Club rules
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1. NAME AND OBJECTS. The club will be known as The Downlands Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club. The objects of the club will be to further the welfare of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a breed, by organising shows and other activities to encourage owners and breeders to maintain the high standard of the breed in the area covered.
2. AREA COVERED. The club will operate in the Southern Coastal Counties including the Downlands areas, as shown on the enclosed map.
3. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE. The committee will consist of a President, a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Show Manager and a committee of six. A maximum of three persons can be chosen from outside the Downlands area, but Officers should be elected from those members of the committee who live within the area. This will not apply to founder members. No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee of or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club Registered Society.
A President will be elected by members at the Annual General Meeting to serve for a period of two years. The President will be eligible for re-election at the end of each period of service. In the unforeseen circumstance that this post is vacated before the expiry of the two years the Committee will appoint a new President who will serve until the next Annual General Meeting. At the first Annual General Meeting the members of the club will elect a Management Committee of up to sixteen members, half of whom will retire biannually at each Annual General Meeting thereafter.
The Committee will be elected by nominations at the A.G.M. This will require that the nominee will have to be proposed and seconded by members at the meeting. Members who would like to stand for the committee but for some reason cannot be at the meeting due to circumstances beyond their control are eligible to stand, provided that they provide a form of notification that they are willing to stand for the committee, up to the start of the A.G.M. The voting at the A.G.M. shall be by a show of hands.
4. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. The management of the club will be in the hands of a committee of twelve members half of whom will retire biannually, except for the founding committee half of whom will, by mutual agreement, retire after one year. Members of the Committee will be eligible for re-election on their retirement after two years. No member will be entitled to serve more than two years without re-election. A Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer will be elected by the Committee, from their number, at the first Committee meeting to be held immediately after the end of the Annual General Meeting. The Committee may also delegate such specific responsibilities to members of the Committee as deemed necessary to ensure the smooth running of the club's activities. All elected members of the Committee will have full voting rights in all matters arising unless the matter is a disciplinary one affecting that member. The Chairperson will have a casting vote, when the vote of the committee is evenly split. Meetings of the committee will be held as often as considered necessary but at least every three months. A quorum for the committee will be six members, to include at least two office bearers.
The Committee will have the right to co-opt members onto the Committee if positions become vacant between General Meetings. These co-opted members will only hold office until the next Annual General Meeting of the club, from the time of their appointment they will have the same voting rights as an elected member. The committee will have the right to co-opt non-voting specialists to assist them in giving advice on matters pertaining to the running of the club. Resignation from the committee can be in the following ways:- (a) By a formal letter of resignation, addressed to the committee (b) By a minuted verbal resignation at a meeting of the committee (c) By non-attendance at three consecutive Committee meetings without good reason. Excluding founder members, no person who has been a member for less than one year is eligible for election to the committee. The Committee has the power to appoint sub-committees and delegate specific duties to them. The club will have the power to honour those members who have given long and distinguished service to the breed by electing them to be vice-presidents. Candidates for this honour will be recommended by the Committee to the Annual General Meeting for confirmation. Life vice-presidents will enjoy all the privileges of membership without payment of annual subscriptions.
5. ELECTION OF MEMBERS. Candidates for membership will be proposed by one existing fully paid-up member and seconded by another. All applications will be reviewed by the Committee and only accepted on a majority vote of that Committee. Special provisions will be made to vet applicants who are new to the area or to the breed and who are, therefore, not known to the membership. Joint members will be accepted if proposed under the same rules as the individual member by a single proposer and seconder. Junior membership will be available to children aged from ten to sixteen years. The parents of the junior member cannot be both the proposer and seconder. There will be no limit to the number of members of the club.
6. VOTING RIGHTS. Each member will be entitled to one vote immediately upon acceptance of membership. Postal/proxy votes will not be allowed. Voting will always be carried out by ballot and it will be the responsibility of the Chairman to appoint tellers from the members present. The tellers must not be members of the committee. Joint members will each have one vote. Junior members will have no voting rights.
7. CLUB PROPERTY. The property of the club will be vested in the Committee. In the event of the club ceasing to exist, a General Meeting will be called to decide on the disposal of the club's assets and the outcome of the meeting notified to the Kennel Club. Subject to the agreement of the membership, any surplus of assets on the winding up of the club will be donated to a canine charity such as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue Service.
If the club is wound up or ceases to exist then it will be the responsibility of the office bearers to prepare a final statement of accounts with a record of the disposal of the property and send it to the Kennel Club within six months. The named office bearers will be held responsible by the Kennel Club for the proper winding up of the club The Club will obtain from the donors of challenge trophies an acknowledgement that the gift is made outright to the club.
8. CLUB ACCOUNTS. (a) A Banking Account will be held in the name of the club into which all revenue of the club will be paid and from which withdrawals will be made under the signatures of any two of the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary. (b) At each Annual General Meeting the members will appoint either one qualified accountant or two unqualified individuals with accountancy experience, unconnected to the committee, to verify the accounts for the next year. The certified accounts will be made available on request to members fourteen days prior to the AGM at which they are to be approved.
9. SUBSCRIPTIONS. The annual subscription will fall due on 1st January each year and will be such amount as is agreed by the members in General Meeting and notified to the Kennel Club. No member whose subscription is unpaid will be entitled to any of the privileges of membership and if the member fails to pay outstanding subscriptions by one month after the due date his/her name will be automatically erased from the membership register. Acceptance back on the register will be dependant upon a new application. Applicants for membership accepted after 1st October each year will, by payment of one year's subscription, be deemed to be paid up members until 31st December the following year.
10. EXPULSION OF MEMBERS. Any member who shall be disqualified under Kennel Club rule A11.j.(5) and/or Kennel Club rule A11j.(9) shall ipso facto cease to be a member of the club. If the conduct of any member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Club be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interest of the club, the Committee of the club may, at a meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the member, determine that a Special General Meeting of the club shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her. Any complaints against the club should be directed to the Secretary, for the attention of the committee, in writing, either by letter or email. Strict confidentiality should be observed pending committee consideration. Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the meeting that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the meeting a resolution to expel is passed by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, his/her name shall forthwith be erased from the list of members, and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a member of the club except that he/she may, within two calendar months from the date of such meeting, appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such condition as the Kennel Club may impose.
11. FINANCIAL YEAR/ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. The financial year of the Club will be from 1st January to 31st December. The Annual General Meeting will be held as soon after the end of the Financial Year as possible but no later than 31st March.
12. GENERAL MEETINGS. The Annual General Meeting will be held to receive and discuss the reports for the year of the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer and to discuss any other matters as may be thought relevant by the committee. Only items which appear on the published agenda will be discussed at the meeting unless urgent matters are brought forward, which in the opinion of the chairperson needs to be considered at that time. Notice of General Meetings will be given to the members either in writing or by advertisement in the dog press at least two weeks before the date of the meeting. All items to be included on the agenda for the Annual General Meeting must be in the hands of the Secretary by 31st January.
A Special General Meeting will be summoned by the Secretary if:- (a) The Committee feels that there are urgent items to put before the members which cannot wait until the next Annual General Meeting. (b) Twenty-five members send a signed requisition to the Secretary stating the subject to be discussed and requesting a Special General Meeting to do so. The Committee must then call the Special General Meeting within three months of receiving the requisition. A minimum of fourteen signatories must be present at any Special General Meeting to make it valid. Only business detailed in the agenda can be discussed at a Special General Meeting. Members will be notified of Special General Meetings in writing and a copy of the agenda will be included in that notification. The period of notice for a Special General Meeting will be two weeks.
13. AMENDMENT TO RULES. The Rules of the Club may not be altered except at a General Meeting, the notice for which contains specific proposals to amend the rules. Any proposal for amendment must be passed by a majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting. An abstention will be considered a null and void vote. No alteration to the rules may be brought into effect until the Kennel Club has been advised and given their approval of the alteration.
14. JUDGES. The judges for the Club's annual shows shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. The judges for Open shows are appointed two years in advance. The judges for Championship shows are appointed three years in advance. The committee shall nominate from either the club’s own Judging Lists or The Breed Council’s Judging Lists three candidates for each judging appointment at the club's shows. They shall use ballot papers to determine the final candidates.
15. ANNUAL RETURNS TO THE KENNEL CLUB. The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year, Maintenance of Title Fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in the Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any changes of Secretary of the Club which may occur during the course of the year.
16. KENNEL CLUB FINAL COURT OF APPEAL. The Kennel Club will be the final authority for interpreting the Rules and Regulations of the Society in all cases relative to Canine or Society matters.
17. MEMBERSHIP LISTING. The Club will maintain a list of members and founder members to be available for inspection by any member of the Club, or by the Kennel Club if so requested.
18.OTHER BODIES. The Club will not join any Federation of Societies or Clubs. This does not include exclusion from membership of the Breed Council.
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