Dundee Local Association Rules

I. Membership and Subscriptions

1.         Membership subscriptions are due on 1st July each year.

2.         All persons under the age of 16 attending a Local Association class are deemed to be Junior Associates.

II. Office Bearers

   1.         The office bearers of Dundee Local Association shall include a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Youth Co-ordinator and a Membership Secretary whose duties shall be

               defined in writing by the Committee of Management

2.         The Chairman shall not hold office for more than two consecutive years.

2.1.      On completion of the full term of two years the Chairman shall be ex-officio a member of the Committee of Management with full voting rights for one     year.

2.2       The Vice Chairman shall hold office for one year, and on completion of his/her year of office shall be eligible for re-election.

2.3       The Vice Chairman shall not hold office for more than two consecutive          years.

2.4              The Membership Secretary shall hold office for one year, and on completion of

 his/her year of office shall be eligible for re-election.

2.5       The Membership Secretary shall not hold office for more than three consecutive years.

2.6            The Youth Co-ordinator shall serve for one year and on completion of his/her year of

    office shall be eligible for re-election.

2.7            The Youth Co-ordinator shall serve for a maximum of three consecutive years. 

However, in the event of there being no suitable and willing replacement may serve a further two years.

2.8            The Chairman shall act as Deputy Youth Co-ordinator and both the Youth Co-ordinator and his/her deputy shall undertake an enhanced disclosure check prior to commencement of any duties relating to children.

3          The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall not hold office for more than five consecutive years. However, in the event that this would result in both the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer demitting office in the same year, one of the two may serve for one further year.

4.         Any Office Bearer of the Local Association, appointed on an interim basis by the Committee of Management, if elected at the next Annual General Meeting shall be eligible to serve the full term appropriate to his/her office.

5.1       The Honorary President shall be a representative of the civic, cultural or educational life of the city, or a person of similar standing.

5.2       Nominees for the post of Honorary President may be proposed by the Committee of Management, or by any member of the Local Association.

5.3       The Honorary President shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Local Association. 

5.4       The Honorary President shall be invited to chair the Annual General Meeting, and to attend Branch events such as the David Findlay Rosebowl Competition and the Non -competitive Festival etc.

5.5       Honorary Vice-Presidents shall be senior members of the Local Association, or those who can contribute in other ways to the Local Association.

5.6       Nominees for Honorary Vice-President may be proposed by the Committee of Management, or by any member of the Local Association.

5.7       Honorary Vice-Presidents shall be elected/re-elected at the Annual General Meeting.

5.8       Honorary Vice-Presidents may be invited by a majority of the Committee to attend meetings of the Committee of Management as non-voting members when their expertise would be helpful to the Committee.

5.9       An Honorary Vice-president, if elected to the Committee of Management, is required to relinquish the Honorary Vice-Presidency.

III Committee of Management

1.         An ordinary member of the committee shall not be eligible to serve for more than three consecutive years.

2.         Any member of the Committee of Management, other than the Chairman or Ex-Officio member, having completed his/her term of office, shall be eligible for election to the Committee in another capacity.

3.1      The Committee of Management shall have the power to appoint interim members of the Committee.

3.2       The Committee of Management shall have the power to co-opt members to any duly appointed Sub Committees.

IV Duties and Office Bearers

1.                 In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall preside over a Local Association Meeting, and at meetings of the Committee of Management, failing whom, one of those present shall be nominated to the chair.

2.            It shall be the duty of the Honorary Secretary to notify members of the Committee of Management of the date, time and venue of the next Committee Meeting.

3.         It shall be the duty of the Membership Secretary to maintain a record of members and provide a copy to the Honorary Secretary.

 4.         It shall be the duty of the Youth Co-ordinator to represent and promote the interests of young people in accordance with his/ her job description published by the Committee of Management.

V Local Association Meetings

1.         Nominations for office bearers and members of the committee should normally be in writing, signed by the proposer, seconder and nominee, and in the hands of the Honorary Secretary prior to the day of the meeting.

2.         Members wishing to raise matters of substance are requested to put this in writing to the Honorary Secretary seven days prior to the day of the meeting.

3.         One examiner of the accounts shall be appointed annually at the General Meeting, and shall serve for one year.  On completion of the year, he/she shall be eligible for appointment.

VI Policies and Procedures

1.                  The Local Association shall conduct its business in accordance with Policies and Procedures formulated by the Committee of Management and published for the guidance of members. These shall be provided to office bearers, members of committees, class teachers and class helpers and shall be available on demand to any interested party.

VII Representation in the Society

1.1       The Local Association delegate to the Annual General Meeting of the Society shall normally be the Honorary Secretary.

1.2       In the event that the Local Association is entitled to more than one delegate of the Annual General Meeting of the Society, the additional delegate shall normally be the Chairman of the local Association.

            In the absence of any explicitly stated rule, the procedure to be followed shall be described in standard textbooks on committee procedure, e.g.

        Renton, N.E (1979) Guide for meetings and organisations: a handy reference manual for members of clubs and societies and a useful primer on election systems.  3rd edition.  Sidney Law Book Company.

   Aug 2005

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THE ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY

DUNDEE BRANCH

CONSTITUTION

I. NAME

The name of the Local Association shall be “The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Dundee Branch (hereinafter called “the Local Association”)

II. ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY

The Local Association is an autonomous body consisting of members of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (hereinafter called “the Society”) While it has similar objects to and associates with the Society, it operates and carries out its administration and management independently from the Society.

III. OBJECTS

The objects of the Local Association shall be to advance the education of the public in the area of Dundee and its neighbourhood in traditional Scottish Country Dancing and in furtherance thereof:

(a)        To preserve and further the practice of traditional Scottish Country Dancing;

(b)        To provide or assist in providing instruction in the dancing of Scottish Country Dances;

(c)        To promote the enjoyment and appreciation of Scottish Country Dancing and Music by any suitable means;

(d)        Generally to do such other things as are or may be considered by the Local Association to further the foregoing objects of the Society in the district or area to which it relates.

IV. MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

1.                  Membership of the Local Association shall be open to all persons over the age of 16 interested in the objects of the Local Association.    Every person who is a member of the Local Association must be a member of the Society.

2.                  Persons under the age of 16 may become Junior Associates of the Local Association and the privileges accorded to such Junior Associates shall be regulated from time to time by the Committee of Management of the Local Association.

3.                  The rates of subscription for Members shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Local Association in General Meeting.

V. OFFICE BEARERS

1. The Office Bearers of the Local Association shall consist of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, the Youth Co-ordinator and the Membership Secretary, all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Local Association in the manner provided.

2. The Chairman shall hold office for one year and on completion of his/her year of office shall be eligible for re-election.

3. The Vice Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Youth Co-ordinator and Membership Secretary shall hold office for one year but shall be eligible for re-election.

4. The Committee of Management shall have power to appoint an interim Chairman, Vice Chairman and/or Office Bearers to fill vacancies occurring between Annual General Meetings but any office bearers so appointed shall serve only until the next Annual General Meeting when he/she shall be eligible for election.

5. The Local Association may appoint an Honorary President and Honorary Vice-Presidents. 

VI. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT

Memberships/Meetings

1. The affairs of the Local Association shall be administered by a Committee of Management (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) composed of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, any other office-bearers appointed (other than the President and Vice Presidents) and ordinary members. 

2. The ordinary members of the Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting of the Local Association. The Committee shall have power to fill a vacancy among the ordinary members of the committee by co-option but any member so co-opted will serve only until the next following Annual General Meeting when he/she may stand for election. On completion of his/her year of office an ordinary member shall be eligible for re-election to the Committee.  

Note: if there is necessity for the Local Association to hold any heritable or moveable property then a clause under the heading Property should be inserted as follows; ”The title to all property, heritable or moveable, acquired by, or on behalf of, the Local Association be vested in the names of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the committee for the time being ex officio” 

3. All members of the committee must be members of the Local Association and be at least 18 years old.

(a)   Powers and Duties of Committee

1. A Quorum of the Committee shall be five members. 

2. The Committee shall have power to constitute Sub-Committees and entrust them with such duties as it considers necessary for the efficient working of Local Association affairs.

VII. DUTIES OF OFFICE-BEARERS

1.  Chairman - The Local Association Chairman is the executive officer of the Local Association.  He/She shall preside at Local Association Meetings and at meetings of the Committee.  In the absence of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman from a meeting a chairman shall be appointed from among those present.  The chairman of any meeting, whether a Local Association or Committee meeting, shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote.

 2. Vice Chairman – The Vice Chairman shall act for the Chairman in the absence of the Local Association Chairman.

3.  Honorary Secretary - It shall be the duty of the Honorary Secretary to see that regular meetings are held, to conduct the correspondence of the Local Association and to keep proper minutes of such meetings.  Additionally the Honorary Secretary shall:-

(a)  prepare an annual report of the activities of the Local Association during the preceding year.

(b)  keep a register of Members of the Local Association.

4. Honorary Treasurer - It shall be the duty of the Honorary Treasurer to receive, bank and account for all monies collected by whatever agency from members of the Local Association or from other sources.  Additionally the Honorary Treasurer shall :-

Cause proper account books to be kept and ensure that the annual accounts of the Local Association are properly examined or audited as required by law.

Make the annual Local Association accounts available for inspection at reasonable times and present the accounts for adoption by the Local Association at the Annual General Meeting. 

5. Youth Co-ordinator – It shall be the duty of the Youth Co-ordinator to represent and promote the interests of young people.

6. Membership Secretary – It shall be the duty of the Membership Secretary to maintain a record of members. 

VIII. LOCAL ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

1.(a)  The Annual General Meeting of the members of the Local Association shall be held within six months after the end of its financial year at such place and at such time as may be determined by the Committee.

   (b)  All members shall be given 14 days written notice of a General Meeting. Every Notice shall contain a statement of the business to be discussed at the meeting. 

   (c)   Members under the age of 18 years may attend and, with permission of the Chairman, speak at a General Meeting but may not vote. 

2. The order of business at an Annual General Meeting shall, as nearly as may be, be the following:

Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting and of Special General Meetings, if any, held in the course of the year.

Report of the Trustees on the year’s workings of the Local Association.

Honorary Treasurer’s Report and adoption of the Accounts.

Appointment of Office Bearers and Committee.

Appointment of Auditor.

Motions.

Honoraria.

Any Other Competent Business.

3.  A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Chairman or shall be called on a requisition signed by not less than one-tenth of the membership of the Local Association when such membership does not exceed 500. Where membership of the Local Association exceeds 500 a minimum of 50 or one sixteenth, whichever is the greater, of the membership must sign the requisition calling a Special General Meeting.

4. One-quarter of the membership or twenty-five members of the Local Association whichever shall be lesser shall constitute a quorum.

5. The Local Association in General Meeting may enact such rules (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) as it may determine for the proper working of the Local Association. 

IX. FINANCE

All monies raised by, or on behalf of, the Local Association shall be applied to further the objects of the Local Association and for no other purpose; provided that nothing herein shall prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable and proper remuneration to any employee of the Local Association and fees to professional and technical advisers; or the repayment to members of the committee of reasonable out of pocket expenses.

X. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MEMBER

1. The Committee may suspend temporarily or terminate the membership of any person whose conduct is in their opinion prejudicial to the interests of the Local Association.   Suspension or termination shall not alter the rights or status of the person concerned as a member of the Society. 

2. Before suspending or terminating any person’s membership, the Committee shall notify in writing the person concerned stating the reasons for the proposed suspension or termination and giving that person the opportunity of replying and of appearing before the Committee, if the member so wishes, to seek revocation of the suspension or termination. 

3. The person whose membership has been suspended or terminated shall have the right of appeal at a Local Association General Meeting when a two-thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote shall be necessary to confirm the suspension or termination. 

4. Where suspension or termination has occurred or, where appropriate, has been confirmed as in 3 above, the matter shall be notified to the Society.

XI. DISBANDMENT

1.  Notice of intention to disband the Local Association shall be given to the Secretary of the Society at least two months before the date proposed for such disbandment.

2.  The balance of the funds, after all liabilities have been met, and all property belonging to the Local Association shall be transferred to such other charity having objects similar to those of the Local Association (excluding geographical limitations) as the members in General Meeting, whom failing, the Committee, shall decide.

X11. REPRESENTATION IN THE SOCIETY

Subject to any restrictions on numbers and any procedures contained in the Society’s constitution, the Local Association in General Meeting, (which failing the Committee), May appoint a delegate or delegates to attend a general meeting of the Society and represent the Local Association at such meeting.  In the event of an appointed delegate being unable to attend such meeting, an accredited substitute shall be allowed.

XIII. ALTERATION 0F THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the Local Association shall only be altered by Resolution passed by the Local Association in General Meeting and only after receiving the vote of not less than two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote.  No alteration shall be made which would have the effect of causing the Local Association to cease to be recognised by the Inland Revenue as a charity.

XIV. GENERAL

The Local Association shall be governed in accordance with this Constitution and with Rules made by the Local Association in General Meeting.

 Aug 2005