Sheffield and District Orchid Society Constitution
1. The Society shall be called “The Sheffield and District Orchid Society”, and is a registered Charity No 510641.
2. The object of the Society is the advancement of horticulture and in particular the cultivation of orchidaceous plants. To further this aim: to hold shows, to arrange visits to Nurseries, Botanic Gardens and similar places and to disseminate information upon all matters concerning the cultivation of orchidaceous plants.
3. Membership of the Society shall be open to all persons interested in any way in orchids.
4. Application for membership shall be made on the official application form (obtained from the Membership Secretary) which will detail the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (where applicable).
5. One annual subscription shall confer full membership on the member and spouse or partner and shall be fixed each year at the Annual General Meeting. The subscription shall be based on the amount necessary to cover the cost of providing a regular meeting place, newsletters to members, secretarial and other necessary expenses approved by the Management Committee.
6. Annual subscriptions become due on October 1st. Members with subscriptions unpaid on December 1st shall be ineligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting and, exceptional circumstances aside, shall be deemed to have resigned their membership of the Society. No reminder will be issued. New members joining the Society during the year shall be required to pay one twelfth of the full subscription for every remaining full month until the end of September.
7. Membership details will be held to manage payment of subscriptions, and circulate newsletters or other Society correspondence.
a In order to comply with the Data Protection Legislation all members should agree that their names,
addresses, telephone number(s), e-mail addresses and other contact information can be held as computer
records.
b The currency of such computer records to be the responsibility of the Membership Secretary who may share
the data electronically as appropriate, with other officers of the Society for the purposes of::
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Tracking payment of subscriptions.
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Circulation of newsletters and other Society correspondence.
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Forwarding a list of members to any member requesting one.
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Be made available to computer maintenance organisations in the event of computer hardware or software breakdown.
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c Any member may request that their details be withheld from the electronic data, in which case an alternative
method will be found to maintain those details.
d Membership details held either electronically or manually will not be shared with any other organisation
unless the Society is legally bound to do so. Any such request will be passed on to the member, who will
be asked to contact such organisation(s) themselves.
8. The Officers of the Society are appointed at the AGM and are:
(* Denotes Trustee)
a *President shall serve for a period of five years and is eligible
for re-appointment.
b Vice –President(s) are elected at the AGM on the advice of the
Management Committee and serve for five years, being eligible for re-
appointment .
c *Chairman, *Treasurer, *Administrative Secretary and *Editor shall
serve for three years and are eligible for re-appointment.
d *Programme Secretary, *Publicity Secretary, *Show Co-ordinator,
*Librarian and *BOC Representative(s) shall serve for one year and are eligible for re-appointment.
9. The Management Committee shall consist of the Trustees, the Membership Secretary and three other
additional members of the Society, elected at the AGM, who shall serve for one year and be eligible for
re-appointment.
a The President and Vice-President(s) shall be ex-officio members of any of the Society’s or Sub-Committees
appointed by the Management Committee and each may exercise a vote at such meetings.
b The Management Committee shall meet at least once in each calendar month.
c A quorum for a Management Committee shall be five committee members.
d The Presiding Officer at a Management Committee shall have a deciding vote.
e In the event that a member of the Management Committee is unable or unwilling to continue in their role, the
Committee is empowered to appoint a member of the Society as a temporary replacement until the next
AGM.
10. The Treasurer shall:
a Keep a record of all the Society’s assets and be responsible for their custody.
b Keep records of membership subscriptions received and all other financial transactions.
c Obtain authorisation from the Management Committee for all outgoing payments.
d Submit the annual accounts and the balance sheet to the Management Committee for approval prior to the
Annual General Meeting, and at other times when requested to do so.
e Be responsible for the annual report to the Charity Commission.
f The Society will not reimburse travelling expenses to members. When a substantial amount of Society show equipment is involved the Trustees may authorise hire of a vehicle reimbursing such cost, including fuel, against receipts. Very exceptionally when a significant distance is involved and hiring is not deemed appropriate, the Trustees may, if pre-authorised and depending upon circumstances, award an unspecified token amount towards the cost of fuel.”
11. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in December of each year and members given 28 days notice.
The purpose of the AGM shall be to:
a Receive the Chairman’s report, audited accounts and balance sheet.
b Fix the Subscription for the following year.
c Elect the Management Committee.
d Elect two Auditors one of whom shall not be a member of the Management Committee.
12. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called on the advice of the Management Committee, Members being
given 28 days notice. Such a meeting may be called to discuss exceptional business, or after receiving a request from
ten or more members entitled to vote at an Annual General Meeting. Voting rights will apply at such a meeting as at
a normal Annual General Meeting.
13. Any proposal for alteration(s) to the rules shall be seconded and submitted in writing to the Administrative Secretary
not later than the date of the October Meeting of the Society, and must be passed by two-thirds of those eligible to
vote at the AGM. No amendment shall made which would cause the Society to cease to be a Charity at Law.
14. Nominations for the Management Committee, duly proposed and seconded shall be submitted to the
Administrative Secretary no later than the date of the October meeting. Present holders of offices may offer
themselves for re-election. The election of the Management Committee shall be in the form of a show of hands at the
AGM and the results published in the next Newsletter.
15. Should any member be unable to attend the AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting, then his/her vote may be cast
by a proxy who shall be a member of the Society and to whom authority to act shall be given in writing.
16. In the event of dissolution of the Society any assets remaining shall be transferred to some other Charitable
Association, having objects similar to the Society, to be determined by the Trustees.
01/11/2007 Amended February 14th 2010