Constitution
The Meconopsis Group Constitution
Constitution and Rules – approved AGM 11th March 2023.
1 Name The Group shall be called ‘The Meconopsis Group’.
2 Affiliation The Meconopsis Group is affiliated to The Scottish Rock Garden Club but is not subject to its Constitution.
3 Objectives The objective of The Meconopsis Group is to study the genus Meconopsis by scientific research and to promote its cultivation and conservation.
4 Membership
Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the genus and on payment of an annual subscription (classes ii, iii and iv pay no subscription).
a) There shall be four classes of membership:
i) Individual, family and corporate members within the UK and overseas.
ii) Complimentary This class is at the discretion of the Management Committee.
iii) Honorary The Management Committee shall have the power to nominate Honorary Members, who may be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for life or until they resign. Only members who have rendered exceptional service to The Meconopsis Group by botanical research or by furthering the objectives of the Group in other ways shall be eligible for appointment.
iv) Student Available to any person in full time education.
b) The Management Committee may determine different rates of subscription for different classes of membership.
c) The Management Committee shall review membership subscriptions annually and any alterations recommended shall be put to the AGM for decisions.
d) Subscriptions to renew annually on the anniversary of membership.
e) All classes of membership are entitled to view The Meconopsis Group’s Reports and other restricted material, to take part in all Group activities and to vote at General Meetings.
5 Management
The management of the Group shall be in the hands of a Management Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting held normally at the first meeting of the Group each year.
a) The Management Committee shall comprise a President, Vice-President, Cultivars Curator, Membership Secretary, Minutes Secretary, Treasurer, Website Manager, Seed Exchange Manager and Meetings co-ordinator who are office bearers and up to eight other Committee members. The Management Committee will meet as often as is needed to further the aims of The Meconopsis Group. The Management Committee members will undertake various duties as appropriate.
b) Members of the Management Committee shall serve for a period of up to three years, after which they are eligible for re-election on an annual basis.
c) The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to three members who shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting. These co-opted members may include previous Members of the Management Committee.
d) Five members shall form a quorum of the Management Committee, of which at least three shall be office bearers.
e) The President (or whoever is appointed acting President in his/her absence) shall have the casting vote.
6 Trials and Assessment Subcommittee
a) The Subcommittee will comprise a small team of members, with detailed knowledge of the genus Meconopsis, appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
b) Members of this Subcommittee need not be members of the Management Committee.
c) The Convenor of this Subcommittee must be a member of the Management Committee.
d) A Registrar will be appointed from within the Subcommittee.
e) The Subcommittee will be responsible, on behalf of the Group, for the assessment and selection of cultivars for naming within the genus Meconopsis. Details of any newly named cultivars will be reported to members at the next Annual General Meeting.
f) The Registrar will be responsible for ensuring that new cultivars are named strictly in accordance with the rules and recommendations laid down in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP or Cultivated Plant Code).
g) The Registrar will also maintain a Register and Checklist of Meconopsis cultivars.
h) Any cultivar names which have already been established by virtue of a published description of the cultivar will be recorded in strict accordance with the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Any such plants will be further assessed by the Trials and Assessment Subcommittee to determine their distinctiveness, reliability and ease of cultivation.
7 Finances
a) The financial year shall run from 1st January to 31st December.
b) The funds of The Meconopsis Group shall be held in a bank/building society account in the name of ‘The Meconopsis Group’.
c) The Management Committee shall be responsible for authorising the expenditure of the revenues of the Group in the furtherance of its aims.
d) At least four signatories shall be appointed to sign cheques/withdrawal forms and one signature is sufficient for each cheque/withdrawal form issued or for each withdrawal via online banking. Signatories must be members of the Management Committee. No signatory may authorise expenditure in favour of himself/herself.
e) A statement of the accounts shall be presented by the Treasurer to the Annual General Meeting.
f) A suitably qualified member of the Group shall audit the accounts annually. It is the decision of the Management Committee to deem whether a member is suitably qualified or not.
g) A list of property of the Group shall be held by the Group Co-ordinator and/or other Management Committee members.
8 Annual General Meeting
a) The Annual General Meeting will normally be held at the first meeting of the Group each year
b) At the Annual General Meeting, for voting purposes the paid-up members present shall form the quorum. Motions shall be carried if they gain a simple majority of votes from the members present. In the event of a tie, the President shall have a second or casting vote.
9 Extraordinary General Meeting
a) An Extraordinary General Meeting of The Meconopsis Group can be called at any time at the request of the Management Committee, or by no fewer than ten members. The EGM shall take place within 28 days of the date such a request is received by the secretary. Two weeks’ notice of such a meeting shall be given to all members.
b) At an Extraordinary General Meeting 10% of the paid-up membership shall form a quorum.
c) In the event of The Meconopsis Group being wound up at a final Extraordinary General Meeting the assets of The Meconopsis Group will be given to the Scottish Rock Garden Club. At such a meeting those present shall form a quorum.
10 Amendments to the Constitution
a) Notice in writing of any resolution to alter, repeal and/or add to the existing Rules and Constitution shall be given to the Secretary not less than 21 days before the date of a General Meeting and the terms of such resolution shall be stated in the agenda for that Meeting.
b) The Constitution can only be changed by a two-thirds majority vote of those paid-up members attending a general meeting.