The Constitution and Rules of The Radio Society of Harrow
Notes
1. These Rules supersede all previous rules.
2. Any reference in these Rules to the Society, Committee, Members etc shall refer to the Radio Society of Harrow, its Committee, its Members etc. The term 'Members' shall include the Officers unless stated to the contrary.
Constitution
1. The name of the Society shall be: The Radio Society of Harrow.
2. The Society is established:
a) To promote the Amateur Radio interests of its members;
b) To carry out such lawful activities as may be appropriate for the benefit of its members;
c) To foster the true spirit of Amateur Radio.
3. The Society shall be affiliated to the Radio Society of Great Britain or such other body that represents the interests of Amateur Radio at a national level.
4. The Society shall neither engage in contentious matters nor shall it discriminate in favour of or against any person or body, except where such matters, persons or bodies directly concern the Society or Amateur Radio.
Rules
1. Membership
1.1. The Society membership shall comprise Ordinary and Honorary members. Ordinary members can be Individual or Family members.
1.2. Any person wishing to become a Society member must complete the application form. The application will be submitted to the Committee who will consider whether that person should be accepted for membership. Any rejected application may not be resubmitted before at least 12 months after the rejection. The Committee are not required to disclose the reason why a membership application may be declined. On approval, membership will be confirmed once the invoice has been paid.
1.3. Where a member has enrolled as a Family Sponsor, they may ask for up to six members of their family to be enrolled free of charge. Eligibility to be enrolled by the sponsor is at the sole discretion of the Committee.
1.4. Worthy persons may be nominated and approved for Honorary membership by a decision of the Committee.
1.5. The Committee may create other classes of membership, set discounts, limits to the total membership or set a minimum age for new members as appropriate. The subscription rates in force shall be published on the Society’s web-site.
1.6. ‘Member’ means an Individual, Family or Honorary member and where no subscription payment is outstanding. A member is eligible to:
a) Petition for a meeting;
b) Propose a motion for consideration;
c) Form part of a quorum;
d) Vote on Society matters.
2. Management
2.1. The executive control of the Society shall be the responsibility of a Committee who, in addition to the rights and responsibilities given by these Rules, shall take all other actions necessary to further the aims of the Society.
2.2. The Committee shall comprise:
a) The President;
b) The Executive Officers: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer;
c) Not more than six Ordinary Committee Members each of which will have a specific portfolio.The Committee will decide the exact roles depending on requirements. Under exceptional circumstances, the Committee can create additional ad-hoc Committee roles as required.
2.3. The President, Officers and Ordinary Committee Members shall be elected annually by the Society in General Meeting. Candidates for these posts may be nominated:
a) By two or more members who shall propose and second each candidate;
b) By the outgoing Committee.
2.4. The candidate's willingness to stand for election must be ascertained.
2.4.1. Nominations under a) must be presented in writing to the Secretary at least seven days before the General Meeting on the appropriate nomination form.
2.4.2. In the event of only one candidate being proposed for a post, they shall be considered elected subject to ratification in General Meeting.
2.4.3. Contested posts shall be determined by simple majority in secret ballot according to the Society’s rules for the conduct of elections.
2.5. If there is no candidate for a post, then the remaining posts shall be filled as above. The new Committee may then decide whether to fill the vacancy from within the Committee, leave it vacant or co-opt a willing Society member. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt to fill a vacancy or for any other purpose.
2.6. In the event of insufficient nominations to form a working Committee, the retiring Committee may adjourn the meeting to a later date and will remain in office pro-tem.
2.7. Candidates for Officers and Ordinary Members of Committee must be paid up Society Members. Subject to this requirement, the retiring Committee members shall be eligible to stand for any post. The Presidential Candidate(s) need not be a member of the Society.
2.8. The new Committee shall take office at the end of the General Meeting at which it was elected.
2.9. The Committee shall meet at least six times each year at an agreed time and place. A quorum of the Committee shall be not less than half its members, not including the President. Voting in the Committee shall be by simple majority of those present. The President and invited members may speak in Committee but may not vote.
2.10. Any Committee member who has any business, financial or similar interest in the Society's affairs shall declare such interest. They may speak on the relevant matters but may not vote.
2.11. The Chair or their appointee shall conduct the business in Committee meetings and shall have only a casting vote.
2.12. The Secretary or their appointee must attend every Committee meeting and take Minutes of that meeting. The Minutes shall be recorded and must be presented to the next meeting for confirmation. Confirmed Minutes shall be made available to any member who requests them.
2.13. Any Committee Member who, without sufficient reason expressed to the Secretary, is absent from more than two Committee meetings may, at the discretion of the Committee, be considered to have resigned their office.
3. Finance
3.1. All monies of the Society shall be banked by the Treasurer in the name of the Society. All payments from Society funds are subject to authorisation by the Treasurer and the Committee will receive up to date accounting information supplied by the Treasurer at every Committee meeting. Payments over a sum to be agreed by the Committee must be explicitly approved by the Committee.
3.2. The Society's financial year shall be from 1 January unless the accounting period date is changed by the Committee.
3.3. Subscriptions shall fall due on approval of membership and thereafter on the anniversary of approval. They shall be paid to the Treasurer or their appointee.
3.4. Any member who has not paid their subscription within 30 days of the due date may be barred from participation in Society activities. After a further 30 days without payment of subscription, membership will lapse.
3.5. Honorary Members need pay no subscription.
3.6. Any variation to the annual subscription rates shall be determined by the Committee and published sixty days prior to the due date by email to the membership and on the Society’s web site. The change to subscription rates may be challenged by the membership by calling a Special General Meeting as described in section 4, below.
4. General Meetings
4.1. General meetings comprise the AGM (Annual General Meeting) and SGMs (Special General Meetings). The AGM must be held annually and has a specific agenda as detailed below in clause 4.6. An SGM may be called at any time by the Committee or initiated by a request from Members supported by not less than a quarter of the current membership (Members’ SGM). Any SGM or Members’ SGM that is initiated must state the business for which the meeting is required (SGM Proposal).
4.2. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be the lesser of twenty members or a third of the membership. A General Meeting that has commenced with a quorum shall be deemed to remain quorate even if members leave during the meeting. Should it not prove possible to obtain a quorum, the meeting shall stand adjourned to a future date no less than 7 days in the future to be decided by the members participating. This postponed meeting shall be deemed quorate.
4.3. In a General Meeting, non-members may attend but cannot vote. They may be allowed to speak at the Chair’s invitation.
4.4. At least three weeks’ notice must be given of any General Meeting. Sufficient notice may be given by:
a) A general communication to each member (e.g. by email) plus
b) A notice on the Society’s web site and/or
c) Verbal notice at three consecutive official meetings.
4.5. It is the responsibility of those requesting the meeting to liaise with the Society Secretary to ensure that the notices are issued as in 4.4, above. Failure of any member to be informed of any General Meeting shall not invalidate the proceedings.
4.6. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held no later than three months into the following accounting year. The business of the AGM shall be:
a) To receive and approve the Minutes of the last AGM and any documents relating to Special General Meetings (SGMs) held in the time intervening;
b) To consider any matters arising from those Minutes or documents;
c) To receive from the President a report of the Society's activities in the previous year;
d) To receive from the Treasurer a validated statement of the Society's accounts for the previous financial year;
e) To confirm the appointment of the President;
f) To elect the Officers and Ordinary Members of Committee;
g) To appoint an independent Scrutineer (who shall not be a Committee member) to verify the accuracy of the Accounts;
h) To decide any matter of which notice has been given at least 2 weeks in advance of the AGM;
j) To discuss any other business relevant to the Society. Matters deemed by those present to be of sufficient importance to warrant membership consultation and vote may not be concluded by the AGM and shall be referred to an SGM.
Member confirmation of unopposed Committee positions shall be confined to those participating in the meeting. If a vote is required for any Committee position, then this will be carried out using electronic voting of the whole membership. The names and details of the candidates shall be sent to the entire membership by email no later than 5 days following the meeting and voting shall be closed at the end of a further 5 days. For a vote to be valid, the lesser of twenty members or a third of the membership are required to vote. In the event of a tie, the Committee will decide the best candidate.
All unopposed and confirmed Committee members shall take their positions immediately following the AGM.
4.7. For any SGM or Members’ SGM, the Committee shall commence the SGM process described below within 30 days of the notice of the SGM Proposal. The business of an SGM or Members’ SGM shall be that stated in the SGM Proposal and no other. The process for concluding an SGM Proposal shall be:
a) Consultation Period
The membership shall be fully and fairly consulted on the proposal as follows. The SGM Proposal and any supporting materials (SGM Materials) will be shared with the entire membership by email and / or Society’s web site. The membership will be invited to comment on the SGM Materials for a period of not less than 60 days (unless force majeure dictates a shorter period). No amendments should be made to the SGM Materials during the consultation period and if amendments are deemed necessary, the consultation period shall restart with notice given to the membership.
b) SGM Meeting
Following the consultation period, a meeting will be held to openly consider and discuss the SGM Materials, inviting all views and comments. Attendance at the meeting shall be open to all members. No voting on the SGM Proposal shall be taken at the meeting. However, those present shall:
a) Agree if a current membership vote is required, or if the SGM Proposal should be amended by the proposer(s) and put to another Consultation Period;
b) As appropriate, agree the wording of a vote to conclude the matter (Proposed SGM Conclusion). Those present may elect to delegate such wording and reasonable deadline, to a representative group chosen from among those present at the meeting or to the Committee or
c) Agree that any SGM Proposal as amended, which has not progressed to Voting after three attempts, be deemed unsuitable for further consideration and rejected by the membership. The Committee shall have the discretion to reject any substantially similar SGM Proposal for a further 2 years.
c) Voting
As decided at the SGM Meeting, the membership may be asked to vote on the Proposed SGM Conclusion. An electronic voting system shall be used. For a vote to be valid, the lesser of twenty members or a third of the membership are required to vote. A simple majority shall decide except in the case for Rule changes which shall require a two-thirds majority to pass.
5. Conduct
5.1. All members shall abide by the letter and spirit of this Constitution & these Rules and shall conduct themselves so as to preserve the Society's good name and that of Amateur Radio. Guests of members or visitors present at Society functions shall also be bound.
5.2. No person shall give the name and address of the Society as their address for any purpose whatsoever. No person shall purport to bind the Society to any course of action unless so directed by the Committee.
5.3. All equipment and other property owned by the Society or used on its behalf shall be used:
a) In accordance with any appropriate National and International regulations;
b) In accordance with any relevant National Body recommendations;
c) In a proper manner having particular regard to safety;
d) At the Committee's discretion.
5.4. All members shall comply with any reasonable and lawful request of the Committee or its representative.
5.5. Any Member breaking these Rules may be liable to the following sanctions:
a) A formal warning;
b) Suspension for a specified period;
c) Expulsion from the Society;
d) Civil proceedings in the event that assessable damages have been caused.
5.6. Any non-member shall be liable to:
a) A formal warning;
b) Expulsion from Society functions;
c) Civil Proceedings in the event that assessable damages have been caused.
5.7. The appropriate sanction shall be decided by the Committee who must review the matter at their next meeting. Members may appeal against sanctions in a General Meeting.
5.8. The Society shall not be held liable for any act by its members in breach of these Rules.
6. Dissolution
The Society may be dissolved only by Special General Meeting. The motion for dissolution shall succeed only with the unanimous consent of the Committee and at least a two-thirds majority of the members voting in favour.
In this event the Committee shall close the Society's books and dispose of the Society's assets as directed by the SGM.
7. Interpretation
Any dispute regarding the interpretation of these Rules shall be put to the Committee whose decision shall be binding.
