KENILWORTH HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY CONSTITUTION
(as amended April 2024)

1. NAME
   
   The Society shall be called ‘THE KENILWORTH HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY.
   
   
2. OBJECTIVES
   
   The objectives are to promote members’ and public interest in their heritage by discovering, recording, publishing and by any other means, the history and archaeology of the Kenilworth area.
   
   
3. MEMBERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTIONS
   
   Membership
   
   Membership shall be open to all who are interested in the objectives of the Society, subject to an approved application. Membership shall lapse if the subscription remains unpaid three months after it is due, and may be terminated in any particular case by the resolution of the Committee.
   
   Associate Membership
   
   This shall be available to persons under 18 years of age, students and representatives of school historical groups or societies. Such Associate Members shall comply with the conditions relating to Members of the Society, and shall enjoy the same rights and privileges.
   
   Honorary Membership
   
   This may be granted by the Committee on such terms and for such period as the Committee shall decide in each case.
   
   Subscriptions
   
   The amount of the subscription for each class of membership shall be determined by the Committee, and subject to the acceptance at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting called for the purpose, shall normally be due from the date of that meeting. A subscription received between 1 September and the AGM will be applied to the following membership year, and the subscriber will be granted free membership for the remainder of the current year.
   
   
4. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
   
   The Officers of the Society shall comprise a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Honorary Speakers’ Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Webmaster. The Committee shall comprise the Officers and other members, eight members in all. In the event of a vote on a Committee decision being evenly divided the Chairman shall have a casting vote. All Committee members shall relinquish their office every year, but shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.
   
   Specific nominations for members of the Committee (i.e. for Chairman or for other Officers or Committee Members) must reach the Chairman not less than two weeks before the Annual General Meeting: they must be in writing, seconded, and bear the consent of the nominee. In the event of there being insufficient nominations to effect a full Committee, then nominations may be taken from the floor at the Annual General Meeting. Should this still yield a shortfall in Committee members then the Committee shall co-opt at its discretion to make up the number at the earliest reasonable opportunity. Election shall be by simple majority.
   
   The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members for specific purposes. The proceedings of the Committee shall be recorded in writing by the Honorary Speakers’ Secretary or other person agreed by the Committee, in a book kept for the purposes. Alternatively, a loose-leaf file of the minutes may be kept, provided each page is numbered and initialled by the Chairman when the minutes are approved.
   
   
5. MEETINGS
   
   An Annual General Meeting, of which 21 days’ notice shall be given, shall be held in February, to receive the Committee’s report and audited accounts, and to elect the Committee members.
   
   The Committee shall decide when Ordinary Meetings of the Society shall be held. A Special General Meeting may be called by not less than ten members of the Society upon application in writing to the Committee: such a meeting shall then be held within one month of the receipt of the application.
   
   
6. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
   
   The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority of members present at the Annual or Special General Meeting called for the purpose, provided that a minimum of 14 days’ notice of the proposed amendment(s) has been sent by post, e mail or receipted distribution to all fully paid up members.
   
   
7. SAFE CUSTODY OF MATERIAL
   
   All written material submitted to the Committee is to be placed in safe custody by the Committee and likewise all artefacts etc. It is desirable that the Committee appoint an Archivist and a Keeper respectively for these materials, and the Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that an inventory of these shall be maintained. Material may only be loaned with the permission of the Committee’s Archivist or Keeper, as appropriate, and a record shall be maintained of such loans against the signature of the borrower. The Committee may decide from time to time to review the holdings of the Society, but before disposing of any document or artefact that may be of general interest it should be offered to the County Archivist or County Museum first.
   
   
8. WINDING UP
   
   In the event of winding up the Society, all documentary material shall be offered to the County Archivist, and all artefacts to the County Museum. Any funds shall be disposed of as felt fit by a two-thirds majority vote of a Special Meeting called for the purpose.