Gibson Street Forum

 

The Constitution of the Gibson Street Forum (Newcastle upon Tyne)

 
Article I. NAME
 The name of this Forum shall be the "The Gibson Street Forum".

 

 

 

Article II. PURPOSE

 

The purpose of the forum shall be to foster the best interests of the users of the centre through the coordination of educational and awareness Forum. The Forum will work toward its goals by:

 

 

A. coordinating a regular series of discussions of users of the centre,
B. meeting with local authorities, associations and other interested parties to provide feedback on current performance of the centre, and
C. creating a opportunity to develop, promote and create new opportunities for badminton player, and badminton related fitness in the North East.

 

Article III. MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 1. Membership in forum shall be open to any interested party or user of the Gibson Street centre.

 

Section 2. Gibson Street Forum member do not have to be directly connected to the centre but will be known as "Associate Members." Associate members may not run for office and do not have voting rights.

 

Section 3. Membership is limited to two members per club or group.

 

Article IV. MEMBERSHIP FEES

 

Section 1. There will be no annual fee for joining the forum

 

Article V. OFFICERS

 

Section 1. The officers of The forum will be chairman, Treasurer and Secretary. The creation of additional officers positions (e.g. Co-President, Web Master, etc.) must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the active membership and with the support of the advisor.

 

Section 2. Only active members of the forum may serve as officers, and at least half of the officers must be badminton player or past players.

 

Section 3. The duties of the Chairman shall include:

 

 

 A. Coordinating twice yearly meetings of the Forum.
B. Chairing all meetings of the Forum.
C. Calling emergency meetings.
D. Providing leadership to the Forum.
E. Working directly with the Club Advisor to ensure the club is operating within the expectations of the Forum.
F. Acting as the chief spokesperson of the Forum.
G. Establishing an effective relationship with the Local authorities, badminton associations and other administrative bodies.

 

Section 5. The duties of the Treasurer shall include:

 

 

 A. Keeping a record of all financial transactions.
B. Meeting with the committee on a regular basis to review account balances and financial transactions.
C. Preparing any and all budgets, financial budget requests/appeals, etc.
D. Working with the chairman to establish budgets for committees which are created.

 

Section 6. The duties of the Secretary shall include:

 

 

 A. Keeping detailed minutes of all meetings.
B. Coordinating the correspondence of the forum is done efficiently as possible, keep the chair and committee up to date with changing events.
C. Ensuring that all changes of officers are carried out correctly.
D. Working with the treasurer to establish budgets for committees which are created.

 

Article VI. OFFICER ELECTION/IMPEACHMENT

 

Section 1. All Forum Officers shall be elected before March 1 and will serve a term of May 1 - April 30. The time between elections and April 30 shall serve as a transition period for new officers.

 

Section 2. Officer elections will consist of the following three step process: 1. nominations, 2. elections, 3. run-off elections (if needed)

 

 

 A. Nominations - Nominations will be held the meeting prior to the scheduled date of elections. Any active forum member may nominate a fellow forum member to any of the forum officer positions. Nominations will only be accepted during the meeting prior to elections. Candidates can be nominated for more than one position and they may nominate themselves for a position if they are not nominated by another member.

 

 

 B. Only active members present at the meeting shall cast a vote, and only these votes shall count toward the computation of the 50%+1 required margin for election to office. The order of elections shall be as follows: Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary.

 

 

 C.Run-Off Elections - In the event that no candidate receives at least 50%+1 of the vote of the currently active forum members, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

 

Section 3. In the event that an officer is judged to be deficient in his/her duties he/she may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the forums membership. An Advisor shall oversee the impeachment process to ensure a fair and speedy trial.

 

Article VII. COMMITTEE CHAIRS

 

Section 1. The forum shall decide on an annual basis which committees need to be established in order to advance the centers position within the badminton world.

 

Section 2. All committee chairs will be appointed on each occasion by the Chairman. All appointments must be approved by a majority of the forum.

 

Section 3. Only forum members may serve as committee chairs.

 

Section 4. The duties of all Committee Chairs shall include:

 

 

 A. Selecting members to serve on their respective committee.
B. Coordinating and chairing committee meetings, as needed.
C. Keeping the main forum up to date of the plans and intentions of the committee.
D. Becoming familiar with forum policies and procedures.

 

Article VIII. ADVISOR

 

Section 1. The forum may appoint up to two advisors to work alongside the forum.

 

Section 2. The Forum Advisor must be have the right qualities to advance and have the best interests of the forum at all times.

 

Section 3. The Club Advisor's duties shall include:

 

 

 A. Meeting with the forum officers on a regular basis.
B. Attending forum meetings and forum activities.
C. Keeping abreast of forum issues and intentions.

 

Section 4. The Advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the forum, and as such, shall not have voting rights.

 

 

Article IX. PREMISES

 

Section 1. The Forum shall have power to acquire by purchase, lease or hire such property heritable or moveable as is deemed necessary.

 

 

 

Article X. MEETINGS

 

Section 1. The committee shall meet at least once per month. A listing of meeting dates shall be established by the Club Officers and shall be posted on the web site no later than May the 1st.

 

Section 2. Only active forum members may vote at meetings.

 

Section 3. In the event that an emergency meeting of the forum needs to be held, the Chairman of the forum shall have the authority to call such meetings. All officers must agree in advance to the emergency meeting and at least 24 hours notice must be provided to all active members by sending out both a voicemail and e-mail. Communication of emergency meetings will be the responsibility of the Club Secretary.

 

 

 

Article XI. DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS

 

Section 1. All disbursements of funds must be approved by the Treasurer and Chairman.

 

Section 2. Reimbursement for expenditures will only be accepted for members who have retained an original, itemized receipt and a description of the expense incurred.

 

Section 3. Any expenditure in excess of £200 must be approved by a majority of the forums Officers.

 

Section 4. All financial transactions of the forum will be managed through the approved accounting system.

 

Section 5. Only the Club Officers and the Chairman shall have the ability to charge expenses to the forums accounts system.

 

Section 6. If, upon the winding up or dissolution of he forum, there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members but shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions having objectives similar to the objectives of the forum, such institution or institutions to be determined by a simple majority of the Members of forum at or before the time of dissolution, and in so far as effect cannot be given to such provisions then to some charitable object.

 

Article XII. AMENDMENTS

 

Section 1. Amendments may be made to this constitution at any time by a two-thirds vote of the active forum membership.

 

Section 2. Members interested in proposing amendments to the constitution must submit the proposed amendment to the Chairman no later than ten days before the forums next meeting.

 

Section 3. The proposed amendment shall be presented via e-mail to the active forum membership no later than five days before the meeting where the amendment will be debated.

 

Section 4. Upon receiving a two-thirds affirmative vote in favor on a constitutional amendment/revision, the chairman shall submit the amendment/revision in writing to all forum members.

 

Article XIII. AFFILIATION WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

 

Section 1. The Badminton Clubs of Gibson Street should be affiliated to the national governing body, BADMINTON England and Northumberland Badminton association.