Wednesday, July 31, 2013

New Club Constitution

Refer to the New Post of Wednesday 25th September 2013 for updated information

Constitution Information Evening at 7.00pm on Thursday 15th August at the Club
 
The proposed new Berwick Bowling Club Inc Constitution
 
The existing Berwick Bowling Club Inc Constitution
 
A Supplement which provides a road-map of the changes from the old to the new constitution

These documents can be viewed, printed and downloaded from the links above.

Full message from our  "Chairman - Constitution Working Party Berwick Bowling Club Inc." follows:


Dear Member

As you may know, the Board of Management of the Berwick Bowling Club has been working through a process to present a new Club Constitution to the members to replace our existing constitution. The need to update the constitution has been brought about by three contributing factors:

1. Changes in the Victorian Liquor Control Act which affect the serving of alcohol and other associated legislation.

2. Changes in the Consumer Affairs Victoria Act which affect all Incorporated Clubs and Associations in terms of Rules of Association with provisions for dealing with grievances and member discipline, amongst other recent legislative changes.

3. The expressed desire of the membership to align itself to most other Bowls Clubs across Australia by unifying it's governing structure into a single combined men and women's structure, rather than the current separate Men's and Ladies Sectional structure.

Because the first two items above needed to be implemented by a deadline of November 2013 set by the Victorian State Government, and club members indicated a desire at the last club AGM to Unify the structure in time for elections at the next AGM in May 2014, the Board of Management now wish to propose a new Constitution which addresses all three of these factors. This new Constitution is based upon a model Constitution supplied by Bowls Australia and Bowls Victoria, which has been adopted by many clubs over the past three years.

We have worked very hard to retain the vast majority of the clauses of our existing constitution and merge them seamlessly into the model provided, whilst also incorporating those clauses required by changes in State legislation.

In line with most modern constitutions this document provides a framework of Rules (Clauses 1 to 39) which can only be changed by a 2/3 majority of members at an Annual or Special General Meeting, and a set of Regulations (or By-Laws) (Clauses 40 and 41) which can be changed by a majority vote of the Board of Management. Typically the By-Laws relate to changes in the every-day workings of Committees and Sub-committees and include things like the function of committees, job-descriptions of committee members, their duties and who they are to report to.

We would therefore like to invite all members to attend a Constitution Information Evening at 7.00pm on Thursday 15th August at the Club, when the Board will present the new Constitution and provide you with the opportunity to ask questions, provide comment and suggestions, and discuss the impact of Unifying the Mens and Ladies Bowls Sections on the future running of your Club.

We will then call a Special General Meeting to be held at 7.00pm on Thursday 3rd October, at which the Constitution will be formally proposed and voted upon by the Membership. At that meeting a 2/3 majority of those present will be required to enable us to adopt the new Constitution.

To help you prepare for these meetings we have placed copies of three documents on the Club Website for you to view, download and print by clicking on the links provided above.

1. The proposed new Berwick Bowling Club Inc Constitution 

2. The existing Berwick Bowling Club Inc Constitution 

3. A Supplement which provides a road-map of the changes from the old to the new constitution

If you need a printed copy of any of the above, please download and print them yourself (the new constitution is 50 pages) and bring them along to the meetings. Copies of the new Constitution will be available for members to buy at the Club, before and at both meetings, but you will be charged $5.00 which is our cost to print and bind them. A copy will be posted in the club-rooms for members to view, but this must remain in the club-rooms at all times.

Fellow Club Members who do not have email or the Internet will be able to get copies of these documents from the club by adding their name to a list in a folder on the bar. If you have a friend at the club who you think may not be able to get a their own copy, please offer to print one for them and let them know about the meetings. A formal notice of meeting for the October Special General Meeting will be emailed and posted out nearer the time.

If you have any questions or comments prior to the meetings, please send them to me at berwickcco@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you at the meeting on Thursday 15th August.

Best Regards

Graham