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CONSTITUTION
OF THE
VICTORIAN LIONS SUPPORTERS GROUP

As amended in December 1999
_____________________________

DEFINITIONS
BLAFC Brisbane Bears - Fitzroy Football Club trading as "Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club"
Related Party BLAFC, Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club, or Fitzroy Football Club Ltd.
Third Party Any body, organisation, company or business that is outside the VLSG
VLSG Member Unless otherwise indicated means a member of the VLSG.
All VLSG Meetings Comprises of Executive Committee meetings, Annual General Meetings and meetings of voting members of VLSG.
All Members Meaning 100% of the members of the VLSG as recorded in the VLSG member registry.

Expressions referring to writing shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including references to printing, typewriting, lithography, photography, duplicating, photocopying and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form; words importing the singular shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, and masculine gender includes the female gender.

NAME AND OBJECTIVES
1. The name of the group is "Victorian Lions Supporters Group" (referred to in this Constitution as the 'VLSG').

2. The VLSG shall consist of no less than 60% of BLAFC members.

3. The objectives of VLSG are:
a. Increase BLAFC membership and support in Victoria through:
i) Improved profile of the Lions in Victoria.
ii) Reuniting the 'Fitzroy Family'.
b. Increase communication with BLAFC members/supporters in Victoria through:
i) Providing feedback to and receiving information from the BLAFC.
ii) Providing a voice for Lions supporters in Victoria.
c. Social focus through functions at the Brisbane Lions Social Club (being the Manningham Club in Bulleen), with (and at) the Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club and the Fitzroy Football Club Ltd.

MEMBERSHIP
4. Upon the payment of an annual membership/subscription fee, as set by the VLSG, shall entitle the person to become a voting member of the VLSG.

5. The annual membership/subscription fee may be reviewed, increased or decreased by a positive vote of 75% of members entitled to vote at a VLSG meeting.

6. Membership to the VLSG is open to all members of the BLAFC, members of the Fitzroy Football Club Ltd (present and pre-1997) and members of the Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club. The number of BLAFC members must not fall below 60% of VLSG memberships.

VOTING
7. Each member of the VLSG is entitled to one vote at a VLSG meeting. Where a postal vote is taken, each member of the VLSG is entitled to one vote.

8. Where there is a combination of both postal and at a meeting, each member is entitled to only one vote using either method, but not both.

9. A vote shall be cast by a show of hands of members entitled to vote at the meeting. A vote is passed when the more than 50% of members vote in the affirmative, unless otherwise stated in this Constitution.

10. The meeting may request that a resolution be decided by a postal vote. If a postal vote is required, members are to received the postal vote papers and resolution concerned 14 days before the return date. The date of return is the date the vote is to be received by the President or Secretary, as stated on the postal ballot paper.

11. a) The President shall only have a casting vote at all VLSG meetings.
b) The Convener of a meeting shall only hold a casting vote

12. a) The voting for the positions of Officeholders and the Executive Committee shall be conducted by:
i) solely by a postal vote as per Clause 10 of this Constitution; or
ii) solely be secret ballot at the meeting; or
iii) a combination of both if requested.
b) The secret ballot paper shall list the names of the nominees in alphabetical order, by surname.
c) Each position of Officeholder or Executive Committee member shall be on a separate ballot paper.
d) A vote shall be deemed cast by placing a mark beside the name of only one nominee per position.
e) The nominee with the majority of votes shall fill the respective position. If the vote is tied, and there is more than two (2) nominees for the position, the vote shall be recast between only the two (2) tied nominees.

MEETINGS
13. The President shall convene all VLSG meetings. If 15 minutes after the due commencement time of the meeting, the President is not present, the Vice President shall convene the meeting. If the Vice President (or Deputy Vice President acting in the Vice President capacity) is not present then the members may elect one member to convene the meeting, acting as Convenor.

14. As stated in Clause 11, the President or Convenor shall only hold a casting vote, meaning only one vote if the poll is tied.

15. The quorum for all VLSG meetings shall be 51% of members entitled to vote at the respective meetings.

16. If after 30 minutes a quorum is not reached, then the meeting will be declared abandoned and a new meeting time and date will called by the President or Convenor.

17. Minutes shall be taken at all VLSG meetings.

18. The minutes shall be recorded in writing and are to be signed by the President, or Convenor at the following meeting once accepted by the meeting.

19. The minutes shall be maintained in a record and are open for inspection by all members of the VLSG.

20. There will be an Annual General Meeting to be held in the month of April of each year. The date of the AGM may be changed with a 75% vote of members in an VLSG meeting.

21. The VLSG shall meet no less than 8 times per each calendar year.

22. Any 2 members may request the President to convene a meeting. The request must be in writing and must be lodged with the President at least 10 days before the proposed meeting.

23. An agenda shall be produced for all meetings of the VLSG and where possible distributed to members before the meeting.

OFFICEHOLDERS
24. The VLSG shall elect the following Officeholders:
· President
· Vice President
· Deputy Vice President
· Secretary
· Treasurer

25. a) Any Member of the VLSG may stand for any of the Officeholder positions.
b) Nominations for Officeholder positions must be lodged with the Secretary no less than 15 days before the Annual General Meeting, or subsequent meeting where voting of Officeholders shall take place.
c) If no nominations are received 15 days prior to the meeting, nominations may be taken on the day of the meeting.
d) If only one person has been nominated for a position, then it shall be duly elected, without a vote being required.

26. A minimum of 60% of Officeholders must be BLAFC members.

27. All Officeholder positions will be declared vacant at the first Annual General Meeting, following the implementation of this Constitution. Thereafter, each Officeholder shall hold the position for a maximum term of 2 years and can not hold the position continually for more than 3 terms (6 years).

28. The President shall be the official spokesperson for the VLSG. The President shall only have a casting vote at all VLSG meetings and shall convene all meetings of the VLSG.

29. The Vice President is entitled to vote at all VLSG meetings and shall assume the role of President in the President's absence.

30. The Deputy Vice President is entitled to vote at all VLSG meeting and shall assume the role of Vice President in the Vice President's absence.

31. The Secretary shall take minutes of all VLSG meetings and shall be responsible for the distribution of the minutes to all members.

32. The Secretary shall also issue notice of meetings to all VLSG members entitled to attend the meetings.

33. The Secretary shall maintain the registry of members of the VLSG.

34. The Secretary is entitled to vote at all VLSG meetings.

35. The Treasurer shall collect all membership/subscription fees and shall issue receipts for the payment of the membership/subscription fees. The Treasurer shall also request the payment of any outstanding fees.

36. The Treasurer shall provide financial reports to the VLSG meetings.

37. The Treasurer shall not enter into any financial agreement, or any agreement where the VLSG is required to provide an outlay of funds, to any related party or third party without the prior consent of the VLSG members in meeting.

38. The Treasurer is entitled to vote at all VLSG meetings.

39. The VLSG may decide to appoint only one person to assume to roles of the Secretary and Treasurer for an interim period, or if a vacancy arises.

40. A casual vacancy of any Officeholder position may be filled by a VLSG member at any VLSG meeting, by being nominated and voted in. If a position is filled this way, that position must be declared vacant at the following Annual General Meeting and be filled as per Clause 27.

41. The filling of a casual vacancy must adhere to Clause 26, ensuring that 60% of the Officeholders are BLAFC members.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
42. The VLSG shall appoint at the implementation of this Constitution an Executive Committee who shall represent the VLSG as a whole.

43. The Executive Committee shall comprise of President, Vice President, Deputy Vice President Secretary and the Treasurer.

44. The Executive Committee elected at the acceptance of this Constitution shall be declared vacant at the first Annual General Meeting after the acceptance of this Constitution.

45. If there is a filling of a casual vacancy of an Officeholder, then this person shall assume a position on the Executive Committee.

46. The Executive Committee is given the authority to represent the VLSG as a whole in meetings with the BLAFC (Melbourne and Brisbane operations), Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club and the Fitzroy Football Club Ltd.

47. The Executive Committee may enter into a financial agreement, or any agreement where the VLSG is required to provide an outlay of funds, to any related party or third party up to a limit of $100. Any such agreement must be reported at the following VLSG meeting. Any agreement exceeding $100 must be brought before a VLSG meeting for the members to decided upon.

48. The VLSG may at anytime decide to expand the number of VLSG members on the Executive, but this number shall not exceed a total of 10 Executive Committee members. An affirmative vote of 75% of members is required to increase the Executive Committee beyond the original five (5) members, as per Clause 42.

SUB-COMMITTEES
49. The VLSG may from time to time appoint a sub-committee to carry out specific tasks as determined by the VLSG. At least one (1) member of any sub-committee must be a member of the Executive Committee, who shall be the convenor of the sub-committee.

50. The minutes of the VLSG meeting appointing the sub-committee must state the purpose of the committee, any conditions or restrictions to be placed on the committee and the names of the people forming the committee.

51. Sub-committees are permitted to co-opt services of non-VLSG members to meet the requirements of the sub-committee.

52. Minutes shall be taken of all sub-committee meetings and shall be recorded with the minutes of all other VLSG meetings.

53. All sub-committees are bound by this Constitution and any conditions are per Clause 49.

NOTICE
54. Notice of a VLSG meeting must be served to all voting members at least 14 days before the meeting.

55. Notice is deemed to be delivered when sent to the last recorded address by Australia Post, email or facsimile.

56. Notice of a special meeting, as per Clause 21, must be served at least 7 days before the meeting and the purpose of the meeting must be stated in the notice.

57. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be served no less than 21 days before the meeting date.

EXPULSION
58. A breach of any Clause contained in this Constitution, activities, action or wilful misconduct against the VLSG, are grounds for possible expulsion of a member.

59. If a member has been expelled from either the BLAFC, Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club or Fitzroy Football Club Ltd, this may also be ground for expulsion from the VLSG in accordance with Clauses 60, 61 and 62 of this Constitution.

60. An affirmative vote of 75% of all members is required to expel a member of the VLSG.

61. Any allegation of grounds for expulsion of a member must be submitted in writing to the President detailing the grounds believed for expulsion to occur. Upon receipt of the allegation, the President is to immediately contact the member and inform them of the allegation being lodged against them. The member then has one (1) month to respond in writing to the allegation before the allegation is put before the members at a VLSG meeting.

62. The President is given the authority to try mediation between the parties before requesting the allegation to be responded to in writing. If mediation fails, then the member must respond within the one (1) month period and the President may attempt mediation between the parties one (1) more time.

63. If mediation fails for the second time, or a written response is not forthcoming, the President is to include in notice of the following VLSG members meeting that the members will be required to vote upon the possible expulsion of a member.

64. If the allegation is against the President, then the allegation as per clause 60 is to be submitted to the Vice President. The Vice President shall then deem the position of President in carrying out the required procedures set out in Clauses 60, 61 and 62.

WINDING UP
65. If the percentage of VLSG membership who are BLAFC members falls below 60% for more than 60 days, the VLSG may be wound up subject to a vote by VLSG members, in accordance with Clause 66.

66. Upon the winding up of the VLSG 60% of any remaining funds after the payment of any debts and liabilities is to be donated or transferred to BLAFC's Melbourne Operations and the remaining 40% is to be allocated between the Fitzroy Football Club Ltd (Club) and Coburg-Fitzroy Football Club. The allocation of the 40% is to be decided by VLSG members.

67. The members of VLSG may decided to voluntarily wind-up the VLSG. Such a vote may be conducted via postal only, person only, or a combination of both where members are unable to attend a meeting. The vote must be of 100% of the VLSG members entitled to vote and must be carried by a 75% majority.

ALTERING THIS CONSTITUTION
68. Once this constitution is accepted, it may only be altered with a 75% vote of all members of the VLSG.

69. Notice of all amendments must be provided to all members no less than 21 days before the meeting in which amendments are to be voted upon.

70. The percentage of the VLSG members who must be BLAFC members may only be increased by an affirmative vote of 75% of all VLSG members entitled to vote.