CONTENTS TITLE AND OBJECTIVES ORGANISATION MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS VOTING ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND RULES WINDING UP OPERATIVE DATE NOTES FOR GUIDANCE
		TITLE AND OBJECTIVES 1. The group shall be known as the "MALVERN HILLS REPEATER GROUP". 2. The aims and objects of the group shall be: a) To provide and maintain Amateur Radio Repeaters in and around the Worcester/Malvern area. b) To maintain and foster interest in repeaters.
		ORGANISATION 3. The affairs of the Group shall be administered by a Committee, elected at the Annual General Meeting, in whom all the property and finances of the Group shall be vested. The Committee shall comprise:- Chairman Secretary Treasurer Technical Manager Five Ordinary Members. 4. A nomination for election to the Committee shall be valid only if:- a) The member nominated shall have been a member for not less than the previous twelve months, b) Not be elected officer of any other repeater group and c) The nomination is confirmed by the nominee in person at the meeting or previously in writing to the Secretary. 5. The Committee shall have power to fill casual vacancies among their number and to co-opt not more than three ordinary members at any one time for any specific purpose. Co-opted members shall have the right to vote any Committee Meeting they attend, but only in respect of the specific purpose for which they were co-opted. 6. The Committee shall have power to appoint managers to perform specific tasks. The appointments and their terms of reference shall be reported to and confirmed by the members at the next following General Meeting and at each Annual General Meeting. 7. The Committee shall have the power to enrol the Group as a member of, or to seek affiliation to any other group or organisation, subject to approval by a majority of the membership. (See rule 28.) 8. The Group's financial year shall run from 1st July to 30th June.
		MEMBERSHIP 9. Membership shall be open, at the discretion of the Committee, to all persons interested in the aims and objects of the Group. 10. The membership shall consist of Full Members, all of whom shall have equal voting rights; and Honorary Members, none of whom shall vote. 11. A Full Member shall be any member who has paid his or her subscription at the current rate or any rate determined by the Committee under rule 19. 12. The Committee may elect Honorary Members upon such conditions as it may in each case determine. However, the total number of Honorary Members shall not exceed five or five per cent of the total membership, whichever is the greater. 13. All candidates for membership shall sent to the Secretary (or Treasurer), together with the appropriate subscription, an application for membership, setting out his or her name and address and any other particulars which the Committee may direct, and must agree to be bound by the Constitution and Rules of the Group. 14. Should the conduct of a member be considered contrary to the interests of the Group or its aims, the matter shall receive the attention of the Committee. The member shall be called upon for a satisfactory explanation or his or her resignation; failing which, he or she will be liable to expulsion from the Group, subject to a right of appeal to a General Meeting. 15. Any person ceasing to be a member shall forfeit all right to and claim upon the Group and its property and funds. 16. The rate of subscription shall be determined annually at the Annual General Meeting. 17. Subscriptions shall become payable with the initial application for membership and will fall due at yearly intervals thereafter. 18. The Membership of any members who has not paid the subscription within three months of it becoming due shall be treated as lapsed. 19. The Committee shall have the power to waive the whole or part of a member's subscription. Any such remissions shall be reviewed annually.
		MEETINGS 20. Meetings shall be held at places and times determined by the Committee. 21. An Annual General Meeting shall be held in September of each year. The agenda for the Annual General Meeting shall be:- a) Apologies for absence. b) Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting. c) Chairman's Report. d) Secretary's Report. e) Treasurer's Report. f) Technical Manager's Report. g) Determination of subscriptions. h) Election of the new Committee. i) Election of Auditors. j) Appointment of Managers. k) Other business. A request be a member to include an item on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting under 'Other business' should be made to the Secretary, in writing, not less that one month before the date of the meeting. 22. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee; or by the Secretary upon the written request of twelve members eligible to vote. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened within thirty days of receiving any such request. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be confined to the matter stated in the request. 23. Notice of the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary Meeting shall be given be the Secretary not less that twenty one days before the date of the meeting. The notice shall state the business to be discussed. 24. At the discretion of the Chairman of any meeting, prospective members and visitors may attend and, at his invitation, may speak, but not vote.
		VOTING 25. Voting shall be by show of hands or ballot, as decided by the Chairman. 26. In addition to his vote as a member, the Chairman of a meeting shall have the casting vote. 27. Proxy votes shall not be allowed at any meeting. 28. A two-thirds majority of the members present and eligible to vote shall be required to carry a motion seeking to alter the Constitution and Rules of the Group or any motion proposed at an Extraordinary General Meeting. A simple majority shall carry any other motion. 29. The quorum for the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting shall be twenty members or twenty-five per cent of the total membership, whichever shall be the less. 30. The quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be fifty percent, of whom two shall be elected officers.
		ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND RULES 31. No change to the Constitution and Rules of the Group shall be made except at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting convened by the Committee for the purpose. 32. A copy of all such proposals shall be made available to each member, in writing, prior to the General Meeting at which the matter is to be discussed.
		WINDING UP 33. The winding up of the Group shall require a motion at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. The Committee shall be responsible for realising the assets of the Group and paying all outstanding debts. Any balance remaining thereafter shall be either: a) Distributed to the paid up members in proportion to their annual subscription rates, b) Given to an organisation with similar interests, or c) Given to a charitable organisation as determined by the members.
		OPERATIVE DATE This Constitution and Rules shall come into force on 1st August 1997 and shall supersede all previous rules and amendments.
		NOTES FOR GUIDANCE Whilst the Group will make every effort to maintain the service, its continuity cannot be guaranteed and as such the Group will not accept any liability as a result of system non-availability.