Constitution

1. Name

1.1 The name shall be “East Anglian Rocketry Society”.

2. Interpretation

In this constitution, and in all rules made hereunder, the following terms shall mean:

2.1 “UKRA”– the United Kingdom Rocketry Association.

2.2 “BMFA”– the British Model Flying Association.

2.3. “Committee”– the Committee of the East Anglian Rocketry Society.

2.4. “EARS”– East Anglian Rocketry Society.

2.5. “Society”– East Anglian Rocketry Society.

2.6. “Executive Officer” – Chairperson, Secretary or Treasurer.

2.7. “Member” – A person who has paid for and been accepted for a current annual membership of the Society.

3. Objectives

The objectives of the Society shall be:

3.1. To promote and develop the hobby of building and launching Model, High Power and Experimental rockets.

3.2. To cooperate with any other clubs, bodies, organisations and any interested parties for the purpose of furthering the interests of rocketry and promoting good fellowship.

3.3. To cater for and facilitate the needs of its Members so that they may safely and legally pursue their hobby in rocketry.

3.4. To arrange, manage and conduct recreational and educational rocketry activities in a safe and legal manner.

3.5. To acquire, own, lease or otherwise deal with any property for the purposes of the club.

3.6. To raise funds in any manner to further the objectives of the club.

3.7. To carry on any activities incidental or conducive to the above objectives.

4. Membership

4.1. There shall be four main membership types offered by the Society: Senior, Junior, Associate and Honorary, although other membership types may be offered by the Society from time to time.

4.1.1. Honorary Members may only be appointed by a majority vote of the Committee.

4.1.2. Honorary Members shall not be required to pay the annual membership subscription.

4.1.3. Honorary Members are required to be insured if they wish to fly.

4.1.4. A Junior Member shall be one under the age of 18 and in full time education during the membership year and at the time of joining or renewing their membership.

4.1.5. An Associate Member shall be a non-flying Member of the Society.

4.2. Anyone is eligible to join the Society, although those with BMFA insurance or other insurance policy recognised by the Society may become a Senior or Junior Member.

4.3. Any person is eligible for membership on application and payment of the fees to the Society unless that person has been expelled or is deemed by a 75% Committee majority as being unsuitable for membership for any reason.

4.4. Upon any person ceasing to be a Member of the society for any reason whatsoever he/she shall not be entitled to the return of their membership fee or any portion thereof.

4.5 The Society may disclose or request any details of a Member of the Society to or from UKRA, other Rocketry Clubs, the BMFA or Members’ insurance providers in order to validate or request details of a Member’s identity, insurance cover or certification level and by becoming a Member of the Society, a Member consents to such disclosures.

5. Disciplinary Procedure

5.1. Disciplinary committees
A disciplinary committee may be appointed to will deal with:

5.1.1. Serious breaches of any EARS rule or regulation.

5.1.2. Any Member bringing EARS into disrepute:

5.1.2.1. Any matter defined as gross misconduct in Item 5.4

5.1.2.2. Any other matter where deemed necessary, and agreed upon by a 75% vote of the full Committee.

5.1.3. Disciplinary committees shall consist of three (3) elected Members of the committee. The Chairperson shall appoint the disciplinary committee and nominate a chairperson to run it. No Member of the full Committee who is involved in any way with the disciplinary matter may stand on the disciplinary committee.

5.2. Disciplinary Procedure

5.2.1. The disciplinary committee shall deal with all reports or complaints, coming within their jurisdiction, by correspondence between the Members of the disciplinary committee.

5.2.2. Where a written application is received asking for a report or complaint to be heard, the disciplinary committee shall determine the date, time and venue for the hearing.

5.2.3. Member(s) failing to reply to correspondence shall after a suitable reminder letter be deemed to be in receipt of said correspondence and to be in agreement with it.

5.2.4. The decision of a disciplinary committee shall be final and not subject to appeal, except within the provisions of the Society.

5.2.4.1. In the case of expulsion from the Society the disciplinary committee must obtain a 75% majority vote from the full Committee to proceed with its decision.

5.2.5. Disciplinary committees shall notify all persons concerned of their decisions, in writing, within one (1) month of said decision.

5.3. Sanctions Available to Disciplinary committees

5.3.1. Disciplinary committee letter of admonishment.

5.3.2. Where the transgression infringes another organisation’s rules or regulations all information can be passed onto said organisation for further investigation.

5.3.3. Suspension from flying at organised EARS launches for a duration depending on the seriousness of the transgression.

5.3.4. Lifetime ban from EARS membership.

5.4. Gross Misconduct
The following are defined as acts of gross misconduct:

5.4.1. Serious departures from the UKRA Safety Code not authorised by the Committee.

5.4.2. Victimisation or harassment of EARS Members.

5.4.3. Violent behaviour towards other EARS Members.

5.4.4. Attempt to defraud or mislead the Society.

5.4.5. Embezzlement of EARS funds.

5.4.6. Unauthorised use of EARS assets.

5.4.7. False representation of EARS officials.

6. Complaints by Members

6.1. Any complaint made shall be in writing to the Chairperson with a duplicate copy sent to the Secretary.

6.2. Before hearing any complaint, the Committee shall have the power to request payment of any foreseeable expenses with respect to the hearing of the complaint. If the complaint is found to be answerable (neither frivolous nor vexatious), then all monies paid shall be returned.

6.3. For a complaint to be found frivolous or vexatious at least 75% of the Committee must be in agreement.

6.4. No barrister or solicitor shall represent an individual or individuals at the hearing of a complaint unless he or she is one of the individuals concerned.

7. General Meetings

7.1. The Committee shall convene an Annual General Meeting of all Members once in every calendar year to be held at such a time and place as may be determined by the Committee.

7.2. The Committee may whenever it thinks fit convene a Special General Meeting.

7.3. The Committee shall on receipt of a request in writing stating the objects of the meeting proposed to be called and signed by not less than 25% of the membership or ten (10) Members whichever is the greater, convene a Special General Meeting within one (1) calendar month of the receipt of such requisition by the secretary of the Society.

7.4. Notice of the Annual and of every General Meeting shall be given at least one (1) calendar month before such meeting on the EARS website, by email or postal mail to the Members of the Society and shall include a statement of the items of business to be brought before such meeting.

7.5. The business of an Annual General Meeting shall be to receive and consider the Annual Report and Financial Statement, to elect Committee Members and to transact any other business of which due notice under this Constitution shall have been given.

7.6. The Chairperson shall be entitled to take the Chair at all General Meetings of the Society. In his or her absence or unwillingness to act, the Members present shall choose a Chairperson from among their own number.

7.7. No person shall be competent to vote at any General Meeting unless they are a Member of the Society.

7.8. Voting

7.8.1. All Members of 18 years and older shall be entitled to vote.

7.8.2 All voting shall be by a show of hands in person, through postal or electronic voting or a combination thereof as required by the Committee from time-to-time.

7.8.3. Every question submitted to a General Meeting, except as provided under Section 16.9, shall be decided by a majority of votes of Members present each Member being entitled to one (1) vote, except any proposed alteration to the Constitution of the Society which must be supported by at least two-thirds of the vote.

7.8.4. To elect Committee Members all Members entitled to vote will be able to cast two (2) votes for separate individuals standing for Election to Committee. The vote will be taken by ballot, before commencement of the Annual General Meeting. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes will form the Committee. In the event of the same number of votes being cast for the final positions on the Committee lots will be drawn to assign places

7.8.5. Members unable to attend a General Meeting may make a request to the Secretary to vote by post. Such request must be made 21 days prior to a ballot. The Secretary must receive postal votes 7 days before the date of the General Meeting.

7.8.6. In the case of equality of votes, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote in addition to the vote to which he/she is entitled as a Member.

7.9. Every resolution passed at a General Meeting shall be binding on all Members of the Society.

8. Committee

8.1. The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall include:

• Chairperson
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Other Committee Members

8.2. The jobs of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into one position. No other positions may be combined in any way.

8.3. The number of Ordinary Committee Members shall be 10% of the total membership of the Society or seven (7) whichever is the smaller with the minimum number being three (3).

8.4. No Committee Member shall receive any remuneration for his services.

8.5. Committee Members shall hold office until the following elections at which they shall not be disqualified as candidates by reason only of previous office.

8.6. No Committee Member shall be under the age of 21.

8.7. Only Members of the Society are allowed to stand for election to the Committee

9. Subcommittees and Working Parties

9.1. The Committee shall have power to appoint such Subcommittees or Working Parties as may be considered necessary, and delegate all or any of its powers to such committees or commissions.

9.2. Subcommittees and Working Parties shall be made up from no less than three (3) Members of the society. However, subcommittees must have a Member of the full Committee as one of their number.

9.3. The Members of any such Subcommittee or Working Party shall remain in office for such a period as determined by the Committee.

10. Control and Management

10.1. The control and management of the Society shall be vested in the Committee consisting of the Executive Officers and Committee Members elected at the Annual General Meeting.

10.2. No person shall fill more than one place on the Committee at any time except where the office of Secretary and Treasurer are combined.

10.3. A quorum of the Committee shall be three (3). If no quorum be present such Meeting will lapse East Anglian Rocketry Society Constitution V1.1.0 8

10.4. The Chairperson shall be entitled to take the chair at all meetings of the Committee. In his/her absence or unwillingness to act, the Members of the Committee present shall choose a chairperson from among their number.

10.5. The Secretary shall be the Society’s contact to the UKRA council, but the Society Committee may nominate a deputy to act in the absence of the Secretary. The contact shall submit to the Committee at the next meeting a report of each UKRA meeting attended, if any.

10.6. No person with the exception of the Chairperson and the Secretary of UKRA, who is not a Member of the Committee, shall be entitled to be present at a meeting thereof UNLESS invited to attend by the Chairperson.

10.7. All vacancies among the Committee of the Society may be filled by the Committee as it deems fit.

10.8. Every question submitted to the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the Member present. Every Member of the Committee shall be entitled to one (1) vote EXCEPT that in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote in addition to the vote to which he/she is entitled as a Member of the Committee.

10.9. Minutes of every meeting of the Committee shall be kept by the Secretary and shall be signed by the Chairperson of the next succeeding meeting, subject to their being adopted by the meeting as a true record of the proceedings of the meeting.

10.10. The Committee shall have the power to make, alter and repel rules consistent with this Constitution as it deems necessary or expedient from time to time. Notice of any proposal to make, alter or repeal any rule shall be given to the Secretary of the Society not less than seven (7) days before a meeting of the Committee at which it is intended to present such proposal.

10.11. Every resolution of the Committee shall be binding upon all Members of the Society.

10.12. The Executive Officers of the Society shall have full delegated powers to act for and on behalf of the Committee in matters of an urgent nature arising between meetings of the Committee, and where they have so acted they shall report the circumstances to the next meeting of the Committee.

11. Executive

11.1. The Executive Offices of the Society shall consist of the Chairperson, Secretary and a Treasurer.

11.2. The Executive Officers of the Society are to be elected by ballot from the Committee, by the Committee, immediately following the Annual General Meeting.

11.3. The period of elected service is to be from one Annual General Meeting to the next.

11.4. The Chairperson, Treasurer or Secretary may be removed from office upon a motion to that effect being passed by Committee with a 75% majority of all Committee Members. The removal motion must be ratified by an Annual General Meeting, or a Special General Meeting called for this purpose.

11.5. If an Executive position is vacated for any reason during a term of office, then the Committee shall elect a replacement from the Committee at the first possible opportunity.

12. Solicitor

12.1. The Society may appoint a Solicitor who shall be nominated and elected at each Annual General Meeting. The Solicitor may only attend meetings of the Society when specially invited by the Committee.

13. Auditors

13.1. The Society shall appoint Auditors. Such Auditors shall be nominated and appointed at each Annual General Meeting.

13.2. In place of a Chartered Auditor two non-Committee Members may be nominated and appointed at each Annual General Meeting to audit the accounts.

13.3. No Executive Officer of the Society or Member of the Committee shall serve as Auditor.

13.4. Failure to hand over for auditing on demand any financial material constitutes a disciplinary offence and shall be dealt with under Section 5.

14. Powers

14.1. The Society shall have the power only to carry out the objectives of this constitution in such a way as provided by this constitution.

15. Property

15.1. All assets and property of the Society shall be controlled by the Committee and they shall deal therewith in such manner as they may be directed by the Committee.

16. Finance and Duties of the Treasurer

16.1. The Society’s financial year shall be AGM date to AGM date.

16.2. The Society shall be non-profit making; no Member of the Society may financially benefit from the Society’s operation, or from the Society’s dissolution.

16.3. The Committee shall have power to control the finances of the Society, to collect annual membership fees and other fees and levies (agreed to by a majority of Members present at a General Meeting) which may be necessary to facilitate the operations of the Society.

16.4. The Treasurer or Secretary shall maintain a list of all current Members of the Society and provide this information to the other Executive Officers upon request.

16.5. The Committee has the right to alter any fees as the need arises.

16.6. All monies shall be paid into a bank account opened in the name of the Society and operated by the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer as joint signatories or held as Petty Cash or in a Society online account controlled by the Executive Officers of the Committee. The bank account shall require that all withdrawals require two of the three signatures. All expenditure shall be agreed by the majority of Executive Officers and shall be duly and adequately recorded.

16.7. The Treasurer shall keep such accounts and submit such financial statements as the Society Committee may require. He/she shall present an audited statement of receipts and expenditure to the Annual General Meeting and shall deliver to the Secretary, when requested, a statement of the Society’s finances.

16.8. Failure to hand over when requested by the Secretary a statement of the Society’s finances is a disciplinary offence and shall be dealt with under Section 5.

16.9. No Committee Member or Member of the Society, person or organisation shall incur any expenses in the name of or on behalf of the Society except with the authorisation and approval of the Committee.

16.10. The income of the Society, howsoever derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objectives of the Society as set out in this Constitution and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly, by way of dividend bonus or otherwise howsoever by way of profit to the persons who at any time are or have been Members of the Society or to any of them or to any person claiming through them.

17. Duties of the Secretary

17.1. The Secretary shall keep a record of the business transacted at all meetings.

17.2. Keep a copy of the Constitution and all rules made there under for the time being in force.

17.3. Present a report to the Annual General Meeting and perform all secretarial duties required of him by a General Meeting or the Committee.

18. Dissolution of the Society

18.1. Should an alteration of the Constitution, which would involve the discontinuation of the Society, as at present constituted, be carried at a General Meeting, by the appropriate majority aforesaid, the Executive Officers shall then refer this resolution to a postal ballot. All Members who have representation rights under section 4.3 at the date of the meeting shall be included in the postal ballot. The postal ballot shall be held within one (1) calendar month of the aforementioned meeting.

18.2. The resolution shall only become valid if it is supported by at least 65% of the total votes recorded in such a postal ballot.

18.3. Should the result of the ballot confirm that the discontinuance of the Society, as at present constituted, the Committee will take the necessary steps to wind up the Association at the earliest possible opportunity.

18.4. If on winding up or dissolution of the Society, there remain after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any monies or properties whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among Members of the Society, but, shall be paid to or transferred to UKRA to be used within the spirit of the objectives of this Constitution.

19. General

19.1. Every Member of the Society shall be entitled to peruse a copy of the Constitution, and all the rules thereunder, kept by the Secretary or otherwise made available.

19.2. The constitution of the Society shall not be amended UNLESS:

19.2.1. Notice of any proposed alteration to the Constitution of the Society must be submitted in writing by the proposer to the Secretary one (1) month before the AGM and shall be included on the Agenda, OR.

19.2.2. The amendment shall be passed at a General Meeting by at least one-half of the Members of the Society present and eligible to vote, OR

19.2.3 The amendment shall be passed at any other time by a ballot of all Members of the Society, by at least one-half of the Members of the Society who respond and are eligible to vote.

19.3. Any alterations to the constitution shall come into effect immediately following a successful vote.