Founded 1973

CONSTITUTION, RULES and

CODE of  CONDUCT

1                 CONSTITUTION

1.1  Name  The Club shall be called the East Anglian Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club.

 1.2  Objects   The object of the Club shall be to promote the interests of and interest in Staffordshire Bull Terriers in East Anglia and the surrounding areas.

1.3  Officers and Organisation 

a    The Members shall elect a President who shall preside for a period of 3 years and may attend committee meetings by right of office

b    Members may offer to those persons who have given outstanding service to the Club the position of Honorary Life Vice-President.

 c    The Officers of the Club shall be the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer who shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.    The Committee shall be composed of 10 Members elected at the Annual General Meeting in the following way: The three longest serving Members shall offer themselves for re-election.   If there is an equality of service on the Committee, the Committee shall ballot itself to offer up to three vacancies for re-election at the Annual General Meeting at a Committee Meeting prior to the Annual General Meeting. Officers or Committee Members who do not attend five consecutive meetings or events, or seven meetings or events within one year, and are unable to offer an acceptable reason, shall be deemed to have resigned and may be replaced by a co-opted Member as laid down in the following paragraphs. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any Member to fill a vacancy or to fulfill any special needs.  Such co-opted Members shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting only. A Member co-opted to fulfill a special need on the Committee shall not have any voting rights. A Member co-opted to fulfill a mid-term Officer or Committee vacancy shall have full voting rights.

d     A nominee must have been a fully paid-up Member of the Club for at least one year in order to be elected to the Committee. A nominee must have been a Committee Member for not less than two years in order to be elected an Officer of the Club. The Committee may waive these time limits where it co-opts a person to fulfill a special need.

 e     Nominees, proposers and seconders should normally be present at the Annual General Meeting.  The names of the Officers and Committee Members seeking re-election must be submitted to the membership in writing, together with an indication of their willingness to stand for re-election. Where a serving Officer or Committee Member is prevented from attending the Annual General Meeting for reasons which are acceptable to the Annual General Meeting s/he may be re-elected in his/her absence.

 1.4   Registration with the Kennel Club

The Club shall register with the Kennel Club as a Breed Society and shall not join any federation of societies or clubs. The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year the Maintenance of Title fee shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for the continuance of registration and that by 31 July each year other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies and Municipal Authorities, shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of Secretary of the Club which may occur during the course of the year.

 2  MEMBERSHIP

2.1 Election of Members  The first Members of the Club shall be the Founder Members (as defined in the Kennel Club document H paragraph 1 (b)) and proposed for membership by one Member and seconded by another provided that there is a two thirds majority in favour.  Each Member shall be entitled to one vote upon acceptance of his/her application by the Committee.  ‘Junior Membership’ shall be open to all between the ages of ten and sixteen providing the young person is nominated by a parent or guardian.  There shall be no fee.  Where parents or guardians are not Members of the Club, individual membership of each child shall be at the discretion of the Committee. A Junior Member may become a full Member on reaching the age of 16.  However, to enjoy voting rights as a full Member, Junior Members must submit a completed application form accompanied by the current full membership fee.

2.2   Subscription  The annual subscription shall be fixed by the Committee and shall be payable to the Honorary Treasurer by 1 January each year.  No Member whose subscription is unpaid shall be entitled to any of the privileges of membership and if any Member shall fail to pay the annual subscription by 1 March the Committee shall have the power to erase his/her name from the List of Members. The Club shall make a List of Members and their addresses available for inspection if so requested by the Members of the Club or by the Kennel Club.

 2.3   Expulsion of Members   Any Member who shall be suspended under Kennel Club Rule A42j(4) and/or any Member whose dog(s) is/are disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A42j(8) shall ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Society for the duration of the suspension and/or disqualification.  If the conduct of any Member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Club, be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the Club, the Committee of the Club may, at a Meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the Member, determine that a Special General Meeting of the Club shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her.  Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent by recorded delivery to the accused Member giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the Meeting that s/he may attend and offer an explanation.  If at that Meeting a resolution to expel is passed by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting, his/her name shall forthwith be erased from the List of Members and s/he shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a Member of the Club except that s/he may, within two calendar months from the date of the Meeting, appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such conditions as the Kennel Club may impose.

 3  MANAGEMENT

3.1   Meetings  The affairs of the Club shall be managed by the officers and the Committee which shall meet as often as they shall deem necessary provided that this is not less than twice in each year.  A quorum shall consist of five Members including one Officer.  The Chairman shall have the casting vote.

 3.2   Annual General Meeting   The financial year of the Club shall end on 31 December and within three months thereafter the Honorary Secretary shall convene the Annual General Meeting of which notice shall be sent to Members twenty-eight days prior to the meeting and the Agenda shall be: 

a  to receive the Secretary’s report;

b  to receive the Treasurer’s report and approve the accounts;

c  to elect Officers, Committee Members and Auditors;

 d  to consider any proposal or resolution which the Honorary Secretary has been given for inclusion on the agenda by 24 January in writing;

e  to consider any emergency resolution accepted at the discretion of the Chairman.

 3.3  Special General Meeting  A Special General Meeting shall be convened by the Honorary Secretary within thirty days of the receipt of a written application which has been signed by not less that twelve Members and which sets out in full the resolution to be considered by the meeting.  Members shall be given fourteen days notice for a Special General Meeting.  A minimum of 12 of the signatories shall be in attendance at the meeting.

 3.4   Rules  The rules of the Club shall not be altered except by a resolution which shall have been approved at the Annual General Meeting by not less that two-thirds of the Members present and voting and by the Kennel Club.

 3.5   Disputes  The Kennel Club shall arbitrate in the event of any dispute referred to it by the Committee.

 3.6   Accounts  The Honorary Treasurer with the approval of the Committee shall make appropriate arrangements for banking and for the maintenance of books and accounts.   A Bank Account shall be opened in the name of the Club into which the revenue of the Club shall be paid.  Withdrawals from the Club’s account shall be signed by the Treasurer and one of three nominated Members of the Committee. The audited accounts of the Club shall be submitted to and approved by the Annual General Meeting each year. Two Trustees shall be appointed from the membership at the Annual General Meeting to audit the Club’s accounts annually.  Certification of the accounts must be carried out by one qualified accountant or by two unqualified individuals with accountancy experience.

 3.7   Club Property  Club property shall be vested in the Committee.  In the event of the Club being wound up the Committee shall dispose of such property in accordance with a scheme which shall have been approved by a general meeting.  Cups and other donations are accepted on the understanding that they are outright gifts and become the property of the Club.  Only Members of the Club may compete for cups and trophies;   where a dog is owned in partnership, all partners must be Members of the Club.

 3.8   Judging List  The Club shall produce a List of Judges each year which shall be submitted to the Kennel Club as part of the Club’s Annual Returns.  A person need not be a Member of the Club in order to be included on the List.