Mastermind Club Constitution

Published in PASS, Spring 1991, formally adopted by the AGM held at the Forte Crest Hotel, Cardiff on Sunday 5 April 1992

No comments had been received on the new, simpler Club Constitution. Peter Richardson proposed its adoption which was passed nem con. Alan Blackburn was thanked for his valuable work on the Constitution.

• Name
  • The Club shall be called The Mastermind Club.

• Objectives
  • The objectives of the Club shall be to promote friendship between the members and support a Club charity.

• Structure
  • The running of the Club shall be in the hands of a committee of management constituted as specified in Section 5 below.
  • The financial year shall run from 1 January and the administrative year from the date of one Annual General Meeting to the next.
  • The Club magazine PASS shall be published in accordance with Section 5.6 below. Publication therein shall suffice as due notice to all members under this constitution.
  • Defects in proceedings shall not invalidate any actions taken under this constitution.

• Membership
  • Full membership shall be extended only to those who have appeared on the BBC Mastermind Only full members shall have voting rights.
  • Honorary membership may be extended to those proposed by the committee or any member of the Club and elected for life by resolution of an Annual General Meeting. Existing honorary members are hereby deemed elected for life.
  • Annual subscription rates shall be determined by the committee, which shall have discretion to set different rates for favoured means of payment. Subscriptions shall be due on 1 January each year, except that new members joining in November or December each year after the programme recordings will not be due for renewal until 1 January a year hence.
  • Any member whose annual renewal subscription remains unpaid on 1 May shall be deemed to have resigned but may rejoin on payment of the subscription.

• Officers and Committee
  • The Committee shall consist of:

1. A President, who shall serve for two years, take the chair at committee meetings and Annual General Meetings, and oversee the Club’s affairs.
2. A Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary and Editor of PASS, all of whom shall serve for two years.
3. Four full members, all of whom shall serve for two years.
   • All elections for officers and committee members will be held at alternate Annual General Meetings, at which all full members attending will be entitled to vote.
   • All officers and full committee members shall be eligible to seek re-election when their terms of office expire.
   • The committee shall have the power to co-opt any full member to serve on the committee, but any such co-option must be confirmed annually by the Annual General Meeting.
   • The committee shall meet quarterly. Five members shall constitute a quorum.
   • The committee shall appoint a subcommittee to manage PASS, consisting of the Editor and at least two other persons involved in management, production, and distribution. The subcommittee may co-opt such expert assistance as it requires.
   • The committee shall be empowered to appoint such other subcommittees as may from time to time appear necessary.

• Annual General Meeting
  • The Secretary shall arrange for the Annual General Meeting to be held concurrently with the annual function, normally in April. Due notice of the meeting, along with an agenda, shall be published in the previous issue of PASS.
  • An extraordinary meeting of the Club shall be held on the demand of no fewer than forty full members.
  • Forty full members shall constitute a quorum for either the Annual General Meeting or any extraordinary meeting.

• Elections
  • A call for nominations of officers and committee members shall appear in the issue of PASS giving notice of the Annual General Meeting (self-nominations are acceptable). All nominations must be seconded at the Annual General Meeting.
  • If more than one nomination is received for a particular office, or more nominations for committee members than there are vacancies, the Secretary shall arrange to issue ballot papers to all members attending the Annual General Meeting. Ballot papers will be collected and counted at the meeting by tellers appointed by the President.
  • Selection of the Club charity shall be made in alternate years to the elections of officers and committee members. If more than one charity is proposed, a secret ballot shall be organised as in Section 7.2, before which the member proposing each charity may speak in its support for no more than two minutes.
  • The result of any election shall be announced at the meeting and published in PASS.

• Finance
  • It shall be the Treasurer’s duty to maintain the customary books of account and to present to the Annual General Meeting a balance sheet and income and expenditure account along with a report on the year.
  • All cheques, transfers and deposit account withdrawals shall be signed by two authorised members, one of whom shall be the Treasurer.
  • All accounts shall be duly audited by a suitably qualified person elected at an Annual General Meeting to serve for two years as Honorary Auditor. Final audited accounts shall be published in PASS.
  • The Honorary Auditor may be re-elected at the end of each two-year term.

• Constitutional Changes
  • Any changes in the Club constitution shall be discussed (after due notice at an Annual General Meeting and must be agreed by a two-thirds majority of those present.
  • If, at any time, the Club ceases to be of use or interest, it may be dissolved (after due notice) at an Annual General Meeting by a two-thirds majority of those present.
  • The Annual General Meeting which votes the Club’s dissolution shall have the power to decide, by a two-thirds majority, the disbursement of any funds remaining in the Club’s account.