Our Constitution | Moreton Probus

Constitution

Approved at the Annual General Meeting held 24th January 2022

1. NAME

The Club shall be called the Moreton-in-Marsh Probus Club and its purpose shall be the promotion of fellowship among its members.

2. MEMBERSHIP

The membership of the Club shall be open to wholly or partially retired professional and business men.

3. ORDINARY MEMBERS

(a) The number of Ordinary members shall normally be limited to 50. No additional Ordinary Members shall be elected unless the Club so resolves.

(b) Applications for Ordinary Membership may be made to the Secretary on the Club Application Form at any time.

(c) All applications for Ordinary Membership shall be considered by the Management Committee and, if approved by the Committee, shall be recommended to the members for election at a Club Meeting.

4. HONORARY MEMBERS

The Ordinary Members of the Club may elect as an Honorary Member of the Club any Ordinary Member or former Ordinary Member whom the members of the Club wish to honour. An Honorary Member shall pay no annual subscription but shall be entitled to vote on any matter except where otherwise provided by this Constitution. An Honorary Member may only be elected at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting. Once elected, he shall remain an Honorary Member for life or until he resigns.

5. GUESTS

A member may bring a guest occasionally to an ordinary meeting of the Club.

6. GENERAL MEETINGS

General Club Meetings will be held on the second and fourth Monday each month. In the event of a Bank Holiday coinciding with the date of a general meeting, the meeting will be cancelled.

The Chairman can consult with the Management Committee if it is deemed necessary to cancel a general meeting due to adverse weather conditions or factors affecting the use of the hall where the meeting is normally held.

A Special General Meeting can be called by the Secretary to be held at the next General meeting on the instructions of the Management Committee or on the written request of not less than ten members of the Club stating the business for which they wish the meeting to be called. A Special General meeting will enable the Club to make changes to the constitution and provide for the election of Honorary Members.

7. CLUB YEAR AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

(1) The Club year shall commence on the 1st January

(2) The Annual General meeting will be held following the second General Meeting in January or as near as possible thereto.

At each Annual General Meeting:

(a) The Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Secretary, Webmaster and Speaker-Finder shall present their annual reports.

(b) Officials, their Deputies and elected members of the Committee shall be elected and an Auditor appointed for the forthcoming year.

(d) Such other business shall be transacted as the Club may think fit.

8. ADJOURNMENTS

An Annual General Meeting may be adjourned to a date then and there fixed. if no date is fixed, the adjourned meeting shall be held on the next General Meeting day. An adjourned meeting may be further adjourned in the same way.

9. SUBSCRIPTIONS

If no subscription is fixed at the Annual General Meeting, the subscription shall remain as that for the year ending. When an Ordinary Member is elected to the Club he shall pay the full annual subscription pro rata.

Any member who has not paid his subscription within three months from the Annual General Meeting, shall be written to as to his intentions regarding his membership of the Club and advised that, if no reasons are advanced and he fails to pay by the end of April, his membership shall automatically cease.

(1) However, if the Management Committee consider that an Ordinary Member will thenceforward normally be unable to attend Club meetings either because he has left the district or on account of persistent ill-health, they may decide to waive or reduce his subscription by such amount as they think fit. They may review any such decision at any time.

10. CLUB OFFICIALS

(1) The officials of the Club shall be a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Secretary, Webmaster and Speaker-Finder. The names of ordinary members to fulfill these roles will be recommended by the Management Committee and put up for election by the membership at the Annual General Meeting.

(2) The Chairman will normally serve for one year and not be eligible for re-election in the following year. In special circumstances, the members can vote to allow for the Chairman to serve the following year providing two thirds of members vote for this amendment at the Annual General Meeting.

(3) The Vice-Chairman shall be elected in the expectation that he will normally succeed to the chairmanship in the following year.

(4) The Secretary, Treasurer, Speaker-Finder, Webmaster and Social Secretary shall normally be eligible for re-election after not more than two consecutive years, however, members will vote at the Annual General Meeting to re-elect any of the existing Officers who are willing to continue in their role for longer than two years.

(5) There shall be a Deputy Secretary, Deputy Treasurer, Deputy Social Secretary, Deputy Webmaster and Deputy Speaker-Finder. The Deputy Secretary, Deputy Treasurer, Deputy Social Secretary, Deputy Webmaster and Deputy Speaker-Finder shall be elected in the expectation that they will normally succeed to the relevant Office.

(6) Any official of the Club or his deputy may be removed from office by a two thirds majority of members at an Ordinary General Meeting. In the event of a casual vacancy occurring among the officials of the Club or their deputies, it may be filled at a General Meeting of the Club, again by a two thirds majority of the members.

11. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

(1) There shall be a standing committee of the Club known as the Management Committee. It shall consist of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Secretary, Webmaster and Speaker-Finder. Deputies may attend meetings of the Management Committee at the invitation of the Committee.

(2) The duties of the Management Committee shall be:-

a. To consider applications for ordinary membership of the Club.

b. To consider all matters affecting the administration of the Club and to make appropriate recommendations to the Club or, if they think fit, to take decisions themselves on behalf of the Club, provided that the Management Committee shall have no power themselves :

i. to amend this Constitution, or

ii. to fix or alter the annual subscription or order a levy, or

iii. to elect any of the Club's officials, or

iv. to take any decision which conflicts with the decision of the Club at a Club meeting except in the case of an emergency.

(3) The Management Committee shall have power:-

a. to co-opt any other members of the Club for any special purpose but any such co-opted member shall not have the power to vote.

b. to appoint a sub-committee (including, if they think fit, a co-opted member who shall not have the power to vote) and to revoke any such appointment.

c. to delegate to a sub-committee power to take any decision on behalf of the Club in relation to the matters referred to the sub-committee for consideration, provided that no such sub-committee may

i. Appoint or revoke the appointment of a sub-committee or

ii. Exercise any power exclusively conferred on the Management Committee by this Constitution.

d. to fill, temporarily, a casual vacancy for an elected member of any Committee of the Club.

12. OTHER COMMITTEES

(1) The Club may appoint such other committees as it may think fit and may delegate to any committee of the Club any powers not exclusively conferred on the Management Committee by the Constitution.

(2) Any such committee shall, unless otherwise decided by the Club, have powers of co-option and appointment equivalent to those conferred by Rule 11, paragraph 3, sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

13. QUORUMS AT MEETINGS

(1) A Quorum at a meeting of the Management Committee shall be 3.

(2) A Quorum at a meeting of a sub-committee to which any power has been delegated shall be 2.

14. CHEQUES

Cheques on the Club’s bank account shall be signed by two members including the Treasurer other members authorized by the Management Committee.

15. BANK TRANSFERS

The Treasurer, may at his discretion, transfer money at the Bank from the Current Account to the Deposit Account or vice versa but he must report any such transfer to the Club at the next Club meeting.

16. CASTING VOTE

The Chairman at any meeting shall have a second or casting vote in the event of a tie.

17. POWER TO EXPEL MEMBERS

The Management Committee may expel an Ordinary Member from the Club if in their opinion he has been guilty of conduct rendering him unfit to remain a member. Before doing so, they shall give him not less than 14 days’ notice of their intention to consider his expulsion and shall allow him to attend before then (with a friend if he wishes) when they consider the question and before arriving at a decision. If the Management Committee expels a member, they shall report the fact to the Club at the next Club Meeting but shall not be obliged to state the grounds on which he has been expelled or to give an account of their deliberation.

18. AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

This Constitution may be amended only at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting.

19. DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB

The Club may be dissolved at an Annual General meeting if, and only if, at least 4 weeks prior notice has been given at a Club meeting that a proposal to dissolve the Club will be moved at the Annual general meeting. A resolution to dissolve the Club shall not be effective unless approved by at least two thirds of the Ordinary Members of the Club present and voting on the resolution.

In the event of the dissolution of the Club, any balance of the Club’s assets remaining after the payment of all debts, shall be given to such charitable cause or causes as the Management Committee shall select and, for this purpose, the Management Committee shall remain in office after the Club has been dissolved.

January 2022.