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LANCASHIRE AUTHORS’
ASSOCIATION
Established 1909
FOR WRITERS OR LOVERS
OF LANCASHIRE LITERATURE AND HISTORY
CONSTITUTION (As amended from time to time in
General Meeting)
1.
NAME
The Association shall be called THE LANCASHIRE AUTHORS' ASSOCIATION with
the sub-title 'For
Writers or Lovers of Lancashire Literature and History'.
2.
OBJECTS
The objects of the Association shall be to foster and stimulate public
interest in the literature (including the dialect) and history of the
County Palatine of Lancaster by holding members' meetings at which
papers may
be presented and entertainment provided, by the publication of a journal
comprised substantially of the prize-winning
entries of membership competitions, by the maintenance of a library
primarily concerned with the
works of Lancashire writers and by the pursuit of any other methods to
promote fellowship within the
Association including the encouragement of new writers.
3.
MEMBERSHIP
All persons interested in Lancashire Literature and History are eligible
for membership as Life Patron, Life Member, Individual Member, Joint
Members, Junior Member (under 18) or Library Member. Each applicant
shall forward a signed proposal form, with subscription, to the
Membership Secretary.
4.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
The annual subscription for membership (due 1st January in advance)
shall be as approved from time to time
in General Meeting, Special Notice having been given in advance.
5.
HONORARY MEMBERS
Honorary Members of the Association may be elected upon a two-thirds
vote of the Executive Committee.
Such Honorary Members shall be ineligible for election to the Executive
Committee.
6.
MEETINGS
The Association shall meet periodically but at least three times each
year in one or other of the towns or cities
of the historic County Palatine of Lancaster; one of these meetings
shall be the Annual General Meeting.
The format of each meeting shall be
determined by the Executive Committee.
7.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
7.1
The Annual General Meeting shall be held in March, and shall be devoted,
principally to the general affairs of
the Association. It shall receive and consider reports from all the
Association's Officials, and the decisions
and recommendations of its Executive
Committee; it shall elect the Executive Committee for the forthcoming
year, and direct points of
policy and other such business as may be considered necessary for the
welfare and advancement of the Association.
7.2
An extraordinary general meeting may be called by an application to the
Chairman which is supported by at least 25% of the membership. After
establishing that the application is supported by 25% of the membership
the Chairman must arrange the extraordinary meeting.
8.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall be composed of: The President, The
Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary,
Treasurer, Editor of the Association's Journal (The Record'),
Membership Secretary, Publicity Secretary, Competitions’ Secretary and
Librarian. All the Committee, except The President, shall retire
annually but shall be eligible for re-election. In the event of a
vacancy occurring on the
Executive Committee it shall be entitled to fill such vacancy until the
next Annual General Meeting.
Nominations for the Executive Committee, bearing the written assent of
the nominee to serve if elected, shall be in the hands of the Secretary
not less than seven days prior to the Annual General Meeting. If the
number of nominations exceeds the vacancies then the meeting shall
proceed to elect the members by ballot.
The
Executive Committee may co-opt extra members not named in the
constitution for a period of not more than one year provided that a
report of the reasons is made to the
Annual General Meeting.
9.
DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to govern the working of
the Association in accordance with
the spirit of this Constitution. The Executive Committee shall meet at
such times as it may deem necessary. Four members shall form a quorum.
10. DUTIES
OF OFFICERS
President:
It shall be the duty of the President at all meetings of the Association
to welcome members, guests and
visiting dignitaries, to open the proceedings and then pass over the
conduct of the meetings to the
Chairman. The President shall require the Executive Committee to write a
development plan to ensure that the aims of the Association are met and
that it continues to grow and develop. Further to ensure that the
Executive Committee
present that plan to the
Annual General Meeting
for consideration by members.
Chairman:
It shall be the duty of the Chairman to preside at all meetings of the
Association and of the Executive Committee. At meetings of the Executive
Committee the Chairman will ensure that there is agreement as to what is
written in the minutes and require that the Secretary distributes the
agreed minutes promptly. The Chairman will also cause the
Executive Committee
to set dates in advance for meetings of the executive committee as
provided in Rule 9 further ensuring that the Secretary distributes the
necessary paperwork in advance of the meeting. The Chairman may cancel
meetings if the need for them proves redundant but must ensure that
there are at least three meetings a year. In the event of an emergency
the Chairman may call an extraordinary meeting of the
Executive Committee.
In the event of a tied vote the Chairman has the casting vote.
Deputy Chairman:
the duty of
the Deputy Chairman shall be to act in the absence of the Chairman and
assume all the full powers of the Chairman.
Secretary:
It shall be the duty
of the Secretary to: send out the papers for each meeting of the
Association in advance whether of the Executive Committee or the whole
Association; keep minutes of all the Association's business and ordinary
meetings and distribute those minutes to relevant parties; maintain the
correspondence of the Association and keep the
Executive Committee
informed where necessary; undertake the directions given by the
Executive Committee.
Treasurer:
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to manage all financial
transactions of the Association, keep proper records and produce a
financial statement to the Executive Committee at their meetings. The
Treasurer shall
be responsible for the preparation of the books for annual audit and
shall prepare a Statement of Accounts for presentation to the Annual
General Meeting. At the first EC meeting following the
Annual General Meeting
the Treasurer shall produce a draft budget for consideration by the
committee.
Membership Secretary:
It shall be the duty of the Membership Secretary to maintain a complete
and up to date record of all members
with such detail as is required by the
Executive Committee
which may change over time. Further the membership secretary shall send
out reminders to all members in order that all annual subscriptions are
paid and report to the Treasurer as necessary.
Editor of the Record:
It shall be the duty of the Editor of ‘The Record' to take charge of the
official journal: keep its contents non-controversial
and of a nature calculated to promote the interest of the Association in
general and of
Lancashire Literature and History; include a report of all meetings for
insertion in ‘The Record'; publish ‘The Record’
quarterly, or as otherwise agreed;
and reflect as far as possible the activities of the
Association and its members.
Librarian:
It shall
be the duty of the Librarian to receive works produced by members, and
other works distinctly
pertaining to Lancashire, and to place them with the Association's
Library which is housed at Accrington
Library. The Librarian shall (a)
keep a catalogue of the items in our library, (b) prepare a quarterly
list of the recent additions for publication
in The Record', and (c) assist members and the general public in making
use of
our Library on such conditions as the Association may determine.
Competitions’ Secretary:
It shall be the duty of the Competitions’ Secretary to make all
necessary arrangements for the annual and other competitions run by the
Association and to organise the presentation of awards on the Awards’
Day(s). The Competitions’ Secretary shall find suitably qualified
adjudicators and keep a register of the same. All entry fees received by
the Competitions’ Secretary will be passed to the Treasurer for banking.
Publicity Secretary:
It shall be the duty of the Publicity Secretary to ensure that the
activities of the Association are made known to the people and
organisations within the County of Lancashire (or wider if deemed
necessary and appropriate) and to ensure that particular events receive
appropriate levels of publicity.
Duty of all Officers:
It shall be the duty of all officers to tender a report at the
Annual General Meeting
on their work for the association during the preceding year.
11.
One or two Auditors shall be elected each year at the Annual General
Meeting; their duty shall be to examine the financial
transactions of the Association as set forth in the Treasurer's Books
and Statement of Account and to report
thereon to the ensuing
Annual General Meeting
12.
Local branches of the Association may, with the approval of the
Executive Committee, be formed where
groups of members so desire; all such branches must be self-supporting,
and must work in conjunction with
the central body in carrying out
this Constitution. Members of such local branches who are not members of
the parent Association shall
be termed and known as 'Branch Associates'.
13.
The constitution of the association may only be changed at a general
meeting and by a resolution supported by at least two thirds of the
members present at that meeting.
14.
The Executive committee shall maintain arrangements to be known as
“Standing Arrangements”. These arrangements must include protocols for
banking, expenses, competition adjudicators, proxy voting and the
disbandment of the association.
This revised version drafted in August 2012 and February 2013 and passed
at the Annual General Meeting on 16th March 2013 |