Page 16 - July August 2017

of the NMRA), and in addition: to promote interest in prototype and model railroads; to encourage the construction of models according to standards provided by the NMRA; to provide a formal organisation to improve the fellowship of the members of the NMRA resident in the geographic area of Region; and to do such other things as are consistent with these objects. [# The NMRA Regulations are now included in the Executive Handbook of the NMRA.]
Article 3. Geographic Area
The area of the Region is defined as England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, together with the offshore islands under the same administrations.
[# The Republic of Ireland is now included in the British Region.]
Article 4. Membership
A. Membership of the Region shall be within the following categories and not otherwise.
1. Regular Member - A member of the NMRA, within the classes set out in the NMRA Regulations except in the classes of Family and Corporate and Legacy, who is resident within the geographic area of the Region and has paid the relevant NMRA and Region dues.
2 Overseas Member - A member as defined in 1. above but who is not resident within the geographic area of the Region.
32. Family Member - A member as defined in 1. above in the class of Family member. The partner or minor child of a member in good standing who has paid the relevant NMRA Dues.
[# The class of Legacy membership has been abolished.]
[# Membership of the Region is now dependant on the payment of NMRA dues alone.] [# Overseas Region membership is no longer compatible with the NMRA Regulations.] [Family membership has been clarified.]
B. Region membership shall cease on resignation or on the lapse of NMRA membership, or as in C. below. Additionally, Overseas Region membership shall cease on resignation or on the lapse of Region dues, or as in C. below.
[# Overseas Region membership is no longer compatible with the NMRA Regulations.]
C. If it should appear to the majority of the Directors of the Region that it would not be desirable that a particular person should continue in membership of, or become a member of the Region, they may by resolution terminate the membership or instruct that an application to join be refused, as the case may be, and the privileges attached to membership shall thereupon cease to be accorded to that person. Such a resolution of the Board of Directors shall be reported at the next general meeting of the Region and if the action taken is not approved by a majority of all Regular members present at that meeting the privileges shall be restored.
Article 5. Board of Directors
A. The management of the Region shall be vested in a Board of Directors (BOD) consisting of the President, the Vice- President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Membership Director.
B. A person shall not be a Director unless he/she is and continues to be a Regular member, normally resident in the geographic area of the Region and does not derive a substantial portion of his/her income from the model railroad hobby manufacture or sale of model railroad equipment or the publishing of literature connected therewith.
[Simplification, plus elimination of gender specific references.]
A member of the NMRA Board of Directors or Executive Council Committee may not simultaneously be a member of
the Region Board of Directors.
[# Renaming.]
No person may hold more than one of the elected offices listed in Article 5.A. at any one time.
The office of President may not be held by one person for more than two consecutive full terms and that person may not again be eligible for election to this office until a further term has elapsed. (The word “term” in this Constitution is defined as running from one Annual General Meeting to the next.)
C. If during a term a vacancy occurs in any BOD position then an election for that office shall be held if there is a realistic time period before the next AGM. The BOD may co-opt a Regular member to temporarily fill the vacant position until an election can be held.
[Second paragraph moved to become first paragraph.]
If the President ceases to hold office during a term, normally the Vice-President shall, if available, assume the office of President for the remainder of the term and the office of Vice-President shall thereupon become vacant. If the Vice President is not available then the office of President shall become vacant BOD shall appoint an Acting President from within their number until an election can be held.
16 ROUNDHOUSE - August 2017