RULES AND CONSTITUTION OF SLIMBRIDGE GARDENING CLUB
Version 10 (para 4, 6a, 6b and 7 amended) January 2020
1) NAME:
The name of the Club shall be Slimbridge Gardening Club (hereafter called The Club.)
2) OBJECT:
The object of The Club shall be to promote the enjoyment of gardens and the skills of gardening by:
a) Holding meetings for Lectures, Discussions and Demonstrations.
b) Arranging Visits to Gardens and Gardening Shows.
c) Carrying out such other activities as The Club shall see fit.3) MEMBERSHIP:
a) The Club shall consist of persons whose applications for membership are approved by the Committee. They need not necessarily reside in the Parish of Slimbridge.
b) The Committee may expel from membership of The Club any member who has disobeyed any of the Show Rules and/or The Constitution of The Club, or who has in the opinion of the Committee, been guilty of conduct derogatory to the character, or prejudicial to, the interests of The Club, provided that, before expelling the person, the Committee shall call upon that person for an explanation of his/her conduct and give him/her a proper opportunity of answering the allegations against him/her.4) OFFICERS:
The Officers of the Club shall be the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. No person may hold more than one office at a time and an officer who remains in post after 3 years shall have their position reviewed.
5) HOLDERS OF OTHER POSTS:
To help the Officers the following other posts may be required: Vice Chairman, Show Secretary, Catering Officer, Lecture Secretary and Social Secretary.
6) COMMITTEE:
a) The affairs of The Club shall be conducted by a Committee consisting of the three Officers, preferably all the other Holders of Other Posts and up to ten other members. If the work of the Committee needs more members the Committee is empowered to co-opt additional members.
b) The Club shall not accept liability placed upon it unless/until that liability is approved by The Committee.7) REPRESENTATIVES:
At its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting the Committee shall nominate from its number a representative for election to the Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies and any other representatives to other bodies as shall be felt necessary in the interests of The Club.
8) PRESIDENT:
A member who is not an Officer or a Holder of Other Posts shall be appointed as President of The Club to represent The Club at official functions. The President shall become an ex officio Committee member. The appointment is an acknowledgement of work done for the Club over many years and is an appointment for life or until he/she indicates a wish to retire.
9) VICE PRESIDENT:
Members of The Club who are not Officers, Holders of Other Posts or Committee Members may be appointed to be Vice Presidents in acknowledgement of the work they have done for The Club over many years. They are appointed for life or until they wish to retire.
10) AUDITOR:
A non – member or member who is not an Officer or a Committee Member shall be eligible to be the Auditor.
11) ELECTIONS:
Officers, Holders of Other Posts and Committee Members shall be selected at An Annual General Meeting of The Club and shall hold office until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, when they shall retire but be eligible for re-election. A new President can only be elected into office at An Annual General Meeting when new Vice Presidents can also be selected. The Committee shall have powers to fill any casual vacancy arising amongst Officers, Holders of Other Posts, Committee Members and the post of President, but any person co-opted shall retain office only until the next Annual General Meeting, and then shall be eligible for re-election. Whenever possible a person nominated for a post should indicate a willingness to accept prior to being proposed and seconded by other members at an Annual General Meeting.
12) ORDINARY MEETINGS:
The Ordinary Meetings of The Club shall be held in accordance with a programme which shall be drawn up annually by the Committee and issued if possible before the Annual General Meeting.
13) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
An Annual General Meeting of The Club shall be held annually in January for the purpose of:-
a) Receiving a brief Report from the Committee of activities during the preceding year.
b) Accepting a Financial Statement and Balance Sheet signed by the Auditor and to consider recommendations from the Treasurer on the level of subscriptions for the following year.
c) The election of a President if necessary.
d) The election of Vice Presidents if desired.
e) The election of Officers and Holders of other Posts.
f) The election of Committee Members.
g) The appointment of an Auditor.
h) Consideration of any Motion proposing changes to the Constitution.
i) Consideration of any Motion received in writing two weeks prior to the AGM.
j) Any other business which the Chairman shall rule is in order.14) EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING:
The Committee may convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of The Club at any time and shall do so within four weeks of receiving a written request signed by five members of The Club.
Notification must be communicated to members not less than seven days before such a meeting, with me time, place and purpose of the meeting.15) QUORUM:
The Quorum for an Annual General Meeting and an Extraordinary Meeting shall be fifteen members or ten if the total paid-up membership of The Club falls below twenty members. The Quorum of a Committee Meeting shall be seven members and/or Officers.
16) FINANCIAL YEAR:
The Financial Year of The Club shall commence on the first of December to allow the audited accounts to be ready for the Annual General Meeting. Renewal of subscriptions also falls due on this date. Members joining after 1st October will be considered to have paid their membership fees for the coming year.
17) SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Members shall pay an Annual Subscription to be determined by a majority vote at the Annual General Meeting. A concession may be applied where two adult members reside at the same address.
18) NON-PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTION:
No person shall be entitled to vote at any Club Meeting or take advantage of Club benefits until their current year subscription has been paid.
19) CLUB FUNDS:
The Club will maintain a current account with a British banking organisation. All cheques drawn on The Club’s current account shall be signed by any two of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Show Secretary. At the discretion of the Officers, The Club may hold funds in a Building Society or Bank Savings Account provided that, in the opinion of the Auditor, such account presents no unreasonable risk to the security of The Club's funds.
20) DATA PROTECTION ACT:
Members shall be formally notified on joining that details of Membership may be stored on a Database. Such details will be restricted to name(s), address, telephone number, e-mail address and subscription status.
21) WINDING UP OF THE CLUB:
The decision to wind up The Club can only be taken when a majority of members attending an Extraordinary Meeting called for that purpose, vote to do so. An agreement shall be made at that meeting as to who shall be responsible for carrying out the disposal of assets under the procedures listed below in paragraph 22 of this Constitution.
Note: The Winding Up Meeting does not have authority to change the method of disposal of assets. This can only be done by changing the Constitution at an Annual General Meeting.22) DISPOSAL OF ASSETS:
a) Liquid Funds:
The Club's liquid funds will be disposed of as follows:b) Trophies:i) Firstly, any outstanding and known future creditors will be paid.
ii) Secondly, all current paid up members will have their subscriptions returned. In the event of there being insufficient funds to meet this liability, the payment will be made pro rata.
iii) Thirdly, any remaining funds will be handed to the Slimbridge Parish Council (SPC) to be held in trust for a period of up to three years. In the event of a new Club being formed covering the Slimbridge area, preferably affiliated to the Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies (GFGS), then - at the SPC's discretion - these moneys may be used to provide funds for the new Club. Whilst these moneys are held in trust by the SPC they may be invested and any income derived re-invested or used.
If no new Club has been formed in the Slimbridge area within three years of the Winding Up Meeting of The Club the funds will revert to the SPC to be used for an appropriate environmental project within Slimbridge Parish.
The Club's trophies will be disposed of as follows:i) Any trophies gifted to The Club in the past by families in memory of past members will be offered to the families to keep or dispose of at their discretion.
ii) A list of the remaining trophies deemed to have value will be drawn up with an approximate value allocated to each trophy. The list and the remaining trophies will be handed to the GFGS to be held in trust for a period of up to three years. In the event of a new GFGS affiliated Club being formed covering the Slimbridge area which has a Constitution approved by the GFGS, then these trophies will be handed over to the new Club. If no new Club has been formed covering the Slimbridge area within three years of the date of the Winding Up Meeting of The Club, then these trophies will become the property of the GFGS and may be donated to other Gloucestershire Societies or disposed of by other means.Version 10 (para 4, 6a, 6b and 7 amended) January 2020
Version 9 (para 16, 17 and 18 amended) January 2018
Home Calendar About Us Past Events Club Rules Links