Society rules

 

Brooklands Photographic Society
(established 1968)

SOCIETY RULES

1. The club shall be called Brooklands Photographic Society.

2. The objectives of the Society shall be to promote the enjoyment of photography, to increase knowledge, to provide competitions and social events for the benefit of members.

3. Membership shall be open to anyone interested in photography. All members shall be full members.

4. An Annual General Meeting shall be held on the second meeting in January.

5. Officials shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and shall hold office until the next AGM. Officials may stand for re-election. The elected officials shall be Chairperson, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Competitions Secretary. Other officials may be appointed as necessary. All members shall be eligible to act as official or committee member.

6. The committee to be responsible for the organisation and running of the Society shall be elected at the AGM. The committee shall have the authority to deal with all aspects affecting the Society.

7. The committee shall consist of not less than four members and not more than seven members and shall include the appointed officials. Four members of the committee shall form a quorum.

8. In the event of an official or committee member giving up office during the term of office, the committee shall have authority to appoint a replacement.

9. The committee shall meet regularly to discuss the running of the Society, its activities and any other matters.

10. In the event of equal voting at a committee meeting or any other meeting the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote.

11. In order to carry out the Society’s objectives, the committee has the power to:
(a) raise funds, receive grants and donations
(b) apply funds to carry out the objectives of the Society
(c) co-operate with and support other clubs, societies, organisations and charities with similar objectives
(d) do anything which is lawful and necessary to achieve the Society’s objectives.

12. Committee members cannot receive any money or property from the Society, except to refund reasonable out of pocket expenses.

13. Members of the Society who have given exceptional service and/or provided substantial benefits to the Society over many years may be proposed by the committee to the next AGM for the status of Honorary Member. Honorary members are not required to pay subscriptions to the Society but may do so if they so wish.

14. The Society at an AGM may confer the title of President on any member who has served the Society with great distinction for a number of years. The title of President is an Honorary title only. The Honorary President is not a member of the committee and shall not play any part in the management of the Society. There shall be only one President at any one time.

15. Members unable to attend an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may vote by proxy. Such proxy must be in writing, must appoint a named person to vote, the named person must be present at the meeting and the proxy vote must be received by the Honorary Secretary before the meeting commences.

16. The committee shall be responsible for keeping proper accounts. A report and financial statement for the year ended 31st December shall be presented at the AGM. An auditor may be appointed by the committee or by the members at an AGM or EGM if deemed necessary.

17. An annual subscription shall be paid by all members (except Honorary Members) – see rule 13. The level of subscription shall be decided at each AGM. The subscription year shall be February 1st to January 31st. The level of subscription shall be in an annual amount which should be paid either in one annual amount on February 1st, April 1st , June 1st and November 1st. Any member who elects to pay the annual subscription in four instalments and who fails to make the payments when due without good reason shall be deemed to have resigned from membership of the Society”.

18. Amendments to the Society’s rules shall only be made at the AGM or at an EGM. Proposed amendments shall be in writing, be proposed and seconded and must reach the Honorary Secretary 21 clear days before the date of the meeting.

19. An EGM shall be convened upon the request of not less than 25% of the members. The request shall be in writing to the Honorary Secretary and the meeting shall be held within 21 clear days of receipt of the request. The Honorary Secretary shall give 14 clear days notice in writing to all members specifying the time, place and objects of the meeting.

20. Membership shall be limited at the discretion of the committee.

21. Guests shall be allowed to attend meetings at the discretion of the committee.

22. Any member found to be guilty of passing another photographer’s work as his or her own work (plagiarism) shall be expelled from the Society with immediate effect and shall not be considered for future membership.

23. The Society shall keep a register of all the equipment it owns or is responsible for. This register shall be available for members to view on request.

24. Members may borrow equipment belonging to the Society on completion of a Loan Application Form. All equipment borrowed must be returned on or before the Agreed Date and failure to do so may prevent future loans of Society equipment to that member. In addition members agree that they are liable for any loss of and/or damage to any and all equipment borrowed. Borrowers agree to repair and/or replace damaged and/or lost equipment.

25. Money, equipment and property must only be used to meet the Society’s objectives.

26. In the event that the Society ceases to function, all assets and equipment shall be sold and the proceeds of the sale together with all monies belonging to the Society shall be donated to a charity or charities selected by the committee after consulting the membership.

27. These rules shall be binding on all members of the Society.

28. In the event of a dispute regarding interpretation of these rules, the decision of the committee shall be final and binding.

April 2018