RULES OF THE SOCIETY
- NAME The name of the Society is “Bristol Philatelic Society”.
- OBJECTS: The objects of the Society are to provide facilities for Philately.
- THE SOCIETY The Society shall be an amalgamation of the Bristol and Clifton Philatelic Society and the Bristol North Philatelic Society and thus all members of either of those societies as at the date of the foundation of the Society shall be entitled to membership of the Society without any further formalities.
- MEMBERSHIP There shall be three classes of membership – Ordinary Members, Junior Members and Honorary Life Members.
- APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP Applicants for Ordinary or Junior Membership shall supply two satisfactory references and shall be proposed and seconded by members at an ordinary Meeting of the Society and, if elected, admitted.
- JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP Members who are under the age of 18 years at the date of the first meeting in a season shall be Junior Members for that season.
- HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP Election to Honorary Life Membership may be made only on the proposition of the Committee at an Annual General Meeting, provided that existing Honorary Life Members of the Bristol & Clifton Philatelic Society or Bristol North Philatelic Society shall automatically become Honorary Life Members of the Society.
- RESIGNATION Any member may resign his or her membership by notice in writing to the General Secretary.
- SUBSCRIPTIONS The subscriptions for each season (commencing on the day after the Annual General Meeting) shall be determined by the Society at a General Meeting and shall be due on the 1st day of September. Any member whose subscription has not been paid, after having been sent or given a reminder and paid by the 31st day of March, shall automatically cease to be a member, provided that the Committee may grant an extension of time in any case if they think fit.
- COMMITTEE The Society shall be managed by a Committee consisting of: a) the Presidentb) the Vice President
c) the General Secretary
d) the Programme Secretary
e) the Treasurer
f) the Packet Superintendent
g) the Publicity Officer
h) the Competition Secretary
i) the Federation Representatives
j) the Librarian
k) Three other members of the Society
Any five Committee members shall form a quorum.
The Committee may co-opt members of the Society to fill casual vacancies that may occur until the next Annual General Meeting. All appointments shall be honorary. - ELIGIBILITY FOR ELECTION TO THE COMMITTEE All appointments to the Committee shall terminate at the end of the next Annual General Meeting, but members of the Committee shall be eligible for re-election save that: a) the President shall be elected for a term of two consecutive years, and shall not be eligible for re-election after serving the term of the office for a further period of six years, and b) the ordinary members of the Committee shall not be eligible for re-election after serving for three years for a further period of one year.
- ADDITIONAL OFFICER The Committee may from time to time appoint additional officers:
- MEETINGS The Committee shall be responsible for arranging the meetings.
- ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting shall be the last meeting in each season and its business shall include receiving reports and accounts and the election of the Committee and Officers.
- EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING In the event of any ten members of the Society giving notice in writing to the General Secretary requiring an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society to be held and stating the resolution(s) to be proposed, the General Secretary shall convene such a meeting to take place within 28 days, or, if such a period of 28 days would expire on a day after the date of the Annual General Meeting and before the end of September, then on a date during October. The business of the Extraordinary General Meeting shall be restricted to the resolution(s) set out in the notice of the General Secretary.
- NOTIFICATION TO MEMBERS OF ANNUAL OR EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS All members shall be given at least 14 days notice of the day, time and place arranged for an Annual or Extraordinary General meeting provided that in the case of an Annual General Meeting the notice may be given in the Society’s annual programme.
- ADDRESSES Members shall give written notice to the General Secretary of any change of address.
- GUESTS Each member may introduce not more than two guests at any meeting. No one may be a guest more than twice per season.
- FINANCE The financial year of the Society shall end on the 31 March in each year. The accounts for the previous financial year shall be presented to the Society at each Annual General Meeting together with the auditor’s report.
- HONORARY INDEPENDENT EXAMINER. The Honorary Independent Examiner shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting to verify the annual accounts and shall retire at the next AGM but shall be eligible for re-election.
- AMENDMENT OF RULES These rules may be amended at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting provided that in the case of an Annual General Meeting 28 days written notice of the proposed amendment(s) is given to the General Secretary and in the case of an Extraordinary General Meeting written notice of the proposed amendment(s) is given to the General Secretary in the notice requiring the meeting to be convened. The General Secretary shall at least 14 days before the date fixed for the Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting notify all members in writing of the proposed amendment(s) to the Rules.
- BYELAWS The Committee may make, alter and revoke byelaws concerning the Library, Exchange Packets, Competitions and Auctions including their financial arrangements. Such byelaws shall be binding on all members of the Society.
- DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY. Should the Society be wound up following a valid vote in favour of the same at an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting, the residual funds of the Society after all debts have been paid will be transferred to a like Society or Federation chosen by the President after consultation with the Committee.
- MATTERS NOT COVERED BY THESE RULES. The Committee shall have the power to determine any course of action not covered by these Rules.