Constitution



1 – Introduction

The Club shall be known as Weymouth Camera Club[1] hereinafter referred to as “The Club”.

2 – Objects

  • To discuss, help, show or otherwise assist its members in all forms of photography, and photographic aims.
  • To meet between September and April, and at such times during the other months as the committee may decide. The regular meeting night to be Tuesday unless revised due to circumstances.

3 – Membership

The Club shall be open to all persons interested in photography of 18 years of age or over.   The membership year shall run from the first meeting of the winter season to the day preceding the opening date of the following winter season.   It is a condition of membership that the members will accept the rules of The Club.  Members will not use their membership of, or the name of The Club, to obtain unfair advantages or admission to any venue.

Members will not do any act in the name of The Club potentially bringing The Club into disrepute and, in this context, the Committee reserves the right to refuse or terminate individual memberships where appropriate. Members will accept and abide by any rules governing or belonging to any meeting place in which The Club may meet from time to time.

A member may bring a guest or guests to any meeting, except at the Annual General Meeting. Such guest or guests will be the responsibility of their host member and will be subjected to the rules of The Club. All guests will be expected to pay the appropriate fee for each visit.

The committee has the power to elect any person as an Honorary Member of The Club for any period deemed suitable whose service to The Club is deemed to warrant such recognition.

4 – Committee

The Club committee shall consist of the President, Chair, Vice Chair, General Secretary (Incorporating the roles of publicity and website[2]), Treasurer, Competition Secretary, Programme Secretary, Annual Competition Secretary and three General committee members who shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting in each year, and the members thereof shall hold office as from the end of the meeting until the next Annual General Meeting at which time, unless re-appointed, they shall retire.

All of the Officers and Committee shall be eligible for re-election at the AGM; the committee may fill any vacancies occurring during the year.

The quorum for a committee meeting shall be 50% of the Committee – 1, including at least one of the Chair, General Secretary & Treasurer, with the calculation including formally co-opted members. Co-opted members shall have a vote Voting – Other than the meeting Chair who shall have a casting vote, no member shall have more than one vote at any meeting (including AGM, EGM and Committee meetings) even if holding more than one role.

No member of The Club shall be eligible for election as officer or committee member unless his/her name has been proposed and seconded by other members of The Club in writing to the General Secretary at least seven days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

Those nominated must be willing to serve. Should nominations for officers and other members of the committee including those retiring, exceed the required number, the result will be determined by ballot. In the event of sufficient nominations for officers and other members of the committee not being received by the General Secretary then nominations may be received at the Annual General Meeting, subject to the nominee being willing to serve. The committee shall have the power to co-opt such other members, as it may deem necessary.

The Annual General Meeting shall be held at the end of the winter season at a date determined by the Committee and notice of motions to be discussed should be received by the General Secretary at least 21 days prior to the Annual General Meeting. The meeting shall deal with the following business: –

(A) Receive the officers reports.
(B) Receive the audited accounts for the preceding season.
(C) To elect officers and other committee members as provided in rule 4.

The quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be 25% of the paid up membership of The Club.

6 – Extra Ordinary General Meeting

The committee may at any time for any special purpose call an Extraordinary General meeting and shall be bound to do so on a written request signed by not less than 25% of the paid up membership of The Club stating explicitly the business to be brought forward and delivered to the General Secretary, such meeting to be held within 21 days of the date of such request.

7. Amendment To Rules

No new rules shall be made, or the existing rules altered in whole or in part, except at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting, nor then unless notice of intention to propose such a new rule, alteration or recision of any existing rule has been given to the General Secretary 21 days at least before the date of such meeting. It shall be the duty of the General Secretary to notify such intended proposition to all members of The Club.

8 – Finance

Subscriptions shall be payable by members of The Club at such rates and in such manner as the committee may from time to time determine. The Treasurer shall keep and maintain such records and bank accounts as the committee shall determine and shall render an audited statement account to the members at the Annual General Meeting. The Honorary Auditor shall be appointed by the committee. Any cheques to be signed jointly by the Treasurer and either the Chair or Secretary.

9 – Policy Statements/Other Documentation

Data Protection – In accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act the information supplied to the Weymouth Camera Club may be held and used by The Club for the purposes of business, administration and statistical analysis. We will never sell or transfer your details to third parties for marketing purposes. Entrants in The Club’s competitions should note that winners names will be included in WCC publicity.

Equal Opportunities Policy – The organising Committee of the Weymouth Camera Club state that there is no discrimination on the basis of ability, age, gender, religion, sex, disability or racial origin. All persons are welcomed at The Club and to assist in it’s organisation within the broadest umbrella interest of photography. Although The Club does run a series of competitive events these are structured in order to provide categories for the novice and expert alike and therefore to be inclusive rather than exclusive and elitist.

Competition rules – The WCC also maintain a set of Competition rules.

10 – Winding Up

A General Meeting may, by Special Resolution, dissolve Weymouth Camera Club and appoint Trustees for one year from the date of disbandment, to call in, hold, manage and dispose the residual net assets of Weymouth Camera Club upon such conditions as the Meeting shall direct.

Date of adoption and effective from May 2021`.

See also supplemental guidance notes following

Last updated/revised  May 2021

Appendix 1 – Adoption and clarifications where necessary.

Ap1 – (1) Date of adoption

Club EGM held on 16th September 2008

Ap1 – (2) President & Vice President voting rights (Minute (12) is from the 2008 AGM held 6 May 2008)

11 – Election of a new President

  1. Following the death of Ger Woonton the President’s position had been unfilled.  Gerry Comley’s name was proposed by several members and the suggestion was unanimously accepted. (Voting member of Committee)
  2. It was also suggested that Janet Comley be made an additional Vice President and again the suggestion was unanimously accepted. (Honorary position)
  3. Supplemental statement 23 April 2013 – Since the 2008 AGM the other surviving VP (E Kestin) has died. As of the 2013 AGM the President is Gerry Comley we currently only have one honorary Vice President, Janet Comley.

President’s voting rights – At the subsequent EGM on 16 Sept 08 the issue of whether the President is a voting member of committee was raised. Both the 1995 Constitution, which was applicable at the date of the 2008 AGM, and the 2008 replacement Constitution adopted on 16th September 2008, include the role of President as a voting member of Committee in line with the established WDPS policy. However any V President positions are solely non-voting, honorary, positions. Secretary.

Ap1 – (3) Revision of club name

At the 2010 AGM the club name was changed from the original (Weymouth & District Photographic Society) to Weymouth Camera Club but all other matters appertaining to the rules etc., remained unchanged. At the time of the 2010 AGM the need to also formally implement the name change amendment within the Constitution document (2008/9 version) was overlooked. This was rectified at the 2013 AGM, minute 9(a) refers.

Thank you acknowledgements

WCC acknowledge with grateful thanks the assistance of the Warminster Camera Club, the WCPF and the Stephenson Locomotive Society in loaning document sets to assist prepare this Constitution when it was last subject to full revision in 2008/9.

[1] The club was previously known as the Weymouth & District Photographic Society, the change in 2010 was one of name only.

[2] Members of Weymouth Camera Club who are responsible for the maintenance and updating of the Club website and publicity do so at the direction of the Club Committee. They are not required to be members of the Club Committee.