Constitution

Name

         The name of the Society shall be “Ripon City Photographic Society” (hereinafter referred to as “the Society”.)

2.      Aims and Objectives

2.1    To promote the study and practice of the art of photography in the city of Ripon and its environs, by encouraging the development of skills, knowledge and creativity within a friendly and supportive forum.

2.2    To promote a wider appreciation of photography within all sections of the local community.

3.     Powers

In furtherance of these Aims and Objectives the Society may:

3.1       Arrange regular meetings during the year to provide opportunities for members to:
              –     attend talks and presentations by both professional and experienced amateur                                        photographers;

  •    participate in workshops and other learning sessions;
  •    take part in photographic competitions;
  •    share knowledge and experience with other Society members.

3.2        Provide opportunities for members’ work to be exhibited to the public in both printed and digitally projected forms and also through the Society’s website.

3.3        Arrange public lectures and presentations.

3.4        Interact with other organisations within the local community both voluntary and statutory.

3.5        Interact with other photographic societies within the wider community.

3.6        Affiliate to area, regional and/or national co-ordinating bodies in the photographic field and appoint representatives from amongst the membership as appropriate.

3.7          3.7 Raise funds for the work of the Society through subscriptions, advertisements, grants and any other lawful means.

3.8        Organise any activity, within the law, that promotes or helps to promote the Aims and Objectives of the Society.

4.      Membership

         4.1       Membership shall be open to all individuals who share an interest in the Aims and Objectives of the Society regardless of age, gender, culture, religion or belief, disability or sexual orientation. In all its activities, the Society strives to adhere to the principles of equality of opportunity.

         4.2       Classes of membership shall be:

                      –     Adult:  eighteen years of age and over

                      –     Junior:  seventeen years of age and under

         4.3       Membership shall carry a responsibility to comply with the Society’s Constitution and any rules which the Society may from time to time agree.

        4.4      Junior members who are Seventeen years of age and under and vulnerable persons of any age who attend meetings, events and functions organised by the Society, must be accompanied by their parent(s), carer(s), support worker(s) or other responsible adult(s) as nominated by their parent(s), carer(s) or support worker(s).

         4.5       Visitors may attend the Society’s meetings upon payment of a visitor fee, such fees to be deducted from the subscription fee if the visitor subsequently becomes a member of the Society within the same Society year (for the Society year, see clause 8.1).

         4.6       In the interests of Health & Safety, a register of attendance shall be produced and maintained by the Secretary who shall be responsible for ensuring it is available prior to the commencement of each meeting to enable members and visitors to sign in.

         4.7       Membership of the Society may be terminated if:
–    a member’s subscription is not fully paid by the due date;
–    a member notifies the Society’s Secretary of his/her resignation;
–     the Society’s Committee finds a member guilty of conduct contrary to the                                                 interests of the Society.

No member may be expelled or suspended without first being approached on an informal basis by a member of the Committee to resolve the issue. In the event of this approach failing, then the member shall be requested to appear before the Committee to explain his/her conduct, accompanied, if he/she so wishes, by a friend or family member. This Committee, which shall consist of no less than five but no more than eight Committee Members, shall decide by a majority vote regarding such suspension or expulsion and shall give the member twenty-one days’ notice during which period the member shall have the right of appeal in writing stating the grounds for appeal. The appeal will be heard by two Committee Members not involved in the first stage decision and their decision will be final.

         4.8       A member who resigns their membership or whose membership is terminated will not be eligible for a refund on any membership fees paid to the Society in respect of that Society year.

5.      Committee

         5.1       A Committee shall manage the affairs of the Society and consist of Officers and up to four elected members, all of whom must be fully paid up members of the Society aged eighteen years or over:
–     President
–    Vice President
–     Treasurer
–     Secretary
–     Competition Secretary
–     Programme Secretary
–     Webmaster
–     Up to four Ordinary Committee Members

         5.2       A Committee Member may hold more than one office simultaneously only when no other Member of the Society is available and willing to take on one of the roles. At no time may a Committee Member hold more than two offices.

         5.3       Officers may resign at any time by notifying the President in writing. Upon resignation they may remain as Ordinary Committee Members until the next Annual General Meeting.

         5.4       Committee Members who are unable or unwilling to carry out the duties for which they were elected, may be asked to step down.

         5.5       The quorum for the meetings of the Committee shall be five of which at least two shall be Officers.

         5.6       During the Society year, the Committee may co-opt members for a particular purpose and with a defined timescale, which shall not extend beyond the next Annual General Meeting without formal approval of the membership at that Meeting.

         5.7       The Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees to undertake a specific piece of work and will include a member of the Committee. Any sub-committee will be responsible to the Committee and its remit will lapse immediately following its final report to the Committee.

         5.8       The Committee shall hold a minimum of three meetings each year to be called by the Secretary. Additional meetings may be called by at least three Committee members making an application to the Secretary. Such meetings shall be arranged within a reasonable time period of between seven days and twenty one days of the request.

         5.9       Dates and agendas of Committee meetings shall be notified to all Society members by post or electronic means giving members at least seven days notice to make known any relevant views.

         5.10    Committee meetings must be recorded as Minutes with the date and time, a list of attendees and apologies from non-attendees as well as the agenda and resolutions of agenda items. They must be produced to the next Committee Meeting, proposed, seconded and approved as a true record by the meeting. Once approved and signed by the Chair of the Meeting, the Minutes must be kept in a Minute Book.

         5.11    A verbal report of the decisions made at a Committee Meeting and any proposals regarding the future running of the Society should be made to the members at the next regular Society meeting following the Committee Meeting.

       5.12   All Officers and Ordinary Committee Members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting for a term of one year. The newly elected Officers and Ordinary Committee Members shall take office and assume their duties at the end of the society year and, unless intermediately dismissed or resigning voluntarily, shall remain in office until the close of the AGM the following year.

       5.13   Officers may be re-elected to the Committee but shall not hold the same office for more than three consecutive years, unless no other member is able and willing to undertake a specific role. Their confirmation in this post must be agreed by a vote of the members present at the AGM.

6.      Meetings

       6.1  There must be an Annual General Meeting of the members of the Society each calendar year. The Secretary must give twenty one days’ notice of this meeting to members. Any notices to members may be given by post to the address indicated by a member or by electronic means.

       6.2    The President shall Chair all Meetings. In his / her absence, the Vice President shall take the Chair or, in his / her absence, such other Officer who shall be appointed by majority vote of members aged sixteen years or over present at the Meeting.

        6.3       At the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the members will:
–     receive reports of the year from all Officers of the Society;
–     receive the Treasurer’s audited statement of accounts;
–     elect Officers and Ordinary Committee Members;
–     appoint three Adult members, other than Committee Members, as auditors of                                        the Society’s accounts for the next financial year;
–     review and agree the annual membership subscriptions and visitor fees which                                         have been recommended by the Committee;
–     discuss any other matter(s) brought to the attention of the Committee.

         6.4       Any other business raised at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) upon which a vote must be taken requires notification to the Secretary in writing not less than fourteen days prior to such a meeting. The Chairman shall have the power to waive this rule at the meeting at his/her discretion.

         6.5       The agenda, including Any Other Business items, should be circulated to all members by post or electronic means, not less than seven days prior to the meeting.

         6.6       All motions must be seconded and voted upon by a show of hands on a majority basis.

         6.7       A member wishing to vote on matters at an AGM or EGM may do so only by personal attendance at the meeting and must be aged sixteen years or over.

         6.8       An EGM of the members of the Society may be held at any time on a requisition signed by at least five members aged sixteen years or over, stating the objective and sent to the Secretary at least fourteen days before the date proposed. The Secretary must give the members of the Society at least seven days notice of such an EGM.

         6.9       A quorum for an AGM or EGM shall be ten fully paid up members of the Society aged sixteen years or over.

         6.10    Each fully paid up member, aged sixteen years or over, shall have one vote, except for the President who, in the event of an equality of votes, shall have a second or casting vote.

         6.11    The Secretary shall keep minutes of all Committee, AGM and EGM meetings.

7.      Website

         The Webmaster shall be responsible for maintaining the Society’s presence on the internet through the development and maintenance of a website in the Society’s name.

         The site shall include at least the following:

         –     contact details for the Society;

         –     membership information;

         –     dates, times and location of meetings;

         –     programme details for Society meetings for the current year with information about forthcoming speakers;

         –     information on Society competitions, including subjects, competition rules and results;

–     a regularly updated gallery of members’ photographs;

         –     the Society’s Constitution.

8.      Finance

      8.1     The Society year shall run from the first meeting following the summer break until the day prior or to the first meeting the following year. The Society’s financial year shall be the same.

         8.2       The annual subscription shall equate to the Society year and shall become due at the first meeting of the Society year following the summer break and shall be payable by no later than the third meeting.

         8.3       The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection and recording of subscriptions and visitors’ fees and issuing appropriate receipts. In his/her absence, the task shall be delegated to another Committee Member.

         8.4       The Committee shall maintain bank and/or building society accounts in the name of the Society. Each account must have at least four, unrelated, signatories one of which should be the Treasurer and any two of which may sign cheques.

         8.5       All funds belonging to the Society shall be used exclusively in the furtherance of its aims.

         8.6       A financial reserve should be held, which is at least equal to the annual cost of the meeting venue, to maintain the Society’s continuity in the event of fluctuations in membership numbers and subscriptions.

         8.7       No member of the Committee or any Sub-Committee(s) may be employed by the Society or receive any payment or other benefit from its funds except for reasonable out of pocket, receipted, expenses which have been agreed by the Committee prior to expenditure.

         8.8    The elected auditor(s) shall verify and sign the accounts prior to their publication following the end of the season.

                  An EGM will be held in-season to report to members upon the audited and signed, end-of-year accounts.

9.      Alterations to the Constitution

         9.1       Any changes to this Constitution must be agreed by a majority vote of those members, aged sixteen years or over, present and voting at a General Meeting of the Society.

         9.2       Proposed alterations shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing. Unless the proposed changes are to be discussed at an AGM, the Committee shall then decide on a date for an EGM to discuss the proposals, giving members not less than twenty-one days’ notice of such meeting.

10.   Dissolution of the Society

         10.1    The Society may be dissolved only at an Extraordinary General Meeting, called for the purpose of considering dissolution by a resolution passed by two thirds of the members present.

         10.2    In the event of dissolution, the Officers of the Society shall remain responsible for the winding up of the affairs of the Society and after discharging all debts and liabilities of the Society, shall transfer any remaining assets to one or more organisations having aims and objectives similar to those of the Society or to a local charity or charities of the Committee’s choice.

This revised Constitution, which supersedes all previous Constitutions, was adopted unanimously at the Annual General Meeting dated the 27th of March 2023.

Signed:    Stuart Ward, – President   Chair of the Annual General meeting

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