About the Colonel Stephens Society
Formed in 1985, the Colonel Stephens Society caters for enthusiasts of the highly charismatic railways engineered and/or managed by Colonel Holman Fred Stephens. Now, the society has grown to more than 300 members worldwide.
We produce a quarterly newsletter with up to 32 pages, The Colonel, packed with news stories and features exploring every aspect of The Great Man's railways and of his life and times. Articles cover not only previously-unrecorded historical information, such as first-hand accounts, but also model-making, including scale drawings, and news items on current events in the heritage railway world, where four of the Colonel's railways have survived.
In keeping with our constitutional commitment to "encourage the preservation of any surviving relics" of the railways engineered or managed by the Colonel, we have also made donations to heritage projects, such as the restoration of locomotives and buildings with a Colonel connection.
Membership costs just £13 a year for UK members, £20 for those living outside the UK, or £15 for joint members living at the same address. A membership application form is is on the link below. Don't delay: join today!
Sheena Baylis
10 Cedar Court, Farrand Road, Hedon.
East Riding of Yorkshire HU12 8XL
01482 897645
Email css@thetrackside.karoo.co.uk
THE COLONEL STEPHENS SOCIETY
Constitution
1. The name of the Society shall be the Colonel Stephens Society.
2. The Society’s object is to research and publish information on, and promote interest in, the railways formerly managed and run by Lt. Colonel Holman F. Stephens and William H. Austen.
3. The Society shall take an interest in the modelling and conservation of any aspect of the lines engineered or managed by the Colonel and his successors, and shall encourage the preservation of any surviving relics.
4. The committee shall consist of the following officers: chairman, treasurer, secretary, membership secretary, editor, archivist and publicity officer. An individual may hold more than one position, and in that event additional members may be elected to bring the total to at least six.
5. All Society posts shall be subject to election each year at the Annual General Meeting.
6. The committee may co-opt up to two extra members if a need arises for specialist help with any matter or Society project.
7. The treasurer shall keep records of all the Society’s financial transactions and make them available for examination. He shall present a report, including a summary of the accounts, at the Society’s Annual General Meeting.
8. An annual subscription shall be set at a rate or rates recommended by the treasurer and approved at the Annual General Meeting. The subscription year shall run from 1st October to 30th September.
9. Any person who fails to pay the subscription by December 31st following the October in which it is due will be deemed to be no longer a member, and cannot hold or stand for any Society office.
10. An Annual General Meeting shall take place every May at a venue announced in the Society’s journal not less than one month before the meeting is due to take place. All nominations for officers must be submitted two full weeks before the meeting.
11. If, in the opinion of the committee or ten members, a member has behaved in a manner detrimental to the Society or its aims, the chairman will be asked to write a letter to the member concerned demanding explanation in writing within 14 days. If, in the opinion of the full committee, the explanation is unsatisfactory, the member will be asked to resign, and will not be allowed to participate in any Society activity at any time subsequently.
12. The committee or ten members can request an Extraordinary General Meeting at any time and for any purpose, providing they give at least one month’s notice specifying the purpose.
13. A quorum at any Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting shall be ten members.
14. All matters raised at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, other than dissolution of the Society (see Rule 15), shall be decided by a simple majority of members present and voting at that Meeting. In the event of a tie, the chairman shall have the casting vote.
15. The Society may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of members voting at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for the purpose after giving all members three months written notice. On dissolution, the assets of the Society shall be donated to a society or societies of kindred interests chosen at the Meeting.
16. This Constitution may only be changed by a majority of members voting at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. Notice of the Meeting and proposed changes shall be given at least one month in advance.
As amended and ratified at the AGM held in May 2020
|