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1 NAME AND OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY

 

The Society shall be call ‘The Welsh and West of England Bullmastiff Society’ and its objects shall be to:-

 

(i) Promote the breeding, owning and well being of the Bullmastiff.

(ii) Adopt and publish the description of the Standard, and urge adoption of this Standard by all breeders and judges.

(iii) Undertake the guaranteeing of Bullmastiff breed classes at shows and promote and support such classes within the area of the Society.

(iv) Assist Members and the Breed, in every way compatible with their interests.

 

2 OFFICERS & COMMITTEE

 

(a) The Society shall consist of a President, Hon. Life Vice Presidents, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and an unlimited number of Members.

(b) The management of the Society shall be in the hands of a Committee consisting of twelve members all of whom shall retire annually at the Annual General Meeting, and shall be eligible for annual re-election.  In addition, the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be ex officio members of the Committee with full voting powers except the Chairman who shall have only a casting vote in the event of equal votes being recorded for any proposition.  The committee shall have the power to make any necessary bye-laws, treat disputed matters and deal with any points which are not stated in the rules.

(c) The Committee shall meet as often as deemed necessary, but on at least four occasions between Annual General Meetings.

(d) At Committee meeting five members shall form a quorum, one of whom must be an officer.  At General Meeting a quorum shall consist of seven members, three of whom shall be from the Committee.

(e)  Any formal decision made at a committee meeting cannot be altered at a subsequent committee meeting unless approved by two-thirds of the full executive committee. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt members onto the Committee if necessary, or in the event of positions becoming vacant between General meetings.  Those co-opted to fill positions becoming vacant between General Meetings shall have full voting powers and hold office until the next General Meeting of the Society, at which an election of Officers and Committee takes place.

(f) All officers of the Society shall be honorary, and no member shall be allowed to make the Society a means of private speculation of trade, nor directly, or indirectly, derive a monetary benefit therefrom.

(g) No Officer or Committee member of this Society may hold office as an Officer or Committee member of any other Bullmastiff society.

(h) No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee of or hold any other office or appointment of the Canine Section of a Kennel Club Affiliated Organisation.

(i) Delegates to the Bullmastiff Breed Council shall be elected from the Committee at the Annual General Meeting.

(j) Although ex officio members of the Committee, Officers are not entitled to an extra vote on the Committee by virtue of the ex officio status.

 

3 ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

 

(a) The Chairman, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Committee will retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election.  Other candidates, who have been members of the Society for at lease 24 months prior to nomination, may be proposed for election.  Any such nomination must be duly proposed and seconded in writing, signed by the nominee and submitted to the Secretary at least 28 days prior to the date of the AGM.

(b) The election of the Officers and Committee shall be by ballot of members at the Annual General Meeting and voting papers in such form as the committee may subscribe will be provided.

(c) The Society’s Delegates to the Bullmastiff Breed Council shall be elected annually by those members present at the Annual General Meeting.  Only serving Officers and Committee Members of the Society will be eligible for such election.

(d) Honorary Life Vice Presidents may be elected at the discretion of the Membership at Annual General Meetings in recognition of their long or outstanding service, and shall be exempt from the payment of subscriptions.

 

 

4 COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND ATTENDANCE

 

Meetings shall be held at any time and venue agreed by the Committee.  Any member of the Committee who fails to attend three consecutive meetings without giving just cause for absenting himself, or herself, shall be dismissed and the Committee shall have the power to co-opt another member in his, or her, place.

 

5 GENERAL MEETINGS OF MEMBER

 

(a) Special General Meetings

The Secretary shall summon a Special General Meeting no less than six weeks and no more than twelve weeks after either receiving instruction from the Committee to do so or receipt of a requisition, in writing and signed by at least sixteen members of the Society, specifying the business for which such a meeting is required.  The Secretary will notify all members accordingly, in writing, at least 28 days prior to the date arranged for any such meeting.  No business other than that named in the notice shall be considered by Members at a Special General Meeting.

(b) Annual General Meeting

(i) The financial year shall be from January 1 to December 31 and the Annual General Meeting shall be held no later that March 31 in the following year.  Such meeting must be convened by the Secretary in writing to all members, at least 28 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.  At the meeting all Officers and Committee elected for the ensuing year shall be announced.  No business shall be transacted at the Annual General Meeting, unless notice thereof appears on the published agenda, with the exception of routine matters, or those which in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, are of an urgent nature.

(ii) Proposals and matters for discussion must be submitted to the Secretary in writing at least 28 days prior to the  

             date of the AGM.

 

6 ELECTION OF MEMBER

 

(a) All applications for membership shall be made in writing to the Secretary on a form as prescribed by the Committee.  The Secretary shall place all such applications before the Committee for approval. Acceptance shall be by a simple majority vote of the Committee.  The Society shall send a list of members and their addresses to the Kennel Club with the annual returns.  An up to date list of members and their addresses will be available for inspection if so requested by members of the Society or by the Kennel Club.

(b) The Committee reserves the right to debar from membership any person or persons who have been found guilty of an offence against the Rules of The Kennel Club, and whose name has been brought before the Kennel, and whose name has been brought before the Kennel Club Committee who has placed restriction upon such persons.  A condition membership shall be that the applicant if accepted, shall comply will all Rules and Regulations of the Kennel Club, the Rules and Regulations of this Society and any Code of Ethics which may have been incorporated in those rules.

(c) Honorary Members may be elected, in recognition of long or outstanding service to the society, at the discretion of the Membership at annual General Meetings.  Such Honorary Members shall be exempt from the payment of subscriptions.

 

7 VOTING RIGHTS

 

Each member shall be entitled to one vote subject to having completed a minimum of 12 months membership of the Society.  Proxy votes are confined to joint memberships and at General Meetings, due notice of the proxy vote having been given in writing to the Secretary prior to the commencement of the meeting.  A proxy vote can only be accepted if one of the joint members is present at the meetings.  Such votes by proxy shall be available only for subjects named on the agenda.  Votes taken at meetings of members shall be show of hands or paper ballot or as otherwise decided by the majority present at the meeting.

 

8 SOCIETY ACCOUNTS

 

(a) A banking account shall be held in the name of the Society at a recognised Bank or Building Society into which all revenue of the Society shall be paid, and from which withdrawal shall only be made on the signatures from any of the three name officers.

(b) A report shall be drawn up annually by the Treasurer to be presented at the Annual General Meeting showing the financial position in the various accounts held by the Society.  The Statement of Accounts, duly certified by the appointed Auditor(s), shall be sent to all members at least 28 days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

 

9 SUBSCRIPTIONS

 

The annual subscription rates for the following year, shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and notified to the Kennel Club.  Payments become due on January 1 of each year and should be forwarded to the Treasurer or Secretary.  Cheques should be payable to The Welsh & West of England Bullmastiff Society.  No member whose subscription is unpaid after the last day of February shall be entitled to any of the privileges of membership until their subscription is paid in full.  If any member shall fail to pay the annual subscription by 31 March, the Committee shall have the power to erase their name from the list of members.  Should the Committee subsequently receive a satisfactory explanation, the member may, at the discretion of the Committee, and on payment of arrears, be re-admitted to membership without reapplication.  The subscription of members joining after 1 October shall place such member in credit until 31 December of the year following.

 

10 EXPULSION OF MEMBERS

 

(a) Any member who shall be suspended under the Kennel Club Rule A42.j.(4) and / or any member whose dog(s) is / are disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A42.j.(8) shall ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Society for the duration of the suspension and / or disqualification.  If the conduct of any Member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Society, by injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the Society, the Committee of the Society may, at a meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the passing a resolution to expel him / her.  Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the Meeting that he /  she may attend and offer an explanation.  If at the meeting a resolution to expel is passed by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting, his / her name shall forth with be erased from the list of Members, and he / she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a Member of the Society, except that he / she may within two calendar months from the date of such Meeting appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such conditions as the Kennel Club may impose.

(b) If the Society expels any member for discreditable conduct in connection with dogs, dog shows or trials, the Society must report the matter in writing to the Kennel Club within seven days and supply particulars required.

 

11 EXPENSES

 

All expenses incurred by the Secretary and Treasurer must be sanctioned and passed by the Committee.  All expenses and payments are sanctioned by the Society Committee must be paid with cheques, which must be signed by any two of the following officers – Chairman, Secretary, or Treasurer.

 

12 AMMENDMENT OF RULES

 

The Rules of the Society may not be altered by the Society except at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting notice of which includes details of the proposal to alter the rules.  Such alterations shall not be brought into force until The Kennel Club has been advised and given its requirements shall be adopted immediately and included in the Society’s Constitution with effect from the Society’s Annual General Meeting.

 

13 SOCIETY PROPERTY

 

The property of the Society shall be vested in the Committee.  In the event of the Society being wound up or ceasing to be a Registered Society under Kennel Club Rules and Regulations, a General Meeting shall be called to decide the disposal of the Society’s assets.  All challenge cups, etc. which have not been won outright at the time of dissolution, shall be returned to the donors, their heirs or executors whenever applicable.  A final statement of audited accounts with a record of the disposal of the property of the Society shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club within six months and persons named as Officers and Committee of the Society on the last return furnished to the Kennel Club will be held responsible by the Kennel Club for the proper winding up of the Society.

 

14 FINAL COURT OF APPEAL

 

The Welsh & West of England Bullmastiff Society acknowledges the Kennel Club as the final court of appeal in all matters of dispute between the Society and its members and third parties concerning the Society’s affairs and management no matter in what manner arising and reference to all Courts of Law concerning such disputes is hereby excluded.  The Kennel Club shall be the final authority for interpreting the rules and regulations of this Society and in all cases relative to canine or Society matters.

 

 

15 JUDGES LIST

 

(a) The Society shall annually draw up a list of approved judges, a copy of which shall be submitted to the Kennel Club as part of the Society’s annual returns.  Whilst any member of the Society may nominate any person for consideration for the Society’s list of approved judges, the election of such judges to the list shall be vested in the Judges Sub-Committee.

(b) The Judges Sub-Committee shall draw up a list annually divided into A1, A2, A3, B & C and will indicate the date the list will expire

(c) Persons nominated for inclusion on the list must submit a written statement giving details of their judging, i.e. name of show, number of classes, number of entries, together with experience, of ownership of the breed. Membership of the Club shall not be a prerequisite for inclusion in the lists.

(d) An approved judge’s name shall be removed from the list if instructed to do so by The Kennel Club following expulsion from the Society, or in cases of infirmity of such a nature as to make judging impractical, or when the judge is deceased or advises the Secretary that they no longer wish to be included in the list.

 

16 JOINING FEDERATIONS

 

This Society shall not join any federation of societies or clubs.

 

17 PAYMENTS OF MAINTENANCE OF TITLE FEE

 

The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year, Maintenance of Title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club whether by the Secretary or by Direct Debit, for continuance of registration and that by 31 July each year, other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities, will be forwarded to the Kennel Club.  The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of Secretary of the Society which may occur during the course of the year.