ron Moore, Jr, Chief Executive Meteorologist / FL State Director
Clay Turner, Gulf Coast Regional States Director
Terry Ewing, TN Div. 3 Zone Director
Kathy Hurt, Assistant Vice President / Blacksburg Regional Zone Director
Iain Sloan: TX State Director

B. Duties: They will oversee all business meetings and attend all disciplinary hearings when available to attend.

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    Article 4 - Disciplinary Guidelines:

1. The accused shall tell their side of the story and present any evidence in their defense.
2. The accuser shall tell their side of the story and present any evidence if present.
3. The panel will examine all statements and evidence, then break for one hour and discuss all findings, if found innocent, or not at fault, nothing will be retained in their file. If found guilty, punishment should be handed down as follows:
    For Minor Violations:
      1st Offense: No Action Taken / given advisement of violation / verbal warning.
      2nd offense: Verbal Warning - Written Warning
      3rd offense: Automatically considered a major violation


    For Major Violations:
    1st offense: Suspension of up to 90 days, no less then 30 days/ termination, depending on seriousness.
    2nd offense: Suspension of up to 6 months, no less then 90 days/ termination, depending on seriousness.
    3rd offense: termination of membership.








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Examples of minor violations:

1. Moving violation cited by police that is a lesser charge then reckless driving or equal or higher charge.
2. General Misconduct.
3. Failure to report for 2 weeks or more to immediate member in charge.
4. Abuse of privileges or equipment issued.
5. Missing mandatory meetings.

Examples of major violations:

1.Gross Misconduct
2. Reckless Driving / DUI or greater charge
3. Driving without a valid driver's license or without insurance coverage on vehicle.
4. Use of the USAWSSC name without permission
5. Going on an unauthorized chase.
6. Committing any major traffic offense
7. Theft/ Larceny
8. Unauthorized solicitation for funds / holding unauthorized fundraisers for USAWSSC.
9. Failure to report to incident command during a chase or any other duty.
10. Unauthorized use of warning lights.
11. Reckless Endangerment of members or public
Any other violations will be judged at a pre-hearing meeting.

B. The member in charge must either verbally or by writing advise the member of the violation, or the charge is null and void.








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Article 5: Use of Activation Codes:

    Code Green: Director feels there will be a weather event in their jurisdiction that is not yet indicated by the Storm Prediction Center or their local National Weather Service Office, and is requesting members for monitoring, and/or possible deployment or Slight Risk indicated By the Storm Prediction Center.


    Code Yellow: Watch issued by the local National Weather Service Office or Storm Prediction Center

        Code Red: National Weather Service Office has issued a warning

    Code White: Storm Prediction Center has issued a high risk or PDS Watch.

    Code ( R ): means all active and reserve members have been requested for assistance.

    Code ( -R): means that reserve members are not currently requested.

    Code ( -D ): means deployment needs authorization by a director or incident commander.

    Code ( AD ): means the areas that are listed below it are authorized for deployment.

    Code ( OD ): means that deployment is ordered for areas listed below it.

    Code ( +D ): means the chaser may deploy at their own discretion.

    Code (ROIC): means receive orders from incident command.

    Code Black: A disaster has occurred and our assistance has been requested.

CODE AMBER: Used when Amber Alerts are issued for each state.
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Incident Command has final say on all monitoring, deployments, and activations.





Article 6 - Divisions:

    US-- Led By Patrick O Gannon...covers all US states and provinces.

    EUS-- Eastern United States -- Led by James Creighton... covers all of the Eastern US and Eastern US provinces.

Mid – Atlantic Region: NJ, Eastern PA, MD, VA, NC, DE – Led by Richard A. Widmark, Jr.

PA State Division – Led by Chrissy Shaffer.

MD State Division – Open

VA State Division – Led by Erin Reigada

Blacksburg, VA Regional Zone – Led by Kathy Hurt – Covers all of Blacksburg, VA NWS County Warning Area.

Wakefield, VA Regional Zone – Led by Jesse Bass – Covers all of Wakefield, VA NWS County Warning Area.

Sterling, VA Regional Zone – Open


Southeast Division- Open – Covers TN,AL,MS,GA,FL,SC,PR, and the Bahamas.

TN State Division – Led by Fred Koenig

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TN Regional Zone 3 – Led by Terry Ewing – Covers NE TN

FL State Division – Led by Ron Moore, Jr.

Gulf Coast Region – Led by Clay Turner- Covers TX south and East of Dallas, MS, AL and LA.



Ohio River Valley Region – Led by Doug Kindig, Director, and Ron Pittman, Assistant Director – Covers IN south of Indianapolis, KY, WV, and OH south of Dayton

Great Lakes Region – Led By Keith Thews – Covers IN north of Indianapolis, OH north of Dayton, PA west of State College, Western NY, MI, Eastern IL, and WI

IN State Division – Open

OH State Division – Led by Mary Petelin

Northeast Region – Open – Covers ME, VT, NH, NY, CT, RI, MA

CUS-- Central United States-- Open—Covers TX, OK, AR, MI, KS, IL, MN, ND, SD, NEB, IA

Northern Plains Region – Open – Covers Western IL, MN, ND, SD, NEB, IA

Southern Plains Region – Open – Covers TX, OK, AR, MI, KS, CO east of Denver

WUS-- Western United States—Open – Covers WA, OR, WY, MT, ID, AK, CA, AZ, NM, CO west of Denver, NV, and HI.

Northwestern Region – Open – Covers WA, OR, WY, MT, ID, AK

Southwestern Region – Open – Covers CA, AZ, NM, CO, HI, NV
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International Liaison - Open







Article 7 – General Operations

1.  Regional Directors may activate all communication networks deemed necessary at a regional level. They will have incident command during the duration of that network, and issue all activations and deployments deemed necessary. A request must be turned into the home office and an incident number logged. A communications log must be kept during the duration of the network’s operation and ending with a communications report to the home office. Command may select a substitute to periodically relieve himself / herself. For incidents lasting multiple days, a report must be filed for EACH day at 10PM EST, no later then midnight.

2.  All active members must check in every 2 weeks and participate in at least 50% of his or her area’s activations and assignments to be reviewed every 3 mos.

3.  All reserve members must check in every 30 days and participate in at least 25% of his or her area’s activations and assignments to be reviewed every 3 mos.



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4.  If a member fails to check in during a check in period, their membership will be placed on inactive status. A member of Executive Staff must notify the member of their inactivity, and make any corrective actions deemed necessary. Contact with the member should be made in any one of the following:

A.  Email – Member has 30 days to reply.



B.  Telephone – Please use good judgment in doing this.

C.  US Mail – Member has 45 days to reply.

5.  If a member does not respond, the Board of Directors and/or Executive Staff has the right to make any corrective actions deemed necessary.
6.  All members shall have 30 days from the start date of their 2nd notice or advisement of inactivity to respond to the Director or Executive Staff member issuing the 2nd notice or advisement. If the member does not respond within this period, the Director or Executive Staff member has the right to refer the member’s membership to the Executive Staff for termination.








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Article 8 – Membership Provisions

1.  Members must meet the requirements set forth in the rules and regulations.

2.  If a member has been convicted of DUI or Reckless Driving, the applicant must present a copy of their driving record, if conviction is less then 5 years old.

3.  USAWSSC has the right to refuse membership to any applicant. USAWSSC is an equal opportunity team.

4.  In order for membership to be approved, it must be agreed upon by a majority vote of the membership committee.

5.  Emergent Volunteer – Any member of the public 18 or older, that offers to assist us with an incident or function may do so only after they sign a waiver of liability, or give a verbal confirmation before 2 members which must be documented by the members. NO help should ever be turned away.








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Article 9 – Business Meetings and Operations

1.  All meetings should be held every two months.

2.  Each state shall have their meetings at their own discretion, but at a minimum, must be every 2 months.

3.  Regional Directors must attend state meetings either in person, email, or phone at least every 2 months.

4.  An Emergency Call Meeting may be called if deemed necessary, but a reasonable time for such a meeting shall be selected.


IN CLOSING:

    We hope everyone has a great time with USAWSSC, and has many great and safe chases. Any other issues or questions not addressed by the bylaws should be directed to the Board of Directors. God be with us all...

PG

This document in its entirety is effective the 7th of January, 2004

Patrick O. Gannon, President




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USAWSSC TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP / LIABILITY WAIVER



I,_____________________________________ (printed name), do agree to be bound by the terms of membership as set forth in the rules, regulations, and guidelines of the United States Advanced Warning Storm Spotters / Chasers and do agree to the following:

1.  I have received, read, and understand the rules, regulations, and guidelines that have been given to me.
2.  I agree and hold harmless, Patrick O. Gannon, USAWSSC, its affiliates, staff, and individual members for any damages, injuries, or death that can and may occur while performing any function for or with the agency. I understand that some functions of the team are dangerous, and that I will obtain any required education to help me understand and protect myself first from hazards.

Please note: if under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign this form.




Signature_____________________________________________________

Relationship to member:

Date:

Please mail within 30 days to:
USAWSSC
10094 Stewartsville Rd
Vinton, VA 24179

AMENDMENTS
Dear Members:

  Also is a copy of the ammendment to regs from last year...this also is still a valid part of this year's rules and regs.


United States Advanced Warning Storm Spotters / Chasers
Standard Operations Guidelines – Ammendment 1
Effective November 15,2003


Chain of Command – From Lowest Level to Highest

Local Unit Officers – Secretary, Treasurer, Training Officer, Recruiter, Etc.

Local Unit Director aka Team Leader

Zone Officers – Same as above

Zone Director

Regional Zone Officers – Ex: Blacksburg, VA – Wakefield, VA – Same as above

Regional Zone Director

State Division Officers – Same as above

State Operations Director

Regional States Officers – Same as above

Regional State Director Ex: Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Gulf Coast, etc.

Operations Director – Ex: Eastern US

US Operations Director

Board of Directors – All directors on the team

Chief Executive Meteorologist

Chief Legal Advisor

Chief of Staff

Assistant Vice President

Vice President

President
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The chain of command should be followed as shown and not circumvented unless circumstances truly warrant so.




2.  Optional Officers Within Zones, Regional Zones, State Operations, Regional State Operations, and Operational Commands in no particular order:

Assistant Team Leader / Director- Oversees all operations in their assigned area.

Training Officer – Handles and oversees all training matters within respective area.

Equipment Officer – Handles all team equipment, issuance, and maintenance within their assigned area.

Recruiter- Handles all membership recruiting within assigned area.

Treasurer – Handles all financial matters within assigned area.

Secretary – Performs all secretarial duties within assigned area.

Advisor – Advisor to all officers and members within assigned area.

All officers under the Team Leader / Director or Assistant Team Leader / Director report directly to them. The Assistant Team Leader / Director reports directly to the Team Leader / Director.


3. All changes, additions, and deviations from National Standard Operations Guidelines or National Rules and Regulations must be approved by the Executive Staff.

4. Incident Command System – The highest-ranking member at the Incident shall be in charge of the incident, unless he or she delegates someone else to do so for them.

5. All problems should be addressed using the chain of command first. Disciplinary action can and should be taken at the lowest level possible.





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6. Emergent Volunteers: Anyone not with our team at an incident or function wishing to help us out may do so, but it is the highest ranking officer’s responsibility to inform the person, in front of another member who serves as a witness, they THEY ASSUME ALL LIABILITY for anything that can and may occur while working with us.

7. At no time should we do anything outside of our scope of practice, or, what we are authorized to do. Anyone caught doing so will be severely disciplined pursuant to our rules and regulations.




Approved on 15 NOV 03 by Patrick O. Gannon, Owner / President
United States Advanced Warning Storm Spotters / Chasers
Executive Order 20031115


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