SKELMERSDALE RAMBLING CLUB

Skelmersdale Rambling Club

CONSTITUTION OF THE SKELMERSDALE RAMBLING CLUB

1. NAME
The name of the club shall be the SKELMERSDALE RAMBLING CLUB, otherwise known as the "Skelmersdale Ramblers".
2. AIMS

  1. To actively encourage the pastime of rambling in Skelmersdale and the surrounding areas.

  2. To organise rambles, both locally and in other areas.

  3. To work co-operatively with other rambling organisations and footpath groups towards preserving and creating rights of way.

3. MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership of the Skelmersdale Ramblers shall be open to persons of any age, but children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a responsible adult on walks and at meetings. {[ This policy is under reconsideration as of March 2008 ]

  2. Membership of the Skelmersdale Ramblers shall be determined by payment of a joining fee, the amount to be determined by the elected committee.

  3. When rambling with the club, all members are required to respect the countryside code and each other and behave in a responsible way.

  4. Members who break the club rules may be asked to leave the club.

  5. Each adult member of the club is required to pay for individual membership. Children under 14 years of age may accompany members at half the fare of the adult they are with. [ This policy is under reconsideration as of March 2008 ]

4. THE COMMITTEE

  1. The club shall be managed by an elected committee of members consisting of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and up to twelve other elected members. Some of these members will be elected to fulfil specific roles in the organisation of the affairs of the club, e.g. "Walks Co-ordinator", "Coach Bookings Secretary", and "Membership Secretary".

  2. The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

  3. Each committee member must stand for re-election at every Annual General Meeting.

  4. The Chairperson can only be elected on three consecutive occasions.

  5. If a committee member resigns between one Annual General Meeting and the next, or the position otherwise becomes vacant, the committee will have the power to elect a replacement. This replacement will then have to stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting in the normal way.

5. FINANCE

  1. The Treasurer will keep a proper record of money received and paid out and will, if requested, submit the record to the inspection of the committee at meetings. The Treasurer will prepare an annual report to be distributed to the club membership before the Annual General Meeting.

  2. Funds shall be banked in the name of the SKELMERSDALE RAMBLING CLUB. All cheques drawn on the club must be signed by two approved signatories, both of whom shall be Committee members.

6. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

  1. The Annual General Meeting shall take place each June or adjoining month. All club members will be invited to the meeting. The agenda of the meeting shall be prepared by the Chairperson unless he/she is not able or willing to do this, when it shall be prepared by the Secretary. For the purpose of the Annual General Meeting a quorum shall consist of at least ten members.

  2. The routine business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:

    1. Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and matters arising.
    2. Presentation of Annual Reports, including the Treasurers Statement.
    3. Election of Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and up to twelve other committee members.
    4. Receive members suggestions regarding destinations for future rambles.

  3. Notice of the proposed date of the Annual General Meeting shall be published in the March, April and May "Coach Notes" inviting members to submit resolutions 28 days before the date of the AGM and reminding them of the date of the Annual General Meeting.

  4. Formal notice of the meeting and the Agenda for the meeting shall be sent to each member at least 7 days before the date of the meeting.

7. THE FUNCTION OF THE COMMITTEE
The Committee shall meet at least three times a year to determine the day to day business of the club. The quorum for committee meetings shall consist of at least five members. All committee members must be given at least seven calendar days notice of the Committee Meeting but this notice does not have to be writing. In an emergency the Chairperson, or (if the Chairperson is not available) the Secretary, in consultation with at least four other members, one of whom shall normally be the Treasurer, shall be empowered to determine the day to day business of the club, but any decision made will only stand if it is ratified at the next committee meeting.
8. CONSTITUTION
Changes to the Constitution can only be made at a General Meeting. Members wishing to propose amendments to the Constitution must let the Chairperson or the Secretary have a copy of the resolution twenty eight calendar days before the date of the General Meeting, and details of proposed amendments must be included in the formal notice of the meeting sent to members.
9. DISSOLUTION
In the event of the Skelmersdale Ramblers being dissolved, twenty eight days notice shall be given of an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of the membership to discuss this and the deployment of any funds which may be held.
10. EXTRA-ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

  1. An Extra-Ordinary General Meeting can be called by a minimum of 10 members giving written notice to the Secretary or Chairperson.

  2. Twenty eight calendar days written notice of the meeting with details of the business to be discussed must be given to all members. Normally the person giving this notice shall be the Secretary.

  3. A quorum for the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting shall consist of at least 10 members.

As amended at AGM 1998

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© Skelmersdale Rambling Club 2002