Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich)
Constitution
The name of the Society shall be Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich).
The Society is a registered charity No. 271313.
To promote and advance public education and interest in the science of astronomy and to provide facilities for the encouragement and pursuit of observational astronomy.
Membership of the Society is at the discretion of the committee. There are two classes of membership as follows:
The immediate family of a member (partner, children, parents) are entitled to attend OASI meetings and events, however only the member may vote at meetings. For child protection purposes, all children (under 18s) must be accompanied at meetings and events by a parent/guardian.
The committee is empowered to disqualify a member whose actions bring the Society into disrepute or damage relationships with the School. The committee must meet in order to progress a disqualification; the member in question is entitled to attend the meeting and may ask one of the Trustees of the Society to speak on his/her behalf.
Subscriptions are payable on the first day of January. Subscriptions are not refundable except in special circumstances at the discretion of the committee. Membership fees will be agreed at the AGM.
Subscriptions not paid by the end of February will be assumed to mean resignation.
The Honorary President of the Society will be Dr Allan Chapman, FRAS, Wadham College, Oxford.
The Society shall have three Trustees: Mr R Adams, Mr A N Morley and Mr D B Payne. They shall have full access to all matters concerning the Society.
The Society shall also have three elected officers: Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. These officers will be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society.
The Society will be managed by a management committee consisting of the three elected officers and eight other members. The committee shall be elected annually at the AGM of the Society. All nominations for committee membership shall be in writing and be in the hands of the Secretary before the start of the AGM.
The management committee shall meet as required. Six committee members must be present to form a quorum, which must include at least one of the elected officers. The committee shall be empowered to fill any vacancy in its membership arising during the year, until the next AGM, from members of the Society.
The committee shall be empowered to appoint sub-committees for any purpose. The management committee and any sub-committees may co-opt additional members from the Society, and they will have voting rights on the committee they join.
Each member of the Society shall have one vote in the ballot for each post at the AGM. A simple majority shall decide those elected. If there is a tie for any post the outcome shall be decided by further votes. Postal votes or proxy votes are not eligible. The committee shall take office from the date of the AGM to the date of the following AGM.
If a committee member fails to attend three consecutive committee meetings the member may be called upon by the committee to resign. Authority to fill the vacancy will rest with the committee until the next AGM.
The Secretary shall retain minutes of all meetings of the committee and sub-committees.
The AGM of the Society will be held annually, in the month of January, at a time and place agreed by the committee. Members of OASI shall be given at least 14 days’ notice of the AGM, such notice being posted in the Society's newsletter.
An AGM or EGM are the only meetings that can endorse changes to the constitution or rules of the Society. Members of OASI shall be given at least 14 days notice of a meeting to endorse such changes, together with details of the changes themselves, such notice being posted in the Society's newsletter.
The committee may call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss any matter and shall be bound to do so on receiving a request signed by not less than 25% of the membership. Such a request must be sent to the Secretary stating the reason for the meeting. The meeting shall take place within 28 days of receipt of the request and not less than seven days clear notice of the meeting shall be given.
All monies shall be banked in the name of the Society. Withdrawals shall be by cheque bearing the signatures of the Treasurer and either the Secretary or Chairman. All recommendations and requests for expenditure shall be approved by the committee before being incurred.
At the AGM the Treasurer shall present a balance sheet of the income and expenditure of the Society, to be subsequently audited by an honorary auditor appointed by the committee. The auditor must not be an elected member of the committee.
The committee shall be empowered to make such rules as it considers necessary. Such rules shall be submitted to an AGM or EGM for ratification.
Should the Society be wound up, its assets shall be placed in the hands of the Trustees to be donated wholly, at their sole and absolute discretion, to charitable bodies with aims similar to those of the Society.
Ratified at AGM 17 January 2020.