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Constitution

FOUNDED 2006

Constitution adopted 13th March, 2007

NAME

The Society shall be called Wellington Parish History Society, hereafter to be referred to as “the Society”.

OBJECTS

To establish by research, the history of Wellington and its Parish from documentary evidence, analysis of location maps, buildings and monuments and to interview past and present residents of the village to ascertain details of the village and its life.
To provide written narrative of such research and photographic evidence.
To archive such material and provide access to all who have an interest in the history of the village and its environs and where possible to provide copies as required.
To maintain such material in safe conditions for long term access.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership shall be open to all, regardless of sex, creed, colour or age upon completing a membership application form and paying the relevant subscription/joining fee as determined by the Management Committee.
There shall be three classes of membership available. These are

Individual member
Joint Member/Couple
Junior member (under 18 years of age)

OFFICERS

The Officers of the Society shall be as follows:

Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

All Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club, from and by, the Members of the Society.
All Officers are elected for a period of two years, but may be re-elected to the same office or another office upon expiry of that term.
The Management Committee (see paragraph 6) may fill any vacancy, which may occur during the term of office, until the next Annual General Meeting.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The affairs of the Society shall be controlled by a Management Committee comprising:

The Officers of the Society
Four Full members
Post Holders and Full committee members shall be elected from, and by, the members of the Society and shall hold office for two years, save that the first elections shall only take place two years after the adoption of the constitution. They may offer themselves for re-election.
The Committee may co-opt persons to assist with the running of the Society, but they shall not be entitled to a vote on the Committee.

To maintain a degree of continuity, the inaugural committee will continue in office for two years, thereafter half of these positions will be available for election each year as follows:

POSITION	YEAR 2	YEAR3
Chairman	##
Vice Chairman		##
Secretary	##
Treasurer		##
Member 1	##
Member 2		##
Member 3	##
Member 4		##

a) The Management Committee shall meet at agreed intervals and not less than twice in any year. The Secretary shall give fourteen days notice of any meeting. Any three members of the Committee may call for a meeting to be held by giving notice to the Secretary who will convene the meeting.

b) Five members of the Committee shall form a quorum.

The duties of the Management Committee shall be:

To control the affairs of the Society on behalf of the Members.
To keep accurate accounts of the finances of the Society through the Treasurer. These should be available for reasonable inspection by Members and should be audited before every Annual General Meeting. The Society shall maintain bank accounts and any two of the Officers shall be authorised to sign cheques to permit the pursuance of the Objects of the Society.
To set the level of annual subscriptions for membership of the Society and of fees for any services provided.
To make decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote. In the case of equal votes, the Chairman shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.
At any time to appoint a Member of the Society to fill any casual vacancy. All such persons appointed shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting and shall be eligible for re-election.
To maintain and record Proper minutes of the proceedings of the Committee in a Minute Book.

GENERAL MEETINGS

The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held not later than the end of November each year.

Twenty-one days written notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given to Members by circulating a copy of the notice to every member at their home address and posting the notice on the Village notice board.

Members must advise the Secretary in writing of any business to be moved at the Annual General Meeting at least fourteen days before the meeting.

The Secretary shall circulate or give notice of the agenda for the meeting to Members not less than seven days before the meeting.

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:

Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any General Meetings held since the last Annual General Meeting.
Receive the audited accounts for the year to 31st December from the Treasurer.
Receive the Chairman’s annual report
Receive the annual report of the Management Committee from the Secretary.
Elect an auditor
Elect the Officers of the Society
Elect the Management Committee in accordance with rules 6) and 7) above.
Transact any other business received in writing by the Secretary from Members fourteen days prior to the meeting and included on the agenda.

Special General Meetings may be convened by the Management Committee or on receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing from not less that five Full Members of the Society.

At least fourteen days notice of the meeting shall be given.

Nominations of candidates for election to Posts shall be made in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting date. Nominations can only be made and seconded by Full Members. In the event that no nomination for a vacant Post(s) is received by the due date, the Chairman may, at his/her discretion, accept such proposed and seconded nominations during the meeting. Notwithstanding the above, all such nominations must be made with the absolute consent of the nominee.

At all General Meetings, the chair will be taken by the Chairman or, if absent, by the Vice Chairman. In the absence of both, Full members attending the meeting may appoint a chairman for the meeting.

Decisions made at a General Meeting shall be by a simple majority of votes from those Full Members attending the meeting. In the event of equal votes, the Chairman shall be entitled to an additional casting vote.

A quorum for a General Meeting shall be one third of the Full Membership including the Officers of the Society as registered at the time of the meeting.

Each Full Member of the Society shall be entitled to one vote at General Meetings.

ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Any proposed alterations to the Society Constitution may only be considered at an Annual or Special General Meeting, convened with the required written notice of the proposal. Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by a Full Member of the Club and seconded by another Full Member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two-thirds of those Full Members present at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.

DISSOLUTION

If at any General Meeting of the Society, a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the Society, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting of the Society to be held not less that one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution.
If at that Special General Meeting, the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting, the Management Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Society and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Society.
After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Society, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the Full Members of the Society, but shall be given or transferred to some other voluntary organisation having objects similar to those of the Society.