Constitution
Leicester Poetry Society Constitution
1) Name and Definition
a) The Society shall be known as Leicester Poetry Society.
2) Objectives
a) The objectives of the Society shall be to promote the appreciation, understanding and composition of poetry in whatever form.
b) To achieve its objectives the Society through its Committee is empowered to:-
i) organise a regular series of readings, lectures and events by poets or other speakers from outside the Society, which shall be open to the general public;
ii) organise workshops at which members and others have the opportunity to read out and discuss their work;
iii) publish such anthologies, pamphlets, magazines or books of the work of members or non members as the Committee shall authorize;
iv) hold social events.
c) Leicester Poetry Society welcomes participation by all sections of the community. The Society is opposed to all racist, ageist and sexist attitudes and behaviour and recognises the importance of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, historical and social diversity and that such diversity enriches both the Society and the wider community within which it exists. Membership of the Society shall be open to all, regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability or religious belief, upon payment of the annual subscription.
3) Membership
a) There shall be four types of membership: Full Membership, Associate Membership, Temporary Membership and Life Membership. Life Membership is dealt with under paragraph 6 of the Constitution.
i) Full Members receive a season ticket which gives entry to the season’s programme of public events, have a vote at the Annual General Meeting or any Extraordinary General Meeting and are able to attend all social events.
ii) Associate Membership, at reduced costs, allows those members to attend all social events, but they are not entitled to a vote at the A.G.M. or any E.G.M. or to have reduced season ticket admission to public events.
iii) Temporary Membership may be given at any reading, event, lecture or workshop for the duration of that event to any non-member at the discretion of the Committee. The charge for temporary membership will be set by the Committee and may be varied form time to time at the discretion of the Committee. Temporary members receive no other entitlements other than attendance at and participation in the reading, event, lecture or workshop.
b) The level of annual membership subscription shall be agreed at the A.G.M. by a two-thirds majority vote. The Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
4) Management
a) The Society shall be a self-governing body, managed by a Committee elected at the A.G.M.
b) The Society shall elect at the A.G.M. a President and a Committee to a maximum of nine members who shall fulfill the functions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
c) Members of the Committee shall be elected for one year but may be re-elected to the same office or another office in the following year.
d) The Committee shall have the power to allocate to its members such duties in the Society not otherwise provided for in this Constitution as it may in its discretion resolve.
e) The Committee shall have the power to co-opt other members of the Society to a maximum of two at any one time.
f) The Society shall not be bound to any undertaking or course of action except by a proper resolution approved by the Committee in session or passed by the A.G.M. or an E.G.M.
g) The Committee shall meet at least every quarter and if possible every month. The quorum for Committee meetings shall be three members.
h) Any member of a Committee shall vacate his office if:
i) he gives notice of his intention to resign and his resignation is accepted;
ii) he fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Committee as may be convened unless the failure to attend was due to some reason approved by the Committee.
5) Annual General Meeting
a) The Annual General Meeting shall be held in September each year and the Committee shall notify in writing all members of the Society of the date, time and venue of the A.G.M. at least 21 days in advance and shall call for nominations to the Committee.
b) The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
(1) Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any General Meetings held since the last Annual General Meeting.
(2) Receive the audited accounts for the year from the Treasurer.
(3) Receive the annual report of the Committee from the Chair.
(4) Elect the auditors.
(5) Elect the Officers of the Society i.e. President, Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and other General Committee Members.
(6) Review subscription rates and agree them for the forthcoming year.
(7) Transact such other business received in writing by the Secretary from Members 14 days prior to the meeting and included on the agenda.
c) Postal and proxy votes will be accepted, if received by the Chairman before and up to the start of business of the AGM.
(1) Postal votes shall indicate some or all of the following:
(a) which member is to receive the sender’s vote for which committee position (s);
(b) the sender’s vote for pre-notified motions.
(2) Proxy votes should indicate whether the Chairman or another named person should vote on behalf of the sender and should include either the sender’s votes or a statement that voting is to be left to the nominated person’s discretion.
(3) Notification of proxy and postal votes shall be agreed by the Chairman and recorded at the beginning of the AGM so that they may be cast during the business of the meeting.
d) The agenda shall provide for “Any Other Business”, but Members are encouraged to give the required notice for important Annual General Meeting business.
e) Nominations for election to the Committee shall be made in writing to the Committee at least two days before the A.G.M. Nominations may also be taken from the floor at the A.G.M.
6) Life Membership
a) The Society shall be empowered to award Life Membership of the Leicester Poetry Society to:-
- such members as it may wish to honour for long or outstanding service to the Society;
- such persons, whether members or otherwise, as it may wish to honour for services to poetry generally.
7) Finance
a) The Treasurer shall keep proper financial records, shall report regularly to the Committee, and shall be responsible for the preparation annually of Group income and Expenditure accounts for the preceding financial year, a balance sheet showing the assets and liabilities at the end of that year, and for their submission to the Group’s auditors.
b) The Society shall maintain a bank account or accounts at such bank as the Committee may in its discretion resolve. Any withdrawals from such accounts shall be on the signatures of at least two out of three authorised officers, one of whom shall be the Treasurer. After each A.G.M., the Treasurer shall notify the bank of any change of officer and, where a change occurs, the officer shall sign a new mandate form provided by the bank. A full annual audit of the Society’s financial records shall be carried out by two auditors who are not members of the Committee, and who are elected annually.
8) Alterations to the Constitution
a) An E.G.M. may be called at the A.G.M. by a majority vote, or may be convened at the written request of at least eight members or one-fifth of the membership, whichever is fewer. The Committee must be given due notice in order to give members 21 days’ notice of the E.G.M.
b) The articles of this Constitution shall be amended or altered only by a two-thirds majority vote at the A.G.M. or at an E.G.M. The notice of the meeting shall set out any proposed amendments or alterations.
9) Dissolution
a) Dissolution of the Society may be proposed at the Annual General Meeting or by an Extraordinary General Meeting called in accordance with paragraph 20.
(1) If, at that AGM or EGM, the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting, the General Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Society and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Society.
(2) After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Society the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the Full Members of the Society, but shall be given or transferred to some other voluntary organisation having objectives similar to those of the Society.
I also like to make poems and read lots of books that is related to Poetry.*~: