|
|
|
|
Southern Region Constitution - 2011 Revision
BRITISH NATURISM
CONSTITUTION AND RULES of the SOUTHERN REGIONAL ASSOCIATION
Title
The
association shall be known as the Southern Regional Association of
British Naturism.
Objects
To provide an
organisation for the promotion of nude recreation in the Region, in
conformity with the objects and Constitution of BN.
To assist with
the formation of new Clubs and to foster the growth and
acceptability of Nude Recreation.
To represent the
Region on the Executive Council of BN.
Membership
Any bona fide
Club constituted for the provision of recreation without clothing
and kindred activities, which agrees to conform to the Rules of BN,
and which satisfies the Executive Council of BN that its affairs
are, and will be, conducted within the law, in accordance with
propriety, and in such a manner as will conserve and enhance the
credibility of the movement, may be admitted to the membership of
the Regional Association, at the discretion of the Regional
Executive Committee.
Any individual
Member of BN who agrees to conform to the Constitution and Rules of
BN and is either permanently resident in the Region or is a Member
of a Club described above.
Management
Officers
All Officers
shall be individually subscribing members of BN, as well as a
member of the Regional Association.
The Officers shall be
the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Public
Relations Officer and Youth Officer. All offices shall be
honorary;
The Chairman
shall be elected each alternate year at the Regional AGM and shall
hold office from the close of that meeting until the close of the
Regional AGM at the end of the two year term of office. The
Chairman shall exercise only a casting vote at divisions. The
Chairman shall not be elected in the same year as the Vice
Chairman (see clause 4.i.iii. Below).
The Chairman may not be a
Club delegate.
The Vice
Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer and Youth
Officer, shall be elected each alternate year at the Regional AGM
and shall hold office from the close of that meeting until the
close of the Regional AGM at the end of the two year term of
office. The Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Youth Officer shall be
elected one year and the Chairman, Secretary and Public Relations
Officer shall be elected in the alternate year;
In
the first year of these new terms of office the Vice Chairman,
Treasurer and Youth Officer shall be elected for one year only and
the Chairman, Secretary and Public Relations Officer shall be
elected for two years. The elections on subsequent years will then
be for two year terms of office.
In the absence
of or on the instructions of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman shall
act as Chairman.
The Secretary
shall maintain all appropriate administrative records and shall
deal with the official correspondence and the agendas and minutes
of the Regional Executive Committee Meetings, the Regional AGM and
any Special General Meetings;
The Treasurer
shall maintain proper records of all Regional financial
transactions. He shall produce such records for inspection by the
Regional Executive Committee at any reasonable time, on request,
and shall arrange for a statement and balance sheet to be drawn up
at the end of each financial year, and for this to be duly
examined and presented for adoption at the next Regional AGM;
The Public
Relations Officer shall maintain links with the Media and other
organisations and also arrange Publicity and Advertising on behalf
of the Regional Executive Committee.
All Officers shall give a written undertaking that they have an exemplary naturist record and declare any relevant criminal record. This requirement applies to the following Officers;-
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Public Relations Officer
Youth Officer
Members Representative(s)
Regional
Representative
In addition to
the above the Youth Officer shall provide a certificate of
disclosure as may be required by the Regional Committee and
detailed with the nomination papers.
Executive Committee
The
Executive Committee shall consist of two official delegates
appointed annually by each properly enrolled Member Club and BN
Regional Representative and Regional Members Representative along
with the elected Vice Chairman, Regional Secretary, Treasurer and
Public Relations Officer and the elected Regional Chairman who
shall automatically be Chairman of the Executive Committee.
The
Vice Chairman, Regional Secretary, Treasurer and Public Relations
Officer may, or may not, be Club delegates also;
The
voting power of the Executive Committee shall be one vote per
constituent Club, exercised by the officially appointed delegate,
or by proxy by prior arrangement, in writing with the Secretary,
one vote representing the individual Members exercised by the
Regional Members Representative, or by proxy by prior arrangement,
in writing, with the Secretary and one vote exercised by the
Regional Representative, or by proxy by prior arrangement, in
writing, with the Secretary; No Club shall hold no more than one
proxy vote. No individual shall be delegate for more than two
clubs;
The
quorum for the Executive Committee Meetings shall be either the
Chairman or Vice Chairman, Secretary, plus one third of the voting
power of the full Committee.
The
Executive Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional
members without voting power as appears expedient, but all such
co-options shall cease automatically at the close of the following
AGM;
The
Executive Committee shall be responsible for managing the affairs
of the Regional Association in a proper manner in accordance with
the Rules and Constitution of BN and of the Regional Association.
Election of Officers
Nominations
for Officers
Nominees
for Officers positions in the Southern Region must be BN Members of
the Region, as detailed in the definitions contained in this
Constitution. Nominees shall countersign their nomination paper(s)
to show their willingness to stand for Office. Nominees shall be
given the opportunity to make an election address, of not more than
3 minutes, at the AGM, immediately prior to the election taking
place. No nominations shall be accepted from the floor, other than
to co-opt a person to a vacant post. No person shall hold more than
one Officers position. Nominations for Officers shall be supported
by two BN Members of the Region, who's names, BN Membership
Numbers, home Post Codes and signatures shall be shown on the
Nomination Form.
Election
of Officers
The
election of Officers at the Annual General Meeting shall be by
secret ballot, but otherwise
as set out in the Articles relating to Annual and General meetings
elsewhere in this Constitution.
Voting Rights at General Meetings
Each paid up
member club shall be entitled to be represented at a General
Meeting by a delegate, who shall be a BN Member of the Region as
defined in the definitions attached to this Constitution, who has
been a BN Member for more than 21 days, with the voting power of
one vote.
Each individual BN Member who resides in the Southern
Region and who is aged eighteen years or more and has been a BN
Member for more than 21 days shall be entitled to exercise one vote
at a General Meeting. The vote may only be exercised by personal
attendance at the meeting.
No club shall hold more than one club
proxy vote.
No individual shall be a delegate for more than two
clubs.
Postal and proxy voting will not be allowed for
individual members.
Postal voting will not be allowed for
clubs.
BN Members who
reside in Southern Region who are aged eighteen years or more and
have been BN Members for more than 21 days shall be entitled to a
personal vote.
BN Members of the
Southern Region, as detailed in the definitions contained in this
Constitution, who do not reside in Southern Region and who are
eighteen years or more and have been a BN Member for more than 21
days shall be entitled to be appointed as a delegate for their club
and vote on behalf of the club. They shall NOT be entitled to a
personal vote – their personal voting rights apply to the Region
in which they reside.
The voting will
be on the basis of one vote per individual and one vote per club.
Members attending
will be only allowed their vote on the production of their current
BN Membership Card at the Meeting. All cards will be checked
against the Membership List produced by BN Office 21 days before
the meeting.
All votes shall
be by secret ballot.
Annual General Meeting
The AGM shall be
held as soon as expedient after the 31st March;
Attendance at the
AGM shall be open to all properly enrolled members of Member Clubs
and Regional BN Members. A BN Member of the Region who is NOT
resident in the Region is only a member of the Region for the
purpose of representing or being represented by the club of which
He/She is a member. Their representation as an individual member of
BN remains with the region in which they reside and is held by the
Regional Members Representative indicated on their BN Membership
Card.
A Notice
convening the AGM shall be issued to all Member Clubs at least
eight weeks before the date of the meeting; this notice shall call
for items for the Agenda to be sent to the Regional Secretary at
least six weeks before the date of the meeting. A notice shall also
be placed in British Naturism (the magazine), to be published at
least eight weeks before the meeting, inviting BN Members of the
Region to attend and inviting members to stand for Office
(Positions available to be listed); This notice shall take the form
of a 1/9th page (minimum) advert (assuming an A4 size
page) and shall specifically invite Members to attend, define who
is eligible and give details of where information can be obtained
about the location, catering etc. It shall be the responsibility of
the PRO to ensure that the correct notice is placed in British
Naturism (the magazine).
The Agenda shall
be circulated by the Regional Secretary to the Delegates of all
Member Clubs and to BN Members of the Region on request, by sending
a SAE to the Secretary, at least 28 days before the meeting.
A quorum for the
AGM shall be the Chairman or Secretary plus one third of the voting
power of the clubs and Ten individual members.
Special General Meeting
A Special General
Meeting may be called at any time by resolution of the Executive
Committee or upon receipt by the Regional Secretary of a written
request for such a Meeting, duly endorsed by at least TWO Member
Clubs or TEN BN Members of the Region and setting out clearly the
reason for the request;
Notices and
Agenda for the SGM shall be circulated by the Secretary to all
Member Clubs and to BN Members of the Region on request as detailed
for an AGM, at least 28 days before the meeting;
Only matters on
the Agenda for the SGM shall be discussed;
Rules for
attendance, voting, quorum, etc., shall be the same as for the
AGM.
BN Executive Council
The Regional
Representative will be elected by a Postal Ballot of the
individual BN Members in the Region, this ballot will be conducted
by BN and the results will be announced at BN AGM. The term of
office shall commence from the end of BN AGM and shall run for a
period determined by BN and shall terminate at the end of BN AGM at
which the next election for Regional representative is announced.
Finance
The income of the
Association shall be derived by surcharge on BN Registration Fee.
This shall be based on the number of non-BN members in each club as
declared to BN in the Annual Return;
The surcharge
shall be fixed by the Regional Executive Committee prior to the
31st December for the succeeding year and all such dues
shall become payable on the 1st January;
The financial
year shall end on the 31st December;
One honorary
Independent Examiner shall be elected each year at the AGM and
their election shall debar them from holding office in the Regional
Association and from being an official Club delegate to any
regional meeting, for the duration of their period of office as
Independent Examiner. The examiner shall be required to examine the
Regional Association's accounts at the end of the financial year,
and at any other time during the year upon the request of the
Executive Committee;
At any time, upon
transfer of the accounts from one person to another, the Regional
committee shall cause the outgoing Treasurer to rule off the books
and prepare an appropriate statement, which shall be examined
before the accounts are handed over;
A bank account
shall be opened in the name of BN Southern Region and the
signatories shall be the Treasurer, the Chairman and the Secretary,
any two of the these three to sign. In the event of any of these
three being related, an alternative signatory shall be appointed.
The Southern
Region Committee shall make available an advertising subsidy to the
Southern Region Clubs. This subsidy shall amount to 50% of the
club's advertising costs to a maximum of * per club in any one
financial year. The maximum amount the region will make available
for this subsidy in any one year will be *.
(* the amounts will
be determined by the AGM).
To claim this
subsidy, the Regional Clubs expenditure shall take place within the
Regions financial year plus the preceding three months to the
commencement of the financial year. i.e. From 1st
October for fifteen months ending on the 31st December.
Delegates
attending the Regional Executive Meetings have no claim on expenses
from the Region for their attendance.
General Conditions
No repeal or
amendment to the Constitution or Rules of the Southern Regional
Association shall be made unless a proposition appears on the
Agenda of the AGM and is approved by a two thirds majority of those
entitled to vote, present and voting;
The Regional
Executive Committee shall have the power to resolve any matter not
specifically provided for in this Constitution.
Dissolution
The
Regional Association shall not be dissolved except by resolution
passed at a General Meeting, provided that notice of such resolution
appears on the agenda of that meeting, and provided that the
resolution is approved by two thirds of the total votes cast at that
meeting.
Definitions
The abbreviations and terms used in this Constitution shall have the following meanings;
BN shall mean British Naturism.
BN Member of the Region shall mean an individual who is currently a member of BN who is either resident in the Region or a member of a BN member club in the Region.
Region shall mean the Southern Region of BN as defined by BN.
AGM shall mean Annual General Meeting.
SGM shall mean Special General Meeting.
Independent Examiner shall mean an independent person who is reasonably believed by the Regional Committee to have the requisite ability and practical experience to carry out a competent examination of the accounts.
Appendix 1
Regional Boundaries
Southern Region comprises of the following Post Code Areas.
CR, GU, HA, HP, KT, MK, NW, OX, PO, RG, SL, SM, SO, SW, TW, UB, W and WC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a rough guide only the following list of Counties is included but the Post Codes listed above give the actual Boundaries of the Region.
N.B. The Region Boundaries no longer follow the County Boundaries.
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Hampshire
Isle of Wight
London NW, SW,W & WC postcodes
Middlesex
Oxfordshire
Surrey
The Regional Boundaries have been changed in order to facilitate the "one person one vote" policy for Regionally elected Officers, using postal ballots.
Please Note you were advised on the documentation with your Membership Card which Region you have been allocated to and the details of your Members Representative.
This
is shown on your Membership Card as the 'Rep Code' which will be SR1,
SR2 etc.
Revised 8 May 2011
For your information the Post Code definition of Southern Region
can be found on this Web Site Click here to view or to download a pdf version Click here.
If you would like to download a pdf version of this Constitution Click here
These pages are maintained by Dave Storey, on behalf of BN Southern Region.
©BN Southern Region 2011. All rights reserved.
To e-mail the webmaster with any questions, information or ideas .
Please include your Name and BN Membership number in your e-mail.
Please only use plain text in the body of your e-mail and do not include any attachments.
This page was last updated on 10th May 2011