Bylaws

USS LYNDE MCCORMICK (DDG-8) ASSOCIATION

An Unincorporated Voluntary Association of ALL its Shipmates

BYLAWS

Article I – Name, Status and Brief History

The name of our group is the USS LYNDE McCORMICK (DDG-8) ASSOCIATION. It is a voluntary unincorporated association of ALL of the shipmates who served on board her at any time (including embarked staff members) during its 30 years of commissioned service from 1961 through 1991. We will not incorporate in any state, nor will we obtain a tax ID number, nor we will file any tax returns or annual reports.

USS LYNDE McCORMICK (DDG-8) was built by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan. She was commissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on June 3, 1961 and she was decommissioned in her home port of San Diego, California, on October 1, 1991. She was struck from the Navy list on November 20, 1992, and converted into a power barge berthed in San Francisco, California. She was sunk in the Pacific as a target on February 24, 2001. She was named in honor of Vice Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, 1896 – 1956.

Article II – Purpose

Our purpose through our association is to serve as a focal point for shipmates to maintain contact with one another, to renew friendships, and to make new friends with all those who have served on board this proud and very capable ship. USS LYNDE McCORMICK (DDG-8) was a first rate ship of the line, a credit to the U.S. Navy and a home and source of pride to those of us who were fortunate enough to have served on board her during our service in the United States Navy. Through our association we will preserve the memories and incidences of our associations with one another. Another purpose will be to give us an opportunity to work together to preserve the memories and history of destroyers in general, and the Adams Class of DDGs in particular.

Article III – Membership and Privileges

All shipmates and all embarked staff members who served on board USS LYNDE McCORMICK (DDG-8) are members of our association. They are welcome to attend all reunions (so long as they pay the registration fee and the fees for the events in which they participate), they are welcome to vote at all meetings of our association, they are welcome to serve as officers or as members or leaders of any committees, they are welcome to help support our web site which is ddg8.com, and they are welcome to be kept informed so long as they provide us with their current email address, or if they do not have access to email, they provide us with the current mailing address. Spouses of shipmates are also welcome as members with the same privileges as shipmates.

Article IV – Directors and Officers

To help direct and continue our association we will have a board of directors consisting of five members. The members of the board of directors will be two at large directors, a chairman, a vice chairman and a secretary/treasurer with the duties usually associated with such an office. They will be elected at a business meeting held in connection with every reunion and their terms will run until the next reunion’s business meeting. If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors, the remaining members of the board of directors shall choose a shipmate or spouse who is willing and ready to serve until the next reunion business meeting. Since our association has members who live all across America and maybe even out of the country, meetings can be held by telephone or by email or on the Internet, which ever would work best. Meetings will be called by the chairman at the chairman’s own initiative or at the request of any board member. The board of directors should meet annually, and they should meet at every reunion in advance of the business meeting. It is the responsibility of the board of directors at every business meeting to report to the membership on the affairs of our association and to present a slate of officers and directors, from which the membership can elect or reject one or all nominees. Members of the board of directors can be re-elected without limit so long as they are willing to serve and so long as they keep the association intact and carry out all of the business of the association.

Article V – Finances

Our association will have no dues. Reunion registration fees shall be set so as to generate enough funds to pay for all expenses associated with every reunion. Any left over funds after all reunion expenses have been paid may be used as determined by the board of directors. Some money could be given to projects to maintain and support museums caring for destroyers, including the preservation and maintenance of an Adams Class DDG, as well as the maintenance of the ddg8.com website. Excess funds can be given to the person designated to be chairman of the next reunion for seed money for the next reunion. Since we do not anticipate lots of funds and since we do not have dues, we will simply trust our shipmate to whom we entrust any such funds to use those funds for our next reunion. As we learned in our Navy service, you have to trust your shipmates.

Article VI – Reunions

Our association will hold reunions every three to five years. The board of directors has the responsibility of recruiting a shipmate to be chairman of the next reunion or it can recruit co-chairmen to serve as reunion leaders. The leaders of the next reunion can recruit any member of our association to work on committees and handle all the reunion details including site selection, dates, reunion hotel, banquet menus, and reunion events and costs, and shall set a registration fee to cover the costs of the reunion and generate a small amount of funds to give to the next reunion chairman for seed money and to cover expenses. The board of directors shall assist and monitor as necessary the planning for the next reunion, and shall step in to provide leadership or appoint new reunion leaders if necessary in the opinion of the board of directors.

Article VII – History

The board of directors shall appoint shall appoint one or more shipmate volunteers to compile over the years a history of our ship, including significant events, a complete list of all her commanding officers, and a summary of her deployments. The history as it is developed should be made available on line at ddg8.com.

Adopted by our shipmates at a meeting held on Friday, September 17th, 2004, in conjunction with our reunion in San Diego, California.