Your Guide to HEREFORDSHIRE WOODTURNERS
1. Objectives
Herefordshire Woodturners is a Charity and its objectives are;
• To promote the craft of woodturning for the public benefit and in doing so raise the appreciation of the creativity, skill and heritage of woodturning
• To advance the education of the public in the craft and skill of woodturning
We do this by organising regular meetings, presentations, demonstrations and other activities relating to woodturning, providing opportunities for coaching and training members, providing forums for discussion, and organising competitions that encourage all members of the club to appreciate, aim for and produce high quality turning. In addition the club attends craft fairs in order to give demonstrations to the public of the craft of woodturning and exhibit work that club members have produced
2. Membership
The club is affiliated to the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB) and membership of the club is open to anyone interested or actively engaged in woodturning. Visitors are welcome to attend club meetings at a charge of £3 per meeting After 3 meetings a visitor is expected to join the club. All members shall be entitled to vote on any resolution proposed at any Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the club and to stand for election as a Trustee. Club membership fee is currently £40/annum of which Herefordshire Woodturners receives £19 and £21 goes to the AWGB. This is reviewed annually by the trustees and is payable in advance by January 1st. Failure of any member to pay their subscription by the 31st March means their membership shall be deemed to have ceased.
3. Trustees
Herefordshire Woodturners is organised and coordinated by a committee of four elected officers and up to five ordinary members all of whom are required to become trustees of the charity. They are elected by the members at the AGM and hold office for one year.
The officers of the club are
–Chairperson: responsible to the membership for the overall running of the club. The chairperson shall chair the committee, club, Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings.
–Secretary: responsible for the day to day administration of the club, organising events, drafting and circulating agenda and minutes and convening meetings of the committee and members.
–Treasurer: responsible for
-making and receiving all payments and financial transactions of the club; the management of the bank account; presenting the accounts for the year to the Annual General Meeting.
–Membership Secretary: responsible for maintaining records of members; collecting annual subscriptions and for passing these on to the Treasurer; liaising with the AWGB on membership issues and other issues relating to the membership.
Other members with specific responsibilities can be appointed from time to time as necessary without the need for them to become trustees.
The maximum continuous term for officers of the club is 4 years. On stepping down from office the member is not eligible for re-election as an officer on the committee for a period of 12 months but can be an elected ordinary member of the committee.
4. Meetings of the Trustees
The trustees will meet regularly and a minimum of three times per year. The minutes of all of the trustee meetings will be circulated to members.
5. Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held at the November meeting of the club. Officers of the club will present annual reports and the Treasurer will present the club accounts.
Voting on proposals at the AGM will be by majority voting of those members present. Proxy votes will be accepted but must be registered with the Secretary at least 7 days prior to the meeting.
Election of Committee officers and members will occur at the AGM unless vacancies occur during the year and necessitate immediate interim appointment.
Motions for debate at the AGM must be submitted to the Secretary not later than 28 days before the meeting.
An extraordinary general meeting of members will be held if 10% of the membership requests it and state the nature of the business to be dealt with at the meeting.
6. Finance
The club shall have a bank account in a recognised clearing bank or a Building Society into which all monies received by the club will be paid.
All cheques drawn from the account must be signed by two club officers of the club
The financial year shall run from December 1st until 30th November of the following calendar year.
7. Policies
All members will receive a copy of the club’s Health and Safety Policy and associated Risk Assessment. No member or visitor shall work at the club unless both the equipment they are using and their behaviour complies with the club’s Health and Safety Policy.
The club will also make available to all members copies of the Privacy Policy, to ensure compliance with data protection regulations, as well as the Safeguarding Policy which seeks to protect our younger members and vulnerable adults.
All Policies and the club’s Constitution will be made available on the Herefordshire Woodturners website and notice board.
8. Complaints
Any member of the club wishing to make a complaint about the operation of the club may do so by
• raising the issue for discussion at the AGM, by notifying the Secretary in writing not later than 28 days before the meeting.
• sending a written complaint to the Secretary which will be dealt with by the Committee within one calendar month.
9. Changes to the Constitution
Any alteration, amendment or addition to the constitution shall require the approval of 75% of those present and eligible to vote at an AGM or EGM called for that purpose and will also need approval by the Charities commission.
NOTE: A separate guidance document for day to day non-constitutional matters will also be maintained. In all respects the club’s formal Constitution as approved by the Charities Commission takes precedence.
December 2023
If you would like a copy of this policy in PDF format please email us via the Contact Us page.