ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB MALTA
Last revision: 4th December 2005
STATUTE OF THE ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB MALTA
1 NAME
1.1 The Organisation shall be called “ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB MALTA”, hereinafter referred to as the AROC.
1.2 The AROC is autonomous and shall resist all pressures of any kind whatsoever, whether political, religious, racial, economic or commercial.
2 OBJECTIVES
2.1 The objectives of the AROC shall be to encourage and promote interests in owners of Alfa Romeo vehicles in Malta and to creating beneficial arrangements for the members of the AROC with any third parties who carry out commercial activities that are of direct interest to the said members themselves.
2.2 To organise member meetings, local drives, overland trips, treasure hunts, concours d’elegance, skilled driving tests, visits to places of automotive interest, both local and overseas, exhibitions of vehicles, social events and other similar activities.
2.3 To foster and promote the representation for Malta at any international gatherings or motoring activities with foreign organisations.
2.4 To ensure that preparations by prospective participants are of a standard that would ensure participation with honour in all events.
2.5 To contribute in any way to the propagation of fundamental principles relative to the safety, caution and alertness intrinsic to the operation of a motor vehicle.
2.6 To organise motor sports events for the members of the AROC subject to the attainment of all necessary and opportune permits.
2.7 To keep a register of members’ cars, a directory of services and service providers, an inventory of local providers of Alfa Romeo parts and a log of any research carried out.
2.8 To organise any of the aforesaid activities in conjunction with the local authorised agent of Alfa Romeo cars, namely UCIM Co Ltd of Valley Road, B’Kara, as long as UCIM remain the main sponsor of the AROC or as otherwise determined by the AROC Committee.
3 AFFILIATION
3.1 The AROC is independent and is not currently affiliated to any other organisation or association, whether motor sport or otherwise. The AROC may however affiliate to any local or international sports organisations that the Committee may at any time deem fit.
3.2 The AROC may have clubs/organisations operating in Malta being affiliated to it.
3.3 The AROC shall be the only one in Malta officially recognised by UCIM Co Ltd as an
owners club for Alfa Romeo vehicles.
4 SUBSCRIPTION & MEMBERSHIP
4.1 All owners of Alfa Romeo vehicles or other persons interested in the make may become members of the AROC.
4.2 The AROC Committee shall determine subscription rates, and six weeks notice in advance of change is to be communicated to subscribing members.
4.3 The Committee can also consider temporary exemption of payment of such subscriptions, if a request in writing is given to the Committee in advance, stating acceptable criteria for such request.
4.4 Members may resign from the AROC at any time by sending a signed letter to the President or the General Secretary. Any member who defaults from paying the subscription fee shall be deemed to have resigned his membership.
4.5 Members are not entitled to claim a refund on resignation from the AROC.
4.6 All paid-up members competing or taking part in which ever way in any event or programme organised by the AROC must hold a valid driving license and be covered by an appropriate insurance policy cover on the respective driver’s vehicle.
4.7 Immediate dismissive action will be taken on any member who in any way acts negatively during any organised event as aforesaid, or through his misdemeanour hampers the smooth progress of any event as aforesaid or furthermore through his or her actions harms or tarnishes the reputation of the AROC both with the general public and with the Authorities.
4.8 Any member who in any way jeopardises the safety of other members or the general public during any such event as aforesaid shall be dismissed with immediate effect and due reports shall be filed with the competent Authorities.
4.9 All members of the AROC are to abide by the Statute. The main Committee has the right to summon before it any member for any breach of discipline, misdemeanour or infringement of rules and take any disciplinary action it deems fit. If a member fails to appear before the Committee twice, having been given at least one week notice in writing each time, the Committee reserves the right to administer disciplinary action in absentia.
5 ELIGIBILITY
5.1 All properly constituted active clubs/organisations shall be eligible for affiliation to the AROC.
5.2 Each particular club/organisation shall be represented in the AROC by one representative in the Club’s Sub-Committee.
5.3 All applications for affiliation shall be examined by the Committee in order to verify whether such applications are in conformity with these Rules. The Committee shall be entrusted to take a final decision.
5.4 If it results to the satisfaction of the AROC Committee that any affiliated club/organisation is in default in respect of any of the criteria for affiliation as established in this article, the Committee will then suspend or expel any such club/organisation. The Committee may also suspend for a definite time or expel such club/organisation for any reason which it deems fit.
5.5 A motion of removal of an affiliated club/organisation or any individual member must appear on the agenda of the committee meeting and shall require the approval of at least two-thirds of the committee members present at the meeting for its adoption.
5.6 Any individual may be suspended or otherwise dealt with. Within seven days of suspension he shall be notified by a letter from the General Secretary of the date and period of suspension.
5.7 Any club/organisation that is suspended shall be notified by a letter from the General Secretary by not later than seven days from the decision indicating the date and period of suspension.
5.8 A term of suspension commences from the time it is pronounced by the AROC Committee unless otherwise stipulated and does not expire until the close of the day named in the decision.
5.9 Any properly constituted active local club/organisation, which is not an AROC affiliated organisation, and which must have been duly set up, may be accepted by the Committee, with a unanimous vote, as an Associate Member of the AROC.
5.10 Any club/organisation that wishes to be affiliated to the AROC requires a two-thirds majority vote by the Committee to be accepted.
5.11 Recognised members may benefit from any programme or project of the AROC.
6 GOVERNING BODY
6.1 The President and General Secretary of the AROC and the committee members of the AROC shall constitute the main Committee. The main Committee shall be the highest organ of the AROC and shall be the policy-making body.
6.2 The President of the AROC, the General Secretary of the AROC and the remaining committee members shall have voting powers. The President shall also have a casting vote.
6.3 The President and General Secretary, hereinafter called officers of the AROC, have the legal representation of the AROC. They shall assume office immediately after the meeting at which they are elected and remain in office until the end of the meeting at which they retire.
6.4 The main Committee shall have the power to co-opt not more than four members from outside the Club for a period of not more than one year. However, the said Committee may appoint any number of individuals (members and non-members) to assist on any specific project that does not have a direct bearing on the administration of the AROC.
7 CONSTITUTION OF THE MAIN COMMITTEE
7.1 The main Committee shall have the power to administer the affairs of the AROC and shall consist of the following:-
1. The President of the AROC
2. The General Secretary of the AROC
3. The Treasurer of the AROC
4. The ordinary Member/s of the AROC Committee
5. Any co-opted members without voting rights
8 THE MAIN COMMITTEE
8.1 The main Committee shall be responsible to put into effect the policy that it decides upon and to run the affairs of the AROC in conformity with that policy.
8.2 The main Committee shall consist of the President, the General Secretary, the Treasurer and up to four other members. These members shall hold office up to the next Annual General Meeting and shall be deemed to have been elected on the Committee as soon as they are elected to the said posts. Any ordinary Committee member may act as Public Relations Officer and/or Merchandising Officer by a majority decision of the Committee.
8.3 The duties of the main Committee are the following:-
a) Deal with all business of the AROC
b) Day to day management
c) Deal with urgent matters of the AROC
d) Raise funds and take charge of teams representing AROC
8.4 The Committee is summoned by the President or General Secretary. Three members shall form a quorum.
8.5 The signatories to the AROC’s bank account shall be the General Secretary and the Treasurer.
9 SPECIFIC DUTIES
9.1 All Committee members must make themselves available for all activities organised by the AROC. The specific duties of each Committee member are the following:_
1 The President shall chair all meetings of the Committee. Together with the General Secretary, he shall represent the AROC. He will be ultimately responsible for all matters.
2 The General Secretary will perform all the duties of the President in his absence. He will be responsible for the running of the secretariat and the day-to-day running of the AROC. He will also be responsible for the recording of the minutes of every Committee meeting or other meeting and shall keep such records. He shall be responsible to keep an undated inventory of the AROC’s effects.
3 The Treasurer will be responsible for maintaining the Membership Register, and periodically presenting an update to the Committee. He will be responsible for filing all documentation relative to new and existent members. He shall assist the General Secretary in all his duties. He shall be responsible for the collection of membership fees against a receipt. He shall be responsible for checking the AROC inventory and taking charge of any commissions administered by the AROC. He shall be responsible for finance and shall also present an annual budget for approval by the Committee. He shall keep a cashbook detailing all income and expenditure. He will present audited accounts of the ending year during the Annual General Meeting.
4 The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible to project the right image of the AROC and to inform the public on all activities organised by the AROC. He shall be responsible for all AROC publications as well as the AROC website. He shall also act as International Relations Officer and shall be responsible for maintaining contacts with foreign bodies and establishing new relations with other associations and organisations in and outside Malta.
5 The Merchandising Officer shall be responsible for the procurement, safe keeping and sale of all items of merchandise. All procurement must be authorised by the main Committee. He shall periodically present an update to the main Committee on the status of the AROC’s stock of merchandise.
10 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
10.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held between the 1st and 31st December of each year. The agenda shall contain the following:-
a) Address by the President
b) Review of the year’s activities by the General Secretary
c) Treasurer’s Report
d) Election of Electoral Commission
e) Election of the main Committee members of the AROC. These members shall hold office up to the next Annual General Meeting.
10.2 The Committee can nominate any person to occupy any position on the Committee.
10.3 These nominations are to be submitted to the AROC secretariat at least 15 days prior to the Annual General Meeting where elections are to be made and will be circulated to all members and member clubs/organisations ten days before such meetings.
10.4 The election of the main committee at the Annual General Meeting shall be by secret ballot. A simple majority carries all motions. Quorum at the Annual General Meeting shall be the number of persons present.
10.5 The elections shall be conducted by an Electoral Commission consisting of three members not nominated for election to the main Committee and appointed at the same meeting.
10.6 The results of the elections must be given by the Electoral Commission at the same meeting.
11 EXTRAORDINARY COMMITTEE MEETINGS
11.1 Extraordinary Committee Meetings shall be called any time they are requested by the President, or by at least three Committee members. The objectives of calling such a meeting must be clearly stated. No item other than that/those specified on the Agenda shall be decided. “Any other matter” is not to be considered as a specific item.
12 COMMISSIONS
12.1 The main Committee may nominate any Commission it deems fit.
12.2 The Chairman of each Commission shall be a member of the main Committee.
12.3 The President and General Secretary shall be ex-officio members on all Commissions.
12.4 All reports shall be presented to the Committee in writing.
13 SUB-COMMITTEES
13.1 Sub-committees and/or special committees may be appointed by the main Committee to consider and report upon any matter that may be referred to them. The number to form a special committee or sub-committee and the number to form a quorum shall be determined by the main Committee.
13.2 The President, the General Secretary and the Treasurer shall be ex-officio members on all committees. All reports shall be presented to the main Committee in writing. The procedures of all special committees and sub-committees of the AROC shall, as far as practicable, be in accordance with the Statute.
14 RESIGNATIONS AND VACANCIES
14.1 Committee members failing to attend three consecutive meetings or a total of five out of nine meetings without justified reasons or fail to do their duties shall be considered as not in good standing. Such persons shall be considered as having resigned if they do not justify their case at the first Committee meeting after such default.
14.2 A registered letter should be sent to such persons to attend this Committee meeting.
14.3 Vacancies of Committee members must be filled not later than one month from the date when the main Committee meets and acknowledges a resignation, or other reason that creates a vacancy. Meetings called for the purpose of election of officers must be notified to all members at least fifteen days in advance.
15 RESOLUTIONS
15.1 A resolution shall not be rescinded unless the counter resolution has the support of two-thirds of the members present.
16 PRIVILEGED MATTERS
16.1 All matters discussed at AROC meetings shall be deemed as privileged.
17 ADJOURNMENT
17.1 Any business or motion not dealt with by the closing of the meeting shall be adjourned and given priority at the next meeting.
18 FINANCIAL YEAR
18.1 The financial year of the AROC will be from 1st January till 31st December.
19 RECOGNITION OF CLUBS/ORGANISATIONS
19.1 The AROC shall have the power to give recognition to clubs/organisations.
19.2 All affiliated clubs/organisations must inform the AROC whenever they hold a General Meeting, at least fifteen days prior to the date of such General Meeting. The AROC shall appoint a delegate to attend such General Meetings and to report on business conducted thereat.
20 SUSPENSION
20.1 Any member not conforming with any directive given by the President during any meeting may be suspended by the President.
21 LOGO
21.1 The official logo of the AROC, which incorporates the official Alfa Romeo logo and use of which has been authorised by UCIM, shall be the following. The logo may not be used under any circumstances without prior consent from the AROC Committee.
22 SUBSCRIPTION FEES
22.1 The AROC may charge an annual subscription fee to members and/or clubs/organisations.
22.2 The subscription fee shall be paid in advance. A list of all clubs/organisations affiliated to the AROC shall be circulated during the first week of January and before the first Committee meeting. Clubs/organisations who are in arrears for two months shall after notice of such action be suspended. Such clubs/organisations may however be reinstated should they bring their subscription up to date and pay a fine which the AROC may deem fit.
23 STATUTE
23.1 A copy of the Statute and amendments to same shall be given to each member. New members shall be provided with a copy on joining the AROC. Further copies may be obtained from the Secretary.
24 DISSOLUTION
24.1 In the event of the AROC being dissolved or disbanded, the assets shall be donated to charitable institutions. However, material such as videos, DVDs, books, registers, photographs, etc shall be offered to auto museums as determined by the main Committee.
25 INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES
25.1 The AROC is the sole interpreter of these rules.
Signed today, the 4th December 2005
Brian St John John Visanich
President General Secretary