The York Photographic Society Constitution as Adopted at the Annual General Meeting of the Society
Held on 21 May 2003
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Definitions
In this Constitution
‘general meeting' means an Annual General Meeting within Article 7 or an Extraordinary General Meeting within Article 8;
‘Member' means an Ordinary Member within Article 4 or an Honorary Life Member within article 5;
‘the Programme' means a Programme for a Season distributed by the General Secretary to Members;
‘the Society' means the Society described in Article 2(1); and
‘Season' means the period of twelve months beginning on 1 September in each year.
The Society
Continuity and purposes of the Society
2.-(1) There shall continue to be a Society called York Photographic Society , which was founded in 1887 and re-formed in 1932.
(2) The purposes of the Society shall be the advancement of the knowledge and practice of all forms of photography and of related arts by the holding of lectures, demonstrations, competitions and exhibitions, by participation in competitions and exhibitions organised by other bodies, and otherwise as the Society in general meeting may determine.
Affiliations etc
3. The Society shall be affiliated to the Yorkshire Photographic Union and may seek affiliation to, or membership of, any other organisation where it appears to the Committee that such affiliation or membership would advance the purposes of the Society.
Members
Ordinary Members
4. Any person may become an Ordinary Member of the Society upon payment of a subscription in accordance with Article 17: Provided that the Committee-
(a) may rescind membership if it appears to the Committee that the subscription of the person concerned is in arrear; and
(b) may refuse or rescind membership if it appears to the Committee that the conduct of the person concerned has been, or is likely to be, such as to bring discredit upon, or to injure the interests or standing of, of the Society;
and accordingly the name of that person shall not appear on the roll of Ordinary Members.
Honorary Life Members
5. The Society in general meeting may elect any person to be an Honorary Life Member of the Society in recognition of distinguished service to the Society or to photography.
Meetings
Ordinary Meetings
6.-(1) Two Ordinary Meetings of the Society shall be held during each of the months September to April inclusive in a Season and one shall be held during May; and particulars of such meetings shall be set out in the Programme.
(2) Other Ordinary Meetings may be held at such times as the Committee may determine.
Annual General Meetings
7. An Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held on a day in May in each Season determined by the Committee (the place, date and time of which shall be stated in the Programme) for the purpose of receiving the reports of the President and Treasurer, for the election of members of the Committee for the following Season and for the conduct of any other business relating to the Society or its activities.
Extraordinary General Meetings
An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society shall be called-
(a) at the request in writing of not fewer than ten Members, which request shall state the purpose for which the meeting is requested and shall include the text of any resolution to be proposed at the meeting, or
(b) at any time where it appears to the Committee necessary or expedient in the interests of the Society;
and notice of the meeting setting out the purpose of the meeting and the text of any resolution to be proposed at the meeting shall be sent by the General Secretary to all Members not less than fourteen clear days before the date of the meeting.
Procedure at general meetings
9.-(1) At a general meeting, a Member may attend and vote in person or may appoint another Member as proxy to vote on the Member's behalf; and appointments of proxies, signed by the Member appointing the proxy, shall be delivered to the Secretary not later than the time fixed for commencement of the meeting.
(2) No person whose name does not appear on the roll of Ordinary Members or the roll of Honorary Life Members shall be present at a general meeting of the Society without the leave of the chairman of the meeting.
(3) At a general meeting, ten Members shall constitute a quorum.
(4) In the case of an equality of votes (including any vote cast by a proxy) at a general meeting, the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
Management of the Society
Functions of the Committee
10. The Committee shall manage the affairs of the Society in accordance with this
Constitution and shall take all such actions as it considers necessary or expedient in the interests of the Society in furtherance of its purposes.
Composition of the Committee
11. The Committee shall comprise the President and Vice-President and nine other Members elected at each Annual General Meeting to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.
Election of President, Vice-President
and members of the Committee
12. Each Annual General Meeting shall elect-
(a) one Member to be President;
(b) one Member be Vice-President; and
(c) nine Members to be members of the Committee,
during the period ending with the following Annual General Meeting: Provided that no Member shall be President for more than two consecutive such periods.
Nominations for election of President,
Vice-President and members of the Committee
13. Nominations for election as President, as Vice-President or as a member of the Committee-
(a) shall be in writing signed by two Members as proposer and seconder; and
(b) shall state that the Member nominated has consented, if elected, to serve as President, Vice-President or member of the Committee, as the case may be,
and shall be sent to the General Secretary before the date appointed for the Annual General Meeting.
Casual vacancies on the Committee
14. The Committee may at any time appoint a Member to be a member of the Committee to fill a vacancy (however arising) or as a supernumerary member of the Committee for the remainder of the Season in which the appointment is made.
Meetings of the Committee
15.-(1) The Committee shall meet for the purpose of conducting the business of the Society not less than six times in the period of twelve months beginning immediately after the Annual General Meeting at which they were elected.
(2) At a meeting of the Committee, six members shall constitute a quorum
(3) In the case of an equality of votes cast at a meeting of the Committee, the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
(4) Meetings of the Committee may be called by the General Secretary, the President or the Vice-President
Appointment of officers
16. The Committee shall from time to time appoint a member of the Committee to each of the following offices: General Secretary, Treasurer, Programme Secretary, Print Secretary, Projected Images Secretary and Social Secretary: Provided that no member may hold more than two offices concurrently and that the office of President shall not be held concurrently with another office.
Subscriptions and charges
Subscription rates and periods of Membership
17.-(1) The rates of subscriptions payable by an Ordinary Member commencing or renewing membership at any time during a Season shall be those agreed by the Annual General Meeting held in the preceding Season and shall be stated in the Programme.
(2) Different rates of subscription may be set for different categories of Members.
(3) A subscription payable by an Ordinary Member shall apply to the period of twelve months from commencement of Membership or, in the case of renewal, from the end of the preceding period of Membership; and a subscription shall be due and payable at the beginning of the period to which it relates.
Persons whose subscriptions are in arrear
not to participate in activities of Society
18. A person whose subscription is in arrear shall not serve as a member of the Committee or participate in any activity of the Society save by casual attendance at meetings in accordance with Article 19.
Casual attendance at ordinary meetings
19. A charge for attendance at an Ordinary Meeting of the Society to be payable by a person who is not a Member may be set for a Season by the Annual General Meeting held at the end of the preceding Season and shall be stated in the Programme.
Competitions
Holding of, and Rules for, Competitions
20. The Committee shall each Season organise competitions of photographic work, which shall be open only to Members, for such classes of work as it may determine and shall settle the Rules for entry to, and conduct of, such competitions.
Assets and liabilities
Assets of the Society
21. The assets of the Society shall be vested in the members of the Committee for the time being; and the Committee may acquire and dispose of assets as it considers necessary or expedient in the interests of the Society.
Liabilities of the Society
22. The Committee shall not incur any liability exceeding the realisable value of the assets of the Society save in accordance with a resolution passed at a general meeting: Provided that the Committee shall not be under any obligation to incur any such liability unless the members of the Committee are indemnified against any personal liability relating to it.
Insurance
23. The Committee-
(a) shall maintain insurance cover against public liability of the Society in such sums as appear to it to be appropriate; and
(b) may maintain insurance cover against loss of, or damage to, such of the assets of the Society, and in such sums, as appear to it to be in the best interests of the Society;
and the Committee shall use its best endeavours to ensure that nothing is done, or omitted to be done, which could render any such insurance cover void or ineffective.
Revocation and commencement
Revocation of former Constitution
24.-(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, this Constitution replaces the Constitution dated 16 April 1997 (as last amended on 20 April 2002 ) which is hereby revoked, but without prejudice to anything done or suffered under that Constitution.
(2) Articles 4 and 5 of that Constitution shall continue in effect in relation to the Season starting on 1 September 2003.
Revocation or amendment of Constitution
25. This Constitution may be revoked or amended–
(a) by resolution of an Annual General Meeting pursuant to a proposal of which notice in writing signed by not less than ten Members for the time being has been sent to the General Secretary not less than fourteen clear days before the date of the meeting; or
(b) by resolution of an Annual General Meeting on a proposal by the Committee; or
(c) by resolution of an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose,
and any such resolution shall be adopted by not less than two-thirds of the votes cast.
Commencement
26. This Constitution shall come into force on the day after it is adopted: Provided that, in relation to the Season beginning on 1 September 2003 , articles 16 and 17 shall not have effect. |
