1. Name of the Club
The name of the Club shall be Medstead Gardeners’ Club.
2. Objective of the Club
The objective of the Club shall be to provide opportunities for the members to exchange and obtain information on all aspects of gardening by lectures, demonstrations, discussions, visits to places of interest and to offer trading facilities to members.
3. Membership
Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in gardening. The Committee may, from time to time, confer honorary membership on individuals considered worthy of special recognition by the Club.
4. Conduct of the Club’s affairs
The affairs of the Club shall be conducted by a Committee comprising the Officers of the Club and up to six other members. This Committee may appoint one or more sub-committees comprising members of the Committee and/or other members of the Club to perform specific tasks.
5. Election of Officers
The members shall at the Annual General Meeting elect by show of hands a Chairman and no fewer than five and no more than nine Committee members. The other Officers of the Club, namely Secretary, Treasurer and Programme Secretary shall be elected by and from the Committee members. No officer may hold the same office for more than three consecutive years, unless exceptional circumstances arise. In such circumstances an officer may serve for one further year.
6. Appointment of Vice Chairman of the Committee
The Committee may appoint one of its number as Vice Chairman.
7. Absence of Chairman
Meetings of the Committee shall be chaired by the Chairman of the Club. In the event that the Chairman is absent at any meeting of the Committee, the Vice Chairman shall take the chair. In the event that that neither the Chairman nor Vice Chairman is able to attend a meeting, the Committee members present shall elect one of their number to take the chair for that meeting.
8. Co-opted members
The Committee may co-opt members to serve as full Committee members to fill vacancies on the Committee until the next Annual General Meeting.
9. Committee Meetings
The Committee shall meet at times and places agreed by the Committee members. No matters of policy shall be agreed at a Committee meeting unless a quorum of five members is present. In the absence of a quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned to a day, time and place decided by the members present.
10. Ordinary meetings of the Club
No matters of policy shall be agreed at an ordinary meeting of the Club. A programme for ordinary meetings of the Club for the forthcoming calendar year shall be proposed by the Committee and advised to members at the AGM. In the event that changes to that programme are necessary, the Secretary shall take all reasonable steps to advise members of those changes.
11. Annual General Meeting
An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held within three months of the date of the financial year end for the purpose of:
12. Extraordinary General Meeting
The Committee has the power to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club at any time and must do so within 28 calendar days of receiving a written request signed by 15 members. Notice in writing must be sent 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.
13. Chairman of an Ordinary, Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting
The Chairman of the Club or, in his/her absence, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, shall act as Chairman at any ordinary, Annual or Extraordinary General meeting of the Club. In the event of none of these being available the Committee members present shall elect one of their number to chair the meeting.
14. Communications
Notices and any other communications to members may be delivered by hand at a Club meeting, by e-mail where a member has advised an e-mail address, or by hand or post to a member’s last known address. Any such delivery is deemed to have been made when the Club’s Officer completes the despatch. Notices and other communications will in general be sent as a single copy where members share the same address, unless otherwise requested.
15. Entitlement to Vote
Only members whose subscription is fully paid or those holding honorary membership of the Club shall be entitled to vote at an Annual General Meeting, Extraordinary General Meeting or Committee Meeting.
16. Method of Voting
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.
17. Chairman’s Casting Vote
The Chairman of an Annual General Meeting, Extraordinary General Meeting 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.
18. Subscription
The annual subscription for each “membership period” shall be decided by the Committee and notified to all members at least 14 calendar days in advance of the Annual General Meeting for approval by the members at the AGM. Annual subscriptions shall be payable in advance for the membership period following the Annual General Meeting. Any member whose subscription remains unpaid after the due date shall cease to be a member of the Club from that date.
19. The Club’s Funds
a. All subscriptions and other moneys received by the Club 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.
b. The funds of the Club shall be used solely to further the objectives of the Club and only in amounts and for purposes approved by the Committee.
c. Any proposed expenditure in excess of £750.00 shall be referred to an ordinary meeting of members for approval.
d. A bank account will be maintained on behalf of the Club at a bank agreed by the Committee.
e. The designated signatories to the account shall be any two of the Chairman; the Secretary and the Treasurer each of whom shall also have the authority to view electronic banking transactions but only the Treasurer and Chairman shall be authorised to make electronic banking payments up to a maximum of £750.00 per single transaction or total transactions of £750.00 in any one day.
f. Any expenditure in excess of £750.00 shall be made by cheque. All cheques will require any two signatures of the designated signatories.
g. Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement together with a copy of a print off of the Club’s banking transactions since the last Committee Meeting will be produced at each Committee Meeting and circulated to the Committee.
h. An annual statement of accounts will be presented to the Annual General Meeting
20. Appointment of an Auditor
An Auditor shall be elected at every Annual General Meeting to serve until the end of the next Annual General Meeting and shall be eligible for re-election. No Committee Member shall be eligible to act as Auditor.
21. Financial Year
The Club’s financial year shall end on 30th September.
22. Alteration of Constitution
This constitution may only be altered at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting and then only if notice of the proposed amendment has been notified to all members not fewer than 14 calendar days before the meeting.
23. Winding-up the Club
A decision to wind-up the Club shall only be taken at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. There must be a majority vote in favour of the proposal to wind-up the Club by those attending the meeting. In the event that the decision to wind-up the Club is agreed, the meeting shall then go on to appoint a Committee of not fewer than three and not more than seven individuals to oversee the disposal of the Club’s assets. The meeting shall give a clear indication to that Committee of the use to which any remaining funds should be put. The Committee appointed to oversee the disposal of the Club’s assets shall abide as closely as possible to the wishes expressed at the meeting which appointed it.
24. Other Matters
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 Annual General Meeting for endorsement or further direction.
Adopted: 4 December 2012; Section 19 updated 3 December 2019