Cumberland Geological Society constitution can be download or read below:
CUMBERLAND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
CONSTITUTION (as amended at 23 May 2023 Special General Meeting)
- NAME
1.1. The Society shall be known as the Cumberland Geological Society
hereinafter referred to as “The Society”. - OBJECTIVES
2.1. To promote and advance public knowledge and research in all aspects of
geology and other allied sciences, particularly in the county of Cumbria and
adjacent counties by such means as;
• meetings;
• excursions;
• the production of proceedings and occasional publications;
• the maintenance of a library;
other charitable means as the Council shall from time to time decide,
(including the Charles Edmonds Prize and the Angela Marchant Student
Bursary).
2.2. To provide members of The Society and the general public with information
on the activities of The Society and on earth sciences.
2.3. To foster good relations with similar organisations. - COUNCIL
3.1. The Society shall aim to be governed by a Council consisting of: President,
two Vice-presidents (the senior of whom shall be the immediate past
president), Council Secretary, Treasurer, Field Trip Secretary, Lecture
Secretary, Membership Secretary, The Cumberland Geologist Editor,
Website Manager/Publicity Officer, Librarian and up to five ordinary
members. A member of Council may hold more than one office. The role of
President may be a job share.
3.2. The President shall hold office for no more than two successive years. In the
event of a successor not being available at the time of the Annual General
Meeting, Council may elect the present incumbent for a further year.
3.3. Council may from time to time co-opt other members to Council as
necessary.
3.4. The Council, of whom five shall form a quorum, shall meet whenever
summoned by either the President, Council Secretary or Treasurer.
3.5. lndicative responsibilities of officers are described in Appendix 1. - MEMBERSHIP
4.1. Membership of The Society is open to any member of the general public.
4.2. There shall be the following categories of membership;
• Full members who shall be entitled to take full part in the life of The
Society.
• Joint membership shall be open to two or more full members residing at
the same address at an appropriate subscription. They shall receive
jointly the proceedings, publications and notices of The Society.
• Student members shall be in full time education at an institution
recognised by the Society. They shall automatically transfer to full
membership on 1
st January following three years of student membership
or on 1
st January following any extension of studentship for which they will
have provided a supervisors statement of such an extension. They shall
enjoy the same privileges as ordinary members except that they shall pay
a reduced subscription.
• lnstitutional membership shall be open to any libraries, schools colleges
or other institutions. Such institutions shall receive all proceedings,
publications and notices of The Society, and have the use of The
Society’s library.
• Honorary membership will be awarded to any person who has rendered
signal service to The Society, or is distinguished in the pursuit of the
objects of The Society. Honorary members will be elected on the
recommendation of Council and will enjoy all the privileges of full
membership but without the obligation of paying an annual subscription. - SUBSCRIPTIONS
5.1. The Society’s year shall run from 1
st January to 31st December.
5.2. The level of annual subscriptions shall be decided at the preceding Annual
General Meeting.
5.3. The annual subscriptions shall become due on the first day of The Society’s
year.
5.4. Subscriptions received from members joining for the first time on or after the
first day of September will extend over that year and the whole of the
following year.
5.5. Members whose subscription is in arrears on 28th February will be notified of
this lapse.
5.6. If a subscription has not been renewed by March 31st it will be deemed to
have lapsed.
5.7. Members may enter into Gift Aid declaration. - FINANCE
6.1. The accounts of The Society shall be subject to annual audit. Audited annual
accounts shall be presented by The Society’s Treasurer for approval, to the
next Annual General Meeting.
6.2. The auditor for the next financial year shall be appointed at the Annual
General Meeting.
6.3. Fund raising carried out in The Society’s name shall be subject to the
approval of Council.
6.4. Members may be reimbursed for any expenses incurred on behalf of The
Society at the discretion of Council. - GENERAL MEETINGS
7.1. There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) every 12 months where
possible.
7.2. Council for the coming year shall be nominated by the retiring Council and
elected annually by a vote of those present at the AGM. The list of
nominations shall be sent to all members with the notice of calling the AGM,
at least two weeks prior to the AGM.
7.3. Additional nominations to Council shall be invited from members of The
Society, except for the offices of President and Senior Vice President,
subject to the following conditions.
a) the nominations must be received by Councilat least three weeks before
the AGM.
b) Each candidate must be proposed by anordinary member, who must state
that the candidate has agreed to be nominated.
7.4. A Special General Meeting may be called at any time at the request of
Council or any twelve members, for a specific purpose. The
CouncilSecretary shall notify members of the date, time and place of the
meeting and the purpose for which it has been called. At least fourteen days’
notice of such a meeting shall be given by Council.
7.5. General Meetings shall be held either virtually or at venues in Cumbria. - THE CHARLES EDMONDS PRIZE FUND
8.1. The fundis held in The Society’s accounts and vested in three trustees who
shall be the President and two members of Council.
8.2. The prize shall be awarded by the trustees from time to time, such as every
three years or more frequently if the trustees so decide. It will be presented
to the successful candidate at an appropriate meeting/occasion.
8.3. Candidates for the prize shall be limited to students, who shall be natives of
or residents in Cumbria at school, university or college or other institutions of
full time education, who show special interest in geology and its allied
disciplines; amateur geologists being members of the The Society, who have
by their activities inside or outside The Society, helped to further the spread
of knowledge of geology; any geologist, amateur or professional, who has by
their researches made contributions to knowledge of geology of the northern
English counties or who, being a native of Cumbria, has made contributions
to geology in general. - THE ANGELA MARCHANT STUDENT BURSARY FUND
9.1. The fund is held in The Society’s bank accounts.
9.2. A panel consisting of the President and Treasurer and two others appointed
by Council shall make recommendations to Council regarding recipients of
the awards and the criteria on which the recommendations are based.
9.3. The frequency of awards shall be at the discretion of Council.
9.4. Candidates for the award will apply in writing on an application form drawn
up by Council.
9.5. Candidates for the award shall be limited to: students who are residents of,
or have strong connections with Cumbria, in full or part time education at an
institution of further or higher education, who show special interest in geology
and its allied disciplines; students who are studying or carrying out research
in the northern counties of England.
9.6. Successful candidates should provide The Society with an account of their
use of the award either as a written account for publication or orally at an
ordinary meeting held by The Society. - PROPERTY
10.1.The Council may, from time to time, make purchases of such moveable
effects as books and equipment as they consider advisable for the proper
running of The Society and they may also dispose of such effects by sale. - LIMITATIONS
11.1.The Society cannot accept liability for the costs of any damages, fire or theft,
legal fees or injury incurred by the activities of individual members.
11.2. Any member whose conduct is, in the opinion of Council, prejudicial to the
interests of The Society may be removed from The Society by Council,
provided that no member be so removed unless due notice has been sent,
informing the person of the intention of Council to proceed against them, and
of the nature of the charges made against the person. The person must also
be given the opportunity to answer such charges and explain their conduct to
the satisfaction of Council. - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
12.1.The constitution of The Society may not be altered except at a General
Meeting, for which fourteen days’ notice shall have been given and the full
text of the proposed additions and/or alterations shall be announced in the
newsletter, or notice calling the meeting. No further amendments may be
proposed at the meeting. - DISSOLUTION CLAUSE
13.1.The Society shall not be dissolved except at a Special General Meeting
summoned for this purpose. One month’s notice shall be given to all
members and the resolution of dissolution shall require a majority of two
thirds of the members present and voting, together with those who shall have
communicated their views to the officers of The Society in writing. In case of
dissolution of The Society, the property shall be presented to some
charitable organisation concerned with geological research or other cognate
objects of The Society.
APPENDIX 1
lndicative responsibilities of Officers
President (may be a job share)
To chair meetings of Council
To preside at lecture and field meetings
To be a member of the Charles Edmonds Prize Fund and Angela Marchant Student
Bursary Fund panels
Senior Vice-President
To deputise for the President as necessary
Junior Vice President
To deputise for the President as necessary
Council Secretary
To ensure that Council and General Meetings are properly convened and agenda
and minutes are produced
Treasurer
To be responsible for the upkeep of The Society’s bank accounts
To provide Council with regular financial statements regarding income, expenditure,
bank balances and assets of The Society
To prepare annual accounts and organize their audit
To present annual accounts to Council and the AGM as described in section 7 above
To advise Council on subscription levels
To be a member of the Angela Marchant student Bursary Fund panel
Field Trip Secretary
To organise the programme of field visits and liaise with leaders
To ensure that accounts of field visits are produced for inclusion in The Cumberland
Geologist
Lecture Secretary
To organize the programme of lectures and liaise with lecturers
To ensure that venues are booked for lectures
To ensure that equipment is available for lecturers
Membership Secretary
To keep an up-to-date register of members
To provide lists of members for other officers as necessary
To correspond with members on membership issues as necessary
The Cumberland Geologist Editor
To organize the production and distribution of proceedings of The Society, The
Cumberland Geologist (TCG)
Website Manager/Publicity Officer
To keep the Society’s website up to date
To upload recordings of lectures and past Proceedings/TCGs
To organize media publicity for Society activities
To be the correspondent of the society
Librarian
To keep and up-to-date catalogue of the Society library
To organize the lending of materials from the library for members
