NAME
1. The name of the Club is FnT representing the concept of a membership of individuals over fifty and herein referred to as “the Club”.
OBJECTIVES
2. The objects of the Club are to provide opportunities for social, cultural and recreational activities among members, organised by individuals or by the Committee on behalf of all members.
3. The Club shall not hold or express any political, religious, ageist or racial opinions, nor shall it be associated with any organisation which does.
4. The Club is committed to compliance with any legislation which is relevant to its operations, such as the Equality Act and the Data Protection Act. In respect of the former, any proven evidence that any member or members are exercising discrimination or behaving in a manner contrary to the provisions of the act will result in immediate exclusion from the Club. In respect of the latter, the membership list will only be used for communication with or between members and will not be available to any external body unless required by the law.
5. Records of members who do not renew their membership will be retained in the records for a maximum of one year after their failure to renew, in order to allow the Committee to communicate with them to establish their reasons for non-renewal.
MEMBERSHIP
6. Subscriptions are set annually at the Annual General Meeting and members must pay their subscription by 30th June each year.
7. Prospective members may receive up to one programme and attend up to 3 club functions before they are required to pay a subscription.
8. The committee have the right to refuse membership to anyone who is felt to be detrimental to the club.
9. All members, having paid their current subscription, shall be entitled to take part in all activities of the club, depending only on any limitations on numbers as defined by the venue or the organiser.
10. Members may bring guests to club functions but only at the discretion of the organiser of the function and provided that no club member is excluded as a result.
11. Any guest is expected to pay a sum decided by the Committee for attendance at subsidised functions.
12. Any individual attending functions as a guest on a regular basis is expected to join the club.
13. Members will notify the organiser of any function in good time, and no later than the date (if any) required by the notice on the programme, of their intention to attend.
14. In the event of a member being unable to attend a function that they have booked for then they will notify the organiser at the earliest opportunity and will pay any costs incurred on their behalf by the club or by the organiser.
15. Admission to an event held in a member’s home is at the discretion of the organiser and may have limits on numbers; members will respect those limits and will not simply arrive unannounced.
16. Members attending club functions do so at their own risk.
17. Members undertake to be bound by the Constitution, and to comply with any guidelines in existence and the code of conduct which will be issued to all new members.
18. If a member’s subscription has not been received by the second club night in June then that member will not receive a copy of the July, or any further, programme(s) until they have paid their subscription.
19. If, after one month from that date, the subscription has not been paid then their membership shall lapse forthwith.
20. If any lapsed member wishes to renew his/her subscription within twelve months of the renewal date, they shall be liable to the full annual subscription from that date.
21. Any member may resign membership by giving notice to the Membership Secretary. They shall not be entitled to a return of any subscription.
22. Disputes and complaints about behaviour will be dealt with in accordance with the “Dispute Resolution Procedure”.
23. Every member of the Club is expected to communicate to the Membership Secretary any change of their contact details.
MANAGEMENT
24.The Club shall be managed by a Committee comprising the Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Diary Secretary, and three ordinary Committee members elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. Each Committee member whether an office or ordinary member shall only be elected for a maximum of five years, after which they must step down from the Committee for year, after this period they are welcome to stand for election again.
25.The Committee may, by resolution, co-opt any additional members for the remainder of the meeting only to supply particular expertise for a specific task or period of time.
26. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the funds of the Club, which shall be kept in a recognised bank or building society. Cheques must be signed by two of three signatories who will normally be the Treasurer, the Membership Secretary and the Chair.
ELECTIONS
27. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) elections will be held for:
a) The Officers of the Club as defined by this Constitution;
b) Five ordinary Committee members;
c) Two Auditors.
28. All nominations must be signed by a member of the Club and the nominee.
29. Nominations shall close seven full days before the date of the AGM.
30. All nominees must be members of the Club.
31. Any vacancies remaining from the AGM or occurring during the year may be filled by election/co-option at a meeting of the Committee.
32. In the rare event that it becomes necessary due to complaints from a member or members, a Committee member may be dismissed by the unanimous vote of all the other Committee members.
33. Such a complaint shall be dealt with in accordance with the “Dispute Resolution Procedure”. In the event that the officer or Committee member is dismissed, then an announcement of the fact, and the information that this is as the result of a complaint which has been upheld, shall be given by the Secretary via the next monthly newsletter and to the next AGM.
MEETINGS
34. The club will meet informally on the first and third Fridays of each month at a regular venue. Members will be encouraged to put activities into the diary at the first meeting each month and will receive the programme for the next month by email, in person or by post at on or about the date of the first of each month.
35. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held during January in every year, the date to be fixed by the Committee and published by the Secretary in the November Programme/Newsletter.
36. The business of the AGM shall include:
a. Reception of a financial report to include the audited accounts for the preceding year.
b. Reception of reports, from the club’s officers, of the club activities during the preceding year.
c. Election of Officers and ordinary Committee Members as laid down above.
d. Nominees may make a short presentation if they wish to, but no other member should speak in support of or in opposition to nominees.
e. Any motion, relevant to the AGM, of which seven days’ notice has been given in writing to the Secretary and published in the Agenda.
f. Any other business relevant to the AGM, notified to the Secretary, in writing, in sufficient time for inclusion in the last programme to be distributed prior to the AGM.
g. Any formal motions to change the Constitution or rules as published by the Committee, via the newsletter, at least one month in advance.
37. The Committee may, at any time, call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss issues requiring a decision of the whole membership that cannot be delayed until the next AGM.
38. The Secretary shall convene an EGM within twenty-one days of the receipt of a written requisition signed by at least twenty members stating the purpose for which the meeting is required, or within such longer period as is stated in such requisition.
39. The principal business of an EGM shall be stated in the notice of meeting by means of the next practicable newsletter. No other business may be introduced than that for which the meeting has been convened.
40. The final agenda for an EGM, incorporating any motions relevant to the purpose of the meeting received by the Secretary, shall be drawn up by him/her and will be available to any member at least seven days before the meeting.
QUORUM AND VOTING
41. The quorum for any General Meeting shall be twenty-five per cent of the members, or 25, whichever is the smaller number.
42. The quorum must be established within 15 minutes of the designated start time otherwise the meeting will be declared inquorate and cancelled.
43. At all General Meetings of the Club every member present shall be entitled to one vote on any issue except for the election of ordinary Committee members.
44. Voting shall be by secret ballot on ballot papers prepared by the Secretary.
45. Proxy votes cannot be accepted.
46. The Committee shall meet on a minimum of six occasions per year, normally immediately before the start of club night.
DOCUMENTATION
47. The official documents describing how the Club operates comprise (i) this Constitution, (ii) FnT Management, (iii) Guidelines for the conduct of the Club, (iv) FnT Code of Conduct and (v) FnT Dispute Resolution Procedure. These are available on the club website and copies are held in the minute file. Copies are also available from the Club Secretary.
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FnT York 