Constitution

0. Definition of Terms

The following expressions have the meanings given here:

Adult

A person of at least 18 years of age

AGM

Annual General Meeting

Child

A person not yet 18 years of age

EGM

Extraordinary General Meeting

1. Name

The 'DARC Technology Club' shall be the official name of the organisation, hereinafter called The Club.

2. Aims

The aims of the Club are to provide facilities for members to meet in a spirit of friendship and mutual co-operation for the purpose of understanding and using current and emerging technology.

3. Membership

Membership conditional on completion of the official membership form, and payment of the appropriate subscription given in section 4.

Membership shall be within the categories of:

Full Membership

This category consists of:

• Individual Membership: This is specific to the individual whose name appears on the Membership Form.
• Family Membership: Up to two adults and any number of children.

Full membership shall convey the following rights:

• attendance at Club meetings without paying the visitor's charge
• if nominated, to stand for election to the Committee (subject to the restrictions in section 6)
• the right to vote at meetings (on the basis of one membership, one vote)
• to introduce or second propositions for members to vote on
• to nominate or second nominations for the Committee Members
• to read and post messages on the Club's Members' Mailing List
• to have access to the "Members Only" area of the Club website

Reduced Rate Membership

This category consists of:

• Student Membership: available for anyone in full time education at the time of membership renewal.
• Remote Membership: available for anyone living more than 45 miles from the Club meeting venue via the shortest reasonable road journey. Should a Remote Member wish to attend a meeting, they will pay the currently applicable visitor's fee.
• Honorary Member: A person may, for meritorious service to the Club, be made an Honorary Member for life with that Member's consent, by a vote of the Members present at an AGM.

Reduced Rate Membership shall convey the following rights:

• attendance at Club meetings without paying the visitor's charge (except for Remote Membership)
• to read and post messages on the Club's Members' Mailing List
• to have access to the "Members Only" area of the Club website

All Members shall abide by the Constitution of the Club. The Committee shall have power to expel any Member whose conduct, in the opinion of at least three-quarters of the full Committee, renders that person unfit to be a Member of the Club. No Member shall be expelled without first having been given the opportunity to appear before the Committee.

Guests will be welcome at Club meetings subject to the payment of the current visitor's charge.

4. Subscriptions

The annual subscription for the forthcoming year shall be decided at the AGM, or at an EGM; and be based on a recommendation by the Committee.

All subscriptions shall be due on, and memberships shall run from, the 1st of April. Subscriptions may be paid at the April meeting, but Members in arrears have no voting rights.

The financial year shall run from 1 April to 31 March. Members joining during the year shall pay pro rata rounded up to the nearest pound.

A Member shall be presumed to have resigned from the Club, if by 30 June following the AGM the subscription has not been paid.

The Committee shall have the power to waive or reduce subscriptions in special circumstances.

5. Finance

All money received by the Club shall be promptly deposited in the Club's bank or building society account, retaining sufficient cash in hand to provide a reasonable petty cash float. Withdrawals or payments require either:

• the signature of the Club's Treasurer and one of the other nominated bank signatories of the Club, or
• where payments are made electronically, unless payment has previously been agreed by the Committee and recorded as such in Committee minutes, the written agreement (for which an email is acceptable) from at least one other nominated bank signatory, circulated to all Committee members and recorded at the next opportunity in Committee minutes.

6. Membership of the Club's Committee

The Club's affairs shall be administered by a Committee elected at the AGM; or, in exceptional circumstances at an EGM. Any Full Member of at least 18 years of age is eligible to stand for election to the Committee. The Committee, in which the Club's property shall be vested, shall consist of three Officers and Committee members, with or without a portfolio. The Officers are Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.

No formal limit on the number of Committee Members is set, save that of a quorum (see Section 7).

The roles of the committee members are:

Chairman

The Chairman will:

• preside at all meetings at which he/she is present
• prepare and circulate an agenda for Committee meetings

No Member may hold this position for more than two consecutive years but may be eligible for re-election after a break of one year.

Secretary

The Secretary will be responsible for:

• ensuring that all correspondence is correctly handled
• maintaining a register of the Club's equipment
• co-ordinating the programme
• publicity, including maintenance of the "Announce" mailing list used to promote the Club's activities to a circulation extending beyond Club members
• preparing and circulating an agenda for the AGM and any EGMs
• ensuring minutes of Committee meetings are taken

Treasurer

The Treasurer will be responsible for:

• keeping the Club's accounts
• advising the Committee on all financial matters relevant to the operation of the Club
• preparing the accounts for review and presenting them at the AGM
• maintaining a master roll of Members in all categories

Webmaster

The Webmaster will be responsible for:

• the creation and maintenance of the Club's Web site and internal mailing lists

Other Committee Members

Not more than two co-opted Members to the committee shall have full voting powers.

An individual Committee Member can hold more than one role with the proviso that the positions of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be held by different Committee Members

7. Committee Standing Orders

The quorum for the Committee shall be 4 of which one shall be an officer. In the absence of a quorum business may be dealt with, but any decisions taken only become valid after ratification at the next Committee meeting at which there is a quorum.

Committee meetings may be called by the Chairman, the Secretary or any three full Members of the Committee.

The Chairman may vote, in the event of a tie he/she has a second, casting vote.

Committee members shall be entitled to claim reimbursement of reasonable expenses for work done on behalf of the Club.

8. Annual General Meeting

The AGM shall normally be held as part of the April Club meeting each year.

The quorum for the meeting shall be 10.

The agenda for the meeting shall be:

1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the previous AGM
3. Chairman's report
4. Secretary's report
5. Treasurer's report
6. Election of the new Committee
7. Appointment of a volunteer (who is not a Committee member) to independently review the Club's accounts
8. Other business

Items 1 to 5 shall be chaired by the outgoing Chairman, item 6 by an acting Chairman who is not standing for election to office and the remaining business by the newly elected Chairman.

9. Extraordinary General Meeting

EGMs may be called by the Committee or not less than 10 Members of the Club, the date of the meeting being the earliest convenient as decided by the Committee.

At least 28 days notice in writing must be given to the Secretary, who in turn shall give Members at least 14 days notice in writing of the agenda, no other business may be transacted at the EGM.

The quorum for the EGM shall be 10.

Exceptional Circumstances

The above notice requirements do not apply in the following situations:

• In the event of the resignation of any of the Officers of the Club, the remaining Committee Members shall call an EGM so that new Officers may be elected.
• In the event of the resignation of the entire Committee, an EGM is automatically called for the date of the next regular Club meeting for the sole purpose of electing a new Committee.

If the requirements for the Committee given in section 6 are not met following the EGM, the Club will be wound up as in section 11.

10. Amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution may be amended at an AGM, or an EGM called solely for that purpose.

11. Winding up the Club

The decision to wind up the Club may only be taken at an EGM.

The funds of the Club shall after the sale of all assets and the payment of all outstanding debts, be disposed of as directed by Members at the final EGM.

The following amendments were agreed at an EGM 11th April 2011 to reflect:

• Addition of section 0
• Classification of membership types (Full and Reduced Rate)
• Clarification of voting rights and subscription term
• Addition of rules relating to exceptional circumstances
• Removal of Vice-Chairman role