Constitution
1 Society Objectives
1.1 The name of the society will be “Paisley Photographic Society”
1.2 The object of the society will be the promotion between its members of the following:
1.2.1 The study and practice of the art of photography.
1.2.2 To organize classes, lectures, demonstrations and club outings covering photographic topics.
1.2.3 To hold exhibitions and include any other related activities to the benefit of the members.
2 Management of the Society
2.1 The affairs of the society will be managed by a committee consisting of the following positions:
President
General Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Secretary
Competition Secretary (Prints)
Competition Secretary (Digital Images)
Syllabus Secretary
Property/Equipment Convener
Beginners Liaison Officer
2.2 The committee may co-opt additional members to the committee, as the need arises.
2.3 In the absence of the President the committee shall elect its own Chairperson.
2.4 Committee meetings of the society will be held bi-monthly between August and April when 6 (60%) of the members will form a quorum. August, October, December, February, April.
2.5 Should there be any occasion when the committee is evenly divided on any particular issue the President or acting Chairperson shall have a deliberate and casting vote.
2.6 The committee reserve the right to decide whether a member should be classified as Beginner or Advanced for the purpose of entering the internal competitions of the Society.
2.7 The President is elected at the AGM for a period of 2 years.
3 Membership
3.1 Membership of the Society shall be available to any individual interested in the objectives detailed above.
3.2 Members must be at least 18 years of age.
3.3 Each member will be at liberty to introduce a visitor at any lecture or excursion provided that the visitor shall not be introduced on more than three occasions.
3.4 Visitors interested in applying for membership of the society may visit on a maximum of three occasions.
3.5 Where the committee has reasonable cause to believe a member has contravened the rules of the society or acted in a manner contrary to the best interests of the Society, it shall request the member attends a meeting of the committee convened for the purpose of investigating the matter further. The member shall have the opportunity at such a meeting to state a position and produce evidence in support of that position. The meeting may be postponed to a future date to allow the member time to prepare a response and to gather evidence in support of that position. Once in receipt of all evidence concerning the matter, the committee shall by majority vote determine how to resolve the matter. In an extreme case, such a determination may result in the membership of the member being withdrawn as defined in 3.6 below.
3.6 The committee reserves the right to refuse or withdraw membership on condition that this right shall not be exercised unreasonably.
4 Annual General Meeting
4.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held in April each year. At this meeting a report of the proceedings during the last year shall be given in writing by the General Secretary and other committee members.
4.2 A quorum shall consist of 25% of the membership of the Society.
4.3 All committee members (as defined in 2.1 above) will be elected by members at the AGM following a proposal by one member seconded by another member. An existing committee member may put himself or herself forward for re-election to the same committee position and, in the absence of a proposal to elect another candidate to that committee position, the existing committee member will continue in that position for the following session. The Vice-President will in practice succeed the President upon the expiry of the term of office of President unless a proposal is made to elect another candidate as President at the AGM.
4.4 No alterations or additions to the constitution shall be made except by the majority vote of the membership present at the AGM or at a special meeting called for that purpose.
4.5 The Annual Subscription and other fees shall be discussed and fixed at the AGM each year.
4.6 A Financial Statement prepared by the Treasurer and audited up to the 28th February shall be submitted and explained by the Treasurer.
4.6.1 At least one auditor should be elected at the AGM each year following a proposal by one member seconded by another member. An existing member serving as an auditor may offer themselves for re-election in the absence of a proposal to elect another candidate as auditor.
4.7 Financial year to cover 1st March to 28th February the following year. Subscriptions are due in September.
4.8 Members proposing alterations to the constitution must give notice in writing to the General Secretary in good time (28 days) for the inclusion by the General Secretary in the Notice of Meeting issued not less than fourteen days prior to the date of the meeting.
4.9 SPF delegates and Press Officer to be elected at AGM.
Post holders do not necessarily need to be committee members.
SPF Delegates are required to report on SPF activities.