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BURNHAM ON SEA MOTOR BOAT AND SAILING CLUB |
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CONSTITUTION |
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Burnham-on-Sea Motor Boat & Sailing Club Constitution
1 TITLE & BURGEE This organisation shall be an unincorporated Club and shall be called ‘The Burnham-on-Sea Motor Boat and Sailing Club’ hereafter referred to as the ‘Club’. The burgee of the Club shall be blue bearing a white lighthouse and beam.
2 AIMS The aims of the Club shall be:-
(a) to further knowledge of seamanship (b) to further interest in and promote sailing activities (c) to maintain a Clubhouse and amenities (d) to facilitate social gatherings and informal meetings for members and to provide such distinguishing insignia as may from time to time be required by the members (e) to take all such other action as may be conductive to the foregoing aims of the Club
3 MEMBERSHIP
(a) The members of the Club shall be persons who have paid an entrance fee and an annual subscription or whose fees and/or subscriptions have been waived in accordance with this Constitution. (b) Membership shall be divided into the following categories:-
Honorary Members - who shall be elected in General Meeting for such period as the General Meeting shall determine. Ordinary Members - who shall be 18 years of age or over. Family Members - who shall be wives or husbands of ordinary members or their children under 18 years of age. Crew Members - who shall be over 18 years of age at the commencement of the subscription year. Senior Members - who shall be age 70 or over at the time of application/renewal. Cadet Members - who shall be under 18 years of age at the commencement of the subscription year and who joined the Club other than as family members. Student members who are receiving full-time education. Affiliated Members - who shall be members of school groups or organisations accepted for affiliation by a General Meeting at such entrance fee and subscription as shall be determined either by a General Meeting or by the Management Committee. Social Members - who shall be 18 years of age or over who participate solely in its social activities. Temporary Members - who are members of a Club affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association visiting the area, limited to a period not exceeding 14 consecutive days in respect of which no entrance fee or subscription is payable. Family Social Members – Who shall be wives/husbands of social members and their children aged under 18.
(c) All members except Temporary members shall be entitled to attend General Meetings. Only Honorary, Ordinary, Crew, Senior Family and spouses of family members shall be entitled to vote.
(d) Social members shall not be entitled to make use of the Club sailing and launching facilities, keep boats in the Club compound or waters over which the Club has jurisdiction nor shall they be eligible as Club Officers.
(e) Senior members are entitled to use the Club launching and sailing facilities and are entitled to keep boats in the Club compound or waters over which the Club has jurisdiction.
(f) Members who change their class of membership shall be liable to pay to the Club the amount of any difference between the respective current entrance fees and subscriptions, but this provision shall not apply to Cadet members.
(g) Applicants for all classes of membership must be nominated by one Ordinary member and seconded by another such member and elected by the Management Committee.
(h) Applications for membership shall be in such form as the Management Committee may prescribe and be signed by the candidate’s proposer and seconder. The application should be accompanied by the entrance fee and 1st year’s subcription.
(i) All application forms for membership shall be prominently displayed in the Club premises for at least fourteen days before the meeting of the Management Committee, (or in the case of Honorary or Affiliated members the General Meeting) at which the election is due to take place.
(j) There should be a period of at least 14 days between application for membership and admission to the Club. Until membership is confirmed no privileges will apply.
(k) Annual Subscriptions are due on 1st April each year. Any member failing to renew before 1st April shall be deemed to have resigned.
New members joining between 1st April and 1st September to pay full entrance plus full subscription. Such members joining 1st September to 31st March to pay full entrance fee and half subscription.
(l) Members may introduce and entertain guests at the Club and there shall be kept at the Club premises a visitors book which both the member and his or her guest shall sign. The member introducing a guest shall be responsible for his or her guest strictly observing the Constitution and Rules and shall not leave the Club premises before his or her guest.
4 POWER TO REFUSE AND TO TERMINATE MEMBERSHIP
(a) The Management Committee shall have the power to refuse membership to any prospective member.
(b) Every member shall be furnished with a copy of the Constitution and Rules on being elected to membership (in the case of Affiliated members, one copy supplied to the school group or organisation shall be deemed sufficient) and shall be deemed to undertake and abide by any modifications thereof made in conformity therewith and also to accept as final and binding the decision of the Management Committee in all cases of dispute or disagreement as to the interpretation of the Constitution and Rules.
(c) The Management Committee shall have power to expel or suspend for any period as it may deem appropriate and be entitled to retain the unexpired balance of the subscription of any member who shall be guilty of serious misconduct. The Management Committee shall in each instance decide what constitutes serious misconduct but non-exhaustive examples include:
(i) dishonesty or theft (ii) violent or dangerous conduct (iii) actions likely to bring the Club into disrepute (iv) persistent and flagrant breaches of Club rules (v) grossly offensive conduct whether racial, sexual or religious discrimination or actions detrimental to the interests of the Club.
The Management Committee shall not unreasonably exercise such powers; any person aggrieved by such a decision may requisition the Commodore to hear him and the Commodore shall when so requisitioned meet with the aggrieved member within 14 days of the request. The outcome of such meeting shall be determined by the Commodore with two other members chosen by the Commodore who need not be members of the Management Committee but who collectively shall have power to amend the decision of the Management Committee. The Commodore's decision shall be confirmed in writing within 7 days. If the aggrieved member remains unsatisfied he may, if supported by two members, raise the matter at the Club's next General Meeting provided he gives proper notice to the Secretary at least 14 days before the date of that meeting. At that meeting the Management Committee shall put forward reasons for its decision and the aggrieved member may speak. If the meeting shall pass by simple majority a resolution cancelling the Management Committee decision, then such a decision shall be void.
(d) No member shall carry on a business in or on the Club premises or make use of the name or facilities of the Club for advertising privately or publicly without the consent of the Management Committee.
5 SUBSCRIPTIONS
The rates of subscriptions and entrance fee for the respective categories of members shall be reviewed annually, by reference to the annual inflation rates published by the Bank of England in December each year.
6 OFFICERS
(a) There shall be a President, Vice President, Commodore, Vice Commodore, Treasurer, Secretary, Chief Steward, Moorings Officer, Compound Officer, Jetty Master, Entertainments Officer, Membership Secretary, Sailing Master, Ladies Committee Captain, Boatswain. Security Officer and Safety Officer.
All, except the President, shall be elected from the members at the Annual General Meeting each year and shall be eligible for re-election. The President's position will be filled by invitation of the Management Committee.
(b) Subject to the provisions of para (a) the Commodore, at the end of his term shall become Vice President during the term of his successor, and the Vice Commodore shall become Commodore.
(c) The Commodore shall take the chair at the Annual and all other General Meetings and in his absence the members attending shall, before other business, elect a chairman for that meeting from amongst their number.
(d) The officers shall hold office from the end of the Annual General Meeting at which they are elected until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
(e) Casual vacancies in any office may be filled at the discretion of the Management Committee.
7 COMMITTEES
(a) The Management Committee shall consist of the Officers (as in 6a) plus the Trustees.
(b) The quorum shall be 7 members, the Commodore or in his absence the Vice Commodore, or in the absence of both the Vice President shall take the chair at all meetings.
(c) The Committee shall, within the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules, provide for the management, conduct, control and administration of the Club and may take such steps, incur such expenditure, acquire and dispose of such property, enter into such commitments or arrangements, borrow such sums and employ such servants or agents as may be suitable for carrying the aims of the Club into effect. It shall not dispose of a major portion of the assets of the Club without the approval of a two-thirds majority of members entitled to vote and present at a General Meeting.
(d) The Management Committee shall control the banking and investment of Club funds.
(e) No money shall be borrowed nor financial liability incurred by or on behalf of the Club without the prior consent of the Management Committee. Any 2 of the Commodore, Vice Commodore, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer shall be signatories to all Club accounts.
(f) The Management Committee shall have power to appoint and act by Sub-Committees, which may include co-opted members of the Club in addition to members of the Committee.
(g) The Management Committee shall co-ordinate the activities of the Club, integrating any differing interests of the sections and providing assistance with major activities, and shall prepare and propose a calendar of events.
(h)
The Management Committee shall:
(i) The Ladies Committee Captain may form a sub-committee of his/her choosing.
(j) Officers and Committee members who have a pecuniary interest in an item under discussion must declare that interest and not speak or vote on the item, except by invitation of the meeting.
8 TRUSTEES
(a) There shall be at least three Trustees of the Club who shall be appointed from time to time as necessary by the Management Committee from among Ordinary or Honorary members.
(b) A Trustee shall hold office until he/she shall resign by notice in writing given to the Management Committee, or until a resolution removing them from office shall be passed by the Management Committee by a majority comprising two thirds of the members present and entitled to vote.
(c) All property of the Club, including land and investments, shall be held by the Trustees for the time being, in their own names so far as is necessary and practicable, on trust for the use and benefit of the Club. On the death, resignation or removal from office of a Trustee, the Management Committee shall appoint a new Trustee in his or her place, and shall as soon as possible thereafter, take all lawful and practicable steps to procure the vesting of all Club property into the names of the Trustees as constituted after such appointment.
(d) The Trustees shall in all respects act, in regard to any property of the Club held by them, in accordance with the directions of the Management Committee; and shall have power to sell, lease, mortgage or pledge any Club property so held for the purpose of raising or borrowing money for the benefit of the Club, in compliance with the Management Committee's directions. but no purchasers, lessees or mortgages shall be concerned to enquire whether any such direction has been given.
(e) The Trustees shall be effectually indemnified by the Management Committee out of the assets of the Club from and against any liability, costs, expenses and payments whatsoever which may be properly incurred or made by them in the exercise of their duties or in relation or any property of the Club vested in them, or in relation to any legal proceedings, or which otherwise relate directly or indirectly to the performance of the functions of a Trustee of the Club.
(f) The Club may use the facilities granted under lease to the Trustees, observing all the covenants entered into by the Trustees, and the Management Committee shall within three months after each Annual General Meeting examine the covenants of the lease(s) to ensure that the Club is observing them and make any necessary arrangements to ensure continuance of such observance.
9 GENERAL MEETINGS
(a) Annual Meetings - There shall be an Annual General Meeting held as the Management Committee shall determine, but not later than the 31st of March in each year, when an audited financial statement for the year ended on the 30th day of December previously shall be submitted. The Auditors shall not be members of the Club but shall be professional Auditors as appointed by the Management Committee.
The Secretary shall give at least 28 days notice to each member of the date of the Annual General Meeting, (this may be done in a convenient News Letter). Such a notice will invite nominations for officerships which must be proposed and seconded by any of the categories in 3c and signed as consenting by the nominee.
Members may also table business which shall be written in the form of a Motion and be properly proposed and seconded. These submissions should reach the Secretary 14 days before the AGM. All submissions must be formulated into an Agenda and circulated to members at least 7 days before the AGM.
No business other than such Agenda items shall be discussed unless events occur too late to meet the above calendar. Such events may be tabled at the meeting as an emergency Motion and should have a proposer and seconder. The Commodore (or meeting Chairman) will rule as to the emergency nature of such a motion.
(b) Special Meetings - Special General Meetings, of which not less than 14 days notice in writing (stating the object of the meeting) shall be given to each member by the Secretary, may be called at any time by decision of the Management Committee or within one month after the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing (stating the object of the proposed meeting) signed by not less than ten voting members. The accidental omission or failure to give notice to any member, or the non-receipt of such notice shall not of itself invalidate the proceedings of any General Meeting. The quorum at any General Meeting shall be 15% of the voting membership.
(c) There shall be two open Forum meetings per year, one in the Spring before crane-in and one in the Autumn after crane-out. These will be used for general discussion on all Club activities.
10 DISSOLUTION
The Club may be dissolved by a Special General Meeting convened under Clause 9 of the Constitution. If the resolution of dissolution be duly passed, the Management Committee shall forthwith liquidate the affairs of the Club and, if there be any surplus assets on realisation, these shall be disposed of at the discretion of the Management Committee.
11 RULES
Subject to the provision of Clause 5 hereof with regard to subscriptions, the Management Committee shall make and amend Rules under the provisions of this Constitution.
12 INTOXICATING LIQUOR
(a) No intoxicating liquor shall be supplied to members or to any other person on the Club premises otherwise than by or on behalf of the Club. No intoxicating liquor shall be supplied for payment on the Club premises other than to a member. No intoxicating liquor shall be supplied on the Club premises to any person under the age of 18 years.
(b) The Management Committee shall arrange the supply of intoxicating liquor by the Club to members, and to other persons on the Club premises and shall secure the due observance of the provisions of the Licensing Act 1964 and all Acts relating thereto, and of any conditions attached to any Registration Certificate granted in respect of the Club premises.
(c) No person shall be paid at the expense of the Club any commission, percentage or similar payment on or with reference to purchases of intoxicating liquor by the Club; not shall any person directly or indirectly derive any pecuniary benefit from the supply of intoxicating liquor by or on behalf of the Club to members or guests, apart from any benefit accruing to the Club as a whole.
(d) The permitted hours for the supply of intoxicating liquor shall be fixed (and may be varied from time to time) by the Management Committee in accordance with the statutory provision for the time being in force.
13 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Alterations or amendments to this Constitution shall be made only at a General Meeting and shall require approval by the votes of not less than two thirds of the voting members present.
Revised March 2008
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