The Business Breakfast Club,
Bournemouth

Club Constitution

1. The Club shall be known as the Business Breakfast Club, Bournemouth.

2. The Business Breakfast Club Objective: "To create a network of active business people from diverse occupations united in the single aim of sharing business information to the financial benefit of its members"

3. The meeting place of the Club shall be as agreed at the General Meeting.

4. It is a condition of attendance at meetings that all attendees (whether members of the Club or visitors) agree to their names and business details being circulated to all the other attendees of that meeting.

5. There shall be two forms of membership - Full and Honorary.

a) Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, full membership of the Club shall be open to all except where there is likelihood of a conflict of business interests between an existing member and a prospective member. In such an instance the existing member shall refer the matter to the Chairman or Secretary for their arbitration. A right of appeal to be heard by the Executive Committee is available in cases that cannot be settled.

b) Honorary membership shall be open to any person who, in the view of the Executive Committee, has rendered exceptional service to the Club.

6. Persons proposing to join the Club as full members may not attend more than one meeting before paying the membership fee.

7. The Executive Committee may empower any officer to deprive any member of his membership, provided that any member so deprived shall have the right of appeal to the Executive Committee. In particular, any unsolicited calls to other members, particularly at unsociable hours may be deemed to be unethical and could lead to censure or expulsion from the Club.

8. Every intending member of the Club shall pay a subscription on admission to membership. New members joining at or after the September meeting, and paying the full subscription and membership fees, are eligible for membership for the remainder of that year and for the following year.

9. Any fully paid up member who introduces two or more new members to the Club during the year will be entitled to a refund of their membership fee for that year. In order to qualify, the introducing member must be named on the new member's application forms.

10. The financial year of the Club shall be from 1 January to 31 December and the Annual General Meeting shall be held in February each year. The date, time and place of such meeting shall be announced at the two Club meetings immediately preceding the Annual General Meeting.

11. Every year, the Club's Treasurer shall submit for examination by the Committee and members of the Club the accounts for the Club. The Treasurer shall confirm that the accounts represent a true picture of the Club affairs.

12. At the Annual General Meeting the Honorary Treasurer will submit an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet for the previous year.

13. The control of the Club shall be vested in an Executive Committee and shall consist of the following elected at the Annual General Meeting:

The officers shall be Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Public Relations Officer and such other office holders as may be appointed by the General Meeting.

14. No person shall be deemed to be a member or be entitled to vote at a General Meeting unless his subscription for the current year is fully paid.

15. Voting on candidates for any office or for membership of the Executive Committee shall be by ballot, voting papers being placed in a receptacle provided for that purpose at the Annual General Meeting, and tellers shall be appointed by that meeting to count the votes.

16. Voting on any motion or resolution of which notice has been given shall be by a show of hands unless a ballot is demanded.

17. Notice of intention to move a resolution at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting, the terms of the resolution and the names of the proposer and seconder, shall be given to the Secretary at the preceding meeting. The terms of the resolution and the names of the proposer and seconder shall be made known to the Club.

18. The Executive Committee may, whenever it thinks fit, convene an Extraordinary Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings may also be convened on requisition in accordance with the following provisions:

Notice in the form of a motion giving the reason and the names of the proposer and seconder, shall be given to the Secretary who shall put the motion to the next Club meeting. If the motion be carried by the majority of those members present and voting in this behalf, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held not less than two or more than four weeks after the date the motion is carried.

19. Members shall be given at least seven days notice in writing of an Extraordinary General Meeting, such notice to specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted, but with the consent of all members a meeting may be convened by such notice and in such manner as the members may think fit. The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of such notice by any member shall not invalidate any resolution passed or proceedings held at any Extraordinary General Meeting.

20. The Constitution shall not be altered by the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting unless the resolution which would give effect to the change be carried by an eighty five per cent vote of those members present and voting in this behalf; all other resolutions shall be decided by a majority vote of those present, except that mentioned in Article 26 herein.

21. The Executive Committee shall meet as often as is necessary to transact the business of the Club and three members shall constitute a quorum. A resolution in writing signed by all members of the Executive Committee shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Executive Committee duly convened and constituted.

22. An officer or ordinary member of the Executive Committee shall resign if called upon to do so by a resolution carried at an Extraordinary General Meeting and shall resign if called upon to do so by the Executive Committee after being absent from three consecutive Executive Committee Meetings without giving reasons for such absences acceptable by the Executive Committee.

23. The Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees to transact the business of the Club. Each sub-committee shall consist of a Secretary who shall be a member of the Executive Committee and normally not more than four members of the Club. Officers of the Club shall be ex-officio members of all sub-committees.

24. The Executive Committee shall make all appointments to vacancies caused by the resignation of officers and other Committee members or of the Auditor, subsequent to each Annual General Meeting.

25. The powers of the officers and ordinary members of the Executive Committee shall be limited by the provisions of this Constitution and by Standing Orders approved from time to time by the Executive Committee.

26. The Club shall not be wound up or dissolved except at an Extraordinary General Meeting convened for this purpose, at which the resolution winding up or dissolving the Club shall be carried by an eighty five per cent vote of those present and voting in this behalf.

27. In the event of the dissolution of the Club any monies, goods and equipment held by the Club after all liabilities have been met shall be passed to a charitable or similar purpose decided by the Executive Committee.

STANDING ORDERS

Executive Committee

1. No officer or member of the Executive Committee shall have power to pledge the credit of the Club or shall spend more than £100.00 on any item without authority from the Executive Committee.

2. A statement of the Club's finance, together with the total membership, may need to be presented at each ordinary Executive Committee Meeting.

3. Reports from those members appointed to manage the Club's business shall be received at each ordinary Executive Committee Meeting.

4. The Chairman shall have a discretionary casting vote.

5. If a member of the Executive Committee is unable to attend a meeting the Secretary or another officer of the Committee shall be informed as soon as possible.

6. If the Chairman or Secretary is not present at an Executive Committee Meeting, a member shall be elected from those present to take the Chair during their absence.

7. These Standing Orders shall only be suspended by a majority vote of 85% of those present and voting at a meeting of the Executive Committee or an Annual General Meeting, or an Extraordinary General Meeting.

8. The Committee shall arrange for the collection of both membership and annual subscriptions from members and the Treasurer shall take charge of the monies without delay.

Instructions to Treasurer

1. Annual Subscription

All membership fees for new members collected at or after the September meeting in any year cover the following year as well. At the end of the year these are carried down and shown on the balance sheet.

When paying his/her annual subscription, a member should complete the membership application or renewal form.

Annual subscriptions should be collected from every member and should be posted to the proper account.

2. Banking

Two signatures are required on all cheques drawn on the Club's banking account and the Treasurer must complete such forms and documents as may be required by the bank from time to time.

3. Committee Meetings

The Treasurer may need to present a financial report and statement at each Committee Meeting, it is advisable to give a copy of this statement to the Secretary before reading the report in order to save errors.

If any expenditure is suggested at a Committee Meeting, it is the Treasurer's privilege to propose this and he/she must be prepared to make a note of it on his/her schedule of approved expenditure, with the amount, purpose and month of the Meeting in order to check when the bill is presented.

4. End of Year (31 December)

Collection of the next year's annual subscriptions should take place well in advance of the end of year if possible. Announcement should be made at the Meetings that notification of any claims for expenses should be submitted and settled on or before 31 December.

5. New Members

It is the duty of the Treasurer to announce at each meeting that new members may attend for one meeting without paying subscriptions, upon further attendance, they will be obliged to pay the membership annual subscriptions.

Last amended February 2007

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