Forres and Culbin Model Club

 Constitution

Contents

1. Name
2. Interpretation
3. Aims
4. Members
5. Rules, Discipline and Safety
6. Flying
7. Committee
8. Committee Powers
9. Committee Meetings
10. Annual General Meeting
11. Extraordinary General Meetings
12. Insurance and Indemnity
13. GDPR Privacy Policy
14. Dissolution of the Club

 

1. Name

1.1 The name of the club shall be the “Forres and Culbin Model Club” and it will be affiliated to the British Model Flying Association (BMFA).

2. Interpretation

2.1 The “club” means the “Forres and Culbin Model Club”.

2.2 The “Rules” means the Forres and Culbin Model Club rules as revised from time to time and published in the club’s Rule Book.

2.3 “The officers” means the chairman, vice chairman, secretary, treasurer, safety officer and membership secretary of the club.

2.4 “The committee” means the officers and committee members of the club.

2.5 The masculine gender includes the feminine gender unless the context indicates otherwise, and where appropriate, the singular includes the plural.

3. 3. Aims

The clubs aims are:-

3.1 To promote the awareness of and interest in and enjoyment of Modelling & Model Making within a friendly and stimulating environment, hosting educational, practical and social activities in the local area that are accessible to all adults and all levels of knowledge. The club seeks to achieve its aims through a varied programme including but not limited to; meetings, activities and events that will include talks, exhibitions, trips to places and organisations of interest, expeditions, technical workshops and social events.

3.2 To provide facilities for all modelling activities of any type in a safe environment, indoors and outdoors and enable members to learn the safe handling of models and improve their standard of operation.

3.3 To abide by and promote the national policies and rules of the relevant national governing bodies.

4. 4. Members

4.1 Membership is open to both male and female persons.

4.1.1 Membership is available to all persons who are aged 18 years and over.

4.2 Honorary membership: Honorary life membership may be conferred on a past, present or any other person.  Honorary members can only be created by a majority ballot of club members at a general meeting.

4.3 The Committee has the right to refuse membership to new applicants.

4.4 New members shall be required to serve an initial period of 6 months. During this time they will not be eligible to serve on the Committee.  Acceptance into the club shall be at the discretion of the committee and their decision is final.

4.5 The number and eligibility of members shall be restricted to such numbers and categories the committee may, at its absolute discretion, decide.

4.6 Subscriptions are due from the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) each year.  Any member who has not paid the subscription for the following year by this date will not be permitted to undertake any club activities until they have done so.

4.7 Members who allow their membership to lapse for less than 2 months will not normally be asked to re-apply for membership but will be required to pay a full 12 month subscription.

4.8 Members who have not renewed their membership within 2 months will be deemed to have left the club and renewal after this period will be treated as a new membership application.

4.9 All members who participate in any flying activities must be members of either the BMFA or Scottish Aeromodellers Association (SAA) and hold public liability insurance.  They must also hold a valid Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Operator ID plus either a valid CAA Flyer ID or BMFA Remote Pilot Registration Certificate and must be able to provide evidence of such on request.  These requirements must be in place before flying with the exception of members who only fly indoors who do not require CAA registration.

4.10 All members must comply with all club rules and operate legally at all times and must show proof of any required registration on request.  Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action by the club which may lead to dismissal.

4.11 In the event that the Committee allow guests to participate in club activities they must meet all the requirements of sections 4.9 and 4.10

4.12 Members borrowing Forres and Culbin Model Club equipment must sign a Liability Acceptance Form.

4.13 Members leaving the club for whatever reason must return all club property within two weeks of the termination of their membership.

4.14 Members must have third party liability insurance and must show proof on request.

5. Rules, Discipline and Safety

5.1 Any complaint concerning any member must be made in writing and signed by the complainant(s). The written complaint must then be forwarded to the Secretary so that the matter can be addressed at the next Committee meeting.

5.2 Where an allegation of misconduct is made against a member, the member may be suspended from all club activities while an investigation is carried out.

5.3 The Committee may impose a suspension from club activities including attendance at the club flying site, not exceeding 28 days upon any member in the event of misconduct. Any suspension must be accompanied by a verbal and/or written warning as deemed appropriate in accordance with section 5.4.

5.4 The Committee may consider removal of membership where conduct on the field or elsewhere is considered to be prejudicial to the club. Dismissal will be in accordance with the following procedure in order to comply with the laws of natural justice:

1. The member is to be given a verbal warning by an authorised Committee Member in which the member is made aware of his misdemeanour and what he is reasonably required to do to make amends.
2. If the member does not respond, he is to be given a written warning by an authorised Committee Member to advise him of his misdemeanour and what he is reasonably required to do to make amends.
3. If he still fails to respond, the Committee should invite him in writing to meet with them at a previously agreed date and time to discuss the situation, advising they are considering withdrawal of his membership.
4. If he still fails to respond to reasoning or fails to attend without reasonable cause, the Committee can advise him in writing that his membership is withdrawn, stating the reasons why this decision was reached.
5. When the member is advised of withdrawal of his membership, he must be given the right of appeal. If he opts to appeal, this will be to the Club membership at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) which the Committee would call on his behalf at a previously agreed date and time. The motion to uphold the membership withdrawal or reverse it must be in accordance with the voting procedures set out in the Club Constitution.
6. In the event of gross misconduct, immediate dismissal without warnings may be considered but the member must still be accorded his rights to present his case to the Committee and be given a right of appeal in accordance with sub-paragraphs c, d and e above.

5.5 In the event of dismissal the members subscription shall not be refundable.

6. Flying

6.1 All flying members must attain the minimum standards of flying required by the club before being permitted to fly unsupervised.

6.2 Any member whose flying standard falls below the minimum required solo standard will require to be supervised and trained until an acceptable standard of flying is achieved.

7. Committee

7.1 The club Committee shall comprise no more than 7 members.

7.2 The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Safety Officer, Membership Secretary and 1 elected member shall form the committee.

7.3 The role of the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer as key positions should be filled by three separate individuals.

7.4 Committee members shall be elected at the AGM and will serve for a period of 1 year.

7.5 Any two ordinary members may nominate another ordinary member to serve as an officer or committee member of the club having previously received his assent.

7.6 Any member so nominated will only be legally elected if he and his two proposers attend the meeting.

7.7 The name of the nominee together with his proposer and seconder must be sent in writing to the Secretary and signed by all three (or sent from their respective personal email addresses) at least 21 days prior to the meeting.

7.8 Committee members will be elected by a simple majority vote from the nominations that have been received.

7.9 If insufficient candidates are nominated or an existing committee member resigns the committee may elect a member with his consent to fill the resulting vacancy or vacancies.

7.10 A committee member may only stand for a maximum term of 3 years after which time he has to stand down for at least 1 year.  After this period he may stand for election again. The only exception to this rule is the case where no other candidate is willing to take the position in which event the committee member may stand again.

7.11 Any Committee member wishing to resign must do so in writing.

7.12 Any member of the Committee who is absent from 3 consecutive Committee meetings without reasonable cause will automatically forfeit his seat on the Committee.

8. Committee Powers

8.1 The Committee are authorised to carry out negotiations and make decisions in the interest of the club or on behalf of the membership where necessary without consulting the members. Approval from the membership at an ordinary meeting must be sought for expenditure greater than £200.

8.2 The Committee may pay accounts and incur normal liabilities on behalf of the club.

8.3 Funds shall be withdrawn from bank accounts by either of 2 approved signatories.

8.4 The Committee must ensure that a proper book of accounts is kept in respect of:

1. All sums of money received and expended by the club and the matters in respect of which the receipts and expenditure take place.
2. The assets and liabilities of the club.

8.5 The Committee must put before the club at the AGM an audited account of income and expenditure, assets and liabilities.

9. Committee Meetings

9.1 The Committee shall meet at least once every 3 months.

9.2 All Committee meetings shall be agenda’d and minuted. Minutes of Committee meetings will be made available to members on request to the secretary.

9.3 Fifty percent (50%) of the committee members shall constitute a quorum.

9.4 All proposals must be seconded and voted upon. A majority vote of those present is required to carry any proposal.

9.5 When required the chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote.

9.6 Non committee members may attend committee meetings but must remain silent and take no part in proceedings.

9.7 In exceptional circumstances, Committee meetings may be hosted, by prior arrangement, as virtual meetings using desktop-based or mobile technology-based applications, e.g. ‘Zoom’ meetings.

10. Annual General Meeting

10.1 The club must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) not more than 14 months after the previous one.

10.2 The AGM must be agenda’d and minuted and the minutes circulated to members within 14 days of the meeting.

10.3 The Secretary is to give the membership at least 28 days notice of the AGM and include the draft agenda asking members for any topic they wish included. A topic for inclusion must have the support of at least 10% of the membership and must be given to the Secretary in writing at least 14 days before the AGM.

10.4. The Secretary must circulate the final agenda to all members at least 7 days before the AGM.

10.5 The annual general meeting must be held at such time and place as the committee decide.

10.6 Twenty five percent (25%) of the membership constitutes a quorum for an AGM.

10.7 All proposals must be seconded and voted upon. A majority vote of those present is required to carry any proposal including proposals to alter this constitution.

10.8 Voting will be by a show of hands. Proxy and postal votes will not be permitted.

10.9 Amendments to proposals must be voted on first.

10.10 Annual subscriptions for the following year will be decided at the AGM and may be revised at an EGM.

11. Extraordinary General Meetings

11.1 The committee may, whenever they think fit, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

11.2 The EGM must be agenda’d and minuted and the minutes circulated to members within 14 days of the meeting.

11.3 Provided at least 10% of the members entitled to vote request an EGM the committee must hold one within 14 days of receiving a written request.

11.4 A request for an EGM made by members must be made in writing and sent to the Secretary. The request must state the object of the meeting proposed to be called and must list the members requesting the meeting. Only one topic may be covered by this meeting.

11.5 If the committee do not proceed to call an EGM within 30 days from the date of a valid request, the requesters may convene such a meeting giving at least 14 days notice to the membership.

11.6 Twenty five percent (25%) of the membership constitutes a quorum for an EGM.

11.7 The proposals must be seconded and voted upon. A majority vote of those present is required to carry the proposal.

11.8 Voting will be by a show of hands. Proxy and postal votes will not be permitted.

11.9 Amendments to the proposals must be voted on first.

12. Insurance and Indemnity

12.1 The club will hold both Civil and Employers Liability Insurance provided through affiliation to the BMFA.

12.2 The club will indemnify all committee officers and committee members if they incur any liability on behalf of the club.

12.3 In the event of a Committee Member being awarded damages or costs in the course of proceedings being taken by him in his representative capacity such damages or costs will belong to the Club and not the Committee Member personally and upon receipt that Committee Member will pay them to the Club Treasurer.

12.4 When there is a joint meeting between the club and another club, the participating club must be able to provide evidence of adequate insurance cover well in advance of the event.

13. GDPR Privacy Policy

13.1 The data provided to Forres and Culbin Model Club by members will be held in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Individuals can request removal of their data at any time by contacting the Secretary. Members contact details will be shared with the appointed committee members of Forres and Culbin Model Club as required by them to perform their duties. No-one outside of Forres and Culbin Model Club will have access to any information we hold about members. Data will be stored for two purposes only:

13.2 Communication with members about their membership and associated matters.

13.2 To enable distribution of information about Forres and Culbin Model Club activities and any other related correspondence.

14. Dissolution of the Club

14.1 Should it be considered necessary or desirable to dissolve the Club, the Committee will call an Extraordinary General Meeting. Should a quorum fail to appear, the meeting will be adjourned and a further EGM must be called within 14 days. The second meeting will proceed even if a quorum is not present and the motion will then be carried by a simple majority vote.

14.2 On dissolution and after the sale of assets, settlement of all outstanding debts and the refund of subscriptions for the remaining part of the year to the paid up members; the funds remaining will be distributed to a deserving charity or a like minded club or society as decided by the committee.

14.3 If the final accounts are less than required to refund the subscriptions to the members, the total money remaining will be held in trust by the BMFA for a period of ten years. All members will receive a final statement of accounts.

 

This copy approved and verified by R Boston (Chairman) …… R Boston .      Date: 8/4/2026

 

This copy approved and verified by A Judge (Vice Chairman) ..….A E Judge.    Date: 8/4/2026

 

 

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