VILLAGE GREEN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS
CONSTITUTION
(Rewritten to include all amendments April 1995 and May 2008)
The name of the organization shall be
THE VILLAGE GREEN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Association shall be:
1. to practise, preserve, promote, foster, teach, demonstrate and discuss the traditional and national dance, music, song and folklore of and from the British Isles.
2. to arrange classes, workshops, teacher training programmes and all such activities which may be considered meaningful for the purpose of maintaining the aforesaid dance, music, song and folklore.
3. to act as a central information exchange for all those whose activities and proqrammes will benefit from all or any of the activities and proqrammes of THE VILLAGE GREEN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to all individuals over the age of eighteen who are interested in the objectives of the Association. Persons under the age of eighteen may be accepted as non—voting members at the discretion of the Board.
Members shall be classified as follows: (accepted at May, 2008 AGM)
A) Active members: those members who have paid both membership dues and an annual class term fee. Active members are entitled to vote, to hold office, to receive the Town Crier, and to attend the class (es) for which they have paid.
B) Associate members: those members who have paid membership dues only. They are entitled to vote and to receive the Town Crier.
C) Life Members: those members who have been appointed “Life Members” by the Board of Management. This is a permanent honour. These members are not required to pay the membership fee. These members are entitled to vote, and to receive the Town Crier.
Any member of The Village Green English Country Dance Association can put forward another member to the Board of Management for consideration as a Life Member. This must be done in writing, outlining the member’s outstanding contribution to Village Green. It is expected that any member being considered for appointment as a Life Member will have contributed to the group in more than three capacities and will have been a member for at least 10 years.
D) Honorary Members: For each dancing season, each musician playing with the Fine Companions is considered an Honorary Member and is not required to pay the membership fee. These members are entitled to vote and to receive the Town Crier.
ORGANIZATION
The business of the Association shall be conducted by a Board of Management consisting of the following:
1. President
2. Vice—President (added [?])
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. Archivist
6. Publicist (added [?])
7. Social Convener (separated from Archivist AGM 1989)
8. Teachers’ Representative
9. Past President (ex—officio)
All of the above named must be members in good standing of the Association.
DUTIES OF THE BOARD
The Board members, shall meet whenever necessary, but at least once every three months, to formulate plans and enact the business of the Association.
A quorum of the Board shall consist of not less than three members of the Board.
In the event of a tied vote on any matter whatsoever the debate will be settled by the casting vote of the President or whosoever is presiding at that meeting.
The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings and run them in accordance with commonly established business practice. In the event of a dispute as to procedure, a decision shall be made following the directions given in Robert’s Rules of Order.
The duties of the Vice—President shall be to serve in the absence of the President, to assume the office of President for next term and to act as the liaison with other dance groups.
The duties of the Secretary shall be to maintain the records of the Association and keep minutes of meetings. The Secretary shall be responsible for reporting details of the Association’s business both to the Board and to the membership at large. The Secretary shall be responsible for calling Board meetings and membership meetings.
The duties of the Treasurer shall be to enact and record all duly authorized financial transactions of the Association and to report thereon both to the Board and to the membership at large. The Treasurer shall maintain an updated membership record of those members in good standing with the Association.
The duties of the Archivist shall be to maintain the historical records of the Association.
The duties of the Publicist shall be to handle publicity and to act as the liaison with the membership at large.
The duties of the Social Convener shall be to co—ordinate all social events of the Association.
The Past — President or designate, will remain as an ex—officio member of the Board of management to act as an advisor and liaison with the outdoing Board.
Board members, other than the Teachers’ Representative, shall be elected by the membership at large during the Annual General Meeting. All voting shall be by way of secret ballot. In preparation for elections, the President of the Board shall appoint a nominating committee of three members, consisting of one Board member and two members from the membership at large. This nominating committee shall prepare a list of suitable candidates, each of which must assent his or her willingness to stand for election either verbally or in writing. The names of these candidates shall be circulated to the membership at large not later than fourteen days prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting. Before an election is held at such an annual general meeting, the President shall inquire if there are any further nominations from those members present and entitled to vote.
The President shall have the power to appoint a committee and subcommittee to handle specific aspects of the Association’s business. Those appointed to such committees and sub—committees may be chosen from both Board members and the general membership at large.
The Board members’ term of office (amended May 2008 AGM) shall be as follows:
The term of office for the President and Vice- President shall be for one year. The Vice -President shall assume the office of President following the year as Vice-President.
The term of office for all other elected (word added by amendment of notice of motion May 2008 AGM) members of the Board shall be for two years. An individual may be elected to a second consecutive two-year term in either the same or another position.
No individual may serve more than four consecutive years. After an absence of one year from the Board an individual may be re-elected.
If an individual is not able to complete his or her two-year term the Board members will appoint a member to fill the vacancy until the end of the term. This appointment will be presented for ratification at the next Annual General Meeting. The appointee will be eligible for election to a second consecutive term (original notice of motion amended at May 2008 AGM).
The Teachers’ Representative shall be selected by the Teachers.
No Board member shall receive remuneration (other than authorized
re—imbursement for expenses legitimately incurred on behalf of the Association) for services carried out or duties performed in his or her capacity as a Board member of the Association. This does not preclude any Board member from being remunerated for teaching, advising or providing technical and professional services which will enhance and further the objectives of the Association.
MEETING PROCEDURES
BOARD MEETINGS shall be conducted in accordance with an agenda established by the Secretary prior to the meeting.
The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Association shall be held not more than two months after the end of the Association’s fiscal year. A quorum shall consist of not less than one third (1/3) of the total Active membership of the Association.
Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be mailed to all members by the Secretary not later than fourteen days prior to the meeting.
An EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING shall be called when a petition requesting such a meeting, which petition shall be signed by not less than one quarter (1/4) of members in good standing with the Association, has been presented to the Secretary. Notice of the meeting shall be circulated in accordance with the procedure laid down for the annual general meeting. The President of the Association shall preside at an Extraordinary General Meeting and the agenda shall consist only of a discussion of the topics which form the subject matter of the petitioning document. The quorum requirement shall be as for the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Membership dues shall be set by the membership at general meetings and dues shall be payable on the first day of September of each year. In the event that a member has not paid his/her dues by the thirtieth (30th) of October of each year, he/she shall be considered as being in arrears and all membership rights and privileges shall be withdrawn from that person until such time as he/she becomes eligible for reinstatement by virtue of payment of the said arrears.
CLASSES AND CLASS FEES
(Added May 2008 AGM)
The Board of Management will organize as many categories of classes as required to meet the reasonable (word added by amendment of original notice of motion May 2008 AGM) needs of the members. The frequency, number and length of each class are determined by The Board of Management jointly with the Teachers.
The Annual Class Term Fee covers the cost of attending one category of class for a year. The fee for each category of class shall be reviewed and set by the Board of Management at the beginning of each fiscal year.
FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year shall be from the first day of May to the thirtieth day of April of the year following.
CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION
Any member or members requiring that a change be made in the Constitution of the Association shall present said recommendations to the Board at least sixty (60) days prior to the next annual general meeting. The recommendations shall be circulated to the membership at large at least thirty (30) days prior to the next annual general meeting. The matter will then be discussed and voted upon at the next annual general meeting.
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