I did some more digging in how the USDBF works and based on what I saw in their bylaws; the officers are subservient to the Board of Directors (BOD) who manage the business and the affairs of the corporation.

You can read more in the USDBF ByLaws here: Ammended USDBF PA Bylaws 2015-11-16

Bylaws are not the easy to read so I have pulled out the most important thing when it comes to who has the power and authority in the USDBF.

Section 8.01(a)(i) (“All powers granted to the Corporation under the Law or otherwise vested by law in a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation shall be exercised by or under the authority of, and the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed under the direction of, the Board of Directors.”)

Currently Each USDBF Region appoints three directors, so there are a total of 12 directors.   Directors elect officers.  The officers are accountable to the board of directors and the directors are accountable to the members of the USDBF, the Regions. Officers only have such authority as granted by the Board of Directors.  The officers do not control what is going on.  The Board of Directors set policy; officers carry it out.  Officers are subservient to the Board of Directors.

If you read further you can see that the Powers and Duties of the officers (placed below) also make it clear that the Officers are subservient to the Board of Directors.

Article X – Powers and Duties of Officers

Section 10.01     The President. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Corporation and shall have general supervision over the business and operations of the Corporation, subject however, to the control of the Board of Directors. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Regions and the Board of Directors and shall sign, execute and acknowledge, in the name of the Corporation, deeds, mortgages, contracts or other instruments authorized by the Board of Directors, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board of Directors, by statute or by these Bylaws, to some other officer or agent of the Corporation. The President shall be ex-officio participant of all committees without the right to vote, unless the President is a Director, in which case the President shall have the right to vote by virtue of the President’s position as a Director and shall have the general powers and duties of supervision and management usually vested in the office of President, and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Board of Directors.

Section 10.02     The Vice President. The Vice President or, if there shall be more than one, the Vice Presidents in the order determined by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise all the powers of the President. The Vice Presidents, respectively, shall also perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe. There shall initially be a First Vice President and a Second Vice President.

Section 10.03     The Secretary. The Secretary or an Assistant Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Regions and of the Board of Directors and shall record all votes of the Regions and of the Directors and the minutes of the meetings of the Regions and of the Board of Directors and of committees of the Board in a book or books to be kept for that purpose. The Secretary shall see that notices are given and records and reports properly kept and filed by the Corporation as required by law and shall be the custodian of the seal of the Corporation, if the Corporation has adopted one, and see that it is affixed to all documents to be executed on behalf of the Corporation under its seal. In general, the Secretary shall perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary, and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Directors or the President.

Section 10.04     The Treasurer. The Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer shall have or provide for the custody of the funds or other property of the Corporation and shall collect and receive or provide for the collection and receipt of moneys earned by or in any manner due to or received by the Corporation. The Treasurer shall deposit all funds in the Treasurer’s custody as Treasurer in such banks or other places of deposit as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate and shall, whenever so required by the Board of Directors, render an account showing all transactions as Treasurer and the financial condition of the Corporation. In general, the Treasurer shall perform all duties incident to the office of Treasurer, and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Directors or the President.

Section 10.05     Assistant Officers. Each assistant officer shall assist in the performance of the duties of the officer to whom the assistant officer is assistant and shall perform such duties in the absence of the officer. Each assistant officer shall perform such additional duties as the Board of Directors, the President or the officer to whom the assistant officer is assistant may from time to time assign the assistant officer. Such assistant officers may be given such functional titles as the Board of Directors shall from time to time determine.

After learning this I thought it would help if the USDBF members knew how to share their concerns and thoughts with the Board of Directors to ensure their voice was heard.

The first avenue is to go to the USDBF Contact Us page. I have placed a link below to direct you straight there.

• http://usdbf.org/contact_us/contact_info

This is a contact form that sends an email into the machine. Usually these emails are sent to either 1 person or a committee who then forward the message on.

The fastest way to reach the USDBF Board of Directors is through the member regions themselves as they are the Board of Directors. I researched the best avenues to contact your regional representative to let your voice be heard.

• http://www.erdba.net/officers.html
  • http://www.erdba.net/contact.html
• http://srdba.org/SRDBA-Board.html
  • Email addresses provided on page
• http://americandragonboat.com/
  • Email addresses provided on page
• http://www.pdbausa.org/contact_us/contact_info
  • Email addresses provided on page

Remember that most of these organization are run by people that are volunteering their time when others would not. I know that most of them are doing their best and are truly doing what they think is right for the organization. Not giving them an excuse for poor performance or an out. I just think we should all consider this when we are working with volunteer organizations that are always looking for help.

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Here is a quick break down of the Dragon Boat Organizations and where the PADBF fits and how the USDBF and your specific region fit.

The established International Federation for dragon boat sport is the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF). In 2007, the IDBF was recognized as a member of SportAccord which is part of the Olympic Movement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The gateway to the Americas dragon boat organizations from the IDBF is through the Pan American Dragon Boat Federation (PADBF). To continue molding the worldwide dragon boat organizations to an Olympic organizational format, the IDBF required an organization to encapsulate the Americas as part of the Sport Accord/IOC. This requirement brought about the PADBF and it’s position in the worldwide organization below:

As you can see from this illustration, the USDBF and all of its sub-organizations reports up through the PADBF to the IDBF.

Let us know if you still have questions and we will do our best to answer them.

The post Dragon Boat Associations in the Americas and how they are related appeared first on Dragon Boat Information and Events.

• XGenerals Dragon Boat Team Training Video – Intro (Part 1 of 7)
  • Ensure to see all 7 videos

Great videos, very well done presentation!

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The event will be held with the help of Dragon Boat Canada (DBC), the Pan American Dragon Boat Federation (PADBF), and Welland International Flatwater Centre (WIFC).

They are inviting all Club Crews from within the Pan American region to race in the Pan American Club Crew Championships (PACCC), being held at the Welland International Flatwater Centre North Course located in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada.

The 2015 PACCC Races will take place from the 14th – 16th of August over distances of 200, 500 and 2000 metres. All races will take place in Small Boats.

2nd Pan American Dragon Boat Championships
From Friday, August 14, 2015
To Sunday, August 16, 2015

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It gives an opportunity to compete with other breast cancer survivor teams in dragon boat festivals that have a special division only for breast cancer survivor teams. The team decides which competitions they want to travel to, but it is not mandatory that any one attend any specific competition. We like to win but we consider participation more important then winning.

The post BCS – Why a Separate Team appeared first on Dragon Boat Information and Events.

Donald Chisholm (“Don”) McKenzie is a Canadian sports medicine specialist at the University of British Columbia, professor in the School of Kinesiology and Director of the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre. In a 1998 paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal McKenzie described how in February 1996 he started a dragon boat team for women with a history of breast cancer, which the women chose to name Abreast in a Boat. He believed that this activity would benefit breast cancer survivors as it provided strenuous upper body activity in an aesthetically pleasing and socially supportive environment

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For more information on the 9th Annual Club Crew World Championships please visit their site at: http://www.ravenna2014.org

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The IBCPC is an international organisation whose mandate is to encourage the establishment of breast cancer dragon boat teams, within the framework of participation and inclusiveness.

They support the development of recreational dragon boat paddling as a contribution to a healthy life style for those diagnosed with breast cancer.

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