B.E.F.A. CONSTITUTION AS ADOPTED AT THE 2007 AGM

Latest revisions in bold blue italic

1)      Name.

The Association will be known as the British Electric Flight Association, hereinafter referred to as "the Association".

2)      Objectives.

The objectives of the Association will be to encourage and further all aspects of electric model flight in the British Isles and elsewhere by whatever means are considered appropriate by the committee.

3)      Membership.

a)  Membership will be open to any person over the age of eight years. Junior members (aged 8 to 18) will have free membership.

b)  It will be a condition of membership of the Association that members will provide proof of current BMFA membership. Those who do not provide this proof will be offered a magazine subscription only. These people will not be deemed to be members of the Association. The magazine subscription rate will be the same as that of full membership.

c)  The Committee shall have the power to recommend to the members, nominations for life membership of the Association at no cost to the nominee. Any recommendations must be agreed by a simple majority decision of those members present at a General Meeting of the Association. Life memberships thus granted shall be conditional upon the member remaining a member of the BMFA.

d)  The Committee will have the right to accept, reject or expel members.

4)      Register of Members.

The Membership Secretary will maintain an up to date register of members.

5)      Committee.

a)  The Committee will be elected by the members of the Association and will consist of a Chairman*, a Secretary, a Treasurer*, a Membership Secretary, a Public Relations Officer*, a Newsletter Editor, a Competition Secretary*, an Events Co-ordinator, a Technical Officer*, a Free Flight and Indoor Representative, a Safety Officer* and a Welfare Officer. The Chairman, Secretary, Membership Secretary, and Treasurer will be considered to be Executive Appointments. Four members of the Committee will constitute a quorum. The Committee will be responsible for the organisation and administration of the Association..

b)  All members of the Committee will normally hold office for a period of two years, and be eligible to hold further terms of office after re-election. Those posts on the committee marked with an * above, will retire in odd numbered years, the remainder in even numbered years. Northern, Midlands, Southern, and South Western representatives may additionally be appointed from within the Committee. Committee members may hold more than one post. Junior members will not be eligible to serve on the Committee.

c)  Members of the Committee who fail to attend three consecutive committee meetings without reasonable explanation should thereafter be excluded from the Committee.

d)  The Secretary will maintain a record of all proceedings of the Association.

e)  The Treasurer will be responsible for administering the finances of the Association and will present an audited account of the funds to each Meeting.

f)  Ordinary members of the association will be entitled to attend committee meetings at their own cost and under the following circumstances:-

i)  Observers - a maximum of two at any single meeting, based upon a written request to attend being received by the Secretary at least 14 days before the date of the meeting and a written approval in reply.

ii)  Proposers - a maximum of two members on any single occasion wishing to give a presentation to the Committee in support of a specific proposal regarding the activities of the Association. A written request to give such a presentation must be received by the Secretary at least 14 days before a committee meeting so that the request may be placed on the agenda of that meeting. If the request is approved by the meeting the secretary will indicate such approval in writing and invite the proposers to make their presentation at the subsequent committee meeting.

6)      Banking.

An account in the name of the Association will be established at a recognised bank. All cheques to be signed by the Treasurer and one other executive member of the Committee.

7)      Election of the Committee.

a)  The officers of the Committee will be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. The Secretary should normally receive nominations at least fifteen days before the date of the AGM.  Persons nominated for election in this way must confirm in writing that they are prepared to serve if elected and must be proposed and seconded by paid up members. In the event of insufficient advance nominations being received to fill all positions on the Committee, the committee may appeal for nominations for these unfilled positions from the floor.  Provided such nominees are proposed and seconded by paid-up members, and are present at the meeting to accept nomination, then they may also be elected by majority vote of the members present.

b)  Should this procedure still fail to fill the vacancies the elected members of the Committee will have the power to co-opt any eligible member who is prepared to serve.

c)  The AGM of the Association will be held in March of each year at a suitable centrally located venue. Notice of the AGM will be sent to all current members not less than 30 days before the date fixed. Resolutions to be included in the agenda of the AGM must have a proposer and two seconders, these to be current members of the Association, and will be received in writing by the Secretary by the 1st. October prior to the next AGM and published in the December magazine. A copy of the agenda for the AGM will be made available to all those attending the meeting. Nominations for committee will be received 15 days before the date of the AGM

d)  The business to be transacted at the AGM will comprise:-

i)  Minutes of the previous AGM

ii)  Matters arising.

iii)  To receive a written Annual Report from each Executive member of the Committee.

iv)  To review an audited statement of the funds of the Association.

v)  To elect a Committee to serve for the following year.

vi)  To set the annual subscription for the following year.

vii)  To appoint the auditors for the following year.

viii)  To vote on resolutions listed on the agenda.

9)      Constitution.

The constitution of The Association may only be changed by resolution at a general meeting.

10)    Extraordinary General Meeting.

By resolution of the Committee or upon request in writing, signed by no fewer than ten members of the Association, the Secretary will convene an Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of the EGM will be sent to all current members not less than 21 days before the date fixed. The notice will state the purpose of the meeting and contain the resolution(s) to be debated. No other resolutions may be discussed.

11)    Quorum.

No business will be conducted at any General Meeting of the Association unless at least 25 or 10%, whichever is the lesser, of the paid up members are present. In the absence of a quorum, the General Meeting will stand adjourned for seven days to a place and time appointed by the Chairman when business will proceed without further notice, with whatever members may be present.

12)    Voting.

All members over the age of 18 years will be entitled to vote. Only such members that are present at a meeting will be entitled to vote. All decisions will be determined by a simple majority vote.

13)    Rules

It will be a condition of membership that all members agree to abide by any rules which may, from time to time, be published by the Committee.

14)    Subscriptions.

The amount of the annual subscription will be fixed each year by the AGM Membership will normally run from 1st April to 31st March each year. New members may join at any time throughout the year, those joining as new members after 1st November will pay a standard subscription but this will cover their membership of the Association for both the remainder of the current year and the whole of the following year. Members whose subscription remains unpaid more than one month after the expiry date of their membership will cease to be members.

15)    Magazine.

Every member of the Association will receive a copy of the magazine. Junior members will only receive a copy if no other member of their household receives one. The magazine will be published at intervals determined by the Committee.

16)    Competitions.

From time to time, competitions and fly-ins will be organised by the Association. The Competition Secretary will be responsible for the organisation of these events. All paid-up members will be entitled to attend, but may only participate in flying activities upon providing proof of current BMFA insurance.

    Expenses.

All reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by members of the Committee on official Association business will be reimbursed. Documentary evidence of any expenditure will normally be required by the treasurer. In the event of any dispute arising, this will be resolved by a simple majority vote of the Committee. Such expenses may relate to travel allowance (e.g. car mileage) for attendance at Committee Meetings, and to travel, meals, and accommodation allowances when these are unavoidably incurred by a member attending to man an Association Stand at a show or display..

18)    Dissolution of The Association.

a)  An EGM of remaining members must be held to decide the dissolution of the Association. This meeting will decide the treatment of any moneys remaining in the account. This may be either:-

i)  Divided equally between all paid-up members at time of issue of the EGM notice, or

ii)  Donated to a fund or organisation concerned with the furtherance of the objectives of the Association, or

iii)  Donated to a registered charitable organisation.

b)  Such decision will be made by a simple majority vote. Any Association assets will be sold and the proceeds treated as part of the funds for this purpose.

ADDENDUM

1)      LIFE MEMBERSHIPS

In accordance with clause 3) the following Life Memberships have been approved at the appropriate AGM as indicated.

2)      ANNUAL AWARDS

The Association makes various annual awards as follows:-

a)      The QFI award - for Technical achievement in the development of components and systems for Electric Flight.

b)      The Exide/Drydex Trophy - for the model flown at a BEFA sponsored event showing the highest level of Technical Excellence.

c)       The BEFA Electroslot League Trophy - for the winner of the BEFA Electroslot League.

d)       The BEFA E400 League Trophy - for the winner of the BEFA E400 League.

e)       The BEFA 400 Pylon League Trophy - for the winner of the BEFA 400 Pylon racing League.

f)       The F5D League Trophy - for the winner of the National F5D Electric Pylon Racing League.

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