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The Rare Variety & Colour Budgerigar Society
General Rules (amended January 2011)

1. Title

The Society shall be called the Rare Variety & Colour Budgerigar Society

2. Affiliation

The Society shall be affiliated to the Parent Body, The Budgerigar Society and to the National Council for Aviculture.

3. Objectives

The objectives of the Society are:

a) To promote the preservation of certain varieties and colours of budgerigar deemed to be rare or diminishing in numbers

b) To encourage the breeding, development and exhibition of rare and diminishing varieties and colours of budgerigar under the rules of The Budgerigar Society

c) To set a continually evolving list of such varieties and colours of budgerigars deemed to require such preservation

d) To hold meetings and shows and publish a newsletter for the benefit and interest of the members of the Society

e) To promote the exhibition of such varieties by means of Society patronage to shows

f) To encourage members of the Society to keep their budgerigars in conditions conducive to the health and well being of the birds.

4. Membership

Membership of the Society shall consist of those persons who shall have completed an application form for membership and paid the annual subscription applicable to them and whose membership is accepted by the Management Committee of the Society.

Benefits of membership for any year commence with the date the subscription is paid.

The Society by its Management Committee may, without assigning any reason therefore, reject any application for membership.

Membership, once granted, may not be withdrawn by the Society except for non payment of subscriptions under the proviso of Rule 14.

5. Subscriptions

Annual subscriptions for members for the ensuing year shall be determined by the vote of members at the Annual General Meeting after taking into consideration the recommendation of the Management Committee as to the amounts thereof and will become payable on the 1st January in each year (or in the first year of membership on the date that membership is applied for).

All proposals for an increase in subscription must be lodged with the General Secretary by 31st March prior to the Annual General Meeting and be effective on the 1st January the following year.

Subscription Categories of the Society shall be as follows:

a)         Single

b)         Unrelated Partnership   (any number)

c)         Same Address Partnership

d)         Pensioners Partnership

e)         Pensioner over 65 years (60 for women)

f)         Disabled in receipt of State Benefit payable only to disabled person

g)         Junior  (over 8 years and under 16 on 1st January and showing in Junior classes)

h)         Life membership by payment of 20 times the annual subscription rate

Any member who does not pay the annual subscription by 31st March each year shall be deemed to have lapsed and will no longer be a member.

6. Management of the Society

The affairs of the Society shall be vested in and administered by a Management Committee consisting of a) President b) President Elect c) Chairperson d) Vice Chairperson e) General Secretary f) Membership Secretary g) Treasurer h) Patronage Secretary i) Editor j) Publicity Officer k) Trophy Steward l) up to Six Committee members; all of whom shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and must be fully paid up members.

Any of the aforementioned offices may be held jointly by two or more persons. Any officer may hold one or more positions.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt other individuals for special purposes.

There will also be honorary appointments of Life Members, Life Vice-Presidents and Vice presidents elected at the Annual General Meeting for reasons of giving outstanding service to the Society or varieties and colours on its list. These honorary appointments do not constitute a part of the Management Committee. New proposals for the above appointments must be lodged with the General Secretary by 31st March prior to the Annual General Meeting.

7. Committee meetings

Management Committee meetings will be called at the discretion of the Chairperson and General Secretary to discuss such business to ensure the smooth running of the Society’s affairs.

At all meetings of the Committee a quorum of five shall be present to conduct the business of the Society.

In addition to the powers specifically conferred upon them, the Officers and Committee members shall have a) the control of the finances of the Society b) the power to control and dismiss members c) the control of all matters relating to the running and management of the Society d) the power to co-opt any member onto the Committee to fill any post or vacancy deemed necessary.

The decision of the Management Committee relating to all matters of the Society outside of the Annual General Meeting shall be final.

The General Secretary shall record the minutes of all Society meetings held, which shall be available for inspection by any member, with the agreement of the Management Committee.

8. Sub Committees

The Management Committee shall have the power to appoint Sub Committees for any purpose within the scope of the Society and shall have the power to co-opt a representative of the Sub Committee as an ex-officio member of the Management Committee.

The Chairperson and General Secretary shall be ex-officio members of any Sub Committee formed for any purpose in connection with the Society.

9. Nominations for Office

All officers and Committee members shall be elected for one year at a time, except the President and President Elect who will be elected every three years. All nominations for office or committee should be sent to the General Secretary in writing (proposed and seconded) on or before the 31st March each year. Should there be more than one nomination for office or more than six nominations for committee members, then a postal ballot will take place. Ballot papers with relevant details (as laid out in the Ballot Guidelines) will be sent to all fully paid up members at least four weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

The Management Committee by co-opting a member for the remainder of the year may fill any vacancy occurring during the year.

10. Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of fully paid up members shall be held each year for the following purposes:

a) To receive a report of the previous year’s working of the Society through the Chairperson

b)     To receive the General Secretary’s Report

c) To receive the Treasurer’s report and receive and approve a statement of the Society’s receipts and expenditure and a balance sheet for the previous year.

d) To elect the Management Committee as detailed in Rule 6

e) To elect two auditors who are not members of the Management Committee and to confirm the National Council for Aviculture as the Ballot Scrutineer

f) To consider any resolution to amend the rules of the Society which shall have been either:

i)     Submitted by members to the General Secretary by 31st March prior to the meeting. All resolutions must be in writing and bear the names and signatures of the proposer and seconder.

ii)     Submitted by the Management Committee to the General Secretary by 31st March prior to the meeting.

g) To consider any other relevant business notified in writing to the General Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting.

The notice convening the Annual General Meeting shall be notified by the most suitable means to all fully paid up members at least 14 days prior to the meeting. The notice shall include the time and venue and a complete text of any resolution to be placed before the meeting. The accounts and balance sheet shall be included in accordance with Rule 12.

No general rule of the Society shall be altered unless a two third majority of the members present vote in favour of such alteration.

Postal or proxy votes by members for any general meetings or other meetings will not be admissible.

11. Extraordinary General Meeting

An extraordinary general meeting of members may be called :

a) by the Management Committee for any purpose and

b)     shall be called if 10 members shall in writing requisition and state the purpose for such a meeting.

Such a meeting shall be arranged for such a time and at such a place as will give the maximum number of members the chance of attending.

The date, time and venue thereof shall be notified to all members at least 14 days prior to the meeting; such notification to be by the most suitable means.

To transact business at an Extraordinary General Meeting a quorum shall consist of 25% of the Society’s paid up members at the time the meeting is called, shall include all the members requesting the calling of the meeting.

It shall not be possible to requisition an Extraordinary General Meeting for the purpose of reversing or varying any decision made at the Annual General Meeting.

Once an Extraordinary General Meeting has made a decision upon the matters or purposes for which it was called, there shall be no further Extraordinary Meeting called nor resolution made to an Annual General Meeting to discuss them again until three years have elapsed.

Discussion at an Extraordinary Meeting must be strictly confined to the subject or subjects specified in the notice calling the meeting.

12. Accounts

The treasurer shall have the responsibility of administering the Society’s Accounts which shall be made up at the end of each financial year under the supervision of the Management Committee.

All Society funds should be kept in a bank account at a bank or other financial organisation to be designated by the Management Committee.

The financial year of the Society shall be from 1st January up to and including 31st December.*

The Management Committee shall have control of all funds of the Society and the authority to dispose and spend such funds in any manner as the Committee think fit in accordance with the objectives and rules of the Society.

Any funds raised by a Sub Committee set up under Rule 8 shall be the property of the Society and will be paid into the Society funds under control of the treasurer.

The Management Committee shall cause to be prepared, audited and printed each year a statement of receipts and expenditure and a balance sheet made up to the end of the financial year.

13. Chairperson’s casting vote

The elected Chairperson shall preside at all meetings called to transact the business of the Society and shall have a casting vote or additional vote in the event of an equality of votes cast by members present. In the event of the elected Chairperson being absent, the elected Vice Chairperson will preside and shall have the same casting or additional voting rights. In the event of both Chairperson and Vice Chairperson being absent, those members present will elect a Chairperson from among their number who will preside over the meeting and will be granted the same casting or additional vote.

14. Disciplinary rules

The disciplinary rules and procedures of the Society shall be the same as those printed in the Rules of The Budgerigar Society.

15. Patronage

The Society’s patronage is available at the discretion of the Management Committee to any club, society or association or organisation presenting a show where it is seen to be promoting the objectives of the Society.

The Patronage Secretary shall administer the Society’s show patronage on behalf of the Management Committee.

All applications for patronage must be submitted to the Patronage Secretary by 28th February in the current year that the patronage is applied for.

16. Publications

The Society shall maintain contact with its members by the publication of a newsletter (The Rare Scene) which the Editor is to publish in accordance with the objectives of the Society and distribute on behalf of the Management Committee. The frequency of publication to be at the discretion of the Management Committee.

17. Disbandment

In the event, for whatever reason, of the Society ceasing to function in accordance with its objectives it may only be disbanded in accordance with the wishes of a majority who attend an Extraordinary General Meeting convened specifically for such a purpose.

Any funds held by the Society at the time of such a disbandment will be transferred to the Budgerigar Society with a request that they be held by them for a period of up to five years, after which, if the society has not been re-formed they may be totally taken over by them.

18.   EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES PROTOCOL

The RV&CBS is committed to Equal Opportunities and opposes all discrimination, prejudice and any other form of injustice that are based on ethnic, racial or national background or origins, mental or physical disability or difference, age, skin colour, nomadic lifestyle, partnership or family status, sexual orientation, financial or employment status.

It is the obligation of every member to ensure they actively support this Policy, and to ensure that no action of theirs can be reasonably construed as either discrimination or harassment.

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