Rules of Association
(With effect from 9th January 2003) ***Amended 15th January 2004. Amended again24/02/05

Name
- The Society shall be named "British Business Association - Phuket", hereinafter called the "Association".

The Purposes of Association
- To expand the membership of the Association.
- To promote the development of the Phuket tourist industry.
- To promote Anglo/Thai relations within the Phuket community.
- To facilitate the exchange of business information and to promote business opportunities in Phuket..
- To maintain close social and business links with the British Chamber of Commerce Bangkok,
...the Eastern Seaboard Chamber and the British Embassy.
- To develop links or affiliations with other trade or business groups worldwide.
- To promote social and sporting activities.

Membership
- Membership is open to all nationalities.
- Members shall be fully paid up and have had their application for membership approved by the Committee.
- Honorary Members may be persons or organisations with an interest in supporting and
..promoting the Association’s Purposes of Association. Honorary Memberships are bestowed
. by the Committee and are valid for one year and may be renewed by the Committee annually.

Revocation of Membership
- With valid reason the Committee may withdraw Membership.

- The “party” in question shall receive notice two weeks prior to the Committee Meeting to adjudicate .on the case. The term "valid reason" is to denote actions contrary to the purpose or reputation .of the Association. At the meeting the party in question will have the opportunity to defend. their actions/position before any vote. In the event the "party" fails to attend the Committee .Meeting, the Committee may proceed with the Meeting.

Subscriptions
- The Association Year will be from the 1st February to the 31st January. New members will pay a joining fee plus annual subscription. Family members will pay only one joining fee per two members, plus two annual subscriptions. Subscriptions are due on the 1st February. Membership will be deemed to have lapsed if subscriptions are not paid within one month of the due date, i.e. by February 28th. Lapsed members rejoining will be required to pay both the subscription and the joining fee.

- For the Association purposes, 'Family' shall be defined as two adults living together.

Voting
Only Subscribing Members may vote at Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings. The Chairman shall have a second, casting vote to be used as necessary.

Email Votes
Voting at all Meetings shall be allowed on published Agenda Items by E-mail. An E-mail vote is NOT counted as a Member being present to form a quorum.

Proxy Votes
A Member who is entitled to vote, but cannot attend a meeting, may nominate a proxy in his stead. This may be achieved by notifying the Secretary who the proxy will be, prior to the meeting. Such proxy votes will be deemed to help establish a quorum.

The Committee

Eligibility for election to the Committee is as follows:
- Any full subscribing member of the Association is eligible for election to the committee.
- The Chairman of the Association shall be a British passport holder.
- A majority of the committee shall be British passport holders.
- Two non-British Honorary committee members may be appointed by the Committee at any time
..during the Association year. Honorary committee members will have no voting rights.

The duties of the Committee are as follows:

The Chairman:
- To conduct all Meetings and represent the Association.
- To create Sub-Committees as necessary.
- To appoint Sub-Committee Heads.
- To be a member of all Sub-Committees.
- To schedule meetings of the Committee as needed.
- To ensure the Purposes of the Association are met.
- To hold a second, casting vote.

The Secretary:
- To keep all records and membership lists.
- To conduct the business of the Association in accordance with the requirements of the
..Committee and Members.
- To record the minutes of all Meetings.

The Treasurer:
- To collect all Membership Fees and Subscriptions.
- To safe keep the funds and resources of the Association.
- To prepare accounts on a monthly basis.
- To prepare a Report for the Annual General Meeting.

The Social Secretary:
- To arrange all regular and ad hoc social events and to notify the membership accordingly.
- To liaise with the Treasurer in respect of costs and payments.
- To make suggestions and recommendations to the committee for ad hoc social events.
- To keep a record of all confirmations of attendance at social events.
- To prepare a Report for the Annual General Meeting.

Three General Members:
- To assist in the running and management of the Association as necessary.

Two Honorary Members:
- To assist in the running and management of the Association as necessary and to foster links
..with other communities.

Meetings

Committee Meetings
- Decisions shall be by simple majority vote.
- A Quorum shall be four Members.

General Meetings
- Members will be notified by the Secretary of the time, place and Agenda of all General Meetings. a clear four weeks in advance.

- Other items for inclusion on the Agenda must be received by the Secretary fourteen days. prior to the Meeting and he shall advise the final agenda to all members at least one week prior. to such meeting.

- ***A quorum for any General Meeting shall be 51% (previously 60%) of the voting membership.

- The Secretary shall provide a Membership List for the Meeting.

Annual General Meetings (AGM)
The AGM will be held on the second Thursday of January unless otherwise notified four weeks in advance to all members.

The Agenda shall include:
- Receive the Chairman's Report.
- Receive the Secretary’s Report.
- Receive the Treasurer’s Report.
- Approve the Accounts.
- Appoint Auditors.
- Election of the Committee.
- Review Subscriptions.
- Any Other Business.

Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM)
An EGM May be called by ten Full Members or five Committee Members each informing the Secretary that they wish to call such a meeting and giving details of the reason for such a meeting. Upon receiving such notification the Secretary shall give members at least four weeks notice of such meeting, detailing the date and venue of the meeting and the agenda for such meeting. Only such items which appear on the published agenda may be considered at these meetings. Elections may take place only at an Annual General Meeting, or at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for the purpose of holding an election.

Rules applicable to elections are as follows:
- Existing Committee members shall automatically stand for re-election unless they have informed the Secretary otherwise.

- The outgoing Chairman may continue automatically, if he or she so wishes, as a General Committee Member for a period of one year after completing his or her term as Chairman, to ensure continuity of the Association’s business.

- Other than existing committee members standing for re-election, and the outgoing Chairman, all candidates should be nominated by a full subscribing member at least 48 hours in advance of the General Meeting at which the election is to take place. Seconding of the nomination can take place at the Meeting, in advance of the vote for that position.

- The only exception to the 48-hour requirement is when there is no prior nomination for a committee position, or when a nominated candidate withdraws his or her candidacy. In such a case, any eligible full subscribing member may notify his or her candidacy to the Chairman during the Meeting, without the requirement for nomination.

- Candidates for election to the Committee will have the right to put forward reasons why the membership should vote for them. Candidates may waive this right. Full members may put questions to candidates, but may not speak for or against any candidate.

- All candidates for committee positions should be present at the Meeting (or have informed the Secretary that they are unable to attend and are willing to stand for election in their absence).

***In the case that an elected committee member resigns or is unable to carry out their duties during their term of office, the remaining committee members may elect by majority vote a replacement without calling an EGM provided that at all times there is a minimum of 5 members on the committee that were elected at either the AGM or an EGM

Communications
The Association shall maximise the use of technology. As such e-mail will be used as the preferred means of communication. In this context any reference to "notify" in these rules shall indicate communication by Email. The word "post" or "posted" shall signify that the details will be posted on the Association’s Official Web Site, which will be construed to be sufficient indication.

Alterations or Additions to the Rules
Any proposed alteration or addition to the rules of the Association must be notified to members at least two weeks prior to any General Meeting.

Members' views and feedback on such proposed rule changes should be taken into account by the committee and such feedback made known to the membership at the General Meeting. The committee may make such recommendations and amendments as it deems appropriate taking into account members feedback.

Alterations or additions to the Rules of the Association may only be approved at General Meetings and can be voted on by attending members, proxy votes and email votes. Email votes may be used onto vote on proposals that have not been amended.

Winding Up
If at any stage the Association shall be wound-up or terminated, the proceeds of all the assets, after settlement of all liabilities, will be donated to a single registered charity.

See Previous Rules From incorporation until 19th February 2001
See Previous Rules From 19 February until January 2002
See Previous Rules From January 2002 to January 2003.

Copyright 2003 by BBAP
The British Business Association - Phuket (BBA-P) was formed in 1998
Contact e mail is: honsec@bbap.org