Club Constitution
This Constitution shall, subject to the provisions hereof, come into operation on the date of adoption at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose by the President. When so adopted, this Constitution will replace all previous rules, regulations and amendments constituting the Club or in terms of which its affairs were managed, provided that notwithstanding their cancellation any acts or omissions under such previous rules and amendments shall be valid and binding on the Club
The club shall be known as “The Durban Camera Club”, hereinafter referred to as “the Club”
The Club shall be situated within the City of Durban (Ethekwini Municipality) at whatever venue is found suitable from time to time, and the postal address shall be PO Box 631, Umdloti Beach 4350 subject to change from time to time.
The objects of the Club shall be promotion of interest in and the advancement of the knowledge and skills of digital still photography.
a) Composition – The Club shall be governed by an Executive Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) consisting of the following office bearers:
President
Vice President
Honorary Treasurer
Honorary Secretary
plus not less than three and not more than seven additional members.
The additional members shall be elected to fulfil the roles of competition steward/s, newsletter editor, receptionist/s and any other role that the Committee proposes.
b) Election – The Committee members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Club, held in accordance with this Constitution. Nominations and acceptances for the positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary must be made and tabled prior to the commencement of the AGM. The process of election shall be by ballot of all members present who are entitled to vote as laid down herein. The form of the ballot shall be decided by the incumbent Committee. The following additional provisions shall apply to election of office bearers/committee members:-
i) All retiring office bearers/committee members shall be eligible for re-election
ii) The President may not hold office for more than three consecutive years, except by majority agreement of the members present at an Extraordinary General Meeting
iii) The immediate Past President shall ex officio become a member of the new Committee.
c) The period of office of a member of the Committee shall terminate:-
i) if he/she ceases to be a member of the Club;
ii) if he/she is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Committee without the leave of the committee;
iii) when his/her period of office expires;
iv) if called upon to resign by a majority of members present at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
d) The Club indemnifies members of the Committee against all proceedings, costs and expenses arising by reason of any act or omission in the performance of their duties in connection with the Club, provided that such act or omission was bona fide.
e) The Committee shall meet once a month or at such times as the Committee may decide. A meeting of the Committee may be called at any time on the instruction of the President or at the request of any three members of the Committee.
f) The President shall take the Chair at all Ordinary and Committee meetings. In his absence, the Vice President or any person nominated by the Committee to act on the President’s behalf shall act as Chairman. The Chairman shall have a casting vote at all Ordinary and Committee meetings.
g) A simple majority of Committee members, calculated at more than 50% of elected and co-opted members serving at any time, shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not formed at any Committee meeting within fifteen minutes after the time fixed for commencement, then the meeting will stand adjourned to a time and date to be decided by those present. At such adjourned meeting, the Committee members present shall form a quorum.
h) The Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy which may occur on the Committee during its tenure, subject to the following provisions:-
i) if the office of President is vacated, the Vice President shall automatically succeed to this office and serve out the remainder of the year as President;
ii) the Committee may co-opt members to the Committee subject to clause 4(a) above;
iii) the Committee may appoint special sub-committees as it deems necessary, and members of such sub-committees need not be members of the Committee.
iv) The Hon Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings which shall, when approved by the meeting and signed by the President, be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the matters recorded therein. The Hon Secretary shall be responsible for managing all correspondence of the Club and shall retain records of such until authorised to dispose of them by the Committee. All minutes and records of the Club shall be produced by the Secretary upon reasonable notice. The Hon Secretary shall ensure that all members are supplied with a copy of the Constitution and other Club rules, and shall take such steps as are necessary to enforce such rules.
j) The Hon Treasurer shall keep accurate account of all moneys received and paid by the Club and shall be responsible for the collection of membership subscriptions. The Hon Treasurer shall produce an annual Income Statement and Balance Sheet, duly audited if so required in terms of clause 10, and shall at all other times produce such financial statements as may be required by the Committee.
k) The President, or such person nominated by the President to act on his behalf, shall represent the Club in all official business.
President
Vice President
Honorary Treasurer
Honorary Secretary
plus not less than three and not more than seven additional members.
The additional members shall be elected to fulfil the roles of competition steward/s, newsletter editor, receptionist/s and any other role that the Committee proposes.
b) Election – The Committee members shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Club, held in accordance with this Constitution. Nominations and acceptances for the positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary must be made and tabled prior to the commencement of the AGM. The process of election shall be by ballot of all members present who are entitled to vote as laid down herein. The form of the ballot shall be decided by the incumbent Committee. The following additional provisions shall apply to election of office bearers/committee members:-
i) All retiring office bearers/committee members shall be eligible for re-election
ii) The President may not hold office for more than three consecutive years, except by majority agreement of the members present at an Extraordinary General Meeting
iii) The immediate Past President shall ex officio become a member of the new Committee.
c) The period of office of a member of the Committee shall terminate:-
i) if he/she ceases to be a member of the Club;
ii) if he/she is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Committee without the leave of the committee;
iii) when his/her period of office expires;
iv) if called upon to resign by a majority of members present at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
d) The Club indemnifies members of the Committee against all proceedings, costs and expenses arising by reason of any act or omission in the performance of their duties in connection with the Club, provided that such act or omission was bona fide.
e) The Committee shall meet once a month or at such times as the Committee may decide. A meeting of the Committee may be called at any time on the instruction of the President or at the request of any three members of the Committee.
f) The President shall take the Chair at all Ordinary and Committee meetings. In his absence, the Vice President or any person nominated by the Committee to act on the President’s behalf shall act as Chairman. The Chairman shall have a casting vote at all Ordinary and Committee meetings.
g) A simple majority of Committee members, calculated at more than 50% of elected and co-opted members serving at any time, shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not formed at any Committee meeting within fifteen minutes after the time fixed for commencement, then the meeting will stand adjourned to a time and date to be decided by those present. At such adjourned meeting, the Committee members present shall form a quorum.
h) The Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy which may occur on the Committee during its tenure, subject to the following provisions:-
i) if the office of President is vacated, the Vice President shall automatically succeed to this office and serve out the remainder of the year as President;
ii) the Committee may co-opt members to the Committee subject to clause 4(a) above;
iii) the Committee may appoint special sub-committees as it deems necessary, and members of such sub-committees need not be members of the Committee.
iv) The Hon Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings which shall, when approved by the meeting and signed by the President, be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the matters recorded therein. The Hon Secretary shall be responsible for managing all correspondence of the Club and shall retain records of such until authorised to dispose of them by the Committee. All minutes and records of the Club shall be produced by the Secretary upon reasonable notice. The Hon Secretary shall ensure that all members are supplied with a copy of the Constitution and other Club rules, and shall take such steps as are necessary to enforce such rules.
j) The Hon Treasurer shall keep accurate account of all moneys received and paid by the Club and shall be responsible for the collection of membership subscriptions. The Hon Treasurer shall produce an annual Income Statement and Balance Sheet, duly audited if so required in terms of clause 10, and shall at all other times produce such financial statements as may be required by the Committee.
k) The President, or such person nominated by the President to act on his behalf, shall represent the Club in all official business.
Any financial or legal document requiring execution in the name of the Club shall be deemed correctly executed if signed by the President (or his authorised delegate) in the case of a legal document, and the President and the Hon Treasurer (or their authorised delegates) in the case of any financial instrument. For the purpose of this clause, the meaning of “financial instrument” shall exclude the execution of an electronic funds transfer (“EFT”), which function shall be delegated to the Hon Treasurer by the Committee.
Ownership of all property and assets of the Club shall be vested in THE DURBAN CAMERA CLUB and shall be suitably insured by the Committee. An asset register shall be maintained by the Hon Treasurer.
Membership of the Club shall be divided into the following categories:-
a) Ordinary members.
b) Family members (i.e. spouses and their school going children) – such members shall enjoy all the privileges of ordinary members, except that they shall receive only one copy of any publication issued by the Club.
c) Junior members under 21 years of age.
d) Honorary life members nominated by the Committee in recognition of their services to the Club or to photography in general, and elected at an Annual General Meeting with full privileges.
e) Country members residing beyond a 60km radius of the Durban Central Post Office.
f) Temporary members who wish to enjoy the Club’s facilities for a period not exceeding three months.
g) Honorary members – visiting members of local and international photographic societies, elected during their stay.
h) Members of categories (e) to (g) above shall have no voting rights, neither shall they be eligible for election to the Committee, nor shall their presence at a meeting assist in forming a quorum.
i) All applications for membership shall be received by the Hon Treasurer, together with the full subscription due, for consideration by the Committee whose decision will be final. In the event that an application is not accepted, the subscription fee will be refunded to the unsuccessful applicant.
j) Resignations from the Club must be received by the Hon Secretary in writing no later than the first day of May of any year. Unless such notice is received, members shall be deemed to have signified their intention of continuing their membership of the Club for the ensuing year and shall be held liable for that year’s subscription fee.
k) The Committee shall have the power to deal with any member abusing the privileges of the Club and to suspend or terminate membership where considered in the interest of the Club and in accordance with the rules of natural justice. Any member dealt with under this provision shall enjoy a right of appeal to an Extraordinary General Meeting per clause 11.
a) Ordinary members.
b) Family members (i.e. spouses and their school going children) – such members shall enjoy all the privileges of ordinary members, except that they shall receive only one copy of any publication issued by the Club.
c) Junior members under 21 years of age.
d) Honorary life members nominated by the Committee in recognition of their services to the Club or to photography in general, and elected at an Annual General Meeting with full privileges.
e) Country members residing beyond a 60km radius of the Durban Central Post Office.
f) Temporary members who wish to enjoy the Club’s facilities for a period not exceeding three months.
g) Honorary members – visiting members of local and international photographic societies, elected during their stay.
h) Members of categories (e) to (g) above shall have no voting rights, neither shall they be eligible for election to the Committee, nor shall their presence at a meeting assist in forming a quorum.
i) All applications for membership shall be received by the Hon Treasurer, together with the full subscription due, for consideration by the Committee whose decision will be final. In the event that an application is not accepted, the subscription fee will be refunded to the unsuccessful applicant.
j) Resignations from the Club must be received by the Hon Secretary in writing no later than the first day of May of any year. Unless such notice is received, members shall be deemed to have signified their intention of continuing their membership of the Club for the ensuing year and shall be held liable for that year’s subscription fee.
k) The Committee shall have the power to deal with any member abusing the privileges of the Club and to suspend or terminate membership where considered in the interest of the Club and in accordance with the rules of natural justice. Any member dealt with under this provision shall enjoy a right of appeal to an Extraordinary General Meeting per clause 11.
Subscriptions are payable in advance to the Hon Treasurer and fall due on the first day of April of each year. The membership year shall run from the first day of April of any year to the 31st day of March of the following year. Members approved after the first day of October in any year up to last day in December in any year shall pay a pro rata subscription to be calculated by the Hon Treasurer according to the number of months left in the membership year. Members approved after first day of January in any year shall pay the normal annual fee and shall have up to 15 months membership in their first year. Non-payment of subscriptions four calendar months after the beginning of the Club’s financial year shall result in termination of membership and loss of all Club privileges. Subscription fees shall be proposed by the Committee and passed by the members at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.
The Annual General Meeting, at which the President shall submit his annual report and the Hon Treasurer the income statement and balance sheet for the year, shall take place no later than the 31st May each year. Twenty percent of members of the Club who are eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. Fourteen days clear notice of such meeting shall be given to all members. The Annual General Meeting shall appoint an auditor for the ensuing year if deemed necessary. If a quorum is not present at any Annual General Meeting within fifteen minutes after the time fixed for its commencement, the meeting shall stand adjourned to a date to be decided by those present. At such adjourned meeting the members present shall form a quorum.
The Hon Secretary shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting at the request of the President or upon receipt of a request signed by not less than seven members, stating the purpose for which such meeting is desired, and fourteen days clear notice of such meeting shall be given to all members. Twenty percent of members of the Club who are eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. In the event that a quorum is not formed, the same procedure for adjournment as per Clause 10 shall apply.
The Committee is empowered to affiliate the Club with any other club, association or society of a similar nature.
The Committee shall frame regulations for the management of the Club premises and property as may be necessary from time to time, and shall ensure that such regulations are enforced.
Monthly Club competitions shall be run as laid down in the competition rules which may be revised from time to time by the Committee, and the Committee shall ensure that such rules are enforced. Rules made by the Committee in this regard will be deemed regulations made in terms of this Constitution.
Members shall have the privilege of introducing visitors to Ordinary meetings of the Club. At the discretion of the Committee, no visitor may attend Club activities more than four times in any one Club year.
If, upon winding up or dissolution of the Club there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liability, any property whatsoever, it shall not be paid to or distributed amongst the members (of any class or status) of the Club, but shall be donated or transferred to some other institution/s having objects similar to the objects of the Club, such beneficiary to be determined by the members of the Club at or before the time of dissolution.
This Constitution shall not be added to, amended or rescinded except at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting and then only with the consent of not less than two-thirds of the members present and eligible to vote at such meeting.
This Constitution is adopted by favourable vote of two thirds of the members present at an Annual General Meeting held on 9 May 2013 at Milldene Retirement Village, Durban North.
