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ELY DIOCESAN ASSOCIATION OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
Patron: THE LORD BISHOP OF ELY
Ely DA Rules Page 1 of 7
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AGM 13-May-2017
ASSOCIATION RULES
1. TITLE
The Association shall be known as
"The Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers"
2. OBJECTS
a) Ringing for Divine Service, teaching and promotion of ringing, maintenance of
church bells and bell installations, and maintaining a record of ringing activities
within the Diocese of Ely.
b) The Association shall be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.
3. MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Association shall consist of the Patron, Ringing Members, (inclusive
of Junior Ringing Members), and Honorary Members. All persons proposed for
membership shall complete an application form.
a) Patron
The Lord Bishop of Ely shall be invited to be the Patron of the Association.
b) Ringing Members
Ringing Members shall normally be resident, or be regular ringers at a tower, within
the Diocese of Ely and pay an annual subscription. New Ringing Members shall be
elected by the members eligible to vote at a meeting within the district of their
tower.
Senior Ringing Members (a membership category prior to January 2018) are Ringing
Members as described above, but have no obligation to pay an annual subscription.
c) Junior Ringing Members
Junior Ringing Members are Ringing Members under the age of 21, and are entitled
to pay a reduced subscription.
d) Honorary Members
Any Ringing Member who has given exceptional service and furthered the objectives
of the Association may be elected as an Honorary Member. The nomination of an
Honorary Member will be recommended by the General Committee. The election
will take place at an Annual General Meeting of the Association and must be agreed
by two thirds of the Ringing Members present.
Honorary Members shall not be obliged to pay an annual subscription.
e) Other Membership Categories.
Members elected or transferred to membership categories defined in previous
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AGM 13-May-2017
editions of the Rules shall retain the privileges of those categories until they
relinquish their membership.
f) Eligibility to Vote
Only Ringing Members, Junior Ringing Members and Honorary Members shall be
entitled to vote at meetings of the Association.
g) Conduct of Members
i) Every Member shall comply with the terms of the Association Rules.
ii) Any conduct which, in the opinion of the General Committee, is either
unworthy of a Member or otherwise injurious to the interests of the
Association shall render a member liable to expulsion by the General
Committee.
iii) Expulsion from the Association shall occur only after the Member has been
given the opportunity, accompanied by a third party (if so required), to
attend a General Committee meeting to discuss their alleged unworthy or
injurious conduct. Alternatively, the Member may resign their membership.
iv) The vote on a resolution for expulsion shall be by ballot, and the resolution
shall only be carried if not less than two-thirds of the General Committee
present vote in favour of the resolution.
v) A person so expelled shall not be eligible for future membership except by
resolution of the General Committee.
4. SUBSCRIPTIONS
a) Subscriptions are due on 1st January. Members whose subscriptions are more than
twelve months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned their membership.
b) Subscription rates shall be proposed by the General Committee and ratified at a
General Meeting of the Association.
5. OFFICERS
The Officers of the Association shall be:
a) Chairman
b) General Secretary
c) Ringing Master
d) Recruitment & Training Officer
e) Public Relations Officer
f) Peal Secretary
g) Quarter Peal Secretary
h) Central Council Representatives (nominated by each District)
i) Treasurer (Technical Officer)
j) Bell Adviser (Technical Officer)
k) Webmaster (Technical Officer)
l) Safeguarding Officer (Technical Officer)
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AGM 13-May-2017
6. MANAGEMENT and ADMINISTRATION
a) Management of the Association shall be carried out as far as possible by sub- committees. Each sub-committee shall appoint its own secretary for recording
minutes of meetings and details of its activities. Such minutes, once accepted and
signed by the sub-committee Chair, shall be passed to the General Secretary and
become part of the official records of the Association.
b) The Chair or representative of each sub-committee, shall attend General
Committee meetings of the Association, and act as delegates of, and vote in
accordance with the consensus of, their respective sub-committees.
c) Terms of reference shall be documented and maintained for each sub-committee.
Other ringing members can be co-opted to any sub-committee for a maximum
period of 12 months to help with particular projects.
d) The sub-committees are as follows:
i) Recruitment and Training Sub-committee
ii) Ringing Sub-committee
iii) Bell Maintenance and Repair Sub-committee
iv) Administration Sub-committee
7. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Definitions
Representative Office – A position requiring knowledge of ringing and Association
culture and activities, which can be directly elected by ringing members.
Technical Office – A position requiring technical expertise and knowledge which is
acquired through experience and/or training. For the sake of continuity, it might be
desirable for a technical officer to hold office for longer than 5 + 2 years, but no
longer than 10 years. For technical offices, the General Committee should normally
recommend an appointment based on relevant experience.
a) The Annual General Meeting shall elect Officers as defined in Rule 5. The Officers
shall take office upon election (except Central Council Representatives, see clause
7c below), and the Peal and Quarter Peal Secretaries, who will take office from the
1st January in the following year.
b) Every five years, each District shall nominate a Ringing Member for election at the
Annual General Meeting as a Trustee of the Association Bell Restoration Fund.
c) Triennially, each District shall nominate a Ringing Member for election at the
Annual General Meeting to serve as a representative to the Central Council of
Church Bell Ringers. The representatives shall take office in the year following their
election.