Constitution of the Marden Horticultural Society
1) The name of the Society shall be Marden Horticultural Society.
2) The aims of the Society shall be to promote the benefits and enjoyment of gardening among its members and the local community by:
Holding meetings for talks, discussions and presentations,
Holding occasional competitions,
Arranging visits and trips relating to gardens and other sites of gardening interest
Other activities related to gardening.
Membership
3) Membership of the Society shall be open to people interested in gardening and living in the Parishes of Marden or Collier Street. The Committee may admit members from outside this area at their discretion if membership numbers permit.
4) Application for membership will be made on a designated form on which members must provide their name, address, telephone number and, where applicable, e-mail address. Prospective members will be required to confirm that they accept that:
the Society may use their information provided above (subject to any opt-out)
they may appear in photographs of Society events, visits, meetings and trophy winners which appear on the Society website
the electronic data they provide is held on domestic computers and on the Society website, all of which are protected by standard anti-virus software, to enable members to be contacted by using this data.
5) Membership of the Society shall run for one calendar year from 1st January each year, subject to the payment of the annual subscription. The amount of the subscription shall be announced to the members not fewer than 14 days before the date subscriptions become payable.
6) New members joining in any month after 30 June in any year will pay half of the relevant subscription fee in the year in which they join.
7) Any member whose subscription remains unpaid on 28th February in any year shall cease to be a member of the Society from that date. Such members may rejoin in that same year on payment of the subscription for the year but will not be entitled to the reduced subscription rate at paragraph (5). A new membership form is not required in these circumstances.
Officers and Committee
8) The affairs of the Society shall be conducted by a Committee comprising the Officers of the Society and up to 6 other members.
9) The officers of the Society shall be a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Secretary, Technical and Communications Secretary and such other officers as shall be deemed necessary; no one individual shall hold more than one office at a time.
10) The officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society and shall hold office until the end of the next Annual General Meeting (“period of office”).
11) The Committee may appoint an Honorary President of the Society in recognition of valued, long-standing service to the Society. The position may be held in perpetuity. The President is not a member of the Committee but may attend Committee meetings without vote.
12) The other members of the Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society and may serve a term of 3 years without re-election.
13) The Committee may co-opt up to 2 members to serve as full Committee members until the next Annual General Meeting, subject to the numerical limit set at paragraph (8).
14) The Committee may appoint one or more sub-committees, comprising elected members of the Committee and/or other members of the Society, with specific responsibilities. A representative from a sub-committee may attend Committee meetings but may not vote unless they are Committee members elected under paragraph (10) or (12) or co-opted under paragraph (13).
Meetings
15) An Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society shall be held within two months of the financial year end for the purpose of:
Approving the Committee’s Annual Report on the work of the Society during the preceding financial year.
Electing officers for the forthcoming year and Committee Members to replace those who have retired.
Approving financial statements signed by an Auditor.
Electing an Auditor for the next year.
Considering any motion which has been notified to the Chairman of the Society at least 28 calendar days prior to the date of the AGM and which has been circulated to all Members at least 14 days prior to the date of the AGM.
Noting any other matters for consideration by the Committee.
16) Committee meetings shall be held on dates agreed by the Committee prior to the start of each financial year or on such dates as may be agreed by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Committee.
17) The Committee has the power to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Society at any time and must do so within 28 calendar days of receiving a written request signed by 5 members. Notice must be given to all members not fewer than 14 calendar days before such a meeting, informing them of the date, time, venue and purpose of the meeting. No business other than that detailed in the notice shall be transacted at an EGM.
Procedure for meetings
18) The ordinary meetings of the Society shall be held in accordance with a programme for the year which shall be drawn up by the Committee and/or its sub-committees over the course of the year and made available to members of the Society via the Marden Gardeners website, regular email newsletters and the noticeboard slide show at meetings. No matters of policy shall be agreed at an ordinary meeting of the Society.
19) The Chairman of the Society or, in their absence, the Vice-Chairman of the Society shall act as Chairman at any ordinary or Committee meeting, AGM or EGM of the Society. In the event that neither is available the Committee members present shall select one of their number to chair the meeting.
20) No matters of policy shall be agreed at an AGM, EGM or at a Committee meeting unless a quorum is present. The quorum of a General Meeting shall be 15 percent of the membership and the quorum of a Committee meeting shall be consist of 5 members. In the event of a quorum not being present, the meeting shall be adjourned to a day, time and place decided by the Chairman of the meeting.
21) Only members whose subscription is fully paid shall be entitled to vote at an AGM, EGM or meeting of any Committee or Sub-Committee.
22) Voting at all meetings shall be by a show of hands unless the Chairman directs that a secret ballot be taken. All matters shall be decided by a simple majority of those present and voting.
23) The chairman of an AGM, EGM or any meeting of the Committee may not participate in the initial voting at any meeting but, in the event of a tie, shall have a casting vote.
Finances
24) The Society’s financial year shall end on 31st December.
25) An Auditor shall be elected at every AGM to serve until the end of the next AGM and shall be eligible for re-election. No Committee member shall be eligible to act as Auditor.
26) All subscriptions and other moneys received by the Society shall be passed to the Treasurer, who shall be responsible for all of the Society’s funds, for keeping accounting records thereof and presenting the accounts for audit at the end of the financial year. All sums received by the Treasurer on the Society’s behalf shall be paid into the Society’s bank account and all cheques drawn on that account must be signed by any two nominated officers. Electronic payments made must be approved by two nominated officers. The funds of the Society shall be used solely to further the objectives of the Society and only in ways approved by the Committee.
Dissolution
27) If a Committee meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the Society it may call EGM to do so. The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the Society. If it is agreed to dissolve the group all remaining money and assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a charitable organisation. The organisation will be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.
Constitution
28) This constitution may only be amended at an AGM or EGM and then only if notice of the proposed amendment has been notified to all members not fewer than 14 calendar days before the meeting.
29) Any matters for which provision is not made in this constitution shall be decided by the Committee at its discretion and shall be reported to the next AGM for endorsement or further direction.