Code of Conduct

Professionalism
The 3500 Club expects volunteers to fulfill their assignments in a professional manner. Officers
and volunteers are expected to meet professional standards of timeliness, accuracy, integrity,
reporting, and accountability. Officers are expected to meet deadlines or report to the
President if they cannot, treat fellow volunteers with courtesy and respect, and represent the
interests of the 3500 Club in good faith. Volunteers are required to follow the organization’s
policies and procedures and to inform themselves of and adhere to the policies of our
landowning partners and private property owners.

Safety
Volunteers will conduct themselves in a manner that protects their own safety and the safety of
others and will follow the 3500 Club’s safety procedures and the safety procedures of
landowning and other partners.

Diversity and Inclusion
The 3500 Club does not discriminate against contractors, committee assignments or volunteer
opportunities or practices based on race, color, religion, gender, marital status, national origin,
age, sexual orientation, or as otherwise prohibited by applicable federal, state and/or local law.

Anti-Harassment
The Catskill 3500 Club is committed to ensuring that members and affiliates (aspirants,
volunteers, attendees, visitors) have an environment free from unwelcome or inappropriate
speech or conduct and is committed to taking seriously any complaints of harassment of any
kind, including activities on social media and other virtual platforms.

In the event that an individual feels they have reason for a complaint, that complaint should be
reported immediately to the Club President, their Committee Chair, any board member, trip
leader, or event organizer. It is not necessary for any individual to communicate such matters
directly unless they are comfortable doing so. Volunteer leaders and hike leaders are
responsible for making the Outings Chair or President immediately aware of any such situation
brought to their attention. The Catskill 3500 Club will investigate the complaint and, where
warranted by the results of the investigation, will take appropriate disciplinary action, up to and
including expulsion.

When such complaints are made, the issue of confidentiality will be raised with the
complainant, and every effort will be made to respect the complainant’s preferences in this
regard. It may not be possible to reconcile The Catskill 3500 Club's responsibility to identify

and eliminate harassment with the member’s preferences for confidentiality. When it appears
that this is the case, this issue will be raised with the complainant before any disclosures are
made. Members and affiliates can raise concerns, make reports, and participate in the
investigation of claims without fear of reprisal or retaliation.

Sexual Harassment
The Catskill 3500 Club prohibits sexual harassment in any form. Sexual harassment is
conduct of a sexual nature that is offensive to a member or affiliate who is subjected to that
conduct. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature by any member, affiliate, or any non-member (including vendors
and others who engage in business with The Catskill 3500 Club) constitute sexual harassment
when submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for decisions affecting
that member; or such conduct has the purpose or the effect of unreasonably interfering with a
volunteer’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
All members and affiliates should understand that what one person may think is good-natured
kidding of a sexual nature may be perceived as hostile, intimidating or offensive by others.
Sexual harassment is against state and federal law. It is the policy of The Catskill 3500 Club to
prohibit sexual harassment of all members and affiliates and to investigate and remedy sexual
harassment whenever such conduct comes to Club leadership’s attention. It is also the policy
of The Catskill 3500 Club to support members and affiliates asserting their rights under this
policy. Retaliatory conduct by any member/affiliate of The Catskill 3500 Club against any other
member or affiliate complaining of harassment of any kind, or cooperating in The Catskill 3500
Club’s investigation of harassment, will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action, up
to and including expulsion.

Reporting and Investigation Procedure

1. Any member or affiliate who believes that they have been subjected to harassment
should report the act immediately to the Club President, any board member, trip leader,
or event organizer.
2. Any party to who is made aware of an allegation of possible sexual harassment has an
obligation to forward this information to the Club President.
3. The Club President and/or their designee will initiate an investigation of all the pertinent
facts related to the incident. The question of whether a particular action or incident is
interpreted as prohibited behavior or as a purely personal, social relationship without a
discriminatory affect will require a determination based on all of the evidence collected.
4. The investigator(s) of the incident will attempt to maintain confidentiality; however,
complete anonymity may be in jeopardy due to the nature of the investigation.
5. All investigations will be conducted through interview with written statements from all
parties involved. Failure to cooperate with the investigation will result in disciplinary
action, up to and including expulsion.
6. Parties involved will be notified of the investigation results in a timely manner and of any
disciplinary actions that have been taken.
7. Further investigation(s) may be conducted at the discretion of the investigator(s) to
ensure that there is no retaliatory action against the alleged victim(s).

8. Any substantiated retaliatory treatment against the victim(s) will result in immediate
expulsion from Catskill 3500 Club.

Conflict Resolution
The President is responsible for managing the interaction of members and affiliates, for
establishing a professional and welcoming environment, and for implementing a system for
managing conflict among Club participants, including both members and affiliates, which may
include the following actions:

1. Coaching. The Board of Directors and volunteer leaders are encouraged to provide
immediate feedback to individuals whose interactions with other 3500 Club personnel
do not meet the standards of the Code of Conduct.
2. Warnings. The President may issue a verbal or written warning to any volunteer whose
conduct does not meet the standards of the Code of Conduct. The warning should
include a description of the behavior and the specific standard it violated and
explanation of the consequences if the individual fails to modify the behavior, to include
suspension or expulsion.
3. Suspension or permanent termination from the 3500 Club. The President and the Board
of Directors may suspend or permanently terminate volunteers from the 3500 Club for
violations of the Code of Conduct that significantly impact the work environment, pose
reputational or legal risk to the 3500 Club, or reflect behaviors that have not been
modified despite coaching or warning.
4. Referral to law enforcement. Violations of the Code of Conduct that also reflect
violation of law will be referred to the appropriate enforcement agency.
5. Volunteers who experience or witness violations of the Code of Conduct should report
these incidents to their volunteer supervisors, or directly to the President or a board
member.
6. The President will report to the board of directors on a quarterly basis a summary of
complaints and actions taken, if applicable.