Rules Of The Club
1. NAME
The name of the Club is the Merseyside Mountaineering Club.
2. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the club is to encourage mountaineering and allied sports by organizing meets and holidays, holding regular meetings, arranging accommodation for members in mountainous districts and by such other ways as the committee thinks fit.
3. COMMITTEE
The club shall be managed by a committee of members consisting of the President, the Hon President Elect, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the Hon. Meets Secretary, the Hon. Hut Warden, the Hon. Hut Booking Secretary, the Hon. BMC Liaison Officer, the Hon Website Manager and not less than three, and not more than six other members
The committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall attend meetings regularly. Any member of the committee failing to attend three consecutive meetings without good reasons shall be removed from the committee by the committee. Unless their membership of the club ceases due to expulsion or resignation, or any other reason, the elected officers shall serve until re-elected, or their successors are appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
The committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy that occurs between A.G.M.s., but the appointment must be ratified at the following A.G.M. and the co-opted member will serve a term of office from the date of the ratification of appointment. The retiring officers shall be eligible for re-election each year. The President shall be eligible for office for a term of two years and be elected each even year. He/she may be re-elected to that office again only if one year has passed since the end of their last term. The President Elect shall be eligible for office for a term of one year and be elected each odd year. Ordinary members of the committee shall serve a term of two years and shall not be eligible for re-election unless one year passed since their last term.
4. MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to persons with a knowledge of mountaineering and its allied sports, and in particular to persons who have attended a course in mountaineering organized by the BMC or similar body.
All applicants for membership shall first complete a twelve month period as a graduate member. During this period the graduate member must attend at least three full weekend meets, one of which must be a work meet. Upon completion of this period an application for full membership may be made. This application must be made in writing upon the appropriate form and must have the signature of a proposer and seconder, both of whom must have been a full member for at least one year and are not in arrears of subscription. No one member may propose more than one person for full membership per year. The election of the candidate shall be by the simple majority vote of the committee.
5. RESIGNATION
A member may resign at any time by giving prior notice in writing of their intention to do so, to the Hon Secretary, but they shall remain liable for any subscription due and unpaid at the date of their resignation.
6. EXPULSION
The committee shall have the power to expel any member who shall offend against the rules or bye-laws of the club or whose conduct shall in the opinion of the committee render them unfit for membership of the club.
Before any such member is expelled the Hon. Secretary shall give the member seven days notice in writing to attend a meeting of the committee. The notice shall contain particulars of the complaint made against them. No member shall be expelled without having an opportunity of appearing before the committee and answering the complaint made against them, nor unless two thirds of the committee present vote in favor of their expulsion.
Any member expelled shall forfeit all rights to, or claims upon the club or its funds or property, as they would otherwise have by reason of their membership.
7. SUBSCRIPTION
The annual subscription shall be £ 25 - 00 for full members and shall be due on the 1st June each year. A graduate member shall pay £ 25 - 00 for the graduate period.
Upon election to full membership a further £ 12 - 50 is payable if the date of their election is less than six months prior to the 1st of June, and £ 25 - 00 if the date of their election is more than six months prior to 1st of June. If, after a reminder has been sent, a subscription has not been paid on or before 1st of September following the member shall cease to be a member.
If a satisfactory explanation is given to the committee they may at the discretion of the committee be re-admitted to membership on payment of all arrears. The subscription so collected shall be dealt with under the Trustees rule of the constitution. All Rules and bye-laws of the club shall be binding on all Life Members and for this purpose Life Members shall be as members. Refund of Life Membership subscription or part thereof shall not be considered except in the event of the clubs dissolution.
8. OFFICERS
The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
Hon. Secretary: shall conduct the correspondence of the club and shall have custody of all documents belonging to the club. He/she shall keep a full and correct minute of all proceedings and records of all activities of the club and also a list of members with their names and addresses and telephone numbers. He/she shall organise meetings and indoor activities. The Hon. Secretary may with the approval of the committee appoint a Hon. Assistant Secretary.
Hon. Treasurer: shall keep the accounts of the club and shall make up the Annual Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet of the club to the 31st May in each year which shall after audit be printed and circulated to the members with the notice of the Annual General Meeting.
Hon. Meets Secretary: shall be responsible for seeing that all meets and holidays are properly organised.
Hon. Hut Warden: shall ensure that the hut is in good condition and organise working parties for that purpose. He/she shall keep an inventory of hut equipment and shall collect fees deposited in the safe.
Hon. Hut Booking Secretary: shall be responsible for external hut bookings, distribution of hut keys to and collecting fees from visiting parties.
Hon. BMC Liaison Officer: shall handle BMC matters on behalf of the Club.
Hon Website Manager: shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of the Club Website.
9. AUDITORS
Two members (not being officers or members of the committee) shall be appointed Auditors at the A.G.M. they or one of them shall audit the Annual Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet and shall verify the same before circulation.
10. TRUSTEES
The property of the club shall be invested in four trustees consisting of the President and three other members of the committee who shall be appointed at the A.G.M. A general meeting shall have the power to remove any of the trustees and all vacancies occurring by removal, resignation or death shall be filled at the same or next AGM.
The Trustees shall have the power to invest money (for example in Government Securities, Trustee securities, Premium Bonds etc ) and adopt such measurers as may appear to them in the interest of the Club.
They shall deal with the property as directed by the resolution of the committee of which an entry in the Minute Book shall be conclusive evidence and they shall be indemnified against risk and expenses out of Club property.
11. LOANS
The Trustees may accept from member's interest free loans which shall be invested. Any such loan shall be repaid to the member making it within one month of the Hon. Secretary receiving a written request from the member requiring the repayment thereof.
12. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A General Meeting of the Club shall be held in October or November of each year to transact the following business :
- To receive, and if approved, adopt the statement of the Club accounts to the end of the preceding financial year.
- To consider, and if approved, sanction any duly made alterations of the rules.
- To appoint the officers and other members of the committee. The President is to take office at the Annual Dinner following the A.G.M. at which he/she is elected.
- To appoint the Auditors.
- To deal with any matters which the committee wish to place before the members, to consider any matters raised during the meeting or notified to the Secretary before the meeting.
Proposals under rule 12 (b) may only be considered if they been proposed and seconded by fully paid up members and notified to the Secretary not less than 28 days prior to the A.G.M. Notice concerning the A.G.M. shall be sent to members not less that six weeks before the date of the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
13. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time by the committee and shall be convened within twenty one days from the receipt of a requisition signed by not less than one tenth of the members specifying the object of the meeting for any of the following purposes :
- To consider, and if approved, sanction any duly made alterations to the rules.
- To deal with any special matter the committee may desire to place before the members.
- To receive any resignation of the committee or to remove any member or members thereof from office and fill any vacancy caused thereby.
- To deal with any special matter which the members requiring the meeting may desire to place before the club.
Notice convening the meeting shall be sent to the members not less than seven days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
14. QUORUM
At committee meetings four shall form a quorum unless the question of expulsion of a member is to be considered, in which case the quorum shall be eight.
At General Meetings fifteen members or one quarter of the total membership, which ever is the fewer, shall form a quorum.
15. CHAIR AT MEETING
At General Meetings and Committee Meetings the President shall preside if he/she is present. In his absence a chairman shall be elected to preside. Whoever presides shall have a casting vote in the event of any equality of votes.
16. BYELAWS
The Committee shall have the power to make byelaws for regulating the conduct and affairs of the club provided the same are not inconsistent with these rules. Such byelaws shall be binding on all members.
17. ALTERATION OF RULES
The committee shall have the power to draft alterations to the rules, but no such alteration shall take effect until it has been confirmed at the A.G.M. or at a Special General Meeting.
18. DISSOLUTION
If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the club shall be passed by a majority of the members present and such resolution shall at a Special General Meeting, held not less than one month thereafter, at which not less than one half of the members be present be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two thirds of the members voting there on, the committee shall thereupon, or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution, proceed to realize the property of the Club, and, after discharge of all liabilities shall apply the property to such purpose or purposes akin to the objects of the Club as may be decided by the Special General Meeting and failing such decision as the Committee shall decide.
19. MEMBERS CHILDREN
Member's children only will be allowed to use Caer Fran if accompanied by their parents. They will not be allowed to use Caer Fran during official meets.
Persons up to seventeen years of age will be classed as children and will be charged members rates.
At seventeen years and over guests rates and conditions will apply.
Amended following A.G.M. 6th November 2007
Bill Sutherland.
Honorary Secretary.
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