HEREFORD AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION
STANDING ORDERS
Founded January 1921
HEREFORD AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION
OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION
1. To provide fishing for, and protect the fishery interests of, residents of the City and County of Hereford.
2. To encourage a friendly relationship between all its members and the owners of fisheries and riverside lands.
3. To carry on the business of a fishing club for the benefit of its members and the doing of all such other things as are incidental or conductive to the attainment of that object.
4. To prevent the use of any unsportsmanlike practice in the pursuit of the sport.
5. To acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise any lands, waters, buildings, premises, easements, quasi-easements, profits, rights of fishing or otherwise of any tenure, such as may be deemed by the Association likely to advance or benefit either directly or indirectly the interest of the Association and its members.
6. To encourage and whenever possible instruct Junior anglers.
1. NAME AND CONSTITUTION
1.1 The Association shall be called the HEREFORD AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION referred to hereinafter and in the Rule Book as the Association.
1.2 The Association shall consist of the Trustees, a President, Vice-President,
Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Bookkeeper, Treasurer, other elected
Officers and Members.
1.3 The Association’s Year shall be from 1st January to 31st December following.
1.4 In these Articles unless there is something in the subject or context inconsistent therewith –
“The Association” means the above named Association.
“Member” means a member of the Association
“ GPC means Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Committee.
“AGM” means Annual General Meeting
“RGM” means Rules General Meeting
“GM” means General Meeting
“EGM” means Extra General Meeting
1.Members
1.1 Every body or person desiring to become a member of the Association shall make an application in writing for that purpose in a form to be approved by the GPC.
1.2 The GPC shall be empowered at its absolute discretion to grant or refuse any application for membership.
1.3 The rights and privileges of membership shall not be transferable or transmissible by act of the member or by operation of law.
1.4 Any member may be excluded from the Association on the ground of failure to observe any of the regulations of the Association, or on any other ground, by resolution of the GPC.
1.5 As an alternative to exclusion the GPC may suspend the Member from some or all of the benefits of the membership for a period and / or impose a fine not exceeding £200.or such other penalty as may be deemed appropriate.
1.6 There may also be special classes of membership, as the GPC may from time to time determine.
1.7 Membership shall be evidenced by the issue to each such Member of an annual Membership Card.
1.8 Each Member shall pay to the Association upon admission to membership, and thereafter annually, a subscription of such a sum as shall be determined by the GPC.
1.9 Annual subscriptions shall become due and payable on 1st January, or such a date as shall be determined by the GPC.
1.10 The Association’ year runs from 1st January to the 31st December following. There will be no reduction in subscription on joining later in the year.
1.11 The GPC will be made up of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and GPC Committee.
2 Grades of Membership
2.1 Membership of the Association is divided as follows ;- Full, Associate, Honorary Life and Guest.
2.2 Full Membership
2.3 Full Membership is reserved for people whose permanent place of residence is in the County of Herefordshire with an HR postcode. Full members must be at least eighteen years old in the current Association year.
2.4 If after twelve months or more, a Full Member moves out of the County he may still retain Full Membership at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
2.5 Associate Membership
2.6 Associate Membership is reserved for people who do not have the residential qualification to become Full Members. They must be at least eighteen years old in the current Association year.
2.7 Associate Members may attend General Meetings but may not vote or hold any office.
2.8 Honorary Membership
2.9 Honorary Membership is reserved for Full Members who have performed a valuable service to the Association over a number of years.
2.10 Honorary Membership is granted by a majority vote at the Rules General Meeting and is restricted to one specific year.
2.11 Honorary Members have the same rights as Full Members without the payment of a subscription.
2.12 Life Membership
2.13 Life Membership is reserved for Full Members who have performed continuous valuable and useful service to the Association over many years.
2.14 Life Membership is granted by a majority vote at a Rules General Meeting and may only be rescinded in the like manner.
2.15 Life Members have the same rights as Full Members without the payment of a subscription.
2.16 Guest Membership
2.17 The GPC may from time to time offer at their discretion a guest membership, as a special thank you, gift or a competition prize.
2.18 Guest Members have the same rights as Full Members without the payment of a subscription
3. OFFICERS
3.1 All Officers shall be elected annually at the RGM and shall take up office at the AGM in the following year.
3.2 It will generally be the policy of the Association not to allow anyone to become an Officer of the Managing committee (Chairman or Vice Chairman), until they have served on the GPC for at least three years.
3.3 All Officers shall continue in office until the Association’s Accounts have been accepted at the AGM.
3.4 All Officers shall have their names printed in the rule book.
3.5 Duties and Powers
3.6 To control day to day business and affairs of the Association.
3.7 The Chairman or Vice Chairman shall take the chair at all General and Ordinary meetings and control such meetings. If neither is available the GPC will elect a Chairman for the meeting.
3.8 From the Committee/ Trustees the following will be elected.
3.9 Treasurer/Membership Secretary shall be responsible for all membership applications and renewals. Association finances, banking and preparation and presentation of the Annual Accounts.
3.10 The Official Recorder shall collect and collate details of current and past catches and shall be responsible for determining the annual winners of the Association’s trophies, if and when presented.
3.11 The Competitions Secretary shall be responsible for organising all Association contests and outings, and for collecting fees from visiting Clubs and Organisations and ensuring that Association Members are aware of waters so booked by means of notices in the Tackle Shops and annual events calendar.
3.12 The Working Party Organiser / Organisers shall be responsible for organising Working parties. He, together with any Working party Committee, may undertake bank work, river improvement, maintenance, etc, with the approval of the GPC.
3.13 A Solicitor shall be appointed to advise and represent the Association as required.
3.14 An Accountant shall be appointed annually.
4. Committees
4.1 Committee
4.2 The day-to-day business and affairs of the Association shall be conducted by the GPC.
4.3 The GPC shall deal with all matters of finance and correspondence, receive reports, call an EGM where necessary, give reports at GMs and generally run the Association.
4.4 The GPC shall consist of the Officers and a minimum of eight elected committee members of the Association . Seven of the above shall form a quorum.
4.5 Each GPC member shall, vacate their positions each year. A retiring Member is eligible for re-election immediately, and may hold office for many years.
4.6 It will generally be the policy of the Association not to allow a Member to be join the GPC until he has been a Full Member of the Association for at least two years.
4.7 GPC Members attending less than half the possible number of Meetings During their term of office without good reason shall not be eligible for re-election.
4.8 Full members may attend GPC Meetings but may not speak unless invited to do so by the Chairman, nor may they vote.
4.9 A member of the GPC shall cease to be a member of such Committee and shall vacate any Office held by him if-
(a) he shall (without leave of absence from the GPC) be, absent from five consecutive meetings of the GPC and if the Committee shall resolve that such member do retire from the committee,
(b) he shall give to the GPC notice in writing of his intention to retire.
(c) he shall, in the opinion of the GPC , be found to have, divulged to unauthorised persons information confidential to the GPC, or be convicted of any offence which in the opinion of the GPC renders it improper or inadvisable that he should continue as a member of the GPC . It is incumbent upon the member to notify the committee of any such offence.
4.10 Any Full Member may examine the Minutes of any GPC Meeting or GM by arrangement with the Secretary.
4.11 Non-members with specialist knowledge may be invited to speak or give advice at GPC Meetings at the discretion of the Chairman./ Committee
4.12 Sub-Committees
4.13 Sub-Committees may be sanctioned by the GPC to consider or act in relation to a specific problem or task.
4.14 Such Sub-Committees shall be directly responsible to the to whom reports shall be submitted as required.
4.15 Any number of people, not necessarily GPC Members but usually Full members, may serve on a Sub-Committee.
4.16 People with specialist knowledge may be co-opted to a Sub-Committee even though not Members of the Association.
5. Meetings
5.1 GPC Meetings.
5.2 The GPC shall meet on the first and third Monday of each Month, excluding Bank holidays and the month of August. Any meeting can be cancelled or postponed at the discretion of the GPC
5.3 An unscheduled GPC Meeting may be called at the request of five or more GPC Members, or by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman.
5.2 General Meetings
5.3 There shall be four General Meeting per annum at which Full Members may speak and vote.
5.4 The GM held in April is the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and is concerned with the presentation and acceptance of the Annual Accounts. Along with the acceptance of Officers and GPC Members.
5.5 The GM Held in September is the Rules General Meeting (RGM) and is solely concerned with the revision of Rules where applicable. Along with the election of Officers and GPC Members to take office at the following Annual General Meeting.
5.6 The GMs held in June and December will deal with normal GPC business but Full Members have the right to raise other issues not covered by the agenda.
5.7 Extraordinary General Meetings
5.8 Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM) may be convened by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman or by a majority vote at a GPC Meeting.
5.9 Due notice of such meetings, specifying the nature of the business to be discussed, must be given to all Full Members by letter, E-Mail or by notice via internet website and Social Media.
5.10 Only that business specified in 5.9.above may be discussed.
5.11 Ten Members shall form a quorum.
5,12. The Minutes of the EGM shall be presented for confirmation at the next GM.
5.13 Meetings – Procedure
5.14 All members will be signed in by the Chairman.
5. 15 The Chairman or Vice-Chairman will preside or, if neither is available, the GPC will elect another Officer or GPC Member to be Chairman for that Meeting.
5.16 The Chairman shall control the Meeting. He shall guide and control discussion, seeing that it does not become irrelevant or unduly prolonged. At his sole discretion he may suspend the Meeting, or postpone discussion, or adjourn or postpone the Meeting until some later date.
5.17 At Meetings the order of business shall normally be:- apologies for absence;minutes of previous meetings; matters arising from the minutes; reports from Bailiffs and Sub-Committees; special reports; correspondence; accounts; any other business.
5.18 Meetings – Discussion and Debate
5.19 Propositions shall be duly moved and seconded, and shall then be open to discussion.
5.20 Amendments may be moved and seconded at any stage and must then be dealt with and put to the vote. They must be relevant and not merely negative. Speeches on amendments shall be subject to the Chairman’s discretion and no member may speak more than once on any specific amendment.
5.21 If an amendment is carried, the proposition as amended becomes the substantive proposition and may then be subject to further amendments.
5.22 The mover of the original proposition has the right of reply to the discussion before it is put to the vote but must not, at that stage, introduce anything new. Similarly, he has the right of reply before a motion to postpone or adjourn discussion is put to the vote.
5.23 Propositions and amendments will fail if the voting for and against is equal. Where, however, the matter is considered by the Chairman to be vital or urgent, he may exercise his right to a casting vote, whether or not he has already exercised his right to vote as a Member.
5.24 If the Chairman considers that discussion on any matter has been adequate he may declare the discussion closed and proceed to a vote. Similarly he may accept a formal proposition to that effect from a Member.
5.25 After all amendments have been disposed of, the final, substantive proposition shall be put to the vote.
5.26 At any time the Chairman may accept a motion “to proceed to the next business”. If seconded, this must be put to the vote immediately with no further discussion. If carried the Meeting will proceed directly to the next item of business. If not carried, further discussion may take place. The Chairman will not allow a similar motion to be put until a reasonable time has elapsed.
5.27 Resolutions can only be rescinded by a two-thirds majority vote. Written notice of such a motion, signed by five or more Members, must be given within one month of the original resolution being passed and must then be discussed at the next available GPC Meeting or GM.
5.28 If for any reason, special circumstances apply, the Chairman has the right to cancel any GPC or GM Meeting.
6. Voluntary Dissolution
6.1 The Association shall only be dissolved by invoking and following the steps detailed below.
6.2 A proposition must be passed at a GM that the question of dissolution be considered by the GPC or by a specially convened sub-committee consisting of not less than twelve Members, six to form a quorum. The committee must produce a written report, with a recommendation as to whether or not the Association should be dissolved. The report must be signed by all the members of the appropriate Committee, whether they agree or disagree with the recommendation, for submission to a GM.
6.3 If, at this GM, a two-thirds majority vote decided to recommend dissolution, notice of an EGM to consider this recommendation must be sent by post or E-Mail to the last known address of all Full Members, giving at least eight clear days notice, exclusive of the date of posting and the date of the Meeting.
6.4 If this EGM decides upon dissolution, a second EGM, called in the same manner as the first, must be convened to confirm the minutes of the first Meeting. Non receipt by a Member of the notices of either of these Meetings shall not invalidate the proceedings of the EGM.
6.5 The Association’s Solicitor must be invited to attend both of the EGM’s and, if present, shall take the chair. In the event of dissolution, the Solicitor, together with the full Executive Committee will complete the dissolution and arrange for the assets of the Association, after payment of all due debts, to be transferred, in their entirety, to the Herefordshire Council, to be held and administered in trust for the benefit of the city residents for a period of seventy-five years and eleven months (being less than the period of eighty years which is the applicable perpetuity period) and thereafter for its own use and benefit entirely.
6.6 In no circumstances whatsoever shall the Fishing Rights or any other Assets of the Association be realised and the proceeds distributed amongst Members of the Association.
7. Standing Orders & Rules
7.1 Standing Orders can be subject to revision every third year if required. and Rules every year, at the RGM. Both shall be published in a suitable form and shall be binding on all Members.
7.2 In the event of any conflict between Standing Orders and Rules, the former shall have precedence, and both shall have precedence over resolutions.
7.3 No new Standing Order or Rule shall be added and no existing Standing Order or Rule shall be amended unless written notice has been given to the Chairman at least one calendar month before the RGM.
7.4 Resolutions for new Standing Order or Rule Rules passed at GPC level between Rules Meetings shall be reviewed at the next following RGM and must be either incorporated in Standing Order or Rules as appropriate, or must be discarded.
7.5 The Association will accept no responsibility, nor indemnify any member in respect of claims against the Association, if that Member acts outside the scope of Standing Orders, Rules or Resolutions.
7.6 Ignorance of any Standing Order or Rule will not be accepted as an excuse for non-compliance.
7.7 A Standing Order or Rule may be waived by a unanimous vote at a GPC Meeting if, in exceptional circumstances, it is established that the best solution to an unprecedented problem lies in the adoption of a procedure in direct or indirect contravention of the Standing Order or Rule
8. Bailiffs & Workers
8.1 Bailiff
8.2 The Association shall retain the services of a self-employed Bailiff (or Bailiffs) who shall perform the duties prescribed for him by the GPC .
8.3 The engagement and termination of the Services of the Bailiff shall be decided by the GPC .
8.4 The Bailiff (or Bailiffs) shall give regular reports to the GPC Meetings.
8.5 Insurance
8.6 All appropriate persons, either employed or self-employed, shall be insured so as to cover the statutory liabilities of the Association.
8.7 All Members engaged on Association business or attending Working Parties shall be insured against personal injury and death caused accident. by any
9. Finance
9.1 Finance
9.1 The Association shall have a Current Account at a Bank wherein all receipts are deposited and from which all payments are made.
9.2 The Association shall have a Deposit Account where money in excess of that needed for day-to-day running of the Association shall be invested.
9.3 All payments shall be made from the Current Account by means of cheques signed by any two of the Chairman, or chosen signatories from the GPC .
9.4 Accounts shall be prepared by the Association Accountant and presented every year at the AGM. These shall cover all Income and Expenditure, and shall include a Balance Sheet.
9.5 All substantial Expenditure to be authorised by a GPC Meeting or acting in the best interests of the Association the Trustee‘s.
9.6 Suitable Honoraria may be paid to Officers or GPC Members when authorised by the GPC.
9.7 Members shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred while on Association business.
10. Assets
10.1 The properties and assets of the Association shall be recorded in the Annual Accounts or in the Rule Book.
10.2 No assets shall be sold, leased, transferred, or in any way disposed of without the consent of a two-thirds majority at an EGM specifically convened for that purpose and the value of such a transaction shall not exceed thirty per cent of the fixed assets of the Association.
10.3 Assets would only be considered for sale, lease or transfer if it was to benefit the Association going forward.
10.3 Special funds may be created and maintained by a majority vote at a GPC Meeting or GM for any reasonable purpose. Details of such funds shall be included in the Annual Accounts.
11. Accounts
11.1 The Committee shall cause true accounts to be kept of the sums of money received and expended by the Association and the matters in respect of which such receipt and expenditure took place, of the assets, credits and liabilities of the Association and of all sales and purchases of goods by the Association.
11.2 All annual accounts will be presented at the AGM.
12. Minutes
12.1 Minutes of the proceedings of every general meeting of the Association, and of every meeting of any Committee shall be recorded and kept and be signed by the Chairman of the succeeding meeting, or by two Members present at the meeting to which such minutes relate, and such minutes, when so recorded and signed, shall be receivable as sufficient evidence of the facts and proceedings therein recorded without further proof. The GPC shall have power to determine to what extent, upon what conditions, and at what times (if any) the minute books shall be open to inspection of the Members.
13. Notices
13.1 A notice may be given by the Association to any Member either personally or by sending it by post to him at his registered address. Where a notice is sent by post, service of the notice shall be deemed to be affected by properly addressing, prepaying, and posting a letter containing the notice and to have been effected at the expiration of 48 hours after the letter containing the same was posted.
13.2 Notice and dates of General Meetings, Competitions and other annual events will be given on the events calendar presented with every annual membership or renewal.
14. Indemnity
14.1 Every Officer of the Association or Member of the GPC shall be-
(a) Indemnified out of the funds of the Association from all losses, liabilities and expenses properly authorised and incurred by him in the discharge of his duties.
(b) Chargeable only for so much money or property as he shall actually receive for the Association.
(c) Answerable only for his own acts or defaults and not for those of any other person or body, nor for any loss or damage of any kind which may happen in the execution of his duties, unless the same shall happen through his own negligence, dishonesty or wilful neglect or default.
But this Article shall only have effect insofar as its provisions are not avoided by the Statutes.
March 2011
