Constitution

Morecambe Bay Amateur Radio Society

(MBARS) Constitution

Society

  1. The Society shall be known as, “Morecambe Bay Amateur Radio Society”.
  2. The aim of the Society shall be to further the interests of all its members in any amateur radio or social events.
  3. The Society shall be non-political and non-sectarian.
  4. The Society shall be affiliated to the Radio Society of Great Britain.

Membership

  1. Membership of the Society is through election by the Committee.
  2. The Committee shall have the power to elect Honorary members to the Society.
  3. Membership of the Society shall be at the sole discretion of the Committee.  The signatures of two paid-up members and membership fee shall accompany nominations for membership.
  4. Senior members shall be 18 years of age or over, on the 1stMarch.
  5. Junior members shall be under the age of 18 on the 1stMarch and pay no subscription fee.
  6. Honourary Life Membership may be granted to any person who, in the opinion of the Committee, has rendered outstanding service to the Society.   Honourary Life Members must still pay Trimpell SSC membership.
  7. Any person wishing to take advantage of the training facilities, with the exception of Foundation Licence training, must apply for membership of the Society.
  8. It shall be a condition of membership of the Society, that each member shall be a paid up member of Trimpell Sports and Social Club and shall produce a current membership card, when required by the Committee.

Committee

  1. The conduct of the Society shall be vested in the Committee, which shall retire and a new Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting, which shall be held in March each year.
  2. The Committee shall comprise the following officer positions:
  3. All other fully paid-up members of the Society have full voting rights at any meeting they attend.
  4. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt members to form sub-committees and shall define the function of such sub-committees.
  5. At least one third of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, providing at least two of the four officers are present.
  6. No officer of the Committee may be an official of any other radio society or club, excluding support groups such as repeater groups, RSGB.
  7. In the event of a vote becoming tied, the Chairman shall exercise a casting vote.
  8. The President is not elected annually unless the position is vacant or the Committee votes to remove the current President from the position.
  9. The position of President does not exempt that person from payment of membership fees.
  10. Committee meetings shall be held quarterly. Committee members who are unable to attend such meetings may forward apologies to the Secretary.
  11. Casual vacancies for absent members of the Committee may be filled by co-option.  The co-opted members shall only hold office for the period until such time as the absent members are re-installed.
  12. The existing officers shall retire at the AGM and the President shall conduct the election of  the officers.
  13. The Committee shall approve all Society expenditure.
  14. The Secretary shall:
    1. publish the Society’s calendar of events,
    2. keep proper records of the minutes of all meetings,
    3. give notice to the members of the dates of  each meeting,
    4. inform members of the date of any AGM/EGM giving not less than 21 days notice,
    5. maintain a register of all Society equipment and relevant serial  numbers,
    6. keep a copy of the Constitution of the Society, which shall be available for inspection by any member.
  15. The Treasurer shall:
    1. keep proper account of all finances of the Society,
    2. maintain a register of all members of the Society,
    3. prepare an annual balance sheet, properly audited for approval at the AGM,
    4. ensure the Secretary has an up-to-date copy of the membership list,
    5. pay all monies received on the Society’s behalf, into the Society’s bank account as soon as possible.

Finances

  1. The accounts shall be open to inspection by any member of the Society upon request to the Treasurer.
  2. The account auditors shall be two paid-up members of the Society, nominated by the Committee.
  3. The financial year of the Society shall end on the last day of November.
  4. The banking account shall be in the name of the Society and withdrawals shall be made on the signature of any two of the following:
    1. President
    2. Chairman
    3. Treasurer
    4. Secretary

    n.b. signatories shall not be related.

  5. The Society shall take out public liability insurance to cover all its meetings and activities, if not provided automatically by RSGB membership.

Subscriptions

  1. Annual subscriptions to be due from 1st March in line with Trimpell subscription renewal date. Subscriptions to be paid to the Treasurer, and in such an amount as the Committee shall decide.
  2. If any person joins the Society part way through the year, the Committee shall have the power to adjust the dues paid, pro-rata.
  3. Any member who is more than two months in arrears with annual subscription, shall be deemed to have resigned their membership of the Society.

Meetings

  1. Members may invite guests to the Society’s meetings.
  2. No guest or visitor may attend more than three meetings in any one year without applying for membership.
  3. Any person who is not a member of the Society wishing to take advantage of the examination facilities, [with the exception of the Foundation exam], must make a contribution to the Society, of an amount decided by the Committee.
  4. One third of the total membership of the Society shall form a quorum at the Annual General Meeting.
  5. Nominations for the Officers shall be delivered to the Secretary before the date set for the Annual General Meeting. In the event of insufficient nominations, the acting chairman shall call for nominations from the Members at the Annual General Meeting.
  6. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society shall be convened at the request in writing to the Committee by one quarter of the membership.  After such a request, the meeting shall be convened as soon as possible, but giving members 21 days notice in writing and containing the agenda and motions submitted for the EGM.  The EGM shall only deal with items on the agenda.  A quorum shall be one third of the total membership of the Society.
  7. The Society may only be dissolved at an EGM called specifically for that purpose.  If dissolved, all Society equipment is to be sold by a person appointed at the EGM.   Any assets remaining upon dissolution of the Society, after satisfying any outstanding debts and liabilities, shall not be distributed amongst the membership, but shall be donated to a local charity; the charity shall be decided at the EGM approving the dissolution of the Society.
  8. Committee meetings shall be open for all members to attend.   Where matters of a personal nature are discussed, then all or part of the meeting may be limited to the officers only.
  9. The Committee shall have the power to expel any member whose conduct, in the opinion of at least three-quarters of the Committee, renders that person unfit to be a member of the Society.   No member shall be expelled without having first been given the opportunity to appear before the Committee.
  10. The Committee may ask any person attending a meeting to leave, if that person is deemed to be causing disruption.
  11. No equipment belonging to MBARS may be disposed of without the agreement of the Committee at a full Committee meeting, AGM or EGM, following a vote to approve the same.
  12. The Committee, whose decision shall be final in all matters, shall deal with any matter not provided for within this Constitution.
  13. In the event there are not enough candidates to fill the officer positions at an AGM,  the members present may decide to place the control of the Society temporarily in the hands of one of the members present, and that member shall abide by this Constitution except that the following text shall be omitted from rule 40: “ at the request, in writing to the Committee by one quarter of the membership”.   They will use this temporary position to arrange an EGM to resolve the problems encountered.   This may only happen if a two-thirds majority of the members present at the AGM vote in favour of this option.

Constitution

  1. No alteration shall be made to the Constitution, except at the Annual General Meeting, or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for this purpose.
  2. No alteration shall be made to the Constitution unless approved by a majority of two thirds of the number of votes cast at an AGM or EGM.
  3. All members shall abide by the Constitution of the Society and any decisions decided upon by the Committee.

last revised February 2017