.
1. Name.
The name of the society shall be The Exeter Local History Society.
2. Aims & Objectives of the Society.
i. To provide a platform for discussion and promote research into the history of Exeter and its parishes, suburbs and immediate areas.
ii. To invite speakers, specialist or otherwise, to contribute on matters of local or general
interest.
iii. To encourage members to research a project, either individually or as a small group, in furtherance of the aims and objectives of the Society, and to record and present their findings to members.
3. Membership.
i. The Society shall be open to all those interested in the aims and objectives of the Society, whether or not such person is a resident of Exeter.
ii. Members shall pay an annual subscription, to be determined at each Annual General Meeting of the Society. Those members having failed to pay their subscription will be reminded in the Newsletter, but if, by the first meeting following the A.G.M. they have still not paid, shall be automatically excluded from membership, but could be reinstated if the full subscription is paid, and reinstatement agreed by the Officers.
4. Society year.
The Society’s financial year shall be from January 1st until December 31st of that year.
5. Annual General Meeting.
i. The Secretary shall call an Annual General Meeting of the Society in February of each year. Members shall be notified of such meeting in the Society Newsletter, with at least 14 days’ notice given.
ii. Such meeting will receive reports from the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer (who shall submit a simple set of accounts for the year), elect Officers of the Society and elect a Committee to serve for the ensuing year.
iii. Details of any resolution to be discussed at an Annual or other General Meeting shall be put in writing to the Secretary for inclusion in the Agenda for that meeting at least 21 days before such meeting takes place.
iv. The Annual General Meeting shall also discuss any other business in addition to items on the agenda, providing that notice of such other business has been made to the Secretary at least ten days before the meeting. The Chairman shall have discretion as to whether items not so notified should be discussed at the Meeting.
6. Extraordinary Meetings
Any ten or more paid-up members of the Society shall be entitled, in writing, to require the Secretary to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society and shall specify details of such resolution(s) they wish to be discussed.
7. Officers of the Society.
i. All Officers shall be nominated, seconded and duly elected by a simple majority of members present at the meeting. Officers must be fully paid-up members of the Society.
The Chairman shall be elected for a maximum period of three years, following which re-election shall not be possible for a period of a further one year.
The Secretary, Treasurer and Minutes Secretary shall be elected to serve for a period of twelve months, and shall be eligible for re-election annually.
8. Committee
i. The Committee shall be nominated, seconded and elected by a simple majority of members present at the meeting, and shall comprise not more than seven members, being the three elected officers of the Society, the Minutes Secretary and three nominated from the floor. The Society Chairman shall, if he so wishes, chair the committee, but in his absence a chairman shall be elected from within their number.
ii. The Committee shall at all times have power to co-opt a maximum of two persons on to the Committee on a temporary basis, to further the aims and objectives of the Society. The membership shall be notified of such co-opted members at the next meeting of the Society following their decision.
iii. The Committee shall accept that majority opinions constitute decisions, and in the event of the committee being equally divided, the Chairman shall have the casting vote.
iv. The Committee shall meet at such times of the year, as the Chairman deems necessary, but on a minimum of three occasions.
9. Quorum.
The Annual General Meeting (and any other General Meetings called) and Committee Meetings shall be quorate. The quorum for the Annual Meeting shall be twelve paid-up members of the Society. The quorum for the committee shall be four.
10. Speakers, Events etc.
From time to time there shall be persons invited to speak to the Society; visits made to places of interest and other events organised as deemed within the aims and objectives of the Society. For certain events or visits, a fee may have to be charged depending on the costs involved. Members shall have priority for outside visits and events. When visitors are invited to join members on such occasions, they shall pay the appropriate fee, which shall be a minimum of £2 per person. Where there is no charge for members, visitors shall still be requested to pay the Society at each event, the sum being determined at the Committee’s discretion.
11. Finance.
Society funds shall be utilised by the Committee in accordance with its appreciation of the best interests of the Society, and in accordance with the Society’s aims and objectives. The Treasurer, Chairman and Secretary shall have a cheque-signing mandate, and cheques to a maximum of £250 will be signed by any two of those three officers. Cheques for amounts in excess of £250 shall be authorised by the Committee, and cheques signed by any two of the mandate holders. The annual accounts shall be audited by an appropriate person decided upon annually by the Committee
12. General.
i. The rules of the Society may be amended at an Annual or other General meeting of the Society, by a resolution passed by the Officers of the Society and a majority of the Committee, unless the amendment is opposed by a simple majority of the paid-up membership present.
ii. The Society may be dissolved, on a resolution passed by the Officers of the Society and the majority of the Committee, at any Annual or General Meeting of the Society following a decision by at least two thirds of the paid-up membership.
iii. Following dissolution, any funds held by the former Society shall be held in trust or otherwise disposed of in any manner that a General Meeting of the former Society shall have decided, such decision being in the interests of the former Society and in accordance with the aims and objectives of the former Society.
13. Property.
In the event of the Society holding any property (e.g. office equipment, archive material, etc.), such property shall be under the control of the Secretary and Treasurer.
The Secretary shall maintain an inventory of all such property owned by the Society, or other property on temporary or permanent loan to the Society.