Constitution

Donside Camera Club Constitution
Constitution 1. Name :               The name of the club shall be called “The Donside Camera Club”
2. Aims :                The enjoyment of photography in all its aspects
3. Membership :   
  1. The club shall be open to Members, Honorary members and Junior members, any of whom shall be entitled to attend and vote where such is called for, at any meeting of the Club and to make full use of the Club facilities.
  2. Any application for membership shall be made through the Club Treasurer and will be subject to the approval of the Club Committee.
  3. Any person may be elected as an honorary member by a two-thirds majority of the members present at any AGM.
4. Committee :
  1. The Club Committee members shall be elected by a majority vote of the Club members at the AGM to be held at the end of the Winter season. The Committee shall take office only after the close of the existing session. The said Committee shall be responsible for the affairs of the Club during their term of office.
  2. Committee members shall normally hold office for a period of no more than 4 years. This period can be extended in exceptional circumstances as judged as necessary by the Committee.
  3. The office bearers, 10 in number, to be elected individually shall be Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Treasurer,  General Secretary,  Programme Secretary, Internal Competition Secretary, External Competition Secretary, Media Secretary, Projectionist and one general member who has joined the Club within the last 2 years. All will be members of the management committee of the Club.
  4. The role of the Chairperson is central to all Club activities. To ensure consistency the member acting as vice chair will ideally take the Chairperson’s role once the chairperson stands down.
  5. The Committee will have the power to co-opt members to fill casual vacancies or to help form a sub-committee required for some stated purpose or to assist in some special way.
  6. The Committee shall issue, through its General Secretary and by the last meeting of he season, a report on its work during its year of office.
  7. Any 5 members of the Committee shall represent a quorum and any resolution properly presented may be carried by a majority of those Committee members present.
  8. The General Secretary shall be exofficio a member of any sub-committee.

5. Meetings :
  1. There will be four categories of meetings:
    1. Club Meetings
    2. Committee Meetings
    3. A.G.M
    4. E.G.M
    A yearly programme of Club Meetings will be produced by the Committee and issued to each member before the Programme begins.
    An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called on special occasions by a written notice to the Committee signed by twenty-five percent of the Club members.
  2. The Chairman at any meeting shall rule on all points of order and in the event of a voting tie shall use his vote as a casting vote.
  3. The purpose date and time of any Extraordinary General meeting shall be transmitted to each and every member not less than fourteen days before the meeting takes place
  4. Copies of AGM Minutes will be made available to Club Members through the Members section of the Club website.
  5. An AGM is considered quorate with 20% of the members present.

6. Notices of Motion :

All notices of motion relative to the business of the Club shall be handed, signed and with a sec- onder, to the General Secretary, who will submit it for consideration at the next Annual General Meeting when the motion will be deemed adopted by a simple majority vote of the members present.

7. Subscriptions  :
  1. The membership subscription payable for the ensuing year shall be determined by the incoming committee.
  2. New members will be expected to pay on confirmation of acceptance of membership by the Treasurer.
  3. Subscriptions shall be due at the first meeting of the new season.
  4. Any member whose subscription is two months overdue shall be deemed to have resigned from the Club.
  5. Any non members paying weekly subscriptions should be encouraged to join the club and be- come members by the Christmas break.

8. Accounts :

The financial management by the Treasurer will include:
  1. Up to date management of the accounts which will allow status review by the committee as and when required.
  2. External auditing of the accounts prior to the A.G.M.
  3. The financial year shall be deemed to run from 5th April until 4th April next.

9. Non members :
  1. Members shall be entitled to introduce non members at any meeting of the Club except the AGM and EGM
  2. At the discretion of the Chairperson, meetings may be open to the public and an entrance fee may be charged.

10. Constitution :

No alteration of the Club Constitution may be made except at the AGM. A two thirds majority of those present are required to carry the motion 
  1. Any member desiring to propose any alterations in, or addition to the Constitution, may do so by submitting the terms of the motion, in writing, to the secretary three weeks before the Annual General Meeting or by requesting an Extraordinary General Meeting.
  2. In disputes arising over the interpretation of the Constitution, the Committee’s decision will be final.

11. Dissolution :

The Club may not be dissolved except on the resolution of not less than two thirds of the members present at the A.G.M. or an E.G.M.
  1. In the event of a motion being passed to wind up the Club, Members shall discharge all debts. and liabilities of the club. Thereafter the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst members of the Club but shall be distributed to recognized bodies promoting the good of photography as determined at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
12. Expulsion :

The committee may on a vote of two thirds of its members, indicate the withdrawal of all facilities from any member by instructing the Treasurer to return the members current fee.