WATFORD AND DISTRICT INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SOCIETY.
CONSTITUTION.
1 TITLE.
The Society shall be called 'THE WATFORD AND DISTRICT INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SOCIETY', hereinafter termed 'the Society'.
2 OBJECTS.
The main object of the Society shall be to foster awareness of the industrial past in the United Kingdom from the Industrial Revolution to the present day and to study, record and disseminate information on industry, transport and social conditions in the United Kingdom during this period. A secondary object shall be to stimulate interest in industry, past and present, throughout the world.
3 MEMBERSHIP.
Membership of the Society shall be open to all persons who are interested in the objects of the Society, regardless of age, sex, race or creed.
A person shall become a Member of the Society on payment of an Annual Subscription. The Society year shall run from 1 September to 31 August.
Members will be entitled to receive the benefits of the Society and to vote at Annual General Meetings and any Special General Meetings which may be called.
There shall be classes of membership which shall be decided upon by the Committee from time to time together with the amount of the Annual Subscription for each class.
The term 'Member' hereinafter means a person belonging to one of these classes.
4 COMMITTEE.
The day to day running of the Society shall be by an elected Committee consisting of Officers and other Members of the Society. The Officers shall be a Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer. One Officer may hold more than one office, if this proves necessary for the Society to continue to function.
Members of the Society may be proposed for election to the Committee by one or more Members, may volunteer themselves, or may if willing be co-opted by the Committee. The total number of Members on the Committee shall be determined by the Committee.
The Officers and Members of the Committee shall be elected each year by ballot at the Annual General Meeting.
The Committee shall be empowered to manage the day to day business and finances of the Society, to call Meetings, and to expel from the Society any Member who in its opinion has acted against the interests of the Society. The Committee's decisions shall be reached by simple majority, the Chairman having a casting vote in the event of a drawn decision.
There shall be no remuneration for either the Officers or for any other Member serving on the Committee other than honoraria as shall from time to time be granted by the Committee.
5 FINANCIAL.
The activities of the Society shall be financed in part by an Annual Subscription payable by all the Committee and all the Members of the Society. The fees for the various classes of Member shall be as decided from time to time by the Committee.
The Society's financial accounts shall be prepared annually by the Treasurer and audited by an independent person. The accounts shall be presented for approval to the Society at the Annual General Meeting.
No expense shall be incurred on behalf of the Society by any Member of the Society without the approval of the Committee save those costs necessarily incurred by Committee Members in the discharge of their duties for the Society.
6 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
There shall be an Annual General Meeting on a date to be set by the Committee. The activities of the Society throughout the preceding year shall be reviewed, the Financial Report presented, and any changes to the conduct of the Society considered appropriate by the Committee shall be open for discussion. At this Meeting the views and opinions of the Members will be solicited.
7 SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING.
Either a majority of the Committee or any other ten Members of the Society shall be empowered to require the Secretary to call a Special General Meeting, specifying the purpose of the meeting.
8 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
This Constitution shall only be amended by a resolution carried by a two-thirds majority at either an Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting. Notice of such a resolution shall be given to the Secretary by the proposer who will then set a date for the meeting.
*****JULY 2003