- Objects: GEMS was formed to perpetuate the friendships between members of the now disbanded Parents and Supporters Group of the Scout Association’s Melbourne Gang Show. The Society achieves this by arranging social functions for the members.
- Name: The name of the society is GEMS.
- Executive Officers: The signatories to the GEMS bank accounts shall be any TWO of the four Executive Officers; Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary.
- Interpretation: In these Rules, unless the contrary appears:
- "Committee" means the GEMS Executive Committee.
- "Member" means a Financial Member of GEMS as defined in Rule 7, and their immediate family under the age of 18 years.
- "Committee Member" means a member of the Committee.
- "Term of Office" means from one Annual General Meeting to the next.
- Membership Application/Registration: An application/registration form as shown in Appendix I must be submitted to the Secretary by all prospective members. The form must be accompanied by the registration fee as determined by the Committee from time to time.
- Qualifications of Members: Members must be acceptable to a majority of the Committee.
- Subscriptions: No further subscriptions are payable by members attending at least one GEMS function per annum. Members not able to fulfil this requirement must renew their subscription for a further 12 months by paying the registration fee again. All members with a current subscription are Financial Members. Running costs are covered by a small levy on each event.
- Register of Members: The Secretary shall maintain a database containing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the Members. A tabular report from this database will be circulated to the Members and continually updated as necessary to ensure that all Members have a current copy.
- Annual General Meeting: An Annual General Meeting shall be held in the last quarter of the year. The ordinary business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:
- To confirm the minutes of any previous annual general meeting;
- To receive the Committee's annual financial report;
- To elect the Committee for the next Term of Office;
- To receive the annual report of the Committee.
- Committee: The Committee exists to carry out the ordinary business of GEMS. The Committee composition shall be set at each Annual General Meeting, and shall include the following office bearers:
- Chairman - The Chairman controls the meetings, grants permission for Members to address the Committee, calls for votes when required, and declares their outcomes.
- Vice Chairman - The Vice Chairman carries out the functions of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman, and/or at the Chairman's request.
- Secretary - The Secretary takes minutes of the meetings, and circulates them to the Members, preferably before the next meeting.
- Treasurer - The Treasurer keeps the account books up to date, banks all money received from all sources, reconciles the account books with Bank Statements as they are received, prepares a financial report for the Committee after each such reconciliation, submits all the financial records for audit when requested, and prepares the financial part of the annual report.
- Committee Meetings: The Committee meets as required to discuss GEMS business. All Members will be notified of the date, time and location, at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting. Meetings will be conducted according to the following Rules:
- Quorum: The quorum for meetings of the Committee shall be four Committee Members. If a quorum is not present, no business shall be conducted at the meeting. The meeting may be adjourned as described below.
- Chairperson: The Chairman, or in the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, chairs meetings of the Committee. In the absence of both Chairman and Vice Chairman, a Chairperson is elected by the Members present.
- Attendance: All Members may attend Committee meetings, and may speak when recognised by the Chairperson and may vote.
- Voting: Voting on all matters will be by a show of hands. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairperson will have a second or casting vote.
- Adjournment: At the Chairperson's discretion, any unfinished business at a Committee meeting may be adjourned to another time and place.
- Alterations to the Constitution and Rules: This document may be altered by a two thirds majority vote of the Members. Meetings for this purpose must be advertised in the GEMS Newsletter, giving at least 2 weeks' notice of the date, time and location of the meeting, and details of the changes proposed to the document. Members will be given the option of casting a postal vote on such changes.
- Extraordinary General Meetings: The Committee may call an Extraordinary General Meeting at any time, and shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting if so requested in writing by any 12 Members. Such meeting shall be held within four weeks of such request.
- Winding Up or Cancellation: In the event of the termination of GEMS, any assets will be distributed among the current Members in an equitable manner determined by the Committee.
This document was passed by unanimous acclamation at the Constitutional Convention held at The Tardis, Inverloch on 14-15/2/98, on a motion proposed by Tom Rolls, seconded by Bernie Brown.
The 19 Members present were:
Dave and Leigh Hanna
Rob and Bev Huntley
John and Jean Sale
Tom and Lois Rolls
Bernie and Margaret Brown
Peter and Janet Allen
Steve and Elaine Nichols
Geoff and Dawn Hillyer
Alan and Nicole Evered
David Evered
