46 replies to this topic

[JonW]

Hi all,

I rarely post and have never been an official member of the UKPS, however, seeing the recent decline I would like to support the society in anyway I can.

However, I can not find anywhere the committee has actually listed what help they need and what the future plans are for the society. I would hate to think all the information in these forums just gets deleted and nobody talks about the UKPS eve again......

So what do you need and how can people help?

[David G]

Hopefully,an answer will come.
This society does need to live on.

[BlackCat]

I wholeheartedly agree with you in that the Society needs to continue but, sadly, it seems that very few people actually visit the site anymore.

 

So how about it past and present committee members (if there are any) are you prepared to tell us what's needed, or do you intend it to slowly die?

[Arthur Brown]

The Society needs a purpose, the forum needs 100 regular posters and say 20 posts per day.

[JonW]

It's a bit chicken an egg though. I know a few experimenters and I am sure there are loads more I don't know.

If the society chooses not to have an active committee that are seen to be doing something then no one will join or even comment on the forum.

[Pyro-Gear]

The Society needs a purpose, the forum needs 100 regular posters and say 20 posts per day.

Arthur how did you come up with that equation AFAK there is only one site fire working that could hit that amount of posts per day and even then a constant post count would be unlikely.

 

@JonW the real problem is there is no one at the wheel the ship is just drifting and those that have the ability to take hold of the wheel don’t want to do it, it’s a good job that Richard keeps the forum hosted for free and I would to given the amount of information that is available to the public.

 

I know for a fact offers have been made to resurrect the forum unfortunately those that have the ability to respond to the offers have not.

 

I have done my best to keep the community alive with my own forum and as you say there are still a lot of experimenters out there, in my humble opinion the only person that could breathe new life in to the forum is the owner himself by removing the dead wood.    

Edited by Pyro-Gear, 04 October 2019 - 03:17 PM.

[BlackCat]

Well said Ken!

[BlackCat]

Well, it seems that there is a way forward. Below is an extract from the Society's Articles of Association and I would make the following points:

 

1) The members may request the Committee to call an EGM at any time provided that the request is in writing and states the purpose of the EGM. (I assume that 3 members signatures or the same request from 3 members would be required as this number is mentioned later on as being a quorum).

2) If the Committee doesn't convene an EGM within 28 days, the membership can do it by themselves.

3) Provided that there are at least 3 members present at the EGM making a quorum, any business transacted at such a meeting is valid.

 

Thus, if anyone wants to go down this route, 3 members could request an EGM and, after the statutory 28 days had passed from the date of the request and assuming no response, organise it themselves. At the EGM that they've arranged, a new committee could be elected and empowered to request all papers and materials pertaining to the Society from whoever still has them. The Society would then be able to function under the auspices of the new committee.

 

The only possible problem that I can see is that item 6.10 clearly states that anyone who owes money to the Society cannot vote at meetings. Since none of us has paid our membership fees for nearly 2 years, I guess that there must be some doubt as to whether or not we are still members! However, this situation arises from the fact that there hasn't been any one to collect such fees rather than a wilful act on the part of the members so, I think that a case could be made that we are still members.

 

5. General Meetings
5.1 The Society shall in November or December of each year hold a General Meeting as its Annual General Meeting in addition to any other meetings in that year, and shall specify the meeting as such in notices calling it;
5.2 At least 8 weeks notice of the Societies Annual General Meeting shall be given to the members;
5.3 All general meetings other than Annual General Meetings shall be called Extraordinary General Meetings;
5.4 The Executive Board may, whenever it thinks fit, and it shall, on requisition made in writing in accordance with section 368 of the Act, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting. If at any time there are not within Great Britain sufficient members of the Executive Board to form a quorum, any Executive Board member or any two members of the Society may convene an Extraordinary General Meeting in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which meetings may be convened by the Executive Board;
5.5 Subject to Section 368 of the Act, any requisition made by members shall state the object of the meeting and the terms of any special or extraordinary resolution to be proposed there;
5.6 On the receipt of such requisition the Executive Board shall immediately proceed to convene a General Meeting; if it does not proceed to convene a meeting within 28 days from the date of receipt of the requisition a majority of them may themselves convene a meeting;
5.7 At least 8 weeks before every Annual General Meeting, and 28 days before any Extraordinary General Meeting, notice specifying the place, the day and hour of the meeting, and, in case of special business, the general nature of such business, shall be given to the members in the manner stated in Article 13 of these articles, or in such other manner, if any, as may be prescribed by the Society in general meeting; but the accidental omission to give such notice to, or the nonreceipt of such notice by, any member shall not invalidate the proceedings at any general meeting;
5.8 Subject as provided above, to be accepted as an item of special business at a general meeting of the Society a resolution shall:
5.8.1 be proposed and seconded by two Honorary, Full Senior, Junior, Trade or Affiliated Club members of the Society or proposed by the Executive Board or Regional Council;
5.8.2 be written in non-discriminatory terms and be in accordance with the provisions of the Act;
5.8.3 in the case of an Annual General Meeting the item must be received by the Society at least 5 weeks before the due date of the meeting;
5.9 Amendments to items of special business may be proposed following the same procedures as set out in Article 5.8 and must be received by the Society at least 5 days prior to the meeting.
6. Proceedings at General Meetings
6.1 All business shall be deemed special that is transacted at an Extraordinary General Meeting. All business that is transacted at an Annual General Meeting is deemed special, with the exception of the laying before the meeting of the accounts and any documents annexed to them, the reports of the Chairman, Chief Executive, Treasurer, and such Sub-Committees as are appropriate, the report of the auditors, the election of Executive Members in the place of those retiring and the re-appointment ofretiring auditors and the fixing of their remuneration;
6.2 Subject to the provisions of the Act, and other Articles contained herein, all special business shall require a 75% majority of those voting (abstentions not included) to be carried;
6.3 No business shall be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum of not less than 3 members entitled to vote is present at the commencement of such business;
6.4 If within two hours from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of members, shall be dissolved; in any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the following week at the same time and place, and if at such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand dissolved;
6.5 The Chairman, or in his/her absence, the Vice-Chairman of the Society shall preside as Chairman at every general meeting of the Society;
6.6 If neither the Chairman nor the Vice-Chairman is present at the time of holding a meeting the members present shall choose someone of their number to chair the meeting;
6.7 The Chairman may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn any meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place ( consent shall be defined by a simple majority vote);
6.8 At any general meeting, a declaration by the Chairman that a resolution has been carried or lost, and any entry to that effect in the minute book of the Society shall be conclusive evidence of that fact;
6.9 Every full member (as defined herein) shall have one vote and no more. All votes shall be given personally. In the case of an equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded shall be entitled to a second or casting vote;
6.10 No member shall vote at any general meeting if any money owing from him or her on any account to the Society remains unpaid. Any vote by such a member shall be deemed to be invalid.

[Richard H]

I don't believe the society is active and there hasn't been a committee of any shape or form for a very long time, only the limited company by guarantee exists, and Philip Cooper is kindly keeping this ticking over and sorting annual statutory filings etc. If a new committee were to be formed by interested persons, perhaps that would be a way forward for the society, and then they could appoint new officers and someone to reinvigorate the website and this forum as they saw fit? I host the website / forum currently as I have from the very start (at no charge I might add), but this cannot continue indefinitely.

[BlackCat]

You're absolutely right Richard, I agree that there isn't anything that even looks like a committee around anymore and Phil is to be commended for keeping things ticking over.

 

The whole point of my post though is that there is a way that a new committee can be formed in the absence of a current one. It might seem like a piece of nonsense to send a request for an EGM to a non-existent committee but, we do have to follow the rules or invite a challenge to the legitimacy of any decisions taken at an EGM. I believe that it would be valid to request an EGM by posting it on the forum provided that it was supported by at least three members. Once the 28 days had passed, an EGM could be convened without a sitting committee, enabling a new committee to be elected.

 

I guess we must wait and see if anyone else responds to my posts and take it from there. I'm sure I can speak for everyone in offering our thanks to you for keeping the Forum up and running and we appreciate that you can't do it forever. It would be a great shame for it all to be lost though. All the best.

[Tinderbox]

I shifted to Ned Gorski's forum. Because it's far more active with repsonses coming almost immediately. The information is excellent as there are manufacturers on there actively helping hobbyists and as in some states, pyro as a hobby is legal, the community is just so much more than you get from here. No reflection on the folks behind this forum. It's just the UK. It's that simple. For me anyway.

[Richard H]

Phil, as the only current officer, or any two members would be able to call an EGM given the lack of a committee at the moment. Any new persons wishing to step forward could be made temporary members, or patrons of the society to form a committee. The full memorandum of association can be accessed freely via Companies House (see incorporation filed 14 Mar 2006). I would encourage any interested persons to approach Phil directly to discuss.

[cooperman435]

Indeed as has been posted here Im simply ascing as caretaker for the time being to stop the society ceasing to exist by default, I file papers and accounts to CH along with the registration each year but that's it, I don't own the society in any way but deemed this the best way to help it and to prevent the sad misuse and attempted misuse of its name and funds that had occurred previously.

 

As the sole person though I decided that id simply not take any actions as to ensure that i was seen as neutral or any decisions that would ever have to be made would be publicly posted and checked for clarity before taking place.

 

I WELCOME any genuine people interested in assisting or contributing to the society to contact me please.

 

 

I'm technically acting chairman at the moment though there is no committee whatsoever, we have no secretary nor accountant, we also have no membership secretary or current members (I cant in all honesty continue taking funds from people for a society that's simply ticking over) so I'm not sure how we can legitimately do whats been spoken of however I see no need to, if we have suitable people wishing to start acting let them and take things from there, I'm more than happy to hand over the reigns to any one or group of people once they've established a plan and shown it can work.

[David]

An old thread, sorry- but none the less I think I can add some points. I always felt the consumer fireworks forum here was handy, but was personally never involved in the physics etc / chemistry behind fireworks. 

[Gp01]

Is there still an interest from people to revive this site if so I’ll help anyway I can