Constitution

Constitution as Adopted 19/04/18

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 :

The Committee shall be responsible for the affairs of the Club during their term of office. 

1.          The Club Committee members shall be elected by a majority vote of the Club members at the AGM to be held in April each year. The Committee shall take office the day following the AGM.

2.          Committee members shall be elected each year but members shall not normally hold any office for a period of more than 4 years. This period can be extended in exceptional circumstances as judged as necessary by the Committee.

3.          The office bearers, 8 in number, to be elected individually shall be Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Treasurer,  General Secretary,  Programme Secretary, Internal Competition Secretary, External Competition Secretary, Media Secretary. A Projectionist and one general member, preferably someone who has joined the Club within the last 2 years will complete the Committee. All will be members of the Management Committee of the Club. Where one person is elected to two or more roles, additional general members shall be elected to maintain the Committee at a minimum of 8 members.

4.          The role of the Chairperson is central to all Club activities. To ensure consistency, once the chairperson stands down, the member acting as vice chair will ideally take the Chairperson’s role providing always that they are elected at the AGM.

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. Co-opted members MAY be required to attend meetings to report to the Committee but will NOT be part of the management committee of the Club.

6.          The Committee shall issue, through its General Secretary and by the AGM, a report on its work during its year of office.

7.          A quorum of the Committee shall be 50% of the Committee membership (rounded up to the nearest whole number) and any resolution properly presented may be carried by a majority of those Committee members present. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairperson shall have the casting vote.

8.          The Chairperson shall be ex officio 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 the Committee or by a written notice to the Committee signed by twenty-five percent of the Club members.

2.          The Chairperson at any meeting shall rule on all points of order and in the event of a voting tie shall use his/her vote as a casting vote.

3.          The purpose, date and time of the AGM or any Extraordinary General meeting shall be transmitted to each and every member not less than fourteen days before the meeting takes place.

4.          The Agenda, along with any notices of motion, for any General meeting shall be transmitted to each and every member not less than fourteen days before the meeting takes place.

5.          Copies of AGM Minutes will be made available to Club Members by email.

6.          An AGM is considered quorate with 20% of the non-Committee members present. 

6. Notices of Motion :

All notices of motion relative to the business of the Club shall be handed, at least 21 days before the AGM or EGM, signed and with a seconder, to the General Secretary, who will submit it for consideration at the next Annual General Meeting (or Extraordinary 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 become 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 :

1.          No alteration of the Club Constitution may be made except at the AGM. Two thirds of those present are required to carry the motion 

2.          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.

3.          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 AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting.  

12. Expulsion :

The committee may, on a vote of two thirds of its members (not two-thirds of the members present at a quorate meeting), indicate the withdrawal of all facilities from any member by instructing the General Secretary to write to the person to inform them of this decision. No membership fees will be refunded.