The Society of Ancients Constitution and Rules
- The Society shall be known as "The Society of Ancients" ("The Society").
Objects
The Society's aims shall be to promote interest in the Ancient and Medieval periods in History, and in Wargaming set therein by publishing a magazine, holding meetings and by any other method thereafter decided by the Committee or at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
Members
- A Full Member of the Society shall consist of any person who is interested in the aims of the Society, and who has attained the age of 16 years, and paid the full Society subscription fee
- Family Membership shall consist of any close relative of a Full Member and living at the same address. Such Membership shall not entitle the person to receive the Society magazine, but will entitle them to receive Ballot Papers for the election of Officers and Committee Members
Family Members under the age of 16 years may only attend meetings if accompanied by their sponsoring Full Member. Subscription
- The Subscription shall be set by the Committee and will entitle the Full Member to receive the Society magazine.
- Family Members shall pay a reduced Subscription Fee.
Termination of Membership
The Committee may expel any Member whose conduct is considered, to their satisfaction, to be detrimental to the interests and welfare of the Society. An appeal may be made to an Extraordinary General Meeting.
Management
- The affairs of the Society shall be conducted by the Committee, which shall consist of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Society Magazine Editor, called the Officers, and eight elected Members. The term of office of the Officers, and Committee shall be for one administrative year lasting between the 1st January and 31st December each year. The Committee shall have the powers to co-opt Members to fill vacancies in the Committee, at their discretion, but only elected Committee Members are entitled to vote. A quorum at Committee Meetings shall consist of five, of which two must be Officers and three elected Members; but if the elected Members shall number less than five, the quorum shall consist of five of which two must be Officers, and with at least half the elected members present. On all questions, absent Officers or Committee Members may advise the Secretary, in writing, of their opinions, and that Officer will present them as proxy votes if they so desire and minute this.
- The Committee must abide by decisions of an Extraordinary General Meetings until these have been set aside by a further Extraordinary General Meeting. The Committee retain full freedom of action in matters on which no decision has been expressed by any Extraordinary General Meeting.
Extraordinary General Meeting
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be held at such times as the Committee shall determine or on a special requisition in writing to the Secretary by at least 20 Members. The Secretary will organise an EGM to be held within two months of it being requested. Twenty-eight days minimum notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given to all Members along with the reason for the meeting having been requested. All Motions and proposals for an Extraordinary General Meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least 14 days before the announced date who will send these to all members. At Extraordinary General Meetings 40 Members shall form a quorum of which at least 15 must be signatories to any such requisition.
Any Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held within 50 miles of London. Once the meeting is deemed quorate it remains so until closed by the Chairman.
Election of Officers and Committee
- No persons may be nominated as Officer or Committee Member unless they are a full paid up Member, or Family Member of the Society. Nominations on behalf of Society Members willing to serve as officers or Committee members must be made formally in writing to The Secretary by the 31st August. The Secretary will publish a notice of this, in at least the May & July issues of Slingshot prior to this date. At least two nominations per nominee are required from fully paid up Members or Family Members of The Society.
- In a situation where, in a quorate Committee meeting, and in a vote properly listed and circulated as part of a formal agenda, a vote of "No Confidence" has been passed by a two thirds majority, including proxies, of that Committee, it would be expected that the Officer or Committee member concerned will step down.
The Secretary will check that such persons are willing to serve and draw up a prospective committee list for the succeeding year. Where this will produce more persons than can be accommodated within the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary will organise an election which will be completed by 30th November and the results of which, together with the resulting new Committee, will be announced in the January issue of Slingshot.
Voting shall be by Postal or E-mail vote. Ballot papers will be sent to all fully paid up Members & Family Members. These will contain, where possible, details supplied by the candidates. A Returning Officer who is not an Officer or Committee member, but is a fully paid up Member of the Society, shall be appointed by the Secretary, in liaison with the current committee. The number of committee meetings during the year of Office of each incumbent and the number they have attended shall appear on the Ballot paper against their entry should they be a candidate. No person shall accept nomination for more than one Office in any election.
The membership secretary will provide the Returning Officer with a complete membership listing when the labels for September Slingshot are prepared. When a new member joins after this point the Membership Secretary will endeavour to send a voting form to that member, but it is the responsibility of the member to request a ballot paper.
Candidates will be elected on the basis of the number of votes cast. No system of transferable vote will be used. In the event of a tie for the election of an officer the candidates will be consulted and a further election held if necessary. No further candidates may stand. In the event of a tie for a non-officer Committee position a die will be rolled to decide the winner. Where they are not willing to step down, the Committee may refer the matter to the President. In such cases, if judging it to be in the Society's best interest and in accordance with the perceived views of an EGM, the President will have the power to remove that person from office. The President is accountable to an EGM for such actions and will present a full report on the matter in Slingshot. In any other cases, Officers or Committee members can only be removed from office by an EGM.
Changes to this Constitution
Any Motions to alter this Constitution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary before 31st August and seconded by two full members of the Society. A vote will be held as in Section 8. Two-thirds of members voting must approve the change for the constitution to be changed.
Annual Reports
The Society will hold Members Meetings at least annually which will be organised by the Committee and at which it is expected Officers and Committee members will attend.. The meeting will provide an opportunity for Officers and Committee members to answer questions from members. Reports from Officers will be available at the meeting. Society Officers will present reports that will be published with the November issue of Slingshot. The Treasurer shall present a Balance Sheet and the Secretary a General Report for the past year.
Funds and Duties of the Treasurer
The funds of the Society shall not be applied to any other purpose than those in aid of, or in connection with, the interests of the Society, including the publication of a Society magazine and arranging meetings for Society Members. Financial help in organising local Society Meetings may be given at the Committee's discretion. A Bank Account and/or Building Society Accounts, or any other such suitable Account shall be opened with such reputable institutions and all money received from any source by the Treasurer on behalf of the Society shall be paid into those Accounts so nominated. All cheques shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by either the President or Secretary before being presented for payment, and the Treasurer will verify all such payments by producing a Balance Sheet each year (see clause 13). In the event of the Society being terminated any net surplus of Assets shall be divided equally between all Society Members at the time of termination.
financial Obligation
No Member or Family Member of The Society, apart from the Treasurer, shall commit The Society to any financial obligation without the consent of the Committee.
Examination of Accounts
The Committee shall appoint qualified individuals, who shall not be committee members, to examine the balance sheet that will be presented in Slingshot for the purpose of confirming that the Treasurer has properly fulfilled his or her duties.
Matters Arising
Any Member or Family Member of the Society wishing to bring forward any matter or complaint, shall send this in writing to the Secretary, or other appropriate Committee Member. Where this fails to resolve the matter the Member may refer the matter to the Ombudsman who shall put this before the Committee, whose decision shall be final, unless determined otherwise at an Extraordinary General Meeting under clause 7.
Duties of the President
The elected President will hold the chair at an EGM and at Committee meetings unless absent, and will ensure the Society is run in a manner decided upon by the EGM. The person holding the chair at a Meeting shall only be entitled to a casting vote.
Duties of the Secretary
The Secretary will undertake the administration of the Society in accordance with this constitution, and will keep all Officers and Committee Members advised of all matters arising.
He will give a report in the November issue of Slingshot and will advise the Membership through the Society's magazine on matters arising from an Extraordinary General Meeting or Committee Meetings.
Duties of the Editor
The Editor will edit the Society's magazine, (see clause 18), within the terms of the objects of the Society, together with any special issues. The Editor will not be connected with any other interests which the Committee considers detrimental to the aims and objects of the Society, and will relinquish the appointment if unable to fulfil the obligations.
Slingshot
The Society Editor will publish a magazine, to be known as 'Slingshot' which will be published bi-monthly on the following months:- January, March, May, July, September and November. The magazine will be non-commercial, carrying no commercial advertising.
Membership Information
Subject to the facilities being available to the committee, any member who expressly gives permission may have his/her name and address passed on to enquiring fellow members.
Honorary Life Vice Presidents
A Life Vice President shall be entitled to a free subscription to the Society for the rest of his or her life. The Society will not expect or demand any degree of qualification (e.g. Offices held or length of service) for election as Life Vice President, as the Society will continue to have and elect Life Vice Presidents in order that services to the Society may be recognised. In addition, in the event of the President being absent at any Extraordinary General Meeting, the senior Life Vice President will be invited to take the chair. In the event of no Life Vice President being present the Meeting shall elect a chairman from those present.
A candidate for Life Vice President must be proposed by the Committee, having been previously listed on a Committee agenda to give members unable to attend the chance to register a proxy vote. Having accepted the nomination candidates for Life Vice President shall be elected by Postal Ballot together with other candidates for Society Office. The candidate shall not submit an election address, but a brief statement supporting the proposal shall be supplied by the Proposer and every Society Member will be allowed one vote per candidate, voting either 'Yes' or 'No'. The candidates for Life Vice President shall be deemed elected if at least two-thirds of the Ballot received in that election give the candidate a 'Yes' vote.
The Committee may empower one of the Life Vice Presidents to act as Ombudsman.
Meetings
All Members will strictly comply with all rules and regulations as laid down by associations or bodies, whose accommodation is hired or used.
Matters Not Covered By This Constitution
Any matters arising out of, or not covered by this Constitution shall be reported to the Committee whose decision shall be held subject to confirmation at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
This version of the Constitution endorsed by the postal vote of April/May 2009 and the EGM of 27 June 2009, being adopted from that date.