1. Name
The name of the Society is "THE SCALEFOUR SOCIETY" (hereinafter called "the Society").
2. Objects
The main objects of the Society are:
to bring together persons interested in railway
modelling to 4mm fine scale standards;
to promote and encourage the use of efficient
modelling techniques and fine scale standards
among all 4mm scale railway modellers;
to publish information of interest to its members
and other railway modellers;
to undertake or support the design and development
of components and materials for use in 4mm
fine scale railway modelling;
and to trade on behalf of its members in all matters
connected with the Society’s objects.
3. Membership
a) Membership shall be open to all persons over the
age of sixteen years interested in the objects of the
Society. Any person under the age of sixteen years
may join at the discretion of the Committee if
sponsored by an adult member.
b) Application for membership shall be made on such
form as may be from time to time prescribed by the
Committee, which form shall include an undertaking
to abide by the rules of the Society.
c) The Committee shall have power to reject an
application for membership and shall not be required
to give reasons therefore.
d) Any member whose conduct appears to the
Committee to be contrary to the best interests of the
Society shall be notified in writing by the Secretary of
the conduct alleged and of the provisions of this Rule.
Within twenty one days of the date of posting of such
notice he may submit a written reply to the
Secretary. After considering such reply, if any is
received, the Committee may, if it thinks fit, direct
that his/her name be removed from the list of the
Society's members and shall so notify him/her in
writing. If within seven days of receipt of such
notification the member submits a request for a
Special Meeting under Rule 5(f), he/she shall not in
that case be removed from membership except by
resolution of that Meeting, except that if a properly
constituted Meeting fails to take place within fifty six
days, the Committee may, at the end of that time,
determine the issue as though a Meeting had not
been requested. If no such request for a Meeting is
received, the member's name shall be removed at
the end of fourteen days from the date of posting of
the said notification.
e) There shall be no power to appoint Honorary
Members or Life Members, and no officer or member
of the Society shall be relieved of the obligation to
pay a membership subscription other than those so
relieved before 1 January 1989.
f) The Society holds personal data in respect of its
members on computer unless the member has
specifically requested manual processing. In
accordance with the Data Protection Act 1984, the
Society may use personal data for any or all of the
following purposes:-
i) the publication of a list of members' names,
addresses (both postal and electronic) and
telephone numbers for use only within the
Society, though a member has the right to have
their addresses and/or telephone number
excluded;
ii) disclosures to a computer operator and/or
servicer when this is necessary in order to
repair / maintain equipment for computer
programs;
iii) other disclosures for the purposes of the Society
which the Committee decides to be necessary.
4. Subscriptions
a) The classes of membership and the amounts of
subscription shall be determined by the Committee
and notified to the membership in writing.
b) Subscriptions shall be payable on 1 March in each
year. Members who fail to renew their subscriptions
within three months of the due date shall be deemed,
after that time, to have resigned their membership of
the Society.
c) Persons admitted to membership of the Society
after 1 October shall pay a reduced subscription in
respect of their membership until 1 March the
following year.
5. Meetings
a) The Annual General Meeting shall be held between
1 April and 30 June in each year at a time and place
to be determined by the Committee.
b) Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be
posted to every member of the Society at least
twenty eight days before the date of the Meeting.
c) The business of the Annual General Meeting shall
be:
1) to receive the minutes of the previous AGM;
2) to receive the reports of the Committee and the
officers of the Society;
3) to receive the Treasurer's report;
4) to receive the results of the Committee elections
in accordance with Rules 6(c)(vi) and (vii);
5) to consider motions submitted under Rule 5(d);
6) to consider motions submitted under Rule 5(e);
7) to receive correspondence;
8) to appoint Auditor(s);
9) to consider any other business.
d) Written and signed notice of any motion for
discussion at the Annual General Meeting shall be
delivered to the Secretary:-
i) if for circulation to every member of the Society
to allow consideration and discussion prior to the
Annual General Meeting, by the end of the November
preceding the Meeting;
ii) otherwise, not less than fourteen days prior to
the date of the Meeting. Motions under this rule will
be included in the agenda of the Meeting.
e) Other motions may be given to the Chairman in
writing not less than thirty minutes before the start of
business. Such motions will be accepted only at the
discretion of the Chairman.
f) A Special Meeting shall be held whenever the
Committee think expedient or within forty days of the
receipt by the Secretary of a request in writing
stating the business to be transacted and signed by
thirty members or ten per cent of the membership,
whichever is less. Should the Secretary fail, within
fourteen days, to convene a Special Meeting when so
requested, those members requesting the same may
convene it by giving notice as in the following clause.
g) Notice of every Special General Meeting shall be
posted to every member of the Society at least
fourteen days before the date of the Meeting, stating
the business to be transacted and no business other
than that stated in the notice shall be brought before
the Meeting.
h) No business shall be transacted at any General
Meeting unless there is a quorum of thirty members
or ten per cent of the membership (whichever is the
less) personally present and entitled to vote.
i) Members not able to attend a General Meeting may
name a member who can attend as their proxies.
Such proxies must be registered with the secretary
by the member not able to attend at least two weeks
before the date of the meeting. Members who have
named and registered a proxy may nevertheless
attend the meeting. Their proxy will be cancelled at
the start of the meeting and they will be able to vote
in person. Members attending the meeting and
holding one or more proxy votes will have the validity
of these votes checked and confirmed at the start of
the meeting. A proxy may be exercised only by the
member named and is not transferable.
j) Except as specified in Rule 5(k), at any General
Meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting
shall be decided on the total of a show of hands and a
declaration of proxy votes unless, before or on
declaration of the result of the vote, a postal ballot of
all members of the Society be demanded by the
Chairman of the meeting, or by at least twenty
members present in person and entitled to vote. A
demand for a postal ballot may be withdrawn before
the close of the meeting.
k) At a General Meeting, all matters other than those
relating to motions under Rules 5(d)(i), 5(d)(ii), 5(e)
and the election of a President or Vice President shall
be decided on a show of hands alone.
6. Officers and Committee
a) There shall be a Chairman, Deputy Chairman,
Secretary, Membership Secretary, Trade Officer and
Treasurer and three other Committee members
elected by simple majority at each Annual General
Meeting, who shall hold office for one year unless reelected
at the next AGM. In the event of a post not
being filled at the AGM or of a vacancy occurring in
the Committee otherwise than at the AGM the other
members of the Committee may appoint a person to
replace the missing member: the person so appointed
shall hold office until the next AGM.
b) The Society shall be managed by a Committee
consisting of those elected under clause 6(a). The
Committee shall meet at times and places it shall
consider expedient. A quorum shall be not less than
one third of the members of the Committee, and all
matters shall, if necessary, be decided on a majority
vote. The Chairman shall not have a casting vote.
c) The election of officers and other members of the
Committee shall be by postal ballot of the members
in accordance with the following provisions:-
i) no person shall be eligible unless he/she is a
member of the Society;
ii) every candidate shall be proposed and seconded
by members in writing and shall, before being
put forward as a candidate, indicate his/her
willingness to serve;
iii) candidates shall provide a short statement
(maximum 400 words) and a photograph of
themselves for circulation to members;
(Provisions (ii) and (iii) must be completed by the
end of each January)
iv) candidates' statements and details of proposers
and seconders shall be circulated to all members
(even if there is only one candidate for a post);
v) 'postal' voting shall be by post, e-mail, website
or such other means as are specified with
deadlines set to ensure votes can be validated
and counted before the Annual General Meeting;
vi) the full results of the ballot shall be declared by
the Secretary at the Annual General Meeting;
vii) should the result of the vote for any post be a
tie, the final result shall be determined by a
further vote of those present decided on a show
of hands.
d) The Committee shall appoint such other officers as
it shall consider necessary from time to time.
e) The Committee may appoint Sub-Committees,
consisting of a least one of its members and such
other persons as the Committee shall think fit. Such
Sub-Committees shall report to and be regulated by
the Committee.
f) The Committee shall, through its officers, submit
to the Annual General Meeting a written or verbal
report of its activities in the preceding year.
g) In addition to the officers referred to above, the
following honorary officers may also be appointed,
viz:-
i) a President
ii) Vice Presidents.
Such officers shall be elected in accordance with the
provisions set out below, but there shall be no
obligation to make any such appointment and the
office of President and/or Vice President may be left
vacant at any time.
h) The Committee may nominate for the office of
President or Vice President any member of the
Society who, in the opinion of the Committee, has
given outstanding service to the Society. Such
nomination shall be set out in writing in the agenda of
the Annual General Meeting, in accordance with Rule
5(d), and shall be dealt with under item 4 of the
agenda (Election of Committee). The nomination
shall be put to the meeting by the Chairman in the
form of a motion that the above named member or
members shall be elected to the office of President or
Vice President (as the case may be) and such motion
shall be put to the vote in accordance with Rule 5(j).
No nomination to the office of President or Vice
President shall be put forward except in accordance
with this Rule.
i) Upon appointment the President shall serve for a
term of three years, and shall then automatically
assume the office of Past President. There shall be
no limit to the term of office of any Vice President or
Past President.
j) It shall be a condition of the continuance in office
of the President, Vice Presidents and Past Presidents,
that they maintain their membership of the Society
by payment of the annual membership subscription.
k) The offices of President, Vice President and Past
President shall be purely honorary. A member who,
for the time being, holds the office of President, Vice
President or Past President shall not thereby be
precluded from being elected to any other office in
the Society or from being co-opted as a member of
the Committee, but the President, Vice Presidents
and Past Presidents shall not otherwise be members
of the Committee or attend meetings of the
Committee (unless specifically invited by the
Committee to do so) and they shall have no power by
virtue of their honorary office to participate in the
management of the Society or to represent
themselves as having any authority to act on behalf
of the Society in any manner, but they shall
nevertheless conduct themselves in a proper manner
as befits the honorary position to which they have
been appointed.
7. Finance
a) The financial year of the Society shall close at the
end of February each year.
b) The Treasurer shall be responsible to the Society
for the good management of its finances and shall
maintain such books and records as may be
necessary for the proper discharge of his/her duties.
c) The Treasurer shall submit to each Annual General
Meeting a report on the financial state of the Society
together with a revenue account and a balance sheet
as at the closing of the preceding year. The account
and balance sheet shall have been audited by the
Auditor(s) appointed by the preceding Annual General
Meeting.
d) The funds of the Society shall be kept in the name
of the Society at a bank or banks to be nominated by
the Committee.
e) Cheques drawn on the Society's funds shall be
signed by such person or persons, and to such limits,
as shall from time to time be authorised by the
Committee.
f) Members authorised to trade on behalf of the
Society, or to hold stock, shall maintain such books
and records as may be necessary for the proper
discharge of their duties. They shall submit to the
Treasurer when requested, and in any case at the
end of each financial year, a statement of their
accounts and stock in hand.
8. Area Groups
a) The Committee may appoint Area Organisers and
may empower them to establish Area Groups.
b) Area Organisers shall be responsible to the
Committee for the good management of their Area
Groups in accordance with the stated objects of the
Society and its Rules and Constitution.
c) The Committee shall have the power to assist Area
Groups (or other associated groups) by means of
grants-in-aid or loans from the Society's funds; Area
Groups so assisted shall make an annual report to the
Committee and such other reports as the Committee
may request.
9. General
a) Any notice or other matter required to be sent to
or served upon any member of the Society shall be
deemed to have been adequately served if sent by
post to the address of that member recorded with the
Membership Secretary.
b) The Society's address for service shall be the
address of the Secretary for the time being, save that
in the case of registration for Value Added Tax and
other taxes it shall be the address of the Treasurer
for the time being.
10. Dissolution
The Society may at any time be dissolved with the consent of two thirds of the members voting in a postal ballot held for the purpose, and consequent on a resolution to dissolve the Society first having been carried at a General Meeting of the Society. The assets remaining after satisfying all debts and liabilities of the Society shall be disposed of in accordance with a further resolution taken at the said General Meeting.
11. Amendment of Rules
a) New rules, amendment or rescission of rules
contained herein, or included hereafter, shall be
made only by way of a motion under Rule 5(d)
considered at a General Meeting of which notice has
been given in accordance with these Rules, specifying
the intention to propose such rules, amendments or
rescissions, or by postal ballot if one is demanded.
b) The interpretation of these Rules shall rest with the
Chairman.