American Auto Club

AAC UK Club Constitution

The AAC-UK Club Constitution

The club will be known as the American Auto Club UK.
Aim
To provide a unique national club for American vehicle enthusiasts.
Objectives
  • To promote help, support & friendship amongst members
  • To produce a monthly club magazine.
  • To organize at least one major rally per year.
  • To promote the club via local area meets.
Ethos
The club promotes equality and best practice, and so will publish its own Equal Opportunities charter and Health & Safety statement.

Club Rules & Guidance

All club rules & guidance will be detailed in the following Club Rules & Guidance section.

Membership The club is open to all upon payment of the appropriate membership level.

Club Committee
The club will be run by a democratically elected committee drawn only from its membership.
Club Finances
The club finances will be run in an efficient manner, the organization of which will be regularily scrutinized by the committee.
Annual General Meeting
There will be an annual general meeting to which all club members are invited. It is only at the AGM that this constitution can be amended.
Equality of Opportunity.
The Club is committed to providing an environment in which all members or prospective members are able to realize their full enjoyment of membership, and contribute to the Clubs success, irrespective of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
Health & Safety
The Club will organize all events, and adhere at all times, to a system of work which ensures the safety and well-being of all members, visitors and all others to whom we have a responsibility. All partner groups and organizations will be expected to work to the same ethos and standard and should be able to demonstrate this when called upon to do so by the Club.
Changes to Constitution.
This Constitution and the Club Rules may be permanently changed only at the AGM following a vote of members.


Guidance Where questions are raised in relation to specific rules and how they are administered, it may be appropriate for the committee to consider any questions and then weigh them against current Guidance notes, in this way temporary changes can be effected to ensure the smooth running of the club but which will require ultimate ratification by the membership.

Membership

There are three types of membership, FULL, JOINT, JUNIOR. All will be entitled to a membership card.
  • Full members will be entitled to a windshield sticker and a cloth badge upon joining, a vote at the AGM and a club magazine.
  • Joint membership is available to partners of full members. They shall be entitled upon payment of an additional amount per year to vote at the AGM.
  • Junior membership is available to children of Full members up to the age of seventeen.
All members shall receive a reminder one month before renewal date.

The subscription fee for Full and Joint members shall be decided at the AGM.

The committee reserves the right to refuse membership.

Any refusal MUST be properly documented and all reasons recorded. In particular, the Equality Statement will be adhered to.

Honorary membership may be awarded in recognition of outstanding services to the club, this award must be proposed and seconded as a normal motion for the AGM where members present vote on it.

Area reps. Can only be reps for one club, AACUK.

The Club Committee

The business of the club shall be managed by an elected committee of eleven officers: CEO, Vice CEO, Treasurer, Editor, Membership Secretary, Chief Marshall, Trade Stand Organiser, Public Relations Officer, Commercial Advertising Officer, Merchandise Officer, Security Officer. The duties and responsibilities of each officer shall be listed in another document known as 'The Standing Orders'.

The term of office for each shall be one year.

Officers shall be elected by the members attending the AGM.

Nominations for each position must be proposed and seconded by members and be received by the CEO at least twenty one days before the AGM.

Nominees for CEO and Treasurer must have been members for at least five consecutive years and been active within the club i.e. Rep, Marshal etc Nominees for Editor, Membership Secretary, Vice CEO must have been members for 3 consecutive years. Nominees for other positions must have been a member for one full year.

The committee will have the power to terminate membership. A decision to terminate a membership will require a minimum 6 committee voting FOR termination.

All committee members will be notified of the purpose of a meeting called to refuse or withdraw membership and should make every effort to attend.

Any member that has their membership terminated will be entitled to a refund of the subscription pro-rata.

No officer shall have executive powers outside of their 'standing orders' without consent of the committee.

The committee shall meet frequently to discuss and decide on all matters arising, all decisions shall be taken by a vote, each officer having one vote.

The CEO, having the responsibility for reading motions, shall not vote. Only in the event of a tie will the CEO have the final deciding vote.

Committee meetings will be minuted and members are entitled to request a copy of these minutes.

The committee will have the power to co-opt extra officers where necessary to ensure the smooth running of the club; they will not be able to vote on committee decisions unless elected at the AGM.

Committee members cannot use their official positions directly or indirectly for their own gains.

All committee meetings must be attended by a majority of the committee to include the CEO and Treasurer.

Club Finances

  • The club will hold bank accounts, the Treasurer and the CEO to be signatories.
  • All payments from this account will require both signatures.
  • All major payments (those being of £250 and over) shall require the authorization of the committee.
  • The Club accounts will be available to members before the AGM so they can be discussed at the AGM.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held on a Sunday in November at a venue considered appropriate by the committee. A chairman appointed by the committee will chair the AGM.

Full and Joint members shall be entitled to vote at the AGM. Those attending must have their membership cards available to prove their membership.

Voting will be deemed by a raised hand holding the voting paper, in order that the chairman can assess voting positions.

Proxy voting will not be allowed.

All motions to be discussed and voted on must be received by the CEO twenty one days before the AGM and seconded; others from the floor can be discussed but not voted on.

Emergency Procedure
In the event of a treasurer, CEO and one other not being elected, the previous treasurer will freeze all monies in the bank; all capital assets will be placed in storage until such a time as these positions can be filled.

The committee needs at least a CEO, Treasurer and one other to function. (An 'emergency committee'). This situation is only to allow the club to function temporarily if, for any reason, insufficient members come forward to fill the normal committee posts.

Guidance Where an emergency committee is called into existence, decisions made should be examined later and voted on by the subsequent full committee.


Emergency Committee Meeting
An Emergency Committee Meeting may be held either following the arisal of a matter considered seriously injurious to the well-being and future of the Club, or in order to prevent such a matter arising.

An Emergency Committee Meeting can be called only by a majority of the serving members of the committee.

Guidance It is not the intention of this section to allow interference with the running of the club on a day-to-day basis. Members who are unhappy with aspects of the running of the club should pursue this in the appropriate and time-honoured fashion, by raising an item at the AGM. Rather, an ECM should be concerned with items such as (for example) bankruptcy, institution of legal proceedings etc.

If an ECM is to be called then it requires a majority of the serving members - this is not necessarily the same as the elected members, as some do fall by the wayside, and it may even be this issue that the ECM needs to discuss ie voting in replacement members during an ongoing year.

A serving member of the committee may be defined as one who makes themselves routinely available to carry out the business of the club.

Rally Judging Procedure

  • The committee will appoint a Chief Judge
  • The Chief Judge may recruit Assistant Judges.
  • All judging will be carried out fairly, impartially, and in an open manner.
Guidance
If also judging, entrants to competitions should not judge in the class their vehicle is entered into. In the event of a conflict of interest, the Chief Judge shall be consulted and their decision shall be final.

The Chief Judge should give advice on how judging is to be carried out prior to each competition (they may consider it worthwhile to give each assistant a simple guidance sheet.).

Any issues from competitors should be directed to the Chief Judge, not to the assistant.

This Constitution

This document is the constitution of the American Auto Club UK
The constitution can only be altered at an AGM or EGM.