The Braque d’Auvergne Association

Constitution and rules

 

1. Name and Objects

The name of the club shall be the Braque d’Auvergne Association (hereafter referred to as ‘The Club’).

The club shall:

Encourage responsible ownership and breeding of the Braque d’Auvergne and exhibition at Kennel Club shows and events.

Promote the Braque d’Auvergne as a capable working HPR breed.

Organise social gatherings, shows and give assistance in any way possible in relation to the breed.

1. Officers and Committee

 

The Club shall consist of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and a committee consisting of 5 members. No members of the Club shall be eligible to stand for election as an Officer of the Club or as a Member of the Committee until he/she has been a Member of the Club for at least two consecutive years.

The management of the Club shall be in the hands of the Officers and Committee who shall retire biannually but shall be eligible for re-election without nomination. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be members of the Committee with the right to vote and shall retire biannually but shall be eligible for re-election without nomination. 

The Chairman shall be elected by the committee for a period of 2 years.

Meetings of the committee shall be held as often as deemed necessary but at least every 6 months.

No persons whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee of or hold any other Office or appointment within a Kennel Club Registered Society.

 

1. Management of the Club

Dates of Committee meetings shall be set from one meeting to the next by agreement. Venues for meetings shall be agreed by the Committee but may not be held at the place of residence of a Committee members except with the full agreement of the whole Committee. At least seven clear days notice of the hour, date and venue of the meeting shall be sent to every member of the Committee together with a copy of the business to be transacted. In the event of an emergency arising an Extraordinary Meeting of the Committee may be called by the Secretary or Chairman and only the business requiring the calling of such a meeting may be discussed. No other items may be added to the agenda.

The quorum for a Committee meeting shall be five. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt members on to the Committee in the event of positions becoming vacant. Those co-opted shall only hold office until the next General Meeting of the Club at which election of Officers and Committee takes place. The Chairman and shall be elected by the Committee from amongst the Committee members at the first Committee meeting held after the Annual General Meeting of the Club. In addition to the vote as a Committee Member the Chairman shall have a casting vote where there is an equality of votes.

In the event of any member at any meeting disregarding the authority of the Chairman or being guilty of obstructive or offensive conduct a motion may be moved and seconded to suspend the member for the remainder of the meeting or adjourn the meeting until a later date. If the motion to suspend the member is carried the member shall retire for the remainder of the meeting. If the motion to suspend the meeting is carried a date and time shall then be set for the recommencement of the meeting.
In the event of a Committee Meeting or General Meeting becoming angry or acrimonious and not coming to order when called to do so, the Chairman, at his discretion, may suspend the meeting for a period of 30 minutes after which time a decision must be reached whether to continue the meeting or adjourn until a future date.

The Committee shall have the power to appoint Sub-Committees The Committee shall have the power to deal with or dispose of any questions which may arise on any matter whatsoever which are not expressly provided for in these Rules. Any Committee member failing to attend three consecutive Committee Meetings without a reasonable explanation shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee and shall be notified to this effect. The Secretary shall be required to summon and attend all meetings and keep the minutes of any such meetings in a proper minute book and to conduct the correspondence of the Club.

The Committee shall have the power to invite any person or persons, whether a member of the Club or not, to attend any meeting to assist in the business but such person or persons shall not be entitled to vote.

Members may join once their annual membership fee is fully paid up.

Members will have voting rights once they have been fully paid up members for two consecutive years.

An up to date list of Members and their addresses, and those of branch Members where appropriate, must be maintained and, if so requested, made available for inspection by the Kennel Club and Members of the Society. A declaration of the number of Members of the Society must be made with Annual Returns.

1. Club property

The property of the Club shall be vested in the Committee. In the event of the Club ceasing to exist a General meeting shall be called to decide the disposal of the Club's assets and the outcome of the meeting shall be notified to the Kennel Club.

Donors of trophies shall be contacted where possible and their wishes as to the means of disposal of trophies complied with.

1. Club accounts and Auditors

A Banking Account shall be held in the name of the Club into which all revenue of the Club shall be paid and from which withdrawals shall only be made on the signature of two Officers, one of whom must be the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall maintain the accounts and an Auditor shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting for the purpose of auditing the Club's Accounts for the ensuing year before the Annual General Meeting.

1. Subscriptions

The annual subscriptions shall be such an amount as agreed in General Meeting and notified to the Kennel Club. No member whose subscription is unpaid is entitled to any of the privileges of membership and if the member shall fail to pay outstanding subscriptions by the end of January his or her name shall be automatically erased from the register. Acceptance back on the register shall be dependent upon a new application for membership.

1. Expulsion of members

Any Member who shall be disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A11.j(5) and/or Kennel Club Rule A11.j(9) shall ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Society.

If the conduct of any Member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Society, be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the Society, the Committee of the Society 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 Society shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her. Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused Member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the Meeting that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the 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 he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a Member of the Society except that he/she may, within two calendar months from the date of such Meeting, appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such condition as the Kennel Club may impose. If the Society expels any Member for discreditable conduct in connection with dogs, dog shows, trials or competitions, the Society must report the matter in writing to the Kennel Club within seven days and supply any particulars required.

1. General meeting

The financial year of the Club shall be from 1st January to 31st December. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held before the end of March for the following purposes.

To receive the Report of the Committee and Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet and the result of the election of Officers and Members of Committee and to discuss any notice of motion signed by the proposer and a seconder of which prior written notice of at least 28 days has been given to the Secretary and which has been duly placed on the agenda. At least 42 days prior to the Annual General Meeting fully paid up members shall be notified of the meeting and asked to submit items for the Agenda and nominations for Officers and Members of Committee for the following year. This notification may be given by publication in the papers 'Our Dogs' if this meets the time schedule.

Nominations for any Office or the Committee must be proposed by one member and seconded by another and signed by the nominee.  These nominations must be in the hands of the Secretary at least 28 days prior to the meeting. These voting papers, on which members must record their votes, must be returned for counting by impartial scrutineers by the date shown on the voting paper. The sealed envelope on which the votes are recorded will be opened in the presence of the members at the Annual General Meeting. The candidates obtaining the largest number of votes shall be declared by the Chairman of the Officers and Committee members for the ensuing year In the event of the same number of votes being recorded for any two of more candidates for the last place on the Committee a final decision between these candidates shall be made by a ballot of the members present at the meeting.

A Special General Meeting shall be called by the Secretary or the Chairman if five members send a signed requisition stating the subject to be discussed. No business other than the matter on the agenda can be discussed at a Special General Meeting and eight shall be a quorum for such a General meeting.

 

1. Annual returns

The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year, maintenance of title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in the Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities will 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.

The Officers acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of the month in which the Club's Annual General Meeting is held and to notify the Kennel Club of any subsequent amendments to that date.

 

1.  The Kennel Club shall be the final Court of Appeal in all matters in dispute.
    

2. The Club shall not join any Federation of Societies or Clubs.

 

1. Amendments to rules

The rules of the Society may not be altered except at a General Meeting, the notice for which contains specific proposals to amend the rules.

Any proposed alteration to the rules may not be brought into effect until the Kennel Club has been advised and approved the alteration. New rules or amendments introduced specifically to meet Kennel Club requirements shall be adopted immediately.