Constitution of Newbury and
District Amateur Radio Society
As approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting of 28th
May, 2014
1)
Name.
The
Society shall be known as the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society to be
abbreviated as N.A.D.A.R.S.
2)
Aims.
The
aims of the Society shall be to promote the hobby of Amateur Radio and to
protect the interests of its members.
3)
Membership.
a)
Membership shall be open, subject to the discretion of the Committee, to any
persons interested in the aims of the Society.
b)
Classes of membership will be: Full Member, Student Member, Family Membership
and Honorary Member.
c)
Student members will pay a reduced subscription and a special subscription will
be set for Family Membership. Honorary members will not pay.
i)
Students are defined as being less than 25 years of age and in full time
education.
ii)
Family Membership is for members of a family as defined at the discretion of the
committee.
iii)
Honorary Life Membership may be granted to any person, who in the opinion of the
Committee has rendered outstanding service to the Society. Such membership shall
carry the rights of full membership but shall be free from subscriptions.
iv)
Visitors may attend up to three meetings free of charge at the discretion of the
Committee.
v) All
members to have equal voting rights.
vi)
All members shall abide by the constitution of the Society.
vii)
The Committee will have the power to appoint a President of the Society. To be
considered for this position a member must have been a member of the Society for
at least fifteen years and during that time have made a valuable contribution to
the Society. The president will be an ex-officio member of the Committee. The
term of office will normally be for a period of three years at the Committee's
discretion. A member may serve for more than one three year period.
d) Membership misconduct: Any
Member whose conduct, either through omission or commission, in the opinion of
the Committee is detrimental to the proper interests and welfare of the Society
or its members shall be liable for suspension or expulsion from the Society.
Such conduct does not necessarily have to take place within the confines of the
Society and the conduct need not be solely concerned with Amateur Radio or the
aims of the Society. In any such case the Committee will give the member at
least 14 days notice of the intended action and the member shall have the right
to be heard by and make representation to the committee before that committee
will vote upon such suspension or expulsion. In the event of suspension or
expulsion the member will not have the unused part of the subscription fee
returned. Any member disagreeing with the decision of the Committee may appeal
to the membership attending the next Annual General Meeting against the
Committee's ruling. Pending such appeal the
member is excluded from all activities of the Society. In particular, the
guidelines as laid out in "Radio Society of Great Britain, Child Protection
Guidelines" or revision or replacement of that document or leaflet must be
strictly observed at all times and by all members.
4)
Subscriptions.
a) The
annual subscriptions for membership shall be set by the Committee.
b) All
subscriptions shall be due and payable at the Annual General Meeting.
c) The
Committee may, at its discretion, deem membership to continue for a period not
exceeding three months from the date of the Annual General Meeting. If the
subscription remains unpaid after this three month period then the membership
will lapse.
d)
Members in arrears will have no voting rights.
e) The
Committee will have the power to waive or reduce subscriptions in special
circumstances, such circumstances will be looked at on a case by case basis.
5)
Finance.
a) The
financial year shall run from 1st April to 31st March.
b) All
cheques and cash received by the Society shall be deposited into a recognised
clearing bank or building society. The Treasurer may keep sufficient cash in
hand to meet petty incidental and day to day expenditures.
c) Any
expenditure on behalf of the Society by a Society member up to a maximum of £100
has to be agreed in advance with either the Treasurer or Secretary. Expenditure
in excess of £100 must be agreed by a minimum of four members of the Committee.
6)
Membership of the Society's Committee.
a) The Society's affairs will be administered by a Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee will consist of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Programme Secretary, Treasurer and up to three ordinary Committee members. Normally, a member may not hold one of these posts consecutively for more than four years, but may be elected to an alternate post after the four year period of service. After a one year break, the member may be elected again to any post. This 4 year rule, and the number of ordinary members, can be changed at the discretion of the Chairman and with the agreement of a 51% or more majority of the committee.
b) The
committee may co-opt Society members onto the Committee if required and form sub
committees if required.
i)
Roles of the Committee members:
(1)
Chair. To chair all Committee meetings and ensure the Society operates within
the constitution.
(2)
Vice Chair. To act in absence of Chair.
(3)
Secretary. To take minutes of meetings and to be responsible for their safe
keeping. To handle the Society's correspondence.
(4)
Programme Secretary. To plan and organise the regular Society's meetings and
activities.
(5)
Treasurer. To record all financial transactions relating to the Society's
activities. To provide a duly accurate set of accounts for the Annual General
Meeting, checked by an ordinary club member acting as a responsible
financial officer. The role of responsible financial officer will be filled
either by nomination and election at the AGM or, in the absence of nominations,
by co-option to this role by the Chair of the Committee.
(6)
Ordinary Committee members. To assist the officers in the proper running of the
Society by participating at Committee meetings and carrying out delegated tasks.
ii)
The Committee will be responsible for maintaining the list of the Society's
property and assets. This may be delegated to the Treasurer if the Committee so
decide.
iii)
The Committee will be responsible for maintaining the list of the Society's
members. This may be delegated to the Treasurer if the Committee so decide.
7)
General Standing Orders.
a) A
quorum for general meetings will be 20% of the membership.
b) All
motions must be seconded.
c)
A member who is unable to
attend a general meeting will be allowed a proxy vote. It is
this member's responsibility to send, in writing, his/her voting intention to
the
Secretary prior to the general meeting. E-mail will be deemed good notice.
8)
Committee Standing Orders.
a) The
quorum for the Committee will be four.
b)
Committee meetings are called by the Chair, or in exceptional circumstances by
any three members of the Committee.
c) The
Chair will have the casting vote in ballots.
9)
Annual General Meeting
a) The
Annual General Meeting will normally be held in May. At least 28 days notice
will be given in writing to all members. E mail will be deemed good notice. In
the event that the Annual General Meeting cannot be held in May it will be held
as soon as practicably possible after this time. The Committee will have the
power to extend
membership rights accordingly.
b) The
agenda for the meeting will be:
i)
Apologies for absence.
ii)
Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
iii)
Chair's report.
iv)
Secretary's report.
v)
Treasurer's report
vi)
Election of new Committee.
vii)
Election of a responsible financial officer.
viii)
Other business
(1)
Items (i) to (v) shall be chaired by the out going Chair.
(2)
Item (vi) by an acting Chair who is not standing for office
(3)
Remaining business by the newly elected Chair.
c)
Nominations for Committee post.
i) Any
member may nominate another member for election, such nomination becoming valid
on the nominee's agreement. Any member may nominate themselves for election. All
nominations must be received prior to the advertised Closing date. In the
event of there being no prior nominations to a post, the Chair may, at his/her
discretion, accept nominations at the meeting and call for a ballot if
required.
i)
Items to be included must be notified to the Secretary not less than fourteen
days prior
to the meeting.
d)
Other Business
i)
Items to be included must be notified to the Secretary not less than fourteen
days
ii) No
items can be discussed at the meeting that are not on the agenda or have not
been previously notified, see (i) above. The newly elected Chair can at his/her
discretion allow such discussion if he or she sees fit to do so.
10)
Extraordinary General Meeting.
a) An
Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee or by not less than
five members of the Society. The meeting will be convened at the earliest
practicable date as decided by the Committee. At least twenty eight days notice
must be given to the Secretary if the meeting is not called by the Committee.
The
secretary will give members at least fourteen days notice in writing of the date
and details of the agenda. E mail will be deemed good notice. No other business,
other than on the agenda, may be transacted at the meeting.
b)
Each item on the agenda will be decided by a simple majority of the members
present. In the event of a "tie" the Chairman will have a casting vote.
11)
Amendments to the Constitution.
a) The
Constitution may only be amended at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for
that purpose.
12)
Winding Up.
a) The
decision to wind up the Society can only be taken at an Extraordinary General
Meeting or Annual General Meeting. In the absence of a quorum at such a meeting,
a motion signed by ten members or 10% of the membership, whichever is the
smaller, will constitute the same decision.
b)
After payment of all outstanding debts, the assets of the Society will be
disposed of between the members. The disposal will take place at the final EGM
or AGM, or as soon as practicable after the meeting or as soon as practicable
following a motion presented under the terms of Clause 12a)