By Penny Evans
On the16 April 2011 members of the West Gauteng branch met on a cold and rainy day to listen to Richard Ford speak about the new constitution and sound branch management.
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| Richard Ford |
An important change made was that branch management was brought into the new constitution.
He said that two specific articles in the new constitution are also very important. Article 8:2:3 states that notice of the AGM meetings of national council and branches should call for submission of portfolio and branch reports. This should include complete financial reports covering the previous calendar year. Nominations for the election of office bearers are to reach the national or branch secretary within ten days of the notice of the AGM .
The national or branch secretary shall circulate the agenda of the meeting, along with the supporting documents fourteen days before the AGM. Article 8:7 deals with the recording of proceedings. The minutes shall be distributed among members of the meeting within three weeks of the meeting. To conclude he mentioned the objectives of the society which are:
• To promote and facilitate interest in, and a general understanding of, the importance of research in genealogy and family history among members of the society, other interested people, and the general public;
• To provide a wide range of meetings, educational courses, projects and services about genealogy and family history for the general benefit of members of the Society, and other people;
• To encourage the observance of the highest standards of research by members of the Society, and to promote reliability, integrity and professionalism of all South African genealogists;
• To be actively involved in the preservation of genealogical records and memorabilia and
• To establish and maintain contact with like-minded societies throughout the world.
