BURGESS HILL & DISTRICT MOTORCYCLE CLUB

Constitution and Rules February 2023

1 Title

The name of the Club shall be Burgess Hill & District Motorcycle Club, herein after referred to as” the Club”.

2 Address

The registered address of the Club shall be the Treasurer’s private address.

3 Objectives

The objectives of the Club are:

1. a) To be independent and to promote the interests of its members.
2. b) To foster friendship through the ownership, use of and interest in motorcycles.
3. c) To encourage motorcycling.

4 Rules

A proposal to amend or delete an existing rule or introduce a new rule will only be considered at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.

As and when any new rule is amended the revised constitution will be published on the website.

In the case of a dispute or disagreement as to the interpretation of the rules, the decision reached by the Management Committee will be final and binding.

5 Membership Rights and Responsibility

Members of the Club shall receive a copy of the Rules of the Club.

Members of the Club shall be able to view the Club accounts for the previous year at the Annual General Meeting, or at any other time after giving 7 days notice to the Treasurer.

Members of the Club have the right to participate in all activities of the Club, subject to Rule 15.

Members have a responsibility to conduct themselves so as to uphold the good reputation of the Club.

6 Membership and membership fees

1. a) Applications for membership of the Club shall be made on the official form, completed and signed by the applicant and given, with the membership fee, to a member of the Management Committee.
2. b) Membership not renewed within a month of the due date (1 April) will be considered as terminated.
3. c) The Management Committee has the authority to accept or decline any application for membership.
4. d) Any member wishing to resign his/her membership shall give notice of resignation, in writing, to the Club Secretary. Any un-expired portion of membership fees paid will not be refunded.
5. e) The Club membership year will run from 1 April until 31st March.
6. f) Current or new members shall pay the full fee between 1^st of April to 31^st October for that years Membership, Membership fees paid outside of this time frame shall be rolled on to the following years membership.

1. h) The level of membership fees shall be proposed and agreed at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.
2. i) Club membership confers Associate Membership of St Francis Sports and Social Club.

7 Complimentary Membership

The Management Committee may grant complimentary membership for any application, with the agreement of all three members of the Management Committee, for either renewal of an existing membership or a new application.

8 Honorary Membership

The Management Committee may confer, at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, honorary membership upon any member or non-member in recognition of meritorious service to the Club or to motorcycling.

9 Affiliations

The Club shall be affiliated to the British Motorcyclists Federation.

10 Management Committee and Officers

The Management Committee of the Club will consist of the Club Officers, namely Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, plus up to five other members. The Officers and members of the Management Committee shall be elected by majority vote of Club members attending an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. Officers and members of the Management Committee will hold office until the next AGM

The Management Committee may co-opt other Club members to serve on the Committee between AGMs.

The Management Committee must have a minimum of two Officers and two other elected Committee members in attendance at any Management Committee meeting to form a quorum

11 Duties of Office

1. a) Chairman has overall responsibility for the smooth and orderly running of the Club. He/She should also ensure that the other Officers are fulfilling their duties effectively and that they and Club members comply with the constitution and rules.
2. b) Secretary has responsibility for membership and other Club records.
3. c) Treasurer has responsibility for managing Club finances, maintaining accurate and timely Club accounts and for dealing with financial institutions holding Club funds.
4. d) Committee members have a duty to help in running the club. They maybe asked to take responsibility for or assist with a variety of regular or occasional activities e.g. engaging with club social media/website content and managing events.

12 Banking Facilities

The Club has two bank accounts with Santander one is an interest earning  Savings Account and the other is a Current Account.

 The Club’s Chairman and Treasurer are authorised signatories for both accounts.

13 Donations to Charities

The Management Committee shall have authority to make Club donations to charitable causes.

14 General Meetings

1. a) An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held, preferably in November, where the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any Extraordinary General Meetings during the preceding year shall be approved. The posts on the Management Committee shall be offered for election at each AGM.

Members shall receive notice of the meeting not less than 21 days prior to the meeting.

Nominations for Officers and Committee members (proposed, seconded and signed by the nominee) and all other matters for inclusion in the agenda must be received in writing by the Secretary on or before the 7th day preceding the meeting. However, nominations may be accepted at the meeting for any post for which the Secretary has not received notice of nomination.

If more than one nomination for a post is submitted and accepted, the nominee receiving the most votes will be elected. Each member may only nominate one other member to each available post. Members may not nominate or second themselves.

The agenda with accounts for the year shall be circulated to all members present at the meeting.

1. b) Extraordinary General Meetings of the Club may be called by the Management Committee by email to the members, Extraordinary General Meetings may be conducted via online medium if deemed by the committee.
2. c) The Management Committee shall hold closed meetings to conduct Club business
3. d) At all meetings, each member has one vote, except the Chairman, who also has a casting vote.
4. E) There must be a minimum of 2 Officers plus 1 other committee member plus 10% of the current membership to form a quorum at any Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting.

15 Prejudicial Conduct

Should any member contravene the rules of the Club, or be considered by the Management Committee to have acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Club or likely to bring the Club into disrepute, the Management Committee shall notify the member of the complaint in writing and request the member to submit to the Management Committee a written statement responding to the complaint. Should no statement be received within 14 days, the Management Committee has authority to withdraw membership of the Club without further notice. In all cases under this paragraph, the Management Committee shall consider all relevant factors and information, including any statement submitted by the member complained against and, by majority vote, has authority to caution, suspend or withdraw membership and to inform the St Francis Sports & Social Club in writing of its action and the reasons.

16. Social Media & Website

The club shall maintain a closed FaceBook group, This group will be maintained by admins chosen by the committee, The FaceBook group may include non-members to allow club exposure the wider biking community. Excessive none relevant activity or unsolicited marketing will be removed at the discretion of the committee and group admins.