CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF THE RAYMENT SOCIETY

 
 
 

1. NAME

 

The Society shall be known as "THE RAYMENT SOCIETY".

 
 
 

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 

The Society shall:

 

a)

foster the study of the history of the Rayment surname and its variants, with the intention of sponsoring the eventual publication of definitive research, where appropriate.

 

b)

promote the conservation of documents, photographs, monuments and other material of significance to the Society.

 

c)

bring together all those who are interested in Rayment ancestry and, where possible, to hold meetings of the Society’s Members at places of particular interest.

 

d)

research ways of recording and exchanging data, and operate a repository for information on all Rayment families and their descendants, for use by all members of the Society.

 

e)

issue a regular news bulletin featuring the activities of the Society and other items of a genealogical nature.

 
 
 

3. MEMBERSHIP

 

a)

The Society shall consist of Ordinary Members and Honorary Members.

 

b)

Anyone may apply for individual Ordinary Membership of the Society, by submitting a completed application form, accompanied by the appropriate joining fee, subscription, and copies of their birth and marriage certificates if the name Rayment appears thereon. Application forms shall be deemed incomplete unless the applicant has supplied a home telephone number and has signed and dated the authorisation enabling the Society to keep the applicant’s membership and genealogical details on a computer database.

 

c)

Corporate bodies may apply for Ordinary Membership, provided that their application is accompanied by the appropriate joining fee and subscription, and that the person submitting the application states the capacity in which they represent their organisation.

 

d)

The Committee shall have the right to refuse any application for membership without being required to give a reason, provided that the applicant’s joining and subscription fees are returned to the applicant as soon as is practicable.

 

e)

The Committee shall be empowered to revoke the membership of any individual Ordinary Member or Corporate Body who has, in its opinion, acted in a manner contrary to the interests of the Society.

 

f)

The Committee shall have power to elect as Honorary Members any person whose election is, in its opinion, merited by reason of services rendered to, or conducive to, the interests of the Society. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, Honorary Members shall be entitled to all the privileges of Ordinary Members. Corporate bodies, on payment of annual subscriptions, shall be entitled to all the privileges of Ordinary Members without any such privilege thereby accruing to anyone individually.

 

g)

The appropriate joining fee and subscription for membership of the Society shall be such sums as shall from time to time be determined by the Society in General Meeting, provided no subscriptions shall be payable by Honorary Members. All subscriptions shall be paid in advance, on or before the first day of the membership year, which starts on the l April each year. The Committee shall be empowered to declare that any Member whose subscription has been due and remains unpaid on the first day of July in any year shall cease to be a Member of the Society.

 

h)

All Joining and initial Membership fees must be paid by cheque, or money order, made payable to "THE RAYMENT SOCIETY", and must be in sterling. Upon arrangement with the Treasurer, subsequent membership subscriptions may be paid by Bank or Building Society standing order.

 

i)

All Members shall be entitled to the benefit of access to the records held or deposited with the Society, with the exception of the telephone numbers of those Members who have specifically instructed the Society to withhold them. Where possible, copies of records shall also be available for purchase from the Secretary, by a sterling cheque in favour of "THE RAYMENT SOCIETY". In order to minimise costs, receipts shall not be issued unless requested.

 
 
 

4. GENERAL MEETINGS

 

a)

A General Meeting shall be held not later than three years after the date of the last General Meeting.

 

b)

A Special General Meeting shall be summoned by the Honorary Secretary at any time upon the requisition of the Chairman, or the Vice-Chairman, or the Committee, or any twelve Members of the Society. At least 28 days notice of each General Meeting shall be given by the Honorary Secretary. It shall be sufficient compliance with the requirements of this rule to announce notice of any Meeting on the Society’s Newsline, or on the Society’s Web Site, stating date, time and place of such meeting and giving particulars of the agenda.

 

c)

The Honorary Treasurer shall submit to every General Meeting a statement of the accounts of the Society.

 

d)

Only the votes of Honorary Members and of fully paid up Members shall be valid. Individual Members and Member Organisations shall each be entitled to exercise a single vote upon each occasion that a vote is taken. In the absence of a simple majority, the Chairman shall have the casting vote, except in the case of any vote upon a proposed amendment to the Society’s rules.

 
 
 

5. COMMITTEE

 

a)

The Society’s affairs shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the Officers of the Society, namely the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer and the Membership Secretary, together with not more than ten, nor less than three, other Members, of whom not less than two shall be Ordinary Members. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person.

 

b)

All Members of the Committee, other than those subsequently co-opted, shall be elected at the General Meeting to hold office for three years only, but shall be eligible for re-election. Any Member may nominate, with the nominees consent, any other Member to be a candidate for election as an Officer of the Society or as a Member of the Committee, by giving notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary, not less than fourteen days before the General Meeting. Candidates for either position may also be nominated in General Meeting by a majority of the Members present thereat.

 

c)

Between General Meetings, the Committee shall be empowered to fill any vacancies on the Committee by co-opting other Members of the Society who shall hold office only until the next General Meeting, but shall then be eligible for election.

 

d)

No Meeting of the Committee shall be in quorum unless a minimum of four Committee Members, including at least two Officers, are present.

 
 
 

6. PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT

 

Only the Committee shall have the right to propose the election, at General Meeting, of any persons to the offices of President and Vice-President, should either, or both, offices be vacant. A President and Vice-President, if so elected, shall automatically become Honorary Members for life and shall hold office for life or until resignation.

 
 
 

7. AUDITOR

 

The Society in General Meeting shall have power to appoint an Auditor and to revoke any such appointment.

 
 
 

8. ALTERATIONS

 

a)

The Rules of the Society may be added to or altered at any General Meeting, provided that written notice of the proposed addition or alteration be given to the Honorary Secretary in sufficient time for inclusion of the particulars thereof in the notice convening the Meeting.

 

b)

Any Member entitled to vote upon any proposed addition or alteration to the Rules of the Society may vote thereon either in person at the appropriate General Meeting, or in his absence by writing, provided the letter is received by the Honorary Secretary before each General Meeting opens.

 

c)

All amendments to the Society’s rules shall require affirmation by at least two-thirds of the total valid votes cast, but both President and Vice President shall each have the power to veto any or all proposed amendments.

 
 

RS#Rules 8-98

 
 

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