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TABLE
OF CONTENTS
1. NAME
2. OBJECTIVES
3. MEMBERS
3.1 Application For Membership
3.2 Ordinary Members
3.3 Life Members
3.4 Honorary Members
3.5 Termination Of Membership
4. SUBSCRIPTIONS
4.1 Annual Subscriptions
4.2 Life Membership Subscriptions
4.3 Increase In Subscriptions
4.4 Special Contributions
5. FINANCIAL YEAR
6. MANAGEMENT
7. TRUSTEES
8. GENERAL MEETINGS
9. INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION
CONSTITUTION
1. NAME
This Club shall be called 'The Trails Club of South Africa' or more
simply 'The Trails Club'. It is recorded that the Club was founded on
27 March 1983.
2. OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives of this Club shall be:
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2.1. To organise and carry out wilderness
activities for members and visitors.
The chief activity will be hiking along trails and footpaths, climbing
peaks and 'kloofing'. This will be supplemented by such other
complementary activities as the Committee may from time to time deem to
be suitable.
2.2. To promote conservation, both by
word
and
deed, of our natural (indigenous) and historical environment, which
will include the protection of
indigenous flora, fauna, soil, water and buildings of historical
significance,
especially those in wilderness areas.
2.3. To communicate with and support
similar
organisations such as The Mountain Club of South Africa, Wildlife
Society, Botanical Society, Department of Environmental Affairs and so
on.
2.4. To promote the fitness and health of
members through their participation in
the Club's outdoor activities.
2.5. To promote friendship and fellowship
among
members of the Club and others with an interest in wilderness and
especially hiking activities.
2.6. To act in a responsible fashion in
the
wilderness with an emphasis on safety of members, and to respect the
land and property of the
landowners on whose ground we hike.
3. MEMBERS
An applicant for membership shall
complete an
application form on which
he
shall also undertake:
3.1.1. To abide by the Constitution
and
to
uphold the aims and objectives of the Club, and
3.1.2. To absolve the Club and its
members
from any liability for loss or damage to his person or property whilst
he is engaged in Club
activities.
3.2. Ordinary Members
Shall consist of persons over 18 years of age. Applications for
membership shall
be considered by the Committee and applicants will be accepted as
members only after approval by the Committee and payment of the initial
subscription
and
entrance fee, if any.
3.3. Life Members
Members, of not less than two years' standing, who pay a lump sum, the
amount
of which shall be determined by the Committee from time to time, may
become life members. In considering an application for life membership,
the
Committee shall take into consideration, inter alia, such qualities as
past service to
the Club
and the promotion of its objects and principles.
3.4. Honorary Members
Persons who have rendered outstanding service to the Club may at the
discretion of the members at the Annual General Meeting be elected
Honorary
Members. They shall not be required to pay subscriptions.
3.5. Junior Members
Shall
consist of persons between the age of 10 and 18
years. Applications for Junior Membership shall be considered by the
Committee
and applicants will be accepted as junior members only after approval
by the
Committee and payment of the initial subscription and entrance fee, if
any.
Junior members shall be only admitted on Trails Club activities, if
accompanied
and supervised by a responsible and consenting adult known by the
junior
member"
3.6. Termination Of Membership
Membership of the Club shall terminate:
3.5.1. a) On resignation or death;
b) On failure to
pay subscriptions within three months of due date; provided that a
member in arrears may be reinstated at the discretion of the Committee
upon payment of all arrears;
c) if, in the
view of the Committee, a member is guilty of a breach of the
Constitution or the aims and objectives of the Club, which may have the
effect of harming the reputation of the Club.
3.5.2. Renewal of membership of the
Club may
be refused if, in the opinion of the Committee the behaviour and/or
actions and/or attitude of a member are
not in keeping with the aims and objectives of the Club. Any annual
subscriptions already paid by such member for the year in respect of
which membership
has
been refused, will be refunded in full by the Club to such member.
4.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
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4.1. Annual Subscriptions
4.1.1. All ordinary members shall pay
to the
Club an annual subscription at such rates as the Committee may from
time to time prescribe.
4.1.2. Annual subscriptions shall cover a period coinciding with the
financial year of the Club and shall be payable in advance.
4.2. Life Membership Subscriptions
Life membership subscriptions shall be payable to the Club at such rate
as the
Committee may from time to time prescribe.
4.3. Increase In Subscriptions
No subscriptions shall be increased by more than fifty percent (50%)
during any
one financial year, unless approved at a general meeting of the members.
4.4. Special Contributions
Special contributions for the purposes of the Club may be invited from
time to time.
5. FINANCIAL YEAR
The financial year of the Club shall end on 31 December.
6.
MANAGEMENT
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6.1. The management of the Club shall
rest
solely with the Committee which shall consist of a Chairman, an
Honorary Secretary, an Honorary Treasurer and
two additional members.
6.2. All
members of the Committee shall
hold
office until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall retire,
but shall be eligible for re-election
except for those members who have served on the committee for a
continuous period
of five years who shall not be eligible for re-election to the
committee for a
period of two years.
6.3. Any vacancies occurring at any other
times
may be filled by the Committee.
6.4. Three members of the Committee shall
form a
quorum.
6.5. No nomination of the Committee shall
be
accepted, unless the nominee has
signified his willingness to accept office.
6.6. The Committee, at its first meeting
after
the Annual General Meeting, shall
elect from among its members, a Vice-Chairman who shall chair in the
absence
of the Chairman.
6.7. The Committee shall have the power
to
co-opt not more than three additional members.
6.8. Any Committee member absenting
himself
without leave from three consecutive meetings shall cease to be a
member of the Committee.
6.9. The Committee shall have the power,
from
time to time, to appoint Sub-
committees to undertake special duties and to report back to the main
Committee. The Club Chairman shall, ex officio, be entitled to attend
any
Sub-Committee
meeting.
6.10. The Committee shall have the power
to
create bye-laws to carry out the
objectives of the Club, provided that such bye-laws are not contrary to
the
provisions of the Constitution.
6.11. The Committee shall have the power,
from
time to time, to appoint members of the Club, not residing in Cape
Town, to act as local Honorary
Secretaries, and it shall be competent for any member of the Club to
form, subject
to the approval and confirmation of the main committee of the Club, a
Local
Section in any centre. When a Local Section comprises 20 or more
members, it
shall be deemed a branch, and such a Branch shall collect local
subscriptions
out of which an Affiliation Fee of 25 per cent of all annual
subscriptions
collected shall be paid to the Parent Body, the balance to be retained
by the
individual Branches for their administration.
6.12. The Committee shall have the power
to
purchase, lease, hire or legally acquire movable or immovable property,
or access to such property in the name
of the Club. The Committee may authorise two Committee members to sign
documents for the purpose on behalf of the Club.
7. TRUSTEES
All movable and immovable property of the Club shall be vested in the
Chairman and
Honorary Secretary as Trustees, who may sue and be sued on behalf of
the Club.
8.
GENERAL
MEETINGS
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8.1. The Annual General Meeting shall be
held on
some day during the three months beginning on March 1st in each year,
for the purpose of receiving the
Chairman's Report and Financial Statement of the Honorary Treasurer,
for the
election of Office-Bearers and members of Committee for the ensuing
year, and for
considering other matters connected with the Club.
8.2. At any General Meeting, a resolution
put to
the vote shall be decided by a
show of hands, provided that it shall be competent for any member
present and
entitled to vote on such Resolution to call for a ballot. Every
Resolution duly
passed shall be binding upon every member of the Club.
8.3. The Honorary Secretary shall convene Special General Meetings of
the Members by order of the Committee, or on receipt of a request
signed by not
fewer than ten Ordinary and/or Life Members.
8.4. Fourteen days' notice of any General
Meeting shall be given to all members, and the notice of a Special
General Meeting shall set out the purpose
for which the meeting has been called.
8.5. Notice of any motion to be submitted
to the
Annual General Meeting shall be sent in writing to the Secretary on or
before 1 March in each year. Any
member entitled to vote on such motion who is unable to be present
shall be
entitled to vote thereon by proxy under his signature, such proxy to
reach the
Secretary not less than 24 hours before the Annual General Meeting.
Only one proxy is
allowed to be held by a Member.
8.6. Only fully-paid Ordinary and Life
Members
shall be entitled to vote at a
General Meeting.
8.7. Any change in the Constitution shall
require a two-thirds majority of the
Ordinary and/or Life Members present and entitled to vote at the General
Meeting called for such a purpose.
8.8. Fifteen Ordinary and/or Life Members
personally present and entitled to vote, shall constitute a quorum for
any General Meeting.
9. INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION
In case of doubt as to the meaning of any portion of this Constitution,
the
interpretation of the Committee shall be binding on all members.
Amended
16.3.1990 &
28.6.1991 & 14.3.1997 & 9.5.2008
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