As amended March 2019
Name
1. The name of the Club is the William Burt Social Club.
Objects
2. The objects :-
(i) the provision of opportunities for recreation, social intercourse and refreshment for the benefit of its members.
(ii) the provision and maintenance of the Clubhouse at Watering Lane, West Winch.
Admission of members
3. Every candidate for membership shall be over 18 years of age and shall be proposed and seconded by members of the Club who themselves must have been members for at least twelve months. His full name and address and the names of the proposer and seconder shall be communicated in writing to the honorary secretary who shall cause those particulars to be exhibited prominently in the clubhouse in a part frequented by the members for a period of at least 2 days before his election as a member. Until the candidate is elected as a member and has paid the appropriate subscription, he shall not be entitled to any of the privileges of the Club.
Election
4. Candidates for membership shall be elected by the committee at their sole discretion with life memberships being ratified at an AGM.
Management
5. The management of the Club shall be entrusted to a committee comprising of the chairman, honorary secretary and a suitably qualified honorary treasurer and 12 other member of the club elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The committee shall meet at least once every 2 months and at all meetings of the committee 5 shall form a quorum. All members of this committee must be qualified by residing in the parishes of either West Winch, Setchey or North Runction.
Casual Vacancies
6. The committee shall have power at any time and from time to time to fill any casual vacancy amongst the officers and committee. Any officer or member of the committee so appointed shall hold office only until the next following Annual General Meeting but shall then be eligible for re-election.
Resignation of Members
7. Any member may resign his membership by giving to the honorary secretary notice in writing to that effect. Every such notice shall be deemed to take effect as from the 1st day of January next following the receipt thereof PROVIDED that every member giving such notice after the 1st day of February in any year shall be liable to pay his subscription for the following year.
Trustees
8. There shall be no more than 4 trustees of the Club. The first trustee shall be appointed by the committee and the property of the Club (other than cash which shall be under the control of the treasurer) shall be vested in them to be dealt with by them as the committee shall from time to time direct by resolution (of which any entry in the Minute Book shall be conclusive evidence) the trustees shall be indemnified against risk and expense out of the Club property. The trustees shall hold office until death or resignation or until removed from office by resolution of the committee who may for any reason which seem sufficient to a majority of them present and voting at any meeting remove any trustee or trustees from the office of trustees. Where by reason of any such death, resignation or removal it shall appear necessary to the committee for a new trustee or trustees to be appointed or if the committee shall deem it expedient to appoint an additional trustee or additional trustees the committee shall by resolution nominate the person or persons to be appointed the new trustee or trustees. For the purpose of giving effect to such nomination the chairman is hereby nominated as the person to appoint new trustees of the club within the meaning of Section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925 and he shall by deed duly appoint the person or persons so nominated by the committee as the new trustee or trustees of the club and provisions of the Trustee Act 1925 shall apply to any such appointment. Any statement of fact in any such deed of appointment shall in favour of a person dealing bona fide and for value with the club or the committee by conclusive evidence of the facts so stated.
Subscriptions
9. Every member shall pay an annual subscription the amount of which shall be determined from time to time by the committee.
The annual subscription shall be due on the 1st day of January in each year. Such subscription shall be deemed to be a debt due to the honorary treasurer of the Club for the time being.
Commission
10. No person shall at any time be entitled to receive at the expense of the Club (or of any member thereof) any commission percentage or similar payment on or with reference to purchases of intoxicating liquor by the Club; nor shall any person directly or indirectly derive any pecuniary benefit from the supply of intoxicating liquor by or on behalf of the club to members or guests apart from any benefit accruing to the Club as a whole and apart also from any benefit which a person derives indirectly by reason of the supply giving rise to or contributing to a general gain from the carrying on of the Club.
Purchase and Supply of Liquor
11. The purchase for the Club and the supply by the Club of intoxicating liquor shall be in the absolute discretion of a sub-committee of not less than 3 members being members of the committee appointed by the committee for that purpose. In the event of any member for any reason ceasing to be a member of the committee, he shall automatically cease to be a member of the sub-committee and another member of the committee shall be appointed in his place. Such sub-committee shall in no way be restricted in freedom of purchase.
Application of Profit
12. No money or property of the Club or any gain arising from the carrying on of the Club shall be applied otherwise than for the benefit of the Club as a whole or for some charitable or benevolent purpose or purposes specified by resolution of a General Meeting.
Accounts
13. Full accounts of the financial affairs of the Club duly audited by the auditors shall be displayed in the Clubhouse with the notice convening the Annual General Meeting. Additional copies of the Accounts will be available, on request, at the Clubhouse.
Renewal of Membership
14. If any member shall fail to renew his/her membership by the 31st January, then the membership will be deemed to have lapsed, without any notification from the Committee and a new application will have to be made in accordance with Rule 3.
General Meetings
15. An Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in the month of March in each year and 15 months shall not elapse without a General Meeting. At the Annual General Meeting the following business shall be conducted:
(a) the presentation and (if accepted) the passing of the accounts for the previous financial year ended on December 31st prior to the meeting which accounts shall first have been audited by the Club’s auditors;
(b) the election of the officers and the committee;
(c) the election of two registered auditors;
(d) such other business as shall have been communicated to the honorary secretary by the 21st February and included in the notice of the meeting.
Extraordinary Meetings
16. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened at any time and shall be convened within 28 days on the requisition of one fifth of the membership of the Club for the time being or 30 members whichever is the less. Such requisition must state the purpose for which such meeting is required.
Notice of Meeting
17. The honorary secretary shall at least 14 days before any General meeting place a notice of the meeting in the Clubhouse, stating the time and the place where it will be held and the business to be conducted.
Business at General Meeting
18. The business at a General meeting shall be limited to that provided by these rules and any further matters set out in the notice convening the meeting. The quorum at any General Meeting shall be 20 members.
Votes
19. At all meetings of the Club each member shall have one vote.
Chairman
20. The chairman of the Club shall preside at all meetings of the Club but if he shall not be present within 15 minutes after the time appointed for the meeting or has signified his inability to be present at the meeting, the members present shall choose one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting.
Expulsion of Members and Suspension of Membership
21. The committee shall have power to expel any member who shall offend against the rules of the Club or whose conduct shall in the opinion of the committee render him/her unfit for membership of the Club. Before any such member is expelled the honorary secretary shall give him/her 14 days written notice to attend a meeting of the committee and shall inform him/her of the complaints made against him/her. No member shall be expelled without first having an opportunity of appearing before the committee and answering the complaints made against him/her nor unless at least two thirds of the committee then present vote in favour of expulsion. If any member aggrieved by the decision of the committee to expel him/her shall within 14 days of the decision procure the convening of an Extraordinary General Meeting under Rules 16 for the purpose of considering the matter, the effect of the decision shall be suspended until the meeting is held and shall be of no effect unless it shall be confirmed by a two thirds majority of those attending the meeting.
The Committee shall have the power to suspend any member who shall offend against the rules of the Club or whose conduct gives cause for complaint. No member shall be suspended for a period exceeding 28 days without having been given written notice of the matter of complaint made against him/her and the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Committee in accordance with the procedures relating to expulsion from membership.
Guests
22. (i) Any member shall be entitled to introduce guests to the Club provided that no person whose application for membership has been declined or who has been expelled from the Club shall be introduced as a guest and further that no person shall be introduced as a guest more than once in any month. The member introducing the guest shall enter the name and address of the guest together with his own name in a book which shall be kept at the Clubhouse. Guests may not remain on the Club premises after the member introducing him or her has left.
(ii) There may be admitted as guests to the club premises at the discretion of the committee children or young persons under the age of 18 years provided that they are accompanied by a member who is their parent or guardian.
Opening of Clubhouse
23. The Clubhouse shall be open during such hours as the committee shall from time to time decide.
Permitted Hours
24. The permitted hours for the supply of intoxicating liqueur shall be fixed (and may be varied from time to time) by the committee in accordance with the statutory provisions for the time being in force.
Modifications of Rules
25. No alteration or addition to these rules shall be made except by a resolution carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the members present at the General Meeting, the Notice of which shall have contained particulars of the proposed alteration or addition. The honorary secretary shall as soon as possible and in any case within 28 days of the making of any such alteration or addition to these rules give written notice of such alteration or addition to the Chief Officer of the Police and to the Clerk of the local authority at the District in which the Club is situated. No alteration to the rules of the Club which authorise the sale of intoxicating liquor may be made without application to the Justices for the Petty Sessional Division of King’s Lynn and notice to the Chief Officer of the Police.
Dissolution of the Club
26. If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the members present and at a Special General Meeting held not less than 6 weeks thereafter (of which not less than 4 weeks written notice shall have been given to each member) and that resolution shall be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two thirds of the members voting thereon, the committee shall thereupon, or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution, proceed to realise the property of the Club and thereafter the discharge of all liabilities shall divide the same equally among all members, and upon the completion of such division the Club shall be dissolved.