Friends Of The Pavilion Theatre Constitution

1. Name

1. The name of the organisation shall be "The Friends Of The Theatre" (hereinafter referred to as The Friends.

2. 0bjectives

2.1 The objectives of The Friends are:

1. To promote interest in The Pavilion Theatre.
2. To encourage attendance at productions in The Pavilion Theatre.
3. To promote interest in the Theatre generally.
4. To arrange meetings and discussions of interest to The Friends' membership.
5. To raise funds to make contributions to the cost of any item of benefit to the Pavilion Theatre.

3. Membership

3.1 Membership of "The Friends” shall be open to any person who supports the objectives of The Friends as defined in Rule 2.

3.2 There shall be the following classes of membership:

Individual Membership.

Any person over 16 years of age. These shall have full voting rights.

Joint Membership.

Open to 2 adults living at the same address. Full voting rights.

Family Membership.

Family membership is restricted to 2 Adults and any number of children under the age of 16. Full voting rights are limited to adults only.

3.3 Membership cards will be issued to each member on payment of their membership fees. The colour of these cards should change annually.

3.4 The above classes of membership will pay an Annual Membership Subscription, which will be determined from time to time by the Executive Committee. Any alterations to these fees to be ratified at the next Annual General Meeting or at an Extra Ordinary General Meeting called for under rule 13.

3.5 The membership year of The Friends shall be one year from the date of joining. Membership Fees will become due and payable on the anniversary of the month of joining.. Each member will be sent a reminder, together with a return addressed envelope when this is due. Members who have not replied within 14 days will be sent a final reminder letter. After a further 14 days if no response is received to this reminder the membership will have deemed to be lapsed and deleted from the records without any further notification. The Executive Committee has the right to vary this rule in exceptional circumstances.

3.6 The Executive Committee shall have the right to refuse membership to any individual. The Executive Committee shall also have the right to expel any member of The Friends who, in the opinion of the Committee, has brought The Friends into disrepute, or whose words or actions are deemed to be against the express interest/objectives of The Friends. Notice of any such refusal or disqualification will be made in writing to the person concerned.

3.7 Life membership may be conferred upon individual members at the discretion of The Executive Committee in recognition of outstanding service to The Friends. Life members will have the benefits and voting rights of membership but will not be required to pay an Annual Membership Fee.

3.8 No member of The Friends shall receive payment directly or indirectly for services to The Friends except for legitimate purposes.

4. Finances

4.1 The Financial year of The Friends shall run from the 1st April to the 31st March each year.

4.2 The Executive Committee has oversee of all financial matters associated with The Friends but shall not be liable for any debts incurred by the activities of The Friends unless it can be shown that they were negligent in their financial dealings.

4.3 All monies collected and expended should be recorded in a suitable format and banked in a suitable bank account opened for this purpose.

4.4 All cheques drawn on this account must be signed by any 2 out of 5 signatures agreed by the Executive Committee and notified to the bank.

4.5 The Financial Records must be audited by an independent Auditor appointed at the Annual General Meeting by a show of hands.

4.6 These accounts must be presented to the membership at an Annual General Meeting which must take place after the financial year end.

4.7 Any cheques made payable to the Pavilion Theatre should be made out to the nearest whole pound.

5. Running Of The Friends

5.1 The Friends should be run by a Executive Committee.

6. The Executive Committee Function

6.1 The Executive Committee shall be responsible of

1. The day to day running of The Friends.
2. All financial matters associated with The Friends.
3. All matters of policy.
4. To arrange not less then 3 open meetings per year. (1 of which will be the AGM).

6.2 The Executive Committee is authorised to appoint Presidents/Vice Presidents of The Friends for a period of 2 years. All appointees can attend and speak at Committee Meetings but have no voting rights. Nominations for these positions can be made by any Friend to the Executive Committee for consideration.

7. The Executive Committee Meetings

7.1 The Executive Committee shall hold at least 10 meetings per year.

7.2 The quorum at a Executive Committee meeting shall be 6 members (qualified to vote).

7.3 The Secretary (or deputy) should record minutes of all meetings. These should be circulated to all committee members within 14 days of the meeting.

7.4 Should any member of the Executive Committee fail to attend a meeting on three consecutive occasions without contacting the Committee that member will then be written to and advised of the date of the next Committee Meeting. If the member then fails to attend this meeting, without any apology, this person will be removed from the Committee as being deemed as no longer interested in serving.

7.5 The Chair is not allowed to make any proposals to the meeting. He has no vote either, except, a casting vote in the result of any tied vote.

8. The Executive Committee - Composition

8.1 The Executive Committee shall consist of 5 Executive Officers: Chair: Vice-Chair: Secretary: Treasurer and Membership Secretary (This post may also be filled in conjunction with any other post). There should also be a minimum of 5 other members to serve.

8.2 The Theatre Manager is also entitled to a place on the Committee with full voting rights. In the event of absence the Manager can appoint a substitute.

9. The Executive Committee - Elections To

9.1 The Executive Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

9.2 Nominations must be duly proposed and seconded, in writing at least 14 days before the Annual General Meeting to the Secretary.

9.3 The Executive Committee have the right to refuse nominations and also have the right to co-opt additional members as required.

9.4 Should more than 1 person be nominated for the same position a secret ballot will be held based on the single transferable vote system.

9.5 Sitting members of the Committee are entitled to be nominated for Officer Posts, but if they are unsuccessful in any ballot they will remain as a sitting member of the committee for the remainder of their original term.

9.6 Members seeking election or re-election for Officer Posts, shall retain the option of offering their services as a general member of the Executive Committee, if unsuccessful in any ballot.

10. The Executive Committee - Periods Of Office

In order to ensure continuity within the Committee the following will apply:

10.1 The Secretary will serve for a period of 3 years.

10.2 The Chair will serve for a period of 2 years after which the Vice-Chair will be re-nominated for the post of Chair for 2 years. The retiring Chair has the right to remain in an Ex-Officio capacity for 2 years unless elected back as an officer.

10.3 The Treasurer and Membership Secretary will also serve for a period of 2 years and elections will take place in alternate years to the Chair/Vice-chair.

10.4 Non executive members of the Committee (with the exception of the Theatre Manager) will serve for a period of 2 years, with their terms of Office commencing in alternate years.

10.5 Any retiring Member is permitted to seek re-election.

11.The Executive Committee - Filling Of Vacancies

Should a vacancy for any position occur between Annual General Meetings the following shall apply.

11.1 Chair: Any time remaining until the next election of a new Vice-Chair is due to be held, will be shared equally by the previous Chair (who is Ex-Officio) and the in coming Vice-Chair.

11.2 Vice–Chair: This will be filled in the following order:

1. By the highest unsuccessful candidate at the last Annual General Meeting, when an election was held.
2. By a volunteer from the existing Committee.

11.3 Treasurer/Secretary/Membership Secretary:

1. By the highest unsuccessful candidate at the last Annual General Meeting, when an election was held.
2. By a volunteer from the existing Committee.

The successful candidate to offer themselves for endorsement at the next Annual General Meeting.

11.4 Committee Member:

1. By the highest unsuccessful candidate at the last election.
2. By co-option.

The successful candidate will serve the remaining term of office of the vacant position.

12 Annual General Meeting

12.1 The Annual General Meeting should be held in June (if possible) each year.

12.2 28 days notification should be given to each member about the date of the Annual General Meeting. This notification should be either by:

1. Individual notification to each member.
2. An announcement in the Newsletter.
3. A notice on The Friends notice board in the Theatre Foyer.
4. A press announcement.

12.3 Any items of Agenda, or changes to rules, should be made in writing to the Secretary 14 days prior to the date of The meeting.

12.4 Any item not included on the Agenda will not be discussed except for any urgent items of business, which have occurred after the deadline for inclusion on the Agenda.

12.5 The Chair shall appoint tellers to the meeting if appropriate for the numbers attending the meeting.

12.6 The quorum at the Annual General Meeting shall be 4% of the membership at the date of notification.

12.7 The Annual General Meeting shall, unless the Executive Committee decide otherwise, be chaired by the outgoing Chair.

13 Extra Ordinary General Meeting

13.1 An Extra Ordinary Meeting can be called on the written request of at least 15% of the current membership.

13.2 The request together with the reason for calling the meeting, should be made in writing to the Secretary, giving at least 28 days for a proposed date of the meeting.

13.3 This meeting must be held within 40 days of the request.

14 Changes To The Constitution

14.1 Changes to the Constitution can only be made at an Annual General Meeting or an Extra Ordinary Meeting called for under Rule 13 (provided the necessary notification in writing has been given).

14.2 Two thirds of the members at a quorate meeting must endorse the change.

14.3 Any changes will take effect from midnight on the day of the change.

15 Dissolution

15.1 The Friends may be dissolved only by a resolution passed by a two thirds majority of members attending a special meeting called for that purpose.

15.2 In the event of such dissolution, the Executive Committee or any specially elected Sub-Committee, shall dispose of any remaining funds in accordance with the objectives of The Friends.

15.3 Any asset purchased with lottery funding must be passed to some other organisation having similar interests and objectives to those of The Friends.

16 Miscellaneous

16.1 The Friends will assist in any work as requested by the Theatre Management. However this work will not be carried out if it is to the detriment of any paid member of staff.

16.2 Any rule of eventuality not covered in the above constitution will be dealt with and decided by the Executive Committee. These rules to be suitably recorded and either:

1. incorporated as an amendment to the constitution and presented to the membership at the next Annual General Meeting
2. kept as a memorandum for future reference.