CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF THE CLYDESDALE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (2006)

NAME

1. The Society shall be called the CLYDESDALE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY hereafter called the SOCIETY.

OBJECTIVES

2. The objectives of the Society are:

(i) To aid and encourage amateur astronomy in the South Lanarkshire area.

(ii) To promote social intercourse between its members and those of other Societies.

(iii) To promote the education of students and members of the general public in the subject of astronomy.

3. These objectives are to be achieved by holding on-line meetings and events via the Zoom platform; holding social events for members and other interested parties; holding open meetings, exhibitions of astronomical interests, presentations to students and members of the general public when requested, and observation sessions.

MEMBERSHIP

4. Membership of the Society is open to all who are interested in astronomy.

5. There will be one category of membership - full. The aim will be to keep membership subscriptions as low as possible to solely cover the costs of running the Society. Where members are members of the same household, they will be liable to pay one annual membership fee only athough may elect to pay per person as a donation to the Society if they wish:

6. Members under 16 years of age require parental consent to take part in physical observation activities and outings.

7. The annual subscription for each form of membership will be determined by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Renewal of membership falls due on 1st September each year.

MANAGEMENT OF THE SOCIETY

8. The management of the Society shall be entrusted to a Management Committee hereafter known as the Committee.

9. The Committee shall consist of the following:

Chairman

Secretary

Treasurer

Publicity Officer/Meetings Secretary

Observing Co-ordinator

Librarian

Newsletter Editor

and one other elected member.

10. Officers and Members of the Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The elected Committee shall have the power to co-opt members during the year to assist in specific tasks.Volunteer members may be allocated responsibility to maintain the Society's on-line presence via the various social media platforms as determined by the Chairman or other officers of the Committee

11. Responsibilities of Officers:

(i) The Chairman will chair all meetings of the Society. He/she shall represent the Society on all official occasions. In the absence of the Chairman one of the other officers will chair the meetings.

(ii) The Secretary will convene meetings of the Society, record minutes of all such meetings and circulate any relevant material to all members.

(iii) The Treasurer will keep all funds of the Society in an account at such a Bank as may be decided by the Committee. The treasurer will receive all monies payable to the Society and produce accounts regarding the Society's financial standing for the Annual General Meeting.

(iv) The Publicity Officer/Meetings Secretary will be responsible for all matters relating to the Press and media and for publicising the Society and its functions. This officer will also have the responsibility of researching appropriate speakers for the Society and booking them for on-line Zoom presentations.

(v) The Observing Co-ordinator will be responsible for researching and establishing safe observing sites and organising Society and public observing events. The co-ordinator will be responsible for health and safety at such events and will lead the observing programme.

(vi) The Librarian will be responsible for the safe keeping of all society books and will keep an up-to-date inventory. He/she will keep a log of all books on loan and ensure books are returned to the society after a reasonable period of loan.

(vii) The Newsletter Editor will be responsible for producing and circulating the Society newsletter "Orion" on a monthly basis and providing copy for publishing on the Society's web pages.

12. The Committee shall ensure that fair and accurate minutes of their meetings be kept, as well as their financial transactions on behalf of the Society. Minutes of Committee Meetings shall be made available for inspection at the request of any member of the Society.

MEETINGS

13. The Secretary will give at least 2 weeks notice in writing to every member of the Society, of the time and place, and provide an agenda, for all General Meetings.

14. Times and venues for physical observation sessions and other Society activities will be arranged on an ad-hoc basis.

15. The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held in JUNE of each year to receive reports from Officers of the Society and to discuss any business of which due notice shall be given. The annual subscription fee for the following session will be set at this meeting.

16. A quorum for a General Meeting shall constitute one quarter of the paid up Membership of the Society.

APPLICATION OF MONIES, ACCOUNTS AND AUDITS

17. In order to cover unforeseen expenses, a sum of £50.00 must be kept in reserve. This is for emergency use only.

18. The Committee shall agree a planned budget of expenditure for the Society to include future development and ongoing projects of the Society.

19. No money or property of the Society or gain arising from carrying on of the Society shall be applied otherwise than for the benefit of the Society as a whole or for some charitable or benevolent purpose, or purposes chosen by resolution of a General Meeting.

20. Full accounts of the financial affairs of the Society shall be maintained by the Treasurer. A copy of the annual accounts for the Society year ending 5 April shall be made available to members at the Annual General Meeting each June.

21. Cheques on behalf of the Society must be signed by two of the Officers of the Committee.

22. The financial affairs of the Society shall be audited independently who will make a report to the Annual General Meeting.

EQUIPMENT

23. All equipment, books, data, acquired by the Society shall remain the property of the Clydesdale Astronomical Society.

24. Members will take full responsibility for equipment borrowed and in making good any damage whilst in the borrower's possession. Any member borrowing a piece of equipment MUST return the item at the request of any Committee member.

DISSOLUTION

25. The Society may be dissolved by resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting or any Extraordinary General Meeting provided that

(i) at least one months notice in writing of the proposal to dissolve the Society has been given by the Secretary to every member, and

(ii) at least two-thirds of the members vote in favour of the proposal for which proxy and postal votes would be accepted

26. After discharging all liabilities the remaining assets of the Society will be donated to other charitable astronomical societies.

ALTERATION OF THE RULES

27. No Rule shall be altered, rescinded, or introduced, except by resolution at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting provided that at least two-thirds of the Membership present vote in favour of the proposed changes. No less than two weeks notice in writing must be sent to members, with an agenda, before such a meeting is held.