Constitution

1.    NAME

The name of the club shall be "The GT-R Drivers Club" hereinafter referred to as "The Club" or “GTRDC”. The name of the club and the logo are copyright.

2.    GENERAL

2.1.  THE PURPOSE.

The Club is a non-profit making organisation dedicated to the promotion, restoration and enjoyment of the current Nissan GT-R and all Skyline models produced between 1957 and present day. The Club aims to encourage enthusiasm for these vehicles, the brand and the heritage, welcoming sports car drivers and enthusiasts from around the globe.

 The Club is a welcoming, non-threatening and non-prejudiced entity who encourage excellent relationships with all individuals, clubs and organisations within the GT-R and Skyline community.

 The Club fulfils the following functions:

  1. Dissemination of advice and information through The Club’s official Forum partner www.gtr.co.uk “Forum”.
  2. Provision of activities for the members participation which may include, but are not limited to: track days, straight line events, car shows, local meetings, motorsport events and tours.
  3. Provision of Third Party Liability Insurance where required by UK Legislation for The Club gatherings and events within the UK.
  4. Provision of a club shop and membership database at www.gtrdc.com, copyright The Club.

2.2.  OPERATING PROFIT

The Club may make an operating profit on certain areas of its business with its members.  Any and all such profit will be retained and used solely in the pursuance of The Club's aims as outlined above.

2.3.  CLUB CORRESPONDENCE

  1. The Club name shall appear on all official club correspondence made by any media including but not restricted to letter, email, website etc.
  2. All correspondence made by any media including but not restricted to letter and email to, from or between Officers, Committee Members, Event and Area Organisers remains the property of The Club.
  3. All email addresses provided by the Club to Officers, Committee Members, Event and Area Organisers remain the property of the Club and shall be used only for the pursuance of the objectives of the Club.

2.4.  REGISTERED PREMISES

The Club's registered premises shall be the home address of the current club secretary or the club secretary's elected address.

2.5.  AFFILIATION AND ASSOCIATION.

The Club may at the discretion of the Committee, be affiliated to, or associated with, any association or body which carries on similar activities of those declared herein, and be bound by the rules of such association or body in so far as such rules do not conflict with the constitution and bye-laws of The Club.

2.6.  CLUB RULES.

The club shall be governed by these rules and constitution, which can be amended only by an annual or extraordinary general meeting, except as rule 4.3.

2.7.  DISCIPLINARY ACTION AND EXPULSION OF MEMBERS.

  1. If the Committee considers it to be in the interest of the club to discipline a member for activities deemed to be contrary to the interest and spirit of the club, they may request the member to appear before the Committee. Whether or not the Member chooses to attend, the Committee will decide the disciplinary action to be taken. The ultimate disciplinary action will be expulsion from the club.
  2. If the Committee considers it in the interest of the club to expel a member for activities deemed by the Committee to be contrary to the rules, constitution or spirit of the club, the member must return all club property immediately. There will be no refund of membership subscription.
  3. Any member of The Club, who uses their membership of, or position in The Club, or knowledge obtained thereby for financial profit or gain, whether their own or that of a family member or associate, or who behaves in a manner liable to cause the membership to believe that they have done so shall be subject to the Club’s disciplinary procedure and if proved expelled from the Club.

3.    MEMBERSHIP

3.1.  CANDIDATES FOR MEMBERSHIP AND RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP.

  1. General Membership shall be for one year from the time of approval of membership or approval of Renewal of Membership.
  2. Founder Members shall be Lifetime Members of The Club. The Founder Members are:  John Miskin, Adam Hill, Barry Pomfret, Pat Pomfret, Roger Burgess, Shaun Lawless, Dave Warrener, Ian Smith, Steve Riches, Jack Roberts, Dylan Roberts, Toni Leadbeater and Paul Kenney.  The Founder Members shall also form The Club’s Managing Committee “Committee”.
  3. The Founder Members shall invest not less than £300 into The Club on a non-interest bearing loan basis. The loan may only be called in on resignation from The Club and only payable as and when funds within The Club allow.
  4. Founder Members may elect additional full Committee Members with the unanimous agreement of the Founder Members. A new Committee Member must loan not less than £300 to the Club on the same terms as the Founder Members.  The Full Committee Member will have the same voting rights and privileges as a Founder Member but not be known as one.
  5. Candidates for membership or renewal of membership of The Club shall complete the approved application form and submit this together with the appropriate subscription to the membership secretary for approval.
  6. Membership is only granted once an electronic membership number has been issued to the member for the year in question.
  7. In the event of membership or renewal being refused, the subscription amount will be returned to the applicant.
  8. Changes to the amount of subscription shall be agreed by The Committee at a Club General Meeting (AGM or EGM).

3.2.  HONORARY OR LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP.

  1. Honorary or lifetime membership may be recommended by The Club's Committee but must be endorsed by The Club's members at The Club's AGM.
  2. Honorary or lifetime members will have the same privileges of membership, except that they will not be entitled to vote or serve on the Committee or serve in any other club official position

3.3.  REGISTER OF MEMBERSHIP

  1. The Club shall keep a register of its members in an electronic database. This register will contain the information the member supplies on their application form or any other document the member supplies at a later date. The register will be held on a third-party Cloud Platform.
  2. The Club is regulated by the Data Protection Act 1998 (and General Data Protection Regulations May 2018). Information provided by members will be shared with the Club Officers, Committee, Event and Area Organisers and Ancillaries for the purposes of administering The Club. Information will also be shared with third parties with whom The Club has an Agreement for the Protection of Data, including but not limited to printing services. The Club will not sell or otherwise disclose information for the purposes of marketing, telesales, or any other purpose not in pursuance of the objectives of The Club.
  3. Any member of the club with copies or part copies of information held on The Clubs membership register must sign an “Agreement to Protect Members Personal Information” and agree to destroy and/or delete such material if they become a non-member or no longer occupy a position within The Club which allows that member the access to such information.
  4. Improper use of the membership register will lead to the immediate expulsion from The Club of that member.

    4.    CLUB STRUCTURE

    4.1.  THE COMMITTEE

    1. The Club shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the Founder Members
    2. The Committee shall have full control over the day to day running of the Club and its affairs
    3. The Committee shall be the guardian of The Club's name, reputation and emblem on behalf of the members.

    4.2.  COMMITTEE MEETINGS

    1. The Committee shall meet monthly to discuss the ongoing business of The Club
    2. There will be a minimum of two face to face meetings per year
    3. Additional meetings may be held via online audio conferences
    4. All decisions made will be communicated via the Members section of the forum and there will be total transparency of accounts and all changes that will affect the members

    4.3.  COMMITTEE AND CLUB RULES

    The Committee may from time to time, make, alter and repeal the rules of The Club, for the good conduct of the affairs of The Club at a General Meeting (AGM or EGM).

    4.4.  COMMITTEE MEMBERS

    1. The Committee shall consist of the Founder Members for the purpose of the day to day running of The Club.
    2. The Club Officers shall be Founder Members. The Club Officers have no enhanced voting or other fiduciary rights to any other Founder Member and perform the administrative and operational duties on behalf of the Committee and The Members.
    3. All Members shall elect, annually, the Club Officers which shall comprise The Club Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. No person may hold more than one officers’ post.
    4. All Club Officers stand down at each Annual General Meeting of The Club.
    5. On resignation from the Committee, or at the request of the Committee, members will return all Club property and/or information. Information held on computer records will be returned, and upon confirmation of receipt, all backups will be deleted.
    6. In the event that a Club Officer or Committee Member resigns, their resignation must be made in writing to the Club Secretary (or Club Chairman in the event of resignation of the Club Secretary).
    7. In the event a Founder Member resigns The Club will return up to £300 of their loan as and when The Club has sufficient funds so as not to impact the day to day running of The Club.
    8. The Committee may, upon receipt of a curriculum vitae and a majority vote of the whole Committee (via email or telephone), co-opt a club member onto the Committee as an Ordinary Committee Member or Club Officer. The co-opted member will assume the position until the next AGM.
    9. Event and Area Organisers along with Ancillaries are not Committee members and therefore not entitled to vote at Committee meetings.
    10. No Member shall be authorised to enter into any binding contractual obligation on behalf of The Club whatsoever
    11. Any contract, obligation or any other financial charge whatsoever with a total liability of over £500 must be discussed at a formal Committee meeting, agreed by a majority of 75% present and formal minutes kept and distributed to all Committee Members.

        4.5.  COMMITTEE VOTING

        Seventy five percent (rounded down) of the total Committee will form a quorum for the purpose of voting on normal club business.

        4.6.  CONFLICT OF INTEREST

        1. All Committee Members and recognised non-Committee post holders must agree to declare any “Conflict of Interest” upon election in the form of a signed declaration. Each Committee meeting will include a standing agenda item “Conflict of Interest” which will be specific to items included in the respective agenda.
        2. The Club Officers will have no undeclared conflict of interest

        4.7.  SUB COMMITTEES

        The Committee shall have the powers to establish sub-committees for special purposes.

        4.8.  ACTING CHAIR PERSON

        The Committee in the absence of the chair-person, shall elect an acting chair-person for each meeting from those Committee members present, who shall in the event of a tied vote have the casting vote.

        4.9.  COMMITTEE MEMBERS DUTIES

        A description of duties of each Committee member and club officer will be held by the club's secretary. Any member wishing to see a copy must write to the club secretary.

        4.10. REVIEWS

        1. Wherever possible, up to two members shall be appointed prior to the AGM, they shall review and certify the annual statement of accounts.
        2. The books will be available for inspection by any member at the AGM.

        4.11. INDEPENDENT AUDITS

        Any member may request an independent audit of The Club's accounts. The costs of any such exercise shall be borne by the member concerned.

        4.12. COMMITTEE MINUTES

        Minutes of meetings of the Committee shall be available to members, both in an area of The Club’s Forum accessible only to members and on request from The Club Secretary.

        5.    ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

        5.1.  AGM AND VENUE

        The AGM will be held every year at a time and venue decided by the Committee.

        5.2.  AGM

        1. The AGM must be announced in formal Club communication with at least 90 clear days notice before it is held.
        2. Any member not able to attend may vote by proxy. The member must nominate their proxy to the Club's secretary at least 14 clear days before the AGM is held. The proxy will carry the member’s vote at the AGM.
        3. Only fully paid-up members present or by proxy at the date of the AGM are eligible to vote.

        The AGM shall:

        1. Receive a duly audited statement of accounts
        2. Receive reports from all Club Officers and Committee members with specific duties.
        3. Elect the Chairperson, Secretary, Secretary and Treasurer, as aforesaid.
        4. Elect new members to the Committee.
        5. Deal with any additional agenda items, which have been received in writing by the Club Secretary at least 14 clear days before the AGM.

        5.3.  EXTRA ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING (EGM)

        An EGM may be called at any time by one of the following

        1. A majority Committee vote
        2. One fifth of the Club's membership.

        Club Membership Rule:

        If called by the Club membership rule (5.3.2), the Club Secretary must be notified in writing. The Club Secretary will then arrange a venue and date at such time to give 30 days notice through email and Forum
        Any costs incurred by holding the EGM will be met by whoever called the meeting.

          5.4.  EGM AGENDA

          1. The EGM will follow the same procedure as the AGM, except that the agenda will be drawn up by whoever called the meeting.

          5.5.  ANCILLARIES

          1. The Club will from time to time appoint Ancillaries from the ordinary membership to perform special duties to assist the Committee in the administration of The Club.
          2. Ancillaries are not Committee members.

          6.    EVENT AND AREA ORGANISERS

          1. The Club will endeavour to promote representatives to arrange local Events and to create local meetings.
          2. Each Event or Area Organiser will be responsible for the correct running of their Event or Area according to the "EAO Guidelines" document.
          3. Event and Area funds will if needed be called from The Club's main fund if required.
          4. The Committee will supply as much help and encouragement as is possible to help promote the Club through the Events. The Club will maintain a line of communication from the Committee to each Event and Area Organiser.
          5. Each Event or Area organiser is to present their Event and Area accounts ready for the yearly audit of the books at the AGM along with a report of their Event or Areas activities over the year, and at any other time requested by the Committee.
          6. If an Event or Area "winds-up", then all property and monies must revert immediately to The Club.

          7.    WINDING UP THE CLUB

          In the event of The Club winding up, all property of The Club would be disposed of by the Committee to the highest bidder and all loans, to a maximum of £300 per Founder Member returned to each active Founder Member.  All additional funds raised along with any remaining monies after costs, would be donated to a national charity of the choosing of the Committee.

          8.    CLUB PROPERTY

          The Club Treasurer shall maintain a register of all Club property and its location. The Committee shall arrange insurance as considered appropriate for such property.

          9.    CLUB WEBSITE

          The Club has a shop and membership database website www.gtrdc.com which is copyright The Club. The Club’s official forum partner for discussion of club business, event promotion, technical discussion and promotion of The Club shall be www.gtr.co.uk.

          The members may be given access to member restricted areas.  

          10.   CLUB EMAIL ADDRESSES

          The Club may make provision for @gtrdc.com email addresses to be used by the Committee, Event or Area Organisers and Ancillaries. The email address is for the purpose of Club business only. The email address remains the property of The Club and may be removed at any time at the discretion of the Committee.