Rule 1. Name

The Organisation shall be known as the Dornoch Heritage Society

Rule 2. Objects

2.1. To preserve the character, history and traditions of the Burgh and Parish of Dornoch and to interpret their physical environment.

2.2. To promote and maintain public interest and participation in the above.

2.3. To actively support and promote the Museum known as "Historylinks" by, inter alia, fund-raising, providing staff, and such expert clerical help etc. as may from time to time be requested by the Trustees, and to encourage bequests to the Museum.

2.4. To liaise and co-operate with, and assist all bodies with similar interests and pursuits, and to affiliate to such national and local bodies where it would be in the interests of the Society to do so.

2.5. To provide to members, where possible, assistance and facilities for research and education in cultural pursuits of the heritage of Dornoch Burgh and Parish.

2.6. To encourage the publication and dissemination of papers on the heritage of Dornoch Burgh and Parish, and provide an opportunity and outlet for members to participate actively in such matters.

2.7. To arrange regular meetings of the Society, which may take the form of lectures, exhibitions, seminars, or any other activity that may be of interest to members, and to levy such charges for attendance as may be decided appropriate by the Committee.

Rule 3. Membership

3.1. Membership shall be open to all persons aged 18 years or over who are interested in furthering the work of the Society. The Committee has the right to turn down applications for membership if it can show good reason.

3.2. Junior Membership shall be open to those under the age of 18 years who are interested in furthering the work of the Society. Junior Members shall not be entitled to vote.

3.3. Honorary Life Membership shall be conferred on those persons who have made a significant contribution to the preservation of the local heritage. The recommendation shall be made by the Committee and requires the approval of the majority of those members present at the AGM.

3.4. Subscriptions, payable each September, will be recommended to the membership by the Committee, and set annually at the AGM

Rule 4. Management of the Society

4.1. The management of the Society shall be vested in a Committee of Management to be elected by the membership annually at an Annual General Meeting (AGM).

4.2. The Committee shall be limited to eleven members including:

Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Treasurer
Secretary
Librarian

and not more than six ordinary members. At any meeting, 4 members including either the Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall form a quorum.

4.3. The members of the Committee shall retire on a three-year rotational basis but may offer themselves for re-election as often as they wish. The maximum age for holding office shall be 75 years.

4.4. The Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Librarian, and the Chairman of the Historylinks Trust, shall present reports to the Members at least once each year at the AGM

4.5. Historylinks Trustees. The Society shall have the right to nominate five Trustees to the Historylinks Trust, to determine the period of nomination of each Trustee, to remove each Trustee from office, and to nominate another Trustee in his/her place.

4.6. Sub-Committees. The Committee shall have the power to appoint such Sub-Committees from the membership as may from time to time be decided, to determine their terms of reference and powers, and to terminate them on completion of their remit.

Rule 5. Meetings

5.1. The Committee shall meet at least four times per year. Minutes of each meeting and a copy of the Treasurer's report shall be kept by the Secretary. The Minutes and Accounts shall be filed chronologically and form part of the Historylinks collection.

5.2. The AGM will be held annually in September and shall be publicly advertised in the local press 14 days prior to the date of the meeting.

5.3. Special General Meetings may be called at any time by the Chairman and Secretary, such meetings being advertised publicly in the local press, specifying the business for which such a Special General Meeting is called.

5.4. An Extra-Ordinary General Meeting may be called at any time at the written request of twenty paid-up members, on twenty-one days' notice being given to the Secretary, specifying the business for which an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting is being called. In the event of the membership falling below twenty, such an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting may be called at the written request of a majority of the members.

All Extra-Ordinary General Meetings shall be publicly advertised in the local press fourteen days prior to the date of such a meeting.

Rule 6. Finance

6.1. All monies raised by, or on behalf of, the Society will be used for the furtherance of the objects and for no other purpose. The preceding provision shall not, however, prevent the payment of reasonable and proper remuneration to any employee of the Society and expenses to a Society member acting on behalf of the Society with the Committee's consent.

The Treasurer shall keep proper accounts and pay all monies not immediately required into a Bank or Building Society account in the name of the Society.

The accounts will be examined once a year by a reporting accountant, or independent examiner, appointed at the AGM

The Society shall have the power to obtain, collect, and receive money and funds by means of contributions, donations, subscriptions, deeds of covenant, legacies, grants or any other lawful method.

6.2. Control of assets and funds shall be vested in the Committee and administered under its control by the Honorary Treasurer. Authority to draw cheques on behalf of the Society shall be vested in the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. If the occasion should arise where one member holds the offices of both Secretary and Treasurer, the Committee shall appoint a member of the Committee to act as a cheque signatory. All cheques shall be endorsed by any two of the foregoing members.

6.3. The Committee shall have the power to borrow money.

6.4. The financial year shall run from 1st September - 31st. August.

Rule 7. Proceedings

7.1. Papers. All Full Members and Life Members shall be entitled to a copy of papers presented to the Society as a result of research undertaken by members in the name of the Society at a price to be determined by the Committee.

7.2. Research. No research shall be undertaken in the name of the Society, nor shall any member commit the Society to any course of action, without the approval of the Committee.

7.3. Lectures, Film Shows, etc. No lectures, film shows, discussions, or public meetings may be given or held in the name of the Society, and no documents or possessions of the Society may be used for such purposes, without the express approval of the Committee.

7.4. Copyright of all papers produced in the name of the Society shall be vested in the Society.

Rule 8. Dissolution

8.1. If the Committee decides by majority that, on the grounds of expense or , otherwise, it is necessary to discontinue the Society, a meeting shall be called of all members, being given not less than 21 days' clear notice, and detailing the proposal.

8.2. The Society shall be deemed to have been dissolved in the event of no AGM having been held for three years.

8.3. In the event of dissolution, the Committee shall have the power to dispose of any assets held, after the settlement of any debts or liabilities, to Highland Council or their successors, for distribution in the manner that they, at their discretion, consider to be in the best interests of the citizens of the Burgh of Dornoch, with regard to any special bequests and special conditions.

Rule 9. Alterations to the Constitution

Every Member of the Society has the right to receive a copy of the constitution. This constitution shall not be altered or rescinded except at a General Meeting, or Extraordinary General Meeting, of the Society, consequent upon the reasons for such a change having been made in writing to the Chairman of the Society, and endorsed by the signatures of at least five fully paid-up Members, including Honorary Members, who express agreement with such alterations, and then only with the consent of at least two-thirds of the membership present entitled to vote. Amendments should be in the hands of the Secretary at least 21 days before the meeting at which the change is to be discussed.

This was adopted as the Constitution of the Dornoch Heritage Society at a General Meeting held at the Carnegie Building, Dornoch, on the 20th day of September 2001.

Heritage Society Constitution (file size 60KB)

Last updated: 3 October, 2007